A couple of weeks ago, Wendy Brucker, the chef and owner of Rivoli restaurant in Berkeley was here in Florence. Lisa Kaborika (spelling probably very off – sorry Lisa!) arranged a lunch with all of us so Wendy and I could meet, as she is a fan of my book (I was very flattered). While we were having lunch, it came out that Wendy and her husband were trying to think of a good name for her new venture in Berkeley, a simple Italian trattoria-style place on Shattuck Avenue (Berkeley could really use a good Italian resto, BTW).
She was tossing around some different ideas, and said she wouldn’t mind if the name were short, simple, and street-related, like Rivoli – Rue de Rivoli, etc. So I suggested “Corso,” as in the Via del Corso here in Florence. She loved the idea, and it looks like she will be using it for the new restaurant, which I will be very excited to try the next time I am in California. Here’s a link to the newsflash:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/11/FDI0VCSLS.DTL
June 11, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Corso is supposed to open tonight, June 11. My wife and I have stopped by several times as the remodel was in progress. There were always a half-dozen or so staff in the kitchen doing taste testing, which I consider a good sign.
You are definitely right about Berkeley needing a good trattoria. Corso is long overdue.
July 26, 2008 at 2:51 am
I was “googling” Wendy to see what she was up to and found your blog. Brought back a lot of memories – I helped name the first restaurant, Rivoli, in a way. Wendy was the first chef I ever worked under and who I consider my mentor.
Anyhow – you should definitely visit any of her restaurants….her food makes you feel good from the tip of your nose to the end of your toes!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane…