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Very Best Restaurants: I Ricchi

Very Best Listing | Very Best by Cuisine | Very Best by Location

I Ricchi ***
Washington, $$

Once unique for devoting its menu almost exclusively to the simple regional specialties of Tuscany, this greenery-filled trattoria has, in the last few years, expanded its long list of daily specials to include many dishes from other Italian regions.

Start with a basket of superb house-baked breadsthe rough-crumbed schiacciata, topped with a dew of olive oil, a pinch of herbs, coarse salt, and thin slices of cherry tomatoes is superb. End with a dessert of almond cookies meant to be dipped into a glass of liquorous vin santo.

Fill the space between with the traditional dishes that distinguish i Ricchi from the rest of the Italian competition: a plate of prosciutto accompanied by deep-fried crescents of air-puffed dough; ribollita, a vegetable soup thick as porridge, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled with Parmesan; wide ribbons of pasta tossed with a rich rabbit ragu; a free-range chicken, its skin crisp and smoke-scented from the wood-fired grill; a combination platter of several roasted meats.

Although seafood is foreign to the land-locked Florentine region that inspires i Ricchi, the cuts of fish here, lightly crusted with crumbs and accurately cooked on the wood-fired grill, are very good.

I Ricchi , 1220 19th St. NW, Washington; 202-835-0459. Open Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday for dinner. MapIt!

QUALITY: ****Excellent; *** Superior; **Very Good; * Good
PRICE RANGE: $$$= Very Expensive; $$ Expensive; $=Moderate; ¢=Inexpensive

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