Amalfi brings Italian seafood cuisine to Houston

Giancarlo Ferrara remembers the early morning smell of tomatoes cooking in his mother's kitchen as she began the family's big Sunday meal. "By the time we got back from church, everything was ready," he said, recalling the culinary traditions of his childhood in Salerno, Italy.

The youngest of seven children of a family that makes sheep's milk cheeses, he said he naturally fell into a career in restaurants. He began his culinary training at 15 and by the time he was 17 he was in the kitchen full time. And while his professional career took him to Italy, Germany and Ireland (including a two-star Michelin restaurant), he always longed to open his own restaurant.

Now he has. Amalfi Ristorante Italiano & Bar, named for one of Italy's most popular and picturesque stretches of coastline, opened last week at 6100 Westheimer. Not only does Ferrara, who spent 11 years at Arcodoro, have a place to call his own, he has a kitchen where he can specialize in the foods and flavors of his beloved Amalfi coast.

"I'm very pleased that finally, after 25 years in this business, my dream came true."

Done up in nautical blue and white, Amalfi is a charming white-tablecloth restaurant with a predominantly seafood menu, rounded out by pizza, an abundance of pasta dishes, and a variety of meats. The kitchen makes its own pasta. Several cheeses on the menu come from his family's cheese company. He sources his lamb from a farm in Goldthwaite. He smokes his own salmon. Steaks are additionally dry aged in-house.

Ferrara's culinary passions are evident in his abundant and varied menu. Antipasti options include beef carpaccio with a salad of micro greens, pears and shaved pecorino; roasted Mediterranean octopus served over escarole with a grilled bell pepper sauce; pan-seared diver scallops served over sautéed porcini mushrooms and fingerling potatoes with a black truffle sauce; and Maine lobster tail medallions served with a salad of fresh orange segments and chive pink pepper dressing. Pasta? Ferrara is sending out thick spaghetti with an anchovy-flavored fish sauce studded with Manila clams; pappardelle in a creamy sea urchin sauce with chickpeas and lardo (he said it's like "sea urchin carbonara"); spaghetti with oven-roasted veal and sweetbreads and mild pecorino; paccheri pasta with a ragoût of braised pork ribs; and whole wheat fettuccini with porcini mushrooms, pancetta and a creamy parmesan truffle sauce. The fish and meat entrees include braised salted codfish with artichokes and potatoes; large oven-roasted calamari stuffed with seafood and served over creamy polenta; Gulf snapper fillet in a light cherry tomato, garlic and parsley sauce; herb-crusted pork fillet with cauliflower mousse; roasted bone-in Texas lamb with charred spring onions and potatoes; and wood fire-roasted New York steak served with an arugula and tomato salad with Parmesan shavings.

"I want to bring to the table something nobody else does," he said. "It's something different for Houston."

But something utterly familiar to the chef's heart. "For me, cooking is not just work. It relaxes me, especially when I cook for friends," he said. "It's like sharing my feelings for food."

Ferrara left Arcodoro in January and has been working nonstop since to debut Amalfi. But the thrill of opening his own restaurant has kept him energized, he said. "For me, it recharged myself because it's a new challenge," he said. "It's like an adrenalin shot. I hope this adrenalin comes for a long time."

A Mediterranean octopus roasted with rosemary, garlic and fine herbs served over sautéed escarole and capers and finished with a grilled bell pepper and peroncino sauce

Thick spaghetti with colatura fish sauce, Manila clams and lemon zest

Beef carpaccio with goat cheese salad