Audio By Carbonatix
I’ve always wondered how a married couple could work in the same place without killing each other. I wouldn’t even be able to have the same profession as my husband. If we were both writers, we’d be competitive. If I were a doctor, as he is, we’d probably have conflicting schedules and never see each other. We did share a place of employment once, a pizza joint in California where I was a waitress and he was a busboy. But it wasn’t a happy medium. Every time I asked him to fill someone’s water glass or remove a plate, he’d reply, “Stop telling me what to do.” We got along much better after he quit hauling dishes and started transporting patients from their rooms to surgery at the nearby hospital instead.
Lisa and Anthony Damiano, proprietors of the Italian restaurant Tony & Lisa’s Cucina Nostalgica in Boca Raton, seem to have it figured out, though. Lisa, the pastry chef, and Tony, the executive chef, worked together at the Russian Tea Room in New York City in 1988. They moved to Florida in 1990 and opened their flagship “transcontinental” bistro, Damiano’s at the Tarrimore House, in Delray Beach, in 1992. Because of its award-winning status, they opened a second restaurant, Damiano’s Under a Hot Tin Roof, in Stuart in the spring of 1998. Cucina Nostalgica, taking over the former Rabelais location on East Palmetto Park Road, wasn’t far behind. It’s pretty nervy to run one business together; I’ve seen plenty of restaurant couples get divorced. But three? That’s ambition cubed.
The arrangement works, in part because none of the restaurants, which only provide dinner, is open Monday or Tuesday, during which the Damianos “take a breather, do the paperwork, and give our staffs a chance to rest,” Anthony says. And their restaurants are small, about 50 seats each. In fact they specialize in restoring and preserving old houses as the settings for their cuisine. The Tarrimore House is 70 years old, positioned in the historic Pineapple Grove District (only a block or so away from the newly redone Sundy House on Swinton Avenue). Damiano’s Under a Hot Tin Roof, originally built in 1913, was once the home of Stuart’s first tax collector.
As for Cucina Nostalgica, it might just be the only freestanding ’20s building in strip-mall central, and the Damianos have given it a Victorian feel with rose-colored walls, tasseled lamps, velvet settees, and a handsome wine cabinet in which they store reasonably priced California and Italian vintages. The floorboards even groan as you walk from the enclosed porch, which houses a few tables, to the restrooms in the back. It’s a delightful place, both cozy and sophisticated, with a dedicated wait staff that seems to share the Damianos’ sense of family. By extension guests feel right at home.
The fare, however, is a step or two away from delicious. One of the downfalls of dining at one of three chef-owned restaurants is that you never know whether the chef-owner is on duty that night. Anthony Damiano spends about 60 percent of his time at Cucina Nostalgica, and the rest of his focus is directed at the Tarrimore House. “I rarely go to Stuart,” he admits. “We have a good chef there, and the place doesn’t need the attention a new restaurant does.” He’s right: The recently opened Cucina Nostalgica does need extra TLC. Unfortunately Anthony wasn’t working the kitchen the night we dined, and the freshly baked focaccia, served with herbed oil, was bland enough to suggest that we should have made the extra effort to drive to Martin County.
The idea behind Cucina Nostalgica is to present Anthony Damiano’s family recipes, such as Momma Teresa’s ground sirloin and veal meat loaf, as more than just home-style Italian fare. But Grandpa Sal’s potato soup, which the menu notes is Lisa’s personal favorite, was dishwater strength. Chunks of potato were firm and sweet, but the stock was flavorless, tasting mostly of boiled garlic. Good soup, as any grandparent will tell you, starts with the broth, and this one was doomed from the beginning. By contrast a starter of griddled shrimp scampi, also featuring enough garlic to cure a cold, was terrific. The pan-seared shrimp were tightly curled and crackling on the edges, and the risotto, infused with white truffle oil, was creamy but not mushy.
As happy as we were with the risotto, we were disappointed in a dish of gnocchi, tough little potato dumplings that were attractively presented in a frothy candied tomato, roasted garlic, and Gavi di Gavi sauce. The light, buttery sauce looked and sounded tasty but had absolutely no presence, the flavor dissolving on the palate almost immediately.
Mashed potatoes, which accompanied all of the entrees (except for pastas ordered as main courses), were equally easy to dismiss. As a mattress for the wonderfully moist salmon fillet topped with artichoke hearts, onions, and sun-dried tomatoes, they provided heft but not much else. And they did nothing to complement the four-hour roasted duckling, which was moist, tender, and braised with a sauce comprising tangy tamarind and citrus notes. The duck’s Asian flavor would have been better accentuated by an inventive rice dish. The mashed potatoes did, however, complement an outstanding veal scaloppine. Pan-seared with basic Italian ingredients, including roasted garlic, artichoke hearts, onions, and green peppers, the veal practically required a non-intrusive side dish.
Because the menu is small — seven appetizers including soups and salads, five pastas, and seven main courses — repeated ingredients tend to stand out. We sampled both appetizers that feature portobello mushrooms with 50-50 success. The escargot, garlic, and portobello mushroom stew was rich and earthy, the plump snails matched in texture by the mushroom pieces. We weren’t as fond of the mashed potato bed on which the stew was ladled, and a phyllo dough nest, while beautifully spun and crunchy, seemed an afterthought. Eggplant and portobello mushroom rollatini fared better, the thin-sliced eggplant stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella di bufala cheeses, then baked in a casserole with the mushrooms and a touch of tomato sauce.
The limited menu applied to desserts, making it easy to order just about all of them. Lisa’s well-known for her pastry skills, and though she wasn’t on the premises that evening, her recipes proved themselves. Lemon cake tasted like a light pound cake, rich with butter but not heavy. We especially enjoyed a flourless hazelnut torte, which was nutty and moist, and a chocolate-laced version of creme brulee. Our only complaint was that the sweets were too small.
In fact, all portion sizes could be increased and, in general, the vibrancy of dishes amplified. The third installation of the burgeoning Damiano empire is already showing signs of overextension. I’m tempted to quote Klime Kovaceski, chef-owner of the Crystal Cafe in Miami Beach, a favorite eatery of mine that reminds me of the “transcontinental cuisine” executed by Tony and Lisa Damiano at the Tarrimore House. “You can’t have a signature restaurant,” he’s fond of saying, “and own two of them.” The Damianos’ Cucina Nostalgica has plenty of potential, but the pair should consider Kovaceski’s words before making another move toward expansion.
Tony & Lisa’s Cucina Nostalgica. 461 E. Palmetto Park Rd., Boca Raton, 561-361-7181. Dinner Wednesday through Sunday from 6 till 10 p.m.
Potato soup
$5.50
Griddled shrimp scampi
$7.50
Gnocchi
$14
Four-hour duckling
$20
Veal scaloppine
$21
