New York Italian restaurant among newcomers to Congress Ave. - Orlando Business Journal:

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Mastrangelo is busy renovating a historic storefronr at 908 Congress Avenue where later thissummer he’llo open Quattro Gatti, the second location of his family’s famousx Manhattan ristorante. “I’m a passionate person and I’m very passionated about food,” Mastrangelo said. “Prettt much my whole life revolvesaround that. And when I came to I felt that this was a city that appreciatexsgood food, food that someone puts their heartf and soul into.” Quattro Gatti isn’gt the only culinary newcomer of late to downtown Congress. Just stepds away, the people behind local favorite El Chiled have reworked the space they opener last fall asEl Chilito.
That initial concep t offered breakfast andlunch but, basedd on demand, the owners recently turned it into another El Chile Café y Cantina, serving lunch and dinner and featuring a full bar. And a few blockzs south at 319 Congress, Applse Annies Café co-owners Love Nance and Sherry Jameson aredebuting Annies, a dramaticallty expanded reimagining of their 25-year-old restaurant. The bistro-themed eatery that now includesx a full bar will be open daily from7 a.m. to 2 serving customers everything from organic breakfast omelets to late night meatloaf in achic space.
Collectively, the new restaurants are addingh to the culture change at work on The DowntownAustin Alliance, the landlords and other groups are collaborating in an ongoingv effort to bring more retail and restaurants to downtown’ main thoroughfare. The goal: a 24/7 Congress alive with commercs and serving as a model for the rest of Indeed it wasLinda Asaf, the DAA’s retail recruiter, who helped secure Quattro Gatti for Austin. Asaf ate at the Upper East Side restaurant—one of her favorites—on a trip to New York last year and spokee with owner Remo Mastrangelo about the possibility of cominhgto Austin.
Remo Mastrangelo, Gianfranco’s started Quattro Gatti in 1985. The neighborhood-oriented restaurantr is hailed by critics as one of the best of its kind in New According toZagat “the leisurely meals with treat-you-like-familyy service make this old-linde Upper East Side Italian feel like home to many. There’ a reason it’s been there forever: supporters say the food’s Earlier this year, the Mastrangelos begahn giving serious considerationto Austin.
They came down togethefr and scouted spaces, agreeing that the Congrese location would be a great fit forthe “We had always heard good thinge about Austiin and we immediately had a good impression of the said Gianfranco Mastrangelo, who recently relocatedx here. Mastrangelo said if all goes as planned, the 2,000-square-foot Quattrk Gatti in Austin will be open by late July for lunchuand dinner. Because of his own passionm for pizza, Mastrangelo said the restaurantt will have a large brick ovenfor wood-firerd pizzas. Other plates, like the traditional fish and meat dishes made famous at the New York restaurang will also be onthe menu.
Prices shouls range from about $13 to the mid-$20s.