Italian cuisine: ‘People have to have it’

Lighter options. Quicker meals. Cutting back on the carbs and fat.

Restaurants come and go along the northern Front Range. Some of the latest trends in fast-casual, healthy-conscious cuisine come and go with them. More longtime eateries adjust their menus with the times, trumpeting what’s new and improved.

One cuisine, however, could proudly advertise that it’s “Same” and “Unimproved.”

“Italian food’s ubiquitous,” said Greg Carelli. “It’s like apple pie and Chevrolet. People have to have it.”

Carelli founded Carelli’s of Boulder along with his father, Gene, in 1991 — and he boasts that “the menu’s never changed.”

Carelli’s, 645 30th St., serves fresh fish every night, and Carelli admitted to making minor adjustments to the bill of fare and adding specials here and there, but added that “the menu’s pretty boilerplated. It’s never changing, and I think that’s why it’s successful.”

That consistency has kept crowds coming in for hearty pasta dishes, he said.

“A lot of these newer chefs who are coming out of school, they’ll change the menu seasonally, and I think that could hurt you,” Carelli said. “That becomes a trendy issue, and trendy doesn’t last. We’re the antithesis of trendy, which is why we’re so busy and so popular.

“I’m a creature of habit,” he said. “When I want to eat something, if I go back to the restaurant and it doesn’t have that item on the menu any more, I don’t go back.”

Not that carbs are the only thing available there for health-conscious Boulder foodies. “We’re a scratch kitchen, so we can make people what they want,” Carelli said. “But quality’s really what matters, which is why we’ve done so well. We’ve never skimped on quality.”

Some longtime Italian favorites have departed, including a pair in Fort Collins — Bisetti’s in 2018 and Canino’s last year. But others survive, such as the Gondolier, which Gary Kugel opened in 1960 and has gone through several Boulder incarnations before settling on its home at 4800 Baseline Road in 2013 and expanding to 1217 S. Main St. in Longmont the next year, both run by Kugel’s son Nelson.

In Greeley, Santeramo’s Pizza House and Italian Food at 1229 10th Ave. has been a staple since 1962, when Italian immigrants Michael and Catherine Santeramo opened it along with the oldest of their five children, Lawrence, and his wife June. After Lawrence’s death in 1968, June continued to run the restaurant until her retirement in 1987. Mike Santeramo, Lawrence and June’s youngest, reopened its doors in 2008 along with his own son, Jordan. When Mike died last year, Jordan and his wife Chelsea stepped into the role of owners.

It’s also a family affair at Scalzotto Italian Restaurant, which has a trio of locations: 88 Lamar St. in Broomfield, 530 Cleveland Ave. in Loveland and 12015 Melody Drive in Westminster. Neither Tonia nor Giancarlo Scalzotto started their careers in the food industry, but they gained experience by opening a quick-serve Mexican restaurant in Vicenza, Italy, in 2004. Ten years later, they moved to Colorado and opened their first Scalzotto in Broomfield, developing signature dishes such as pear ravioli.

One of the newest additions is Stella’s Cucina, which opened in January in Walnut Brewery’s former space at 1123 Walnut St. in Boulder. Diners are met by art deco-inspired design, live music and a dance floor. Menu specialties include tagliolini pasta with Colorado lamb ragu. Owner Stella Spanu teamed up with architect Miguel Quismondo to design the space and Chef Filippo, who was born in a small Tuscan seaside village, to create a menu that highlights traditions from all over Italy.

But at the root of all of them are family recipes — and the accompanying joy of family gatherings.

“Italian food is part of our subculture, part of our fabric,” Carelli said. “I mean, you gotta eat.”

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