Italian restaurant’s patrons become ‘family’

Jesus spoke numerous times about friendships, but this one hit home for me: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father” (John 15:12-15). For me, it encompasses the broadest insight into living together as friends.

I am very fortunate to be reminded about and surrounded by family and friends at work. We own the 51-year-old, family-run Portofino Restaurant in Arlington, Va. The restaurant was started by my immigrant father and mother, Sergio and Pilar, with the help of his father, Nonno Adelmo. In our restaurant you get food, family, and friendship all in one place.

The restaurant business is considered a service industry. At The Portofino, we have evolved into the friendship industry too. Any restaurant can serve food each day, but to serve for more than 50 years takes care and consideration of our customers. Getting to know our “regulars” requires attention to detail — a detail that we feel makes Portofino a special place for people to come to host family, friends, and business associates.

Many of our patrons have been very loyal to us. At this point, we serve those who are children and grandchildren of former customers. We have become involved in their families, and they have become our friends. We go to their children’s Baptisms and weddings, and many have joined our family at special occasions. This sense of family and community is a unique trait of our restaurant.

To honor our dedicated customers, we print the names of regular customers alongside their favorite dish. This tradition also has included our family members. My mother’s favorite is the Lemony Chicken Piccata alla “Pilar.” My sister’s dish is the crabmeat-topped Pollo “Maria Teresa.” My father loved eating clam sauce and snails, Linguine alla “Sergio.” And of course, there’s my grandfather’s namesake, Bocconcini dello “Chef Adelmo.”

CHEF RICHARD MICHELI, new this month to the “Foodie” roster, is chef-owner at The Portofino Restaurant in Arlington, VA.