FASHIONED AT RISTORANTE LUCCA, A LIVELY MIXOLOGIST EXPLORES CLASSIC TECHNIQUES WITH A FRESH SEASONAL APPROACH
BY ERIK SCHONING PHOTOS BY AMANDA DOMENECH
Ristorante Lucca opened in December 2022, replacing the longstanding Mastoris Diner on Route 130 south of Trenton. The brainchild of restauranteur William Burris, Ristorante Lucca is a restaurant like no other. The casual space was transformed into a cosmopolitan, 250-seat restaurant and piano lounge with fine-dining fare and, fittingly, sophisticated cocktails. Patrons sidling up to the bar on any given night will meet bar manager Joseph Ticora, the architect of a cocktail menu that’s as elegant as any upscale Italian dish.
Not yet 30 years old, Ticora can already boast an impressive resume. He’s worked in the service industry for nearly half his life, beginning his career as a server at a local Mexican restaurant at 16 before launching his own remodeling company in New Jersey. In the last five years, he made the switch to bartending in Italian and French restaurants and never looked back.
“I was always fascinated by bartending and mixology,” Ticora said. “Out of all the jobs I’ve done in a restaurant, bartending is the one that keeps you learning and trying new things. You never stop learning. It’s a job that requires all my attention, and that’s something I love. It’s always an entertaining job.”
When he first came to Ristorante Lucca, Ticora sharpened his craft under the tutelage of a few seasoned bartenders who have had experience all over the world. Ticora credits these mentors with teaching him the recipe for becoming a top-tier mixologist: not simply mixing drinks, but putting in the hours and even days of preparation necessary to ensure every component of a drink is the best it can be. Ticora learned the ins and outs of infusions, tincturing, and garnishing.
Today, Ticora has taken these lessons and worked them into a menu of his own. Ristorante Lucca is in a period of transition; the restaurant is in the midst of a major renovation that will expand the space to include an outdoor patio and event center. To accompany these changes, both the food and bar menus are shifting to a more seasonal focus, allowing Ticora to make subtle substitutions to his drink menu: old fashioneds with mezcal or rum, for example, a pairing better suited to warmer months.
Ticora’s menu is rooted in attention to detail. Take the Siciliano Old Fashioned, for example, one of the restaurant’s signature cocktails. Bourbon is infused with dried fig, cinnamon, and cardamom, then stored while taking on the flavor of the spices and fruit. But this isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it process.
“With the figs, we have to sample the infusion often,” Ticora said. “We don’t want the sweetness from the figs to overpower the bourbon. So when I feel the infusion is ready, that’s when I start batching it for service. Some of our cocktails take up to two weeks of preparation.”
Other cocktails, like the Scilla e Cariddi, a fiery drink made with tequila, mezcal, and Solerno (a blood orange liqueur), requires two separate infusions, one of cherry and bell peppers and the second with dried apricot and apricot jam. (Sugar accelerates the process of infusion, so sweet infusions typically require less time.) Ticora and his team also make all their own syrups and bitters in house. The wildly popular Ciao Bella, a summery vodka, lemon, and elderflower combo, features a house-made blueberry sage syrup. The idea is simple: serve drinks that simply can’t be found anywhere else.
For Ticora, his tenure at Ristorante Lucca has been a time of growth.
Though he’s been behind the sticks for the past five years, this restaurant has offered him the opportunity to come into his own as a mixologist. He’s also had the space to further develop his leadership skills; as bar manager, Ticora leads a team of three bartenders, and is the face of the restaurant’s bar experience.
“I used to own businesses before, so managing is not something new,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s all about customer service. If people love what you do, they will come back. So that’s what keeps me going.”
Ristorante Lucca is in an unprecedented period of growth and expansion: post-renovation, the restaurant is set to become a community hub as never before, hosting wine nights along with nightly performances in the piano lounge. For a bar, these transformations require finesse and flexibility, an ability to constantly adjust and change menus not only to fit certain events, but to keep every night fresh and exciting. As Ticora tweaks his menu to embrace its new seasonal focus, he knows that he’s ready for the challenge.
“Sometimes a customer will tell me that I look like an artist making drinks,” Ticora said. “Those comments fulfill me as a person and help me grow. It gives me great certainty in what I’m doing as my job. I’m a young mixologist, and I still have a lot to learn. This is my first interview, and I know it’s not going to be my last.”
Ristorante LUCCA & Piano Lounge
144 US-130, Bordentown
609.262.0110 / ristorantelucca.com