In a city spiced by hundreds of Italian restaurants, Marco Chirico of Enoteca on Court had to soul- and family history-search to come up with a unique flavor profile

by Derek de Koff

Fate is some strange stuff. Marco Chirico always had dreams of becoming a sports star––perhaps soccer, baseball, or football––but it seems the restaurant industry had bigger plans in store for him.

“When I was growing up, I instantly fell in love with the business,” he said.

Chirico was bussing tables by age eleven, then promoted to valet and waiter. Still, he never suspected that restaurants would turn out to be his true calling. The fact that his father is legendary restaurateur Joe Chirico of Marco Polo Ristorante undoubtedly forced the hand of chance, at least somewhat.

Located in Brooklyn, Enoteca on Court came to light when Joe decided to switch out Marco Polo’s themed takeout section and replace it with a wine bar. (“Enoteca” means “wine repository,” by the way.) He handed his son the reins, and the space quickly became popular for its tapas, brick-oven pizza, octopus, and salmon on skewers.

“I saw that heavy dishes were on the outs,” said the Johnson & Wales trained owner/chef. “The neighborhood was changing and getting healthier every day. People stopped eating gluten and stopped eating a lot of flour.”

It’s hard enough cooking up a brick-oven pizza, but in order to differentiate Enoteca from the vast array of Italian eateries in New York’s always overcrowded market, Chirico and his crew had to take the concept one step further. “Yeah, we decided to really kick it up a notch—with flavored pizza dough. We’ve done butternut squash dough, cauliflower dough, basil, kale, sundried tomatoes… this summer, we plan on creating other new ones.” Unfortunately, he quickly goes covert when we try to dig further: “I can’t tell you the ingredients just yet. No, no. I’d like to keep it a secret.”

Fair enough, but can he tell us the secret of how he navigates two wildly busy restaurants without morphing into a walking panic attack splattered in liters of red sauce? (On top of that, he’s also one of the New York State Restaurant Association’s board of directors.)

“Well, you might say I found a secret package to travel back and forth between spaces,” he said with a grin. “Seriously, when you fall in love with a business, the hours simply don’t matter to you. Every day is a different adventure.” And on those very occasional “off days,” the health department pops in, a waiter abruptly scores a job at CNN and quits, the dishwasher goes down, the delivery guy gets ticketed for not wearing his high-visibility reflective vest––and Chirico simply steps out onto the newly remodeled back patio to decompress.

“It has a real neighborhood feel to it, but with a distinctly Italian twist,” he explained. “When you come out here, you feel like you’re in a little Italian town.” (A little Italian town with air conditioning.)

A couple sits at a nearby table, idly gorging on chickpea pate, a platter of assorted bruschetta, and
Prosciutto Di Parma paninis. “Over the years, we’ve established ourselves as a signature restaurant, but pretty much anyone can afford to eat here,” Chirico said. A hardcore crowd of regulars and devotees make it their mission to stop in three or four times a week. “The place has such a comfortable feel. It’s very family-oriented, and the portions are huge for the price. We have a lot of

A handful of thirsty diners swarm the cart where Enoteca serves up conspicuously alcoholic Italian ices. Not surprisingly, they get increasingly popular as the mercury rises.

nine-to-fivers who don’t feel like going home and making dinner, so they come in for the $12 lasagna.” And as of press time, nobody’s ever complained about the inexpensive international wine list or the generous wine flights––three glasses of wine with a two-ounce pour, each from a different region.

Another pair of diners get acquainted over smoked Applewood duck salami and Pollo Rollatini baked in the wood burning oven. They’re clearly trying to still their first-date jitters with watermelon lavender punch and a bourbon-based iced tea. “I also recommend Amore,” said Chirico––a rosé mixed with raspberry simple syrup and fresh lemon. “It tastes like a raspberry ice.”

A handful of thirsty diners swarm the cart where Enoteca serves up conspicuously alcoholic Italian ices. Not surprisingly, they get increasingly popular as the mercury rises. “Yeah, that was my idea,” Chirico gently boasted. “It occurred to me one night when my friends and I were eating ices and heading off to happy hour.” Shortly after that Eureka moment, Chirico concocted his very own homemade watermelon and apple liqueurs, both of which can be poured liberally into shaved ice to make for a sweet, conspicuously slur-inducing summer snack.

And you can even get your snow cone spiked with Chirico’s homemade limoncello or game-changing, palette-cleansing “tangerinecello.”

“You really have to be creative with your cocktails these days,” Chirico said. People simply don’t want to drink screwdrivers anymore. Mixologists are very popular right now, especially in this neighborhood. And as the neighborhood changes, you have to change along with it.”

Enoteca On Court
347 Court Street / 718.243.1000 / enotecaoncourt.com