dining guide
Caffe Fortunato
BAYOU ’n BOURBON Louisiana’s best dishes. Made mo’ better. All day, every day, from Feb. 15 – March 26
Part romantic Italian trattoria, part New York-style neighborhood ss Michael Fortunato bistro, East Cobb’s Caffe Fortunato is wholly about sharing good food made with simple ingredients with family and friends. Restaurant owner Michael Fortunato learned southern Italian cooking at the knees of his Italian grandparents, and he learned to hustle in the streets of Philadelphia, where he was earning baseball card money at the tender age of 9 by buying and reselling farm-fresh produce from a shopping cart. Caffe Fortunato, located in Paper Mill Village, grew out of Fortunato’s vision for a unique, family-friendly neighborhood cafe that served the Italian food of his childhood. His pasta is handmade. His pizzas are wood-fired. Everything is fresh and flavorful. “Our style is more European, and our food is lighter than the typical Italian fare,” Fortunato said. “I don’t serve anything in here that I wouldn’t serve to my own family.” One of his specialties is Cioppino, a seafood stew with fresh prawns, calamari, mussels, clams, daily catch, tomatoes, garlic and Mediterranean herbs. He also makes a killer Margherita pizza with San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil and extra virgin olive oil. Creative Loafing voted Caffe Fortunato’s pizza with truffles one of its “Top 10 Things” in 2010. Fortunato says great Italian cooking centers around a handful of ingredients, spectacular in their humbleness: Olive oil, garlic, basil, parsley, salt and pepper. “I’ve never read a recipe,” he said. “My cooking methods and palate are refined by years of watching my family cook and eating their food,” he said. Caffe Fortunato, located at 255 Village Parkway, Suite 330, in Marietta, is open every night for dinner and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for lunch. The fun, urban interior, designed by Fortunato to reflect a New York loft vibe, opens onto an airy deck overlooking the water. He’s recently added a game room for the kids. Visit the restaurant on weeknights before 6:30 p.m. for half-price pizza and no corkage fees apply Sunday through Thursday, if you want to bring your own wine. Drink specials on Tuesdays and Thursdays include $3 glasses of wine and $2 draft beers. For more information, call 770-951-1394 or “like” Caffe Fortunato on Facebook.
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