Phantom Gourmet: Evviva Cucina In Westford

WESTFORD (CBS) --The flavors are classic, but there's certainly nothing old school about Evviva Cucina.

Located in Westford, Evviva Cucina bills itself a modern Italian kitchen. Everything about this place is big and bold, from the bright and airy dining room, to the large bar and busy open kitchen, where Chef Anthony DePalma makes everything from scratch.

"I grew up Italian American," DePalma said. "This is the food that I know, it's my passion."

So the bread is baked fresh every day. The pizzas are tossed and sauced with love, and the meatballs come from an old family recipe.

"These meatballs are awesome. It's an old recipe from my grandmother, she probably had a few of them up her sleeve, there's nothing better than an old Nonni's recipe," DePalma said.

There are pastas and risotto, overstuffed sandwiches and incredibly affordable entrees, all coming out of that open kitchen that General Manager Nick Harron wanted to make sure was on full display for his customers.

"We're proud of what we do back there, so we left it transparent," Harron said. "We want you to see the people that are making your food, get to know them, ask them questions, be able to see your dough get stretched out, tossed in the air, topped with the freshest possible ingredients, and then fired in our oven, cooked quickly, brought out, it's part of a show, it brings that ambiance, that atmosphere, and that friendly vibe that we look for, and then you can also see how hardworking the people are and what we do."

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.
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