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Italian Native Serves Tastes Of Tuscany

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By ELAINE MARKOWITZ

Tribune correspondent

Published: June 25, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - Angelo Puccinelli, owner of Caffe Amaretto in Town 'N Country, knows good food. The Italian native was raised on the fresh ingredients and tasty home-style cooking of his native Tuscany.

Puccinelli, a world traveler, has worked in and opened restaurants in Italy, London and Washington. He has remained faithful to the Tuscan flavors of his youth, though, and wants to accustom the American palate to the savory dishes of an Italian home.

His techniques seem to work, as evidenced by a steady stream of regular diners who have patronized the eatery since it opened in 1993.

Puccinelli, formerly one of four owners of the upscale Donatello's restaurant in Tampa, admitted to attracting a niche clientele, making his goals a little easier.

"Most of the American customers have been to Italy and already love Italian food," he said one evening at the restaurant. "They come here especially for pasta and veal."

He said that clients tend to be older, sophisticated people who are well-traveled.

Puccinelli's approach to a total dining experience is meticulous.

The restaurant touts a simple decor, with fresh white linen table cloths and napkins. Cruets of virgin olive oil and long-stemmed water goblets dot each table. Walls are adorned with colorful posters and wine racks holding bottles of all varieties of wine.
Puccinelli spends much of the evening circulating among diners, partly to make sure the food is to their satisfaction, and partly to connect to longtime patrons.

"I've had a lot of the same customers for 15 years," he said, "and I don't want to miss saying hello to anyone."

The kitchen staff is crucial. A number of chefs have headed the operation over the years, the latest hailing from upscale restaurants in Washington. The chef is assisted by two cooks, a salad preparer and several others who do various jobs in the kitchen. All are carefully trained in the style of cooking and particular dishes Puccinelli wants to serve.

"I am from Tuscany and I wanted that kind of food," he said. "It's home-style food."

Tuscan food incorporates fresh herbs and lots of vegetables. The manner of cooking meat, he said, is distinctive. Steak in Tuscany, for example, is not cooked on a grill, although American diners often prefer grilled meat.

"The juices run out on a grill," said Puccinelli. "We make steak on a flat surface and turn it only once. Steak Florentine is cooked Tuscan-style with garlic and olive oil, a traditional dish in Florence, the heart of the Tuscan region. Spinach, sometimes connected to the word "Florentine," is not a part of the dish.

"My mother made it that way," he said of the traditional Florentine method.
Puccinelli is well aware of the differences between American and Italian tastes.

"There are things I can't really do here," he said, "like a traditional Caesar salad."

He said a true Caesar salad is one prepared at the table, tossed with a raw egg and anchovies, mixed and served immediately with fresh ground pepper. Many local diners, he said, aren't receptive to that manner of preparation, or don't want anchovies, tiny salty fish with a distinctive flavor found in many Italian dishes.

Sauces exemplify another American preference.

"In Italy we don't use a lot of sauce," he said, "but American people love a lot of sauce so we put it on for them."

The menu includes hot and cold antipastos, fresh fish, chicken and meat dishes, and lots of pasta, such as oven-baked lasagna and fresh-rolled pasta with veal stuffing. Puccinelli said he hopes to add more dishes.

"Our regular customers know the menu," he said. "We're working on coming out with new things."

He said he also would like to add to the drink menu.

"I have a beer and wine license right now," he said, "but I'd like to put up a little bar for customers who would like a cocktail before dinner or an after-dinner drink."

Staff members as well as diners seem content at the eatery.

Richard Lora has waited tables there for the last 10 years. "The staff is like family here," he said, "which you don't find in a lot of places."

Puccinelli, slim and trim at 70, said he no longer eats all the savory dishes he serves.

"I'm not a big eater," he said. "I just like vegetables, fish and a little pasta."

CAFFE AMARETTO

LOCATION: 5915 Memorial Hwy.

HOURS: Lunch is served 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. Dinner is served 5:30 to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday and 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturdays.

CALL: (813) 885-4700

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