In Philadelphia, people tend to argue over cheesesteak. In New York and Chicago, people have been debating the various merits of deep dish versus thin crust since the dawn of American pizzerias. East Coast denizens throw their weight behind Shake Shack’s burgers while the West Coast has nothing but love for In-N-Out. People argue over crab cakes, key lime pie, BBQ and fountain soda versus can. In Sarasota, the most prevalent debate rages over a certain ubiquitous restaurant choice: Italian. From Venice to Bradenton, there are a plethora of Italian restaurants to choose from—I stopped counting after 50—and here are three of the best.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHANE DONGLASAN AND EVAN SIGMUND
MARCELLO RISTORANTE
Chef Marcello Aquino spends a lot of time at his eponymous restaurant on Tamiami Trail, just south of Bee Ridge Road. The charming restaurant is open nightly for dinner and Marcello is chef, owner and the main attraction ever since he bought Ferrari’s from his gregarious mother, Vincenza, and renamed and redesigned the restaurant to reflect his own idea of the ideal eatery. This is not a turn and burn, hustle and bustle kind of place. This is a restaurant you go to when you want an intimate dining experience, where you watch your meal cooked before you as you enjoy an exceptional glass of wine and chat with the chef.
There is a menu somewhere around here, but why do you need one? The specials board is a mobile chalkboard Marcello uses to sketch the kind of evening you’re going to want to experience. He’s influenced by seasons, the catch of the day, local produce and old family recipes. It’s not unusual to see Marcello standing on the median in the middle of Tamiami Trail as cars stream by, dressed in a white T-shirt and black pants, holding a bag of seafood he just picked up across the street at Walt’s Fish Market. While I highly recommend going with one of Marcello’s nightly specials, there’s certainly a must-have dish when you’re dining at Marcello Ristorante, the tableside Caesar salad. There’s a timeless quality to having a Caesar salad prepared from a cart in front of your table to your tasting. It feels special, it feels traditional and it tastes better than you can imagine. When you’re running a restaurant with only 10 tables and an open kitchen, you can bet that details are important; you know that your guests are looking to be treated with as much care as the whole fish or the tender veal. Marcello succeeds with that indefinable “wow“ factor. I’ve heard other chefs extolling the virtues of this tiny restaurant and it’s frank, no-frills proprietor with his broad New York accent and his abiding love for the ingredients and techniques of his forebears. Marcello Ristorante is a place that would be as special in New York City or Sicily at is it is right here in Sarasota.
MADE IN ITALY
“Lively” is not a word that often comes to mind in conjunction with the sleepy seaside community of Venice, where words like “scenic” or “tranquil” are more likely to be bandied about. There are spectacular views, eccentric shops and small restaurants and cafes, but if you’re looking for a vibrant experience in Venice then I highly recommend a visit to Made In Italy. The original restaurant is flanked by white columns and boasts of a wood-burning oven in cursive script. The entire façade has a cheerfully over-the-top vibe that carries into the small restaurant and spills over onto the large patio.
There’s an “eat, drink and be merry” spirit in the air that smacks of authentic Italian hospitality. Adjacent to the original restaurant there’s a sleek new addition—a large, darker space dominated by an impressive bar, stylish booths and sexy lounge chairs. This is Made In Italy’s Aperitivo Bar. Aperitivo time is Italy’s version of happy hour and Made In Italy is drawing a whole new crowd with this concept. There’s no plasma TV behind the bar to distract patrons from getting to know each other—this is no sports bar. This is the closest thing Venice has to a nightclub with the requisite craft cocktails and convivial atmosphere. During the day, it’s nice to hang out in one of the booths on this side of the restaurant and do some people watching while you eat. There’s a trio of Italian women seated next to us one day; they’re definitely regulars because they order without even glancing at a menu. One of the women looks like Sophia Loren, and all are elegantly attired, speaking Italian sotto voce. I’m surprised when the food arrives to see that they’ve ordered pizza. Each section of the large pizza appears to contain different toppings. This turns out to be pizza al metro, which means “pizza by the yard,” a large rectangle pizza that can be made with many topping combinations, apparently a popular way to order it in Europe. This is not just a pizza joint, there’s a menu full of thoughtfully composed Italian delicacies. The Made In Italy Antipasto is filled with fresh, local produce and is heavy on flavor. Sautéed rapini (broccoli rabe) and eggplant, marinated zucchini and roasted mix bell peppers with black olives and capers form a piquant combination of tastes. The smoked salmon carpaccio with grilled brie is a knockout, as are the homemade pasta, veal scaloppini, grilled calamari and braised organic rabbit. Between the excellent food and the stunning new martini bar, Made In Italy’s motto could well be “Come for a meal, stay for the night.”
ORTYGIA
I can’t decide why it’s so appealing to eat dinner in a cottage. Part of the draw is that feeling of belonging immediately invoked when you’re welcomed into someone’s home for a meal.
Ortygia is located on a suburban street in Bradenton’s Village of the Arts, and stepping over the threshold gives one a feeling of being transported: suddenly you’re in Sicily—the island of Ortygia to be precise—in the home of a beloved local bon vivant. Servers greet you with an easy familiarity, even if you’ve never been there before, and the small front and back rooms feature cozy tables and family portraits. The kitchen is filled with chatter and the house is filled with the aroma of comfort. Chef Gaetano “Guy” Cannata is as diverse and engaging as his menu.
Chef Gaetano is a teacher, author, history buff and a proud father. His 19-year-old daughter is an artist and his 23-year-old son, a musician. Cannata refers to the cuisine served at Ortygia as “Monzu,” a combination of Sicilian and French cooking that dates back to 1798 when Napoleon invaded Naples. He also likes to highlight the Arab, Greek, Spanish and North African influences found in Sicilian cuisine. This cultural embrace is felt throughout the menu and as the dishes begin to fill the small table, conversation dwindles in favor of satisfied sighs and delighted murmurs of appreciation. The Peperone Ripieno is a deceptively simple dish, a stuffed bell pepper. The charred sweet red bell pepper is filled with aged provolone cheese, golden raisins, fresh tomatoes, pine nuts and black currants. This is a textural wonderland of sweet and nutty flavor, one of those vegetarian dishes that lead you to believe you could live happily without meat. Chef Gaetano won’t use anything out of a can. He believes, as did his father before him, that plenty of fresh clean produce, some good butter and the right seasoning are the only necessary ingredients for a delicious meal. That’s not to say Chef Gaetano doesn’t cook with meat. The Grilled Harissa Lamb Loin Chop is served medium rare and the mild Tunisian harissa (a spicy North African condiment) complements the dish without overwhelming the balance of flavors.
The Insalata di Lenticchie Siciliane, or lentil salad, consists of organic Montana black beluga lentils tossed with fresh fennel, red onions, black olives and fresh Costa Rican mint grown in Ortygia’s garden. Cannata loves the community in which he’s built his restaurant and every year on Martin Luther King Day he demonstrates this affection by serving meals to over five hundred people from his patio as part of a grant for MLK Community Service Projects. Meals have been served to elderly, disabled, special needs and low-income residents who live in and around the Village of the Arts. The fact that this tiny cottage restaurant provides food to that many people in one day is truly inspirational. Cannata is humble about the feat and grateful for the opportunity to give back. There’s live music, good food, happy people and, at least for one day a year, it truly feels like a village. SRQ
