Monte’s Fine Foods is open for business. The preview on Thursday brought out an anticipatory crowd for the soft opening. Friday made the opening official, a welcome event for the owners who spent the past year turning the old Angelone’s Pizza building in East Deering on Washington Avenue into a sparking citadel of true Roman-style pizza and specialty Italian- and Mediterranean-fare.
The pizza ovens and kitchen at Monte’s
Chef Steve Quatrucci, co-owner (with Neil Rouda) and pizza maven, is the force behind Monte’s with a curriculum vitae in Portland’s food world that spans decades. For instance, he founded The Back Bay Grill in 1988; several years later he opened the inimitable West End Deli; he also revitalized the kitchen at Miss Portland Diner as its lead chef who established the menu as it is today (those southern biscuits were all his after I introduced Steve to the fineness of using soft-wheat southern flour for biscuits). He has also worked at food retailers and even for the City of Portland where he tried to revitalize the Riverside Golf Club and Grill owned by the city. He created a remarkable menu for a clientele who preferred, however, hot dogs, fries and beer.
Plenty of parking at Monte’s (Photo courtesy of Monte’s Fine Foods)
And most importantly the Quatrucci family has long held sway in Portland food circles among the Italian-American community. Or as Quattrucci relates, “Memories from my childhood are filled with smells and scenes from busy kitchens and tables full of the most delicious food you can imagine.” To wit: Nana Q’s red sauce made by his grandmother is the sauce that will adorn all the pizzas and many prepared dishes. It’s the same sauce that was served at the family’s Balboa Cafe circa 1930s on India Street.
A sample slice of anchovy pizza served on preview night
