Like Boston, but better tasting

I don't miss Boston- it's cold and wet and the pizza is too expensive. And everyone looks like Abercrombie went shopping at Hot Topic with mom's credit card. But it is a very pretty city. What does this have to do with DC? Well, just half an hour from our outskirts is an area that looks suspiciously like Boston, minus the Urban Outfitters. I am, of course, talking about historic Frederick, MD, where I recently had some of the best Pasta of my Life.

This is a pretty pretty town- civil war houses, lots of restaurants, quaint storefronts; my god, why haven't I spent every weekend since I moved to DC in Frederick? And best of all, it's home to Venuti's Restaurant. Like Frederick, the inside is just so damn pretty. Wooden floors, nice looking bar, big plate window overlooking (admittedly) nothing much.

The service here was snail-slow, at least half an hour to order the an Australian Shiraz, and another half an hour to place an order, even though we were practically the only people there. The Shiraz was boring, but the wait for the food was worth it- I had penne with a crazy alcoholic red sauce. I'm telling you, this was a Zen tomato experience. These tomatoes were like eating distilled, red, squishy happiness. My dining partners were less thrilled with their pasta with sweet sausage.

Anyway, I highly suggest this place if you have a lot of time on your hands/a chick to impress. I mean, really, any excuse to get to Frederick.