Food Network Star Judge Bruno DiFabio has come full circle with the reopening of his newest restaurant, Amore Cucina & Bar, in Springdale. It was Amore where DiFabio first got a taste for the restaurant business—and for pizza-making. His father and former owner Al Carozza were best friends and also worked together, and a ten-year-old DiFabio would go with his father to work and help out. “The first time I touched dough was with Al,” says DiFabio, who worked at Amore as a teenager—and eventually named his first restaurant in Scarsdale, New York, after it. When Carozza was ready to retire, DiFabio was the perfect person to step in as his successor. “I used to wash dishes here,” says DiFabio, “And now opening it as my own is surreal.”
“Amore is a Stamford landmark,” says DiFabio, who gave the place a renovation that honors many of the restaurant’s original details, exposing brick that had been covered by drywall and pulling up layers of tile to get back to the original flooring. There’s a beautiful new bar (with beer, wine and cocktails), a communal table in this trattoria-style restaurant, and an outdoor patio for warmer weather (yes, we can’t wait either).
The menu features classic Italian fare—meatballs, lasagna and fresh-made pastas—and, of course, some pretty amazing pies by this six-time World Pizza Champion. DiFabio will cook up Pizza Romana (square pies using dough he ferments for seventy-two hours) as well as Neapolitan pizzas in a wood-fired oven from Naples that sits behind the bar. Whichever you order, sharing isn’t required—all pizzas are personal-sized. Other offerings that will whet your appetite include coastal appetizers like calamari and ceviche, and if you crave something sweet after dinner, the desserts are all house-made.
As Stamford’s second-oldest restaurant, Amore already has quite a few fans, and with its new vibe and menu, it’s sure to make many more. But the most important judge has already given his approval. Says DiFabio of his predecessor: “Al’s here all the time.”
Amore Cucina & Bar
921 Hope Street, 203-357-1066