Fratello's Restaurant

Greetings! 
Well, it seems like winter wants to revisit us. I know, it has been winter for several weeks now, although it has not really felt like it, fortunately. But I saw some snow earlier today, not much, but enough to remind us what time of year it really is. But winter does has its plus sides, like how nice it is to enjoy a nice meal & wine on a cold, wet, blustery evening. Kind of like what we are having as specials this weekend, when we will be featuring Neiman Ranch Certified Angus Beef Prime Rib-eye Steaks, Red Grouper and Arctic Char. Consider joining us, we’d love to see ya’!

On our wine board the Merlot from Italy is gone, but I have added a wine from Spain to take its place. This wine is a 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. Spain is known for their wines made from Garnacha, and Priorat is among their best examples. Medium bodied with good fruit, and it is aged in American oak barrels which gives it a bit of structure. On the board it joins the Italian wine Rabosa, which comes from the Veneto region of northeast Italy. Rabosa is a grape that until recently I had never heard of, and I find this to be a very interesting and fun wine. Inexpensive with fruit and a medium body, it is simply a nice drinking wine. Italy has wines made from many different grape varietals, from all over the country, and on our list there are many examples for you to try. These wines obviously go well with our menu, and it is fun to try new wines. Just a thought.

I hope you are well and getting adapted to 2020 by now. Thank you for continues support, it is very much appreciated. Take care, and we hope to see you soon.

Ciao

Think of it this way, the first full week of 2020 is almost in the books. I know, the weather could probably be better, the ying and the yang of how it goes around here suggests some might consider golfing this weekend, and then we might need the snow shovels by the end of next week. A little consistency, good or bad, is appreciated, although I do tend to like the golfing type of weather better. Speaking of consistency, this is what we try to do here at Fratello’s, like this weekend, when we will be featuring Certified Angus Beef Top Sirloin, Haddock from Norway and Mahi-mahi from Guatemala. I hope you can join us, we’d love for you to keep us company.
On the wine side of things, I have added the Rabosa from the northeast of Italy, which joins the Merlot from Sant’Elena, which also comes from this part of Italy. Rabosa is the name of the grape, which to my knowledge is grown nowhere else, not even in other parts of Italy, and I find it a very interesting grape. Medium-bodied with very good fruit, it is not a complicated wine, simply an easy-drinking, enjoyable type of wine, which always has its place. We have featured it in the past, and I have brought it back because I think it is worthy of being on our board. The Merlot is nearly gone, however, and I will probably add a wine from Spain next to replace it. I have mentioned in the past how wines from Spain, and from Portugal as well, are for the most part very good values, both from a cost and a quality perspective. We have wines from both regions on our list, and I urge you to try them. They work very well with our menu as well.
I hope you are well and flu-free and are adjusting to our new year. Thank you for your continued support, it is very much appreciated. Take care, and we look forward to seeing you soon.
Ciao

Greetings! 
Welcome to 2020! I know you probably heard this recently, but for those of you that were not with us on the 31st I want to wish you a Happy New Year! 2020 has sort of a funny ring to it, non? In any event, the new year is here, which on the good side means that the days are already getting longer. On the other side, however, especially since it is January 2 as I write this, things sometimes take a bit to get rolling, if you know what I mean, and this seems to be the case with some of our food suppliers. We were, however, able to locate product for our specials this weekend, and we will be featuring Certified Angus Beef Delmonico Steak, Swordfish and Halibut for your dining pleasure. I hope you can join us and start the new year outright, at least in our perspective, and as always, we love to see ya’!

On our wine board I have added the Merlot from Italy that I mentioned last week from Sant’Elena. This wine hails from the Venezia area of northeast Italy, where I found in my travels they make a lot of Merlot wine. Sant’Elena is a vineyard I have respect for, and in addition to this Merlot we have on our wine list a Cabernet/Merlot blend called Tato, as well as a Pinot Grigio that I actually prefer over some of those other better known Pinot Grigio wines. I suspect you may have done this already, as have I, but it seems a good idea to welcome the new year in with a nice glass, or bottle, of wine. Come join us, we have the grape that will work for you.

I hope your New Year celebrations went safely and well, and did not compromise too much your day on the 1st. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Ciao

Greetings! 
Well, it’s that time again. Santa and his crew are hard are work with all the last minute preparations, as I am sure some of his helpers and some of you are as well, and the big day is fast upon us. A great time to enjoy a fine meal with family and friends, and perhaps equally important a great time to let someone else do the cooking & serving besides yourselves. Which - I know, surprise - is where we may come in to help you, letting us do the cooking & serving & cleaning up afterwards. Like this weekend, when we we will be featuring Certified Angus Beef Strip Steak, Atlantic Halibut, and fresh Swordfish from Florida. As you know, we are here for you and would love to see you, consider joining us and celebrating this wonderful time of year. Just a thought.

As for the wine part of your dinner, I have added again to our wine board Salice Salentino from southeastern Italy, and we still have some of the Napa Malbec from Treasure Hunter available. Salice Salentino is made with the Negroamaro grape, which is indigenous to that part of Italy and offers fruit, body & structure, just a delicious wine at its price point. Negroamaro also makes an excellent Rose wine, but this is a medium bodied red wine, and is another example of the wonderful wines that hail from the south of Italy. Still available on our list is the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione and Merlot, called Podalirio, from Querceto Di Catellina, and the Brunello that I mentioned last week, and we also received new vintages of Abstract and Papillon, two red wines from Dave Phinney which are also very good. There is a lot of juice out there for you to enjoy, so come have a glass, or bottle, with us.

As I mentioned last week, our reservations for our New Year’s Eve celebration this year for both the 5:30 and the 7:30 seatings are on a stand-by basis now.  I personally confirm every reservation, so changes can and do happen. There is still room to join us at the 9:30 seating. As with all the years past, all of the seatings will offer our core menu with specials, and we take reservations for all size parties. Call - do not email - for a reservation. I hope you can join us, we plan on having fun and toasting in 2020 in style.

 I know Santa & company are on many people’s minds right now, and it can be very exciting & fun, but Santa aside this season is about so much more than the jolly old fellow. If you allow it, this season is also about family & friends, joy & merriment, happiness & great joy. May the magic & wonder, that this Season can be, be with you, and I wish you all a most Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Ciao

P.S. A personal note, if I may, as unfortunately a friend of mine has left the building. I actually did not know him all that well, having met at the restaurant within the past year or so, and never did very much with him. But Ed was a good guy, I could tell the first time I met him, if you know what I mean. Safe travels, my friend. 

Greetings! 
It has gotten kind of chilly out there, non? I know, it is December after all, and the Holiday Season is full upon us, but I kind of liked those sunny days in the upper 40’s plus. But whatever it is out there - and for the record I am a fan of a white Christmas - this time of year is a wonderful time to spend with family & friends, especially over a fine meal & bottle of wine. This is where we come into the conversation - some surprise, I know - as this is what we strive to help you with all year. Take this weekend, when we will be featuring Certified Angus Beef Delmonico Steak, “Gag” Grouper from Florida (trust me, it is better than the name, which has nothing to do with the taste), and Mahi-mahi, which in this case comes from Guatemala. I know it is a busy time of year, for you and for us, but I hope you can join us, as you know we’d love to see ya’!

For the wine part of your get together with family & friends, I recently tasted some wines from Tuscany, Italy, from the Querceto Di Castellina winery which I was impressed with, so I added them to our wine list. The 2013 Podalirio is 100% Merlot, medium-bodied with good fruit and structure, and the 2015 Sei is a Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, which means it is estate fruit from their very best vineyards. Sei is priced very well for a Gran Selezione, and is one of the better Chianti wines I have tasted recently. This Chianti is 100% Sangiovese, which in my view is among the best grapes to enjoy a meal with, and is an excellent wine. I have also added another Brunello di Montalcino to our list, which is also a wine made from 100% Sangiovese grapes, and if you are new to Brunello you should really try some. I love this wine, and hence we have quite a few you can try, and Brunello is among the best of wines that Italy has to offer. Not inexpensive, but worth it (as are you, mes amis). Lastly, I have added the Malbec from Napa called Safeword from Treasure Hunter to our wine board. Treasure Hunter essentially repackages wines made by other vineyards at a much lesser cost than originally offered by their winemakers, meaning we all benefit. They are not allowed per their terms with the original vineyards to disclose the name of the wine, but I am told this is among the finest vineyards in both Napa and Sonoma, a tremendous value given its pedigree. Just a thought.

As I mentioned last week, our reservations for our New Year’s Eve celebration this year for both the 5:30 and the 7:30 seatings are on a stand-by basis now.  I personally confirm every reservation, so changes can and do happen. There is still room to join us at the 9:30 seating. As with all the years past, all of the seatings will offer our core menu with specials, and we take reservations for all size parties. Call - do not email - for a reservation. I hope you can join us, we plan on having fun and toasting in 2020 in style.

 I hope the hustle & bustle & stress often associated, unfortunately, with the Holidays have been kept in check for you, and that you are well. Thank you again for your continued support, it is very much appreciated by us all. Take care, and we hope o see you soon.

Ciao

Greetings! 
Welcome to December! Not too bad out there as I write this, the sun even made a rare appearance today, thankfully, and the Christmas & Holiday season is fully upon us. Although Mother Nature often throws various obstacles in our way - stay tuned on this account, you know how it can be around here - it is a good time to be around friends and family, to enjoy one’s company together. Which to me, and maybe to you as well, often means getting together around a nice meal & perhaps some wine, although in my case there is no “perhaps”. Well, mes amis, this is why we at Fratello’s are here for you. Take this weekend, for instance, when we will be featuring Berkshire Pork Chops, fresh Haddock, and Arctic Char, which like Salmon is all so good for you. Consider joining us, either with your friends & family or simply with your friends already at Fratello’s. As you know by now, we’d love to see ya’!

Our wine board continues to feature the Location E from Spain, which is crafted by Dave Phinney from California, and the Montepulciano D’Abruzzo from Contessa, which as I told you is an excellent wine at its price point. In the wings and very soon I plan to offer some other wines from Italy, including a wine from Puglia to the south and a Merlot from the northeast of Italy, plus possibly a Malbec from California, which one of our waiters has been clamoring me to do for a while. As an aside, last evening I enjoyed the Italian white wine, Orvieto, with a delicious cod dinner, and although this time of year is typically red wine season - although, frankly, when isn’t? - I urge you to consider trying an Orvieto, which we have on our wine list. Not too big to overpower the fish, yet with enough fruit and body to complement the fish, as it would do with the Haddock this weekend, it is a delicious wine. Remember, there is a lot of juice out there.

Our reservations for our New Year’s Eve celebration this year have really accelerated this year, and both the 5:30 and the 7:30 seatings are on a stand-by basis now.  I personally confirm every reservation, so changes can and do happen. There is still plenty of room to join us at the 9:30 seating. As with all the years past, all of the seatings will offer our core menu with specials, and we take reservations for all size parties. Call - do not email - for a reservation. I hope you can join us, we plan on having fun and toasting in 2020 in style.

 I hope you are well and able to deal with the Holiday Season, which for all its wonder & delight can also provide stress & hassles. Take care of yourselves, we look forward to seeing you soon.

Ciao

Greetings! 
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have enjoyed or are enjoying a wonderful feast with family and/or friends, enjoying this special day of thanks. I know the very last thing on your mind now is another meal, as it is for me, but think in terms of tomorrow and perhaps the day after. I bet many of you have spent too much time in your kitchen today, as did I, so as an option to another meal to prepare I suggest you consider joining us. Our ovens & stoves have to be on, so take a break and join us. We will be featuring this weekend Certified Angus Beef Texas Sirloin Steak, Scottish Salmon and #! Yellow Fin Tuna. Take a break and join us, we’d love to see ya’!

On our wine board I have added the Locations E, which many of you know is the wine from Spain made by Dave Phinney. A blend of several grapes from Spain, including Tempranillo, Locations E is in my view perhaps the best of his Location wines, offering fruit and style in a medium bodied package. This wine joins the Montepulciano D’Abruzzo from Contessa which we have run with for a bit, simply because I like it and it is that good. Montepulciano is an Italian grape that is often off most people’s radar, but I suggest you should try it. It is simply a very tasty wine that works well with our menu. Plus it gives you a taste of not only Montepulciano but also of the wine making skills of Contessa, whose Riserva bottling of the same wine is on our wine list. Lots of grape out there to enjoy, and these are two very good samples.

Our reservations for our New Year’s Eve celebration this year are rolling, and availability for both the 5:30 and the 7:30 seating are getting very low.  There is still plenty of room to join us at the 9:30 seating. As with all the years past, all of the seatings will offer our core menu with specials, and we take reservations for all size parties. Call - do not email - for a reservation. I hope you can join us, we plan on having fun and toasting in 2020 in style.

It is obviously Thanksgiving evening as I write this, and I would be more than remiss if I did not reflect or mention the many things that I have many, many thanks for. They obviously include my health and my family, my employees and my partner, who as you know is my brother. My many friends come to mind, which include many of you, my dear readers, and our many, many patrons who have supported us all these years, which is nearly 27 years now. And most importantly there is my wife and partner, Pam, without whose support, love and friendship I could not do what I have done all these many years. Thanks to you all, I am very grateful for your support.

Take care. I hope you are well, and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Ciao

Greetings! 
Well, it is not as nasty as it could be out there. We sure have had worse, and who knows, probably will have all too soon, but all in all not too bad. A bit chilly, a bit cozy type of temps, the kind of days & nights that scream for a nice, warm meal & glass (bottle?) of wine (at least to me anyway). Which - I know, surprise! - we at Fratello’s strive to offer you, like this very weekend, when we will be featuring Certified Angus Beef Delmonico Steak, Red Grouper and Gray Sole. Consider joining us, we’d love to see ya’!

On our wine board I have made a few changes, bringing back an Italian red and adding a red blend from Napa made by a winery in Sonoma. The Italian wine is the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo by Contesa and hails from the Abruzzo region of eastern Italy along the Adriatic sea. Contessa is a highly respected winery, and we offer the Riserva, which is more aged and has a bigger style of Montepulciano, on our list, but both wines show excellent fruit, structure, and body, and both are delicious. The wine from California is made by White Oak, which although located in Sonoma makes this red blend, called the Mighty Oak, from Napa grapes. They call it a “proprietary red blend” and do not disclose the exact blend, but judging from its taste and their other wine offerings I think this wine is a Bordeaux style blend, mostly Cabernet with other varietals mixed in. This wine was part of a past wine dinner and enjoyed by all who attended, so now it is available for you. I am a fan of White Oak, and we also have their Pinot Noir from the Russian River on our list, which is also very good. In the wings for the board await another red from southern Italy, and also another old friend from Dave Phinney. Stay tuned.

Our reservations for our New Year’s Eve celebration this year are rolling, and availability for the 5:30 seating is getting very low.  As with all the years past, we will have seatings at 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30, serving our core menu with specials, and we take reservations for all size parties. Call - do not email - for a reservation. I hope you can join us, we plan on having fun and toasting in 2020 in style.

I hope you are well and are able to take advantage of our brief (hopefully not too brief) weather respite, and perhaps are even able to visit us soon. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you. Take care.

Ciao

Greetings! 
It has become a but nippy out there, non? It seems Mr. Winter has decided to come early this year. It is warm in here though, meaning inside Fratello’s. I make a point to make sure the gas bill is paid this time of year (well, all year actually) so that it is toasty here for you (and us) when you join us. Like, hopefully, this weekend, when we will be featuring Certified Angus Beef Strip Steak, Halibut from the Atlantic and Yellow Tail Snapper from Florida. Like I said, it is warm in here, we have some nice features this weekend, plenty of wine & decent spirits, so we hope you join us. As you know, we’d love to see ya’!

On our wine board the Merlot from Italy that I mentioned last week is gone, unfortunately, but it will be back in the future. The Merlot from Sonoma, from Fitch Mountain, is still with us, and I have added Locations I to the board. This is a wine in the “Locations” portfolio of Dave Phinney, and is a blend of the Italian grapes Barbera from Piedmont and Negroamaro and Nero D’Avola, both from Puglia. Dave Phinney has developed quite a portfolio of wines, many of which we have on our list, including Abstract, Prisoner, Saldo, Palermo and Papillon. He does not actually make some of these wines any longer, but he is either a consultant in the production or they are made in the style he developed. Dave was just named Winemaker of the Year by the Wine Enthusiast, so he has some talent, to say the least. Consider trying the Location I, or one of his other wines, I suspect you will like them. 

I want to remind you again we are taking reservations for our New Year’s Eve celebration this year. As with all the years past, we will have seatings at 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30, serving our core menu with specials, and we take reservations for all size parties. Call - do not email - for a reservation. I hope you can join us, we plan on having fun and toasting in 2020 in style.

I hope you are staying warm and are well. Thanks again for your support, and we hope to see you soon.

Ciao