Midtown Getting Another Italian Restaurant
Like wildflowers springing from the charred earth after a fire, Italian-influenced eateries are popping up in the backyard of the long-shuttered-and-twice-burned Mario's. On the heels of newly opened Miro District Food & Drink comes another taste of the boot, with this fall's debut of Giovanni.
New York restaurateur Giovanni Francescotti is putting the final touches on the 2-story, 4,000-square-foot building at 909 20th Ave. S., which formerly housed Chu and Lay'la Rul restaurants. After a complete gutting and removal of the Gaudi-esque facade, the building has been recast as a Tuscan Villa.
Like the 15-year-old flagship Giovanni in midtown Manhattan (pictured above), the Music City sister will specialize in Tuscan fare. Chef Marco Sedda from Florence will deliver a menu of risotto, homemade pastas and seafood, with house-baked breads and an extensive wine program. Francescotti predicts lunch to clock in around $20 a person, with dinner around $45 per person—both before wine. Giovanni will seat 150 diners at tables, plus another 20 at two bars. The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner daily. Giovanni is expected to open in about a month.
Comments
$45 per person - before wine
Recession be damned!
Posted 10/07/2008 at 09:17:15 AMi don't dare get excited... the nyc version isn't exactly a place to put on your list, but it's not bad - more predictable than anything. i could live with that.
Posted 10/07/2008 at 12:01:23 PMAm I the only person who thinks they could do the same menu in Nashville for at least half those prices (if not less)? Is there anyone else out there who thinks, given our economy and the paradigm shift of no longer regarding your home's equity as your personal ATM, perhaps this is not the best time to open a place that will have 20 dollar lunches?
Given that the music biz is hanging its proverbial stetson on the hope of ringtones, the insurance industry is about to have to spend millions lobbying whoever wins in November to NOT come up with a solution to healthcare, and everyone else is having to adjust to actually living within their means, I'm not sure who's left in Nashville to spend that kind of jack on risotto and fancy bread.
but that's just one of the 4,889 reasons I'm not in that business...and one of myriad of reasons I'm grateful (yet again) for Finezza.
Posted 10/07/2008 at 03:55:01 PMI won't be eating there - that's an insanely priced menu in an area of town that needs a laid back fun atmosphere like SouthStreet.
Posted 10/13/2008 at 10:40:26 AM