Ask any Italian food expert about spaghetti carbonara and they’ll tell you that the Roman classic features just five ingredients: spaghetti, guanciale (cured pork jowl), eggs, pecorino Romano, and black pepper. Basically, it’s a cheesy bacon-and-egg sauce. One thing that you will not see in an Italian carbonara is cream.
That’s not true at Carbonara Old School Italian & Wine Bar in Ballston. The new Italian restaurant from chef Mike Cordero, the man behind local favorites like Taco Rock and Bronson Bierhall, benefits from a bit of cream in many dishes. From the carbonara, finished in a cheese wheel by a young man skilled with a blowtorch, to the chicken Parmigiana, it’s all awash in the white stuff. Overkill? Maybe. But darned if we (and the dishes) are not richer for it.
But first, there’s bread. Restaurants with free bread service are dwindling, so the fluffy focaccia and crusty rolls are appreciated. Even better, they’re served with warm tomato sauce and saline olive tapenade.
There are many appealing appetizers at Carbonara, from arancini to artichoke piccata, but I didn’t have to think hard about my choice. Last summer, I became obsessed with the idea of stuffed banana peppers. I had yet to try them, but Cordero serves a version at his new restaurant that features Italian long hot peppers. The spicy cured capsicums are filled with aged provolone and fennel-dotted pork sausage, then baked in marinara. For diners seeking a bit of heat with their Italian comfort food, scooping the stretchy cheese from its tomato bath is unmissable.
But back to the cream. The menu includes a traditional veal Parmigiana, but for those seeking something extra, I recommend the chicken Parmigiana alla vodka. Served with a twirl of impeccably al dente spaghetti, the fried chicken breast arrives plain. A server pours the thick, orange vodka sauce over the chicken at the table, along with a soft blob of mozzarella.
But not everything at Carbonara is pure excess. The more refined Tortelloni di Michael comprises pasta stuffed with shreds of braised brisket in a creamy brown-butter-and-mushroom sauce. It reminded me of some of chef Fabio Trabocchi’s most indulgent creations at Sfoglina, a compliment of the highest order.
There’s no skipping dessert at Carbonara, even if your stomach says you should. The tiramisu is large, soft, and all too easy to finish beneath its dusting of cocoa powder. When choosing an Italian restaurant in NoVA, Carbonara is already among the cream of the crop.
3865 Wilson Blvd., Arlington
See this: Watch the team extrude pasta in the open kitchen, or order the bucatini carbonara to bring the action right to your table.
Eat this: Italian long peppers, chicken Parmigiana alla vodka, Tortelloni di Michael
Feature image by Alice Levitt
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