No. 36: Famoso

Has Chevy Chase’s restaurant curse been broken? Famoso, which opened this fall, may finally put Friendship Heights on the culinary map. It also brings a new regional Italian cuisine to town: the rustic flavors of Emilia-Romagna, home to Parma ham and formaggio de fossa, cheese cured in an underground pit.

These morsels and more are dished up in a dining room both intimate and dramatic, with splashy abstract paintings and orange votive “chandeliers” casting a warm glow. Maître d’ Ralph Fredericks, who most recently was at Coeur d’ Lion, adds to the bonhomie with attentive banter.

Executive chef Gabriele Paganelli, who grew up in Ravenna, seems intent on showcasing the rootsy, satisfying flavors of his native cuisine instead of settling for regional Italian clichés. Yes, you’ll find house-cured meats and a mountainous plate of fritto misto on his sprawling menu, but you’ll also find a risotto with pheasant ragoût, its black-truffle paste “creamed” in a Parmigiano wheel at the table for dramatic effect, and a lowly chicken breast stuffed with truffles and coated with crisp crumbs—a sleeper hit.

Whether the fledgling Famoso will become a dining destination remains to be seen. But there’s nothing wrong with what it already is: a place to be pampered and revel in often-stellar Italian cooking.