Brooklyn, N.Y. — Vertuccio’s a new Italian brick oven pizzeria opens this week on popular McCarren Park in trendy Wiliamsburg, Brooklyn. A full menu of fresh pizzas, homemade pastas and salads are offered at a perfect price point for the neighborhood and just in time for the fall restaurant season.
Opening an Italian restaurant where everything is made fresh was a lifelong dream of Queens native Michael Vertuccio. Upon discovering Palermo Italy’s own Gaetano Giuffre’s authentic brick oven pizzas he came to the realization that the dream could indeed become reality.
“Gaetano not only brings with him thirty years of excellence in pizza and pasta making, but the unmistakable pride reflective in his cooking that only a true Italian could have, ” says owner Michael Vertuccio.”Not to mention, nobody leaves a table here with food left on their plate!”
Upon entering the restaurant one is immediately hit with the unmistakable aroma of wood burning in the twenty eight foot diameter custom built brick oven. It is here Giuffre’s signature all fresh ingredient pizza’s are baked. One simply cannot come here without tasting the signature Margherita pizza. Fresh hand selected Italian cured meats and cheeses are an excellent antipasti choice as well as the beef Carpaccio. If pizza isn’t your preference for lunch or dinner then the homemade cheese ravioli will melt in your mouth just as easily. The bar offers a fine selection of Italian wines as well as local, domestic and imported beers. Giuffre’s kitchen staff bring with them years of preparing fresh authentic Italian cuisine.
“Of course, identical to Palermo, we use only the freshest Fiore Di Latte Mozzarella and sauce made with Italian San Marzano tomatoes,” says Giuffre. “Our pasta is homemade fresh here in the restaurant. Everything is fresh, just like in Italy.”
A true Palermo family style pizzeria is not only reflective with outstanding fresh food, but ambiance as well. Vertuccio’s has pulled out all the stops with its warm, inviting decor which includes four massive oil murals depicting nineteenth century Italian landscapes and seascapes. The murals which were painted on canvas by Stamford, CT muralist Suzanne Bellehumeur, transcend the patrons in time to a place where life was relaxed and uncomplicated. The restaurant is simultaneously elegant yet casual. The contrast of true ocre colored buon fresco walls with rich red velvet drapes and candelabra on the bar remind one that you are here with your own agenda. Be they to relax in a warm atmosphere or liven up the evening with your friends at the bar.
“I designed the murals and restaurant with the insight of what a typical New Yorker is looking for, a place to relax and transcend time. When seated here, one completely forgets exactly where one is. You literally could be in Palermo,” says Bellehumeur.
Vertuccio’s is destined to set a new standard for Brooklyn pizzerias. Vertuccio’s full menu is on their website www.vertuccios.com. They offer free delivery and full catering services as well. The restaurant is open from 11 to 11 seven days a week.
