If you have ever had the pleasure of dining at Italian restaurants in Sault Ste. Marie, you’ll know there are many.
But here in Sudbury, with such a large Italian population, there are not a lot of fine-dining Italian restaurants.
Pasta e Vino, in the heart of the city, has been a staple on Paris Street downtown for almost 35 years.
Owner Frank Taranto is not the original owner, but the restaurant has been in his family since 1989. Taranto, himself, has been there for 26 years and at one point also owned a cafe on Elgin Street in the downtown.
Originally from Italy, Taranto came to Canada as a teenager, landing in Sault Ste Marie, crisscrossing Ontario to Toronto and ending up back in Sudbury.
“I was working in management for United Van Lines and decided I wanted to control my own destiny and loved to cook,” Taranta said. “I moved to Toronto to work in an Italian restaurant. I was not making much money, but really learned a lot about the food I loved.”
Taranto has been cooking Italian cuisine for a long time, but admits that he doesn’t eat his own food all that often.
“When I do (eat it), I am amazed at the taste. I surprise myself,” he joked.
Taranto is in his seventies now, and spends long hours in the kitchen prepping everything in the morning and then helps serve it and keep customers satisfied in the evening.
The hours are long, but he wouldn’t have it anyother way.
The quaint old turn of the century building of character that houses the restaurant also has a living quarters where Taranto lives.
Taranto said he misses “the good ol’ days” when people ate meals without cellphones. He said many regular guests still enjoy the personal contact, the special touch like saying “good night” or helping them put their coat on them.
In addition to walking his customers to and from the door some nights, Taranto said they also enjoy a lot of traditional Italian dishes, from gnocchi (a king of potato dumpling) to Linguine del Mare with its choice of squid or scallops sauteed with garlic, onions, hot peppers and white wine.
Taranta still makes all his sauces in-house. He also makes the canneloni and lasagna in his kitchen.
As for those craving decadent Italian desserts, Frank makes about 20 Tiramasu cakes at a time. His sponge cake is soaked in coffee liqueur and then layered with mascarpone, whipped cream and cocoa powder.
He said he has the process down to a science and it takes him about three hours to make the batch.
Taranta said customers also love the Granita di Caffé, a frozen espresso that is shaved and layered with whipped cream and drenched in Tia Maria.
“Not many have ever experienced a frozen espresso like this before. It’s great for washing a palette after a meal,” he said.
A strawberry dessert draped in liqueurs, lemon and sugar will be available during the warm months.
Traditional espresso and capuccinos are also on the menu.
Pasta e Vino Ristorante is open Tuesday to Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. It is located at 118 Paris Street in the downtown. You can find the menu on the website, PastaEVinoRistorante.ca.
Pasta e Vino is also on Facebook.
Anastasia Rioux is a writer in Greater Sudbury. Let’s eat! is made possible by our Communitry Leaders Program.
