Tarbais beans. Toulouse sausage. Duck confit. And yes, an ample helping of garlic. Francophiles know where we’re going with this. The hearty stew known as cassoulet can be difficult to find stateside.
At Café Tatti in McLean, chef Giovanni Carlo has created his own version of the winter dish. And he’s not sure if he can ever remove it from the menu. “It’s one of the items that drives in new guests,” says the restaurateur, who took over the 45-year-old restaurant with his wife, Sema, last year.
The Carlos say that an emphasis on local, seasonal ingredients is one of the hallmarks of the eatery’s new era. The specials menu is where Giovanni says he has the most fun. Think expertly charred Mediterranean octopus with corn velouté or unctuous bone marrow brightened with sour cherry jam and mint gremolata.
Giovanni hails from Italy, while Sema grew up in Turkey. They met and fell in love while working together at chef Roberto Donna’s famed Galileo in DC. “He’s like a dad for us here away from Italy,” Giovanni says of the owner of Roberto’s Ristorante Italiano in Vienna.
The regular menu reflects Giovanni’s expertise with Italian food as much as his steeping in diverse French dishes. During culinary school in Italy, he staged in France and learned more Gallic techniques from no less than DC celebrity chef Michel Richard.
It’s best to try a few bites from both traditions. That should include Giovanni’s handmade tagliatelle, presented in a nest woven with a meaty ragù that combines pork sausage, veal, and beef with fresh herbs and nutty shaved Parmesan. Get it after a bowl of sweetly sherried onion soup gratinée, as cheesy as it is dense with caramelized alliums.
The Carlos made it a point not to fuss with the restaurant’s cozy, rooster-filled interior, but Sema says that service has gained a touch of ease. “We’re friendly and make you feel at home,” she adds.
More than 40 years into its run, Café Tatti isn’t doing anything to alienate longtime loyalists. But it is bringing in a new generation, eager for cassoulet and Bolognese. Café Tatti, 6627 Old Dominion Dr., McLean
Feature image by Michael Butcher
This story originally ran in our May Issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
