Sometimes things just take a little bit longer than you expect.
After a few weeks of driving by and seeing nothing but contractors walking in and out of Savannah’s newest Italian restaurant, it got quiet at 606 Abercorn. Very quiet. I couldn’t help but wonder if the build out that was in progress for the last several months, had stopped again. Construction projects and build outs like that can slow down from time to time, especially in Savannah. The nature of the beast. The door was wide open, as it had been during the day for months, but something told me it was different this time. I was knee deep in the Savannah Food and Wine Festival, so I didn’t have any time for lunch, but I did pop my head in.
Well, whadda ya know. People were dining. Cuoco Pazzo is up and running in Savannah’s Victorian District.
Chef/Owner Gary Langevin was at the bar enjoying a lunch of his own before the start of what was, I’m certain, another long day. After a quick hello, I got an unexpected tour of the space formerly occupied by Leoci’s Trattoria.
The dining room essentially looks the same as it ever did. Small-ish. The aromas, though, were fantastic. A little different decor here and there, but largely the same feel as it had before, which was enjoyable. Large windows facing Abercorn Street. The big difference is out back with a very large, new and improved (but yet to be completed) deck.
If you recall, and most of us visited Leoci’s enough to recall, the deck was basically a large tent affixed to a wood deck. The tenting is gone. The new space is almost entirely brand new. There will be wood blinds for ‘walls’ and a pergola type roof. Glass doors will take guests to an outer area -albeit much smaller-area for dining al fresco. “I didn’t want to open fully until this area was finished” Chef Gary says. “But it is taking longer than we wanted.”
As I mentioned the dining room is good to go. The kitchen space got a massive overhaul as did an upstairs prep area with a brand new walk in cooler and office space. This build out has taken a while, but I can tell you it wasn’t cheap. Clearly Chef Gary plans on being here a while.
Cuoco Pazzo is the newest venture from the same ownership behind most of the Italian food in Savannah these days. Seems like it anyway. When you count their flagship restaurant in Charleston, La Fontana, this is number 6 for Gary and his group. Little Italy on Wilmington Island was first, La Dolce Vita on Tybee, Bella Napoli on State Street downtown Savannah and Terra Mia Bistro in Pooler.
I’m told they are all different in their approach and their offerings. Of course some menu items are the same, but the idea is to offer different experiences at their different spots. For example, Bella Napoli downtown, which I have enjoyed, offers panini for the business lunch crowd. The other spots may or may not. The menu at Cuoco Pazzo (Crazy Chef in Italian) is a work in progress. Nothing even posted on-line yet.
This opening just another sign of growth South of the heart of downtown Savannah. The Victorian District is filling in nicely. Across the street from Cuoco Pazzo, Savannah veteran restaurant man Brian Torres is in the middle of a build out for sub shop he’s has been hoping to open for years. The Fork and The Dagger should be open early 2017 and will feature New York style hoagies with house made pastrami and corned beef. Ever popular FORM cheesecakes will return to that location as well. Meanwhile, the Vegan crowd will be thrilled to know that The Fox and The Fig is going in to the space next to Savannah Law School (607 Abercorn Street). It is brought to you by the same fine folk behind Foxy Loxy and Coffee Fox on Broughton Street.
More about them down the road.
So you are now free to move about the joint and get your pasta on. If there is a little dust yet, you are asked to be a little patient. I’ll be be back for dinner soon.
See you on TV,
Jesse
