The Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner is losing a four-star chef -- and Washington is losing one of its top talents -- with the surprise resignation today of Fabio Trabocchi of Maestro, the gilded Italian restaurant that opened in 2001. The 33-year-old chef plans to relocate to New York, where he has accepted an offer to become chef-partner at Fiamma Osteria, the acclaimed SoHo hot spot created by restaurant impresario Stephen Hanson.

"The decision was not an easy one," said Trabocchi, who had been looking to open a place of his own in the area. "My heart is in Washington." He said he was attracted to Fiamma because of "the opportunity to grow as a chef" and to help a younger generation of restaurant workers.

His last day at the hotel is expected to be Aug. 18, after which the restaurant will close for its annual summer hiatus.

Trabocchi hinted that he might be back in Washington in two years, which is when B.R. Guest Restaurants and Starwood Capital Group, Fiamma's owners, plan to install an Italian restaurant in a yet-to-be-built, eco-friendly hotel in the city's West End.

--Tom Sietsema (July 20, 2007)

2006 Fall Dining Guide
By Tom Sietsema
Washington Post Magazine
Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006

**** (out of four)

The great chefs of Washington share more in common than prime ingredients and exacting technique. They also know how to share a fine joke with their patrons. Thus a pre-appetizer at Maestro, the most polished of our Italian restaurants, finds a warm salad of crawfish and tiny mussels in an herb sauce next to a cork-capped vial of a pale green liquid. A waiter instructs us to eat the solid, then the liquid - which turns out to be (ha!) a refreshing chaser of green tomato soup. Visible in his stage set of a kitchen, Fabio Trabocchi is the serious talent behind your dinner, composed from dishes that fall into four categories: traditional, contemporary, vegetarian or chef's choice. No matter where you head, you'll eat sumptuously. In an elegant ode to summer, melon balls in three colors are arranged like musical notes on their plate, splashed with balsamic vinegar and dusted with crumbs of Parmesan and fresh mint. Gnocchi made with brandade is treated to a light foam of fish and milk, and suckling pig gets slow-cooked a full day, then presented as a rack, crisp bacon and shoulder, everything lapped with a sauce fragrant with fennel blossoms. A clever shopper with an eye for detail, Trabocchi puts as much care into presentation as flavor combinations. Thus, a flute of silken lychee panna cotta comes with a small globe of limoncello with a "stopper" of fresh rosemary. The chef's teammates, maitre d' Emanuele Fissore and sommelier Vincent Feraud, make sure you sit pretty and sip richly, and the background music is likely opera - a fitting accompaniment to a riveting performance.