Rita d’Angelp and Marisa locco

MARISA
IOCCA and RITA d’ANGELO • 4Os • EXECUTIVE CHEF and
GENERAL MANAGER

of
BRICCO and UMBRIA • BOSTON

PROFILE
Marisa Iocca and Rita d’Angelo get a gleam in their eyes
when they talk food and wine, which is almost constantly –
they get possessed, conspirational, gleeful. These two
Adriatic women from near Pescara are abrim with daring and
fun – they are dreamers of creative dishes, poets of
matching them with drink. Not two years into their
successful tenure at Bricco, as chef and general manager,
they’ve expanded their horizons by launching Umbria, a
restaurant exploring the unsung cuisine of that green, misty
province between Abruzze and Toscana. Umbria is the
five-story space in restaurant impresario Frank di
Pasquale’s original Il Panino. Bricco has a lively bar scene
even for the North End, but Umbria is dedicating two entire
floors to dining and three to socializing. General manager
Rosemary Sharry and club manager Frank Recupero fill out the
front ranks at Umbria, where the wine list focuses on
Central Italy and beer and spirits range
internationally.

MAKING
MAGIC We’re home-gals
from Orsogna, Abruzze – our families and we are lifelong
friends. When Marisa came to Boston it was just a matter of
time before we opened Galleria Italiana in 1989. We opened
for breakfast and lunch, introducing the Combat Zone to
pasta buffet; pretty soon Afro-Americans were saying ‘ciao!’
and ‘grazie!’. It was a big deal! We served a glass of wine
with buffet – unheard of in 199O! We’d pour Trebbiano, Pinot
Grigio, Argiolas Vermentino (we still love it!), Chianti,
Dolcetto, hearty Monti Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. Later we
opened for dinner; Barbara Lynch and Cat Silirie joined us
from 1994 to 6 (after Rocco, before Nine Park). Cat taught
us a lot, especially American wines – Sky and Ravenswood
Zinfandels, French and Australian Syrah/Shiraz – that work
so well with Marisa’s cuisine, Italian with an upscale
American twist. We had fabulous wine dinners, like a white
truffle dinner with Battaioli of Piemonte, a Pugliese dinner
with Leone di Castriis. We kept it going until
2OO1.

OLD and NEW
VENTURES We opened La
Bettola in the South End in 1997. Since it was an upscale
fusion of Marisa’s Italian with Rene Michelina’s Filippine
cuisine, we wrote a totally different wine list, featuring
Rieslings, Gewurztraminer, Alsace. Umbria is the first time
we’re not owners, that we’re working for someone. Frank gave
us a blank canvas that we can paint on. He’s passionate
about food, has a platinum palate and is a
gentleman.

WINE
CULTURE TAKES HOLD
Rita: Growing up in Abruzze, I drank Montepulcianos, mostly
made by my father. When I was barely one or two, at table
with family, they’d ask, ‘How do you like papa’s wine?’ I’d
stick a finger in the glass, lick it and say ‘mmmmm!’ (She
pokes her cheek with her index finger.) At home we drank
wine – if it was fish, it’d be light; if pasta, another one;
if game or rabbit, a third one. In America, people used to
drink Coca Cola or coffee with Italian meals. That doesn’t
happen much any more – thank God! People realize that what
used to be offered as Italian food in the States really
wasn’t Italian food, but Italo-American.

the REAL
DEAL Marisa: Our dishes
are all about authenticity – we make all our pastas, breads
and desserts in house. Our vegetables come from Verrill
Farms (Concord), our pork from Corabuta, fish from Captain
Marden’s. Umbria to me is earthy but elegant. I’m redefining
luxury by simplicity. Tuscany has got all the attention, but
next to my region, I love Umbrian cuisine the best. Some of
the best agriturismo olive oils come from Monte Rosello. I
use only EVOO all the time! The wine list at Umbria will
focus on central Italy. Umbrian cuisine has game, truffles
and lake-fish. The best Umbrian chefs revisit old food with
a modern touch, present ancient dishes in a chi-chi way.
Umbrians have a flair for heavy foods, but they really want
to make lighter foods because it’s less familiar, exotic.
Just as world foods are becoming accessible to Umbria,
Italian products are becoming available to Boston. Chefs are
seeking boutique produce, not just wholesale, so this recent
push for a new food market is valuable.

DISH MEETS
GLASS At Bricco, I
chose an all-Italian list to suit Marisa’s cooking. It was
exciting! Her chef’s choice menu changes daily, and I always
recommend wines by the glass with each course. Favorite
combinations: T-bone veal chop with ribollita and Tuscan
kale, with Travaglini’s Gattinara (I bought it all!) or
Produttori di Barbaresco. Good bargains, great year (1997)!
Fresh cod loin roasted in garlic served with dry tomato flan
and salad of arugula, prosciutto cotto and green apple,
served with Jermann’s Dreams, Valentini’s Trebbiano or Bruno
Verdi’s Riesling. Maine lobster cracked on fresh a
shell-bean guazzetto, cheek-prosciutto gnocchi and poached
fennel – this may sound crazy, but with a tasty Dolcetto
d’Alba, Seghesio or Sottimano.

PERSONAL
WIZARDRY Sometimes I
choose a wine after I meet the maker. Wines may take on the
personality of the producer – if the winemaker’s personality
is flat or monochromatic, the wines may not excite me. Two
women from Piemonte – Elena and Cristina from Brovia – make
Arneis, Dolcetto and Barolo that are unbelievable! Roberto
and Massimo, brothers from Ferrando, do great work up near
the Aosta border – their Carema and Erbaluce are superb, and
they are fun people! Let’s not forget Au Bon Climat’s
Viognier. Jim Clendennon, a crazy person who runs the
winery, is a favorite of ours.

BEERS and
SPIRITS We serve Peroni
and Moretti beers, of course, and lots of handcrafted
bottles. We are strong in aperitifs: Montenegro, Averna,
Cynar, Vecchia Romagna brandies, the Limoncello you have to
stock! Bricco has a lively bar scene, unusual for Italian
restaurants in America, but in keeping with bars in Italy.
Having a glass of Prosecco before dinner at the bar is just
what happens in the Veneto and elsewhere. You can also have
a post-prandial at our bar. After 11pm, we go into a lighter
mode, serving gourmet pizza. Marisa: I make a Rain Vodka
martini with organic amarene (wild cherries) and ratafia,
wild cherries with Montepulciano d’Abbruzzo.

STAFF of
LIFE Marisa: Since
Rita, the bartender and the waiters are my voice to the
customers, I want them to taste and explain to them every
single dish. I want them to ask questions, say what’s their
favorite, what’s not. Rita: We want them to be able to
gently recommend wines that they think best suit the
dishes.

WINES at
WILL We have a long
list of wines by the glass at Bricco, and will continue it
at Umbria. Since Bricco is an enoteca (wine bar), we’ll open
any bottle we have. If you want a glass of 1997 Brunello,
I’ll open the bottle – but it’ll cost ya! Our corkage fee is
$3O.

PURE
POSTPRANDIALS Our
grappa list is long. Sometimes I make desserts with grappa,
like semifreddo or poached fruit and torta. I usually prefer
Jacopo Poli’s grappas – they’re the best. People flinch
because they think it’s too strong, though the flavors are
pure. But if you pour grappa with different desserts – the
sweet and the powerful – people are more open to try
it.

PHILOSOPHY
We’ve been in this business 17 years, and we still love it.
We dream and talk about food all the time; learn about food,
revisit the wine list, and flavors every day. We want to
improve our wine and food knowledge, because knowledge is
power.