The romance between Sima and Marcellino Verzino began in Rome decades ago and blossomed in the United States when they opened an Italian restaurant in 2003 in Phoenix, moving\u00a0Marcellino Ristorante to Old Town Scottsdale in 2010.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can only do one location with what we do,\u201d said Sima. \u201cWe do every single thing from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her husband grew up in the small town of Reino in rural Italy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was brought up on his family\u2019s farm,\u201d explained Sima. \u201cThey were farmers for as long as he can remember back to his grandparents, great-grandparents and beyond. They had a large piece of beautiful land there.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he was a little boy, there were animals. Of course, they raised vegetables: wheat, beans, everything you can think of. Marcellino helped.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the third of four children, he helped his siblings and local males with the summer harvest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a long day, so they would all have lunch,\u201d said Sima. \u201cSomeone was chosen to prepare lunch for all of the people who were working in the fields.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first time Marcellino was chosen to prepare the meal, he was probably 12. They were astounded and told Marcellino from that day on, he would be preparing their lunches.<\/p>\n
He had this affinity. He had a gift and it was realized at a young age. His mother passed on when he was 11 years old and he took over the cooking of the family. They didn\u2019t like the food of his older sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcellino moved to Rome when he was 16 and cooked for a famous socialite.<\/p>\n
A few years later, he opened a bar\/bistro at age 20.<\/p>\n
Sima moved to Rome in 1987.<\/p>\n
\u201cMusic was my life and I had received an invitation to come to Rome to perform at the famous Jackie O and then I got a record contract for American Dance Music shortly after, so I remained there,\u201d the native New York City resident said. \u201cI never went back home to New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n
Describing herself as \u201ca performer my entire life \u2013 stage, dance, voice, everything,\u201d Sima said she met Marcellino at a New Year\u2019s Eve private dinner.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe happened to sit next to each other and at the stroke of midnight, instead of kissing on the cheek, our lips met and that was the beginning of our love story.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple moved to New York in 1996 and got married.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter seven years, I looked at him and said, \u2018You need to stop making other people all this money. It\u2019s all about you. Let\u2019s do something together,\u2019\u201d said Sima. \u201cI had never been in the restaurant business. But I believed in him. I saw this brilliant artist who needed to flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sima and Marcellino then visited friends in Arizona.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe came here to visit and we fell in love with it and decided this is what we\u2019re going to do,\u201d Sima explained.<\/p>\n
Marcellino, who speaks with a strong Italian accent boasts, his menu offerings \u201care my creations\u201d \u2013 to which Sima added, \u201cYou won\u2019t find his cuisine anywhere \u2013 Not even in Italy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s able to innovate Italian classics with a spin and he adds his innovation on the dish and it becomes a Marcellino creation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one who isn\u2019t Italian would understand what his food is about. It\u2019s different because it\u2019s innovative. All of his pastas have infusions in them: herbs, sun-dried tomatoes, saffron and wine. And they are married with a few fresh ingredients.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just works. The ingredients he marries together are perfect explosions of taste.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn any person\u2019s culture who has come to America from another country and opened up their food, too many of them Americanize their food, which is not correct,\u201d Sima said. \u201cPeople want authenticity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Entrees at Marcellino\u2019s are typically not customized.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Marcellino has to take out a scallop because people are allergic to it, of course, he will,\u201d Sima explained. \u201cBut to make changes, it\u2019s no longer his dish. The server will try to find something pleasing to the customer\u2019s palate from Marcellino\u2019s arsenal.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s not just pasta. Italians eat everything. We have aged steaks. They\u2019re amazing. You can cut them with a fork. He brings in fish. It arrives in 24 hours. He cleans the fish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople love his prime rib and T-bone because it\u2019s so tender,\u201d said Sima, adding that Marcellino cooks individually for each guest. \u201cWe also bring in real Dover sole from Dover. People adore that. It\u2019s an amazing fish. As far as pasta, the fettuccine is infused with porcini mushroom and it\u2019s married with chunks of fresh Maine lobster, shiitake mushrooms, and drizzles of truffle oil.\u201d<\/p>\n
Italian pasta doesn\u2019t always have tomatoes in it, according to Sima.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are so many dishes that don\u2019t have tomato in them. In Italy, they make tortellini, the small ones, that you usually eat with broth or some light sauce. Marcellino makes a tortelloni, which is a huge pocket pasta filled with puree of filet mignon and saut\u00e9ed vegetables. And you can have it with tomato sauce or with butter and shaved truffles.\u201d<\/p>\n
The restaurant also serves imported gluten-free pasta.<\/p>\n
The homemade recipes and Marcellino\u2019s touch set the restaurant apart, Sima said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there are other reasons, such as our European fine dining service. Our team is amazing. It\u2019s an elegant way we serve people. People relax.\u201d<\/p>\n
The restaurant also has live music several times a week, and Sima performs with her trio several Saturdays a month.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have other great performers,\u201d she added. \u201cPeople come for all of these different reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
The restaurant also has events.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can come and have dinner and a movie in our private dining room,\u201d said Sima. \u201cWe have Italian-themed movies. So you can enjoy dinner and a movie with a group of up to 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a summer supper special of three courses for $55. And we have some lovely events at the bar \u2013 Lite Bites and Sips. Tuesday through Thursday, we do 50% off on select bottles of wine. There\u2019s always something happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Desserts are also made in-house.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe really beautiful thing about Marcellino\u2019s desserts is he uses less than half the sugar most people do,\u201d Sima added.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we don\u2019t mill the flour and we don\u2019t milk the cow,\u201d Marcellino added with a laugh.<\/p>\n
The Gelato is also imported. Sima said, \u201cI put my foot down. Marcellino wanted to make homemade gelato but I said, \u2018No way. You\u2019re not buying ice cream machines.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
No other family members run the restaurant.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcellino is the king of the kitchen and I\u2019m the queen of the front of the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of our family is back in Italy. I wish we did have family here. We do have some amazing staff who helps us run the restaurant. It allows us to take a vacation during the summer and the restaurant still runs like a clock.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcellino Ristorante<\/p>\n
7114 E. Stetson Drive, Scottsdale<\/p>\n