Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY | I just want 2 eat

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

Please note that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!

 image of Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

Continuing my discovery of Brooklyn, I gladly accepted the invite I received from Fortunato Brothers Bakery in Williamsbug, an all Italian bakery that opened in 1976. Family business for sure, the establishment's name reflecting the association of three brothers from Naples, Michele, Mario and Sal. Today, they transmitted their passion to their sons, Biagio and Biagio, as well as Frank, another member of the family, and another Biagio! I admit that I met with Biagio, but I have no clue which one!!!
image of Fiat 500 in from of Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

So, as we approached the bakery, we could not miss the delicious smell coming from it, as well as the small Fiat cars in front if it. 
image of Fiat 500 in from of Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

The shop is fairly big, with a seating area on the side that is perfect to enjoy an Italian espresso, a homemade gelato (they have twenty different flavors, my favorite being nocciola or hazelnut), or a cake. 
image of seating area at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

But of course, the best part was the display, where we could salivate in front of the large choice of cakes and cookies:

image of display at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

As we were close to Easter, they had plenty of items prepared especially for the occasion, some sweet:
image of cookies at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

and some savory, such as the meat pie that we tasted. 
image of meat pie at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

It was a delicious combination of ham and ricotta wrapped in a crumbly dough. 

So we sat in the seating area, waiting for our tasting, when we noticed a cat sitting (or shall I say sleeping) next to our table.
image of Rocco the cat at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

His name is Rocco: he is the bakery's owners cat and you might see him either sleeping, walking around, or coming to you to get pet or to play. 

Biagio served us a combination of pastries that were mouth watering. Small size though, when possible. I have to say that I love when bakeries offer pastries in a smaller size, as it allows us to try several.
image of pastries at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

The first I tried was the baba au rum.
image of baba au rum at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

It was fantastic: soaked in rum and light. 
image of baba au rum at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

There was also a Napoleon:
image of Napoleon at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

Similar to the French mille-feuilles, I was glad to see that it had icing and not sugar on top (the best part) and crème pâtissière inside.
image of Napoleon at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

The only problem: too small: it was so good that I would have eaten several of them!

Next was the Sfogliatelle (Italian for small, thin leaves/layers):
image of Sfogliatelle at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

What is interesting about this pastry is the multiple layers that wrap around a filling made of ricotta, almond flour and candied fruits.
image of Sfogliatelle at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

I liked it, but admit that, with a similar dough, I preferred the lobster tail:
image of lobster tail at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

It is bigger, but lighter.
image of lobster tail at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

In fact, this pastry was invented by Italian-Americans in the 1900s. So, the same dough, but, inside, the filling is made of a cream similar to whipped cream.
image of lobster tail at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

Then we got a cream puff that was glazed with a thick layer of dark chocolate.
image of cream puff at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

Inside was a vanilla custard that was delicious and had a perfect consistency.
image of cream puff at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

Following was a classic: cannoli.
image of cannoli at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

It was very good: the ricotta filling was fantastic, not too sweet, and the shell tasted fresh and was crispy. It was my second favorite after the baba.
image of cannoli at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

Last was a cookie called Deliciosa.
image of delicioso at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

It was made with a moca cream. I admit that, although I love coffee, I did not like it.

These pastries could not be eaten without a shot of Italian espresso.
image of espresso at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

You may think that it was it, but it was not: Biagio proposed to bring home whatever we wanted to try. As Jodi put it, it was like bringing a vampire to a blood bank...

So I went in front of the display and simply (?) asked for some Italian cookies.
image of cookies at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

So our visit was followed by a cookie tasting.

Here is what we tried:

Rainbow cookies:
image of rainbow cookies at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

Pignoli:
image of pignoli at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

With the equivalent made with pistachio:
image of pistachio at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

Biscotti:
image of biscotti at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

And various cookies.
image of cookies at Fortunato Brothers, Italian Bakery in Williamburg, Brooklyn, NY

My favorite were the rainbow cookies and pignoli, maybe because I love any cookie or pastry made with almonds.

So, Fortunato Brothers was definitely a nice discovery of an Italian bakery that seems to stay true to itself, serving customers with traditional Italian specialties, all homemade. Not to mention not too sweet, allowing me to try all of these without falling into a sugar coma!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Restaurant Information

* Restaurant Name
Fortunato Brothers Cafe
* Overall
★★★☆☆
* Neighborhood / Cuisine
Williamsburg / Italian
* Street Address
289 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211
* Phone
(718) 387-2281

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