One of The ‘Burg’s newer breakfast spots is keeping its doors open a little longer for a very special tribute to the Executive Chef’s late mother.
Chef Mario Brugnoli of The Warehouse District’s Eat Art Love (2209 6th Ave. S) hosts a five-course dinner this month, featuring both niche, childhood favorites and classic Italian recipes passed down from his grandparents.
While Eat Art Love typically dishes out breakfast fare like poached egg dip and sweet and sour pancakes, guests at this intimate event can expect slow-cooked ragus and rice pilaf instead.
“Every single one of these dishes is something that my mom made for me all of the time," Brugnoli, 30, tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “This dinner is all about paying tribute to her—I lost her when I was 16 and lost my dad two months later to cancer as well. She is my ultimate inspiration and the reason I started cooking in the first place.”
“It was her dream to open an Italian market like Mazzaro’s, since both of my parents were born and raised in St. Pete. I’ve always dangled that dream in front of me like a carrot—something to always keep me motivated,” he continues.
The five-course “Sharon Brugnoli's Supper” happens on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 5 p.m., and there’s still time to snag one or two tickets to it.
Brugnoli also tells CL that if enough people reach out to him via @eatartlove_stpete on Instagram, he’ll add a second seating later in the evening. Tickets cost $90 each via Eventbrite.com, and folks can add a $35 wine pairing, too.
While some plates reflect Sharon’s exact meals (like the summer salad with romaine, bacon, carrots, Italian vinaigrette and Velveeta cheese), others are “fancied” up a bit—like Chef Brugnoli’s take on his mother’s roasted chicken cooked in white wine.
Even the dessert course—a sorbet with fresh cream and mint served in a hollowed out lemon—pays homage to a dessert that Brugnoli remembers eating at one of his mother’s favorite restaurants.
His mother’s photo graces the front of the menu, while one of her poems is printed on the back. Brugnoli even arranges the seating and decor inside of Eat Art Love to resemble his childhood dining table.
Fifteen years of professional cooking—at spots like Tampa’s Michelin-starred Rocca and Sarasota fine dining spot Meliora—have ultimately led Brugnoli to helm the kitchen at the newly-opened Eat Art Love.
He says that folks can expect more of these themed, multi-course dinners through the slower summer months of May-August, although he may have another event slated for September.
Owners Jose and Natalie Martinez—who also own local clothing stores Sartorial Inc. and Style—opened Eat Art Love alongside Brugnoli back in January. The small cafe and art gallery has garnered near-perfect reviews and a solid customer base who appreciate its intimate nature and upscale breakfast and lunch fare.
“People have been really loving the fact that the restaurant has only 16 seats, and that they can interact with the head chef and our General Manager Jess in such a close way,” Brugnoli tells CL. “While making breakfast is fun, it's not necessarily where my skill lies, so I’d love to be able to focus on more pop-ups, events and high-end dinners as we continue to grow as a business.”
Operating hours at Eat Art Love will expand later in the year as Florida’s “busy season” picks up, but is open Friday-Sunday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. for now. Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.
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Chef Mario Brugnoli of The Warehouse District’s Eat Art Love (2209 6th Ave. S) hosts a five-course dinner this month, featuring both niche, childhood favorites and classic Italian recipes passed down from his grandparents.
While Eat Art Love typically dishes out breakfast fare like poached egg dip and sweet and sour pancakes, guests at this intimate event can expect slow-cooked ragus and rice pilaf instead.
“Every single one of these dishes is something that my mom made for me all of the time," Brugnoli, 30, tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “This dinner is all about paying tribute to her—I lost her when I was 16 and lost my dad two months later to cancer as well. She is my ultimate inspiration and the reason I started cooking in the first place.”
“It was her dream to open an Italian market like Mazzaro’s, since both of my parents were born and raised in St. Pete. I’ve always dangled that dream in front of me like a carrot—something to always keep me motivated,” he continues.
The five-course “Sharon Brugnoli's Supper” happens on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 5 p.m., and there’s still time to snag one or two tickets to it.
Brugnoli also tells CL that if enough people reach out to him via @eatartlove_stpete on Instagram, he’ll add a second seating later in the evening. Tickets cost $90 each via Eventbrite.com, and folks can add a $35 wine pairing, too.
While some plates reflect Sharon’s exact meals (like the summer salad with romaine, bacon, carrots, Italian vinaigrette and Velveeta cheese), others are “fancied” up a bit—like Chef Brugnoli’s take on his mother’s roasted chicken cooked in white wine.
Even the dessert course—a sorbet with fresh cream and mint served in a hollowed out lemon—pays homage to a dessert that Brugnoli remembers eating at one of his mother’s favorite restaurants.
His mother’s photo graces the front of the menu, while one of her poems is printed on the back. Brugnoli even arranges the seating and decor inside of Eat Art Love to resemble his childhood dining table.
Fifteen years of professional cooking—at spots like Tampa’s Michelin-starred Rocca and Sarasota fine dining spot Meliora—have ultimately led Brugnoli to helm the kitchen at the newly-opened Eat Art Love.
He says that folks can expect more of these themed, multi-course dinners through the slower summer months of May-August, although he may have another event slated for September.
Owners Jose and Natalie Martinez—who also own local clothing stores Sartorial Inc. and Style—opened Eat Art Love alongside Brugnoli back in January. The small cafe and art gallery has garnered near-perfect reviews and a solid customer base who appreciate its intimate nature and upscale breakfast and lunch fare.
“People have been really loving the fact that the restaurant has only 16 seats, and that they can interact with the head chef and our General Manager Jess in such a close way,” Brugnoli tells CL. “While making breakfast is fun, it's not necessarily where my skill lies, so I’d love to be able to focus on more pop-ups, events and high-end dinners as we continue to grow as a business.”
Operating hours at Eat Art Love will expand later in the year as Florida’s “busy season” picks up, but is open Friday-Sunday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. for now.
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