Restaurant opens in former Roma's site
Staff Writer
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Vinicio Fabbrizi Jr. got his passion for Italian cuisine by working in his parents' restaurant. But its roots may reach all the way back to Italy.
It was there that Fabbrizi's parents grew up, met and married before emigrating to the United States and opening Andrea's, an Italian restaurant in Great Bridge, Va.
 Staff photo by Justin Falls |
| Co-owners Josh Pickens (left) and Vinicio Fabbrizi Jr. show off examples of their dinner entrees at Cucina Pizza and Italian Grill, Thursday. The restaurant is located in Mildred's Plaza north of Elizabeth City. |
Fabbrizi grew up in the family business, working in catering as well as restaurants.
So when his great uncle, another restaurateur, decided to retire and return to Italy, Fabbrizi and his friend Josh Pickens decided to take over his restaurant.
They spent a month remodeling and redecorating the eatery, Roma's Italian Restaurant, before reopening it as Cucina Pizza and Italian Grill about six weeks ago. The restaurant is located at 2012 North Road Street, in Mildred's Plaza north of Elizabeth City.
Fabbrizi said he and Pickens settled on the name for their restaurant, which means "kitchen" in Italian, after Fabbrizi remembered hearing his father tell him that his mother was in "the Cucina."
While Cucina features pizza and other Italian favorites such as tortellini, baked ziti, and calzones, Fabbrizi and Pickens say they've added some substantial touches to those traditional dishes and others.
For example, Cucina serves a steak-and-potatoes dish, but it's not the traditional slab of meat and chunk of mashed potatoes. Instead, the dish includes slivers of steak spread in a pinwheel design on a plate that's topped with garlic, onions and sweet tomatoes. The mashed potatoes are swirled with a balsamic sauce that's drizzled over top.
Fabbrizi said the flair in presentation doesn't make Cucina's dishes cost more. In fact, the most expensive entrees on the menu are steak and seafood dishes for $16.99 and large, multi-topping pizzas for $17.99. Subs, sandwiches, most calzones, and a number of entrees cost less than $10.
None of the menu items at Cucina are prepackaged, Fabbrizi and Pickens say. All meals are made to order and include generous portions.
"People now in today's restaurant market are expecting more," Fabbrizi said.
Pickens, who worked alongside Fabbrizi at Andrea's for 12 years, said he considers his co-owner's family like his own. That family atmosphere is what he and Fabbrizi hope to re-create at Cucina, he said.
"I think it's more of a down home family atmosphere with truly authentic food," Pickens said. "We pride ourselves on only serving the best food that money can buy."
If a customer doesn't see something they want on Cucina's menu, Pickens advises them to tell their server. If Cucina has the ingredients, the kitchen staff will prepare it, he said.
Pickens has his own favorite dish at Cucina. He recommends the tortellini in vodka sauce, a peppery creamy take on the popular Italian dish. There's also the mozzarella salad that includes slabs of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and olives.
Fabbrizi said he and Pickens plan to expand their business to include catering. They also hope to offer bar specials such as two beers and two pizza slices.
Fabbrizi said he and Pickens chose to open their restaurant in Elizabeth City because they believe the area is growing and can generate the kind of customer base that will have patrons returning again and again for their favorite dishes.
Cucina's hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.
Besides in-restaurant dining, Cucina offers carry-out service. The restaurant can be reached at 333-1700.
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Comments
By Chef with an attitude
Jul 21, 2008 7:30 PM | Link to this
I have not yet had the pleasure of eating at Cucina but am looking forward to my first visit. Having been in the restaurant business in this area for over 30 yrs I am aware of how fickle the locals are. I am also sure of the fact that if one bad visit keeps you from returning you will be missing a lot of great things. All new restaurants have to fine tune their kitchens and recipes to offer the very best to their many unique guests and deserve a second or even third chance before making the decision to not return. If I used the rationale of many of the prior comments there would only be one place I would eat... HOME.
By Yankee
Jul 21, 2008 4:14 PM | Link to this
Being from the north, my husband and I are used to true ethnic Italian food and good pizza. We can't stand the pizza at Van's or Big Daddys, and do like Tony's pizza, but Cucina is the best by far. However, I had the chicken parmigiana this weekend and while the chicken was good, the sauce tasted like plain tomato sauce with black pepper in it and really had no other taste. I couldn't eat the pasta due to that sauce. The calamari is fresh battered and fried and is very good, but the salads are very plain and the balsamic viniagrette has no taste other than the vinegar.
We have heard several people rave to one of the owners about the food, and we also heard one customer complain about a dish that was undercooked on the day they had their ovens adjusted. The owner gave them a discount. He was very professional and was definitely trying to give them what they wanted. It appears that they really want to succeed here and would be receptive to feedback. Just give them a chance -- after all, we don't have many good restaurants around here....
By NM
Jul 21, 2008 6:59 AM | Link to this
I too am with unimpressed. I tried a pizza a couple of weeks ago and it was not worth the money, had little to no flavor and was visually unattractive. However, Roma's was never consistent with its pizza either. Some days it was good and some days it was awful. Chain pizzas are not the way to go either.
By No Thank You
Jul 20, 2008 10:29 PM | Link to this
My husband and I ate at Cucina's a few weeks ago. I thought it was terrible. I agree with Not Impressed on that the food tasted like it came out of a can. Although some of the remodeling looked nice, it did not feel as inviting as Roma's did. Roma's was one of my favorite restaurants. Cucina's does not even compare. I would not recommend this restaurant to a friend, or an enemy for that matter.
By love it
Jul 20, 2008 4:20 PM | Link to this
This place is wonderful the food is great as is the service. i really enjoy the atmosphere and the owners are really generous. the wait staff is very professional for being a younger crowd. the alfredo is amazing along with the carne pizzola. i would really recommend this to anyone even if you had one bad experience there dont let it ruin your outlook on a new resturaunt which will always have some problems. i will go back for many more meals.
By biker babe
Jul 20, 2008 3:20 PM | Link to this
i am glad to read the comments about the new take over of roma's.we used to get our pizzas there.i am sorry that roma's left,they had the best pizza's around.don't know where to go now.just tryed papa johns,o k but not a roma's.maybe some one will open a pizza shop with good pizza and a good price.
By Don
Jul 20, 2008 12:12 PM | Link to this
My wife and I recently ate at Cucina and I would have to agree with "not impressed". Although I understand a new eatery has it's glitches to work out, this place just wasn't very good. The food had very little flavor and I noticed the portion size to be smaller than average; and no I cannot stand buffets and I am not one of those who has to have huge amounts of food to be satisfied. I would leave Roma's with leftovers to eat for lunch the next day. There was no ambiance at all. It was bright, no music was playing, and the service was not very good. I expect more from a restaraunt than what my wife and I received. I have been to many fine dine Italian places and this just wasn't authentic.
By Great Food
Jul 20, 2008 9:19 AM | Link to this
I have eaten here many times and have nothing but great things to say about the food. I think the taste and the price are spot on and I look forward to many more great meals at Cucina's.
The previous person "Not Impressed" needs to remember that a new eatery has its problems and without any feedback how can they correct it, I also had a problem with the bread but I talked to the waitress and was promptly given more. The owner even stopped by to apologize and gave me a small discount for the inconvenience.
I give them 2 thumbs up. Keep up the good work.
By BUFFET
Jul 20, 2008 12:33 AM | Link to this
CHANCES ARE YOUR USED TO MORE FOOD INSTEAD OF FLAVOR AND QUALITY,I HAVENT ATE THERE YET BUT PEOPLE IN THIS AREA ARE HUGE AND QUANTITY WINS OVER QUALITY.I WILL TRY MONDAY AND SEE IF WE STILL DISAGREE,BUT IN GENERAL THE OBSESE IN THE AREA DONT WANT GOOD FOOD,JUST LOTS OF IT.
By Not Impressed
Jul 19, 2008 10:47 PM | Link to this
My family and I ate there a couple of weeks ago and we were not impressed. The portions of food were much smaller than Roma's served and the food wasn't as good. The alfredo sauce had very little flavor to it and the food tasted like it came out of a can. Your salad costs extra as it does not come with the meal. We had to ask for bread a couple of times before our waitress brought it out and for a family of five she only brought out 3 small pieces. I got the feeling that the owners were being very stingy on portion size, bread, salad, etc.. There was no music playing and the lights were too bright. We were very uncomfortable during our meal. Our bill was $50.00 which I thought was high for 2 entrees and a pizza. We really enjoyed Roma's but this place just didn't seem to hit the mark. My husband and I left there feeling like we had wasted a lot of money. We won't be back.
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