Elite Tasting at Fortunato Brothers

My favorite bakery ever. Always fresh and has the best cannoli’s in NY and let’s not forget those rainbow cookies!!! On point every time You must try them!!!

As a small child, I often visited my father at his work with the intention of luring him to the cookie store down the block. It has been a very long time since I have been to that old italian bakery but thankfully Unilocal introduced me to Fortunato’s, who brought back the love of italian pastries and cookies that I have not sampled in years. The bakery is lined with glass cases filled with endless amounts of cookies, cakes and shining marzipan figures of fruits as well as seafood. For those who would like to enjoy their desserts right away, there are a handful of tables provided but I am certain you’d need to oust the regular that has been sitting there every day for years.
Arriving to the first Elite event of the new year, we were seated at a long row of tables in a narrow side area of the bakery. Our coffee orders were taken (I strongly suggest the cappuccino but the hot chocolate looked delicious) and we settled in. We quickly shouted our hellos to friends down at the opposite end of the table as the first trays of treats were served. The guys and gals at Fortunato’s did not skimp, nor did they slow down. Tray after tray of cookies, cream puffs, cakes and cannolis arrived as we slowly but surely rode the crest of the sugar and caffeine high. While I am no expert on the subject, I was thrilled to be able to sample so many treats I have had my eye on but was not able to try. The cookies were superb, from rainbow, pignoli, pistachio and chocolate covered. The cream filled treats (cannoli and cream puffs) were smooth and perfectly sweetened. The tiramisu and cheesecakes were on point and that is coming from a girl that doesn’t often enjoy them!
Thanks to Unilocal,Peter D and the friendly, welcoming staff of Fortunato’s for hosting such a perfect starting event to the year. I appreciate new knowledge of where to get my next sugar rush!

thought about starting this review with a pun/​comment about «fortune»; Fortunato Brother’s cookies; fortune cookies… then i realized how bad it was, but i felt compelled to walk you through how bad that joke was going to be…
what’s not a JOKE? the addictive dessert created and crafted by the Fortunato Brothers Café. la dolce vita (the sweet life) indeed, yo!
when you talk about moments of the «sweet life” – i definitely want this old school Italian bakery catering my real-​life movie.
a large neighborhood bakery – brightly lit clean (inside and outside). large windows run around the perimeter of the café. delicious cakes in display on one side of the windows and the other side of the window shows off a lot of cozy seating and small tables.
upon entering – you’re in the thick of the retail section of the bakery with glass case upon glass case of cookies, cakes, pastries of all kinds, and a fantasy island of gelato flavors.
good amount of small tables and chairs. feels like a great place to sit-​down with friends and catchup over coffee n desserts; or a great excuse not to drink after dinner and just eat more; or a meetup spot for a casual first date place. i’d even say it’s a good break-​up place since no soon-​to-​be significant other will cause a ruckus with so much sweetness about! lol. yeah i’m that guy –the one with break-​up places.
Peter D. kicked off this event with a small chat about Fortunato Brothers and what the night would entail: DELICIOUSNESS X DESSERT X MORE DESSERT!!! then the publicity folks for the restaurant thanked us for coming through and shot some iPhone video without telling us (lol). Then it began a nonstop flow of finger-​sized desserts…
dranks? some Unilocal folks ordered coffee, lattes, cappuccinnos, etc. to up soon-​to-​had sugar highs with a rocket boost of caffeine! i didn’t partake but heard the warm beverages were top-​noptch.
eats? i tried to try as much as possible: rainbow cookies, tiramisu, cannoli, biscotti, pignoli cookies, cream puffs, cheesecake, pistachio etc. i definitely tapered my sugar high with h20, but by the end of the night… i was bouncing off the walls like a six-​year-​old who ate a tub of frosting.
my favorites eats of the night were the delicate cream puff, tasty pignoli cookies, and amazing cannoli. everything really was great. no complaints at all. the waves of food being carried out by the staffers was overwhelming and multiplied my calorie count for the day! lol. all worth it. we also got a blood orange gelato at the end of pastry-​palooza and were invited to try more gelato flavor and/​or desserts. super generous.
staff was incredibly hardworking and helpful (both in terms of running down requests and answering qs about the desserts themselves. it showed in both the amount of food they brought out, but also the store itself which was immaculate. i don’t think i have been to a café/​bakery that’s been cleaner, especially in the NYC area. cray.
though it was a relatively small group of Unilocalers, we packed in one wing of the bakery. and yeah, we brought the «loudness.» maybe it was the acoustics, maybe it was the sugar and carbs, or caffeine… but we were noisy. Erin P., seated to my right, probably went deaf in one ear bc i was yelling insanity at Chuck C. who returned my insanity with equal levels of crazy (so Erin’s probably deaf in both ears). another Elite Unilocalette sat to my left i couldn’t hear anything she was saying, so i mouthed and said nonsense in response. apparently it musta made sense since we had a 5 – 10 minute conversation that went dead when i started talking about my captain America t-​shirt laundry. so there’s that.
loved seeing some of my favorite familiar faces: Erin, Chuck, and Mitch. and then meeting and having a conversation with some new folks like Paige, Alicia, Matteo, and Jackie. anyway, it was a very energetic pack of people – perfect for a sugary night in
Williamsburg!
things i learned at this event that have nothing to do with this event:
1) Peter D. won NO penmanship awards as a kid, but his dope block writing adorned everyone’s name tag. true story!
2) Mitch E. can build a Mt. Everest of napkins soaked in coffee as i saw him construct one by one. just when you thought all the spilt java in the saucer was soaked… there was more to be sponged up.
3) Chuck C. loves fennel (this will come handy at Xmas time)
4) people at the other end of the Unilocal table were «the Others» as in LOST
5) Matteo R. likes cookies
6) Erin P. is trapped within a timeout within a timeout. it’s like Inception except without the cool special effects.
7) Peter is a Unilocal’s cool uncle. unfortunately he owns a Unilocal onesie which cancels out said coolness
A big thank you to Peter & his team of merry helpers for putting together such a great event in Brooklyn and to Fortunato Brothers Café as well for inviting us and letting us sample all their many wondrous eats!
drops mic carefully so as not to hit any pastries cuz i’z hungry!
i out!

What a sweet way to start the 15′ elite season (sorry I had to). Nestled on the quiet corner where Devoe and Manhattan meet, is a seriously old school Italian bakery; it’s easy to picture the guys from Goodfellas eating a cannoli and shooting the breeze in this place. The delicious pastries, good company, and intimate seating arrangement added up to a great time.
I should really preface this review by mentioning that I am an Italian bakery novice. It’s not that I don’t like the little pastries and cakes they serve, but outside of the basics I get lost (fast). This was a great chance to try all of the little bites I’d seen at places like this, but wasn’t brave (or smart) enough to try. I get the hype now, this stuff rocks. From the three layer cake and pistachio cookies, everything was decadently good (looking at you cream puff, will 100% be back for more!!!). The fine folks at Fortunato Brothers were kind enough to let us try what seemed like their entire line up, they even paired it with a hot drink of choice (I had a cappuccino that was done superbly well). I have to admit that I was a little jealous of the hot chocolate, it looked absolutely amazing; in the end though the bitterness of the cappuccino balanced out the sweet bites, and made them even better. The gelato looked really good, but I was too sugared out after the countless rounds of sweets to ask for any (they were so accommodating, we could have no doubt tried a few flavors).
This place really is as authentic as you could ask for; I can’t wait to come back with a small group, order up a few pastries and a coffee and pretend that I’m Henry Hill (you know, minus the cocaine trafficking and jail time). Thanks as always to Peter D for pulling all this together, and huge shout out to the planners at Fortunatos — this event was a blast!

If I began my review with how I burnt the roof of my mouth a few days prior, you might think I’m trying to show off again. About how I have a luxurious lifestyle in which I eat potatoes, which I do. However, I promise it is relevant to the story.
Before walking over to the event, I mentioned how I really wish there was gelato at the event. To help sooth the roof of my mouth. After we tried plates and plates of delicious desserts, we had the ability to request more up front. Right there in front of me was a whole display of nothing but gelatos.
Not only did I get gelato, but I got red velvet gelato. It satisfied both my sense of touch and taste simultaneously. So good!
The other treats were fantastic as well. Pignoli cookies are not easy to come by. They are super expensive, but for a reason. It’s in high demand and there aren’t a lot of those nuts to go around. They were unreal. The cheesecakes and cannolis were also amazing!
Next time I’m in the neighborhood getting dinner, I’ll be sure to stop in here for dessert. Especially if I burn the roof of my mouth.
Thank you Fortunato Brothers for hosting such a sweet event. And to Peter D for setting it up!

This was a great way to start off Elite 15′…
Fortunato Brothers is a very charming restaurant, I’m happy that I got a chance to enjoy it. This place is what old school Italian looks like. It has been in the neighborhood since the 70’s and it is still thriving.
This was a very intimate Elite event. We sat together and enjoyed delicious desserts as well as coffee and tea. Everything was amazing, delectable, and worth every calorie.
We were given the opportunity to try several desserts. Tray after tray of baked goodness flooded the tables and overflowed from the plates of each elite. Each dessert was made to perfection and the taste was in a category all its own.
My favorite desserts of the night were the cannoli, the cream puff, and the cheese cake. I loved everything but those three stood out the most. The cannoli was fresh and oh so flavorful. The cream puff was surprisingly delicious because the cream inside was light and the puff was very airy which made for a great combination. The cheese cake was so decadent, so rich, and so incredibly good.
I also enjoyed the pistachio cookies and the tiramisu. I can’t get past how fresh everything was. Each bite was better than the last and the final bite of each confection lingered on my tongue for as long as it could before I started on the next dessert.
Thank you Peter for introducing us to this fine establishment and welcoming us in such a great fashion to Unilocal Elite 15′. Thank you to Fortunato Brothers and all of its wonderful staff for opening your doors and allowing us to take your seats for the night. This was truly a treat and I appreciate it. I will definitely be back for more cannolis and cheesecake.
FYI, if you’re craving really good pastries and you are in the neighborhood, stop by and get anything. They stay open pretty late which is always a plus in NYC.

I was a complete Cookie Monster last night!!!
Thanks to Peter D. and the generous invitation I was was able to taste so much sweets that was offered to us.
Everything was so delicious and fresh. I especially enjoy the pistachio cookies. Not only was the taste outstanding but I loved the fact that it has so much encrusted pistachio in it. For me that was definitely quality in every bite.
I also like the small group setting. It made the experience so much more intimate and to be able to sit down with other Unilocalers’ to chat with was certainly a charm.
One more thing, I also thought it was really cute how the owner, who is an older gentleman, was too shy to say hello but was lingering around to see us enjoying his beautiful bakery!
THANK YOU WITH A CHERRY ON TOP!!!

Nothing beats getting a major sugar high before bedtime…
This was a wonderfully cozy, intimate event of about 20 people squeezed at a long table, indulging in sugary sweetness. Fortunato Brothers was gracious in hosting us and they generously brought us platters and platters of yummy desserts. I enjoyed the cannolis, biscotti, cookies, tiramisu, cakes, gelato… can’t even remember all of it, there were so many! My favorites were the pignoli cookies and the gelato. Those cookies were so soft and almond sweet, and the nuts added a nice crunch texture. The blood orange gelato — need I say more? You can’t go wrong with blood orange anything.
Very much enjoyed the good company, nice meeting new faces and seeing some old ones. Thanks Peter and Fortunato Brothers for putting together this great event!

This event was fabulous!
I loved the intimacy of it – I think periodic Elite events such as these would be awesome. I liked being able to sit and talk to Elites one-​on-​one. I met a lot of nice people and really enjoyed myself. The space was small and we were all sitting close but that didn’t stop us all from shouting at each other – the true Italian way of conversation (Reminded me of being at my Naun’s for our 6+ hour dinners).
Late night sweets (9 – 10 pm) kept me up past by bedtime (finally hit the sack at 11:30!) but it was worth it to meet new people and eat some amazing deserts at Fortunato Bros. My favorite was definitely the pistashio cookie… it was like a pistashio muffin (that electric green color) with whole pistashios on top. I’ll be back for those, for sure. The cheesecake was also decadent… it tasted like it was 90% ricotta and no complaints there from me.
I wish we tried the pasta chote!
Thanks Peter for an awesome event! Can’t wait for the next Elite gathering.

Grazie Fortunato Brothers for the wonderful treats last night. You welcomed us in, fed us amazing desserts, and everyone had a great time!
We enjoyed samples of cannolis, biscotti, pignoli pine nut cookies, cheesecake, rainbow cookies, tiramisu, cream puffs, pistachio cookies, chocolate cake, blood orange gelato… am I missing anything? Everything was decadent and authentic. The pignolis were my favorite, with marzipan baked into the cookie dough and with a generous helping of pine nuts pressed into the top. The cream in the puffs and the cannolis was incredibly flavorful and just the right heaviness. The tiramisu has a heavy hand of rum and the cheesecake has the delicate texture from ricotta cheese. The blood orange gelato was the perfect consistency and refresher to end the evening. In addition, we had teas and coffee, which complemented the sweets perfectly. I wish I could have ordered a latte — next time!
This Unilocal event was one of my favorites and a perfect way to get to know Unilocal Brooklyn after my years of Queens events. I have a soft spot for sweets and introverted me loved getting to know the ladies around me better rather than worrying about mingling and juggling plates. More like this please!

Yet another great event organized by Peter D. The sweets were all incredible; my favorite was the tasty mini cannoli. Loved the intimate ambiance; meeting the nice, welcoming the staff; learning about and supporting a long-​standing small business; and meeting new and old elite.
Thanks for getting the year off to a sweet start!

Move over, Wilfred Brimley. I am the new spokesperson for Diabetes.
I am not usually a desserts type of person — give me post dinner cheese plate any day — but once in a while there are desserts that are so good that I am happy to forego savory for sweet. This was one of those times. When Italian pastries are authentic like this, it really is one of the best things in the world.
I probably shouldn’t have had coffee so late at night, but at least I was so awake that I got to lay in bed until 3 am thinking about how good Fortunato’s was.

Unilocal 2015 started in the sweetest possible way!
This intimate event (only 20 of us, apparently) took place at an old-​school Italian café, featuring an impressive array of classic Italian desserts and a couple of inventive takes on a classic.
We were seated all together, and then served an inordinate amount of delicious treats. It would have been impossible to try every single one (although I did try…), but among the things I liked the most were the cannoli, the cream puffs, the ricotta cheesecake, the pignoli cookies, and the pistachio cookies. I really loved the pistachio cookies: it was an original take on the pignoli cookies, and they were really delicious. I also loved the orange blossom gelato that we got towards the end of the event.
One thing that I really liked about all the desserts I had the opportunity to sample is that they were not too sweet. That means that you can actually taste different flavors in each item, not just sugar. More importantly: you can eat a lot of them without feeling stuffed.
Thank you Peter and all the people at Fortunato Brothers for an amazing evening. Loved every bite of it.

So I swore off sweets… excepts for today… then no more sweets… for the rest of… this review.
Big ups to Peter for hosting this late night get together where a small group of Elites were spoiled with sweets… it was like we had our own Italian grandmother spoiling us before we got to bed.
We were given a good amount of sweets including biscotti, cheesecake (plain and chocolate), cookies with pine nuts, cannoli, some puffed pastry with cream on the inside and tiramisu… just to name a few things. My favorite was the tiramisu. It was so good and not too sweet, not to dry… it was just right.
This is a great place to meet friends… or an internet date. Get a tea or coffee and some sweets and stare into each others eyes. Or your phone. Your preference!

It’s midnight and I’m still on a sugar overload and caffeine HIGH. I haven’t eaten so much sweets since Trick or Treating when I was a kid.
I never had the fortune of knowing about Fortunato Brothers until this Brooklyn Unilocal Elite Event 2015. And I so was fortunate that Peter D got me onto this truly Elite Table of Twenty (ETT?).
It was a small crowd and everyone had a great time. The chatter was deafening and bouncing off the walls… at least until we started eating.
There were so many perfect Italian desserts that came down the table! I am not a sweet-​tooth but everything looked so delish that of course I had to try almost one of everything (sometimes two). My favorites were the mini cannoli, the tiramisu, the green pistachio cookie, the decadent cream puff, the cheesecake, the cappuccino and the cup of ice water to wash it all down.
This was like squeezing 3 weeks of holiday desserts into one hour, with a taste of gelato as I waddled out.
I’m halfway glad that I had to rush home to work on a project. I couldn’t eat another bite. Thanks Fortunato Brothers, your awesome bakers and staff, and Peter D for a grande YEE 2015 kickoff! I’m looking forward to the next ones!

Self-​discovery time: apparently I do eat a lot of Italian sweets on regular basis, since every bite rang true in my mouth, and every name roll off my tongue as soon as I saw the desserts brought around.
Coming to Fortunato’s was almost like coming home — everything was so familiar and so incredibly fresh and delicious.
It also felt like stepping back through time — truly authentic recipes, sweets made with knowledge and passion that hard to find this days…
Sitting there in narrow sidewalk alcove, devouring freshest cheesecake you ever had, biting into incredibly smooth & crunchy cannoli, savoring every spoonful of tiramisu and enjoying pignoli cookies that were out of this world — there was no better way to start 2015 Unilocal-​year.
Surely, we got loud — but how you NOT be loud in Italian pastry shop? This is how you talk from your heart and soul, no reservations. OK, OK, may be sugar rush added to the hype.
Thank you, Peter, for organizing this — and thank you Fortunato’s for sharing your passion with us!