Many Italian tastes in one place

Greer Wylder

Culinary aficionados can get a giant, delicious taste of the Northern

Italian life without ever leaving Newport Beach.

Inside Francoli Gourmet Emporio at Fashion Island, there are wines

from every region in Italy, a 10-foot wooden Pinocchio, live Italian

music and Northern Italian cuisine served for breakfast, lunch and

dinner.

Francoli opens as early as 9 a.m. for a traditional Italian

breakfast of omelets, pastries and tortes, served daily until noon.

The focal point of the day is lunch, which is served from 11 a.m.

Yet chef and owner Alberto Tilcone, 40, says his favorite ambience

is in the evening. That’s when the vibe changes from a cafe and

retail store -- catering to shoppers -- to an Italian trattoria with

a bar for enjoying wines and cocktails. Live entertainers play piano,

guitar and sing on Wednesdays through Saturdays.

The restaurant serves an all-day menu featuring antipasti, salads,

pastas, entrees and panini.

Francoli’s dishes come from the same recipes Tilcone’s mother and

grandmother cooked at home in Italy. The signature dishes include

homemade lasagna, a Piemontese-style lasagna with meat sauce, fresh

ricotta, Parmigiano Reggiano, fontina, fresh basil, Italian parsley

and bechamel sauce ($15.75); and tagliata alla Piemontese, a Del

Monaco-style steak grilled with olive oil, salt and pepper and served

with arugula and vegetables.

Two of the popular pastas are gnocchi di patate with Bolognese

sauce ($13.95); and tortelloni fini, filled with ricotta and spinach

in fresh tomato cream or tomato basil sauce ($13.95).

Nine panini sandwiches are served on either fresh focaccia or

ciriola (an elongated roll) ($8.95 to $9.75). Each panini plate comes

garnished with salad. The most popular panini choices include panino

al tonno -- canned tuna with capers, onions, tomatoes, lettuce and

mayonnaise on cirlioa ($9.95); the panino Milano with delicate and

full flavored prosciutto crudo, mozzarella and artichokes on toasted

focaccia ($9.95); and panino di parma, with parma, fontina and basil

on focaccia ($9.50).

Francoli Gourmet Emporio has a sister location, the Francoli

Center, in Ghemme, Italy. It’s solely a wine and liquor retail store

with a wine tasting bar. Tilcone travels between each location to

make certain that Francoli at Fashion Island supplies hard-to-find

extra virgin olive oils, 25-plus-year-old Balsamic vinegars and aged

bresaola and imported cheeses.

“We offer many concepts in one location. We have packaged gourmet

Italian foods, Murano glassware, hand-painted Deruta ceramics and

furniture,” Tilcone said. “Then there’s our bar area, deli, espresso

bar and dining areas, inside or on the patio.”

The market section of Francoli also satisfies Italian

connoisseurs. It carries hand-blown glass bottles of grappa and

Francoli’s line of grappa, Limoncello, infused vodkas and Black

Sambuca. There are also Illy coffees and designer espresso cups; and

aged wines, including a 1983 Col d’Orcia Brunello di Montalcino ($69)

and a 1989 Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico ($79).

The deli sells cured meats and cheeses and fresh pastries,

including biscotti ($1.25) and tortina frutta ($2.25). Desserts come

from Bindi, an Italian dessert company. Choices include panna cotta,

tartufo, cassata and frutti di bosco ($5.95).

Customers can join Francoli’s e-mail list to receive updates on

entertainment, wine tasting, oil and vinegar tasting and sales. Piano

and martini nights are on Wednesdays. The selection of martinis

includes Due Merlot, Chardonnay and genuine vodka ($5.95). The wine

bar appetizers include formaggio misti ($5.95) and salmone affumicato

e melanzane con olio al tartufo (smoked salmon rolls with eggplant,

cream cheese and truffle olive oil) ($5.95).

Catering services are available.

* BEST BITES runs every Friday. Greer Wylder can be reached at

[email protected]; at 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626;

or by fax at (714) 966-4679.