Ristorante Bonaroti in Vienna will celebrate its fortieth birthday next year. That longevity is due in large part to decades-long relationships between owner Sergio Domestici and his community. In a post on his personal website back in 2008, former Washington football tight end Chris Cooley referred to Bonaroti as one of his favorite restaurants of all time, not least because of Domestici’s excellent hospitality.
In the post, Cooley also mentioned “the best spaghetti in the world” that he had just enjoyed at the restaurant. It’s now permanently on the menu as Spaghetti Chris Cooley. I’m not swayed easily by a celebrity endorsement, but I am very susceptible to a duo of ground meats. Spaghetti Chris Cooley combines Bolognese sauce with a quartet of meatballs for a double-meat experience. According to Domestici, both the long-stewed sauce and the homemade meatballs are made from veal, so even though I was eating only one meat, it came in satisfyingly varied applications.
The al dente strands of spaghetti are coated in a sweet-and-tangy tomato sauce populated with tiny chunks of ground veal, as well as fresh basil. A refined wash of truffle oil gives the sauce an unexpectedly earthy appeal. It’s subtle, but just enough to make each bite compelling. Then there are the small-but-mighty meatballs. They’re tender, but hold together admirably. They’re flavorful, but never overpower the sauce.
A dollop of mascarpone rests in the middle of the plate, but I felt like it diminished the dish’s power. My instructions: Push aside the mascarpone (or spread it on one of the two varieties of warm bread provided with the meal), and get ready for a spaghetti so enticing that, while comforting, home-cooking is the last thing that will come to mind.
428 Maple Ave. E., Vienna
Feature image by Alice Levitt
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