WASHINGTON 鈥� When was walking from the stoop聽of his hotel in Old Town Alexandria to meet the trolley that would take him down to the final block of King Street, he was stopped by a police officer.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e Antonio Carluccio, aren鈥檛 you?鈥� the officer asked the 78-year-old man.
It was somewhat of a celebrity sighting聽for the policeman: His wife is from Dublin, which is home to a few of the more than 100 locations throughout England, Ireland and the Middle East, so he was well acquainted with the Italian market and caf茅.
Spotting Carluccio on King Street isn鈥檛 a rarity, though. He鈥檚 been back and forth between Old Town and London for more than a year, gearing up for his at 100 King Street.
Simon Kossoff, chairman and founder of 颁补谤濒耻肠肠颈辞鈥檚, says the company looked for locations up and down the East Coast, but chose to launch in Alexandria because of the area鈥檚 similarities to home.
鈥淚n the end, we preferred the demographic in Washington. For somebody coming from the UK, it feels quite European,鈥� Kossoff says. 鈥淭his is the biggest opportunity we鈥檝e tried.鈥�
Carluccio, who is originally from a town close to the Alessandria province in Italy, says choosing Alexandria for his stateside debut just seemed right 鈥� even if the location for the artisanal-focused market and restaurant is rumored to be cursed.
It鈥檚 hard to buy into such evil superstitions, however, when baskets of fresh-baked loaves of crusty bread and piles of meringue call to passers-by from the window of the 7,000-square foot operation.
In the market entrance, a counter filled with Italian cheeses greets customers,聽and imported specialty oils, vinegars, wines and pastas line the walls.
鈥淭he authenticity is 300 percent, not only 100 percent, because it鈥檚 my sort of philosophy that Italian food is only very, very good when the products are very good,鈥� says Carluccio about the products sold in his market.
Kossoff adds: 鈥淎 lot of the people who make these products are families, rather than factories.鈥�
To the left of the market鈥檚 entrance is the restaurant, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Diners can expect to see menu items ranging from a colazione (eggs, grilled smoky pancetta, saut茅ed mushrooms, tomato and toasted Italian bread) on the breakfast menu, to bresaola with arugula and shaved Parmesan聽on the antipasti menu, to spaghetti alle vongole in bianco (Neapolitan spaghetti with whole fresh clams, garlic, herbs and chili), osso buco and swordfish on the dinner menu.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very simple Italian food based on quality of product, rather than fancy, difficult cooking; it鈥檚 simple pastas and grills and salads. It鈥檚 not intended to be expensive. It鈥檚 intended to reach to really good quality ingredients,鈥� Kossoff says.
There鈥檚 also an impressive dessert menu, as well as an expansive list of coffees, craft beers and wines. The CEO to the U.S. 颁补谤濒耻肠肠颈辞鈥檚 Cory Waldron says there will soon be a take-away lunch option, with a menu of Italian sandwiches.
Diners can choose to sit on the more casual first floor of the restaurant, or the second, which includes eight seats at the bar of the open kitchen and a mural wall of Florence鈥檚 skyline.
CEO Waldron says while this is the first U.S. location for the UK-based restaurant, she does not see it being the last. In fact, reports a second location is already underway for Rockville鈥檚 new Pike and Rose development, and more could come in the not-too-distant future.
But Carluccio says the brand鈥檚 expansion across the pond is not about making more money 鈥� it鈥檚 about sharing his passion for simple Italian cooking.
鈥淚talian food is to please people, not just to make money with,鈥� he says.
