Ceritano's Restaurant

Cooking Italian, eating Local

When most Americans think of Italian food, what still comes to mind is hearty, but not so exciting: baked meat dishes, soft-crusted pizza smothered under a thick tomato sauce with a peelable, bubbling layer of cheese, or heaps of spaghetti and meatballs. Comfort food is one thing, but Blacksburg chef Tina Ceritano would like her customers to taste the variety and freshness that native Italian cuisine can offer.

Photos by Tuan Pham

Italy’s varied landscape nurtures all sorts of vegetables, grains, wild fungi and fruit, some only to be enjoyed briefly in their prime as the year turns. The sea on all sides offers a bounty of fish and shellfish. These regional riches invite the Italian cook to balance many fresh ingredients, artfully taking the changing seasons as inspiration for favorite recipes. Following this traditional approach, and taking full advantage of our own area’s movement towards local and sustainable eating, Tina’s husband and partner, Nino, does the shopping every day, buying local whenever possible, while Tina runs daily and weekly specials that play up these finds.

Regular menu starters include fried calimari or freshly-baked bruschetta, but if you time it right, you can happen upon special appetizers like the light but decadent combination of gamy prosciutto with sweet cantaloupe melon.

By the time this review goes to print, asparagus season will be over, so you won’t be able to order the delicate risotto dish I sampled, spiked with bracing accents of fresh parsley and lemon, and studded generously with the tangy vegetable, picked fresh that Saturday morning. Fortunately the summer months are a prime time to explore the New River Valley’s seasonal prizes.

In June, check out the real deal on Pasta Primavera, with fresh local broccoli, string beans, and other veggies. Next up, July is chanterelle mushroom season in our area, so lovers of wild food can plan to sample that flamboyant forest treat Abruzzeze style.

The showcase of Ceritano’s restaurant is the wood-fired brick oven. The pizzas are, as one would expect, a simple and satisfying meal in themselves. The house-made dough, rolled out thin on a marble prep counter, is topped with just enough mellow tomato sauce and creamy fresh mozzarella to form a glorious base for tasty toppings. Thin-crusted brick oven pizza is like nothing else: the crisp outer edges and chewy inner layer infused with the flavor of the wood fire. Perfect! I’m looking forward to a Margherita pizza with fresh tomatoes and basil while they are at their local peak this summer.

If you love fresh fish, try another specialty of the brick oven: baked grouper, an Italian favorite (for special events, a whole baked fish can sometimes be arranged: apparently a 20-pounder is a true spectacle). The Ceritanos prefer to shun frozen seafood. Nino tells of a dinner about 30 years ago that didn’t leave the best taste in his mouth: “I had fish in Atlantic City, and my uncle says, ‘They catch it here, then they drive it to Philly to the plant to process it, then they bring it back here.’” That’s not the dining experience this gourmand couple wants for their customers.

So, what do two dedicated lovers of good food like to cook at home? Nino replies, “This is our home. In fact, we are just about to have our lunch.” “This!” exclaims Tina with a flush that’s part pride and part the heat of the kitchen, “Take a picture of this for your magazine.” She presents an osso bucco that looks as if it could melt from the bone, sided with an elegantly molded risotto. And then and there, during a slow time in the restaurant, the couple and a friend make themselves at home, tucking in with a nice bottle of Valipolicella (in summer, try a glass with a sliver of lemon). They invite customers to come and enjoy as they do, “at home.”

If the day doesn’t call for a gourmet feast, customers can stop in for a quick lunch. Highlights include pizza, naturally, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, or subs served on the house’s own generously crusted bread, from the brick oven, of course. Tina’s own gourmet store also offers homemade sauces, loaves of fresh bread, and her famous pickled eggplant relish. Gift baskets can be made to order.

Located at 428 North Main Street, Right across from Virginia Tech’s campus, Ceritano’s brings Blacksburg a taste of Italy and the local flavors of the town. Phone: (540) 443-9135. Meeting room available: phone ahead for reservations.