New Haven Restaurant Week, April 2010, 3B—Café Goodfellas

Perhaps no New Haven establishment took to heart the opportunity that Restaurant Week represented more than Café Goodfellas on State Street.

As one who has repeatedly urged any eatery participating in a Restaurant Week to put its best foot forward, it was gratifying to see a widely varied selection (including vegetarian options), generous portions, and even some top dishes included among the choices. Two kinds of people visit a joint during Restaurant Week—loyal customers availing themselves of the excuse to return or potential new customers. It’s smart to woo both kinds of people. And Café Goodfellas decided to extend its special Restaurant Week menu through Sunday, May 2nd.

This popular Italian eatery co-owned by Gennaro “Gerry” Iannacone

and Franco Aurioso probably doesn’t need to try so hard. It always seems busy, and it’s already well-known for drawing actors for whom one name suffices—Pacino, De Niro, Bracco, Lezguiamo, Beckinsale, Pesci… If it’s good enough for them, surely it’s good enough for the rest of us.

And boy, was Café Goodfellas ever busy when I visited on Tuesday night of Restaurant Week! The bar was jam-packed,

as was the main dining room

and even the second dining room.

We were warmly welcomed by the hostess,

given sesame-seeded Italian bread and butter,

treated to a little special bruschetta topped with salami and Mozzarella,

and brought a bottle of wine by our waiter Nick, who was always on the ball and had a twinkle in his eye.

Our wine for the evening was a delightful 2007 Qupé Syrah, Central Coast, California from Café Goodfellas’ extensive wine list.

Gerry’s roots lie deep in New Haven’s Italian community. He grew up in a restaurant family, and siblings own Luce Ristorante in Hamden and Bin 100 in Milford. Over the years, Gerry has been a principal in a number of New Haven and Fairfield County restaurants of his own, most recently Tenderloin in Branford.

Café Goodfellas’ Restaurant Week menu included eleven (!) appetizer options, among which were eggplant rollatini, mussels fra diavolo, fried calamari, pasta e fagioli, a Caprese salad, a Caesar salad, a Mediterranean salad, fried Mozzarella and stuffed mushrooms. But we couldn’t resist Gerry’s family-style meatballs with salad,

two giant meatballs topped with delicious “Sunday gravy” countered by a nice vinegary salad. Our other appetizer choice was the fiore di latte, fresh Mozzarella and prosciutto wrapped in an escarole leaf and drizzled with balsamic reduction and extra virgin olive oil.

We also got to try a nice side salad.

But the best-looking starter might have been our neighbor’s mussels fra diavolo (shown here after a few had already been devoured).

There were ten (!) entrée options, and it was clear that they encompassed some of Café Goodfellas’ top offerings. Included were pan-seared Atlantic salmon, rigatoni vodka, chicken rollatini, diva shrimp, chicken parmigiana, veal saltimbocca, pork chop Milanese and New York strip steak. But as tempting as several of those options were, we couldn’t resist the beggar’s purses and the filet Cognac. The beggar’s purses were little pasta bundles filled with pear, Parmesan and ricotta served in a brown butter sage sauce.

Even more impressive, however, was the filet Cognac, Gerry’s signature dish. A thick slab of grilled Angus beef tenderloin was topped with portobello mushroom and picked lobster meat, and then finished with a luxurious Gorgonzola cream sauce.

There were even seven (!) desserts, including gelato, sorbet, biscotti, and berries with whipped cream. But the three desserts we tried were New York cheesecake with strawberries,

the Goodfellas cup cake (a chocolate covered cake with white cake on top, chocolate cake on the bottom),

and a great tiramisù.

A glass of sparkling Champagne with a touch of Chambord was delightful accompaniment.

If my food photos don’t tell the story, then perhaps these photos of happy customers do.

The last happy photos are of Gerry with my boss, Isabel Tartaglia, co-owner with Bob DeZinno of RestaurantsCT.com,

and Gerry relaxing with some pals on the patio at the end of a long dining service.

Café Goodfellas, 758 State Street, New Haven, 203-785-8722