Zuppa Di Pesce At Giuseppe’s Italian Ristorante
Story and Photos by Julie Unger
Authentic, homemade Italian cooking is an art, and Giuseppe’s Italian Ristorante has been bringing its familiar meals to Wellington since 2007. The restaurant now has two locations, both offering the same delicious dishes that the community has enjoyed over the past decade.
Owner Joe Cooper chose Zuppa Di Pesce as the restaurant’s signature dish. “It’s our flagship entrée,” he explained. “It covers all of the seafood that we sell, and it’s an iconic Sicilian dish.”
Everything made at Giuseppe’s is fresh and made to order, Cooper said.
“We make everything to order,” he said. “It may take a few more minutes, but you know the old saying, everything worth waiting for is worthwhile waiting. Good things come to those who wait. That’s our motto.”
Zuppa Di Pesce at Giuseppe’s comes with jumbo shrimp, calamari, clams and mussels sautéed with garlic, basil and olive oil in a marinara wine sauce, served over linguine.
“It usually means fish soup,” Chef Joseph Marchese said. “It was a traditional dish back in the old days. People used to come into port — because Sicily was a port town — and basically, they would take all of the leftovers, throw it into a pot and make a soup out of it, and it became fish soup.”
This would be a typical meal in Sicily, but here in Wellington, Giuseppe’s does things a little differently, while keeping the authentic flair.
The meal is one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, Marchese said, and should be one of the signature dishes at any good Italian restaurant. “The seafood combination just tastes good,” he said, pointing out that other pastas besides linguine can be used.
Other entrée favorites include Pasta Giuseppe, Veal Saltimbocca, Chicken Margherita, Spaghetti alla Carbonara, Fettuccini alla Panna and Fettuccini Florentina.
“They’re all dishes I’ve made and added to our menu,” Marchese said. “Many of them are traditional, and some of them I’ve put my own little twist on.”
For example, when making Pasta Giuseppe, Marchese added ingredients together to find something that worked well.
“We have some traditional entrées. Zuppa Di Pesce is very traditional, and Veal Saltimbocca is very traditional,” he said.
For the most part, food at Giuseppe’s is traditional Italian, “how grandma used to make it.”
An example would be with the Chicken Parmigiana.
“I don’t use breadcrumbs,” Marchese said. “I use egg batter. For the most part, I try sticking to the traditional. I make all the tomato sauces, all the marinara sauces, here. Everything is made to order.”
If you order Fettuccini Alfredo, he’ll makes an individual batch of the sauce for the dish.
“I like to make people happy,” Marchese said. “I like to see their reaction when they taste something, and they have a smile on their face, and they enjoy the food they’re eating. It makes me happy to make them happy when it comes to food. A lot of my customers know me and want me to cook for them. They like the cooking, they like the atmosphere and they like the familiarity.”
Having a relationship with customers is important to Marchese, who has been a chef for more than 25 years. He was with the Forest Hill Blvd. location before it even became Giuseppe’s, starting in 2003. When the ownership changed, and the restaurant became Giuseppe’s, Marchese worked to revamp the menu and has been there ever since.
The diverse menu, featuring appetizers, salads, soups, pasta, baked pasta, Italian dishes, specialty dishes, chicken, veal, steak and seafood, as well as pizza, sandwiches and desserts, offers great food in a comfortable, cozy atmosphere.
If you can’t visit grandma’s for some homemade Italian cooking, you can always visit “Big Joe’s.”
Giuseppe’s Italian Ristorante is open seven days a week. The Wellington Town Square location, at 11924 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 33, is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 10 p.m. on Sundays. To reach the Town Square Giuseppe’s, call (561) 790-3780.
The Courtyard Shops location, at 13860 Wellington Trace, Suite 36, is open from noon to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday. To reach the Courtyard Shops Giuseppe’s, call (561) 841-6488.
Giuseppe’s Italian Ristorante also offers delivery within Wellington, dine-in, take-out and even catering for events of all sizes. For more information, visit www.giuseppesitalianristorante.com.
