Vico Of Farmingdale Wins OpenTable Award For 2nd Straight Year

FARMINGDALE, NY — Vico Costiera Amalfitana won an OpenTable Diner's Choice Award for the second year in a row.

The Italian restaurant aims to bring the Fortuna family's Vico Equense cuisine to Long Island at 313 Main Street. Vico specializes in artisan pizza, homemade pasta, entrees, cocktails, dessert pizzas and more, and won under the Italian restaurants category.

Joe Fortuna, co-owner of Vico, said "it feels great" to have won two years in a row.

"It’s important to be consistent in this business," Fortuna told Patch. "Especially after you win an award like that, you don’t relax. You strive to win it again. Like last time, this award really means a lot, because it’s one of the few awards that is the voice of your customers. It’s the voice of the people. The people have spoken. That’s why it’s, to me, this is the best award to win. It’s the most satisfying award: to make your customers happy."

Fortuna said the keys to Vico's consistency are a great management team, a great kitchen staff and great employees.

"You’re always tasting, feedback, talking to customers, and it’s all those things kind of meshed together to be consistent," Fortuna said. "But we have a great staff. We have a great staff."

Vico changed some of its personal pizza offerings since the restaurant last won the award, prompted by a new pizzaiola and the Fortuna family's regular trips to Italy's Amalfi Coast.

The new pizzaiola brought recipes from Capri and Vico Equense, according to Fortuna. Two of the new pies have sold particularly well, he added.

The Nerano features zucchini pesto, mozzarella, speck, fried zucchini, and parmigiano fondue. Fortuna called it "out of this world."

The Mamma' pie comes with tomato sauce, eggplant, mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, and ricotta salata.

"When I had that [Mamma'] pizza, I close my eyes and I’m in Italy," Fortuna said. "That particular pie reminds me the most [of Italy]."

In Italy, Fortuna said, some pizzerias use smoked mozzarella, even on their regular margherita pies.

"So it kind of enhances the wood oven, the wood flavor, because even the mozzarella is smoked," he explained. "Those are the two pies that come to mind that really, we’re proud of."

Fortuna wanted to thank Vico's customers for their support.

"We love Farmingdale," Fortuna said. "We love this community. We’re just happy that we can make them happy through food."

Upon winning the award last year, Fortuna said it was an "honor" to secure an OpenTable Diner's Choice award. He noted the award is good for his group's businesses — 317 Main Street as an American gastropub and The Nutty Irishman as a pub and music venue — but he hopes it will also be good for the rest of Farmingdale.

Vico joins Vespa in the lineup of Farmingdale restaurants to win an OpenTable Diners Choice Award.