When longtime Valentino chef Angelo Auriana, Matteo Ferdinandi and Ferdinandi's wife, sommelier Francine Diamond-Ferdinandi, opened the Factory Kitchen in downtown Los Angeles almost two years ago, it quickly became a magnet for Italophiles for its contemporary, yet classic Italian cuisine.
Auriana’s silky handkerchief pasta in a subtle pesto, focaccina di Recco (flaky flatbread), porchetta and charred prime flat-iron steak still keep the crowds coming. And its Italian wine list is perfectly suited to Auriana's cooking.
Diamond-Ferdinandi, a French-Canadian from Quebec, was trained in wine at the Gramercy Tavern in New York, where, as a captain, she was expected to be as knowledgable about the subject as the sommelier.