DC scored big when Mike Isabella appointed Jose Adorno chef de cuisine at Graffiato. He’s made the menu more playful and expanded it beyond Italian. You’ll find Carolina gold ribs and kale braised with smoked turkey wings, for example. Jose’s trips to Richmond to open the second location are the genesis of these hints-of-the-South. “Mike told me to go down to connect the dots,” he tells us. “But while I was bringing DC down to Richmond, I picked up on the Southern influences and a brought a little Richmond back up to DC.” Before joining Mike, Jose served as chef de cuisine at Top Chef Winner Kevin Sbraga’s first restaurant in Philadelphia. Last meal in prison: Mom’s lasagna. “No plate, just bring the whole lasagna.”
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