The dish: Pomodoro soup

The location: Domaso Trattoria Moderna in the Hotel Palomar Arlington, 1121 N. 19th St., Arlington, (703) 351-1211.

The price: $6

The skinny: Ordering tomato soup in winter is not the act of lunacy it would seem on the surface. Think about it: How many bowls of tomato soup have you wolfed down with a triangle of grilled cheese on a cold December day? Pappa al Pomodoro is a hearty Tuscan soup that, thankfully, requires neither fresh tomatoes nor fresh bread. The new (and hard-to-find) Domaso Trattoria Moderna in the Hotel Palomar Arlington—-for the record, take the elevator to the fourth floor and keep turning right—-does a terrific version of this traditional bread soup. Trust me, it’s far better than anything you ever heated up from a Campbell’s can as a kid. The soup is a thick, velvety puree—-not a lumpy mass like many pomodoros—-and it comes with concentric circles of olive oil and several housemade spinach gnocchetti. At first, the soup hits your tongue all smooth and slightly tart, but then the heat kicks in. It’s the kind of pepper blast that demands respect. It’s also the kind that warms you up inside, no matter how cold it is outside.