thrillist

An ex-punk rocker with a D.C. fine-diner and an exec. chef stint at Parc on his resume decided to momentarily forgo trusting really skinny dudes with mohawks to catch him while stagediving, so he can feed you pizza at In Riva, for which he gutted the old Franco's Trattoria to expose cinder blocks & ceiling framework, brought in a ton of Euro bicycle-race posters and industrial stools, and outfitted the patio (opening in March) with bikes strung with lights.

Headbang like classy grown-ups headbang to the chef-curated punk playlist while taking down antipasti like crispy pork belly with apricot mostarda, and NY strip spiedino prepped with cherry tapenade, opening for unique pizzas such as wild mushroom w/ truffle fondue and cippolini w/ pancetta/ goat cheese/ Brussels sprouts, along with standards like margherita, although oddly though they have no Buffet line...from that classic song, Margheritaville.

Because the Tour de France-inspired cocktails all tested positive for HGH, Riva’s are named after Giro d'Italia velo-race winners like the vodka/ preserved lemon Coppi and the gin/ Aperol Adorni, which join a smattering of by-the-glass reds & whites, drafts (Peroni, Allagash White), and large format bottles of Birrificio Bruton Stoner, Lilith, and Momus.

Once dinner’s over, they'll trot out an encore of desserts like pistachio and lemon-ricotta cannoli & zeppole with blackberry yogurt; then you can head downstairs where the bathroom lobby sports a massive graffiti mural and a Street Fighter II arcade game, for which the only punk is the guy who plays with Blanka and just sits there crouching all electrified.

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