Know where to track down Italian nachos? The correct, if somewhat unexpected, answer is Cunetto’s Corner Cucina in downtown Edwardsville, now undergoing a renaissance as new restaurants and watering holes emerge up and down Main Street and the surrounding blocks.
There’s Cleveland-Heath, of course, whose meteoric rise to prominence in the area dining scene shows no signs of letting up. But a rapid procession of others have opened their doors, too, including Stur, Uncle Munkey’s, soon-to-open Gulf Shores and the recently opened Cunetto’s, located at 1114 N. Main St. (The restaurant opened quietly on May 11, as first reported by the Edwardsville Intelligencer.)
Those nachos have become a best-selling appetizer there, according to chef and manager Mike Cunetto. He invented the dish: fried lasagna noodles topped with meat sauce, Provel cheese, black olives, pepperoncinis and Parmesan cheese. “People love them,” he said. “It’s a unique item.”
Cunetto, who studied at the Chicago Culinary Institute and has previously owned restaurants in Alhambra, Greenville and Vandalia, Illinois, as well as St. Louis, has labored to create a diverse menu, venturing beyond his background in Italian cuisine to new territory.
“It’s mostly Italian, but there’s something for everybody,” he said.
Twelve sandwiches currently populate the menu, such as the bison burger, Alaskan white fish burger, fish tacos and the popular Italian beef. “I throw a little twist on it and make it Philadelphia style and added cheese, sweet peppers and onions,” Cunetto said.
Traditional fare like steaks and fried chicken are also on the menu, as well as a pomegranate-glazed pork chop. Vegetarian offerings include a portobello mushroom sandwich and the vegan fettuccine. Cunetto said the house-made gooey butter cake is another fan favorite, made by his mother, who also works as a server in the restaurant.
Cunetto’s Corner Cucina is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and 4 to 9 p.m. Saturdays.
This article appears in Readers’ Choice 2014.