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Photograph by George Sakkestad
Fraternal at Fratello: Restaurant owners--and brothers--Carmine, right, and Giulio Camporaso have been seeing increased business since Sept. 11 at their Meridian Avenue eatery.
Fratello encourages diners to slow down, enjoy time
By Jim Aquino
Speaking to a customer taking a sip from his post-dinner cup of java, Fratello restaurant's laid-back owner, Carmine Camporaso, says, "Enjoy and take your time."
Ever since Camporaso and his family took over the Meridian Avenue restaurant from owners Vince Battaglia and Pasquale Piazza a couple of years ago, Camporaso has noticed there are differences between Italian-American restaurants such as Fratello and homeland restaurants like his mother's business in the Camporasos' home region of the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy.
One of those differences is the more relaxed demeanor of customers in Italy. According to Camporaso, people there don't rush their meals.
Describing how dining in Italy is a more communal and slower-paced experience, Camporaso says, "You get to sit and relax, talk about things and enjoy the moment."
He wishes Americans would learn to be less preoccupied with time so they could relish their food more.
"Unfortunately, here, you gotta be more on the clock and faster," Camporaso says.
While it doesn't look like American diners will be abandoning their preoccupation with the clock anytime soon, a number of them appear to be flocking to neighborhood restaurants like Fratello for the sense of community that Italians enjoy from dining, possibly as a way of finding solace after the events of Sept. 11. In a departure from current trends in other Bay Area restaurants, Fratello has experienced some of its best business in the weeks after the tragedy.
Camporaso explains that the increase in crowds at Fratello on weekends is due to customers who want to stay closer to home after the attacks and thus frequent neighborhood restaurants.
While the staff of Fratello was facing increased post-Sept.11 crowds ("They told me they panicked because they never saw so many people," Camporaso says), Camporaso was away on vacation in Italy, visiting relatives.
Right after he got off the plane to head to his sister's house, news of the attacks broke.
"We were looking at the television and the shocking images of the airplanes crashing. I was shocked for a week," he says. "I didn't even enjoy 100 percent of my vacation."
After returning from his vacation, Camporaso decided to have Fratello participate in the nationwide Dine for America fundraiser. On Oct. 11, Fratello was among the 7,500 restaurants that collected donations for the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
"We had a good response from the people," says Camporaso, who recalls talking that night with a customer and his daughter who were grateful for the fundraiser.
Meanwhile, on the lighter side of things, Camporaso is serving pumpkin lasagna for Halloween. As for Fratello's regular menu, which rarely changes, Camporaso recently added risotto Milanese. "The recipe is very simple," he says. "It starts with a bowl of rice. I add asparagus with mushrooms and white wine cream sauce to make it more complete, rich and nice."
It's the latest addition to a family restaurant tradition that goes all the way back to 1925.
Camporaso explains the "Camporaso Family Since 1925" phrase on the restaurant business card--some might assume it's the 4-year-old restaurant that's been around for 76 years--"My grandfather started that sign, 'Since 1925.' My dad did it. So did my uncle, who ran a different business. They always put it on their business cards. It's a tradition."
Fratello, 1712-F Meridian Ave., is open Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. (lunch), Monday-Thursday, 5-9 p.m. (dinner), Friday-Saturday, 5-10 p.m. (dinner). For more information, call 408.269.3801 or visit www.fratellorestaurant.com.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
