From neighborhood trattorias to high-end fine dining, Italian food has the power to transport people to another place entirely. Whether you prefer handmade pasta, pizza, tiramisu, or cannoli, Italian dishes have become staples of comfort food throughout the country. What makes Italian food so special is that it brings people together. Over the years, immigrant families have blended traditional recipes with local ingredients, keeping traditions alive while also having the freedom to add a twist to Italian classics.
Whether you're looking for old-school Italian dishes most people haven't heard of or a unique Italian dish you need to try before you die, the restaurants on this list offer it all. When selecting the best Italian restaurants in each state, we considered numerous factors, including prestigious awards and recognition from the likes of Gambero Rosso, the Michelin Guide, and the James Beard Foundation, as well as reviews from local publications. Learn more information about our methodology at the end of the article. For now, here are the best Italian restaurants in every U.S. state.
If you're in Vienna, head to Roberto's Ristorante Italiano. Its chef is a James Beard Award winner, and Gambero Rosso named it as one of the Top Italian Restaurants. The seasonal menu might include salted cod, roasted butternut squash soup, risotto with crab, gnocchi with cheese and pancetta, roasted veal loin chop, tiramisu, gelato, frozen polenta almond cake, and more. You can also come on Wednesdays for lobster night.
robertosva.com
(703) 223-5336
144 Church St NW, Vienna, VA 22180
Annette
and I enjoyed a great wine dinner at Roberto`s Ristorante Italiano in
Vienna/ Virginia with legendary Chef Roberto Donna and the wines of
Amastuola in Puglia/ Italy.
See also:
Dinner with Legendary Chef Roberto Donna at his new Restaurant Roberto's Ristorante Italiano in Vienna/ Virginia
Winemaker Sabrino
Loffredo’s Pietracupa Wines and Chef Roberto Donna’s Food at a Winemaker
Dinner at Alba Osteria in Washington DC, Italy/USA
Invitation
Chef
Roberto Donna and Italian importer Maurizio Farro continue their series
of Sunday wine dinners at 5 pm on October 9 with a celebration of the
Puglia wines of Amastuola. It’s a stunning estate in Italy’s deep South
that’s making head-turning wines.
The cost of the five course
dinner with five matched wines is $105 per person plus tax and tip. You
can reserve your seats via the restaurant’s website at
https://www.robertosva.com/wine-dinner/ or by calling the restaurant at
202-257-0168. If you have any special seating requests (such as having
different groups at the same table), please call Nancy at the restaurant
as well.
Roberto Donna
Chef Roberto Donna moved at about the same time (in the early 1980s)
to the USA as Annette and I did, he from Northern Italy, we from the
Frankfurt region in Germany.
Picture: Christian Schiller and Chef Roberto Donna in 2014. See: Winemaker Sabrino
Loffredo’s Pietracupa Wines and Chef Roberto Donna’s Food at a Winemaker
Dinner at Alba Osteria in Washington DC, Italy/USA
Rather
quickly Roberto became one of the leading chefs of the Washington DC
area, owning restaurants like Galileo and I Matti and several others,
with about 500 employees.
But in 2004 Roberto's fortunes turned sour. Galileo's parent company
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Roberto had to struggle with
financial and legal issues since then. Fortunately he did not go under.
He is still cooking at the highest level.
His latest adventure is
Roberto's Ristorante Italiano on Church Street in Vienna/ Virginia,
owned by Roberto's wife, Nancy Sabbagh, who also runs the service.
Yesterday
evening it was as it has always been at Roberto's restaurants: relaxed,
exquisite food, top Italian wines and excellent service, like in a
trattoria in Turino in the Piemonte area where Roberto spent the first
20 years of his life.
Chef Roberto Donna
(from wikipedia)
Roberto Donna is an Italian chef and restaurateur in Washington D.C.
Donna
was born in Turin, Italy, where he enrolled in culinary school at the
age of 13. He came to the United States at the age of 19, working in an
Italian restaurant on K Street in Washington, D.C.
In 1984, Donna opened Galileo in Dupont Circle, which was an immediate
success. The restaurant only seated 50, and in the early days, even
Vice-President George H.W. Bush could not secure a last-minute
reservation. Donna and his partner Savino Recine opened more casual
trattorias, Primi Piatti, and then I Matti, serving pizza and pasta.
By
the end of the 1990s, Donna's empire grew to 12 restaurants, including
Il Radicchio, Pesce, and Barolo. In 1999, he expanded Galileo into a
neighboring space and opened a restaurant-within-a-restaurant, Il
Laboratorio del Galileo, serving multi-course meals in a small (25-30
seats) dining room, with a glass-walled "showcase" kitchen.
Donna published a cookbook, Cooking in Piedmont, in 1996.
Donna
won the 1996 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic.
The next year, Galileo was named one of the "10 Best Italian Restaurants
in America" by Wine Spectator. The Restaurant Association of
Metropolitan Washington recognized Donna as the "Chef of the Year" in
1990, and the "Restaurateur of the Year" in 1995. Donna was invited to
Rome in 1996 to receive the Insegna del Ristorante Italiano, awarded by
the Italian Government in recognition of serving the best authentic
Italian food outside Italy.
In 2004, Donna's company declared
bankruptcy and his restaurants began to close; Galileo closed in 2006,
and he had no restaurants to his name when Bebo Trattoria closed in
2009. Donna was prosecuted for failing to pay taxes at Bebo, and in
2010, Donna pled guilty to felony embezzlement, receiving a five-year
suspended sentence on condition of probation, good behavior, and
restitution. Donna and his business partners still faced several civil
lawsuits when he returned to the kitchen with the opening of Galileo III
in October 2010. The restaurant closed abruptly after less than one
year.
Amastuola (winetourism.com)
Initially owned by the Prince of Taranto - Giovanni Antonio Orsini,
Masseria Amastuola is located in San Vito del Pizzo, a beautiful Italo -
Greek abbey in Taranto, Italy. The winery is a certified producer of
high-quality organic wines, made with ancient traditions, clubbed with
modern technology and innovative ideas. The wines of Masseria Amastuola
have won several prizes and awards at national and international level.
The Masseria farm has traces of ancient times, dates back to 15th
century. Over the years, the ownership of the winery has been passed to
many a few families. Initially, it was owned by D’Afflitto, and Andrea
D’Afflitto restored the lands and buildings of the winery in the early
1700s. She modernized the structures, built new outbuildings,
established jazzi – a masonry fencing system, built trappeto – an
Apulian oil mill, and cultivated new crops. Today, the Kaiku group of
Montanaro family of Massafra owns Masseria Amastuola, and they have been
managing the winery since 2003.
Maintaining the relationship between territory and nature, the
Montanaro Family practices biological farming techniques and produces a
broad range of rich-quality vines. The family cultivates world class
Primitivo, Aglianico, Syrah, Merlot, and Fiano Minutolo. Masseria
Amastuola also grows Malvasia, Chardonnay, Malvasia, and Sauvignon Blanc
and in total produce delicious red, white and rosé wines, along with
superb dessert and sparkling wines under the Puglia IGP status.
Masseria Amastuola also consists of a charming winery resort, comprising
of 18 rooms and suites to enjoy.
The suites, with a private terrace and overlooking windows, are
well-furnished with modern designs and sophisticated features. It also
offers various exclusive and deluxe rooms that tell a lot about ancient
stories and culture of the Puglia.
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