Andiamo's Daniela Marcone Loves Uniquely Japanese Komé

Austin is a food-obsessed town, but there are plenty of hidden gems that most Austinites have yet to discover. Eater is enlisting the help of the city's many food professionals to track down some of Austin's most under-the-radar destinations. Welcome to Dining Confidential.

Daniela Marcone started out as a host at Andiamo, and later worked her way up to manager. She bought the restaurant when the former owners were looking to sell. "I took advantage of that situation to save everyone's job," Marcone says. Originally from Napoli in Italy, Marcone has lived in Austin for eight years and has owned Andiamo for five. She cooks seasonally and often uses her mother's cooking back in Italy for inspiration. Marcone says, "If I'm running out of ideas, I'll call my mom and ask, 'What are you cooking today?"

Marcone believes she is one of the few, if not the only, Italians running an Italian restaurant in Austin, and she says Komé is one of her favorite restaurants because the Japanese owners are bringing a bit of their homeland to Austin, just like she does with Italy at Andiamo.

I love Komé. I believe it's very hard to find somebody from a particular country running a restaurant in Austin that offers the culture and food from that country. Kome is owned by a couple from Japan. A lot of people think that Asian food is so different from Italian, and it's true, but what we do have in common is a simplicity of the ingredients

The ramen is always to die for, and I really like the spicy scallops off the sushi menu. They have a seasonal dessert I love, too. When I went to Japan, I was so crazy for sakura mochi. It's this cherry blossom jam mochi and it's pink, oh my good, so delicious. The only place where I could find it in the states is Komé. I have adored Komé ever since.