Originally published in the March 2020 San Diego CityBeat
Marco Provino, Nino Cusimano, and Mario Liga all grew up in the small Sicilian town of Bagheria. Even though the fishing village is only eleven square miles, the three didn’t meet until all had moved to San Diego and ended up working at the same restaurant, Panevino. The influence of their hometown brought the three together and inspired them to create Rusticucina, which opened in February in Hillcrest.
Liga reflects back on his Sicilian upbringing, “The town we are all from is very, very small. It’s on the coast; it’s a fishing town, so we grew up eating a lot of fish–yellowfin tuna being the most popular. We also grew everything at home; everyone has a yard with a garden–we ate from the land!” The sea, as well, was a big influence on both the town and Liga, “There is a huge market where people come in the middle of the night to buy dish. I would go to work at 2 AM, selling fresh fish from the boats. I sold a lot of it!”
Now, he’s still selling a lot of fish, but from their Hillcrest restaurant where Executive Chef Marco Provino turns fresh catch from South Bay Fishery into seared salmon with a Chardonney honey mustard cream sauce or cioppino, a flavorful seafood stew.
Provino seeks to recreate some of his grandmother’s dishes to build a neighborhood restaurant that feels a little like home. One such example is a comforting Bucatini topped with a ragu that is made with veal, pork, beef, and one special ingredient – peas. His nonna put peas in her ragu, so Provino does as well, adding a pop of sweetness to the savory sauce. The gnocchi he makes is as cathartic as it is delicious. He explains, “I really enjoy making the dough–the process is calming and I love how satisfied people are when they eat it. It’s pure comfort. When I was 6 or 7, I used to love watching my Nonna and mom make pasta from scratch. It’s why I love making pasta from scratch; the process–it’s therapeutic. And, the smell. I love the smell of fresh pasta.” He dresses the gnocchi simply, with a cacio e pepe preparation, just pecorino cheese and black pepper. Or, for a theatrical touch, he’ll finish it tableside in a parmesan cheese wheel, aged 36 months and softened with a blowtorch before tossing the gnocchi, cream sauce, and truffle oil in, coating the pasta with cheese.
Cheese lovers will also love the crispy burrata, the creamy mozzarella coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried, served with their signature tomato sauce and crusty bread. That tomato sauce also accompanies their dry-aged meatball, another twist on a classic dish. The beef is dry-aged for 36 months before being house-ground and seasoned, the dry-aging process adding a fuller, nutty flavor to the meat.
Provino describes the perfect simplicity of the tomato sauce that is the foundation of so many of his dishes, “Homemade tomato sauce is something I love to create. The smell and flavor profile is just so wonderful. I also love shopping for ingredients—what chef doesn’t? I love shopping for food.” He makes 150 gallons of that sauce every week, cooking fresh tomatoes with onion and extra virgin olive oil for two and a half hours until it thickens.
Cooking gallons of tomato sauce might be second nature to Provino, but restaurant design was a new feat for the chef. “For me, the biggest challenge was for my partners to like the design. I designed the space, so it was important to me that they really liked it.” The partners loved it, and so does the rest of the neighborhood. The restaurant’s focal point is a 32-foot chandelier with cascading greenery, a dramatic centerpiece to the exposed brick walls and marble countertops.
The restaurant is noisy, bustling with friends getting apertivo and couples in animated discussion. On the patio, pets eat from their own special menu or snuck bites under the table. Provino dusts pasta flour off his hands and comes to greet tables with a ‘buon appetito.’ It feels just a little like a big, Sicilian family.
Rusticucina
3797 Park Boulevard San Diego, CA 92103
619.310.5291
