CIBO (Chee Boh) n. food Italian Kitchen and Market
Decades of eating the most amazing meals from wonderful chefs worldwide revealed to siblings Antonella Fernandez and Nick Muce that their grandmothers, mother and aunts had created the food they loved most. “The women in our lives cooked from scratch, simply and with a few fresh ingredients,” says Fernandez. “It was real food.”
With years of experience in the culinary industry, the pair, both with families of their own, imagined a non-traditional take on a restaurant, something that would support the work-life balance they craved.
Enter Cibo. Open from 10-5, it combines dine-in and grab-and-go options in a colorful spacious café. The team opened the eatery in May of 2021 on Cove Road in Orleans and serves cuisine celebrating Southern Italy. Says Fernandez, “It’s beautiful food, authentically prepared.”
Antonella Fernandez was born in southern Italy. By the time her younger brother Nick Muce arrived, the family had moved to Cape Cod. She headed to California for college; he’s a Nauset High School graduate and attended college in Boston.
Orchestrating over 2000 weddings at several award-winning properties, Antonella Fernandez’s career began at The Wequassett Resort in Harwich. In the many positions that followed, including at Water’s Edge Resort in Westbrook, CT, she was responsible for marketing and coordinating corporate and social events. Nick Muce first began cooking at his uncle’s side, training at the well-loved Italian eatery LoCicero’s in Orleans. He went on to chef at many stellar locations and was executive chef at Water’s Edge Resort, working alongside his sister for eight years.
As you walk into Cibo, greetings are called out. Front and center is an expansive case displaying a wide selection of Muce’s hot and cold dishes. The anchor of the Cibo kitchen, he bases his cuisine on what’s freshest locally on land and sea, peppered with a love of his Sicilian heritage. Select from chilled salads like his Frutti di Mare with octopus and calamari or orzo tossed with baby shrimp and peas, dressed simply with lemon, EVOO, parsley and salt and pepper. The arugula salad is finished with berries, almonds and generous cheese shavings. Each day (del Giorno) there’s a different version of pasta, gorgeous golden brown stuffed bread, vegetables like roasted asparagus with balsamic glaze, and a creamy risotto — perhaps it’s cremini mushrooms, truffles and Parmigiano-Reggiano today.
Entrées include several chicken and veal dishes prepared Marsala, Piccata, Milanese and Parmigiana. With a nod to traditional Sicilian street food are Arancini (fried balls of saffron-infused risotto) and Panelle (crispy fried chickpea fritters). There’s eggplant, ricotta pie, several green salad options, six handmade salad dressings and seven kinds of sauces like Arrabiata, Puttanesca and Alfredo that can go home with you. Cibo’s extra large (gigante) meatballs are stuffed; the special treasure is a core of oozy fresh mozzarella.
“We don’t serve or sell what we ourselves wouldn’t want to eat,” says Fernandez. “We work very hard to get the best meat, ricotta, olive oil, mozzarella, Parmigiano.”
Intentionally created for diners with gluten and other intolerances, several entrées’ sauces are thickened with cornstarch instead of flour. Cibo’s baby eggplant is prepared without breading and includes garlic, basil, and mint as served in Southern Italy. The chicken Parmigiano can be selected in a Tuscan grilled version without breading. Customers can also request steamed almond or oat milk for their cappuccino.
Lively and knowledgeable front-end staff describe all the offerings, take orders and invite guests to explore while their selections are prepared. To the left, a pastry and coffee bar beckons with terrific house-made sfogliatelli (a shell-shaped pastry of super crispy tissue-thin layers surrounding a sweetened ricotta center). There’s traditional cookies like biscotti and pizzelle and freshly-pressed espresso. Muce doubles as Cibo’s passionate baker, especially devoted to sourdough. Bread varieties rotate, and are often gone by lunchtime, rivaling his sweet pastries. Check out the individual flourless chocolate pistachio tortes, unusual croissants filled with apricot preserves, and traditional sesame cookies (reginelle). The savory biscuits (taralli) — in varieties like rosemary, cracked pepper and fennel — are a lovely accompaniment to a glass of wine.
Fernandez orchestrates custom-catered events like anniversaries, showers and birthday celebrations on Cibo’s covered back deck where they can host parties of up to 50 people. Food can also be ordered to be picked up for home parties. Cibo hosts monthly tasting events often themed to a region of Italy like Sicily, Tuscany or Umbria. Held after hours, Muce prepares a five- or six-course evening meal paired with wines, that a group of 10-12 diners will enjoy together family style in the café or outdoors. Mulling future ideas like a hands-on cooking intensive, Fernandez and Muce may start with a pasta session.
Family (La Famiglia) is not only the heart and soul of Cibo, but a unique menu option as well. Offering 3-4 course meals priced per person for 4-12 people, orders placed by noon are available for pick-up between 5 and 6pm that same day. Family dinners for 13 or more guests must give 24 hours notice. Each meal includes an entrée plus Caesar, garden or pasta salad; a portion of the daily risotto, pasta or potato; the vegetable of the day; and freshly baked house-made bread.
An adventure of colors and smells to explore, Cibo finds its customers juggling choices as they struggle to decide. Petite jars of flowers dot the warm wooden tables welcoming one to stay, and the outdoor deck, large and canopied, is a lovely option. Fragrant smells float from the kitchen as Muce bands together with his crew in a flurry of cooking. Fernandez laughs, sometimes peppering a greeting with an Italian phrase. Cibo’s energetic front of the house staff is ready; serving up food, filling cannoli and chatting with friends, old and new. It’s a happy place.
CIBO
15 Cove Road, Orleans
cibocapecod.com
774-207-0541
