i Ricchi: An Old Timer in Washington DC

Hillary Haziran 26, 2022

1220 19th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036; tel: +1 (202) 835.0459; http://iricchidc.com/

By J.P.

Tasting Bites has recently reviewed Cesco Osteria, Chef Francesco Ricchi’s Bethesda restaurant. Reference is therein made to i Ricchi, the restaurant that Francesco and Christianne Ricchi opened in Washington, DC, in 1989. In mid-2014, I had a quick business lunch at i Ricchi, without paying too much attention to what I was eating. We then thought that we should visit i Ricchi for a more serious meal and that was what we did in early November 2014.

Actually, there were several reasons why we should visit this restaurant. To begin with, i Ricchi had been around for twenty-five years, which is in itself a big achievement. Moreover, the story of Christianne and Francesco is fascinating, as it resembles more a Hollywood movie of the 60’s than real life. As reported in The Hill, Christianne was a young American, art student who went to Florence to study painting and ended up working in the trattoria of her future husband’s mother. Francesco and Christianne married in 1975 and until 1989 they jointly ran the trattoria in Cercina that had been started by Francesco’s grandfather in 1929. In 1989 they moved to Washington, DC and started i Ricchi.

The restaurant became an immediate success, in part because one month after its opening a White House speechwriter chose i Ricchi to celebrate his birthday and among his guests were George and Barbara Bush. In 1992, i Ricchi received the Fine Dining Award from Food &Wine, as one of the top 25 restaurants in America. In 1997, Francesco Ricchi opened Cesco Trattoria and Christianne Ricchi remains as the executive chef of i Ricchi until today.

We had reservations for a Saturday at 7:30 PM and we were not too certain of what exactly we would encounter. The long life of the restaurant could be read as a good sign. However, as i Ricchi is often offering a special bonus of 1,000 points in the Open Table reservation website, this could be an indication that the restaurant had had better days. I am happy to say that overall dinner at i Ricchi surpassed our expectations.

When we arrived the place was almost full and quite lively. This is always reassuring and an important part of a successful experience. Service was attentive and food was good, although nothing rose to the level of outstanding.

Bread service

As appetizers we chose:

Prosciutto casalingo con panserotti (Homestyle imported prosciutto, Florentine bread fritters, strawberries) (J.P.)
Insalata di barbabietola e finocchio (Salad of roasted beets tossed with sliced fennel, faro, toasted almonds, and shaved pecorino laced with fig vinaigrette) (A.M.)

Prociutto casalingo

Beet salad

The prosciutto was good, but I must confess that I was attracted by the "panserotti", described in the menu as Florentine bread fritters. I wanted to know what they tasted like. Searching for panserotti in the web, I noticed that they are generally stuffed but at i Ricchi they were hollow and slightly salted. I believe this was a good choice, as any stuffing would probably not go well with the prosciutto. I would not add strawberries to this appetizer. If you want to add some sweet, my preference would be for the classic melon. Otherwise, it is better to keep it simple.

I was also uncertain about the meaning of the word casalingo. My internet research indicated that there is a prosciutto maker with the name Casalingo, but the word can also mean homemade. I emailed the restaurant about it and Christianne Ricchi was kind enough to reply clarifying that the second interpretation was accurate: “it is usually the typical prosciutto from the region—not the fancier, sweeter and more expensive version, such as San Daniele. It is a nod to our menu at the original Trattoria i Ricchi in Cercina, outside of Florence”.

As main course, we had:

Costolette d’agnello a scottadito (Grilled baby lamb chops marinated in lemon and rosemary) (J.P.). The word scottadito means burned fingers—the lamb chops are so attractive that you eat them hot and burn your fingers.
Filetto alla Zingara (Filet of beef sauteed with roasted red peppers, fresh mushrooms, plum tomatoes and white truffles served with truffled polenta) (A.M.)

Lamb chops

Filetto alla Zingara

The lamb was good. I ordered it medium rare and that was how it came to the table. However, although medium rare, it was slightly dry. The sides were excellent, both the mushrooms that came with the green beans and especially the polenta fritta (the traditional polenta which is cooled, cut and then deep fried).

A.M. was also very happy with her choices of appetizer and main course.

Finally for dessert, we picked:

Biscottini e cantucci col vin santo (Assorted Tuscan cookies served with sweet dipping wine) (J.P.)
Tiramisu (Espresso infused sponge cake layered with mascarpone cream) (A.M.)

Biscottini e cantucci

Tiramisu

Biscottini means small biscotti, i.e., small cookies. In Florence, the word cantucci refers specifically to the almond biscotti, originally from the city of Prato (the cantucci are the three longer cookies in the photo). Those who want to learn more about the subtle and confusing aspects of this nomenclature can check the Wikipedia under biscotti.

To accompany the meal we had a Chianti Rufina, the Nipozzano Riserva, 2010 ($59). It is produced by Marchesi Frescobaldi at one of their estates, the Castello di Nipozzano. Rufina is the most illustrious of the seven regions encompassed by the D.O.C.G. Chianti. More details about the producer can also be found in an interview given to the Wine Searcher in May 2013. The Wine Spectator gives a rating 92 to the Nipozzano Riserva, 2010, and describes the wine by saying that "black cherry, spice, tobacco and earth flavors prevail in this dense red". The Wine Spectator recommends it to be drunk after 2016, but it already tasted very well.