I’m getting pretty excited, look.” Chef Eric Rivera lifted a pant leg to reveal various shapes of pasta floating on the black background of his sock. It was June 2021, and his enthusiasm for Ravello Ristorante in Montgomery, Alabama, was at full boil. After months of pandemic and supply-chain-related delays, the restaurant opened in July 2022.

The extra cook time could’ve dampened Rivera’s mood. It did not. When Ravello welcomed its first diners, Rivera was all smiles. He wasn’t the only one. Seeing the premiere plates of fresh-made pasta and other delights come out of the gleaming open kitchen was an event highly anticipated by the entire capital city.