Buffalo Rising Online

Jun 10th 2007, 7:07am By Adam Fix

North End Bistro recently changed hands, and the new chef and owner, Marc Marotta, has overhauled the menu. He took a few moments out of his busy schedule to answer some questions about the new dishes.

Although the restaurant remains true to its Italian roots, Chef Marotta has conceived an original menu borne of his extensive experience. As a chef with over 18 years in the industry (mainly at local institutions such as Friar’s Table and the Eagle House), Marotta has added some unique touches to Italian favorites.

Chef Marotta stresses that he is not trying to compete with the other Italian restaurants that line Hertel Avenue. He hopes that the businesses, together, will continue to bring people to the area, each one offering a different perspective. His belief is that North End Trattoria’s strength will be in its specialty dishes- homemade recipes that have been developed over the years by combining traditional dishes with unique ingredients.

North End’s new menu features many classic offerings. Starters include antipasto, Caesar salad, and a sampler (featuring banana peppers, fresh mozzarella & tomato, shrimp cocktail, herbed goat cheese, Italian olives, and roasted red peppers & crostinis), that range from $5 to $16. Sandwiches run between $9 and $15, and feature choices like a veal cutlet with lettuce, tomato, cheese and a hot Italian dressing and a Sicilian melt consisting of red peppers, mozzarella and assorted Italian meats.

Within the selection of entrees, Chef Marotta’s creativity is more evident. The restaurant’s signature dish is “Gnocchi Marco”, which is comprised of homemade gnocchi served in a roasted banana pepper cream sauce with shrimp and roasted red peppers.

A glance at the new menu offers a few other intriguing possibilities- “Seafood Alison” (shrimp and scallops in a black pepper vodka sauce served over pasta- $20), “North End Tenderloin” (pan-seared tenderloin medallions topped with spinach and gorgonzola, finished with a veal demi-glaze and served over risotto- $22), and “Chicken Neptune” (breaded chicken cutlet topped with shrimp, mushrooms and mozzarella and served with pasta in a scampi sauce- $18).

Marotta has yet to hear many reactions from old clientele to the new menu- since he does not advertise, he doesn’t believe many people are aware of the switch yet. Give it a try and see for yourself- maybe some of your old favorites are due for a new twist.

North End Bistro, 1458 Hertel, 14216, 446.0025, call for hours