Prezza
24 Fleet St.
Boston, MA 02113
617-227-1577
Since its opening in 2000, Prezza has been considered a rising star on the crowded North End dining scene. Inventive Mediterranean cuisine, a sleek, urban interior and an extensive wine list come together to create an experience that is at once exciting and serene.
Chef-owner Anthony Caturano’s menu is based on the simple, peasant-style cuisine of Prezza, the small, ancient town in the Abruzzi region of Italy where his grandmother was born. Featuring house-made pastas and wood grilled meats, the menu is bursting with authentic yet innovative cuisine.
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Anthony Caturano
Chef at Prezza
Chef Anthony Caturano's hometown, Revere, Massachusetts, is just miles from Boston's North End, but, some would argue, just as Italian. No one can attest to this more than Caturano, whose childhood was packed with Sunday afternoon family dinners at his grandmother's house across the street. It's no wonder that his appreciation for family and food is so deeply engrained - or that his first restaurant Prezza pays homage to Grandma Caturano, who hails from Prezza, Italy.
Caturano, whose initial career path took him in the footsteps of his father, a prominent Boston accountant, opted out of Merrimack College in a radical shift to pursue his culinary calling. Armed with a degree from the Culinary Institute of America, (class of 1993) he began a meandering journey around the country in pursuit of his own cooking style.
Caturano got his start cooking with Todd English of the famed Olives. Rounding out his training in Miami, Caturano cooked for Mark Militello at Mark's Place and Mark's Las Olas. He went on to join the Nemo restaurant empire (Nemo, Big Pink, Shoji and Prime One Twelve). From there, Caturano headed went to Los Angeles, landing a job at the wildly popular, Patina, where he honed his craft under Joachim Splichal.
Somewhere between Miami and Los Angeles Caturano took a detour to his ancestral homeland of Italy, where he bonded with his grandmother's birthplace of Prezza, a tiny ancient village in the Abruzzi region. He spent significant time in the Northern regions, where he studied the cooking traditions of Piemonte. The sabbatical was enlightening, broadening Caturano's idea of what cooking could be - simple yet evolved.
Having worked with the country's finest chefs, Caturano set out on his own, coupling his experience with inspiration. In 2000, he opened Prezza, a tribute to his love of Italy and to honor his grandmother, Elena Ferelli Caturano. Prezza's cuisine embodies the simplicity of the region and its allegiance to both land and sea.
When not in the kitchen, Caturano can be found hunting and fishing in the remote back country of North America. He has hunted moose, elk, mountain goat, deer and grizzly bear. He admits some of his best dining experiences have been on his hunting trips. Of course he smuggles a few bottles of old wine in his pack to enjoy with the catch.
Caturano has reclaimed his roots in Revere by moving back several years ago - his new home in view of his grandmother's house.
- Aïoli
- 1. noun A blend of ail (garlic) and oli (oil) in the parlance of the Provence region of southern France. Around here, we'd call it a garlic mayonnaise.
- Asiago
- 1. noun Semi-firm Italian cheese made from cow's milk.
- Beignet
- 1. noun A sweet or savory fritter from New Orleans.
- Brioche
- 1. noun A soft, yeasty French bread enriched with butter and eggs.
- Carpaccio
- 1. noun Wafer-thin slices of raw beef served cold; named after the Renaissance Venetian painter.
- Chorizo
- 1. noun Crumbly, spiced pork sausage.
- Chutney
- 1. noun A spicy, fruity, sometimes marmalade-like Indian condiment.
- Cipollini
- 1. noun Small, yellowish onions that add sweet and savory accents to cooked dishes.
- Compote
- 1. noun Slow-cooked fruit in syrup.
- Confit
- 1. noun Meat (usually goose, duck or pork) that is slowly cooked in its own fat and preserved with the fat packed around it as a seal.
- Escabeche
- 1. noun A Spanish dish of poached or fried fish covered with a spicy marinade.
- Florentine
- 1. noun A cookie of nougatine and candied fruit brushed with a layer of chocolate.
- Foie gras
- 1. noun Expensive, silk-textured goose or duck liver that has been enlarged by a process you don't want to read about if you're going to eat this dish.
- Fra diavlo
- 1. noun Dishes featuring a devilishly spicy marinara sauce.
- Gratin
- 1. noun Any dish covered with cheese or buttered breadcrumbs and baked or broiled.
- Limoncello
- 1. noun Lemon liqueur.
- Mâche
- 1. noun Dark, tangy greens used most often in salads.
- Mascarpone
- 1. noun Ultra-rich, soft cheese known best for its role in tiramisu.
- Pancetta
- 1. noun Cured Italian bacon.
- Poivre
- 1. noun French for "pepper."
- Polenta
- 1. noun A slow-cooked cornmeal porridge popular in northern Italy; can be served soupy or firm, sometimes fried.
- Porcini
- 1. noun Smoky, meaty wild mushrooms.
- Prix fixe
- 1. noun French for fixed price, a complete meal that features a limited number of selections at a preset price.
- Ragoût
- 1. noun A thick, seasoned stew of meat or fish, sometimes with vegetables.
- Ragu
- 1. noun Tomato and meat sauce from Bologna.
- Risotto
- 1. noun Italian dish made from rice cooked by intermittently adding small amounts of stock or broth. Other ingredients are added as required.
- Schnitzel
- 1. noun Egg- and breadcrumb-battered, fried meat cutlet.
- Semolina
- 1. noun Very coarse flour used to make pizza and bread. Also refers to rounded parts of wheat used to make a pudding of the same name.
- Sorrel
- 1. noun A sour, buckwheat-related herb.
- Tagliatelle
- 1. noun What they call fettuccine born in northern Italy.
- Tartare
- 1. noun Ground or finely chopped, seasoned raw meat (traditionally beef). May or may not come mounded, and with a raw egg.
- Tempura
- 1. noun Batter-dipped, deep-fried fish, poultry or vegetables.
- Terrine
- 1. noun An earthenware container, or the dish cooked therein.