“Il cibo non è solo cibo, è una storia che viene raccontata attraverso i sapori.” (Food is not just food, it’s a story that is told through flavors.)
I grew up in Upstate NY with a big family where cooking and food was a big part of us getting together.
I can close my eyes and smell Sunday sauce on the stove and I can hear the sounds of my father singing along with Frank Sinatra. As a little girl I’d stand on a kitchen stool, pluck basil leaves and help him stir sauce. Thats where I learned to cook, right there by his side. He would tell me stories of his childhood, our relatives from Italy and share stories about our culrture.
My father was vegetarian when I was young and when I was old enough to ask the question, “What is this?” in regards to meat, he told me the truth. “Chicken is a chicken, burgers are from cows and hotdogs come from pigs….” That was all I needed to know, I was not going to eat my friends. I’ve never consumed red meat, pork or eaten a hamburger or hotdog. I became vegetarian around 5 years old. January 2021 I made the switch to a 100% Vegan diet. After quite a bit of research and some long conversations, Kevin and Olive, my two rescued best friends (in the photo above) joined me in my Veganism. Kevin will with out a doubt do anything for a carrot and Olive fell in love with blueberries.
Veganism gave me the opportunity to convert many of my family’s favorite recipes. This is where I began exploring the vast options for baking and cooking. Challenge accepted as I like to say. That first bite of Lasagna after a few months on a new vegan diet was something from heaven. I’ll never forget it, something clicked and I knew right then and there that everyone needed to experience this. Vegan food doesn’t have to be bland, or boring, it’s exciting, it’s intuitive, it can be anything you want it to be.
Food for me has always been about family, about creating a memory and enjoying company with the ones you love the most. Large, hearty, family style portions are the way of the fork and the heart back home. Many of our pasta dishes represent this same motto with generous portions – as I like to say “ a little now, a little later and a little later, later”
When curating the menu I wanted to bring some of NY to Michigan. The Utica Riggies are a play on “Chicken Riggies” which originated in Utica, NY. Every Italian restaurant north of I-90 in NY claims to be the inventor of this incredibly popular dish. I’m not kidding, they have Riggie Cook offs vs Chilli Cook offs. The original dish is a vodka cream sauce with butter, heavy cream, parmesan cheese and chicken. This was by far my favorite dish to “veganize”. Our vegan version has lentil cream, vegan butter and nutritional yeast in place of the dairy products.
Like the Utica Riggies, many of our menu items are deeply nostalgic for me or to the traditions of Italian Cuisine as a whole. I try to create items as authentic as possible without disrupting the true taste and texture.
Vegano Italiano was founded in 2021. I originally opened Vegano as a brick and mortar take out restaurant in Ypsilanti and have transitioned into a Food Cart with an abundance of catering options. Our home base is in Ann Arbor but we do frequent Detroit and the surrounding cities. Being mobile has given us the incredible capability to reach far more people, especially our non-vegan friends which is where we are able to incorporate education alongside some delicious food. I have had the most amazing time running the truck all over Michigan and can’t wait to see what the future holds.
With Love
Chef and Owner – Maryrose Angelo (Rosie)
