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WorstPizza.com - Best Pizza in Florida!


If you haven’t been to Kitchenetta in Fort Lauderdale, you are missing the best pizza I might have ever had in South Florida. Kitchenetta is located on 2850 N. Federal Hwy in Fort Lauderdale. Years ago, my wife and I were driving through Fort Lauderdale, and we noticed this place on the east side of Federal Highway that looked kind of cute. Each time we passed it, we said ‘oh, we should try that one day”. That expression must have been used about 6-7 times before we stopped in one day to actually try it.

Once we finally did stop in to try it, I couldn’t believe how I ever did without it. The pizza was nothing less than incredible. That is right… the expert who looks for flaws thought this Italian Restaurant in Florida made some of the best pizza he has ever had.

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Miami Herald


In writing somewhere around 1,500 newspaper stories over the last eight years, I've never been truly tempted toward dishonesty. Writing about Kitchenetta changed that. Dark voices in my head suggested, at best, a tepidly pleasant review -- the kind that neither offends nor excites, the kind that won't hurt the restaurant but also won't hurt my chances of getting a last-minute reservation on Saturday night.

My better angels are winning today.

This urban-funky gem in the northern reaches of Fort Lauderdale is already a favorite among in-the-know locals, and the small dining room is going to get exponentially more crowded as it reaches its second birthday in April. Word is sure to spread quickly of its chummy service, weeknight-friendly prices and, above all, its homey Italian cuisine. Every culture has deeply held ties to its food, but no one has a passion for ingredients like the Italians. Kitchenetta's menu brags of importing boutique Caputo flour from Naples and making sauce with San Marzano tomatoes from the Campania region. Mozzarella is made on premises every day.

Considering the focus on tradition, the restaurant looks nothing like what you would expect. The dining room is all industrial-chic, with a concrete-slab floor, exposed ceiling and boxy stainless-steel tables. The focal point of the open kitchen is the roaring pizza oven, which is put to work as soon as you sit down. Instead of a bread basket, each table receives a hot-from-the-fire pizza crust. Ask for a second right away, because the floury treat of rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper will not last long. Wine choices are broad, almost exclusively from Italy and California, ranging from a $23 Tuscan Chianti to Angelo Gaja's 2000 Barbaresco for $215. More than two dozen of the 66 choices come by the glass as well.

Almost every dish is offered in individual portions or family-sized plates. The latter are a bargain for large groups -- usually a little more than twice the food for a little less than the twice the money. The core menu, printed in Italian and English, is modest: four salads, six appetizers, 10 pastas and five entrees. But nightly specials nearly double the options some nights, scrawled on a chalkboard that waiters pass around to diners. Classics rule at Kitchenetta, and the pork-veal-beef meatballs are among the most popular starters. Big as tennis balls and tender as new love, they are kissed with the signature tomato sauce. The portion of three is plenty for a couple to share; the family size plate comes with seven. For lighter appetites, try the warm bowl of steamed baby clams, served in a delicate white-wine broth with olive oil and strong hints of garlic and parsley.

Fearing we would be overwhelmed with appetizers, our waiter warned us off the risotto balls. Diners at a nearby table oohed over the deep-fried blend of slow-cooked rice, mozzarella, peas, onions and prosciutto. A must on our next visit. Pasta dishes dominate the menu with good reason. Ten or more types are either homemade daily or imported from Italy, from gnocchi served with Gorgonzola cream sauce to fusilli served with escarole, cannellini beans and red pepper. I could have happily lived in my bowl of rigatoni. Our waiter promised the meat sauce was ''not just some crumbled up meatball,'' and he sold it short. The al dente pasta was tossed with a velvety blend of slow-cooked veal, beef and pork. The meat was stirred with tomato sauce, but was more of an accompaniment for the pasta than a sauce.

A recent seafood linguine special was lighter and simpler: shrimp, mussels, clams and calamari in an inoffensive but half-hearted white-wine sauce. Another special featured a generous bone-in veal cutlet, fried Milanese-style in a cheese-spiked crust. The veal was still moist and flavorful inside its crust and served on a bed of field greens with a crown of lightly stewed tomato chunks. Again taking guidance from our waiter, we passed on the more elaborate pizzas in favor of the timeless margherita, generously slathered with the house tomato sauce and topped with pungent basil and the homemade mozzarella. It was a bit too salty, but that flaming pizza oven makes a perfectly crisp crust. Next time we'll branch out to a pizza with shrimp or prosciutto or tuna and red onion.

Desserts, of course, are homemade. I'll forgive the fact that they were out of tiramisu by the time we finished eating; we fell back on a creamy ricotta cheesecake with golden raisins.

Kitchenetta will be one of your favorite restaurants. Just remember: I was good enough to tell you the truth about it; if you see my wife and me waiting in a long line for a table one night, invite us to join you.

Il Giorgnale


Secondo un articolo pubblicato su "Il Comites Informa" firmato dal mio amico Maurizio Farinelli, proprietario della Trattoria Sole di Coral Gables, il 90% di ristoranti italiani nel mondo adottano un menu d'improvvisazione, nonché d'imitazione della cucina italiana senza nessuna qualificazione o professionalità. Da li la necessità di distinguere i ristoranti in due categorie: quelli italiani e quelli "all'italiania". -E facile, - spiega Farinelli -, identificare i ristoranti di menu scritti con ortografia errata e soprattutto l'offerta di un prodotto che non ha niente a che vedere con la cucina italiana -. La Florida ha una rosa di ristoranti italiani molto notevole; tra Dade, Broward e Palm Beach Counties ho personalmente visitato decine di dozzine di ristoranti italiani, tutti all'insegna, piu' dell'orgoglio della tradizione paesana di provenienza, che dalla cucina italiana in se stessa.

Un locale in Fort Lauderdale, si distingue per la sua cucina: Kitchenetta. Il nome é chiaramente un miscuglio del vocabolo inglese 'Kitchen' corredato dal suffisso diminuitivo italiono 'Netta'. Da questo miscuglio di vocaboli nasce il nome originale di questa trattoria di Fort Lauderdale. Il proprietario, Vincenzo, anche se nato a New York non si é limitato ad imparare a cucinare dalla mamma o dalla zia Maria. Vincenzo ha fatto la scuola culinaria italiana con particolare attenzione alla cucina Mediterranea con sapori del Centro e Sud dell'Italia. Il menu é scritto in italiano, ma senza errori di ortografia, e anche il pesce, pur essendo pescati nei mari caraibici sono chiamati all'italiana. 'Con i mezzi di trasporti moderni' spiega Vincenzo, 'siamo in grado di farci arrivare il pesce fresco dai mari del Mediterraneo, come la spigola, l'orata e qualche altro'. I prodotti si distinguono per la loro freschezza e bontà. Il nome trattoria gli si addice, non solo, per la qualità del cibo, ma anche per le porzioni generose tipiche delle trattorie di paese in Italia.

Dopo un antipasto con mozzarella di bufala fresca ed un secondo di pesce o carne, non ti rimane molto spazio per i deliziosi dolci delle pasticcerie italiane di Fort Lauderdale. Se volete mangiare pesce all'aperto, Kitchenetta ha anche una terrazza spaziosa che vi fa sentire a casa vostra. La raccomandazione é di prenotare se non si vuole aspettare troppo. L'atmosfera e il cibo é certamente da Quattro Stelle.

Contact

Reservations are always encouraged, but if you would just like to call and chat, we appreciate that too. Please note: We cannot accept reservations via e-mail.

E-MAIL : vincent@kitchenetta.com

PHONE : +1.954.567.3333

ADDRESS :
2850 North Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33306