DINING OUT
our restaurant, we want you to feel like you’re in your
mother’s kitchen. You drink wine, you talk. That’s what
enjoying a meal is about. Gaetano says, ‘Il tempo di gustare
il tempo di aspetare,’ ’’ or ‘to know how to enjoy is to know
how to wait for good food.’ We cook everything to order,
and it takes time to create a good meal.”
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Stella makes most of the desserts herself, including
tiramisu, cannoli and, when she has time, Italian cheesecake,
usually once a month. She even makes homemade limoncello,
a liqueur specialty of southern Italy, for her limoncello
tart with raspberries. Desserts are accompanied by espresso
and cappuccino, regular or decaffeinated.
Gaetano bakes the crusty bread that’s served with both
butter and a shaker of the garlicky, basil olive oil that Stella
calls “bug juice” for dipping. His work day begins early.
“He’ll often wake up and say, ‘I had a thought last night
about a new dish,’’ Stella says.
When they get to the restaurant to prepare for the
evening, Gaetano starts the bread, then decides on the daily
specials: osso bucco, bracciole, veal rolatini, tripe, clams oreganato.
“Then we get busy and start to cook,’’ he said.
The recipes for the dishes on the menu were developed by
Gaetano, with Stella measuring and writing it all down. His
specialty is fish; grouper puttanesca and red snapper pescatore
are his favorites. For Stella he makes rigatoni grattinata,
with zucchini, fresh tomatoes, and several cheeses, but
Gaetano’s own personal favorite, the dish he makes for himself,
is penne arrabiata, a very spicy dish made with buffalo
mozzarella imported from Italy. Another of the chef’s
responsibilities every week is making 80-120 pounds of the
preservative-free pork sausage he uses in the restaurant’s
VILLA NOVA ITALIAN RESTAURANT
Where: 1932 14th Avenue, Vero Beach
Call 772-564-2400
Hours: In season, the restaurant is open Tuesday-
Thursday 4:30-9 pm; Friday-Saturday 4:30-10 pm;
Sunday 4-8 pm; closed Monday. During the offseason,
the hours are Tuesday-Saturday 5-9 pm;
closed Sunday and Monday.
Services: Villa Nova offers catering and private parties
on and off the premises. At the restaurant, seating is
available for up to 75.
Vino: Wine and beer are served daily; wine by the
glass $5.95-$7.95, by the bottle $27-$75. Reservations
are recommended.
Stella and
Gaetano put
the finishing
touches on
loaves of bread
before they are
placed into the
oven. Bread is
baked fresh at
the restaurant
every day. At
top, fresh
tomatoes,
mozzarella
and basil are a
traditional
Italian dish
called caprese.