Joey Maggiore doesn’t remember wanting to be anything other than a chef.
While other kids played with toy cars, Maggiore gravitated toward knives and tomatoes, watching his father — a Sicilian immigrant with a relentless work ethic — command the kitchen.
The elder Maggiore came to America chasing a dream, eventually settling in Scottsdale and opening Tomaso’s.
“I’d watch my dad cook for guests and see their eyes light up,” Maggiore said. “I thought, if this guy can do this with food, I want to do it. That’s how my passion started.”
That foundation was Italian, but Maggiore’s curiosity and passion grew into other types of cuisine,
“I kind of was a black sheep of the family. I didn’t want to stick with Italian food. I always wanted to broaden my skills and cook different stuff. One of the meals we’d always cook would be Mexican food.”
Family meals often drifted south of the border, and Maggiore became fascinated by the bold flavors and communal energy.
At 21, he took his first professional leap in Coronado, California, beginning a journey that would eventually lead to mastering Latin and Mexican cooking — and to the creation of The Mexicano, now operating in Phoenix and Chandler.
Calling The Mexicano a restaurant almost undersells it.
“We have the staples of a Mexican restaurant,” said Maggiore. “We make fresh tortillas. We do all of our meats. We have 10 different tacos on the menu, enchiladas and burritos.
“But we’ve really become top-tier with all of the fun stuff. A lot of appetizers. We do a three-foot quesadilla that comes out for your party. You can fill it with birria or chicken tinga. “We do a molcajete, which is a big lava bowl that comes out at 500 degrees and we put it with a mafioso sauce, a spicy chile sauce. And it simmers with meats and cactus, panela cheese and all these fun things from tortillas and beans on the side. We have a shrimp cocktail and ceviches. We have it all.”
There’s also a tostiloco cart with homemade chips in a bag that customers can top with over 30 items.
They even have the Ultimate Mexicano Ferris Wheel. “People love it. You get to taste all the different salsas and guacamoles. It’s super fun.”
The Mexicano also has entertainment such as fire dancers, robots dressed in suits, Mexican street dancers and a DJ six nights a week. “We just have fun,” Maggiore added. “It’s one of those places where we want you to forget any stress you have.”
But the Chef still stays close to his roots and opened The Italiano in Scottsdale a year ago.
“Before my father passed away from cancer, he was a big idol in my life and still is. He’s buried by The Italiano, across the street. I love the area. And I wanted to my version of a Tomaso’s in my neighborhood.”
He wanted the restaurant to have a “Vegas-East Coast vibe. We had the ceiling painted like clouds at Caesar’s Palace.”
Everything on the menu is made from scratch, including the pasta.
“All of the sauces are made from fresh tomatoes, not canned,” Maggiore explained. “We do everything the authentic way that I was brought up in an Italian household but also with that fun flair.
“And it’s a very traditional menu, meaning we’re doing all of the stuff you’d see in Italy but with a little bit of a twist. I feel like this is my best concept in a sense of quality of food and authenticity.”
Maggiore said the food is very similar to Tomaso’s. “My father taught my sister and me what he did in the kitchen and that was our school of cooking. The sauces are the same. … If you shut your eyes and you’re eating at The Italiano, you could pretend you’re at Tomaso’s.”
The style of food is heavily rooted in Sicilian with authentic specialties throughout regions of Italy such as the Bolognese sauce. A popular menu item is the butternut squash ravioli. “I have it on the menu listed as Tomaso’s Famous,” said Maggiore. “It was on my dad’s menu for 50 years. Same recipe. Sells like crazy.
“We have a 12-layer lasagna with short ribs that is to die for.”
Maggiore’s sister owns The Italian Daughter and Patricia’s Pizza, also in Scottsdale.
“She’s my best buddy. We’re together all the time. She’s younger. She’s my biggest fan. We talk every day. We make menus, and we try to outshoot the other guy.
“We’re the best because we learned from the same guy. Even though it’s friendly competition, I always have her back and she has mine and we wish each other well.”
The chef owns 23 restaurants, including a deli in Phoenix, Sicilian Butcher, Hash Kitchen, plus restaurants in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Nashville and Utah.
He would like to relaunch Tomaso’s one day once he finds the right location.
He welcomes everyone to try out his food. “Come try us. You’ll love it.”
Information: theitaliano.com, themexicano.com
Dining and Cooking