But first writer and drama teacher, Rick Karlin, is shining the spot light on a local Italian
market where you'll feel right at home.
He says from the moment you walk through the door you're treated like family.
They remember your name and are always urging you to eat a little bit more.
And if you try out their buffet, Rick warns that you may just be waddling out at the end
of your meal.
It's in Oakland Park and it's called Cucina Caruso, Italian Market and Pizza.
Hi, my name is Domenico Caruso, chef owner of Cucina Caruso.
Born in Italy, grew up in New York, and now I'm in Florida, enjoying life.
I've been in this business since I'm probably eleven years old and I feel very comfortable
around food, and feeding people and enjoying a good conversation.
Everything is made here on the premises, we make our own fresh mozzarella, we make our
own bread.
We do everything from scratch so it's all fresh food.
We have a regular menu, we also do a buffet during the day from Monday to Saturday.
And then we do it again on Thursday nights.
We put a lot of food out as far as hot food, cold food, salads, vegetables.
We do a tortellini bolognese, which is with the mushrooms or pink sauce, and our pizza
is second to none.
I think we have one of the top pizzas in Florida.
We are going through a lot of renovation right now, we redid our kitchen, and we're trying
to redo our front to make more seating.
You know we're just growing with the neighbors, the neighborhood's growing and we're growing
with them.
My slogan that I like to use is "Come for breakfast, stay for lunch, and have dinner".
We just create good food and let the people talk for themselves.
You know, when people have a smile on their face you know they had a good time.
So what is it?
Is it a restaurant, is it a market it?
Well, I thought it was a deli for years driving past it and then one day I went in and I realized
there were a few tables back in the corner, and then I discovered the lunch time and Thursday
night buffet, it's like visiting grandma's house I think.
Where you can never, ever eat enough.
Right.
Yeah.
Carmen?
As a person who lives the low carb lifestyle, I was dead.
We walked in the, it's like visiting family and finding a small restaurant in Naples and
it's just fabulous.
We started with the antipasto, and it wasn't your typical antipasto, it had phenomenal
olive selection, their roasted peppers were amazing, and on top of that, we had the fried
mozzarella.
And that was, and you can see it's not your normal fried mozzarella.
It was handmade, it had a great sauce, and I'm not a tomato sauce person, and I was actually
spooning on the sauce, thickly.
[Rick] Wow.
Okay, Tamera, what'd you think?
We started with the fried calamari, and that was so good, yeah and it was so tender, it
wasn't rubbery, you know sometimes calamari can be rubbery.
[Michelle] Sure, no it could go either way.
And my husband ate the meatballs with the ricotta, and the sauce.
[Carmen] Those were amazing.
I do not like meatloaf or meatballs, those were really good.
They're like pillowy, they're so light and fluffy.
Yeah.
Oh how delicious.
That was nice.
That would make me hungry.
Did you have anything for a main course?
We ordered the dom pizza, it was flavorful, the cheeses were great, it had all kinds of
different meats, it had black olives.
And then I had the tortellini Caruso.
Oh my, it comes with a tomato cream sauce.
[Michelle] Uh huh.
[Carmen] It was traditional tortellini, but the flavors of the meat within the tortellini
and the pasta, you could taste was so fresh, it was just so beautifully done.
[Michelle] Did they make the pasta there?
Some of their pasta is dry but this felt very homemade.
[Tamera] I actually had the linguini with clam sauce.
[Michelle] My favorite.
It's one of my favorites too, it wasn't that night.
They were so nice, I have to say.
I didn't say anything, I didn't want to complain, but I, they were so nice I do believe if I
would have said something, they would have changed it out, yeah.
But the rest of the food was so good, so I just think that was a one off, they, they
were nice.
They're exceptionally delicious,
Really yeah
The minute you walk in the owner comes to your table, he's a rather robust gentleman,
and his wife, they both came to our table, they introduced themselves, the servers were
very warm, without being intrusive, helpful, so I loved the service.
[Rick] Yeah.
Rick what'd you have for main courses?
Roast pork, oh my goodness the roast pork.
[Michelle] Tell me about the roast pork.
[Rick] It just melts in your mouth, I mean it's like butter on the plate, you put your
fork through it and it just cuts it up.
It's really, and quite rich in flavor.
A good punch of garlic and some black pepper in there.
How were the prices?
It was a great bargain, and then all the food that we took home.
It was yeah, under seventy, what seventy-five dollars for two entrees, two desserts, you
know, wine, coffee.
[Michelle] Oh, what'd you have for dessert.
[Tamera] I love cannolis, so.
[Rick] And they're made to order.
[Tamera] Oh they are.
Like they fill them to order, yeah.
Okay, it was delicious
[Michelle] Were they delicious?
Yeah.
Well you always know a good cannoli if they're crispy on the outside right and creamy on
the inside, so if you got that.
Yeah, I did, I was so satisfied.
Yeah you did, and you had dessert as well.
We asked them to surprise us with two desserts and they came back with two and a half.
The cheesecake was excellent, it was not too dense, it had lots of flavor, they had zeppoles.
[Michelle] Italian donuts.
[Carmen] It was crispy and yummy and soft and gooey on the inside, it was the perfect
marriage of texture and flavor.
And then they had this tri colored cake that tasted a little bit like anise, it was delicious.
[Michelle] It's a traditional Italian cake.
[Carmen] Yes.
Oh Rick, Cucina Caruso is your pick, sum it up for us please.
They make you feel as if they've been waiting for you, to serve you.
Carmen?
It's cozy, it's comforting, it's like visiting friends you didn't know you had in Italy.
Lovely.
Tamera?
It's quaint, the food is good and the staff are welcoming, I'll definitely be going back,
yeah.
For homemade Italian food that will leave you more than satisfied, catch a ride to Cucina
Caruso Italian Market and Pizza, located at 4165 North Dixie Highway in Oakland Park.
Open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, reservations are accepted and the average
price for dinner without drinks is about twenty-five dollars.