The best take out in the city might be on Hemphill Avenue at Giovanni di Palma's rapidly expanding Italian food district he calls Piazza San Gennaro. And no, I'm not talking about Antico Pizza Napoletana but it's sister restaurant Gio's Chicken Amalfitano. It is no secrety that Gio's makes "shockingly good" chicken. John Kessler described Gio's cooking method thusly:
The chickens cook in a roasting oven set at a “slow, low temperature” for a little more than an hour. After it roasts, the cooks chop the chicken through the bone into chunky pieces, then charbroil it in sauté pans with flavor-infused olive oil and seasonings until the skin crisps. Gio’s serves several flavors of roasted chicken, including one with sliced blood oranges and rosemary, and Amalfi style chicken with roasted olives and onion. After the chicken crisps, the cooks add some chicken stock and Romano cheese to the pan juices and serve it up.The great thing about Gio's is that it works perfectly for take-out. I love Antico Pizza, but despite the air vent in the take-out box, the dough tends to get soggy by the time you get it home. There are no such issues with Gio's, where the pool of sauce is the prize.
This past Sunday, the Spring weather was ideal and I brought two of my favorites from Gio's for a post-Masters treat.
Arrancia Rosa
This is essentially the same dish as the Capri style orange chicken but made with Moro blood oranges, which have unique, almost berry-like flavors. This is available only while blood oranges are in season (winter and early Spring). The blood oranges mix amazingly well with the rosemary and garlic.
Cacciatore
Gio's serves the classic "hunter's style" chicken on Sundays only. It is pretty classic with bell pepper, San Marzano tomatoes and mushrooms, but the sauce is over the top good. I think it is the red wine in the sauce that sets it off.
1099 Hemphill Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30318
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