Phorum will open soon at 50 Starr Street. — Photo by Jeremy Sapienza
Bushwick diners will soon have more choices in the neighborhood. A 70-seat restaurant with an eclectic menu and industrial interiors is slated to open in February at the corner of Wilson and Starr.
Enzo Gugliuzza, 45, and Anna Maria Palmiotto, 40, each moved to New York in their early 20s to chase dreams they felt they couldn’t achieve in provincial Southern Italy. “People talk about how nice it is to live in Italy, the food, the beautiful towns, and it’s true — but Italy doesn’t give you the opportunity you have in this country,” explained Anna Maria. So it’s no surprise that this entrepreneurial couple came to Bushwick to do what is now impossible for non-millionaires in Manhattan: open a restaurant.
These two don’t compromise on anything: from the 3200lb Woodstone oven (“I’m Italian and I bought an American pizza oven — that should tell you how good it is”) to the obsessive chef they hired right out of the Culinary Institute of America, they are seeking only the best for their establishment.
Phorum will serve standard restaurant fare as well as pizzas, salads, and sandwiches. Much time and study is being devoted to picking the best coffee to serve, and a sommelier has been consulted to determine the best inexpensive wine and beer choices. They might even import their own small batch olive oil — coincidentally made by both Enzo and Anna Maria’s fathers on their farms in Sicily and Puglia, respectively. “I can’t promise that,” said Enzo. “It’s very expensive to import.” But he definitely plans to make his own fresh mozzarella in house.
Besides quality and affordability, Enzo wants to stress that this will not be an Italian restaurant. “We are Italian, and yes I have this accent, but we will serve all kinds of food.”
Enzo and Anna Maria are open to suggestions but in one area they are firm. “Other people, too, have said they don’t like the name we chose,” said Enzo, when I pointed out I found the name gimmicky. “But it is the two things we like to do most and we would never think of using a different name.” Anna Maria interjected, “Yeah, but I’m more chat, and he’s more chew,” with a finger pointed toward Enzo’s midsection.
Phorum (formerly Chew and Chat Café) is under construction at 50 Starr Street at the corner of Wilson Avenue.
UPDATE: The owners did, after all, decide to change the name — to Phorum.
Matthew December 8th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
not to be confused with the Chat N’ Chew?
El Topo December 8th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I’ll definitely keep an open mind, but I’m always wary of places that seem to have no theme or organizing principle. Plus that name is pretty bad. Of course, if the serve decent food at a reasonable price right down the street, I will be there.
Ingo Hart December 8th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I love the sound of this place and the location is ideal. But I too think this name is ugly and also confusing because of Chat N Chew by Union Square. Please consider changing it to something cooler.
nick December 8th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
guys give them a break. The name may suck but there might be a little lost in translation “italian is there mother language” going on here. with so few spots to eat I think we can look beyond the name if the cibbo id good.
Bushwick Dill December 9th, 2008 at 1:16 am
The last things I care about when it comes to a restaurant:
Name
Theme
Organizing Principle
Things I care about:
Food
Kurt December 9th, 2008 at 9:30 am
how about “c&c” or “c&c” food factory or something like that … they get the spirit of the name without the Chat N Chew confusion, and without sounding so gimicky. Or I like “chew” if they can live without the chat part of it (and if it hasn’t been taken”).
Matt December 9th, 2008 at 11:38 am
So exciting. When they first put up the rolldown gates I thought ‘great another deli’. Glad to hear. and whatever on the name. All I wanna know is…when when when when!?
Sarah Pappalardo December 9th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
fresh taco, happy fresh taco…let’s call the whole thing off.
Guest December 9th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Sounds awesome – forgettable name or not. Bring it on.
Rosary December 9th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Just wondering if anyone else has heard about the space on St Nicholas Avenue and Troutman…one block east from N.E. Kingdom. I was walking by the other day and heard that a wine/tapas bar will be opening..
chillinoncentral December 9th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
I’m thrilled to see an increase of much needed establishments popping up in the area. This is such a great neighborhood getting even better and it deserves more choices such as this. I for one wish them much success and look forward to patronizing them. I think that just being so close to the school will help them immediately. Heck, I’m hungry already. Now, if we could only get a bank nearby. =)
DeniseVB December 10th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
I may have to reschedule my Bushwick visit for the grand opening month!
What would chat and chew translate to in Italian? It might sound more regional that way? I’m in Virginia, and a “chew” is a wad of of tobacco stuffed in your cheek, then you spit it out.
Bushwick Diner sounds inviting too.
ricmac01 December 10th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
When I was 14 I put a wad of chewing tobacco into my mouth and “pawttooi” I spit that sucker out as fast as I could! At an even earlier age I thought “chew” was the sound made by a train in my coloring book…..
Mjay December 12th, 2008 at 5:13 am
Yup, no clear theme, bad name, but it won’t matter:
it’s a culinary desert out here, see you’all there.
niina December 12th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Wilson Ave is the new Bogart. I agree; name is unimportant, food is key.
Does anyone know anything about 44 Wilson (between George and Melrose)? They’ve had the metal awning down for months but once I saw it open and it looked like some kind of establishment was in the works.
johnnysaw December 12th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
My most lasting impression of italy was a fastidious pride in food. Even the dumpiest place in the smallest village had amazing food. The name sucks so bad it’s good.
steve January 21st, 2009 at 9:31 pm
when is this place gonna open? havent heard anything since
sweetser May 2nd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
the tattered sign hanging off this place says “coming soon: cafe wine bar” i think they should stick with that name just for hilarity points.
ben May 12th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
so they’re going to serve pho?
Dresden May 12th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
If they aren’t serving pho, Ben, they are definitely Phish-head losers who should be run out of town.
Aunt Jemima June 16th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
The restaurant will be opening monday, the 22nd.
Matt June 16th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
http://www.phorumonstarr.com/
Saw the shed was down the other day. Then the banner today. Weee. Menu on the website.
sick kat June 22nd, 2009 at 11:44 am
I have been living in Bushwick for over 29 years, and I have seen it all now. The area is changing rapidly and for the better. From the days of drugs, violence and crime to a new day of a “village” theme neighborhood in the works, I can not wait to see how drastically the Bushwick area will change within the years to come. The Phorum is the beginning of something new and different in our neighborhood of Bushwick and I can’t wait until it all starts tonight! Best of luck to this new restaurant. There are many more things to come, starting with new housing buildings right up the road on wilson and flushing ave, “The Loom” will become a great commercial spacing of a new “Mini Mall” and just more and more great places, bars and lounges that are to come very quickly. Change is key in everyday life. Bushwick is change and it is now apart of all our lives.
virginia transplant August 7th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
i ate here last night with friends visiting from out of town. “oh no, our neighborhood is more sophisticated than it looks. Lets go try the new wine bar!” And so that’s how it started. How it ended left me vowing never to go back EVER. There were four of us. Three of us drank a bottle of wine (some bottle of less than mediocre sauv blanc) the other had a Blue Moon (in the bottle, no draught beer here). Three of us got pizzas. I got the one with the minced duck (it sounded interesting) but when it was delivered recognized the superiority of Robertas in about five seconds. Too many herbs just totally blitzed the flavor of the duck and sauce. Just not good…edible, but not worth the $11. One of us had some sort of cinnamon and apple ravioli which apparently was delicious. I didn’t try it so I’ll reserve judgment. In all, one bottle of wine, one beer, four entres and one salad =$80. Not terrible. Our waitress was very nice. No complaints there. HOWEVER, when we asked them for a box to put our remaining pizza slices in, they took them to the bar counter to do it for us…and then dropped two slices on the floor whilst using their BARE HANDS to put it in the box. Seriously!! Yuck. And bummer…my girlfriend’s lunch for the next day was now on the floor (she is a vegetarian and couldn’t eat my duck pizza, which I would have gladly given her), but the manager (a rather haughty woman) didn’t say anything to our server. She just thought we weren’t looking…but my friend from out of town saw the whole thing. We sat there…FOREVER…waiting for the waitress to come get our credit card so we could bounce and hoped maybe they would have the courtesy to say something. Nope. Finally after starring them down, the haughty woman came over and said, I’m sorry, I dropped a slice on the floor. My girlfriend said “actually it was two pieces,” and the manager replied, “no, it was just one” and we were like, “um, it was two. count it TWO slices”. Let me just say, I’m not going to starve over two slices, but its the principal of the thing, ya know?? FINALLY, the manager was like, “ok, we’ll make you another cheese pizza to go.” US: “great, thank you.” the pizza they delivered was less than half the size of the one we ordered. I just laughed. it was just absurd. So, yeah…if you want pizza, go to Robertas. If you want wine, go to Big Tree Bottles and get a better selection without the markup. If you want pretentious decor with attitude to match, head to the corner of Starr and Wilson. There’s an empty restaurant there waiting to manufacture the mundane.