NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

What’s a nice Iranian boy doing dishing Southern Italian pasta on the periphery of Old Town Alexandria?

Amassing an army of stuffed-to-the-gills regulars. That’s what.

Michael Nayeri opened his modest eatery on Christmas Eve 2003, the culmination of a dream that began when he met then-up-and-coming chef Roberto Donna in 1982 whilst the two were working at D.C.’s Romeo and Juliet restaurant.

When the ambitious Donna established Galileo in 1984, Nayeri jumped ship to join him. He spent the next 20 years assisting Donna in nearly every capacity possible (from server to wine buyer), absorbing all the knowledge he could about the multifaceted hospitality trade.

During that hands-on education, Nayeri became fully versed in all things Northern Italian (Donna is a proud Torino). But when it was time to stake out on his own, Nayeri realized that he preferred the plainspoken preparations and fresh ingredients encapsulated in Southern Italian cuisine.

“I only know Italian food,” he says of his natural inclination to open an Italian restaurant of his own.

So far, his instincts appear to be dead on.

The quaint corner lot looks like nothing more than an industrial park office/storage space from the outside. But inside, the place is always abuzz with gregarious families passing plates around, chatty singles airing out their dirty laundry (She: “I’m a little too old to have kids, but I’m not too old, if you know what I’m saying.” He: nodding dumbly) and couples who eat in near-silence as they savor each dish that’s placed before them.

A semi-private rear dining room is decorated with frescos of peasants at market, assorted tile and ceramic crafts and a peek-a-boo glance at the restaurant’s glass-encased cellar. The much less formal front area splits space with the kitchen/host station, but still features enough room for some welcoming booths and free-floating tables.

Nayeri said regulars probably account for about 60 to 65 percent of his weekday business, but ballparked that maybe half the weekend traffic is new patrons/walk-in customers.

Meanwhile, the bar remains a locals-only playground. “The bar business is very steady regulars,” he says.

The only real advantage the bar stools have over the regular chairs is that you can enjoy the recently unveiled thin-crust pizzas during dinner (the made-to-order, Neapolitan-style are only served tableside at lunch).

Otherwise, the full menu is available at every seat in the house.

The lentil soup fails to impress on a chilly night (quality beans, but the watery base disappoints). A bite of fresh tomato-and-mozzarella bruschetta fares much better, the crunchy baguette, juicy tomatoes and not-quite-melted cheese working in concert to awaken the senses and very much open the appetite.

The salami-and-cheese carte proves to be a newcomer worth exploring. The rotating roster of nearly two dozen cured meats and international dairy products (gorgonzola dolce delivered unchecked creaminess tempered by moderate sweetness; a medium-bodied patacabra made believers out of some goat cheese virgins), invites patrons to create custom single, three-, four- or five-piece samplers with plenty of snacking appeal.

Non-do-it-yourselfers can ease right into eating with a ration of meatballs balanced atop polenta—the enticing pork and veal rounds already doused in herby marinara, with a sea of butter- and stock-charged grains begging to be scooped up beneath them.

Chubby rigatoni cuddle up to what seems like a pound of crumbled Italian sausage—which would be plenty spicy on its own, but skyrockets up the Scoville scale thanks to a generous helping of roasted red peppers and crushed red pepper flakes (so hot, yet so good).

A zesty stock predicated upon assorted herbs and abundant garlic provides the perfect backdrop for a seafood linguine boasting large, wine-soaked shrimp, anemic calamari rings (least exciting component of the bunch) and glossy, propped-open mussels.

The kitchen shows off its seafood savvy with a gorgeous roast branzino prepared with nothing more than lemon juice and sea salt. The crackling filet arrives drizzled with an invigorating lemon-butter sauce (less cloying than traditional béarnaise, but just as rich) and flanked by an aromatic mound of sauteed fennel (the shaved bulb bears the stamp of fresh oregano and olive oil).

“People just love the branzino,” Nayeri says of the seasonal favorite.

He says the kitchen always keeps fresh salmon and scallops on hand (purchased locally), and notes that he regularly scours seafood markets for delicacies like rockfish, striped bass, sardines, lobster and octopus. He lamented that Dover sole, because of its near-universal appeal, remains quite elusive (at reasonable prices, anyway).

Meanwhile, Nayeri is hoping the nascent pizza operation (he installed the brick oven this past spring) will prove to be a year-round draw. He says the restaurant is currently moving around about 500 pizzas per month (available for carryout, anytime), listing a fontina-and-prosciutto pie as a personal favorite and citing the sauce-less smoked mozzarella/arugula/bresaola combo as the top seller among pizza patrons.

Looking forward, Nayeri says he’s transformed the rear room into a tasting room on special occasions (Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve) and indicates that he’d like to continue developing more group-friendly events.

“I am hoping I can do, like, date nights on Fridays,” he says, offering up semi-regular wine tastings as another all-inclusive alternative.