Amidst the bars, restaurants and several vintage shops on Brady St. there lies Vucciria, 1323 Brady. St., AM a restaurant with strong ties to Italy.
Vucciria is owned by Joe and Mimma Megna, also owners of Mimma's Café AM which is only a few doors down from their second restaurant.,”
Amidst the bars, restaurants and several vintage shops on Brady St., there lies Vucciria, 1323 Brady. St., a restaurant with strong ties to Italy.
Vucciria is owned by Joe and Mimma Megna, also owners of Mimma's Café which is only a few doors down from their second restaurant. Comparing the two, Mimma's is white table cloth while Vucciria is a more hip, casual dining experience. However, both are a celebration of Italian food.
The pizzeria and gelateria has an abundant selection of salads and paninis, as well as pizzas. There's the standard menu (available on the Vucciria's Web site, www. thevucci.com) plus the daily specials.
The panini fillers vary from meatball to turkey to chicken parmigiana, though all are priced the same at $8.95 and are paired with French fries. The Scacciata panini may have a difficult name to pronounce if you're not versed in Italian, but it's a delicious choice for cheese lovers and vegetarians. The grilled bread sandwiches' ricotta, provolone and mozzarella cheeses with garlic butter and special seasonings, making for a tasty combination.
Vucciria specializes in pizzas; each one was created in honor of cities and towns in Italy. Plus, every pizza ($12.95 each) is made in the restaurant's wood-burning oven. There's only one size, and it is piled high with ingredients – which range from veggie to a selection of meats – and there's enough for two to share.
It may be because winter is upon Wisconsin, but the freezer case that would usually house the gelato sat empty and dark in the corner of the restaurant.
There was no menu to tell diners what was available at the time for desserts, although wait staff had the current flavors of gelato memorized. Another disappointing aspect to the dessert portion of the meal, Vucciria had run out of gelato cups at the time my group ordered chocolate gelato. Gelato out of plastic cup isn't that appealing, but it was a good finish to the meal.
While the food is tasty, the atmosphere is a bit perplexing. The bi-level restaurant seems to be better suited for a club/bar rather than an Italian eatery. Music is pulsating like it's Abercrombie & Fitch in the middle of a mall. Although fun to listen to, it's not dining music. Interesting sculptures act both as art work and lights hanging from the ceiling. Through the duration of the night the lights switch from blues to reds to yellows and more.
Vucciria has a home on the eclectic street near Milwaukee's East Side neighborhood, but it's most likely not going to be the newest hot spot for Marquette students.
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