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08/19/22

Best Italian Restaurant in Every State

By Colman Andrews, 24/7 Wall St

According to a 2019 YouGov survey, Italian cuisine comes in at No. 1 among “America’s favorite foods from around the world.” Other surveys, admittedly, put Italian in second or third place, after Mexican and/or Chinese, but nobody can disagree that pasta and pizza and such form a major part of our diet. The average American eats approximately 20 pounds of pasta a year, in fact, and 23 pounds of pizza.

It would be hard to find any city or town in the country that doesn’t have at least one Italian restaurant and/or pizzeria. National Geographic reported earlier this year that about 100,000 of America’s 800,000 or so restaurants served Italian food of one kind or another. According to other sources, an estimated three-quarters of this number specialize in pizza. And these are the 25 best pizza places in America.

To determine the best Italian restaurant in every state, 24/7 Tempo reviewed and extrapolated from lists and rankings on numerous food and general interest sites, including EaterYelpThe Daily MealFodorsBusiness InsiderForbes, and Gayot, as well as a wide range of regional and city-specific sites.

The results reveal a vast and varied landscape of Italian and Italian-American cooking. There are places that strive for authenticity and preserve tradition, like Felix Trattoria in Venice, California, but also high-end restaurants creating imaginative variations on the theme, like Scampo in Boston. Some establishments work regional ingredients into the mix, like Domenica in New Orleans, while others are unapologetically old-fashioned red-sauce eateries serving comfort food Italian style — sometimes including one or more of these 10 “Italian” dishes that aren’t really Italian.

 

Alabama: Bottgega
> Location: Birmingham
> Sample menu items: Tortellini with Gulf crab, squash, and lemon; chicken scaloppine with capers and polenta

 

Alaska: In Bocca al Lupo
> Location: Juneau
> Sample menu items: Garlic-blasted Caesar salad; Yukon gold potato gnocchi with sockeye salmon puttanesca

Arizona: Virtu Honest Craft

> Location: Scottsdale
> Sample menu items: Burrata with fresh figs; smoked duck breast with black garlic soubise

Arkansas: Ermilio’s Italian Home Cooking

> Location: Eureka Springs
> Sample menu items: Choice of pastas with Mom’s Homemade Meatballs in red sauce; chicken parmesan

California: Felix Trattoria

> Location: Venice
> Sample menu items: Panzanella (Tuscan bread salad); house-made orecchiette with sausage and broccoletti

 

Colorado: Frasca Food & Wine

> Location: Boulder
> Sample menu items: Ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms; calamarata pasta with squid and Calabrian chiles

Connecticut: La Marea Ristorante

> Location: Old Saybrook
> Sample menu items: Insalata riccia con fave e pancetta (frisée salad with favas and pancetta); zuppa de pesce (mixed seafood stew)

 

Delaware: Taverna
> Location: Newark and Wilmington
> Sample menu items: Crispy meatball pizza; grilled spicy shrimp with zucchini and lemon vinaigrette

Florida: Cecconi’s

> Location: Miami Beach
> Sample menu items: Vitello tonnato with caperberries; veal milanese

Georgia: La Tavola Trattoria
> Location: Atlanta
> Sample menu items: Agnolotti with corn, mascarpone, and oyster mushrooms; pork belly with cannellini beans and braised kale

 

Hawaii: Taormina Sicilian Cuisine
> Location: Honolulu
> Sample menu items: Shrimp and scallop bruschetta; porcini risotto with sautéed foie gras

 

Idaho: Alavita

> Location: Boise
> Sample menu items: Squid ink bucatini; red-wine-braised short ribs with creamy polenta

Illinois: RPM Italian

> Location: Chicago
> Sample menu items: Roman-style artichokes with lemon aioli; Mama DePandi’s bucatini with tomatoes and basil

 

Indiana: Galo’s Italian Grill

> Location: Richmond
> Sample menu items: Penne carbonara with grilled chicken; gorgonzola New York strip steak with grilled shrimp

Iowa: Centro

Location: Des Moines

Sample menu items: Pancetta-wrapped shrimp; spicy sausage rigatoni

 

Kansas: The Basil Leaf Cafe
> Location: Lawrence
> Sample menu items: Sausage and arborio rice arancini; deconstructed lasagna

 

Kentucky: Pompilio’s
> Location: Newport
> Sample menu items: Toasted beef or cheese ravioli; veal marsala with linguine

 

Louisiana: Domenica

> Location: New Orleans
> Sample menu items: Smoked swordfish carpaccio; Gulf shrimp risotto

 

Maine: Ports of Italy

> Location: Boothbay Harbor and Rockport
> Sample menu items: Bang Island mussels with sambuca; osso buco with risotto milanese

Maryland: Aldo’s

> Location: Baltimore
> Sample menu items: Point Judith calamari fritti; linguine with clams

 

 

Massachusetts: Scampo
> Location: Boston
> Sample menu items: Burnt orange and tomato risotto with crisped soft shell crab; charcoaled “sugar cane” veal ribeye with stracciatella ravioli

 

Michigan: SheWolf Pastificio & Bar
> Location: Detroit
> Sample menu items: Sformato di zucchine (savory zucchini custard); paccheri pasta with spicy lamb neck ragù

 

Minnesota: Broders’ Pasta Bar
> Location: Minneapolis
> Sample menu items: Roasted whole garlic with spicy tomato jam; carrot gnocchi with chicken and olives

 

Mississippi: The Sicilian II
> Location: Biloxi
> Sample menu items: Shrimp Alfredo pizza; chocolate chip cannoli

Missouri: Casa Don Alfonso
> Location: St. Louis
> Sample menu items: Grandma’s ziti with anchovies and cherry tomatoes; veal pizzaiola

 

Montana: Michelangelo’s Big Sky
> Location: Gallatin Gateway
> Sample menu items: Grilled portabella mushrooms with herb polenta and goat cheese sauce; saltimbocca alla romana with risotto cake

 

Nebraska: MoMo Pizzeria & Ristorante
> Location: Lincoln
> Sample menu items: Prosciutto and egg pizza; garlic-butter walleye with spinach and tomato risotto

 

Nevada: Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar
> Location: Las Vegas
> Sample menu items: Pasta e fagioli; coniglio brasato (braised rabbit) with polenta and roasted mushrooms

 

New Hampshire: Campo Enoteca
> Location: Manchester
> Sample menu items: House-made ricotta with grilled sourdough; chicken piccata tagliatelle

 

New Jersey: Cafe 2825
> Location: Atlantic City
> Sample menu items: Spicy scungilli; Sunday Gravy (homemade meatballs, pork braciole, and Italian sausage in Old World thick red gravy)

 

New Mexico: Osteria d’Assisi
> Location: Santa Fe
> Sample menu items: Penne alla carbonara; braised buffalo short ribs with polenta

 

New York: Via Carota
> Location: New York City
> Sample menu items: Peas with lettuce and prosciutto; grilled sea bream with charred escarole

 

North Carolina: Ristorante Paoletti
> Location: Highlands
> Sample menu items: Smoked risotto with mushroom ragù; grilled North Carolina rainbow trout Adriatico style

 

North Dakota: Anima Cucina
> Location: Bismarck
> Sample menu items: Lardo crostini; spicy shrimp spaghetti

 

Ohio: Martini Modern Italian
> Location: Columbus
> Sample menu items: Tomato soup with pesto and goat cheese; fettuccine with clams

South Dakota: Sabatino’s Italian
> Location: Rapid City
> Sample menu items: Caprese salad; gnocchi al pesto

 

 

Tennessee: Yolan
> Location: Nashville
> Sample menu items: Farinata (chickpea flour crêpe) with squash conserva; bucatini all’amatriciana

 

Texas: Lucia
> Location: Dallas
> Sample menu items: Baked rigatoni with ‘nduja, bread crumbs, and stracciatella; pork shoulder cooked in hay

 

Utah: Valter’s Osteria
> Location: Salt Lake City
> Sample menu items: Zuppa cotta (cannellini beans, mushrooms, and truffles); chicken piccata with artichokes and lemon sauce

Vermont: Sarducci’s
> Location: Montpelier
> Sample menu items: Linguine al pescatore (with shrimp, cod, and mussels); vitello alla parmigiana

 

Virginia: Edo’s Squid
> Location: Richmond
> Sample menu items: Squid with arugula, garlic, and lemon; sausage, polenta, and beans

 

Washington: Cafe Juanita
> Location: Kirkland
> Sample menu items: Risotto with corn and raw spot prawns; wagyu New York strip with romano beans and chanterelles

 

West Virginia: Fazio’s
> Location: Charleston
> Sample menu items: Baked manicotti; chicken cacciatore with mostaccioli in meat and mushroom sauce

 

Wisconsin: Ristorante Bartolotta
> Location: Wauwatosa
> Sample menu items: Gianfuttiri (Calabrian vegetable stew); cappone arrosto (slow-roasted capon)

Wyoming: Glorietta Trattoria
> Location: Jackson
> Sample menu items: Lobster Fra’ Diavolo with tagliatelle; Snake River Farms porchetta with escarole and white beans

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