AUTHENTIC ITALIAN FLAVOUR
Homestyle treats at new city bistro
Eating at Perfetto Bistro and Bottega feels a little like having lunch in someone’s home, which is precisely the point.
Ivana Perfetto and Giampiero Mastracci moved to Windsor last summer from Italy, where they lived the last 25 years, to open a homestyle eatery complete with a large communal table and handmade pasta and pastries. Visitors may also encounter the couple’s son Jordan, who has cerebral palsy and who often sits happily in the restaurant in his wheelchair, greeting customers. He’s also a main reason Perfetto and Mastracci moved to Canada, since the Italian government — grappling with a dozen years of a struggling economy — was reducing services for Jordan.
“I love Windsor,” said Perfetto, who was born here, but who moved to Italy after meeting her future husband on a family vacation there. “In Italy, we didn’t have any hope because of the high unemployment and the political system which didn’t work. “People are getting poorer and poorer.”
She said she has spoken with Developmental Services Ontario and feels hopeful that after waiting their turn, Jordan will soon receive government help.
The couple had already lived in Windsor for a few years in the early 1990s. And since their daughter Loren was studying at the University of Windsor, they figured it was time for a move back across the Atlantic with the family, including sheepdog Chica. Mastracci said he felt homesick for Italy the first time he tried Windsor — but not now.
“I feel great,” he said. “I like it here.” Mastracci closed his computer network wiring business in Italy due to the recession, then minded Jordan full time at home. In Windsor, he spent six months renovating the space for the Perfetto Bistro in Pillette Village. He brought over the long communal table with the live edge he built himself. He also dismantled the bar he created in Italy for another restaurant he ran and shipped it plank by plank to Windsor. “The first day, nobody walked in,” Perfetto said of the opening in mid-January. “Not one person. It felt bad. But it worked out to our benefit because we have been able to work out all the kinks. We also began to understand what people want in terms of dishes. “Now it’s going well. He has a nice following.” Mastracci offers signature dishes such as fettuccine and gnocchi every day, then adds other dishes when the whim strikes, such as straccetti (thinly sliced roast beef sauteed in balsamic vinegar) or sea bass or porchetta.
He shops every morning for fresh ingredients and makes his own pasta, meat sauce, bread and goodies, including crostata squares and wine cookies, then cooks on a residential-style stove in the restaurant’s kitchen.
It all comes together with spiritual inspiration from family back home.
“He grew up in his father’s bakery,” Perfetto said. “His family has had the same bakery since 1890. It still exists.”
Mastracci uses a cookbook of his mother’s and grandmother’s recipes.
The couple also sells products imported from Italy — sauces and biscuits and whatnot — as part of their bottega, which means shop in Italian. Meanwhile, Perfetto warmly welcomes people to the modern dining room with a rustic touch. “We have a community table,” Perfetto said. “It promotes community and dialogue. And it’s working.
“We want people to feel like they’re in an Italian home.” Perfetto Bistro at 4783 Wyandotte St. E. is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The owners have applied for a liquor licence and will stay open later when they can serve Italian wine.
Call 226-221-9944 for more information.