Carmine’s, the New York City Italian restaurant known for its big family-style platters which opened a D.C. outpost in Penn Quarter in 2010, marks its D.C. restaurant’s 12th anniversary in August. It said D.C. diners really like meatballs and garlic — and giant desserts.
By its count, the Carmine’s D.C. restaurant has served 746,998 beef and veal meatballs since opening.
It said it has gone through 200,520 pounds of garlic and 369,600 pounds of grated romaine cheese too.
And 13,080 orders of the Titanic, its giant banana split dessert, with six scoops of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, two caramelized bananas, a chocolate torte, whipped cream, strawberries, candied pineapple, hazelnuts, cookies and hot fudge. At $28.95, it is a shareable indulgence.
Carmine’s, at 425 7th Street, NW, is one of D.C.’s largest restaurants, with seating for up to 750 diners at any one time. It has nine private dining rooms, and on a typical day it serves anywhere from 1,200 to 2,800 people. It is also one of the top-billing restaurants in D.C. for sales.
The restaurant reopened in June 2021, after being closed for 15 months at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The original Carmine’s opened in 1990 on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. It also has restaurants in Times Square, Atlantic City, Las Vegas and Atlantis.
