HUNTERS POINT — How much gnocchi can you eat? Head over to Tutti Matti to find out.
The new Italian eatery on Vernon Boulevard opened a little over a month ago in the former Testaccio Ristorante space, offering a number of deals to tempt customers including all-you-can eat gnocchi and pizza nights and $1 oysters.
Chef Giovanni Vittorio Tagliafierro teamed up with Testaccio owners Carlo and Paolo Bordone to reopen the space at 47-30 Vernon Blvd. under its new name, where you can get unlimited slices of his wood-fired pizza every Tuesday night from 5 p.m. to close for $16.
On Monday nights, customers can pay $17 for all-you-can-eat gnocchi, and oysters at the restaurant's oyster bar are just $1 each evening from Thursday to Sunday.
Vittorio Tagliafierro said the new eatery's menu, which will change seasonally, incorporates dishes from many different regions of his native country, a departure from Testaccio, which mainly focused on Roman cuisine.
"We wanted to touch all parts of Italy," he said.
That includes cooking pizza in the Amalfi Coast-style, a region of southern Italy where Tagliafierro was raised and where his family owned a restaurant that's still open today. It's also where he learned to cook when he was just six years old.
"I was born in the restaurant business," he said. "I was cooking in the kitchen with my mother and making pizza with my father. I had two great teachers."
Amalfi-style pizza is cooked in a wood-fired oven at a slightly lower temperature than the Neapolitan style, so it's left to cook a bit longer, Tagliafierro said.
"Amalfi Coast pizza is really lighter," he said, adding that the dough sits for two to three days before it's cooked. "Doesn't have any secrets — just leave the yeast to do its job."
Other menu options include dishes made with fresh homemade pasta like paccheri served with slow-cooked veal in an onion sauce, or cavatelli served with sausage and broccoli rabe.
For a full menu and operating hours, visit Tutti Matti's website.
