L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 13 L'Italo-Americano A Life Centered around Family and a Love of Cooking Festa Italiana br ings Italian fun to the Starlight Parade through Lake Oswego when he spied a new building for lease. He got about three blocks away before he turned around to get the phone number. "I was looking at the buil- ding and thinking that someone should open a restaurant there," he says. "I called my mom and we called the leasing company. The first thing they wanted to see was our business plan. We didn't even have one; we just thought it would be fun!" After getting a second chan- ce to make their presentation, they signed a lease and Tucci Ristorante opened. Named after his grandmother, the restaurant w a s a n i n s t a n t s u c c e s s . I n a n o t h e r n o d t o h i s G r a n d m a Tucci, the restaurant features the original Lido neon sign in the Lido Bar. "The Lido was already clo- sed when the building burned," Gregg remembers. "I was able t o s a v e t h e s i g n b e f o r e t h e demolition." Having traveled extensively i n I t a l y , G r e g g h a s c o m e t o a p p r e c i a t e t h e I t a l i a n p h i l o - s o p h y o f c o o k i n g w i t h l o c a l foods and supporting local far- mers. It is a philosophy that he uses at Tucci and shares with Executive Chef Jeff Emerson. Tucci has its own garden plot at a local farm where they grow b a s i l , e g g p l a n t a n d s u m m e r squash. They also buy produce from other farms. By the end of summer each year, they are get- ting about 98 percent of their produce straight from the farm. C h e f K u r t S p a k , f o r m e r owner of Alba, has recently joi- ned the Tucci family, bringing years of expertise with pasta production to the menu. I t i s d i f f i c u l t t o c h o o s e a favorite dish at Tucci, but the Pappardelle Lamb Ragu and the spaghetti top Gregg's list. "I love our spaghetti, it is so basic and simple and so flavorful." When asked his go-to item at home, he confesses to making a fantastic meatloaf. "Everyone likes my meatloaf! I use a mix of beef and veal and pork." While he has worked predo- minately in the restaurant busi- ness, very few know that Gregg is also a licensed funeral direc- tor in Oregon, getting his start at Holman's Funeral Home. He still works with Holman's occa- sionally. O v e r t h e y e a r s , f a m i l y g e n e a l o g y h a s b e c o m e a n obsession. Gregg has connec- ted with family members all a r o u n d t h e c o u n t r y a n d i s looking forward to hosting a family reunion at Tucci this summer. " I a m v e r y p r o u d t o b e Italian, and the older I get the more I honor my Italian con- n e c t i o n , " h e s t r e s s e s . Community involvement is also important to Gregg and he sup- ports Italian community events in Portland, as well as educatio- nal and architectural interests. And Sundays? They are still centered around family. The Starlight Parade is defi- nitely a highlight in Portland's annual Rose Festival. It is also a great opportunity for Festa Italiana to advertise their late- summer celebration. The para- de took place on the night of May 30th this year with a crowd of approximately 300,000 wat- c h i n g f r o m t h e s t r e e t s , sidewalks and windows. P a r a d e d a y s t a r t e d e a r l y . During the year, the Festa float resides on a farm where all sorts of creatures try to make it their home; this year saw the careful removal of three wasp nests. Once the dust is washed away, it's time to move to the staging area in NW Portland. Driver R o b R e b a g l i a t i h a s b e c o m e quite an expert at maneuvering the streets of Portland while towing a 35-foot float covered in vines, lights, and grapes and full of dancing Italians, all while k e e p i n g t h e g e n e r a t o r t h a t powers the float running. Chatten Hayes is the Festa float chairperson; actually, she i s m o r e l i k e t h e t e a m m o m , coordinating participants, para- de fees, and food. "The Starlight Parade is our earliest PR event," says Chatten. "Our committee thinks about Festa all year, but the public doesn't. So it's very important to run our float out there." Once everyone is corralled, costumed and fed, the waiting begins. Participating in a para- de is a hurry-up-and-wait event. It helps that the evening also features a pre-parade Starlight Run, complete with runners in costume - the results can be very entertaining. M i s s P o r t l a n d 2 0 1 5 , A l i Fazzolari-Wallace, joined the float riders this year, dancing and singing along with everyone as the float made its way along the parade route. "I have a lot of things I enjoy a b o u t t h e p a r a d e , " C h a t t e n explains. "Certainly, after hours of work and waiting, when we a r e r e a l l y g o i n g , t h a t i s m y favorite part! Then it's just a wonderful adventure through the streets." Although Gregg Matteucci grew up in Fairview, a little t o w n n e a r t h e m o u t h o f t h e Columbia River Gorge, many of his strongest memories are tied to a home in southeast Portland i n h i s t o r i c L a d d ' s A d d i t i o n where his grandmother lived. Sundays were centered around family. " E v e r y S u n d a y , r a i n o r shine, it was dinner at Grandma T u c c i ' s h o u s e , " h e l a u g h s . " T h e r e w e r e a b o u t 1 5 o f u s squeezed into her tiny house. The dining room table only sat about six people so we would put the kitchen table at the end of the dining room table and then the card table on the end of that." Grandma Tucci was Mary Matteucci. Her parents immi- grated from Sfruz in Trentino Alto-Adige to Michigan where Mary was born and the family worked in the coalmines. They eventually moved to Portland and not long after the move, Mary began working at the Lido di Venezia Restaurant in the building that housed Italian pro- duce row. The restaurant ope- ned very early in the morning to serve breakfast and coffee to the truck farmers. Gregg has vivid memories of w e e k e n d v i s i t s t o G r a n d m a T u c c i ' s h o u s e . F r i e n d s a n d f a m i l y w o u l d s t o p b y a n d everyone would sit around the kitchen table drinking coffee and sharing the latest gossip or reminiscing about the old days. " E v e r y o n e s a t a r o u n d m y grandma's table. Sometimes t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n s w e r e i n Italian, sometimes in English. Sometimes I don't think they knew what language they were speaking but they all under- stood each other." Mary's husband, Primo had i m m i g r a t e d f r o m P o n t e B u g g i a n e s e , a t o w n l o c a t e d b e t w e e n F l o r e n c e a n d P i s a . They met in Portland at a popu- lar dance hall. They not only shared a love of dancing but of cooking as well, although their cooking styles were completely different. "My grandmother had never cooked with tomatoes, wasn't e x p o s e d t o a l o t o f t o m a t o dishes and she always talked about how my grandfather had to have tomatoes at every meal. He was by far the better cook," Gregg laughs. Mary worked at the Lido for nearly 50 years, doing a little bit of everything in addition to cooking. A love of cooking has p a s s e d d o w n t h r o u g h t h e Matteucci family – Gregg and his mother spoke often about opening a restaurant of their own. In 2001, Gregg was driving KERRY-LYNNE DEMARINIS BROWN The original neon sign from the former Lido Restaurant hangs in Tucci's, honoring the memory of Mary "Grandma Tucci" Matteucci KERRY-LYNNE DEMARINIS BROWN Festa Italiana committee members, friends and family - including Miss Portland 2015 - showed off their Italian pride in the Starlight Parade

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