Small Business Spotlight: The Little Gym of Cary

A RECENT AFTERNOON VISIT to Italian-centric bistro Osteria G was punctuated by frequent phone rings. One patron after another called to make a dinner reservation for that night or the following evening.

“I’m convinced we have the best clientele in the state,” says convivial proprietor Joe Reinis, a Long Island, New York, native who runs the casual fine-dining restaurant along with his wife, Ashley Startek. “We’re a regulars-driven restaurant built on word of mouth.”

It’s easy to see why so many folks enjoy dining at Osteria G, which is situated in a small strip shopping center straddling the border of Apex and Holly Springs. For starters, the seasonal menu features locally sourced ingredients, and inventive weekly specials draw a crowd.

“We have a minimum of five food specials daily, and they are always rotating,” Reinis says, adding that the eatery sources essentials from Raleigh-based Ford’s Produce and Charlotte-based Inland Seafood, among other purveyors.

Executive Chef Manny Lozano, who received his culinary training in France and has worked at high-end restaurants in New York City, finesses pasta, seafood and beef dishes with creativity and skill.

“He’s truly special, and all of his dishes are layered and well composed,” says Reinis,

Evidence of Lozano’s prowess is witnessed in practically everything that emerges from the kitchen. Consider the popular starter called Chowder Baked Oysters involving mollusks sourced from Prince Edward Island stuffed with a light cream sauce, diced bacon and an oyster cracker crust.

Signature appetizer Meatball Wellington features puff pastry filled with a house mixture of veal, beef and pork and topped with a Madeira mushroom sauce.

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FOUR-COURSE PRIX FIXE SAMPLE MENU

COURSE ONE Prosciutto, asparagus & arugula salad Shrimp cocktail

COURSE TWO Charcuterie plate Cheese plate

COURSE THREE Chianti-braised chicken with bacon and mushrooms over egg noodles Rolled eggplant over spaghetti Diced steak with sauteed mushrooms over cavatelli

COURSE FOUR Chocolate chip cannoli Tiramisu

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When it comes to entrees, order the Black Garlic Shrimp (owner Joe’s favorite dish), which comprises aged garlic that is slow-roasted for 27 days and tossed in a basil pesto sauce served with spaghetti and shrimp.

A deconstructed chicken pot pie shows off more of the chef’s gastronomic wizardry.

“He wraps white meat around dark meat with sous vide chicken and waffles made of puff pastry, and then there’s a fantastic demi-glace,” says Reinis.

Be sure to try the house-made butters — especially the honey and sea salt variety — with Italian bread.

On Wednesdays, Osteria G offers a special four-course menu for $32 a person (see sample menu on page 46).

“This allows chef to be even more creative and innovative, and it’s something unique that no one else (around here) is really doing,” says Reinis. “Since our menu is seasonal, sometimes even changing twice each season, we like to serve the freshest items possible.”

Don’t miss dessert. The classic, airy tiramisu is always on point. But you’ll fall in love with the chocolate Napoleon featuring mousse-filled French puff pastry crowned with hazelnut pralines.

Osteria G offers a full bar stocked with white and red wines from California and Italy. A rotating selection of locally brewed beers are available on draft. With more than 30 varieties of whiskey on hand, notable craft cocktails include a Smoked Old Fashioned and an espressospiked martini.

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Signature starter Meatball Wellington involves puff pastry stuffed with a mixture of beef, pork and veal.

Top off the meal with a housemade dessert like the decadent Chocolate Napoleon.

The casual fine dining atmosphere at Osteria G entices many regular and date-night customers.

Osteria G owners Joe Reinis and Ashley Startek

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A certified sommelier, Reinis capably guides guests in pairing wine with the cuisine. Half-priced bottles of vino are offered every Tuesday.

“We are port tonging nicer bottles of wine,” says Reinis. “We also host a chef and sommelier dinner, usually the last Thursday of each month. Chef prepares dishes from a particular geographic region, and I incorporate it with wine. It’s always well received.”

Service at the restaurant is friendly and efficient. Reinis says the staff’s dedication to helping each other and serving others is commendable, and he is committed to ensuring that guests feel like they are coming to his home for dinner.

“In the restaurant business, it’s known that there’s the ‘front of the house’ and the ‘back of the house,’” he explains. “We consider it one house because we’re one family, and that’s a beautiful thing.”

Closed on Sunday and Monday, Osteria G is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner. Reservations are strongly encouraged and are accepted online and by phone. t

OSTERIA G 5160 SUNSET LAKE ROAD, SUITE 101, APEX (984) 229-7480 OSTERIAG.COM

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BUY & SELL

COINS FLATWARE JEWELRY ALL SCRAP METAL!

Appointments only 919-461-0014 103 Kilmayne Dr., Suite A, Cary, N.C. 27511 jewelsbyjr@yahoo.com

Owners: Jeff Reid & Josh Bobbitt, American Numismatic Association

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Taco Addicts Hooks Diners with Flavors of Mexico

WRITTEN BY DAVID MCCREARY PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF TACO ADDICTS

OBSESSED WITH TACOS? Taco Addicts, one of Cary’s newest Mexican eateries, will help you get your fix. Located in Crossroads Shopping Center in the former Ruby Tuesday spot, the full-service restaurant features more than a dozen tantalizing varieties of tacos. Straightforward offerings like the traditional taco, a bean and cheese taco on a flour tortilla and a fish taco with pico de gallo and chipotle salsa are all solid. But if you’re more adventurous, try the Vampiro, which comprises a handmade crispy corn tortilla filled with carne asada, cheese, queso fresco cilantro and onions drizzled with a diablo sauce, or the Panzon with pork belly, vinegar-tinged onions, cilantro and guacamole salsa.

Even breakfast tacos are accessible. A pair of tacos includes eggs, chorizo, potatoes and cheese served alongside rice and beans.

Although the restaurant’s moniker might suggest otherwise, tacos are not the only cuisine available at this spacious, casual spot.

Seafood lovers will find much to like about selections such as Mojarra (fried whole tilapia served with rice and guacamole salad) and Camarones el Cholo, a dish composed of shrimp wrapped in bacon topped with signature cheese dip.

Choose from 15 various signature plates, the most impressive of which is the Molcajete featuring a Mexican stone bowl loaded with steak, grilled chicken, chorizo, nopales (cactus leaves), onions, jalapenos, pico de gallo, queso fresco and spicy salsa. Consider the mulitas, which are sandwichstyle tacos stuffed with your choice of meat, cilantro, onions, cheese and guacamole.

Burritos, quesadillas and fajitas are all well represented. Order the hearty Burrito Mojado stuffed with carne asada, shrimp, grilled onions and French fries topped with cheese dip.

Wash everything down with a Modelo or craft beer, a margarita or a mixed drink like la Catrina fashioned with silver tequila, mango concentrate, grapefruit soda, Mexican spices and fresh lime juice.

If you have room left for dessert, go for the decadent tres leches cake or the sopapilla with ice cream.

Taco Addicts is open daily for lunch and dinner. Online ordering is available for curbside pickup or delivery. t

Taco Addicts 131 Crossroads Boulevard, Cary (919) 896-8043 taco-addicts.com