Open Hand

05/07/2026

We’re serving up our seasonal Minestrone made with the best the region has to offer right now: local veggies, grains, beans, herbs, and slow-simmered goodness in every bowl. We keep it vegetarian - but if you’re feeling creative, stop by and get some shrimp, halibut, or even some clams to take it up a notch.

As always, we have limited supply — so get while you can!

🌿

04/29/2026

Twirl-worthy spaghetti, hand-rolled veal meatballs, and a snowfall of freshly grated parm. Let us do the hard work for you! ❤️

04/17/2026

There’s pasta, and then there’s this. 🍝

Our shrimp bucatini starts with something most people never get to taste — fresh squid ink bucatini. Thick, hollow, perfectly chewy. The kind of pasta that holds onto every drop of sauce like it was born to do it.

Toss it with sweet, tender shrimp, our marinara sauce, Calabrian chilies, and fresh herbs — and you have a bowl that feels like a coastal Italian grandmother made it just for you.

Find us this weekend and bring one home. Your dinner table deserves it. ✨

ShrimpPasta ArtisanPasta MarketFresh PastaFromScratch SmallBatchFood FarmersMarketFood EatLocal PastaNight FoodieFinds HomemadePasta WeekendMarket

03/05/2026

🍝 Some pasta dishes are good. This one is unforgettable.

Mafalde Sorrentino — the wavy pasta that holds every drop of sauce — tossed with our rich marinara, pools of melted fresh mozzarella, and fragrant basil. Ready in the time it takes to boil water.

✨ The secret? Two tablespoons of pasta water and a gentle stir. That’s all it takes to turn simple ingredients into something extraordinary.

09/12/2025

Gnocchetti with a PA hog maw on top. For this, we cooked the gnocchetti with the veg and a little water instead of it’s own pasta water, like a risotto. The water reduces and becomes the sauce.

05/25/2025

They named it Cincinnatus for good reason. We sold out last Saturday and hopefully should have more this Saturday. This one is going into filling, as it won’t be up to par in 6 days. This is a mushroom you have to get when it’s available. The probability of finding it in good condition on a Thursday or Friday are pretty slim, so when we have it - take advantage. The 30 pounder next to this one was about 2 days too old, so we left it.

05/23/2025

I never would have thought that a demographic like our customers existed here. But as often is the case, I was wrong. The fact that we can get away with doing what we do and people just trust us with it is shocking, considering we live in a place where slogans like ‘have it your way’ are being shoved down our throat every day. Often I hear you guys say things like ‘I don’t usually like that, but since you made it I’ll give it a try’. I guess this is a round about way of saying we are gonna have braised kid agnolotti on the menu again this week. And thanks to all of you for making what we do possible. And John, thanks for the Foie😉. We had a snack today with some of our bread, pickled asparagus and pommegranate vinaigrette.

10/20/2024

Our country gold loaf is based on on the tradional bread from and , and really the entire Puglia region of Italy. Supposedly Apicius wrote about this bread about 2000 years ago. We changed the size and look….and added some local grains, but it is still keeping true to it’s origen. Like all of our breads, we mix and knead the dough entirely by hand. More importantly, we have some new items coming soon - jams and spreads to eat with our bread. Starting this Saturday, at the Old Town Farmer’s Market, we will be offering shenandoah pear preserves, strawberry and long pepper jam, and chestnut spread.

10/12/2024

You can find us at the Old Town Alexandria Farmer’s Market by the mood lighting, every Saturday from 7-12.

10/02/2024