Fratello's Restaurant

Greetings! 
I hope you are well and coping with our new reality.  To say we are living in extraordinary times is the understatement of the year. For our part we are still endeavoring to keep the ship afloat, so to speak, although it is becoming increasingly more difficult. Purveyors have adjusted their schedules, we have seen problems in the supply chain, and I am concerned how everything is impacting the four employees, myself included, plus our volunteers up front, who are responsible for all that is needed to prepare our carry-out meals. My major concern is the health of these employees, not only in catching the virus but also the stress we are all under. To this end we are still offering carry-out of our regular diner menu, but I am adjusting the hours of our operation slightly. Effective immediately we will no longer be open for carry-out on Monday, but rather from Tuesday through Thursday from 4:00 - 8:00, and on Friday and Saturday from 4:00 - 9:00. These hours may change as everything is so fluid, and we may return to our former schedule if the pandemic mitigates. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. 

I also want to remind you of what we are doing to hopefully keep everyone safe when you come for carry-out.  We are preparing meals on the half hour, and we are limiting each period to no more than six orders. I have tried to create separation among all the customers coming in at the bar, and we frequently sanitize the surface of the bar, as well as the doors and door handles at the entrance. Additionally, I have many pens at the bar that can be used once for a credit card purchase, and you can take the pen with you when you leave or leave it for us to sanitize later. You can call us when you come for carry-out from the parking lot and we will bring it to you, although it may get busy at the designated pick up time, or you can give us your credit card number in advance. In order to process this we will need your card number, the billing address and the zip code of the card, and your phone number should we need to call you. Remember, together we will get through this.

I want to say again how heartening and gratifying it has been to witness the support we have received since this crisis started. To say we are deeply grateful seems too soft a word. Thank you sincerely, and I remain confident that we can all survive this, and I look forward to enjoying a meal and some wine with many of you soon. Take care of yourselves, we hope to see you soon.

Ciao

Greetings! 
I hope you and your family and friends are well and coping with this new reality we are living in. It seems like we are all part of a sci-fi movie, non? I want to keep you posted as to how we are doing and our plans as we proceed. We are still offering carry-out of our regular diner menu on Monday through Thursday from 4:00 - 8:00, and on Friday and Saturday from 4:00 - 9:00. We are staffing on a limited staff, who are doing an amazing job given the circumstances. Supplies are still coming in, albeit on more limited hours and some items are in short supply.

When you come for carry-out, I have tried to create separation among all the customers coming in at the bar, and we frequently sanitize the surface of the bar, as well as the doors and door handles at the entrance. Additionally, I have many pens at the bar that can be used once for a credit card purchase, and you can take the pen with you when you leave or leave it for us to sanitize later. You can call us when you come for carry-out from the parking lot and we will bring it to you, although it may get busy at the designated pick up time, or you can give us your credit card number in advance. In order to process this we will need your card number, the billing address and the zip code of the card, and your phone number should we need to call you. Remember, together we will get through this.

Lastly, I want to say how heartening and gratifying it has been to witness the support we have received since this crisis started. It is beyond humbling, and I lack the words to adequately convey how grateful I am. Thank you sincerely, and hopefully the day will come sooner than later when we can simply reflect on these times, rather than living them.

Take care of yourselves, we hope to see you soon.

Ciao

Greetings!
I hope everyone is well and you are coping as well as can be expected with these extraordinary times we are all living through. I want to keep you, my loyal readers and patrons, informed of what we are experiencing here at Fratello’s. I have met with our staff to discuss our new reality, and as a result, a significant number of our employees, including most of the floor staff and several from the back of the house, have applied for or are in the process of applying for unemployment compensation.

As I mentioned last earlier this week, we have adjusted our operation to carry-out only, to be available between the hours of 4:00 to 8:00 Monday through Thursday, and from 4:00 to 9:00 on Friday and Saturday. At this point, we continue to be closed on Sunday, as always, although this is an evolving situation and I will keep you posted if these hours change in any way. Carry-out will include our entire dinner menu, and wine and beer are also available to enjoy with your meal. Gift Certificates are also available.

We are only in the first week of this new reality, although it seems to have been much longer, and I want to express how gratifying it has been to witness the response and support that has been extended to us this week. We are truly grateful, and with your support we are hopeful that we can weather this pandemic, however challenging it becomes. Tonight we morph into Spring, a renewal time of growth, of hope, and I continue to believe that if we pool together, we cooperate and even sacrifice for one another, that we continue to stay calm and carry on, as mentioned earlier, we will get through this. 

Take care and stay well. We look forward to seeing you for carry-out.

Ciao

Greetings! 
In the recent past I shared with you how crazy the times we are living in, but I never thought it would get this crazy. The order from Governor DeWine to close all restaurants and bars for dine-in business only is the appropriate and proper call given the pandemic we are faced with. We are all in this together, and we must work together and even sacrifice to a degree in order to contain and limit the spread of this virus, so that life as we love and have known can return to normal.

To this end we are adjusting our operation to carry-out only, to be available between the hours of 4:00 to 8:00 Monday through Thursday, and from 4:00 to 9:00 on Friday and Saturday. At this point we will be closed on Sunday, as always, although this is an evolving situation and I will keep you posted if these hours change in any way. Carry-out will include our entire dinner menu, plus wine and beer as supplies are available. Gift Certificates are also available.

My focus as we proceed is the well being of our employees and our business, health-wise and business-wise, and we have doubled down on our sanitation procedures and protocol to hopefully ensure that no one becomes ill. In these times it is important to remember to stay calm and carry on, as hard as that may be, and I am confident that with the resources we have in our country and with cooperation by all of us, this pandemic will be but a memory in the not too distant future.

Thank you for your continued support all these many years, and particularly now, we are very grateful. Be well, and we look forward to seeing you for carry-out.

Ciao

Greetings! 
We are living in strange times now, nothing like I have ever experienced. And I am not talking about 60 degree days in the beginning of March, although it qualifies, sort of. I sense a panic in the air, reinforced by a crazy day at Costco earlier today, but I think we can all agree that we will get through this. Not that we have hit bottom yet, hopefully but not likely, but I have faith in the fundamentals of who we are, of what we are capable of. We at Fratello’s are in the food business, the entertainment business, and we are here to provide you with quality food & beverage in a nice environment, safely, responsibly, and tasty. To this end we will be here for you this weekend, and we will be featuring Prestige Pork Chops, Arctic Char, and Haddock. Consider joining us, we are here for you.

As for the wine part, I have added some new wines to our feature board, including a Cabernet Sauvignon from the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma, and the return of an Italian red from Puglia that I am fond of, both from a quality and a value point of view. Dry Creek to my mind is known for their Zinfandel, and perhaps Sauvignon Blanc, as on our wine list one can find a very good Sauvignon Blanc from Quivera. But this Cabernet offers a different take on the same grape as made by Joel Gott, which comes from Napa Valley. There is more heat in Dry Creek, the soil is different, all contributing to a different take on the same wine. The Italian wine is Salice Salentino and is made from the Negroamaro grape, medium bodied with good fruit, and shows why one should consider wines from the south of Italy. Wines from the south of Italy feature different grapes and tastes from the more familiar northern regions of the country, and are well worthy of consideration. Just a thought.

I often mention how I hope you are well, and I wish this especially in light of the times we are living in. Take care of yourselves, and of each other, be well, Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you soon. Take care.

Ciao

Greetings!
No doubt about it, winter is here. I know, it has technically been here for nearly two months now, but as I look out my window, there is no question about it. The snow kind of gives it away. But aside from the shoveling and the cold and ice on your car, there is actually something ok about this time of year. Why, it is a perfect time to enjoy a nice, tasty meal, complete with a nice bottle of wine! Like at Fratello’s this weekend, for instance, when we will be featuring Certified Angus Beef Strip Steak, Wild Striped Bass and Arctic Char, which is all so good for you. I cannot stop the snow or the cold, but I can help to provide you a fine meal. I know this weekend might be on the busy side, at least on Friday, but consider joining us. Remember, we are here for you.

As for the wine, on our wine board I have added a Ribera del Duero red wine from Spain, and a red blend from California from the Prisoner Wine company called Unshackled. The wine from Spain is primarily made with the Tempranillo grape, which is among the major red grape varietals in all of Spain and is the basis of Rioja, perhaps Spain’s most notable wine. Coming from a different region than does Rioja, this Ribera del Duero is medium to fuller bodied, and works well with our menu. The wine from California is a blend with a number of grapes, including Zinfandel, Malbec, and Syrah, and offers the forward fruit that the Prisoner Wine Company is known for. This wine is fine with or without food and is a crowd-pleaser. Both wines will work for a fine Valentines’s day dinner.

Remember that we are on the back end of winter now, the snow & cold aside, and the Tribe starting spring season soon is always a good sign. I hope you are well and thank you sincerely for your continued support. Take care, and we hope to see you soon.

Ciao

Greetings! 
It’s a beauty out there, non? I bet our friends and readers down south are envious of us, it’s not often one gets rain, sleet & snow all in one day. But we do live in northeast Ohio, we are hearty stock (for the most part), a little rain, sleet & snow won’t stop us from our appointed rounds! It won’t stop us from enjoying a fine meal & glass or bottle of wine! Like this very weekend, when we at Fratello’s will be featuring for your dining pleasure Certified Angus Beef Delmonico Steak, Red Grouper from Mexico and Blue Fin Snapper from off the Carolina coast. Consider joining us - the corkscrews are ready, the ovens will be on, and the parking lot will be salted - as you know by now, we’d love to see ya’!

On our wine board, the Rioja from Lan is nearly gone, but I have added a wine from France for you to enjoy. This wine is a Cabernet Franc from the Cite de Carcassonne, which is from the Languedoc region of southwest France. Cabernet Franc is more often a blending grape, as in the wines from Bordeaux, but in certain regions of the world, including France, Italy and even California, it is made on its own. This Cabernet Franc offers medium body, decent fruit, and a nice finish, which I find rare in wines at this price point. Not quite as big as a Cabernet Sauvignon, this is an interesting wine for you to enjoy. When the Rioja is gone I plan to bring out a red blend from California from the Prisoner Wine Company, Unshackled. It will probably be out this weekend, and I am confident that you will really like this wine. 

I hope you have been healthy & safe through our weather ups & downs. Thank you for your continued support & friendship, and we look forward to seeing you soon. 

Ciao

Greetings!
It is dark out as I write this, although that is not necessarily a bad thing. Not exactly a stellar day around here today, definitely gray, chilly, no sun anywhere, what in my family a dear cousin penned a “dru” day, i.e. dreary & blue. But alas all is not lost, one can still find a place to go to enjoy a fine meal & wine, to forget, at least for a while, what awaits one outside. I humbly submit that we at Fratello’s strive to be one such place, and as far as the meal goes we will be featuring this weekend Certified Angus Beef Boneless Beef Short Ribs, Atlantic Halibut, and Monk Fish. I cannot do much about what is happening outside, weather-wise and otherwise, unfortunately, but I do have some influence herein, so consider joining us, we’d love to see ya’ (but you knew that, right?)!

As far as the wine side, I have changed our offerings on our wine board slightly to include a Zinfandel from Lodi, California, and a Rioja from Spain from Lan. Both wines work well with our menu, or simply by their own, medium-bodied with decent fruit and structure. I have long been a fan of wines from Spain, which typically offer value and quality, especially at the price points that we can offer them to you. Not all wines from Spain are inexpensive, and we have several on our list at different price points, but I think they all offer value. Another Spanish wine awaits its turn to join our list, as do several wines from California that I think you will like. Stay tuned.

It can be a scary time out there, health-wise, political-wise, what have you, but I hope you are and continue to be well. Thank you for your continued support, and we hope to see you soon.

Ciao

Greetings! 
Okay, so it is now firmly established that winter is here. Plenty of snow out there, although the roads are clear, and that “nice” damp, wet kind of weather that we all love so much (NOT). But there is a bright side, so to speak. The days are definitely getting longer now, when the sun decides to appear it does seem a bit warmer, at least it dries the driveways. Plus it is not too bad to prevent one from enjoying a nice meal and perhaps a glass or bottle of fine wine. Which, I am sure to your great surprise, I humbly suggest we at Fratello’s can help you with. Take this weekend, when we will be featuring Certified Angus Beef Strip Steak, Swordfish and Sturgeon, plus we have a few different types of wine for you to choose from. Consider joining us, we’d love to see ya’!

As for the wine portion of your meal, our wine board continues to offer the Priorat called Autor from Rotllan, which comes from the northeast of Spain not far from Barcelona. This Priorat is a blend of mostly Garnacha (Grenache to most of the world) with some Cabernet Sauvignon and a local grape added to the blend. The Rabosa from northeast Italy is also on the board, although the supply is limited, and I urge you to try this wine before it is gone. It offers fruit and medium body, simply a pleasant wine to enjoy. Awaiting their turn on the board is another wine from Spain, a Rioja, and a Zinfandel from Lodi, California, plus I have my eye on some wines from Italy and California that I want to feature for you. Stay tuned and remember, there is a lot of great juice out there for you to enjoy. 

I hope the flu that is floating around has missed you, and that you have managed to stay warm and dry, and healthy. Thanks for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you soon. 

Ciao