Lunchtime Losses

I have no interest in sports whatsoever, but nevertheless, I still have pride in my alma mater, Fordham University. Unfortunately, my coworker's pride in GW was better-placed, as it caused her to win our wager on who would triumph in last week’s basketball game. The winner got to choose today's lunch spot - and the loser had to pay. But as another coworker who came along for the ride observed, there really were no winners this afternoon.

My friend’s choice was Napoli (or “Crappoli,” as she maturely christened it later), an Italian restaurant in the second floor at the intersection of Thayer and Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring. The restaurant offers a $5.99 lunch buffet, which sounded promising. Perhaps, though, we should have taken the fact we were the only patrons in the restaurant as a negative sign.

Entrée choices for the buffet included overcooked penne with a lackluster alfredo sauce; similarly overdone spaghetti marinara with a side of diced ham which I avoided entirely; a seafood concoction none of us could identify (it appeared to include clams and artichokes, but if I bet money on it, my losing streak could certainly continue); and pale slices of chicken floating on top a bed of capers (those were edible). A haphazard, messy-looking salad bar with minimal and largely unappetizing toppings was also included. They did make a decent balsamic dressing; no complaints there. Later in our lunch, added to the buffet were bread (served without butter or olive oil, but at least it seemed fairly fresh) and pizza with gobs of cheese reminiscent of elementary school cafeterias.

I’d like to think the place was having an "off" afternoon, but with no single dish making a positive impression, my skepticism is winning out. Worse, it took us 10 minutes to flag down our waitress for the check. The reason? She was sitting at the bar, talking on her cellular phone, her back to us.

As an almost-comical conclusion, my coworker noticed something suspicious crawling along the surface of a neighboring table. The meal became a cliché as we spotted a cockroach inhabiting the premises. My friend joked that the bug was wise enough to stay away from the table which actually contained food.

So Napoli was a disappointment. Perhaps my Fordham pride, which forced me to pay for a bad meal twice, is also inhibiting my enjoyment of local Italian food, as I long for the restaurants of Fordham’s neighboring Arthur Avenue.

But after my last mediocre Italian experience, I’m wondering if the city which excels at Ethopian, Indian and even Burmese has one type of food it just hasn't mastered yet. Has anyone else found Italian in Silver Spring worth boasting about? I really don’t want to have to settle for the Macaroni Grille.