Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), May 31, 2006, Wednesday

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Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

May 31, 2006 Wednesday
Hollywood Edition

SECTION: COMMUNITY NEWS; Pg. 10

HEADLINE: TRADITIONAL ITALIAN FOOD ON THE MENU AT PAOLO'S

BYLINE: Beth Feinstein-Bartl Special Correspondent

BODY:
Name: Paolo's

Type of business: Italian restaurant

Address: 3155 NE 163rd St., North Miami Beach

Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m.

Friday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday

Owner: Paul Stoddard

Call: 305-947-7665

Q. What does Paolo's serve and how much does it cost?

A. The "family-style, moderate-priced eatery," as Stoddard described his
new business, features Italian favorites such as pasta and pizzas and other
entrees including chicken cordon bleu, grilled salmon and sirloin steak. The
menu also has appetizers such as fried calamari and chicken wings, as well as
soups and salads.

Entree prices range from $12.95 for chicken parmigiana to $22.95 for filet
mignon. Pasta entrees, including cheese ravioli and meat lasagna, run between
$7.95 and $10.95.

Its thin-crust pizzas range in cost from $7.95 for a 12-inch Margarita pie
with tomato sauce and cheese to $14.95 for the New Yorker, a 16-inch pie
topped with sausage, roasted peppers and caramelized onions.

Paolo's also serves hamburgers and sandwiches, from $5.95 to $8.95.

For dessert, patrons may select a cannoli or slice of apple pie for $3.50
each.

Paolo's also has daily lunch specials for $6.95, and a children's menu, for
ages 12 and younger, with items such as hamburgers and spaghetti with
meatballs, for $5 each (including ice cream and beverage).

Q. Any specialties of the house?

A. Stoddard, who cooks as a hobby, contributed a recipe for cioppino, or
seafood stew. Before adding the dish to the menu, Stoddard said, he had been
preparing it for friends and family for 20 years.

Other specialties are Paolo's Yuppie Pizza and the Wedding Salad, he said.
The 16-inch pizza has basil pesto, goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and pine
nuts. The salad has spinach, strawberries and almonds, with a raspberry
vinaigrette.

Stoddard said he first tasted the salad at a wedding reception, hence the
name.

All of the cooking for lunch and dinner is overseen by head chef Antonia
Calabro. "Her specialty is making our pizzas and pastas," Stoddard said.

The Sicilian-born Calabro was the chef for the former tenant, also an
Italian restaurant. She has a "lifetime of experience cooking Italian food,"
he said.

Q. What is the atmosphere inside the restaurant?

A. After taking over the space, Stoddard said he redesigned the interior,
with a burgundy and marigold color scheme for the walls and framed paintings
from his collection of Peruvian art.

Paolo's seats up to 150 people at tables inside and along the sidewalk.
That number includes a full liquor bar with 12 stools and a private dining
area for up to 40 guests.

There is a small stage where live music is performed from 8 p.m. to closing
on Fridays and Saturdays. Jazz is played Fridays, he said, and a mix of Frank
Sinatra, ballads and Broadway show tunes is featured Saturdays.

Q. What led to the restaurant's opening?

A. Paolo's is Stoddard's first restaurant, but not his first foray into the
food-service business.

While studying labor relations at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.,
Stoddard said he managed beverage tents at a Renaissance festival and worked
at an Orange Julius.

After graduating in 1984, he spent the next two decades as a human
resources manager for IBM in New York and Miami.

Paolo's is a midlife career change, he said.

"I've always enjoyed dining at restaurants and I've always wanted to be a
small-business owner," Stoddard said.

The restaurant opened in mid-March.

Stoddard said he picked the North Miami Beach storefront because of its
easy access to residents in the city, across the causeway on Sunny Isles Beach
and in northeastern Miami-Dade County. The space had a pizza oven from the
former occupant, he said, leading him to create his version of an Italian
eatery.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO
OWNER'S FIRST RESTAURANT: Paul Stoddard owns Paolo's, a traditional Italian restaurant in North Miami Beach. Also pictured is head chef Antonia Calabro. Staff photo/Jacqueline Lydie Kazil