Lupo Verde Alum Is Freshening Up Dupont’s La Tomate | Eater DC

"I note that to mark its 30th anniversary the restaurant hired Italian native Domenico Apollaro—its first Italian head chef—to modernize and add authenticity, and he’s already changed roughly 50% of the menu to bring more sophistication and true Italian flavor. The two-story, 180-seat, wood-heavy dining room sits at the corner where Connecticut Avenue meets R Street with huge windows overlooking Dupont, and Apollaro sees big potential in unused kitchen space where he’s making items from scratch: fresh pastas (including a rigatoni with slow-cooked duck ragout), a gelato machine en route to produce sweets and sorbets on site, and new starters such as suppli (saffron risotto balls with lemon zest and squash veloute) and Romagnolo-style grilled calamari with squid ink vinaigrette. He’s streamlining offerings so ingredients stay fresh, planning an upscale late-night bar menu to extend service to 11 p.m., introducing a monthly tasting menu and more slow-cooking and sous-vide techniques (his sous chef from Lupo Verde has joined), expanding the on-site cafe/prosciutto bar with new sandwiches, and rolling out distinct menus for the main dining room, bar, and cafe; authentic touches like raffling a 22-pound wrapped chocolate at Easter and hosting passport-style family feasts (from lamb to lasagna) underscore his aim to make the Dupont block an Italian-lover’s destination." - Tierney Plumb