4 minute read
Home Plate
Prize Pies
One taste of the Margherita pizza at A Modo Mio, with its puffy, charred crust, wisps of fresh basil and soupy center of buffalo mozzarella cheese and San Marzano tomato sauce, and it’s easy to understand why the Arlington pizzeria was named one of 2023’s 50 best in the U.S. by 50 Top Pizza, an Italian guide that annually ranks the world’s best pies.
A Modo Mio, which means “in my fashion,” opened in October 2020 as a rebranding of Joe’s Place Pizza and Pasta, an Italian restaurant known for its pasta and salad buffet that had operated in the same space on Langston Boulevard since 1985. The pandemic necessitated a pivot away from the buffet model, so the owners— McLean resident Rosario Farruggio and his brother, Vincenzo—decided to emulate Il Canale, the full-service restaurant their uncle, Joe Farruggio, opened in Georgetown in 2010.
They acquired a liquor license, added a bar to the space (which seats 130 inside and 24 outside) and welcomed Falls Church resident Antonio Biglietto, who served as Il Canale’s chef and pizzaiolo from 2010 to 2014, as a partner. Biglietto imported a pizza oven from Italy and had his pies certified as Vera Pizza Napoletana, an Italian designation of authenticity awarded to pizzerias adhering to strict Neapolitan tradition. To achieve VPN certification, pizzas must be cooked in 90 seconds or less in an 800- to 900-degree oven using only certain types of (mostly) Italian ingredients.
Biglietto’s devotion to quality extends to the entire menu. Try the creamy “violet” burrata ($15) on a bed of thinly sliced beets; bucatini croquettes ($11) stuffed with Bolognese sauce, peas and mozzarella; and the ethereal gnocchi ($19), tossed in a silken tomato sauce laced with mozzarella, Parmesan and fresh basil. Twenty red and white pizzas are offered in personal ($11 to $20) or family ($21 to $34) sizes. amodomiopizza.com
Lao Factor
Chef Seng Luangrath, a leader of the Lao food movement, has moved her blockbuster Lao restaurant Padaek from its original Falls Church location to the former Delia’s restaurant space in Arlington Ridge, preserving its menu and adding regional Thai and Burmese dishes. (The previous location is now home to a fast-casual version of Padaek called Met Khao). That’s all good news, but the best news of all is that my favorite dish, naem khao thadaeu—crispy coconut rice salad with peanuts, lime juice, cilantro, scallions and chilies served with green lettuce wraps—is available at both places. padaekdc.com
Liquid Gold
There’s gold in the Sabina Hills between Tuscany and Rome, but it comes in the form of olive oil. That’s what Washington-Liberty alumna Julia Franchi Scarselli discovered when visiting her father, who moved there from Rome in 2009. In fact, oil has been produced in this region for centuries—Emperor Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire, sold the “gold of Rome” throughout the ancient world starting around 12 BC.
As a sophomore at Smith College in 2016, Scarselli won a competition for women entrepreneurs. Her business plan was to create a collective of Sabina farmers—most of whom own between 100 and 200 olive trees passed down through generations—process the oil in a central location and sell it mostly by subscription. She named the organic, cold-pressed oil Libellula (“dragonfly” in Italian) as a testament to its purity. “Dragonflies can’t survive where air is contaminated with chemicals,” she maintains.
After graduating from Smith in 2018, Scarselli devoted more time to the venture and established an American LLC in 2022. Her father, Camillo, oversees production and development for Libellula while she tends to sales and marketing from Geneva, where she works in the climate policy field. The oil is available in three sizes (50, 375 or 500 ml) and two varieties. The “classico” ($8-$38) is for everyday use while the “riserva” ($10$44) is used as a finishing oil.
“Riserva is made when the olives are still green and have less juice,” Scarselli explains. “It’s greater in omega-3 fatty acids and has a peppery, rich flavor.”
As a holiday treat for your favorite cook, consider a two-bottle gift box ($74-$82) or an adopt-a-grove subscription ($68 per month) that includes monthly shipments of Sabina gold. The Italian Store sells Libellula olive oil at its two Arlington locations. libelluladopt.com
