Taste Of The Town: Forte By Chef Adrianne Connects People With Authentic Italian Food, Wine, And Stories – CBS Miami

CORAL GABLES (CBSMiami) –  She has four restaurants under her belt, has authored five cookbooks, and also hosts a YouTube food and travel show, so it’s safe to say Chef Adrianne Calvo is busy. Her newest eatery is in the heart of Coral Gables, and it honors her mother’s Italian roots.

“We just wanted to bring people back to be connected with food, with wine, with stories to just kind of feel connected to each other and when they taste the food, they feel connected,” she explained about Forte By Chef Adrianne, located on Miracle Mile.

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Forte is the fourth restaurant in her roster, which is all about connecting authentic Italian food, service and style. Forte is her mother’s maiden name. Her grandfather is from Sicily.

“She owned a beauty salon, and all these Italians would share these recipes that were 100 years old, plus my family’s recipes, and I said you know what, it’s a good time to do Forte,” she explained.

The look is clean and warm with special attention to detail.  Like the copper bar that greets diners upon entry.

“I’m rubbing on the copper. It’s a good thing, you say?” asked CBS4’s Lisa Petrillo. “Copper is a conductor of energy, so it is said and proven by science. If you surround yourself by copper, you will receive positive vibes because it cancels out negative energy,” Calvo explained.

They begin their tasting at the bar with the creative cocktails, where you will never find mixers.  Everything is made in the house.

“We believe in detox-retox. If you’re having pineapple, you’re intoxicating it with vodka but you’re detoxing with pineapple!”

“Detox-retox! I like it!” said Petrillo.

After the detox-retox, out came the charcuterie board, filled with the finest of meats, cheeses, breads and olives before moving onto her signature spaghetti carbonara.

It’s cooked al dente with pork cheek and egg yolk.

“It’s simple but the flavors and the taste is so special. I taste the truffle and the pork cheek, which I was afraid of. But it’s yummy,” said Petrillo.

Next, fresh oysters from Maine, topped with an Italian chimichurri sauce.

“I taste the pepper and the garlic, but the fresh, cold Maine oyster is everything,” said Petrillo.

“That’s it. We just want you to taste that freshness. I want you to have an oyster, take a sip of white wine or champagne. It’s just fantastic,” said Calvo.

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Then, fall off the bone braised lamb shank with polenta, cipollini onion and spinach.

“It’s been cooking in a lot of wine and vegetables garlic,” she explained.

“I feel like I could be anywhere.  In Italy, or in a log cabin in the snow.  It’s warm, it’s comforting. It’s like a hug,” said Petrillo.

Plate after plate, their never-ending feast is one for the books as they end on Calvo’s beyond creamy homemade gelato.  It is the ultimate in decadence.

“This is why Italians go on the street with her big cones of gelato and they’re just like living their best life,” said Calvo.

“And so are we right now, so are we,” said Petrillo.

Forte by Chef Adrianne is open 7 days a week serving lunch and dinner.

For more info www.fortemiami.com.

Want more?

Here is the recipe for Forte by Chef Adrianne Oysters.

1 serving 

Ingredients:

• 6 Oysters from Maine
• Scoglio
• 1 tablespoon fresh Italian Parsley, minced
• 1 basil leaf, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest 
• 1 tablespoon extra Virgin Olive oil 

Directions:

Shuck the oysters. Set aside on ice. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine all the ingredients for the scoglio topping.

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