Back at Chef Roberto Donna's table.
Annette Schiller Maureen Kelly Fuad Issa and I spent a wonderful evening at Roberto's Ristorante Italiano in Vienna/ Virginia, a new venture of iconic Chef 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.
The Dinner at Roberto`s Ristaurante Italiano
Prosecco
Antipasti
Caprese Salad Local heirloom tomato, buffalo mozzarella, compressed watermelon, basil pesto $20
Fried Zucchini Blossoms Ricotta, parmesan, mint, tomato coulis, spring salad $19
Yellowfin Tuna Crudo Thinly sliced tuna, burrata sauce, tomato jelly, sesame, pesto $24
Octopus Black olive, capers, baby spinach, pesto, potato foam $22
Prosciutto & Figs Prosciutto di Parma, black figs, smoked burrata, honey $22
Clams and Sausage Sautéed little neck clams with spicy pork sausage and turnip greens $20
Summer Peach Soup Local peaches, diced local bell peppers, poached shrimp $22
Chianti
Paste
Black Ink Tagliolini Al’ Aragosta Maine lobster chunks, poached in tomato cream sauce $44
Gnocchi con il Ragu Salsiccia Italian pork sausage, red wine tomato sauce, onion $27
Beet Tortelloni Straciatella, yellow tomato sauce, parmesan $28
Risotto Ai Gamberi Tomato, shrimp, smoked burrata, local farm herbs $36
Fettuccine alla Parmigiana Semolina fettuccini tossed table-side in parmesan $30
Pietanze
Roasted Alaskan Halibut Fennel, confit tomato, tomato water, fennel pollen $38
Mediterranean Whole Roasted Branzino Potato confit, tomato, basil, olives $38
Roasted Mulard Duck Breast and Figs Swiss chard, fingerling potatoes, carrots, Vin Cotto sauce $40
Veal Tenderloin Polenta, beets, spinach, wild mushroom cream sauce $44
Demkota Ranch Beef Rib Eye (For 2) Seared Rib Eye, roasted turnips, baked sliced potato, garlic Swiss chard $125
Soft Shell Crab Squid ink fettuccine, broccolini, garlic, tempura fried soft shell crab. $38
Dolce
Baked Lemon Ricotta Cake Tomato marmalade, tomato cookie, tomato ice cream $12
Hazelnut Chocolate Bar Lemon Mousse, vanilla gelato, milk chocolate crémeux $12
Warm Seasonal Fruit Tart White chocolate Cremoso, caramel sauce $12
Semifreddo Al Miele Honey semifreddo, fig sauce, fresh fig, lemon crisp $12
Espresso $4
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