Vico Set To Bring Authentic Italian Pizza, Pasta To Farmingdale

FARMINGDALE, NY — Vico, an Italian restaurant, is set to bring a taste of Italy's Amalfi Coast to Farmingdale.

Owner Perry Fortuna visits his family in the Italian coastal town of Vico Equense each year. A popular food destination, many chefs hail from Vico, and Fortuna draws inspiration from the town's cuisine, which he hopes to soon bring to 313 Main Street.

The restaurant is targeting a soft opening date of June 28, at the former site of Frankie's East Side Pizza.

"It’s the best feeling in the world," Fortuna told Patch. "It’s like getting something you create out and making other people happy. That’s why we’re in the business: service to other people. It’s just like home. I’m bringing my home to Farmingdale.”

Bringing the dishes to life will be Chef Eric LeVine, a champion of The Food Network's "Chopped." LeVine was also featured on "Beat Bobby Flay" and "Food Paradise," among other shows. To accomplish Fortuna's goal of bringing his hometown Italian cuisine to Long Island, LeVine will use both local ingredients and those imported from Italy.

Vico will specialize in pizza "a metro," or by the meter, with a meter of pizza serving four to six people. Pizzas on offer include Margherita; pistachio cream with ricotta and mortadella; prosciutto, arugula and fresh mozzarella; white prosciutto with fresh ricotta; and artichoke, basil and bacon with a white ricotta sauce.

The restaurant will also serve homemade pasta and fresh seafood.

A meter of pizza will cost around $38 to $40, while an individual 10-inch pizza will be roughly $12 to $16. Pasta will range from $12 to $25, depending on toppings such as seafood.

People will be encouraged to share the pizza a metro and split various pasta dishes — similar to what people in Vico, Italy, do.

Fortuna said the biggest lesson he's learned from Vico, one that he plans to apply to his restaurant of the same name, is to use fresh, locally-sourced ingredients.

"Paying a little more for something that’s fresh is better than buying in bulk from one of these big food companies," he said.

LeVine, who has an extensive culinary background, has embraced learning about authentic Italian cuisine from the Amalfi Coast.

“There’s been a lot of research, a lot of tasting, a lot of learning what makes Vico unique — what makes the Amalfi Coast unique," LeVine said.

At other restaurants LeVine has worked with, he found himself adding a lot to dishes to make them unique. With Vico, he plans to let the simplicity of the food and freshness of the ingredients carry the dishes forward.

From a "next level" ricotta to pasta and pizza dough made in-house, LeVine hopes a "me-different" attitude, as opposed to "me-too," will propel Vico to a higher standard than other Italian American restaurants.

"The past 15 years, I’ve done the same recipe for the restaurants that we’ve opened," LeVine said. "Now, [Vico] is a unique thing that takes me outside of my box, which makes me excited. A nervous excited, because it’s so new. It’s like starting from scratch again. Learning how the oven works, learning how the kitchen is going to work and how we’re going to execute — when you go with the style of food that it is, it really is, in its essence, the freshness."

The meticulousness led LeVine to finish Vico's dishes with extra-virgin olive oil, compared to the traditional butter.

"You want the flavors to speak for themselves," he said, "the natural ingredients to really build off that dish."

Vico has a new oven that LeVine referred to as a "pizza master" and a "monster." With it, he can have pies out of the oven in three-and-a-half minutes, achieving the same effect as a coal- or wood-burning oven. The chef said it's more than everything he hoped it would be.

"We’re getting a nice color on [the dough], a nice crisp texture and thin crust," LeVine said. "That’s something Perry and I talked about, the importance of him and his family going to Italy and bringing back the standard which I have to build to, the standard of what we want to do, and elevate it. I rely on his experience of being on the Amalfi Coast, and his family being from there, to bring back things I can do and be inspired to go next-level with it."

LeVine wants Vico to be unique in everything it does, from the quality of food and cocktails to the open kitchen that allows customers to watch the culinary team execute the dishes they are about to eat.

Vico also plans to serve high-quality Italian wines and Italy-inspired cocktails. Patrons can expect a lot of aperitifs and amari, Fortuna said.

"It’s going to be interesting because there’s a lot of infusion between craft cocktails and Italian spirits," Fortuna said.

According to LeVine, the restaurant's decor and atmosphere were modeled after the Amalfi Coast, with a modern twist.

"The lightness, the brightness of the ocean," LeVine explained. "That is the vibe we’re looking for. The rusticness."

Fortuna showed LeVine photos from his trips to the Amalfi Coast. The results are tables that look chip-painted, a blue color theme, and even Vico-themed silverware, glassware and napkins, right here in Farmingdale.

Vico will be open six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday, for lunch and dinner. The restaurant will close at 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 8:30 p.m. every other day it's open after opening at noon.

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