D'Acqua Executive Chef Enzo Spills the Beans
on Presidential Palates

WASHINGTON, DC - (November 19, 2008) - As Barack Obama's team feverishly plans for the inaugural ball, food options will be at the top of the to-do list. Cooking for guests is always an interesting topic, but more so when the guest of honor is the President of the United States of America. Chef Enzo should know - he's had the experience of cooking for the last two presidents and now offers his take on what he'd like to prepare for President-elect Obama.

"When a chef gets the opportunity to cook for the President, it's a great honor, and one they are likely never to forget," explains Enzo Febbraro, co-owner and executive chef of Washington D.C.-based D'Acqua Ristorante. "I've cooked for the past two, and now I hope to carry on that tradition by getting the chance to cook for President-elect Obama."

So, just what would Chef Enzo prepare for the new President? He's heard that he likes Italian food, so he'd like to prepare a meal of:

· Grilled octopus to start, along with pasta linguine sea urchin

· For the main dish, a Fiorentina di manzo "Beef porterhouse fiorentina style"

· And for dessert - a sfogliatelle, which is a traditional Neapolitan dessert featuring a flaky pastry shell, stuffed with polenta, ricotta, orange zest, and orange blossom water

"I think that the new President would find this selection of some of my finer dishes to be pleasing," adds Chef Enzo. "Not only is it a very balanced and nutritious meal, but it is also very adventurous in taste."

Chef Enzo also had the opportunity to cook for President Clinton several times, including such dishes as sausages and broccoli rabe, stuffed eggplant with mozzarella, roasted bell pepper, bucatini amatriciana with pancetta (Italian bacon, onion and tomato), and raviolistuffed with ricotta and spinach.

For President George W. Bush, he has prepared fittura di paranza (fried calamari, anchovy and shrimp), crab salad, meat carpaccio, grilled octopus, paccheri with lobster, gnocchi with meat, Neapolitan ragu, and turbot, salt-crushed.

About D'Acqua Ristorante
D'Acqua Ristorante, owned by Chefs Enzo Febbraro and Francesco Ricchi, is located at 801 Pennsylvania Ave. NW in Washington, D.C. The restaurant, which features a coastal Italian menu with a seafood emphasis, was opened by the two highly acclaimed chefs in 2006, and has quickly earned great reviews. Enzo, a native of Naples, Italy, has traveled throughout Europe, preparing dishes at high-end restaurants and hotels. Francesco, a Florentine native, has owned a number of award-winning establishments, and has also hosted President George W. Bush. The restaurant is a popular political dining establishment that is frequented by Washington's elite, including senators, members of congress, and White House staff. To learn more about D'Acqua Ristorante, visit the Web site at www.dacquadc.com.