Fernando Bearari, who came on as manager two years ago, says he does not want that to change. But in the last year Bearari has used concepts from his native Brazil to create a new section in the restaurant’s menu. Now he says he is planning to expand the Brazilian recipes to accommodate the interest they have attracted.
“We started just one year ago with the Brazilian options,” Bearari said, “and it’s doing very well with not just the Brazilian community, but the Americans are liking—they like a lot of the [Brazilian] sausage, the cheese.”
Bearari, who has lived in the U.S. for nearly two decades, said that while New York-style pizzas still top Marinara’s sales numbers, his relationships with the Brazilian-American population in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have helped make the Brazilian portion of the menu an early success.
Members of several Brazilian churches have made it a weekly habit to stop by Marinara on weekends, Bearari said, including some from the far reaches of the Metroplex.
The Brazilian pizzas are prepared in much the same way as the restaurant’s New York options, Bearari said, with the same New York-style crust. The main difference, Bearari said, is in the specialty toppings.
“The way you do it, like the cheese—the cheese, we don’t find here [in the U.S.],” Bearari said. “The sausage, you cannot find it here. … Here, you don’t see people put eggs on the pizza.”
One of the signature toppings used on several Brazilian recipes at Marinara’s is catupiry, a Brazilian cheese that can be paired with chicken and oregano, or as part of a four-cheese pizza with oregano, mozzarella, Gorgonzola and Parmesan.
Bearari said Marinara’s roots as a New York-style diner remain central as he explores the new
recipes.
Marinara Pizza
1915 Central Expressway, Ste. 500, Plano
972-881-8884
www.marinarapizzatx.com
