Local Celebrity!

Who doesn't love great food? We run a special off and on that includes dinner with your stay...at Cicciotti's! They have amazing Italian cuisine and great entertainment on the weekends. So, you can imagine how proud we are of our local "celebrity" putting out his first cookbook! Here's the article on Gaetano's new cookbook"....and check out his website at www.cicciottis.com.

(Read the full article here)


The North County Times - Californian
Cicciotti's cookbook offers taste of Italy, from a true Italian

LINDSEY BESECKER - lbesecker@nctimes.com | Posted: Thursday, September 17, 2009 12:00 am

Nearly every Wednesday, Gaetano Cicciotti takes a break from his busy schedule and has lunch with a pair of customers who have followed him from restaurant to restaurant, job to job, finally tapping on the glass door of his very own restaurant in 2002 to let him know they had found him.

They first got to know Cicciotti as a waiter at several Encinitas Italian eateries (and there are quite a few), and he certainly made an impression on the couple. So now he cooks them something special once a week and shares an off-the-menu meal in his Cardiff-by-the-Sea restaurant. As the couple walked out of the restaurant last week, one of them smiled at a passer-by adn said, "You came to the right place."

That place is Cicciotti's Trattoria Italiana & Seafood, which sits on San Elijo Avenue and offers views of the Pacific Ocean to accompany the authentic Italian meals. In July, Cicciotti released a cookbook of his favorite recipes ---- some from his menu, some not. But they all come from his family or from traditional, well-known Italian dishes. And although Cicciotti comes from Naples, the dishes in his cookbook and on his menu hail from all over Italy ---- from the cream- and butter-laden dishes of the north to the garlic- and tomato-based dishes of the south.

"Everybody in Italy knows how to cook," Cicciotti said. He said he spent a lot of time growing up in the kitchen with his mother and grandmother in Naples, trying to "steal their secrets."

"I liked to be in the kitchen," he said.

Now Cicciotti has his own kitchen and a menu that includes more than 25 pasta dishes, a selection of wood-fired pizzas, seafood, and dishes he ate growing up. The Lasagna Napoletana alla Gaetano, for example, is a meatball-filled lasagna much like the one his mother used to make on Sundays.

The recipe is included in his cookbook, but the name has been changed to Lasagne alla Napoletana.

His first cookbook, a 96-page offering simply called "Cicciotti's Kitchen," includes the owner's 40 favorite recipes, including sauces, appetizers, soups, pastas and specialties, and boasts full-page pictures of each recipe, each made by Cicciotti the day of the photo shoot. Another of his favorite dishes is the Tortino di Melanzane (eggplant cake), which consists of fried eggplant slices piled between sprinklings of mozzarella cheese and smothered in marinara and besciamella sauces.

"I was very, very proud (of the cookbook)," Cicciotti said. "It came out great. Everybody loved it."


At his restaurant, which he opened in 2002, Cicciotti uses local, organic food a much as possible, but he does import some cheeses, olive oils and sauces from Italy. He's admittedly picky about his wines (there are 250 on his wine list) and has garnered Wine Spectator awards since 2003 to show for it.

Cicciotti's offers 50 percent off chicken and pasta dishes on Mondays, and hosts happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. with 30 percent off pizzas, $4.75 wines by the glass and mixed drinks, and $3 beers. But Cicciotti's wouldn't be what it is without its owner.

"When I'm not here, people say its like going to Disneyland and not meeting Mickey Mouse," he said.

Cicciotti's cookbook,l "Cicciotti's Kitchen" is available at www.cicciottis.com for $25 and includes a $20 gift certificate to the restaurant.

Cicciotti's Trattoria Italiana & Seafood

Location: 1933 San Elijo Ave., Cardiff-by-the-Sea

Cuisine: Authentic Italian

Owner/chef: Gaetano Cicciotti

Signature dishes: Lasagna Napoletana alla Gaetano, Pizza Margherita alla Gaetano, Spaghetti alla Carbonara, Linguine ai Due Golfi

Price range: $9-$25

Hours: Noon to 11 p.m. daily (live music Thursday through Sunday, including Italian opera, Frank Sinatra songs and more)

Seating: 70 inside, 40 outside

Info: 760-634-2335 or www.cicciottis.com

Cicciotti's is participating in San Diego Restaurant Week through Friday with a $20 menu; menu options include his favorite Lasagna Napoletana alla Gaetano, Filetto al Gorgonzola (filet mignon topped with Gorgonzola sauce) and Branzino alla Livornese (seabass sauteed with black olive, white wine, garlic and fresh tomato). Go to sandiegorestaurantweek.com.






Cardiff-by-the-Sea Lodge