Chef, Restaurateur, Author and TV Personality Fabio Viviani Launches Lunch Menu at del Lago Resort & Casino’s Portico by Fabio Viviani
Posted on March 30th, 2017
Building on the success of Portico by Fabio Viviani’s grand opening last month, this weekend Chef Viviani will be at del Lago Resort & Casino to introduce the restaurant’s new lunch menu. Beginning Saturday, April 1, Portico by Fabio Viviani will now offer lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday through Sunday.
With an intense passion for food and farm-fresh ingredients, Fabio Viviani brings that same essence and spirit to Portico by Fabio Viviani which opened on Feb. 23, serving dinner only. The restaurant features a sophisticated take on Old World Italian-inspired foods and handmade pastas, as well as seafood, steaks and chops grilled over hardwood. Viviani found inspiration from the bountiful agriculture, cheese makers, wineries and breweries of the region to help develop his menu, focusing on local, seasonal farm-to-table ingredients.
For his lunch menu, Viviani will feature some of the well-known and much-loved dishes from the restaurant’s dinner menu such as rigatoni carbonara and the coccoli platter; beignet-style bread balls with prosciutto de parma, stracchino cheese, truffle honey and herb oil. He will also introduce sandwiches and additional salads to the lunch menu, including a truffle burger and caprese sandwich, which are adaptations of some of the most popular dishes at Viviani’s restaurants in LA and Chicago.
“We have received rave reviews since opening Portico by Fabio Viviani and we look forward to offering our guests additional dining options with the new lunch menu,” said Executive Vice President and General Manager Jeff Babinski. “Fabio’s restaurant has already proven to complement the region by using locally sourced products when available. With the lunch menu will have additional opportunities to partner with the many wonderful local purveyors in our area.”
Perhaps best known for his television debut on Bravo’s hit reality series “Top Chef” and earning the “Fan Favorite” title, Viviani’s on-screen appearances have propelled him to become one of the fastest-growing culinary names in the country. Viviani has appeared as a recurring guest on shows such as “Good Morning America,” “The Talk,” “The Chew” and “The Rachael Ray Show,” and is a recurring guest host on the Hallmark Channel series “Home and Family.” The successful restaurateur is also the owner of several well-known restaurants across the country in Los Angeles and Chicago, to name a few. He is also a New York Times best-selling cookbook author. Portico is Viviani’s first restaurant in New York state.
“I truly love this area and I’m excited to be back in the Finger Lakes to introduce the Portico lunch menu to our guests,” said Viviani. “We have received such a warm welcome over the past month and our customers have already expressed such excitement to try our new menu. Just as with our dinner menu, lunch will feature homemade ingredients made from scratch such as our breads and pastas — and our meat is aged right at Portico.”
In addition to Portico by Fabio Viviani, del Lago offers guests dining options at the Farmers Market Buffet featuring locally sourced produce, fruits, dairy products and meats, as well as homemade gelato and pastries; The Vine, which serves guests French Quarter-inspired dishes; and a food court with three restaurants: Finger Lakes-based Ciccino’s Pizzeria & Paninoteca and locally owned Smashburger and Moe’s Southwest Grill.
Del Lago Resort & Casino is a partnership between Rochester-based Wilmorite Inc. and Peninsula Pacific. Peninsula Pacific comprises the former leadership team from Peninsula Gaming, which has a combined 50 years of experience developing and managing regional casinos in five states. JNB Gaming manages the casino as JNB and its principals are widely recognized throughout the country as premier casino developers and operators.
About del Lago Resort & Casino
Del Lago Resort & Casino is a $440 million casino, 205-room hotel and spa in Waterloo, New York. The mission behind del Lago Resort & Casino has been to act as a gateway to the Finger Lakes region, leveraging the natural beauty and unique offerings while enhancing tourism. Savor NY — MacKenzie-Childs at del Lago is a unique retail outlet where local vendors bring the Finger Lakes region directly to del Lago patrons with MacKenzie-Childs and Jay Strongwater products and a wide variety of local fruits, cheeses, baked goods, wines and beers, and other area specialties. Del Lago Resort & Casino also features 2,000 slot machines and 89 gaming tables, including 12 poker tables; Portico by Fabio Viviani, a restaurant with a sophisticated take on Old World Italian-inspired foods and spirits; The Vine, a 2,400-person entertainment center, bar and restaurant; Farmers Market Buffet, featuring locally sourced comfort foods; Centrifico, a bar/lounge area in the center of the gaming floor; The Sociale Café & Bar, serving “gastro spa” cuisine and beverages; and a 4,200-square-foot food court. The hotel, spa, banquet facility and The Sociale Café & Bar will open in summer 2017. For more information, visit delLagoResort.com.
