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Could downtown Derby be on the verge of a renaissance? Two years ago Fratelli opened in a big beautiful old building on Main Street. It’s been so successful that owner “Nick B.” is planning to open an adjacent martini bar. Derby reminds me of my hometown – a factory based economy that has struggled to regain its footing since manufacturing jobs went up in smoke. I’ve always loved driving home to Beacon, NY, via route 34, through the curved downtown Derby main drag, watching for signs of resurgence. Beacon struck gold when the DIA Center for the Arts – the largest arts center in the Northeast – opened in a dilapidated Nabisco factory where my uncle worked. (Works by Andy Warhol are on display where my Uncle Jim once printed Ritz cracker boxes.) I have hope for Derby. Fratelli is a heaping bowl of hope. Nick brings years of restaurant experience culled in the Bronx, specifically on Arthur Avenue, famous for Italian food, and from New Jersey, also famous for Italian food and so much. I wondered why the sauce was so good – it tasted similar to the sauce I loved from Dominick’s on Arthur Avenue. No surprise. It was the handiwork of Chef Adamo Budo, formerly of Rigoletto and Amici’s in the Little Italy section of the Bronx. With most restaurants on Arthur Avenue, there is a story. Joe Pesci used to be Budo’s waiter at Amici’s, where he met Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese. Undercover agents met with members of the Genovese crime family at Rigoletto’s (named the best Arthur Avenue restaurant by New York magazine). Convicted felon and former Mayor Joseph Ganim of Bridgeport met with cohorts at the cash-only Dominick’s. Fratelli’s story is less felonious, but still as delicious. Drew, Camille, Kathleen and I converged at a large round table toward the back, under high tin ceilings. Colors are bright, with bold tent stripes. Sinatra hung over our heads. Fratelli is somewhat casual but no so relaxed that it’ll frighten those offended by the mere thought of being seen on the same block as (gasp) a “family restaurant.” It’s low lit, and perfect for a late-night smoke and big glass of red wine, or better yet, a blended scotch. We were treated like royalty on a Tuesday night. Crusty, soft bread arrived with parts of butter. (Sorry, I prefer that to the modern-day olive oil slick on a plate.) We ordered $26 bottles of wine and set sail for a meal likely to draw diners up from the Bronx. Clams Casino ($7.95) – fresh, big simple. Wide slice of bacon instead of wimpy strips. Might be the best I’ve had. Camille’s stuffed mushrooms ($7.95) were fussy-free, filled with crab meat minus the usual barge-load of breadcrumbs. Gnocchi ($10.95) was billed as homemade, but Kathleen believed hers were too perfectly formed. Nonetheless, she enjoyed her dish and found the sauce, that wonderful Arthur Avenue sauce, authentically homemade. Camille’s Mediterranean Seafood ($20.95) was a special. Always skeptical of fish, she praised her scallops, tuna and shrimp dish. A tuna steak is topped with shrimp, scallops, crab meat in a brandy cream sauce. My Delmonico steak special ($21.95) was obscured by a thick burgundy/cream/shallot sauce. But the side pasta and sauce, as small as it was, made an impression. Drew, abstaining from dinner that night, drank wine – Blackstone merlot - and couldn’t stop raving about the place itself. “You can hear ‘Sorry, you can’t sit there, it’s Nick Apollo Forte’s table.’ You can hear Italian grandmothers dressed in black from head to toe ooohing and ahhing over the food.” And you can taste the hope. It’s an Arthur Avenue ingredient. |
