Last Saturday night, Kari and I went to dinner at Spinasse, a fairly new restaurant in Capitol Hill that specializes in Piemonte food and wine. Justin Neidermeyer, founder and chef at Spinasse, makes fresh artisan pasta daily from scratch for the primi courses, while crafting some amazing antipasti and secondi dishes as well.

Besides making great food, Justin has another talent: preparing open wine bottles "to go" in a style that is going to prompt some restaurants to reconsider their brown bag treatment.

At the end of our delicious meal, we had no idea what was in store for us when we asked our server to prepare our half empty bottle of Nebbiolo for departure. I had assumed she went back to the kitchen to retrieve the standard brown bag. However, after a few minutes, I looked into the open kitchen and noticed that Justin was wrapping up and then tying our wine bottle as if it were a tenderloin being prepared for roasting.

It was a nice capstone to an evening that brought back memories of the trip Kari and I took to the Piemonte years ago, when we spent a summer vacation in Castiglione Falletto. Anyone who has visited the Piemonte would probably find something familiar in Spinasse, whether it's the communal tables, the family style, multi-course meals, or the open kitchen filled with cooks and servers scurrying about.

Kari and I started with two glasses of Piemonte sparkling wine, which we enjoyed with our first antipasti, a thinly slide artisan salami adorned with roasted leeks, which were melt-in-your-mouth goodness. At this point, I was trying to decide between continuing with the variety of wines by the glass/carafe or going with a bottle. Based on the dishes to come, we settled on a bottle of Nebbiolo, which Justin suggested from the kitchen.

Next up was an heirloom chicory salad with marinated guinea hen tossed with parmigiano reggiano and aged balsamic vinegar. Kari and I were both taken with this dish, for it offered such a well integrated, yet distinct, set of flavors and textures. This was followed with our primi dish, the fine hand cut egg pasta with ragu - the artisan pasta was amazing, with just the right amount of meat sauce - it tasted like true Italian pasta.

For our secondi, we chose the braised leg of duck with turnips and greens. The duck was prepared very well and the greens were delicious, but I've got to admit to not being a big fan of turnips. No matter, for these could be pushed aside for more of the delicious braised duck. Dolci consisted of hazelnut meringue cookies and a glass of Moscato, all of which offered a perfect finish to a delightful meal.

In addition to the great food and service we enjoyed, it was the company of strangers to the left and right of us at the communal table that made the meal noteworthy and that much more celebratory. We enjoyed conversation with everyone at our table, and even exchanged glasses of wine and tastes of food along the way. This is how to celebrate a meal, Italian style.

The only downside to all of this goodness was the price, which is to be expected considering the type and quality of food and wines served at Spinasse. I don't see us dining here regularly due to the cost, but for those special occasions, we can't wait to return to Spinasse for more great food, delicious wines, and meaningful conversations around our shared table.