Going out to dinner is nice and all, but sometimes you just want to kick back on the couch in a pair of sweats with your hands down your pants.
During business hours you're most likely already dressed, hopefully.
Whether you're running around and need a quick bite to eat or your desperate to get away from the fluorescent lights and incessant sound of coworkers typing away in their cubicles, lunch is the ideal time for a culinary break.
To help you find respite from the rest of your working day, on Tuesday Kitchenetta is opening its doors for lunch.
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From noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, the Fort Lauderdale Italian spot will be serving up a pizzas, pastas, paninis, salads, and a number of specials to guests.
According to owner Vincent Foti, "The menu is going to be mostly organic, as much as possible. We make out mozzarella cheese daily, our charcuterie comes from Italy with no phosphates or nitrates and all the preservatives found in meats in the U.S."
Salads range from $10 to $16 and include items ranging from spinach ($10) with roasted corn, lemon, and extra virgin olive oil to the New Korner ($16), Foti's take on one of his favorite salads from the famous New Corner restaurant in Brooklyn, with mixed greens, romaine, fennel, parma cotto, parma crudo, aurecchio, s & h sopratta, hard boiled eggs, red onion, radicchio, and red wine vinaigrette to the Fai Tu salad ($12) -- Neapolitan slang for you do it or you decide -- mixed greens, arugula, endive, radicchio, fennel, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and red wine vinaigrette with protein options ranging from a homemade meatball ($6) to grilled chicken breast ($8) to veal Milanese ($12).
Pizzas and pastas are $15 and $14 respectively with choices varying from vegetarian to meaty and a number of selections in between.
Paninis are made on homemade bread with similar varying dietary choices. Vegetarian options like the caprese ($12) with fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, and olive oil; pescatarian alternatives, such as the Baccala Fritti ($15), romaine, tomatoe, and vinaigrette modanese; and carnivorous selections, including the Svizzere ($16), an Italian version of a hamburger comprised of ground veal, beef, pork, and spices and the Miale ($16) a 12 hour wood roasted pork, served in roasting juices with sliced hot cherry peppers, and aurecchio are being offered on a daily basis.
A number of healthy side dishes are available for $6, such as wood charred escarole; roasted brussel sprouts, chi chi beans, and gorgonzola; house roasted peppers, sweet yellow & red peppers, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil; and more.
To start the restaurant will not be offering delivery, but Foti is hoping to eventually sign up for service with the Delivery Dudes.
"I don't want to bog down the kitchen right of the bat," said Foti. "I want them to be able to focus on take-out and eat-in with getting people in and out during their lunch breaks."
The restaurant served lunch when it first opened, but Foti had decided to give it up years ago, because it was too much to handle. While he's been thinking about restarting the service for a while, his new chef de cuisine Vincent Salzano convinced him to ago ahead with the expanded hours.
"The crew expressed their interest in doing it, so it just seemed like it would work without me killing myself," said Foti. "Customers have been asking for it for a while and I have such a great team that can take care of it with minimal involvement from me."
While Foti is still heavily involved in Kitchenetta, he is currently working on plans for a new fast-casual concept to launch in South Florida. He's mum about specifics right now, but he does say that it will focus on healthy, organic fare served in green buildings. Many of the dishes for the new concept are being tested at kitchenetta as lunch and dinner specials.
"Where at Kitchenetta we probably use about 75 percent organic and about 25 percent of what the market offers, at the new concept I plan go to 100 percent organic with a menu based upon items that are easy to find organic," said Foti. "That's the way I like to eat."
We will be updating you on details as soon as we hear more.
Kitchenetta is located at 2850 N. Federal Hwy. in Fort Lauderdale. Call 954-567-3333, or visit kitchenetta.com.
Follow Sara Ventiera on Twitter, @saraventiera.
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