PRICE:
Frommer's Exceptional

As the owner of what has long been considered the best Italian restaurant in the country, Rogerio Fasano doesn't seem the least bit intimidated about living up to expectations. It helps to have a beautiful restaurant. Located in the Fasano hotel, the dining room combines black marble and dark furniture with exquisite lighting to create an intimate and warm ambience. The mainstay of the menu is dishes from northern Italy, more specifically Lombardy, from where the Fasanos originally hailed. However, over the last few years, chef Salvatore Loi has been diversifying the menu with dishes from other Italian regions. Start off with a traditional tomato soup with prawns and Italian bread or try the antipasto. Pasta courses include favorites such as the delicate pumpkin tortelli, a hearty duck ravioli in orange sauce, or try one of the risottos with Tuscan sausage and white beans or with marinated tuna. For mains, the menu offers excellent meat and seafood options. Choose from classic veal cutlets, roasted lamb, filetto alla Rossini with foie gras and truffles, or perhaps a lighter choice, the grilled tuna steak with Sicilian lemon. Diners can also opt for the five-course tasting menu and let Chef Salvatore take them on a gastronomic journey around Italy.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Brazil, 4th Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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