STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- On a recent breezy morning, Massimo Felici swung open the new casement windows along the front of his North Shore restaurant. With finishing touches on the decor, staff coming into place and wine tastings under way, the first day for VINUM in Stapleton finally is within sight.
Between runs to Home Depot and life at home with a 15-month-old and newborn, Massimo says he's got a mix of emotions at the moment.
"I'm excited/nervous/overwhelmed...," he said with a laugh. "So, I have a lot of stuff going."
Yet Massimo sees VINUM as if it were a second home and he's happy to settle into it. His intent is to keep the place intimate -- and have the kitchen within reach of the customers. From his planned perch behind the counter of an open kitchen, the chef aims to see everything in his dining room in a glance.
Massimo expects the cozy eatery to be serving freshly baked pastries starting at 9:30 a.m., with lunch until 4 p.m and dinner after, all starting Tuesday, Oct. 3. He talked about his menu, Italian dishes that he will make from scratch himself.
At VINUM, lunch and dinner can start with a salad, a choice of four, each priced at $10, like "The Beets" built on roasted yellow and red beets and "The Blues" which combines dried figs with walnuts, gorgonzola, poached pears and bibb lettuce. There's an olive- and feta-fueled combination called "The Greek" plus a "Bloody Caesar," baby kale mingled with parmesan croutons, beets and marinated Spanish anchovies dressed in a classic caesar dressing.
For soup, Massimo offers two at $10 apiece: "Ribollita," a Tuscan tomato-bean soup packed with cabbage, chard and kale, and "Nonna's Chunky Chicken Noodle."
A "Meatball Bar" entails four styles of the classic favorites presented as a slider trio on a potato bun or on a platter. The "Chicken" version ($10) comes with creamy Alfredo, while a "Lamb" one ($12) is presented in white wine-lemon-garlic-rosemary sauce and spicy harissa, an accoutrement made with roasted red pepper paste. Traditional "Italiano" ($10) meatballs are ladled with tomato sauce and fresh ricotta cheese. "Sausage" ones ($10) are produced from ground sweet fennel sausage, broccoli raab, roasted peppers and onions.
Platters to share are intended for two or more guests. Four of these offerings include the "Cheese Monger Platter" for $19 -- five cheeses paired with fig marmalade, honey, poached pears and nuts. Massimo is sourcing some cheese from local caves, others from Italy. The "Hunter's Wild Game Board" at $29 sports assorted cured meats, pheasant country pate, olives, cornichons and whole grain mustard.
Particularly excited by the Game Board, Massimo looks to California purveyors for prosciutto made from dry-cured venison and wild boar.
In the $18-to-$19 range, pasta selections are limited to four selections, all house-made with wild boar pappardelle, beggars' purses of cheese in white truffle sauce in the tartufato, potato gnocchi with stilton and nuts, and, finally, a lasagna layered with braised short rib bolognese and bechamel.
An extensive panini list comes at lunch with a salad at either $10 or $11 a pop with combinations ranging from the unctuous-sounding "El Cubano" -- roast pork, ham, swiss, sliced pickles and mustard -- to "The Classic" -- prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil.
The "Small Plates" vary in cost, $10 to $15, with a collection of dishes such as rice balls, tripe, Portuguese octopus, a Napoleon of fried eggplant and mozzarella, shrimp and beans, baccala croquette plus carpaccio of filet mignon presented with arugula, shave parmesan and extra-virgin olive oil.
The only difference between the lunch and dinner list is the roster of panini: Those hot, pressed sandwiches are more streamlined in styles at dinner.
"To make up for those items, I'll have specials for dinner after 4 p.m.," said Massimo.
Indications are there for VINUM that it is poised for upward momentum: Already there is a five-star Yelp review online for the eatery posted by a person Massimo identifies as a fan of his from other restaurant ventures. Also, VINUM has been mentioned in the New York Times as part of discussion in the North Shore waterfront boom. Massimo said Florence Fabricant, food and wine writer/critic, reached out to him shortly after that article appeared.
VINUM is located at 704 Bay St., Stapleton; 718-448-8466, VinumNYC.com.