David Manero Restaurants, one of the leading restaurant development organizations in the country, together with mega yachting entrepreneur, John Rosatti, opens the region’s most coveted Italian restaurant brand from Palm Beach this week, Vic & Angelo’s, at 150 Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, FL.
The iconic Italian Coal Oven Enoteca that first opened in Palm Beach Gardens in 2006, with a subsequent sister location opening shortly after in Delray Beach, will establish its famous authenticity in rustic Italian cuisine with residents and visitors to South Florida by introducing the first authentic Coal Oven Pizza in Miami Beach. While maintaining its traditional European flair with home-cooked signature dishes fresh from the garden to the plate, Vic & Angelo’s will pioneer upscale fine dining at affordable prices, a culinary ethos that will go against the grain of typical gourmet restaurants that have long-established their presence in the area’s trendy South of Fifth district.
“We are pleased to announce a more affordable premium dining experience in Miami Beach,” says David Manero, founder of David Manero Restaurants. “Locals and visitors to South Florida are still tightening their belts and are looking for value for money in their dining experience more than ever. Guests at Vic & Angelo’s in South Beach will notice that our average check per person is significantly lower than comparable restaurants in the area, but the superiority of our house-made Italian cuisine will continue to be of a standard that has earned the restaurant a most distinguished following. Expensive fine dining has become a thing of the past.”
Vic & Angelo’s Corporate Chef Paul Griffin is at the helm of the kitchen at the South Beach location, bringing the same signature menu items, unique to Vic & Angelo’s, that have proven notoriously popular with Palm Beach and Delray Beach patrons. The lunch and dinner menu features additional plates that are in-tune with the South Beach style of cuisine that the upscale clientele is accustomed to. Vic & Angelo’s takes pride in its generations-old philosophy in Italian cuisine, encompassed by the time intensive processes with which the freshest ingredients are prepared. This attention to detail brings out the boldest flavors within the sauces, pastas, cooked meats, poultry and fish, whereby each dish is developed with a layered approach using seasonal ingredients over time, resulting in what can be described as Le Marché Cuisine, a style of cooking adopted in specific rural regions of Italy.
Known for its award-winning specialty pizza, Vic & Angelo’s offers the first authentic Coal Oven Pizza in South Beach. Defined by its raised crust, formulated from ancient starter dough that dates back to Manero’s Neapolitan family recipe, the Vic & Angelo’s pie has natural Maldon salt and natural cane sugar added, and is topped with Grana Padano cheese imported from Italy that is added before the sauce and cooked at an average 650 to 750 degrees in temperature. Guests can choose from ten different kinds of specialty pizzas or create their own from an à la carte choice of toppings. The most popular choice of Vic & Angelo’s pizza includes the Mott Street (Pepperoni, Mozzarella, San Marzano) and Truffle with Wild Mushroom (Truffle Cream, Wild Mushrooms, Truffle Cheese). The purest spring water from New York is imported to make a superior dough at Vic & Angelo’s. The New York water system is known to be one of the healthiest in the country.
Vic & Angelo’s South Beach offers more than 15 different pasta dishes, most of which are made in-house on a daily basis. The house-made pastas include: Tortelloni, Gnocchi, Fettuccine, Lasagna, Ravioli, Tagliatelle and Pappardelle. Freshly imported Italian pastas include: Penne, Rigatoni, Linguine, Bucatini, Cappellini and Fusilli. The specialty pasta sauces at Vic & Angelo’s are carefully brewed each day using some of the rarest types of San Marzano Tomatoes imported from Italy. The infamous Vic & Angelo’s 11oz Kobe Meatball is hand-rolled by a trained meat specialist whose one-and-only job each day is to master the art of his craft to absolute perfection. Signature favorites are the Shrimp Penne Alla Vodka (Creamy Vodka Sauce, Gulf Shrimp, Peas) and the traditional Sunday Gravy (Giant Meatball, Pork, Sausage, San Marzano Tomatoes, Impastata).
Meats on the menu at Vic & Angelo’s are all from proprietary and certified natural farms that are seared over a traditional 900 degree Southbend cooking range to bring out every dish charred to perfection. Steaks include a 14oz New York Strip, 10oz Filet Mignon and 10oz Skirt Steak, with the most popular among meat-lovers being the 22oz Veal Chop. Additional meat and poultry dishes include the Veal or Chicken Milanese, Veal Scallopine, Stuffed Chicken Francese and Pan Roasted Chicken Breast, among others. Fish-lovers can expect a decadent choice of Branzino, Roasted Sea Bass, Black Grouper, as well as Snake River Trout and Wild Salmon. Unique to the South Beach location on Ocean Drive are local favorites, including a hand selection of the finest caviar and Colossal Jumbo Shrimp. Vic & Angelo’s offers an extensive selection of Antipasti, salads, hand crafted Italian meats (Salumi) and Italian cheeses (Formaggi) as well as Giant Carpaccio.
The Vic & Angelo’s lunch menu offers Italian favorites, including a choice of 10 specialty Paninis, ideal as a lighter snack, and a range of traditional Italian soups, among the staple dinner menu items that include signature Coal Oven Pizza, pasta, chicken and fish. Guests have a choice of daily specials that will include a salad special, meat special, fish special, a hot appetizer and dessert special. Tantalizing Italian desserts range from Cannoli (Impastata, Mint Chocolate Chips, Crushed Pistachios) to Vanilla Venetian Cake (Sponge Cake, Vanilla Custard, Toasted Merengue) and more traditional presentations of favorites such as Tiramisu and Affogato. Vic & Angelo’s offers a full wine list from Italy and around the world to accompany any appetizer, entrée or dessert.
A special Vic & Angelo’s Sunday Brunch Menu offers popular plates, including Steak and Eggs any style, Omlette specials (also made to order) and French Toast (two ways) with fruit, among other selections. A late night bar menu for happy hour and beyond will compliment the extensive range of Vic & Angelo’s specialty cocktails and include Chicken Wings, Carpaccio and Baked Clams, among other appetizers taken from the main menu.
The interior and exterior design for Vic & Angelo’s South Beach, developed and executed by Lynn Interior Design, reflects an upscale contemporary Mediterranean take on retro modern classicism. Guests enter the outdoor seating area furnished with Driade Lordyo dining chairs in a terracotta white, situated within private cabanas decorated in the signature Vic & Angelo’s lipstick red and draped in green, blue and orange fabric that brings the inside out. Two outdoor patio areas each feature a built-in fire pit surrounded by lounge seating as the ideal environment for pre-dinner entertaining, cocktails and appetizers.
The restaurant’s Italian style “Palazzo” interior encapsulates the Modern Mediterranean Glam theme and features reclaimed Chicago brick walls with solid Mahogany wood plank flooring. Signature red upholstered dining chairs are situated around marble dining tables that are tactically positioned so guests are able to view the entire dining room through the fixed wall mirrors throughout. Flat screen televisions are scattered around the property, playing the latest in music and entertainment. Six red Venetian chandeliers form the restaurant’s striking centerpiece, along with more than ten 85-bulb European light fixtures, unique to the Vic & Angelo’s South Beach property. The first floor and second floor bars will be upholstered in white and feature a red Venetian backlit mirror.
The upstairs dining area contains additional seating and has been customized to accommodate private parties and corporate events. A floor to ceiling glass enclosure is built to ensure complete privacy away from the other guests in the restaurant. The second floor also features a lounge area, complete with comfortable sofas, ideal for after-dinner dessert and aperitifs, or serving as an intimate hideaway to relax within and wind down at the end of the evening. A DJ station provides atmospheric lounge music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights to set the mood. Adjacent to the upstairs dining area is a private balcony, overlooking Ocean Drive, complete with decorative statuesque chairs from Italy.
Vic & Angelo’s has remained a favorite with locals, visitors and celebrities alike, including: Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Newman, Timothy Hutton, Diana Ross, Michael Bolton, Andre Agassi, Martha Stewart, F. Lee. Bailey, Jim Palmer, Barry Sanders, Harry Connick, Jr., Nicollette Sheridan, Bryant Gumbel, Victoria Jackson, Jim Nantz, Fred Couples, Don King, Mike Piazza, Gwen Stefani and Liza Minnelli, among others.
Vic & Angelo’s on South Beach is located at 150 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139 and is open for dinner seven days a week from 5:00pm until late. For reservations call 305.531.0911 and visit www.vicandangelos.com <http://www.vicandangelos.com> for further information.
ESPR