Osteria Forto opening next month in O’Fallon, Missouri (2024)

A higher endItalian restaurantis coming soon to O’Fallon, Missouri.This October, Osteria Forto is slated to debut in a 3,200-square-foot space at 2509 Highway K in O’Fallon, Missouri. At the helm will be three members of the Pietoso family, names and faces that are familiar only to some local diners, but that may change soon, as the trio will be presenting familiar Italian favorites and dishes rarely (or never) seenon local menus.

“There are very few higher-end restaurants, of any ethnicity, out this way, and Highway K is busy at all hours of the day and night,” says DominicPietoso, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Liz. Assisting them isDominic's father, chef Fortunato Pietoso, who's known in the kitchen as Forto.

The Menu

The restaurant will feature classic Southern Italian cuisine, some with a contemporary twist, all orchestrated by Fortunato, the younger brother of Café Napoli restaurateur Tony Pietoso.Fortunato spent decades in the kitchens of such notable restaurants as John Mineo’s, Giovanni’s on the Hill, and especially Café Napoli, where he was part owner from 1989 to 1991.

“Obviously, we want to have familiar items,” he says, “but not everything that everyone else is doing. We want to offer a few things that you may not see anywhere else. And guests will find that even the familiar items will be prepared with a slightly different sauceor an extra ingredient than they mightbe accustomed to.”

Classic starters—eggplant parmesan, calamari fritti, shrimp fra diavolo—will bejoined by caponata with agro dolceand a potential signature item: Lobster al Forno (with nubbins of lobster meat, onion gremolata, cognac jus, blended Italian cheeses, and breadcrumbs served in a ceramic escargot dish).

Pasta dishes will include several standards (tagliatelle bolognese, penne alla vodka, and linguine mare e’ monti), as well as more esoteric offerings, such as Rigatoni Cardinale (shrimp, lobster, white wine tomato sauce with a touch of cream), Spaghettoni Vesuvio (thick-cut spaghetti with bacon, onion, mushroom, and tomato sauce with a touch of cream), and Linguini Vongole Rosso (with fresh clams and chopped clams in a white wine tomato sauce instead of standard clam sauce,“because sometimes the best pastas are the simplest ones,” Dominic says).Another pasta dish, Rigatoni Carbonara Americana, illustratesthe scruples of the chef. “I'm still searching for the perfect guanciale," Fortunato says, “so I use thick-cut American bacon that’s smoked instead of cured."

Main courses mix the familiar with the unfamiliar. Dominic is especially proud of the Chicken Cacciatore (mushroom, onion, bell pepper, green olive, rosemary tomato sauce). “Few restaurants serve it in St. Louis, and I don’t know why,” he says. “It’s so good, it will lead off our secondi section.”A thick-cut,bone–in pork rib chopwill be served saltimbocca-style, topped with prosciutto, fontinella cheese, and a white wine sage sauce. Dominic also expects Pork Tenderloin Pizzaiola (medallions with onion, capers, oregano,basil, mozzarella, and a white wine tomato sauce) to be a popular item. A handful of steak and fresh fish options round out the menu, including pan seared Halibut Livornese with capers & olives, baked al forno in a sherry wine tomato reduction.

There will also be a variety of specials. “People think the classic basil pesto—Pesto alla Genovese—is the beginning and end of pesto,” Dominic says. “We plan to experiment with the different types, like you see in Sicily, the ones made using capers, eggplant, and sun-dried tomatoes.You can use different nuts, such aspistachios and almonds, or fold in some ricotta cheese. We’ll use specials to test those unfamiliar waters.”

“We have a long list of dishes to run as specials, sauces to try, and desserts to bake,” says Liz, who will make all desserts in housefrom scratch. There will likely be four desserts to start, including tiramisu and Liz's Tre Amici Cake (chocolate cake, peanut butter buttercream,salted caramel sauce, chocolate ganache).

Osteria Forto’s wine list will span different varietals and countries of origin. “There are a lot of American wine drinkers at Napoli 3 and in St. Charles County,” Dominic notes. “We might have 70 percent American to 30 percent Italian wines, but there will also be a component of ‘if you like this American wine, then try that Italian one.’... There’s nothing better than discovering a new favorite wine.”

The co*cktail program will be “quality-based but geared for speed,” he adds, “not over the top, with esoteric ingredients and long make times. When you seat 140 people, serving complicated co*cktails is self-defeating. At that level, you can’t expect co*cktails plus an elaborate mixology show.”

The Atmosphere

Situated in a space that previously housed a sports bar, the restaurant will seat 80 inside, 15 at the bar, and 45 on the patio, which may become a heated, four-season seating area shoulddemand dictate.

"Our goalis to maintain awarm, welcoming ambiance but addsomerustic elegance," says Liz. The newdesign calls forrefinishing the bar top, adding large-scale porcelain tiles to the bar face, updating the lighting, and closing off the kitchen. Thecolor scheme is navy blue, gold, and white, with shades of blue carrying through tothetile work, linens, and uniforms.

"I lovethe use of texture in design,"says Liz, "and I'mexcited to bring that into the space."

The Backstory

Fortunato was born in Italy and had three siblings, all of whom spent time in an orphanage.“Tony came to St. Louis in 1968, and I came here 10 years after that, accompanying my mother, who was visiting Tony, who asked me to stay, saying that he could get me a kitchen job at John Mineo’s, where he worked as a waiter at night after cutting hair all day. So I did,"Fortunato says. "‘I have a dream,’ my brother said. ‘You learn the back, and I’ll learn the front, and one day you and I will open a restaurant.'And we did. We opened Café Napoli in 1989, in Clayton, in the former Copenhagen space.”

For nearly 20 years,Fortunato worked in the kitchen at Café Napoli. “You’ll find Tony out in front and me, and you’ll find me in the back—working,” he says with a laugh.

“I knew how instrumental my father has been representing high-end Italian food in this city,” Dominic says of his father, “but his influence has always been behind the scenes. He’s a perfectionist—insanely talented, incredibly focused, and has an amazing way with flavors. If you have an Italian kitchen, then Fortunato Pietoso is the guy you want running it. I swear he could touch your plate, and it would taste better. This restaurant is testament to him.”

“That’s where chefs are supposed to be,” Fortunato adds. “They are supposed to be in the kitchen, cooking, not doing other things. I can’t be in the kitchen and not cook. When I’m in the kitchen, I know sauces will be made properly and that dishes will come out the right way. If I’m on the other side of the line somewhere, I can’t be so sure. If you’re not right on top of it, you don’t know all that’s happening.”

Fortunato has learned to pay close attention to the details.At Osteria Forto, for instance, dried pasta will be used. After experimenting with several brands, the team found that the La Molisanawas the most consistent. “Plus, they own their own wheat fieldsand have a dedicatednatural water source, which gives them better control,” says Dominic. “A lot of people think that fresh pasta is superior,” Fortunato adds, “but it depends on who’s making it and what dish they’re making. For our specific dishesthat usually require mantecatura[the emulsification process performed at the end of cooking, when all the ingredients bind together], a good high-starchdried pasta works better. La Molisana is more expensive, but I think it’s the best product in Italy.”) Likewise, Fortunato is particular about other quality ingredients. “We tried several types of pancetta,” Dominic says, “but my dad said the flavor profile still wasn’t right.” Fortunato also insists on a special sherry that he’s been using for 40 years and says only one bulk white wine has the proper acid levels for cooking.

Growing up, Dominic says, he was a typical child of an Italian chef. “When other kids were bringing peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches to school, I brought seafood pasta,” Dominic says. “They were like, What is that? They thought I was crazy eating things like calamari and clams.”

Dominic started bussing tables at Café Napoli in 2000, then joined the Army, and returned to Café Napoli (this time as a server)before working for his cousin at Via Vite in Cincinnati and then his uncle—specifically Fortunato’s and Tony’s brother, Nicola.Dominic managed his flagship fine dining restaurant Nicola's for four years where he worked with an executive chef who went on to work at Alinea.“I learned the 12 steps of service at Napoliand honed my management skills at Nicola,” says Dominic.

Dominic and his wife returned to St. Louis in late 2016and operated a small Italian pizzeria in Creve Coeur until they could save enough money to open their own place. “Every Wednesday night was ‘osteria night’, he recalls. “And every Wednesday, Fortunato would cook home-styleItalian food. We did that for two years, selling out every week, until the pandemic shut us down. Like a ghost kitchen, we successfully tested the waters. It was those osteria nights that were the impetus for Osteria Forto.”

Now,Dominic plans to run the front-of-the-house, whileLizwill be the pastry chef,joined in the kitchen alongside Fortunato, who temporarilyretired in 2019, just prior the pandemic. “Well, I thought I did,” he says with a laugh.

The restaurant will be open Tuesday through Saturday, says Dominic. The indefatigable Fortunato's response to his son:“I told him I would be fine working six."