This is not the time to embark on a new restaurant project. But Adam Leonti, whose recent career has had its share of disruptive events, is forging ahead with one.
Having closed Leonti on the Upper West Side in January, he is now the executive chef for Sofia’s Panificio e Vino, formerly Sofia’s of Little Italy, a 15-year-old Italian-American classic owned by Paul Shaked.
Mr. Leonti and Mr. Shaked’s original plan was to open in mid-March, but, with the coronavirus pandemic and a citywide order that closed restaurant dining rooms, they are pivoting to takeout and delivery to start, with Easter dinners as their first major project. After this week, the menu is likely to include Mr. Leonti’s take on what he calls Italian-American basics, like baked clams, pasta all’Amatriciana, shrimp scampi and chicken Parm. He plans to include a few less common dishes, like braised octopus, and sea scallops baked in the shell in a creamy Alfredo-style sauce. Breads, Mr. Leonti’s particular niche, will include focaccias, filones, a sesame sourdough and more, often from grains milled in-house.
For the Easter dinner, Mr. Leonti has connected with Stefano Gelmi, the chef of Osteria della Brughiera outside Bergamo, Italy, where Mr. Leonti once worked. “I have a real spiritual connection there,” Mr. Leonti said of the city and the restaurant, noting also that, with Bergamo as one of Italy’s coronavirus hot spots, he wanted to give it some positive recognition. “This whole thing has hit home to me in so many ways,” he said.
With guidance from Mr. Gelmi, the Easter menu features a starter of spring market greens and vegetables in a vinaigrette; a savory Milanese-style Easter pie or torta rustica with saffron and ricotta; and an Easter lamb dish that Mr. Leonti described as being similar to a meatloaf with whole soft-cooked eggs inside. The dinner is $45 per person, with pickup and delivery through all of Manhattan available. A dove-shaped colomba Easter cake that serves eight is $25. Mr. Shaked has selected some natural wines from Italy for the dinner, a red from Montepulciano; a white moscato from the Piedmont; and a sparkling rosé from Sicily. They will be $34 to $43 a bottle. The dinners must be ordered by Thursday, for pickup Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
Sofia’s Panificio e Vino, 143 Mulberry Street (Grand Street), 212-219-9799, orders via instagram.com/sofiasnewyork.