Buona Forchetta is a place for hosting. And usually with hosting comes celebration. It says a lot about a restaurant when no matter when you go in — a random Wednesday or a busy Saturday — someone is celebrating a birthday, a baby shower, a graduation.
Typically, I would try to avoid these types of places like the plague, but because I have been invited to a few celebrations myself at the Garage Buona Forchetta location in Coronado (and the original in South Park), I have seen the motif of community run throughout the menu, interior and staff like a subtle thread.
The gluten free menu, for example, is not some fine print side menu where a dismal, maybe already pre-made, dish comes out. No, it’s treated as much of the center as the other dishes — gluten free pastas and pizza crusts. Their servers are often charming and take time to banter even in the middle of a rush.
And every time, including dining by my lonesome, I leave feeling invited and included — part of the larger whole.
Buona Forchetta – meaning “the good fork” – is exactly that. Different pasta shapes — from taglioni, fettucini, pappardelle — wrap around forks in various fashions. The menu offers Neapolitan-style pizzas with Italian names like Augusta, Giulia, Giuseppe, topped with an eclectic selection of sauces and combinations of Italian herbs, cheeses, and meats.
I ordered the Lina, a thin-crusted pizza, tomato-based sauce and pepperoni, nduja, mozzarella, stracciata, and spicy honey for toppings. The pairing of honey and nduja, a sort of a simile of the Mexican chorizo, reflected a fusion of southern Neapolitan tastes and vibrant Mexican fire. The hybrid produces a-one-of-a-kind result. And, as it came out on a soft wooden cutting board, I skipped the properly portioned bites; I (maybe sacrilegiously) tacoed the pizza with my hands and chomped a slice down, feeling the imminent pleasure.
The stracciatella, a cheese known for its buttery elasticity, polka-dotted in dollops, making pools of creaminess alongside the fiery orange nduja, a cured pork chili-infused paste that is so rich in tantalizing fats and burning spices it acts as a spreadable paste. The peppery pepperoni and sweet and spicy honey drizzled on top only intensified the heat. Thankfully my taste buds were soothed by the utmost creamy of cheeses — mozzarella and stracciatella.
I sipped a Sangiovese red to pat down the burst of flavor and repeated the process a few times as I admired the attention to detail in every corner of the restaurant. Tiny vintage cars, perhaps an homage to the auto garage this place once was, keep children entertained while their parents converse.
Retro signage – American and Italian – cling to the walls, along with string lights and vintage photos filling any empty space. Light pours down on the white table tents outside, the bright, windowed dining space inside, and the small replica of an Italian market in the front, where guests can also dine. Nothing feels scant. In fact, everything feels full and buzzy. And, I’m sorry to say, the wine took up the space for dessert. I will not let you down next time.
Garage Buona Forchetta is located at 1000 C Ave., Coronado. It is open Monday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m.; Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m
