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Is it just me, or does it feel like the entire dining community has piled on Roberto Donna now that Arlington County has busted him as a tax cheat? Just the karmic payback for a poorly conducted business life, you say? Perhaps. But it’s probably good for our own karma to remember that Donna’s outstanding tax bill isn’t his only outstanding legacy. His kitchens have produced a large number of talented chefs who have, in turn, opened their own places, both the formal kind (Todd Gray at Equinox) and the casual (Daniele Catalani at Toscana Café). Siroc chef Martin Lackovic, an executive chef for two years at Galileo, is one of Donna’s best gifts to the local dining scene. Lackovic’s menus, at once steeped in tradition and slyly creative, reflect a mind deeply invested in Italian cuisine but not always beholden to it. Lackovic isn’t as boldly inventive as Donna’s other prized student, Enzo Fargione. But his approach works better for regular dining. If I didn’t have this job, I’d be a regular at Siroc.

915 15th St. NW (202) 628-2220