Calamari on the Terrazza: Outdoor Cuisine at Its Finest at Cesco Osteria

Washingtonians and Bethesda locals enjoyed a treat on Tuesday night when the Piazza Beer Garden of the Cesco Ostera, located on Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda, opened for the season.  The outdoor terrazza (Italian for “terrace”) allowed visitors to dine al fresco in the fine April weather while enjoying the cuisine of the award-winning Tuscan restaurant.

For the opening of the terrazza, restaurant owner and chef Francesco Ricchi and manager Olivia (Francesco’s daughter) provided glasses of Dominion Candi, a Belgian Trippel beer, along with a top-notch selection of gourmet passed hors d’oeuvres,   The fried calamari were especially delicious and borderline addictive.  (Epicureans, take note:  Olivia explained that the key to tender calamari is to only cook it fresh — never frozen — in order to avoid the rubbery texture that one often encounters when ordering this dish.)

Francesco, who stated that he “was born in the restaurant business,” opened the Piazza Beer Garden as an extension of his more-traditional indoor Tuscan restaurant in an effort to “expose the restaurant to a new group of customers” who were seeking a sidewalk-cafe or bistro experience.  His plan seems to be working — in the words of first-time visitor Charles Burnham (who raved about the pizza), “I haven’t been here before, but it’s got a great outdoor area… I’ll be back.”

The outdoor Piazza Beer Garden is open now (as of the end of April), and will be until Oktoberfest in the fall.  Be sure to order the calamari.