Greater Boston restaurant veteran Chef Mike Fucci opened his eponymous Chef Mike’s Cucina (73 Highland Ave., Needham, MA 02494, 781-675-2950) just over one year ago. The casual Italian family-friendly eatery has already proven the most popular restaurant in Needham and surrounding towns – despite the challenges posed by Covid-19 for all restaurateurs.
Wicked Local readers this year voted Chef Mike’s the best restaurant in Needham in six different categories, according to results published last week: No. 1 deli; No. 1 caterer; No. 1 restaurant for lunch; No. 1 restaurant for dinner; No. 1 restaurant for families; No. 1 restaurant for Italian.
In addition, Chef Mike’s earned top three honors as a regional favorite (including Newton and Wellesley) in all six categories, highlighted by gold medal honors as the area’s favorite Italian restaurant. It was the only restaurant in the region to achieve such widespread, cross-category acclaim.
“It’s thrilling to receive these accolades, especially considering we’ve been open little more than a year and in a very difficult time for everyone in our industry,” said Fucci, who opened Chef Mike’s in August 2019 and shares images of his beautiful food on Instagram @chefmikef.
The secret to Chef Mike’s popularity is festive, affordable Italian fare deeply rooted in Fucci family culinary tradition. Many of the dishes on the Chef Mike’s menu he learned from his beloved late Uncle Mike, for whom the chef – and ultimately his restaurant – were named. There is even a tribute to Uncle Mike on one of the restaurant’s walls.
Chef Fucci, a Malden native, achieved national acclaim following his 2017 victory on a tailgate-themed episode of “Cutthroat Kitchen” on the Food Network. Fucci won over judge and former NFL star Chad Johnson and host Alton Brown with his affable nature, big smile and, most importantly, his full-flavored, belly-filling Italian fare.
Chef Mike also earned kudos for being a good sport. Among other things, he was forced to prepare one of his dishes wearing a football helmet in a three-point stance – no small feat for anyone, let alone the generously sized chef.
Highlights of the Chef’s Mike menu include the Chef Mike’s Special, featuring fresh-cut chicken breast, sliced sausage, onions and parmesan cheese, tossed in a saute pan with creamy white wine pink sauce. It’s an explosion of savory flavor Chef Mike used to cook with Uncle Mike. You can see the entire menu here.
Those family roots are the biggest reason why Chef Mike’s remains in a high level of quarantine mode. The restaurant for example is still open only for curbside take-out and outdoor dining.
The reason? The child of one of Chef Mike’s employees has an autoimmune deficiency that leaves him highly vulnerable to Covid.
“We continue to provide delicious food for our neighbors and friends from far and wide but have remained closed for indoor dining,” said Fucci. “It’ the least we can do for the Chef Mike’s family.”
