As a teenager in the farm village of Calabria, Italy, Domenico Maurici helped his family grow farro, a rare grain, to feed their chickens. Eventually they realized the healthy grain had a lovely taste, and they began using it in their own family meals. After getting a diploma from Italy’s Culinary Institute, Domenico went on a cruise of the Pacific Coast and fell in love with Orange County; he selected it as the place where he would open his own restaurant centered on the grain he had grown up with.

At Il Farro, Domenico transforms farro into pastas and risottos, which he uses to build specialty dishes such as the farrotto con salsiccia with Italian-style sausage and pecorino cheese. The menu also includes pizzas layered with prosciutto. If you’re on a date with a homesick mermaid or merman, there are seafood creations such as linguini pescatore with New Zealand mussels, manila clams, calamari, and king crab.