Spring + Italian Food = New Treats at La Tavola

Virginia-Highlands' Italian darling, La Tavola Trattoria, has just introduced its new spring menu, and it looks so good I'm considering banning the other three seasons from my calendar!

New antipasti delights include beet salad with shaved fennel, Bartlett pears, ricotta salata and pistachios; mozzarella burrata with tomato conserva and crostini; beef tagliata of charred rare filet, lemon, shaved baby artichokes, parsley and Grana Padano cheese; seared sea scallops with polenta, sautéed spinach and tomato-onion compote; and grilled calamari with garlic-roasted cauliflower, organic cannellini beans and Agrumato oil.

What I'm ordering: the beef tagliata

Primi pasta dishes include fregola and clams with Calabrian chilies, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes; agnolotti ravioli of braised beef and veal, thyme butter sauce and a red wine reduction; spinach and smoked ricotta ravioli with lemon zest, sage, pine nuts and butter; and orecchiette with house-made sausage and broccoli rabe, garlic, chili flakes and Pecorino Romano cheese.

What I'm ordering: orecchiette with house-made sausage

Secondi covers land and sea: Cacciucco fish stew of mussels, clams, prawns, calamari, fish, spicy tomato-herb brodetto served over grilled bread; seared trout with roasted fennel, fingerling potatoes, grilled red onion and lemon-oregano vinaigrette; grilled tuna with smashed organic cannellini beans, escarole, taggiasca olives and orange-olive oil; roasted monkfish with Castelluccio lentils, carrots, celery, salsa verde and toasted almonds; roasted chicken, rubbed with myrtle and bay leaf, broccoli rabe and lemon; grilled lamb Scottaditi with braised spring vegetables, prosciutto, mint and lemon; pork saltimbocca scallopine with prosciutto, sage, white wine, roasted fingerling potatoes and braised Swiss chard; grilled, dry-rubbed Meyer beef rib-eye steak with fingerling potatoes, broccoli rabe and Chianti Classico olive oil; and veal scallopine with capers, sage, lemon, roasted fingerling potatoes and spinach.

What I'm ordering: cacciucco fish stew

By the way, as at all Fifth Group Restaurants, the kitchen and menu are 100% trans-fat free, but I think I'll skip dessert all the same! Three courses is more than enough for this girl!