Cucina Deli is Aves Gathering Spot

01 March 2016

March 2016
By Mary Ann Wright

It was a Tuesday night at Cucina Deli and with two long tables—the length of the main dining area— completely filled, there were still people waiting to be seated for the scrumptious ribs.

That was the Tuesday night family style dinners that have been featured for the last several months. Otherwise, you might walk in for some breakfast sandwiches some morning while on a bike ride around the Avenues.

Or you could come in for a business lunch, where it is a common site to see laptops and tablets propped up next to specialty sandwiches and full entrees while people meet over their delicious fresh food. In the evening, the place transforms into a white tablecloth restaurant, where the chef makes a special of the day.

Fresh breads, soups and pastries abound all day long as well as local beers and specially chosen wines. The coffee is a favorite at Cucina and most days, Dean Pierose, the proprietor, can be seen going around refilling cups. The inside setting of hand painted colorful walls and marble topped tables emits a cozy Italian setting.

As the weather warms, the outside bank of tables and surrounding pots and landscaping provide another welcome area to meet a friend and enjoy the fare. Long a supporter of the Greater Avenues Community Council, Dean donates in-kind to the Street Fair each year as well as hosting some of the committee meetings. Dean feels fortunate to be there for the neighborhood and would not want to be anywhere else. Cucina is at the lower east Avenues at 1027 E. 2nd Avenue.