If you’re a fan of Wendy Rosano’s traditional and contemporary takes on Italian cuisine and have been nursing a major food jones since she lost her lease on Cucino Mio in West Delray, then get your hungry self over to the newly opened Delray Marketplace, where Rosano and partner Tom Corning have just debutedTerra Fiamma (9169 W. Atlantic Ave., 561/495-5570).
The restaurant seats 150 indoors and another 40 on a trellised outdoor –patio. There’s also an indoor-outdoor bar. The dining room is done in earth and flame colors (“Terra Fiamma” translates as “earth” and “flame”), and boasts a pair of pizza ovens (one wood-fired, the other gas), plus a private dining room for more than two dozen.
The menu swings both old school and nouveau, as exemplified by the roster of pizzas—New York-style pies from the gas oven (like meatballs with ricotta) and Neapolitan-style from the wood-burning oven (like margherita made with San Marzano tomatoes and fresh mozzarella di bufala). Pastas range from lusty (orechietti with sausage and broccoli rabe) to rather more elegant (lobster ravioli with rock shrimp and tomato cream sauce). Then there are the chicken and veal parmigianas and marsalas, plus less ubiquitous choices like pistachio-crusted salmon with crispy artichokes and Dijon cream sauce.
A couple things I think are really cool. . . A selection of five meatballs (beef, veal, pork, turkey and Buffalo chicken), also four different kinds of mozzarella (bufala, burrata, fior di latte and afumatico), and four-item charcuterie and cheese plates.
