"I was desperate for the food I was accustomed to," Walter Bergamaschi says on why he and wife Marti decided to open Dolce Vita Italian Grocer in east Mesa. "Ninety-nine percent of what we sell and use here is imported from Italy. The other 1 percent," he jokes, "is the mistake of the supplier."
If the restaurant's name sounds familiar, it's because the Bergamaschi's months-old deli and grocery sits right next to their gelato shop, Gelato Dolce Vita, which has a second location at the SanTan Village mall in Gilbert.
And its the Bergamaschi's same passion for the fresh, top-notch ingredients used in their small-batch gelato that goes into their small but stellar menu of Northern Italian-based pastas, sandwiches, and antipasto offerings.
Here's an excerpt from this week's review:
"If the deli has a specialty, it's the homemade pasta. Marti, who makes it, says it's easy but requires a fair amount of patience. There are four marked in blue on the menu. Three are raviolis, lusciously soft cushions filled with delights such as fresh vegetables, herbs, and savory beef. The ricotta and spinach, drizzled in a silky butter and sage sauce, is the most delicious of the lot -- that is, if the heady garlic and butter variety isn't available on the specials board. The fourth, the cavatelli, is stiffer, like small gnocchi, and is best sauced with a modest amount of sunny marinara and sprinkled with fresh shavings of Parmesan."
Hungry for more? Read the full review of Dolce Vita Italian Grocer here.
