November 17, 2015 – Fourteen months after opening Giorgio’s at the 201 Main complex in Salinas, chef Alessio Giannuzzi is heading back to the peninsula to run the kitchen at Gusto Handcrafted Pasta & Pizza in Seaside. “I’m really happy chef Alessio will be joining us,” says owner Denis Boaro. “We want to take Gusto to the next level and I look forward to working alongside another Italian.” The popular chef—well known from his years as executive chef at Il Fornaio in Carmel—starts next week.
“Alessio is going to bring a lot to the table and make Gusto even more Italian,” says Boaro, who hopes to begin adding some new menu items next month. Gusto, which opened in February following the closure of Bill Lee’s short-lived Lucky’s Roadside, serves fresh pasta from Michele Cremonese’s Bigoli Fresh Pasta company in Sand City and wood-fired pizzas.
Boaro wants to focus on building up the lunch business and he is planning to expand special events, like winemaker dinners and music nights. He says a recent Italian music night with the Mike Marotta Family was a quick sell-out and he’s planning to make it a monthly event.
Boaro—who also co-owns Basil Seasonal Dining in Carmel with chef Soerke Peters—was born in the small town of San Zenone deli Ezzelinil in Northern Italy. His Italian zest for living comes through loud and clear on a one-hour live radio show he hosts from Gusto every Saturday night from 6-7pm on KION 101.1 FM. He uses the show to talk about what’s cooking at the restaurant, describing special dishes and promoting upcoming events, as well as interviewing local personalities. His goal is to make Gusto as lively, warm and friendly as his grandfather’s kitchen in Italy.
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