Ciao, Bello!

JUPITER, FL – October 30, 2017 – “The greatest chef in the world knows exactly what he is cooking; he knows where every single ingredient came from.”

It’s a lively Saturday evening at Evo Italian, one of the most popular and quality-driven restaurants in the Jupiter-Tequesta area. A dim-lighted ambiance featuring decor of beguiling, vibrant colors and white table cloths set an inviting backdrop. Loaded trays with savory Italian plates that boast signature sauces and ripe ingredients, clinking glasses filled with wine from the finest vineyard locations in the world, and modern upbeat music fills the room. The restaurant is bustling with locals, and celebrities and sport figures are mixed in, and the staff, while busy, is smoothly navigating it all.

Then, in walks one of Evo’s most celebrated regulars. Upon seating said customer, the hostess reports his arrival to the chef in the back of the house. Donning an all-black chef uniform with his name inscribed in cursive on the right hand side, and a bandana that covering his clean-shaved head, Chef-owner Erik Pettersen receives this news with a smile. He proceeds to boil dried pasta, shuck clams, thinly slice and peel a fresh eggplant, and finish it all off with a sauce made from contents he will not disclose. He delivers a succulent, off-menu, charmingly presented dish executed to perfection without breaking his stride. But why, in spite of having a full house, did he make this effort for one customer?

Pettersen makes it clear, “Because that’s the dish I know he likes and wants, and I make sure that he, as well as every person that comes through our doors, leaves with a big ol’ smile on their face.”

It’s difficult to determine if there are many gourmet chefs that share his attentive mindset, yet this is what captures Erik’s personality to a tee; a true-to-himself manner to reach his guests on a personal basis. His approach is also reflected on the level of service from the staff at Evo, and that was always part of Erik’s vision when he first conceptualized the thought of owning his own restaurant some 33 years back.

FAMILY RECIPES

Pettersen grew up in a humble household in Oyster Bay, Long Island, and his Italian heritage played a major role in what later became his passion and career. He was exposed to Italian food preparation by his Sicilian grandmother, who Erik would watch and help cook whenever he visited her. In an almost subliminal manner, Erik learned authentic, farm-to-table recipes passed on from generation to generation, and the respect and attention to detail that each dish merited; she taught him the secrets that still influence Evo’s menu items to this day. Having never attended any type of culinary school, Erik claims his education began as a bystander in his grandmother’s kitchen.

“In Italian families, you’ll always hear things like ‘My grandma makes the best meatballs, hands down,’ Well, my grandmother really did make the best meatballs,” indicates Erik with conviction. “If you don’t believe me, try my Braciole or Sunday Sauce.”

The road to Evo wasn’t always graceful. At age 15, Erik was a high school dropout working in a pizzeria, unsure of what his next step would be. He was borderline judgmental about the food that was served where he worked because of his keen sense for quality that he saw in his own family’s cooking, which lead him to become more and more attuned to the nature of his true calling. He knew he could cook, and his mother would constantly remind him to explore this natural ability further, but Erik also knew he had to gain experience and increase his product knowledge to excel in the restaurant business.

The Shrimp Scampi is a great appetizer for the table dressed in a white wine and lemon sauce, garnished with sweet peas

“SHOW THEM, DON’T JUST TELL THEM”

Thus begun Erik’s journey. He deviated from “red sauce joints” and went on to work in several kitchens of American, French, and Italian fare. Each experience had a major impact in his cooking style and business sense. Erik quickly saw himself moving up the spectrum and working as a sous chef in Manhattan restaurants for revered restaurateurs, the Scotto brothers, and cooking under world-renowned chefs such as Brendan Walsh. As the years passed and the pendulum swung between making ends meet and enhancing his culinary education, Erik’s dream took full shape.

“I knew I had to go back to my roots,” notes Erik. “I wanted to stop telling people that the family recipes that I had now mastered were great, I wanted to show them.”

But that dream was put on hold indefinitely when success came knocking on Erik’s door in a different way. He was brought in as executive chef and working partner for Ciao Baby!, an upscale, four-star restaurant in Commack, Long Island. It was finally Erik’s turn to devise his own menu with his own recipes and flair, and even though he wasn’t the owner, this was an incredible opportunity to grow.

The restaurant took off with Erik at the helm—and his sauces and recipes were being raved about in reviews from the likes of the New York Times and the New York Post. First-time customers became regulars; there were people lined up out of the door to get a table; and after the first six months in business, a second Ciao Baby! location broke ground in Massapequa. Erik was 29-years-old and well on track to becoming one of the hottest chefs in New York.

He was living the high life… until he got a call from his mother from Florida. She had called to tell him that she had stage-four lung cancer and her battle was only just beginning. It took a while for the terrible news to sink in for ErIk, but when it did, he packed his bags, sold his share of the restaurant he worked so hard to put on the map, and made his way down south to Delray Beach.

A SHARED DREAM

While living in Florida, Erik’s focus consisted solely on being his mother’s caretaker. During her final months, they would drive up through Jupiter and Tequesta to visit relatives, and each time she would say to Erik, “When I get better, we are going to sell the house in Delray and open a small place right here; you’ll do the cooking and I’ll handle the business side.”

After her passing, Erik took his mom’s wish to heart and made it his mission to finally open Evo, which had been his own dream all along. He followed through and on Saint Patrick’s Day, 2007, Erik added “Restaurant Owner” to his resume when Evo opened for business in Tequesta. It started off small—with one room comprised of eight tables and 35 seats with a kitchen in the back. His first customer, as fate would have it, was legendary ice hockey player Bobby Orr. It was a good omen for things to come.

In no time, the food at Evo became the talk of the town and Erik started building a similar reputation as a chef in the Jupiter-Tequesta area that had earned him high acclaim in New York. The demand became so high for Evo after the first two years that Erik felt compelled to add a bar area and expand into a second room. By the restaurant’s fifth anniversary, Erik moved Evo into its current location—a larger space containing 150 seats, a full bar and lounge area, as well as an outdoor patio area.

“My mom was right,” says Erik. “This was the place to make our dream a reality. Unfortunately, she is looking down on it now, but I know she’s proud.”

Through Evo, Erik not only found professional success and a home to showcase his wondrous talent, but he also found the love of his life, Lydiannie. Spell out Evo backwards and add an L in the front. Coincidence? Lydiannie was working for Evo as a hostess shortly after the move-in to the present location, and upon meeting, Erik and her clicked. Talk about the right place.

“Everything happens at Evo,” says Lydianne with a grin. “There’s just something about this place that is magnetic.”

They are now married and Lydiannie is responsible for the operational side of Evo, and Erik declares that she’s been nothing short of instrumental in the continued growth of the restaurant.

Erik found success and the love of his life, Lydiannie, at EVO

EVO-LVING

But what exactly makes Evo so unique, you may wonder? Well, it all starts with the name.

“Evo stands for evolution. A contemporary interpretation of my family’s century-old recipes,” points out Erik. “We maintain my family’s philosophy of only using natural ingredients and I cook my grandma’s original recipes but with my own twist, with a different representation. That’s what I set out to do; to execute a dish differently without losing its authenticity. That’s how I separate myself. As a fourth-generation chef, I do not simply wish to feed you, but to nourish your body and mind with a culinary experience that sets a new standard in dining.”

That standard involves quality, quality that is derived from the ingredients found in each dish at Evo. The fish served at Evo is freshly caught catch that is delivered daily to the restaurant by local fish purveyors; they serve only prime-grade, all-natural, hormone-free veal, chicken, pork, and beef; and they use D.O.P certified cheeses, extra virgin olive oils, and San Marzano tomatoes directly imported from Italian regions such as Sicily and Tuscany.

“Everything we cook is natural, fresh, and made-to-order,” highlights Erik.

And true to its name, Evo’s menu is constantly changing.

“I don’t believe in being complacent,” explains Erik. “I’m always going to want to try different things, add different spices, recreate certain dishes altogether, and change the menu completely. It’s part of who I am as a chef. ”

However, if you are reading this and have not visited Evo yet, here are a few current mouth-watering suggestions to entice you over for dinner: If you’re a cheese lover, do yourself a favor and try their Burratta Pugliese, which is imported Italian Buratta mozzarella pouch accompanied with heirloom tomatoes, roasted baby bell peppers, garden basil, Tuscanella extra virgin olive oil, and Modena balsamic glaze. If you’d like to get an authentic taste of Erik’s grandmother’s cooking, try the Sunday Sauce with white wine, garlic, onion, garden basil, San Marzano plum tomatoes, and whipped ricotta over braised cuts of pork and sausage and a hand rolled meatball over mezza rigatoni or try the Lasagnette Bolognese made with homemade semolina pasta sheets layered with bolognese sauce, whipped ricotta, and bufala mozzarella. Pair these delectable offerings with the array of wine selections that Evo provides for a hearty, flavorful balance. There are many great choices on the menu, but which one is Erik’s favorite? He goes for simplicity: Linguini pasta with white clam sauce.

“It’s simple, but if cooked right, with passion and heart, then it’s one of the best dishes you’ll ever taste,” affirms Erik.

Satisfy the soul with a hearty dish of Bolognese comprised of savory meats and imported ricotta and vegetables

THE CHEF’S PERSPECTIVE

Erik saw his dream fulfilled with the birth and maturation of Evo. When asked about what he now strives for daily, Erik replies with one word: Consistency.

“I want consistency across the board,” admits Erik. “From the ingredients of the food, to the preparation of each meal, to the service of my staff. To me, consistency equals greatness. It’s absolutely essential.”

In conjunction with his organic predilection to the customer’s satisfaction, Erik makes it a point to give back to the community that allowed him to grow as a chef and as a person. He participates in annual charitable acts such as Chef Helping Heroes, where he cooks alongside local chefs to raise money for Renewal Coalition, an organization that provides fully paid retreats for combat injured or ill service members and their families. He also hosts numerous events at Evo throughout the year to benefit local charities.

Erik has sure come a long way since grandma’s kitchen, but his roots are nevertheless completely exposed to his guests, who he treats like his own family. Whether you haven’t visited him at Evo yet or you’re there every other week for dinner, he invites you to come in, make yourself at home, and trust him to delight your palate and satisfy your soul.  

YOUR EVENT A EVO

Celebrating a special occasion? Evo Italian hosts private parties and weddings. Ask about their private dining room or outside patio. Evo will also cater your family get-together or work event with unforgettable dishes that are sure to please your guests.

Evo Italian also regularly hosts food and wine pairing nights, please make sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram for information on their next event.

Evo Italian is located at:

150 North U.S. Highway 1

in Tequesta

Business hours are:

Monday to Saturday

4:30 P.M. – Close,

Sunday Closed

For reservations, please call (561) 745-2444

www.evoitalian.com