Believe the hype you hear about Fiola Mare. If you love fresh seafood, Italian food, and fresh Italian seafood, you’ll be a kid in an oceanfront candy store. The catch of the day is wheeled out on a cart to be admired tableside while your server goes into great detail about each offering–sourcing, preparation, flavor profile, etc. I haven’t received this kind of attention since my server on Rollerblades walked me through the menu of tater tots and slushies at Sonic.
The fast five to try at Fiola Mare
- Martini fans, sail into dinner with the Le Sirenuse Martini ($15)–deliciously large and unwieldy with vodka, Martini & Rossi Ambrato, dry vermouth, and orange bitters. Get extra olives. You can use them as buoys.
- One pound of grilled wild Rhode Island calamari with spicy Calabrese chilies, olives, capers ($22) is so tender, sweet, and pleasantly salty like a New England summer.
- The lobster ravioli ($60) with ginger and chives is what made Chef Fabio Trabocchi famous and will never leave the menu. Nor should it leave your bucket list.
- If you go during truffle season, don’t miss the chance to get black truffles shaved on a twirl of tagliolini simply tossed with butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano (seasonal). Simply decadent.
- It’s really hard to find room for dessert, but if you do discover an empty pocket deep within your being, fill it with ricotta donuts and maple-flavored “cappuccino” ($14). It’s really the only thing to do.
Mary was born and raised in New York City where her family owned restaurants. Instead of eating dirt on the playground, she ate duck blood, beef tripe and pork belly. She cut her teeth at The Mandarin Oriental and The Ritz-Carlton hotels, working with Barbra Streisand, Vanessa Williams, Michael Stipe, LeVar Burton, Jane Krakowski and others. Mary founded Girl Meets Food in 2009 as a cover for her debilitating addiction to fried chicken and was named Washington Post’s “Favorite Local Foodie.” After 13 years in hospitality, she started freelance writing for USA Today, The Washington Post, Eater, Washington City Paper, and more. Today, she provides digital marketing for hospitality clients as a content creator who’s contently creating content.