Starting with Spritz: Brera nails the spirit of the casual business lunch

Factory Place Hospitality Group’s Italian restaurant Brera has a well-loved and lauded dining destination in the Arts District of Downtown LA.

Leave it to Francine Diamond-Ferdinandi — principal partner and beverage program director for Factory Place Hospitality Group — to reinvent the notorious “three-martini lunch.”

Popularized in the 1960s as a fixture of Madison Avenue “Mad Men” culture, the three-martini afternoon repast has become an icon of a more privileged and patriarchal past.

The sprightly Italian spritz may not seem like an intuitive replacement for the martini but indeed, the combination flight of three novel spritzes that Diamond-Ferdinandi has devised for a prix-fixe lunch at Brera — the group’s well-loved and lauded Italian restaurant in the Arts District — helps nail the spirit of a relaxed and languorous business lunch.

“It’s not the same but that’s how it started, the whole idea: ‘Why don’t we do a three-spritz lunch?’” Diamond-Ferdinandi said.

“They’re small (servings), you’re not going to get drunk. They’re small. Some are sweeter, some are more bitter because we use some Amaro. They’re all delicious, they’re all pretty.”

Diamond-Ferdinandi went on to explain the basis of the drink and concept.

“The classic spritz in Italy was always Aperol with some prosecco and a little splash of soda water and an orange slice,” Diamond-Ferdinandi said.

“It’s refreshing, it’s slightly sweet, it’s bubbly. Last time I was in Italy, many people, like myself, prefer the Campari spritz. You use Campari instead of Aperol. And then I noticed that many people (order) the ‘half and half.’ They do half Aperol, half Campari. So that seemed to be a twist on it, even in Italy.”

Diamond-Ferdinandi was duly inspired to invent new twists of her own. Collaborating with her cocktail mixologists, Tom Costello and Taylor Hall, the team began decocting some notably new takes on the classic spritz.

The three results emerging from Brera’s spritz lab reflect Diamond-Ferdinandi’s innate creativity and sophisticated taste. Served in petite 6-ounce “Nick and Nora” cocktail glasses, a briskly effervescent prosecco provides the base canvas for each of these fresh spritzes.

Here Comes the Sun blends a local Amaro — Amaro Angeleno with the family-owned Meletti from central Italy. The Angeleno’s lightly bitter citrus combines with the Meletti’s saffron and lavender notes here, garnished with a fresh orange slice. It’s both bright and dry.

Island in the Sun pairs Aperol with St. Elder elderflower liqueur for a full-bodied, slightly sweeter floral spritz. It’s appropriately and elegantly garnished with edible flowers.

When the Sun Goes Down incorporates Cappelletti, a Piemontese aperitivo with a base of fortified Trebbiano wine, balanced with a splash of Cio Ciaro Amaro. Finished with a fresh grapefruit twist, this spritz has a refreshingly complex depth with a clean, cola-like finish.

The spritz flight accompanies a simple and delectable three-course lunch at $55.

The special three-course lunch menu is comprised of tonnato salad, with a blended toss of escarole, radicchio and frisee with a tuna caper dressing sprinkled with pistachios; a classic Neapolitan-style Margherita pizza prepped with San Marzano tomato sauce, fior di latte mozzarella and fresh oregano; and gelato with a choice of vanilla, chocolate, mixed berry, pistachio, hazelnut or banana scoops.

As Diamond-Ferdinandi noted, the spritz flight is served first.

“We didn’t pair the spritzes (with the courses),” she said.

“They come out first. The idea is to start with the spritz.”

The spritz is meant to stimulate the appetite for the courses to come.

“It really opens the palate,” she added.

Diamond-Ferdinandi is French-Canadian from Montreal and met her husband and partner, Matteo Ferdinandi, in Los Angeles, while both were working at the former Harvey’s Bar and Grill in Century City. Matteo was an aspiring general manager and Francine was focused on developing her skills as a sommelier.

After marrying in 1998, they moved to New York City and were plotting their own venue, when 9/11 disrupted their plans and they returned to Los Angeles in 2002. The ambitious young couple soon landed in chef Wolfgang Puck’s burgeoning culinary empire.

Matteo served as general manager of Spago Las Vegas, while Francine ran the education program. In the meantime, she advanced to her diploma with the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and ultimately certification as sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers.

They returned to Los Angeles from Las Vegas to open Puck’s CUT Steakhouse in Beverly Hills, before the two became restless and determined to venture out on their own.

Partnering with chef Angelo Auriana, a native of Bergamo, Italy, as executive chef, the trio first opened Factory Kitchen in 2013. The opening of Brera and the pizzeria Sixth + Mill followed in 2016, ingeniously connected by a large, shared kitchen. Notably both Factory Kitchen and Sixth + Mill were acknowledged with Michelin Bib Gourmand citations in 2019.

With the onset of the pandemic lockdown the group closed Sixth + Mill and expanded Brera’s seating capacity into their expansive parking lot. Ultimately, their pandemic pivot resulted in the recent transformation and well-received opening of the Spanish-themed Flor y Solera in the former Sixth + Mill space next door. There, the shared kitchen is helmed by Barcelona native, chef Monica Angelats and where Diamond-Ferdinandi curates the restaurant’s unique sherry program. A long-time member of the team, Angelats also serves as chef de cuisine at Brera.

Invite business associates into the airy, soaring skylit dining room at Brera and relax with a flight of spritzes, before tucking into lunch. Close the deal over some fresh housemade gelato.

On again sampling her spritz flight, as ably served by Carlos Chavez, Diamond-Ferdinandi said, “It’s perfect for lunch. It’s not only for the summer but right now, when it’s hot it’s refreshing, it’s light, instead of just a glass of wine, which is fine too. But (try it) if you want something different, something you have never had before.”

Diamond-Ferdinandi summed up the secret of the group’s success in the Arts District.

“We have a good team,” she said. “We’re very proud of what we do. We’re in the hospitality business. We care about our guests, so when they leave, they can’t wait to come back. Come see us. We have the best food and the best cocktails!”

Brera

1331 E. Sixth Street

Arts District DTLA

213-553-8006

breraristorante.com

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