For the North Fork crowd, there’s nothing quite like Insatiable Eats Creative Kitchen, the new venture by caterer and restaurateur Chef Marco Barrila and wife Sheila, opening this week in Riverhead.
Between the authentic Sicilian pizza, the coffee bar featuring imported beans from Barrila’s hometown of Messina, the gourmet marketplace with imported panettone, chocolate and other fine foods and a buffet of hot Italian dishes, Insatiable Eats Creative Kitchen is an Italian food lover’s dream.
“I’m ready,” said the chef, who is busy making final preparations for the soft opening this Wednesday, Dec. 8. “Then, we’ll see how many mistakes we’ve made.”
But Barrila clearly knows what he’s doing. Inspired by his upbringing in Messina, Insatiable Eats Creative Kitchen is modeled after Sicilian gastropubs and the restaurant will eventually have a full bar stocked with Italian beers and more. Barrila considers the restaurant a rosticceria messinese, which roughly means Sicilian fast food.
But this is nothing like American fast food. This restaurant, located in the former Michelangelo/Riverhead Project space, is practically bursting at the seams with Italian flavor.
The pizza on offer — made with a light dough and topped with robust sauce and interesting toppings — is authentic Sicilian. Barrila enlisted the help of childhood friend and Messina native Alessandro Natoli, to train his staff on how to make the pizza. Natoli’s daughter, Gloria, is also on staff, managing the imported food items for sale.
Insatiable Eats Creative Kitchen’s Messina roots extend everywhere in the restaurant. Barrila grew up as a friend of the Urbano family, who own Miscela d’Oro, and will now sell their coffee beans as well as hot coffee that guests can enjoy in the restaurant. The Tre Sorelle panettone is also from Sicily, featuring different flavors like pistachio, chocolate, apple and more — and is also made by a Messina-based friend of Barrila.
Following the restaurant’s soft opening, Insatiable Eats Creative Kitchen is set to be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner starting the third week of December. Barrila hopes locals will stop in on the way to work for coffee and a baked good, such as a pistachio cornetto, grab pizza for lunch and enjoy fine Italian pasta for dinner, made using an Emiliomiti, which Sheila calls the “Rolls Royce of pasta machines.” The pastas and sauces will also be packaged and sold to go.
“It’s all falling into place,” she said.
Insatiable Eats Creative Kitchen is located at 300 East Main Street, Riverhead.
