Esquire Names Fiola Among Its Best New Restaurants

Esquire magazine released its annual list of best restaurants in America today and congrats are in order for Fabio Trabocchi and his new restaurant Fiola. The restaurant, which opened back in April in Le Paradou's former Penn Quarter space that the magazine acknowledges is locally thought of as jinxed. But, Esquire proclaims, "It is jinxed no more," adding that Trabocchi infuses "classic Italian dishes with his own sense of the sublime." Restaurant features writer John Mariani also cites a mozzarella-stuffed squash blossom fritters appetizer and Trabocchi's signature lasagna vincisgrassi among the reasons for choosing the restaurant that he calls "part traditional, part audacious."

While Trabocchi was very warmly welcomed back to Washington after the chef departed for New York, Fiola received less-enthusiastic-than-expected reviews from local critics, earning 2.5 stars from both Todd Kliman and Tom Sietsema. That said, it's the only Washington, DC, restaurant to grace the list, which is unsurprisingly full of New York restaurants. Eater National has the full list.

· Esquire's 20 Best New Restaurants of 2011 [-EN-]
· Fiola [Esquire]
· All Previous Fiola Coverage [-EDC-]

[Photo: AJ Chavar/Eater.com]