The chef-owners of iconic West Village Italian restaurant Don Angie, Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli, talk about their marriage and the nostalgic family memories behind the Italian American dishes they create together.
The duo makes fresh tagliatelle and meatballs filled with veal and beef, which is “an amalgamation of our families’ recipes,” Rito explains. They reminisce about being tasked with rolling meatballs by their grandmothers while growing up and eating meatballs fresh out of the fryer, as they mix up their own meatballs made with milk-soaked bread, plenty of pecorino Toscano, and cooked garlic.
Rito and Tacinelli make their own pasta from scratch, mixing together semolina, durum, and double zero flours. While the pasta dough rests and the meatballs cook they play a version of The Newlywed Game, mixing up their favorite colors and Rito’s favorite food city (which is Osaka, Japan). Tacinelli puts the pasta dough through his grandmother’s pasta machine as Rito tells the story of how they first met working at a NYC restaurant together 18 years ago.
Reminiscing about the Feast of Seven Fishes celebration with both of their families together and their own guilty pleasure meals, Rito and Tacinelli share their own guilty pleasures. While cooking up a quick red sauce, they talk about their favorite red sauce joints in New York and raising their four-year-old son together.
Finally, the meatballs are added to the “Sunday sauce,” along with the quickly cooked noodles, a dollop of butter, and squeeze of lemon juice. The classic dishes are plated with breadcrumbs, pecorino, herbs, and freshly cracked black pepper. Rico and Tacinelli share how their Italian American heritage brought them together as they dig into the meal.
Watch the first episode of Meals That Made Us on Eater at Home to see Rito and Tacinelli struggle to remember who said “I love you” first and create one of their most nostalgic dishes in Don Angie’s kitchen.
