Restaurants & Bars

La Tavola Is Best Italian Restaurant In Maryland: Ranking

The Daily Meal picked the best Italian restaurants in every state. Maryland's top pick is in Baltimore.

BALTIMORE, MD — For discerning diners who turn up their noses when they hear someone talk about going out for “eye-talian” food, The Daily Meal has come up with a definitive list of the best Italian restaurants in every state. In Baltimore’s Little Italy, the elegant La Tavola showcases the cooking of Venice-born chef Carlo Vignotto.

Italy’s rich cuisine culture goes back centuries and includes pastas, breads and food preparation techniques that vary by regions, reflecting cultural traditions that evolved based on the availability of local foods.

For example, Tuscany is known as the land of bean eaters, so you’ll find lots of foods rich in cannellini beans in the region’s famous cuisine. Polenta is big in Milan; chefs in Rome find delicious ways to serve pasta, bruschetta, artichokes and zucchini; and on the island of Sicily, look for the region’s famous meatballs — called polpette — topped with a spicy, aromatic tomato sauce.

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The Daily Meal’s list of the best Italian restaurants features chef-inspired creations that bring many of these traditions to the United States. To assemble the list, The Daily Meal looked at various “best of” lists, reviews from local publications across the country, and also restaurants that have huge local followings. Big chains weren’t considered.

And if you’re just thinking about spaghetti — not that there aren’t some scrumptious-looking spaghetti dishes among the food site’s picks — you need to get out a lot more.

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Here is more information about La Tavola:

Why The Daily Meal loves La Tavola: His lineup of traditional Italian classics is buttressed by creative uses of fresh local ingredients, and all of Vignotto’s skills are on display with dishes like a light and crispy fritto misto; traditional veal saltimbocca; house-made ravioli topped with cream sauce and sautéed mushrooms; house-made gnocchi; and a legendary lasagna bolognese. Read more.

Where to find it: 248 Albemarle St., Baltimore, MD 21202

Phone numbers: (410) 685-1859

Hours: Monday through Thursday: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Website: la-tavola.com

Tell Us: Do you agree? Where do you go when you want scrumptious, authentic Italian food in Arizona? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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