A new restaurant in Florida has all your favorite Utica foods, and it's because one man wanted to bring his New York roots to his community.

Daniel Rabice was born and raised in Utica. When he lived in the area, he was a chef at numerous locations.

I was a chef at Creative Chefs at Lakeview Restaurant in Sherril with the Late Matt Barone. I also worked 10 years at Nicky and Johnny's at the Ramada Inn in New Hartford, NY there I worked with the Late Joey Morrelle who invented Greens.

Rabice ended up moving to Florida but was still inspired by how great the food in our area was. While there, he was in charge of running an Italian restaurant in Bradenton, FL called Lamantini Trattoria. Up until May of 2021, he served many Utica favorites, but then the owner retired.

A lot of 315ers visited me there. When the owner retired, I looked for work in Saint Pete where I live. I instantly stumbled upon a great opportunity to showcase my talents.

That opportunity came from a guy by the name of Josh Cameron, who owns different restaurants in the Saint Pete area like The Oyster Bar, The Crafty Squirrel, among others. Rabice says that Cameron had just acquired an Italian restaurant and trusted him enough to hire him, and run the business.

I get to run all my menus, which are all Italian and 315/Utica Inspired.

Just by taking a look at the extensive menu, you get just that when you visit A Mano Italian Ristorante in St. Pete: Utica Greens, Chicken Riggies, Everything Wings, Stuffed Long Hots, New York Style Pizza, and so many other delicious meals that remind visitors of our home region.

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The restaurant just opened this week, and from the sounds of it, the staff is already very busy.

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