jacob kepler/viewLa Focaccia chef Nicolo Zarcone makes a pizza at the restaurant at 8973 S. Eastern Ave. Nicolo?s brother Giacomo is the owner.
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Eastern Avenue near the Silverado Ranch area is quickly becoming restaurant row.
There's everything from burgers and Mexican to upscale American and seafood restaurants lining the street. And now La Focaccia, just north of the Las Vegas Beltway at 8973 S. Eastern Ave., is bringing affordable gourmet Italian cuisine to the area.
First-time restaurant owner Giacomo Zarcone has been in the business for more than 20 years. After growing up in Palermo, Sicily, he spent time working in his uncle's pizzeria in New York and then waiting tables and running restaurants in California.
"I saw a need for gourmet food without the high price and stuffy waiters," Zarcone said.
When Zarcone told his brother Nicolo that he was opening a restaurant, Nicolo, a long-time chef, signed on to run the kitchen.
"The main reason I came out here was to be with my brother," said Nicolo, who moved to the valley only two weeks before the grand opening of La Focaccia on Feb. 15.
Nicolo had his own restaurant in Newburg, N.Y., for 15 years after graduating from Johnson and Wales University where he studied in its culinary department. The chef worked with his brother at their uncle's pizzeria before he joined the U.S. Navy and became friends with a cook who convinced him to take some cooking classes.
The brothers designed the menu, which specializes in stone-oven pizza, panini, pasta and salad.
"It's an eclectic menu with specialities from throughout Italy," Giacomo said. "We grabbed what we think are the most popular items from around the country."
There are cheeses from the north, seafoods from the south, meats from the central north and Tuscan and Neapolitan specialties.
Most ingredients are imported from Italy.
"There are certain things you just can't substitute," Giacomo said.
The paninis come out of a press or wood-fired oven and start off with freshly baked focaccia, flat bread or ciabatta and are topped with grilled chicken breast, fontina cheese, warm spinach and sundried tomato aioli or any of the eatery's 32 panini choices. There also are make-your-own salad and make-your-own pizza menus.
Giacomo said the Caprese pizza is very popular. The flat bread is covered with vine-ripened tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil and extra virgin olive oil.
The appetizer selection features a traditional favorite with something extra. The Fritto Misto starts with calamari dusted in flour and pan fried and has jumbo shrimp thrown in for a more satisfying starter. Italian-style crab cakes are the star of the Insalata di Granchio, a salad with baby greens, cherry tomato, citronette and crab cakes.
For a main course, Nicolo recommends Paglia e Fieno on the pasta menu. The ribbon egg and spinach pasta has chicken breast radicchio and creamy Parmesan sauce.
Items range from $3.95 to $12.95, and meals are served with fresh bread.
About 40 people can sit inside the dining room, including 14 along the bar that overlooks the kitchen.
The counter seating is to encourage guests to strike up conversations with the chef and be comfortable in the restaurant.
"People can see what the chef is doing and keep him in line," Giacomo joked.
An additional 20 people can sit outside when the weather is nice.
The eatery will serve beer and wine in a few weeks. Giacomo said he is waiting for a liquor license, but that he is excited to bring wine to the restaurant. While working at restaurants, Giacomo started learning about wine and has traveled to vineyards all over California and Italy.
"When I really started tasting dishes, pairing them with wines and spirits, that's when it became really fun," Giacomo said.
La Focaccia is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday though Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
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