Raia's Italian Market
Raia's Italian Market recently opened for business at 45oo Washington. Congratulations to Luke, Mark and their fine staff.
My wife, Laureen, my daughter, Jennifer, and I visited Raia's Italian Market several weeks ago on a Saturday evening. To our pleasant surprise, after being open only a few weeks, the place was really busy. Nothing says Italian food better than the buzz of conversation, the light clanking of utensils to plate and Dean Martin crooning in the background. Well, that's Raia's!
A quick preview of the menu and I instantly knew what I would order; Chicken Romano. Let me tell you, it was everything I thought it would be. The chicken breast was crusted with pecorino romano cheese and sauteed in a lemon butter wine sauce. The chicken was then topped with artichoke hearts and roasted peppers and served with a side order of pasta. The sharpness of the cheese, the smoky taste of the peppers and the tartness of the lemon butter sauce made each mouthful taste better than the one before.
Laureen enjoyed the Chicken Parmesan and Jennifer ventured a bit and ordered the New Orleans; a pasta dish with a cajun twist. Of course, I sampled each dish and was pleased with each. (Okay, I polished off each dish and made a pig of myself) However, my order, Chicken Romano, was still my favorite. We finished dinner with coffee and some rich cannolis that were reminiscent of ones we used to enjoy at the fine cafes in Little Italy in New York City.
As it was busy, we enjoyed a brief conversation with Luke Raia who informed us more Italian delicacies were planned for the near future. In fact, they would be adding Gelato to their dessert features the following week.
Certainly, we'll be back for more and more and more.
My wife, Laureen, my daughter, Jennifer, and I visited Raia's Italian Market several weeks ago on a Saturday evening. To our pleasant surprise, after being open only a few weeks, the place was really busy. Nothing says Italian food better than the buzz of conversation, the light clanking of utensils to plate and Dean Martin crooning in the background. Well, that's Raia's!
A quick preview of the menu and I instantly knew what I would order; Chicken Romano. Let me tell you, it was everything I thought it would be. The chicken breast was crusted with pecorino romano cheese and sauteed in a lemon butter wine sauce. The chicken was then topped with artichoke hearts and roasted peppers and served with a side order of pasta. The sharpness of the cheese, the smoky taste of the peppers and the tartness of the lemon butter sauce made each mouthful taste better than the one before.
Laureen enjoyed the Chicken Parmesan and Jennifer ventured a bit and ordered the New Orleans; a pasta dish with a cajun twist. Of course, I sampled each dish and was pleased with each. (Okay, I polished off each dish and made a pig of myself) However, my order, Chicken Romano, was still my favorite. We finished dinner with coffee and some rich cannolis that were reminiscent of ones we used to enjoy at the fine cafes in Little Italy in New York City.
As it was busy, we enjoyed a brief conversation with Luke Raia who informed us more Italian delicacies were planned for the near future. In fact, they would be adding Gelato to their dessert features the following week.
Certainly, we'll be back for more and more and more.
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