By John Tredrea, Special Writer
As he worked quickly and confidently on a tableside presentation that produced flambé with blueberries and strawberries, Michael Moriello, executive chef and new owner of the Avanti Ristorante Italiano in Pennington, said: "Cooking is a passion. You have to like doing it if you’re going to do it well. It’s about dedication and love."
After the burst of alcohol-induced flames subsided while he prepared the flambé, Mr. Moriello, who moved to America from Naples, Italy, in 1997, said: "You always want to be making better dishes. Something new to add to your menu. The most pleasure I get is when I try something new and the ingredients work, the preparation works. The best is when I put together a new dish like that, and it always comes out the same when the staff in the kitchen prepares it."
Mr. Moriello bought Avanti’s from Vincent Severino, who opened the restaurant at 23 West Delaware Ave. 25 years ago. This is Mr. Moriello’s second restaurant. Ten years ago, he opened La Mezzaluna restaurant in Princeton.
His is a quintessentially American story.
"I came here with nothing, have worked hard, and now I have been able to open two restaurants of my own," he said. "I came here because I knew I would have more opportunity. Back in Italy, I probably would only have been able to be a waiter, or a cook in someone else’s kitchen. That’s just the way it is. Here, I had a much better chance to be on my own. I’m very grateful."
Avanti Ristorante Italiano has received strongly favorable reviews online at Yelp and elsewhere. The menu includes pastas, chicken, veal and seafood. The two dining rooms, always elegant since the place opened, have been renovated, with new lighting and a series of floral photographs by Wendy Vroom on the walls. A spacious patio is open for outdoor dining.
"We’ve kept some of the dishes Vince Severino served and have added new ones," Mr. Moriello said. "My basic idea is to adapt Italian cooking to the place where I am working. The Italian way is to have very small portions and four or five courses. Here, we try to incorporate the two main courses into one dish. A reason for that is that, in Italy, people will spend four or five hours at a restaurant. So they have all these courses. Most Americans don’t want to stay in a restaurant nearly that long. So we adapt what we do to their lifestyle."
He got started in the restaurant business as a teenager.
"Some cousins of mine had a restaurant in Rome," he said. "I worked there during my breaks from school. I liked it. I knew this was for me, and that’s why I’m in this business."
To spend time with his mother, who still lives in Naples, Mr. Moriello visits Italy every year. He lives in nearby Plainsboro with his wife, Teresa, and their 10-year-old son Gabriel and 6-year-old daughter Francesca.
"I like Pennington very much," he said. "It’s a very pretty town, very safe and clean, very welcoming and accommodating. A great place to raise a family. My wife and I are thinking of moving to this area ourselves."
