Thursday, February 4, 2010, Georgetown – Chef Eddie Chacon will bring his locally renowned style of Italian cuisine to a new restaurant opening soon in the Fogle Wharf building at 815 Front Street in Georgetown.  

 

The chef worked most recently under Pierce Culliton at Frank’s Restaurant in Pawleys Island. Before that he was the executive chef at Rocco’s in Pawleys Island, and at Tuscany Bistro in Litchfield. Chef Chacon has an interesting career path that started as a boy in Costa Rica when he decided he wanted to become a chef. His journey took him to New York City as a teenager, when he lived with an Italian family and learned to cook their traditional dishes.

 

Now the chef is bringing to Portofinos on the Wharf his philosophy of using premium fresh ingredients and a variety of preparation methods to create simple yet elegant dishes. Chef Chacon and Portofino General Manager John Nye (who worked with the chef at Rocco’s and worked previously as a baker at Blue Water Bistro and Latif’s) have almost finished creating their opening menu.

 

The menu includes appetizers such as Ricotta-stuffed Eggplant; Grilled Italian Sausage with mushrooms and caramelized onions over crostini; and Bacon-wrapped Shrimp that is pan roasted with honey, gorgonzola cheese, orange segments and cherry tomatoes, served over sautéed spinach.

 

There will be traditional Italian soups and salads such as Pasta e Fagioli and Caprese, and pasta selections including Gnocchi Pomodoro, Linguine with Meatballs and Modo Vostro, which is a family-style pasta bowl where diners choose their pasta shape and sauce. The family pasta bowl will serve four, comes with salad and bread and costs less than $30.

 

Entrees will include oven-baked items such as Lasagna and Chicken Parmesan; traditional entrees including Pan Sauteed Scallops over creamy herb risotto and Veal Saltimbocca Sorrento; and grilled proteins like Salmon with Dijon caper mustard and tomato Provencal or Honey Glazed Pork Chop with roasted potatoes.

 

The lunch menu will not have any dishes more than $9, Nye said. Portofinos owner Carl Baughn, who also owns the building, is excited about offering Cincinnati-style chili, which is served on spaghetti.

 

Chef Chacon and Baughn met a few years ago and since then have had a communal vision for a family-style waterfront Italian restaurant. This new space has a panoramic view of the Sampit River from its two public and one private dining room. They also have their own narrow outdoor boardwalk where they’ll have two-tops.

 

The men envision Portofinos to have a trattoria/bistro atmosphere.

 

“A high end look and high end feel but not high end prices,” Baughn said.

 

An opening during the second week of March is anticipated.