The new Buon Ricordo Guide 2026 was presented in Milan, marking its 62nd edition. During the Milan preview event, the entry of five new restaurants into the Unione Ristoranti del Buon Ricordo was announced. Founded in 1964, it is the first association of restaurateurs in Italy created with the aim of preserving and promoting Italian regional gastronomic traditions.
The 2026 Guide, titled “I ristoranti del Buon Ricordo – Attraverso un paese e la sua cucina”, now includes 111 restaurants, including 8 abroad, representing the excellence of Italian regional cuisine and its interpretation around the world. As tradition dictates, each restaurant is identified by the famous Buon Ricordo plate, hand-painted and depicting the restaurant’s signature dish. The plate is given to guests who taste the dedicated menu, becoming a tangible memory of a unique gastronomic experience.
Among the most significant new entries in this edition is Nostrana Restaurant in Portland, Oregon (USA), a highly regarded establishment known for its authentic interpretation of Italian cuisine. Led by executive chef Bryan Alan Donaldson, and a reference point for lovers of Italian gastronomy in the United States, the restaurant has chosen “Insalata Nostrana” as its signature dish, which now officially becomes part of the Buon Ricordo tradition.
Already an icon when she opened Nostrana in 2005, Chef Cathy Whims is still considered “the dean of Italian cuisine in Portland.” One of the reasons for this recognition is the famous Insalata Nostrana, a modern classic that recalls both the traditional Caesar salad and the iconic Italian chicories, while remaining deeply rooted in agricultural tradition. The star of the dish is Cicoria Rossa di Verona Smarties.bio, which reached Cathy Whims’ kitchen thanks to the Progetto Gusto Italiano, an initiative dedicated to promoting and preserving Italy’s horticultural heritage and biodiversity. Through this initiative, the Radicchio Rosso di Verona and many other varieties from the Smarties.bio catalog have begun to be successfully cultivated in the United States, contributing to the international diffusion of these Italian horticultural excellences. This is a source of great satisfaction for Smarties.bio, which has long collaborated with this initiative to share vegetable varieties and Italian gastronomic culture beyond national borders.
This new membership once again confirms how Italian cuisine continues to be a living and dynamic heritage, capable of combining tradition and innovation and creating cultural bridges between distant territories, always keeping the focus on the quality of ingredients and respect for gastronomic roots.