Sardinian cooking is unlike any other Italian cuisine. The island has its own pasta—the small, toasted fregula sarda, which arrived via North Africa. It has its own bread. It even has its own caviar. And it has its own rustic mountain flavors infusing each fish, seafood, and risotto dish, most notably sweet myrtle and bitter honey.

It’s hardly surprising, then, that Efisio Farris is unlike any other Italian chef. Since opening Arcodoro in 1988—”the only true Sardinian ristoranti in the United States,” according to food critic John Mariani—the proud Sardinian has been a tireless ambassador for the island’s unique flavors and foods. Food & Wine, Cooking Light, Wine Spectator, and The New York Times have showcased his recipes, and he’s been a guest chef on Martha Stewart and Mario Batali’s Ciao Italia. Efisio’s honors and accolades include being a two-time featured chef at the James Beard House in New York, where he debuted his line of Sardinian wines.

If Arcodoro is your introduction to Sardinian cuisine, the following dishes are highly recommended for their blend of authentic flavors and locally sourced ingredients:

• Antipasti: Start with either a selection of traditional appetizers or seared and marinated ahi tuna topped with bottarga (Sardinian caviar) shavings and sauce.
• Pastas: The ravioli arcodoro—stuffed with scallops and shrimp and drizzled in a velvety saffron bottarga sauce—took the prize for "The Ultimate Ravioli" during an international competition in Sardinia.
• Entrees: By land? Try the veal medallions pan-seared and paired with porcini mushrooms in a Mosto d’Uva thyme sauce. By sea? A Gulf red snapper pan-roasted with orange zest and served with lobster cardamom sauce on a bed of black risotto.
• Desserts: Anything made with miele amaro di corbezzolo. This prized bitter honey is hard to find even in Sardinia and should not be missed.