A couple we met on our cruise this summer were in DC for the holiday weekend staying out at Tyson's Corner and we asked them to join us in nearby Vienna at Roberto's on Friday night. The menu had changed a lot since out last visit in October, most notably was the holiday set dinner for $110 (that must be ordered by the entire table) that we could not resist. It is called "Chef Roberto's Seven Fish Dinner" and we can't say how simply superb it was and you really need to try this before it is removed from the holiday menu.
We were sorry to see that our regular server for decades, Deborah, had headed home to the UK for the holiday, but Sara and her team did a great job (except for one small item, quickly rectified). we started with our favorite white on the menu the Manincor La Manina from Alto Adige which is a superb blend of pinot blanc, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. I am really excited that we will visit this winery next October when I take a small group for a food and wine tour of the Dolomites! The wine has everything going for it and we polished it off with the starter of Baccala Mantecato con Le Rappe Rosse or Poached Cod whipped with Olive Oil atop Red Beets (of course, there are FB fotos of all). The wine was also good for wolfing down the delicious breads from those peppery grissini to the soft focaccia to the amazing cheese buns; we had to ask for extras.
We knew we had a Calamaro Ripieno con Salsa All'Aglio Nero coming and the Calamari was stuffed with bread and seafood in the most divine yet thick Black Garlic Sauce (a real touch with the white and black contrasts), so we ordered another white suggested by Dmitri and the acidity in the Pala 2021 Vermentino from Sardinia was perfect with the rich sauce. we finished out white with the next course of Zuppa di Zafferano, Vegetale e Cozze which was a superb Saffron Soup of Autumn vegetables with mussels. On arrival Sara had asked about allergies and we repeated our usual dislike of all things licorice, but our guest had a real allergy to bell peppers, which there were in the soup. but we spotted them, and her bowl was whisked away and replaced with the Argentine Shrimp Crudo, a starter off the a la carte menu with spicy green sauce, radish, jalapeno and home-made pickled Chanterelles! I have to say the warm soup was perfect for this coldest of nights in what seemed years as the wind chills were below 0 degrees Fahrenheit and the thermometer was reading single digits.
We needed to move to a red wine that went with the heavier fish dishes and Dmitri agreed with my choice of the BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO, NOTTE, VILLA ELENA 2015 that was drinking as smoothly as could be. Our next course was the Cavatelli con Scungilli, Salsa Neonata Calabrese con Arucola and this was simply divine dish of home-made Ricotta Cavatelli(like gnochhi) with conch, arugula and a kicky Calabrese chile Neonata sauce. The wine was ideal with this to boot.
Our second pasta was just as spectacular with the Raviolo di Aragosta, Ragi di Grancio, Salsa di Aragosta. The single huge raviolo was filled with lobster & Mascarpone cheese, topped with crab ragu and served in a decadent lobster sauce. OMG!! I may have wanted more of both these amazing pasta dishes, but we moved on to the Capesanta Al Tartufo Nero e Spuma di Patate or a Sauteed Sea Scallop with Black truffle on Potato Foam. It sounds light, but it was a filling dish, and we discovered our Barbaresco was gone, so we ordered four glasses of a wonderful Amarone from Tenuta del Sarto. This wine comes in 3L bottles or Jeroboam. It was listed on the menu as 2015, which is great, but still a tad young and we were thrilled to see a 2012 had just been opened. I wish we had ordered the whole Jeroboam!! At $18 a glass this is a STEAL and went truly perfectly with our final fish course of Tonno ai Porcini e Salsa Barbaresco, yes-an Ahi tuna with porcini mushrooms(in a lattice over the tuna) in Barbaresco wine reduction, which of course was a hefty dish and worked brilliantly with the Amarone (or the Barbaresco if you had some left).
Dessert was Tortino di Panettone and I was really worried as I think of dry rock-hard fruitcake when I hear the word panettone, but this was a Warm Panettone pudding in vanilla and caramel sauce, and I quickly gobbled up the yummy dish leaving not a bite left. Limoncello as well as Amaro della Sirene(made locally in DC) were offered as digestifs, and we of course indulged and rolled ourselves out to the car and headed home in the bitter cold.
Chef Roberto Donna never ceases to amaze us all at the table and this meal was one of the best to date since his opening last February. I know there will be many, many more.
