Chevy Chase newcomer I’m Eddie Cano brings the neighborhood a retro respite to sample Italy’s greatest pasta hits and knock back Vespers — the martini made famous by James Bond — all while Italian film stars like Sophia Loren watch over diners below.
“We pulled from that romantic era of 1970s Italy of Vespas and espressos — a peak time of Italian culture that really boomed in America at that time,” says executive chef James Gee, a former ThinkFoodGroup executive chef at Jaleo and China Chilcano.
The mod 60-seat restaurant (5014 Connecticut Avenue NW), accented by pops of black, white, and red, is the first-time venture from Gee and Massimo Papetti (Assaggi Osteria, Cafe Milano), who met while working at East Hampton’s celebrity-packed Cittanuova restaurant in the mid-2000s.
Over the years, Italian-born Papetti took Gee on several trips home to carb country to expose the chef to his native cuisine. The ultimate goal was to open an Italian-American restaurant together one day. Diners are encouraged to say the name of the restaurant, I’m Eddie Cano, three times to reveal its meaning: the phonetic pronunciation of “Americano” in Italian.
The two-fold menu highlights each owner’s background, with Americanized Italian dishes (chicken parmigiana and spaghetti and meatballs) on one side and authentic Italian staples on the other. Think: bucatini all ‘Amatriciana and spaghetti cacio e pepe, common orders at trattorias in Rome, or steak alla Fiorentina pulled from Tuscany.
A full bar in one corner features cocktails, prosecco, and wine on tap, alongside Italian and local beer. Papetti’s wife Carolyn, a certified Italian sommelier, helped create the wine list; there’s 25 varieties priced from $30 to $70 per bottle.
FINAL MENU 9.16.18 by Tierney Plumb on Scribd
The owners say they’d like to open three restaurants together in the next five years — but for now, I’m Eddie Cano has their full attention.
“That is our dream, part two. I have lots of ideas. I’ve been cooking different cuisines my whole life — my heritage is Chinese and Italian so maybe Chinese is in the future,” says Gee.
I’m Eddie Cano is open six days a week (closed Monday) starting at 5 p.m., until 10 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday and Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m., with the bar open an hour later every night. Following a soft opening mode for friends and family this week, the restaurant will officially open for dinner service on Tuesday, October 9.