Charleston Living Magazine Nov-Dec 2021

to pursue her own entrepreneurial dreams
and she quickly got to work transforming the
facility into a place to call her own, starting
with a new name.
“I renamed it to Amici’s because it means
‘friends’ in Italian,” French said, “and since
none of my extended family lives here, I knew
my friends would be with me and help me.”
To feel a little bit more at home, she
renovated the building’s interior to reflect the
favorite Italian restaurant she frequented as a
child in New York. Upon stepping through
the front doors, a large part of her customer
base immediately feels at home, too.
“It’s old school Italian. When everyone
from up North walks in, they say, ‘Oh my
gosh, it’s just like New York!’” she said.
That means red-and-white checkered
tablecloths and the iconic sounds of Dean
Martin and Frank Sinatra wooing patrons
over the speakers.
One thing’s certain—French and
Amici’s are the real deal for those looking for
the perfect dining destination with a menu,
décor and ambiance reminiscent of the bootshaped
Motherland.
More specifically, French characterizes
her menu items as “American-Italian” with
many of dishes and flavors stemming from
the Naples region of the Mediterranean
country. Think tantalizing staples like lasagna,
cheese ravioli, chicken marsala and eggplant
and chicken parmesan. But it’s the “chicken
Amici’s,” French said, that her son created,
that’s a “huge seller.”
But it’s every menu item that the kitchen
staff pours their heart and soul into handmaking
each day so customers receive fresh
and memorable fare.
“We make all our sauces homemade
every day; we bread our eggplant; bread our
chicken; stuff our manicotti,” French said.
“We have great servers; we treat everybody
like family.”
In addition to a cozy atmosphere and
hearty, satisfying meals, Amici’s offers its
patrons cooking classes and monthly wine
dinners that explore the labels and cuisine of
other cultures and countries.
And don’t forget about the dessert. The
menu features no shortage of sweets, including
limoncello cake, cannoli and French’s
favorite—the tiramisu.
“I make it homemade. It’s truly a labor
of love; it’s like a little piece of heaven on a
plate,” French said.
French largely commends her head chef,
Mike Mancino, with bringing the recipes to life.
French has no regrets about pursuing
her culinary passion and praises her family for
supporting her “every step of the way.”
“I wouldn’t be able to do it without my
husband and my family,” she said. “My husband
just watches me put in these long hours,
and he’s very supportive. “I love it; I truly love
what I do, but I don’t feel like it’s work.”
During the pandemic, Amicis’s gained
new customers as French found a unique opportunity
to start showcasing her talent to the
social media world through a cooking series.
She routinely posted cooking videos to Facebook,
and the response was overwhelming.
“It just truly took off and had 10k viewers,”
French said.
The success of her series prompted a new
project—writing a cookbook.
After a year of compiling her and her
family’s top recipes, she wrote a book, “My
Menu of Memories,” which she describes as
her greatest career achievement and a meaningful
act of love.
Released on Mother’s Day 2021, French
dedicated the publication to her mom. So far,
more than 500 copies have been sold.
“I feel like I’m keeping everything that
they taught me alive,” she said. “I don’t want
to forget anything, and I don’t want my kids
to forget anything, so I felt like putting it into
writing—it’s kind of like a legacy.” •
Amici’s is located at 7648 Northwoods Blvd and
open 4-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For
more information, visit amicisitalianbistro.com.
FOCUS ON FABULOUS CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY
November/December 2021 | 99