Guess why Papa Joe is grinning from ear to ear.

Todays UPS delivery to Papa Joe's temporary kitchen was like Christmas morning for a kid.  Joe, and his longtime chef, Ryan ripped into the box with childlike anticipation and immediately put it together and tried it out.  Can you guess what was in the box?  

A few hints:  They have been cooking full catering menus for up to 200 people with the most basic of kitchen tools.  (Imagine peeling a pound if garlic cloves by hand.) The tool allows for a certain prep task to take minutes, compared to hours when done by hand.  It's not an automatic vegetable peeler, although someone should invent one of those.  

Is it a:

Food processor

Pasta press

Cheese shredder

Or commercial can opener

WHO CAN GUESS IT?

Answer:

Yep... It's the cheese shredder that got these boys so excited today.  A man and his toys!

Cast Your Design Vote!

Demolition of the old Papa Joe's is complete.  Now the excitement of designing a brand new building has begun.  We want to know what you would like to see in the design of the new Papa Joe's.  Cast your vote today.  To vote, scroll to the bottom of this blog page and click on "view in web version", on the top left choose a design theme and click "vote".  Share with friends, as we would like to hear from all our Papa Joe's fans!

Secret Recipe Reveal

 From the first days of opening the restaurant Joe, Donna, and Mommy (joe's mother) began writing their signature recipes on index cards and filing them in a roledex. Many hand written by mommy, Joe kept them locked in the vault next to the cash.  Everything was made from scratch in small batches, so the exact recipe had to be followed for consistency.  As the restaurant went up in flames, almost everything was destroyed however, the recipes were not a casualty.  Firefighters retreived the vault after the fire to find most of the contents ruined, yet the recipes survived with little more than singed edges. 

Papa Joe's youngest son, Giovanni, grew up in the family's restaurant.  It was an ordinary day in the kitchen when Giovanni asked his dad to make him lunch.  Joe was busy prepping for the day so he grabbed a few ingredients that were on hand and threw them together.  Unbeknownst to him, he had just created a dish that would stamp his menu for years to come.  Little Giovanni's impromptu lunch became "Chicken Gio" and has been on the menu ever since.  For a culinary treat, try this at home.

The secret recipe reveal:

Chicken Gio

In a skillet heat olive oil, sautée chopped onions and fresh chopped garlic. Add chicken breast (cut into chunks)and fresh rosemary.  Add a little chopped tomato and calamata olives. Sautée until chicken is cooked through, then add penne pasta to the skillet and toss to combine. Finish with grated pecorino cheese.  Enjoy!

A culinary delight, "Justa For You".

Chef's Art

To be a chef is to be an artist.  The plate as the canvas, ingredients the palate, and you...the audience.  As with all art, it's influenced by the experiences of the artist, it tells a story.  Joe grew up in the mountains of Italy, immigrated to New York and then married a southern girl from Alabama. His mothers heirloom recipes influence his authentic Italian style in the restaurant.  For catering, the fusion of Italian, southern and northern techniques bring mouth watering masterpieces.  The culinary creation in the photo is Papa Joe's tenderloin crostini made with leek and shiitake mushrooms and herb crusted tenderloin steak.  Art never tasted so good!

Dear Brooksville, Your The Best!

A huge "thank you" to our amazing community!  Because of your support, the Papa Joe's Spaghetti Fundraiser was a great success this past Sunday. The event was hosted by our friends at Hillside Community Church and they did an upstanding job.  When I arrived, I was greeted with hugs and smiling faces from the hard working volunteers that worked the fund raiser.  For as long as I can remember, every Wednesday at the restaurant there was a standing order for pizzas that Papa Joe donated to the youth group at Hillside Community Church.  This event is proof positive of the evidence of good seed sewn into the community. The great people of the church ran with the opportunity to reach out to us in our time of need and our hearts have been touched by their support.  Car by car, some of our most loyal customers pulled in to give to the cause and to satisfy their taste buds cry for Papa Joe's food.  Joe used his temporary kitchen to make up the spaghetti and his signature, hand-rolled meatballs.  For the displaced employees, the meal tasted like home.  It was so satisfying to see the familiar faces of our beloved regular customers, our friends.  Brooksville, you are the best!

Chef Papa Joe

Papa Joe expanded his restaurant to include continental catering years ago.  He began small and has successfully grown into a full service operation with a reputation that proceeds him. He's composed diverse menus and recipes such as Hawaiian, Latino,Indian, Mexican, and Bar-b-que.  Catering presents an opportunity for culinary creativity in recipe and presentation.  Joe, along with Jeannie and Giovanni, has embraced the art of catering and honed this segment of the trade toward superiority in our tri-county area.  Catering is like an away game.  Its an imprivisation of making all the elements of the restaurant mobile and functioning just right and on time. The photo above is Papa Joe preparing one of his signature dishes that has received rave reviews, sun-dried tomato mango chicken.  The catering side of Papa Joe's is keeping us afloat while our restaurant is out of commission.  Now, more than ever, it would be our pleasure to cater to your event needs.  For info (352)799-3904

Saluting Pillars

Among a heap of chaotic rubbish, twisted metal and shattered glass, eleven pillars proudly stand tall, undisturbed and seemingly in disregard of the fate of their counterparts.  Fire engulfed and consumed this place leaving everything it touched destroyed, yet those pillars remain uncompromised. Pillars are significant in architecture as they hold the massive weight of a roof, in ancient hieroglyphics they represent stability, in the Bible they signify strength. As I look at the devistation of our restaurant, I cant help but focus on those pillars and what they represent.  As if they stand at attention reminding us that our strength comes from God and he is the source of our stability. God is the pillar within us that holds us up when we can't stand on our own.  The Papa Joe's family as well as the entire community suffered a great loss when our building fell however, that building was not the source of our strength and stability as that comes from above.  Our building will be rebuilt upon the remaining foundation and our roof will once again be held up by those eleven pillars that declare hope. Papa Joe's will rise again with renewed strength and will again serve as a pillar to the community.