Cara Mia Inaugural Review Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
Luan Kukaj, Owner of Cara Mia
The incredible Chicken Parmesean, created by Luan Kukaj's mom Gina in Italy
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"It hasn't been easy to be open for 18 years in Manhattan, but it's my passion! I never give up because I care about my guests and it makes me happy to see them happy."
-Luan Kukaj
Luan's first name means Lion in Montegengran and your stomach will growl coveting a meal at his first venue, Cara Mia, and your stomach will roar with delight when you eat there.
It's not who you know, it's WHOM YOU KNOW and now we are glad to know Luan Kukaj!
This is our first time working with him, and our first visit to his baby, Cara Mia!
Opened in 1998 at 9th Avenue and 46th Street, Cara Mia is a classic, homestyle Italian restaurant that impressed us. Luan came to American with his brother from Sicily; their maternal grandfather Gino Valentino was a restaurateur in Sicily and they have fond memories of being there and were highly influenced by him. Their mother was from Sicily and their father hailed from Montenegro.
Cara Mia paved the way for the eleven total restaurants these brothers own today in Manhattan: eight are Italian and three are Mexican, and we look forward to meeting the other venues based on our fantastic experience at Cara Mia.
Every day at Cara Mia, they source the food fresh and they deliver at every one of their restaurants every day we were told; no food stays longer than two days.
We were told there is a 95% retention rate among guests. We are absolutely advocates of pasta, and if you are reading, you must also adore it! We began with the homemade Pappardelle with portobello, porcini and shiitake mushrooms in a divine garlic and olive oil sauce. It's made fresh on premises every day, and it is a hit-the-spot kind of dish.
The appetizer that jumped out at us that you should also try is the Calamari Arrosto. Wild mushrooms accentuate this smashing seafood, a delight of the sea eager to meet your tastebuds.
Note this venue is super popular and we suggest going early because the empty tables vanish quickly. Luan told us someone on an Aer Lingus flight (we know lots of people flying over from Ireland!) were given a recommendation to come here the day before we went for their first Cara Mia experience.
If you are an avid reader you know who dreams of Chicken Parmesean! It is amazing at Cara Mia, and the restaurant name means "My Love" in Italian. This was Peachy's favorite course of the night and the recipe is Luan's mother Gina's. The chicken cutlet is perfection joined by spaghetti, parmesean from Sicily and tomato sauce. This is a wonderful classic that you should try!
For Seafood Lovers, we would recommend the Scampi Al Limone: large shrimp, lemon caper sauce on a bed of sauteed spinach. This seemed incredibly healthy to us yet tasted delightfully decadent and flavorful. Cara Mia proved to hit the high points on classic culinary endeavors.
For our green salad, of course we chose the Cara Mia! They listened and put the dressing on the side which we appreciate, and this bastion of delicious nutrition wowed us. With a romaine base, the Cara Mia signature salad sports peppers, shrimp, haricot vert, scallions, tomatoes, olives, fennel and beans endeavoring to be colorful, full of texture and diversity, and a winner in your stomach.
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We were told the pesto spinach fettuccine is a best seller at the moment so we were happy to consider that as well. The fettuccine is homemade and you can taste it; the sundried tomato was a terrific touch and the scallops were added in proper proportion. They make the pesto sauce from scratch and Luan tells us they sell 50 of these a night right now!
Their dessert menu has a lot of depth as well and it's not to miss.
Cara Mia is Terrific Takeout and we look forward to seeing what they do next!
