Chef and author Mike Isabella, almost buried by copies of his first cookbook, Crazy Good Italian during a launch party at his restaurant Graffiato. Photograph by Jeff Martin.
Mike Isabella, flanked by friends Bryan Voltaggio on the left and Victor Albisu on the right. Voltaggio will soon open a new restaurant, Range, in Chevy Chase Pavilion; Albisu will open Taco Bamba in Falls Church. Photograph by Jeff Martin.
Isabella’s friend chef Bryan Voltaggio cuts into a serving of grilled scallops with fig jam. Jennifer Voltaggio is on the left. Photograph by Jeff Martin.
Mike Isabella signs a copy of his new cookbook for food writer David Hagedorn. Photograph by Jeff Martin.
Crazy Good Italian devotes some pages to meatballs. In the foreground is a meatball pizza that was served as the book party. Photograph by Jeff Martin.
With competition from a Redskins game and a Nationals game, the party started slowly, but after an hour it started to fill up with friends, foodies, food writers, and people who worked with Isabella on Crazy Good Italian. Photograph by Jeff Martin.
Mike Isabella has a laugh with Carol Blymire, who worked with him on his book. Photograph by Jeff Martin.
The party food, naturally, was spectacular. This is asparagus with harissa and goat cheese. Photograph by Jeff Martin.
The party food included charcuterie. What look like little green tomatoes are actually pickles, combined with baby onions. Photograph by Jeff Martin.
Cheeses, including Parmesan and Camembert, accompanied the charcuterie. Photograph by Jeff Martin.
Preparing the little bites of crispy goat that were served with polenta. Photograph by Jeff Martin.
The finished crispy goat with polenta. Photograph by Jeff Martin.
A mixture of olives. Photograph by Jeff Martin.
