Chef Massimiliano Iannozzi opened Duke's--a California themed restaurant-- in 1998 with an ambitious agenda: to build a menu around the emotive qualities of food and drink using the finest seasonal ingredients from around the world. Accordingly, the angus beef is imported from Argentina; the foie gras from the Dordogne in France; the Ahi Tuna from Pacific fisheries; and the wine from California. The menu changes seasonally, and, more recently, the chef has committed to rotate 80 of the most popular dishes from the first 10 years of the restaurant's existence.
The upscale avant-garde decor was designed by Studio Nemesis of Rome.
Sample the tuna sympony--tuna tartare prepared five different ways--then move on to the lobster spaghetti or Duke's ribeye steak. For dessert there is a vanilla souflée and a citrus chiffon along with the usual chocolate temptations. The apple tart comes with cranberry chutney and cinnamon gelato.
In addition to the list of California wines, there is an extensive cocktail menu at Dukes.
Duke's
Viale Parioli, 200
Rome, Italy 00197
011 39 068 066 2455
dukes.it
Kitchy? Yes. Contrived? Carefully. The Crazy Bull Café in Rome is now one of many scattered around Italy. The theme is American Graffiti with red vinyl booths, vintage-looking jukeboxes and the fries and floats that go with them. Dig into a plate-sized t-bone steak and go to town.
Crazy Bull Café
Via Riano, 1/3
Rome, Italy 00191
011 39 063 338 432
crazybull.it
Oliphant may have been the first authentic Tex-Mex restaurant in Rome. Right in the center of the city, it also has the traditional jukebox vibe that says 1960s Middle America to so many. There is also a TV tuned to sports to complete the picture. This is the place to get a fat burrito, some guacamole and chips and a cold American beer. Bring the kids--there's a special menu for them. Tex-Mex also means slow-cooked barbecue and Oliphant has that as well. Mexico is not the only country whose cuisine has migrated north of the border so there are some Argentine specialties like empanadas and pastel de papas--flavorful little potato pies.
Oliphant
Via delle Coppelle, 31
Rome, Italy 00186
011 39 066 861 416
