The Term "Snowbird": A Taste of Old-School Italian American Food in Key Largo

When the topic of Florida came up, one term that was mentioned was "snowbird." The speaker's reaction was, "What's a snowbird?" This led to an explanation: "It's everybody that wants to avoid the snow, they fly on down to Florida, enjoy the great weather." It makes sense that when people from the East Coast come to Key Largo, they would want to experience the beautiful weather and relax. However, feeding these visitors who are looking for authentic Italian American food was a challenge.

To address this issue, the speaker took them to Giorgio's Cafe, a little slice of Largo of Italy in the Keys. The cafe offered an impressive menu that included classic dishes like chicken marsala. The chef emphasized that the ingredients used came from their family cookbook, which was inherited by Robert from his father when he first started the restaurant. According to the chef, he had come over from Italy in 1962 at the age of 21.

To expand on this story, it is mentioned that Robert opened his first restaurant in Miami in 1968. He followed in his dad's footsteps and decided to open a new restaurant in 1992. This new restaurant offered its own take on family classics like ruffle lobster mac and cheese. The chef was excited about the possibility of sharing this recipe with his son.

To make the pasta, the chef explained that they use a beautiful machine that had been passed down from his father. This machine is used to create cavitelli, which is a type of pasta that can be found in Italian cuisine. The chef described how he makes it by combining different types of semolina and adding eggs and water until the desired texture is achieved.

Once the pasta was ready, the chef explained how he prepares his truffle lobster mac and cheese. He started by taking fresh Florida lobster and letting it cook for a few minutes. Then, he added celery, carrots, onions, garlic, cracked black pepper, and brandy to give it a unique flavor. The chef also mentioned that they use a combination of asiago fontina parmesan mozzarella and smoked provolone cheese in their recipe.

The final step was adding the house-made cavitelli and truffle bread crumbs on top. The chef then placed the dish under a salamander to toast the breadcrumbs, which added an extra layer of flavor and texture to the dish. The chef's passion for cooking and sharing his family's recipes with his son was evident throughout the video.

The chef also mentioned that they have a lot of great restaurants in the area but what sets them apart is their history and the love they put into every dish they serve. This dedication to quality ingredients, traditional recipes, and customer service has made Giorgio's Cafe a popular destination for those looking for authentic Italian American food in Key Largo.

Overall, the video provided an intimate look at the chef's passion for cooking and sharing his family's recipes with his son. It also offered a taste of old-school Italian American cuisine that is sure to satisfy any appetite.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enso when i first heard about florida one of the terms i heard was snowbird i said what's a snowbird well it's everybody that wants to avoid the snow they fly on down to florida enjoy the great weather so how do you feed all these east coast folks when they come down to key largo if they want some real deal old-school italian american food well you bring them right here to the giorgio's cafe a little largo of italy to the keys chicken marsala in the window hands down the best italian food you're gonna find anywhere coming from the giorgio family cookbook that robert inherited from his restaurant to her father when did you come over from italy in 1962 i was 21. what year did you open your first restaurant in miami 1968. robert followed in his dad's footsteps and opened this joint in 1992 doing his own take on the family classics ruffle lobster mac and cheese truffle lobster mac and cheese is uh to die for the pasta is fresh it's made from scratch well we have a pasta extruder here that my father bought and handed down to me beautiful machine we're gonna make a version of cavitelli here okay you have two different kinds of semolina one's grainier one's more powdery put them in the hopper of the pasta machine okay salt pepper garlic powder combination then we go with the eggs we add water until we get the desired texture look at this can i just have one of these in my house look at how gentle it is throw me some soft music behind this please somewhere like little tears of angels gorgeous we're going to take our whole fresh florida lobster we're going to let it cook for a few minutes and we're going to add our celery carrots and onions a little garlic cracked black pepper our brandy brandy makes it dandy gotta add my water okay now how long is this gonna sit here two and a half hours awesome drainage let's get our frying pan hot some of our reduced stock ready to add our heavy cream let that reduce a bit we're gonna add a little roux to thicken it up then we have a combination asiago fontina parmesan mozzarella a little smoked provolone in there living on the edge fold in our lobster there we go our house-made cavitelli there's a ton of cheese in there house-made truffle bread crumbs okay and then we're gonna throw in the salamander toast off the breadcrumbs and then we're ready to serve ready to go okay look at that that locker is out of bounds we got a lot of great restaurants in the area but to know all the history sharing your recipes and your experience with your son you're doing it right buddy you're doing it right thank you sir nice job youso when i first heard about florida one of the terms i heard was snowbird i said what's a snowbird well it's everybody that wants to avoid the snow they fly on down to florida enjoy the great weather so how do you feed all these east coast folks when they come down to key largo if they want some real deal old-school italian american food well you bring them right here to the giorgio's cafe a little largo of italy to the keys chicken marsala in the window hands down the best italian food you're gonna find anywhere coming from the giorgio family cookbook that robert inherited from his restaurant to her father when did you come over from italy in 1962 i was 21. what year did you open your first restaurant in miami 1968. robert followed in his dad's footsteps and opened this joint in 1992 doing his own take on the family classics ruffle lobster mac and cheese truffle lobster mac and cheese is uh to die for the pasta is fresh it's made from scratch well we have a pasta extruder here that my father bought and handed down to me beautiful machine we're gonna make a version of cavitelli here okay you have two different kinds of semolina one's grainier one's more powdery put them in the hopper of the pasta machine okay salt pepper garlic powder combination then we go with the eggs we add water until we get the desired texture look at this can i just have one of these in my house look at how gentle it is throw me some soft music behind this please somewhere like little tears of angels gorgeous we're going to take our whole fresh florida lobster we're going to let it cook for a few minutes and we're going to add our celery carrots and onions a little garlic cracked black pepper our brandy brandy makes it dandy gotta add my water okay now how long is this gonna sit here two and a half hours awesome drainage let's get our frying pan hot some of our reduced stock ready to add our heavy cream let that reduce a bit we're gonna add a little roux to thicken it up then we have a combination asiago fontina parmesan mozzarella a little smoked provolone in there living on the edge fold in our lobster there we go our house-made cavitelli there's a ton of cheese in there house-made truffle bread crumbs okay and then we're gonna throw in the salamander toast off the breadcrumbs and then we're ready to serve ready to go okay look at that that locker is out of bounds we got a lot of great restaurants in the area but to know all the history sharing your recipes and your experience with your son you're doing it right buddy you're doing it right thank you sir nice job you\n"