{"id":832,"date":"2024-05-15T04:39:30","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T04:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multi.nycnewsnetwork.com\/clintonhill\/?p=832"},"modified":"2024-05-15T04:39:30","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T04:39:30","slug":"beloved-sicilian-eatery-piccola-cucina-opens-its-doors-in-brooklyn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/clintonhill\/beloved-sicilian-eatery-piccola-cucina-opens-its-doors-in-brooklyn\/","title":{"rendered":"Beloved Sicilian Eatery Piccola Cucina Opens Its Doors in Brooklyn"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Hannah Berman<\/a><\/p>\n

Piccola Cucina opened its first location in Manhattan in 2007. It was soon joined by two more spots in Manhattan, then a pop-up in Montana, and another in Ibiza.<\/p>\n

Finally, owner Philip Guardione has made it to Brooklyn: Piccola Cucina Casa opened in Boerum Hill at the end of April.<\/p>\n

Guardione said he is excited about the expansion, and is focused on creating something cozier than his other fine-dining locations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the message I want to send, right now, after almost 18 years \u2026 [For the restaurant to] feel like home,\u201d Guardione said.<\/p>\n

\"piccolacucinacasaext\"
Apartments above Piccola Cucina Casa. Photo: Hannah Berman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Guardione, who was born in Catania and grew up in Sicily, studied\u00a0hospitality and worked with Italian great Sergio Mei and in Parisian kitchens before coming to the United States. He came to New York just to visit, and ended up staying; since opening his first Piccola Cucina, he has focused on providing authentic, high-quality Sicilian food at all his locations.<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn\u00a0iteration is called Piccola Cucina Casa\u00a0in part\u00a0because it is the first location to feature a \u201ccasa.\u201d There are two apartments available for short-term rental located above the restaurant.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take this building, I tell [the broker] I want to do in top part Airbnb,\u201d Guardione said. \u201cWhen the tourist[s are] coming to New York, I want to give the Italian design from the kitchen \u2014 everything Italian, you know. \u2026 So maybe from on top you come down, do breakfast together. So this [is] one home \u2014 [it\u2019s] like home, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

The rental apartments above the restaurant go for $4,300 to $4,500 per month, and are only available to rent via email.<\/p>\n

Piccola Cucina Casa is warmer and more relaxed than you might expect from an\u00a0upscale restaurant chain. The dining room is intimate, with tables tucked close together; walls are covered with bottles of Sicilian wine, and the kitchen bustles in the low light. This is all in the name of tradition, which Guardione takes seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll our companies do traditional food,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Guardione is careful to stipulate that he wants to make food that tastes traditional, without being as heavy as a classic Italian meal. To achieve this effect, he employs newer cooking techniques to create lighter dishes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t want people to stay there when you go home for the night, you know, digesting all the food,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I use the new technique, but don’t forget the tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike his other restaurant concepts, Piccola Cucina Casa doesn\u2019t focus on just Sicilian food. On the new menu, every dish is linked to the Italian region where it originated, and there\u2019s a real range: Cacio e Pepe hailing from Lazio in central Italy, fusilloni with scampi langoustine from Puglia in the south, and a Bolognese lasagna from Emilia-Romagna in the north.<\/p>\n

That said, there are plenty of Sicilian specialties, including\u00a0the tuna spaghetti with pistachio sauce, a typical Sicilian flavor pairing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tuna is raw fish,\u201d Guardione explained. \u201cYou cut [it] like spaghetti, and then you do pistachio sauce on top.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this process, the tuna becomes more sashimi-like, an elegant, lighter reimagining of spaghetti.<\/p>\n

\n
\"pastaspiccolacucina\"
Gnocchi con pesto di pistacchio (bottom) and agnolotti ossobuco (top). Photo: Hannah Berman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The starters are delightful\u00a0\u2014 truffle lovers should try the polpette della nonna \u2014 but there\u2019s a reason the largest section of the menu is devoted to pasta. All pasta is made in-house; there\u2019s actually a whole counter devoted to it as you enter the space.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, several dishes are made to order at the table by Guardione\u2019s waitstaff, many of whom have immigrated from Italy. The tiramisu is a particular treat to watch and is served in branded Piccola Cucina teacups. Customers get to see every step of the process, from soaking ladyfingers in coffee to layering the mascarpone into the mug. It\u2019s finished with a showy dash of chocolate powder and served with a flourish.<\/span><\/figure>\n

Piccola Cucina Casa is located at 141 Nevins St, and open Mon\u2013Fri 5pm\u201310pm and Sat\u2013Sun 11:30am\u201310pm.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Hannah Berman Piccola Cucina opened its first location in Manhattan in 2007. It was soon joined by two more spots in Manhattan, then a pop-up in Montana, and another in Ibiza. Finally, owner Philip Guardione has made it to Brooklyn: Piccola Cucina Casa opened in Boerum Hill at the end of April. Guardione said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5757,"featured_media":833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-news","category-food-drinks"],"yoast_head":"\nBeloved Sicilian Eatery Piccola Cucina Opens Its Doors in Brooklyn - Clinton Hill News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/clintonhill\/beloved-sicilian-eatery-piccola-cucina-opens-its-doors-in-brooklyn\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beloved Sicilian Eatery Piccola Cucina Opens Its Doors in Brooklyn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Hannah Berman Piccola Cucina opened its first location in Manhattan in 2007. 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