After the first American location reached its one-year milestone anniversary, the world’s top Neapolitan pizzeria concept is ready to proceed with plans for growth.
Miami Beach, Fla. – Some restaurateurs sigh with relief when they reach their one-year anniversary. But for Fratelli La Bufala, when the calendar page flipped to October, the company switched into high-gear American-expansion mode.
The company always had plans to open other Miami locations, eventually branching out throughout the nation. But especially now that its first American restaurant has shown profit, even in the wake of a potentially devastating hurricane season, all systems are a go.
Throughout the year, very few changes have been made to the South Beach site. It still retains its contemporary, industrial charm, but now a plasma television has been added as a result of the huge crowd that came knocking on Fratelli la Bufala’s door during the World Cup finals. And co-manager Alex Bogni says he also has plans to make some small cosmetic enhancements to increase privacy for outdoor diners.
Only one thing changed drastically beginning this month and – to the surprise of many satisfied diners – it was the menu. Fratelli La Bufala has earned its international reputation in part due to its intriguing offerings and authentic Neapolitan recipes. Plus, the majority of them are made with either buffalo meats or buffalo-milk cheeses.
Fratelli La Bufala’s corporate officers in Naples, Italy held an impromptu cooking competition a few months ago in Naples with the intent of encouraging its top chefs to come up with creative new dishes in all categories: appetizer, pasta, main course, side orders, salads and desserts. They also were asked to make an “alternative” main course, lacking the company’s signature elements: buffalo milk-based cheeses from Naples and fresh buffalo meat. The winning dishes, the chefs were told, would be eventually added to the menu.
Merely months later, embellishments like garganelli in cialda di parmigano (pasta with buffalo sausage, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, spicy buffalo-milk cacio cheese and cream) were added, along with caprese impanata di bufala, a small buffalo mozzarella ball stuffed with fresh tomatoes, basil, oregano and extra virgin olive oil then coated with bread crumbs and grated buffalo cacio cheese and lightly fried. A unique twist to the standard meatball is the new le pepite, made with buffalo meat, raisins, pine nuts and curry, and an unusual salad option is i turioni di asparagi (green asparagus with a four-cheese sauce).
Meat lovers will relish additions like the buffalo-filet carpaccio cooked in salt, the medaglioni all’aceto balsamico (pieces of steak cooked in balsamic vinegar) and straccetti, thinly sliced buffalo steak sautéed on a bed of arugula with cherry tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella.
Even the hard-to-beat ricottina dessert, a cloud of whipped buffalo-milk ricotta cheese enhanced with a delicate touch of lemon, has new competition with occhio di buffalo con gelato, a buffalo-milk-based ice cream sandwich.
D’Angelo claims the Miami Beach location has fed between 40,000 and 50,000 diners in its one year of existence, so one would think changes really weren’t necessary. But Bogni says the add-ons had to be made not only add another dimension of culinary interest, but because they represent the desire of its parent company, M6 USA, to standardize all the locations.
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