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{{tncms-inline alignment=”right” content=”<p>Goodfella’s Pizzeria &amp;</p> <p>Italian Restaurant</p> <p>Location: 2955 Enterprise Road, DeBary</p> <p>Cuisine: Authentic Italian and pizza</p> <p>Dining methods: Dine-in, takeout, and delivery within 5-mile radius</p> <p>Hours: 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday</p> <p>Signature drink: Italian wines</p> <p>Signature dish: Shrimp Sinatra</p> <p>Price: Menu items generally range from $1 to $10 for lunch and $11 to $20 for dinner.</p> <p>Kid-friendly: Yes</p> <p>Pet-friendly: On patio</p> <p>Handicap-accessible: Yes</p> <p>Limited diets: Gluten-free / vegetarian</p> <p>Alcohol: Draft and bottled beer/wine/craft beer</p> <p>My cost for a half order of garlic knots, personal Pizza Margherita, lunch portion Chicken Antonio, and chocolate cake:</p> <p>$29 plus tax and tip</p> <p>Phone: 386-668-9199</p> <p>Email: caitlin@goodfellasitalianrestaurant.com</p> <p></p>” id=”926894f3-d744-4707-ae27-74efaac282a7″ style-type=”info” title=”More Information” type=”relcontent” width=”half”}}
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well,” the famed writer Virginia Woolf wrote.
That about lines up with my experience at Goodfella’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant in DeBary, which celebrates its eighth anniversary at the end of this month.
The restaurant is owned by husband-and-wife team Salvatore and Caitlin Ciaccio, and it seems to be known all over DeBary.
As a new resident to the area, I would ask people at local gas stations and other public places where I could get some quality food in DeBary. More times than not, I was pointed to Goodfella’s.
Salvatore Ciaccio was born in Brooklyn, New York, and is of Sicilian descent. He moved to the Deltona area from Queens, New York, when he was in his teens, immediately getting involved in the pizza and restaurant business.
The first Goodfella’s Restaurant was opened in September 1998 in Orlando. The Ciaccios have since sold it to a partner, and they now focus solely on their DeBary location, where they’re closer to family.
Salvatore learned his recipes and skills from his brother and mentor Cologero “Charlie” Ciaccio. Charlie helped open Goodfella’s, but has since passed away. His recipes continue to put smiles on people’s faces.
Sal met Caitlin while she was a student at the University of Central Florida. Now married for 15 years, they run the restaurant side by side.
I came hungry, as Italians never let you leave with an empty stomach, and I wanted to try more than a few rich options.
The 75-seat restaurant has a covered patio, beige stucco-like walls with pillars, and tile floors.
Portraits of the original Goodfellas movie cast can be found on the wall, along with scenes from other gangster films. There’s also a lighted aquarium.
I was greeted by bar manager Melissa Peltz, at the marble bar.
The menu is large, enticing, and full of classic Italian dishes, pies, and an impressive wine list. Appetizers range from homemade garlic knots and baked meatballs to baked clams, black mussels, tomato bruschetta and more.
I tried the garlic knots, which are made from scratch and served with tomato sauce, and I also ordered the crab-stuffed shrimp. Both were rich and full of flavor, with a kiss of garlic.
The number of entree selections seems unlimited, and includes enormous stromboli and calzones, chef’s daily specials, pastas, chicken, eggplant dishes, pizzas, seafood, subs, salads, soups, veal, and more!
My selections were the Pizza Margherita and Chicken Antonio.
The pie consisted of sliced tomato, fresh basil, Parmesan, olive oil, and a hearty amount of cheese. The ingredients were fresh, and the perfect amount of house-made sauce was lathered underneath.
The Chicken Antonio is a large chicken cutlet topped with ham, spinach and mozzarella in a mushroom Marsala sauce, served over spaghetti. The Marsala sauce had a touch of sweetness that won me over immediately.
“Our portions are very large here at Goodfella’s,” Caitlin Ciaccio said.
The kitchen is run by Chef Michael Rafferty, who attended culinary school at Valencia College and has been with Goodfella’s for 19 years.
He sent me out a pasta favorite to try, Tortellini Josephine, which is cheese-stuffed tortellini with sauteed prosciutto ham and onions in a creamy Parmesan sauce. It was savory and rich, and I felt like I was floating away in Italian heaven.
“We couldn’t make any of this happen without our hardworking team, which we call our family here at Goodfella’s,” said Caitlin.
One dish to come back for is the Shrimp Sinatra, as the regulars were raving about it, but I didn’t have room left. It’s one of Charlie’s original recipes: shrimp sauteed with garlic, onion and bacon in a creamy Parmesan and zesty marinara sauce.
I was already waving my white flag, but Melissa Peltz brought out a dessert tray covered with cannoli, tiramisu, cheesecake, and a slice of deathly good chocolate cake.
The cake looked too devilish not to try, and it was in that moment after my last bite of cake I knew that I had dined well, loved well, and was now ready to sleep well.
Goodfella’s is one of those special places where you feel at home and always leave full — the way Italian dining should always be.
Buon appetito!
