Press Release: Coming Soon, La Strada on the Avenue

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New family-friendly, family-owned Italian restaurant opening in Del Ray
Alexandria, VA, April 1, 2008 — If you love Northern Italian cuisine, get your taste buds primed for La Strada, a new restaurant opening this month in the heart of Del Ray.
The executive chef is Stephen Scott, the former maestro of the kitchen at such D.C. area dining icons as Zola, Argia’s, Primi Piati, Galileo, and I Matti. His parents Stephen and Diana, and sisters Courtney and Kristen, will be managing the restaurant.
Stephen’s grandmother, Argia Balboni, knew early in Stephen’s life that he was destined to become a chef. As a little boy, he would sit in her kitchen every Sunday and watch her fix the traditional weekend brunch: a roast of beef, braised chicken, Italian meatballs and handmade tortellini.
Also special was Argia herself, who emigrated to the U.S. from Italy in 1917. Putting family and good food first was always her priority. In fact, most of the ingredients for the family feast came from her garden — a giant yard in suburban Boston.
“Argia taught me the essence of Italian cooking, and it makes me proud to carry on her traditions in my restaurants,” Stephen says today, noting that La Strada is certainly about “la familia” —but not just because it’s family owned.