Cucciolo Terrazza: Triangle Downtowner Magazine, Issue 169

Triangle Dining - Cucciolo Terrazza

Article and photos by Crash S. Gregg

Our restaurant profile this month took place at the popular Cucciolo Terrazza, owned and managed by Jimmy Kim, with Chef Alex Ricci at the kitchen’s helm. Joining the local restaurant scene in October 2021 on the east campus of midtown’s North Hills, Cucciolo has become one of the newest trendy spots to dine in the Triangle, featuring an ever-changing and diverse menu of southern Italian home-cooked cuisine with modern interpretations. Alex and Jimmy’s goal for Cucciolo was to offer a semi-formal fine dining experience without being pretentious. They have succeeded in their goal beyond expectations, and the restaurant has a hip NY/LA feel with a less formal atmosphere than expected, serving the best Italian comfort food they can create.

At 3800 square feet, Cucciolo has an open floorplan seating 150, with a long bar top in the center that seats 18 and two private dining rooms, the Wine Cellar (seating 10) and the Main Event Room (seating 22). On the menu, guests will find more southern Italian style dishes ¬– pasta vs. rice and olive oil vs. butter compared to the northern Italian style, and more seafood dishes that one would find in Sicilian and Amalfi Coast cuisine.

Originally from Korea, Jimmy spent nine years of his childhood in Switzerland, then moved to Durham for his undergrad degree at Duke (computer science/French studies). He moved away for a few years, then returned in 2010 for graduate school. When Jimmy finished school, he decided to stay in Durham this time, wanting to start a business there. He was always interested in restaurants, so first, he opened a Korean restaurant and food truck. In 2015, his cousin Julian opened Cucciolo Osteria in Seoul, Korea, which became one of the top-rated Italian restaurants in the city. Jimmy mentioned jokingly to his cousin that he would like to open a Cucciolo location in Durham. His cousin thought it was a great idea, so Jimmy trained in Korea before opening Durham in 2018, working in both the kitchen and front of the house.

A few years later, Jimmy came across the available restaurant space in North Hills and thought it would be perfect for their second NC location, Cucciolo Terrazza. Jimmy still helps in the kitchen from time to time, as he did in Durham, where he worked every day. While the Durham menu is the same as the restaurant in Korea, Jimmy decided to let Alex craft his own at the North Hills location. The only two dishes from the Durham menu that carry over are the Butter Chicken and the Spicy Vodka Tomato Cream Rigatoni. The other constants on the North Hills menu are Alex’s Wild Boar Agnolotti and the Polpette meatballs. Everything else changes with the seasons, so they can utilize the freshest local ingredients and create a menu that fits the weather and temperature palate here in Raleigh.

Hailing from Sicilian roots in Chicago, Alex grew up in the hospitality industry. His mother was executive chef/owner of two restaurants, and his father owned three bars.

He learned very early on proper cooking techniques and how to find and combine the best ingredients for the most flavorful dishes. His family’s Sicilian roots shaped his cooking style throughout his culinary career, even when working at non-Italian restaurants. He grew up eating a lot of wild game, rabbit, boar, and venison, rather than commercially farmed animals. Many of the dishes found on the menu at Cucciolo are reflective of Alex’s childhood memories of family meals.

Wild Boar Agnolotti

Cotoletta

Alex and Jimmy don’t let the high quality of their dishes define the atmosphere at Cucciolo as a white tablecloth restaurant, instead purposely opting for an upscale yet purposefully casual dining experience. They’ve managed to attract a unique mix of businesspeople, North Hills shoppers, nearby neighbors, destination diners, and a large following of regulars. Much of their produce comes from local Blue Sky Farms and the NC Farmers Market, and Alex uses as much local NC seafood as possible. Some items – like the octopus – are flown in from distant locales known for providing the most flavorful options. When they first opened, he attempted to use more local farm-raised meats, but it quickly became a supply issue because of the quantity they go through each week. Alex still tries to buy as much local as possible when he can. All their pasta is made in-house, as are the brodos, sauces, bread, and even some dry-aged meats. By all definitions, Alex has managed to develop a proper scratch kitchen. It takes more time and labor, but the ability to create precise flavors for his dishes makes all the difference.

At Cucciolo, guests will find an ever-changing menu of seafood, vegetarian, red meat, wild game, and gluten-free options. Their extensive and often-updated wine list offers excellent menu pairing opportunities and is managed by their sommelier Andrew Robinson, also the general manager for the Durham location. Alex is proud of his team at Cucciolo and relies on them heavily each day. Chef De Cuisine Colby Calahan and Bar Manager Chris Getman round out the management staff and help Alex keep the restaurant in proper order. Now on to the best part of our profiles, the food! The menu is divided into five sections, Shareables, Pizzette, Antipasta, Primi, and Secondi.

Our first dish of the night was one of the best we had the pleasure of enjoying. The Summer Ravioli ($24) comes with spinach, mascarpone cheese, parmesan, sweet peas, green grapes, fresh thyme, white wine butter, and toasted hazelnuts. The poached green grapes, green peas, and housemade mascarpone provided a slight sweetness that paired well with the spinach and lemon zest. I enjoyed the crunch and flavor of the hazelnuts, the brightness from the fresh thyme and parm, and the richness of the white wine butter. I’m looking forward to seeing if Alex repurposes this delicious dish for the colder months.

Ahi Tuna Crudo

Whole Roasted Snapper Piccata

The Ahi Tuna Crudo (MP, $21) arrived after the boar and was a nice shift in flavor. The NC Bluefin tuna was served with a chilled cucumber and mint brodo, oyster tonnato (think an aioli made from oyster puree instead of with egg yolks), blood orange, fennel (stalks instead of stems for a less dominant fennel flavor, with additional essence added from fennel pollen), strawberry, basil, chervil (French parsley), and Aleppo pepper. The brodo took the front seat in flavors after the tender tuna, but the yellow oyster tonnato shined through effortlessly. The herbs complimented the lightness of the tuna, and there was a tiny bit of a nice finishing heat from the pepper.

Staying in the seafood group, the NC coast red snapper was next. This beautiful fish was the perfect centerpiece in the very straightforward but wonderfully delicious Whole Roasted Snapper Piccata (MP, $58). The cipollini onion, cremini mushrooms, and roasted lemon potatoes atop a lemon caper butter sauce balanced out this dish well. This is one of the most popular dishes at Cucciolo – with good reason – so don’t hesitate to order when it shows up on the menu.

With inspiration from St. Lucia on the Amalfi coast, the Braised Octopus Luciana Style (MP, $34) is flown in from Spain and was cooked perfectly from thick to thin end of the tentacles. Matt and his team tried cooking it 20+ different ways and homed in on this spicy, citrusy one for Cucciolo. The octo is battered in semolina (butter poached for super crispy skin), served with a light and airy fennel espuma (fennel cooked down, mounted with cream, put into an ISI gun, and piped out like whipped cream), and cooked with a Calabrian chili romesco sauce of garlic, white wine, fresh bay leaves, basil oil, and a little lemon juice. The chilis and chili oil make for a slightly spicy/sweet flavor combination that suits the dish well. This was one of my favorite dishes from our visit, although it was difficult to choose with so many superb options.

The Italian Sausage Radiatore ($25) is Alex’s family recipe for homemade Italian sausage. The unique radiatore pasta is accompanied by fresh seasonal porcini mushrooms (imported from Italy), sundried tomato, cippolini onion, lacinato kale, a rich house brodo with perfect viscosity (made from Parm rinds) and topped with lots of Pecorino romano cheese. This dish is another one with a rich, full-bodied flavor, but without heaviness. Cucciolo is the only place in the Triangle where you’ll find this style of pasta other than on Chef Saif Rahman’s menu at Vidrio.

Polpette

For the meat lovers out there, the Cotoletta (MP, $65) is a don’t-miss. The juicy, grilled bone-in veal chop came surrounded by cognac-braised turnips, wilted lacinato kale, king trumpet mushrooms, and dried sage leaves. This beast cuts like butter and had a great smoky and deep flavor from the veal and vegetables.

If there’s one dish that exemplifies simple Italian comfort food, it might be the Polpette ($16). Alex grew up eating this familiar meatball dish in his grandmother’s kitchen almost every weekend. Once you try it, you’ll understand why this dish is one of the few that remain constant on the menu. With Pomodoro, Reggiano, basil, and rosemary oil, the meatballs are a great way to start a big meal, or they can be a meal all to themselves, paired with another shareable or a pizzette.

One of their top sellers, the Neapolitan Pizza ($14), is as authentic of an Italian pizza as you’ll find anywhere in the Triangle. Made with a two-year-old cultivated sourdough, bufala mozzarella cheese imported from Campagna (and yes, made from Italian Mediterranean buffalo milk), Pomodoro, basil, and olive oil, this simple but delicious pie will disappear as soon as it appears, so watch out if you buy this for the whole table to try.

For dessert, we let Alex choose, and we happily ended up with the Black Forest Cake. Topped with Amarena cherries steeped in citrus and marsala wine, whipped cream, and a chocolate ganache, all surrounded by decadent blackberry- and raspberry-filled housemade chocolate bonbons, the cake was as chocolatey and rich as you can imagine, without being overly sweet. There are usually three desserts on the Cucciolo menu, one of which is typically chocolate-based. You can’t go wrong with any choice.

Alex and Jimmy have created an authentic destination dining experience at Cucciolo, and their menu helps raise the bar on the culinary level in Raleigh and the Triangle. If you’re a foodie, put this restaurant on your visit-soon list and come back often to try new dishes on Alex’s always-changing menu.

I strongly recommend making reservations on the weekends, as they stay full both nights. However, if it’s just you and another last-minute diner or two, you might get lucky and find a seat at the 18-person bar. Cucciolo is now open for brunch on both Saturday and Sunday and they’re adding lunch service soon, so check them out for a delicious daytime dining experience.

Neapolitan Pizzette

Black Forest Cake

Cucciolo Terrazza

$$$

4200 Six Forks Rd, Suite 100, Raleigh, NC • 919.747.7887

Mon-Thurs: 5pm to 9pm

Fri & Sat: 5pm to 10pm

Sat & Sun: 11am-3pm