Although it sits right next to the Fox Tucson Theatre, in the heart of downtown, it’s tempting to call Perche’ No Italian Bistro a hidden gem. Without a major social media presence and no online delivery and reservation systems, this appealing little eatery keeps a low digital profile.
But since it opened in October 2021, Perche No’ has grown a far-flung local following by word of mouth. Patrons from all over town come for cuisine that nods more to northern Italy than to the southern part of the country, where red sauce rules.
Northern Exposure
Chef-owner Bruno Gerardi said, “ My food is a little different than most Italian around here, a lot more than spaghetti and meatballs and lasagna and pizza.”
That’s thanks in large part to his experience cooking in Pavia, near Milan. There the food has a lighter, more delicate palate, with French influences dating back to Napoleon’s rule of northern Italy.
Among the cuisine’s distinguishing characteristics are the use of fresh fruit in such dishes as a sweet and savory penne with sliced mango, chicken, and spinach in a light cream sauce. Ravioli filled with butternut squash also lets its flavor shine through a browned butter-and-sage bath. Steak, duck, pork, and, yes, even red sauce all turn up on the menu, but seafood more often appears in the likes of asiago-crusted cod and gnocchi with lobster in a saffron cream sauce.
The Long Road to Tucson
Girardi’s circuitous journey to southern Arizona involved cooking on three continents, helming two restaurants, retiring and unretiring – and taking a leap of faith.
Girardi was born in France and lived in Senegal and the Ivory Coast before moving to Argentina, where more than half the population has roots in Italy. It was there, doing basic jobs like dishwasher and busser, that he became interested in the restaurant industry. He honed his cooking techniques and recipes in Pavia and transported them to the United States in 1995, when he opened Stella Mia and then Girardi’s Osteria, both near Seattle.
In Girardi’s, he met his future wife, Kristine, who worked as a hostess. There was a language bond: Although born in Modesto, California, Kristine spoke fluent Italian, having spent several years studying ballet near Bologna.
Girardi’s is still in business but is no longer helmed by its namesake chef. The place is large— 45 tables inside, about a dozen outside — and Girardi was hands-on in the kitchen. By the late 1990s, he had been working nonstop for a long time and, he said, “I was getting a little old and tired.”
He sold the restaurant and struck out for the sun and surf of St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands.
As it turned out, paradise wasn’t all that. “After a year and a half, I got bored,” Girardi said. It didn’t help that this was during the pandemic, and everything was closed.
When he suggested to Kristine that they return to the States and open another restaurant, she reminded him that they had both liked Tucson when they’d stopped there on a road trip a few years earlier.
“I remembered that the food was good and the people were very nice,” Gerardi said.
The couple decided “perche’ no?” – why not?
Finding a niche
But Girardi did not want to return to the stress of running a large restaurant. Sadly, because of the pandemic, many spaces were available. The former Caffe Milano, measuring only 1,500 square feet and in a prime downtown location, was a perfect fit.
The couple created an intimate, quintessentially Italian eatery, with 14 tables in two dining rooms and an additional four on a shaded patio. On walls painted terra cotta, olive green, and Tuscan yellow – or is that Tucson yellow? – hang vintage Italian advertising posters, including the classic Cinzano sweet vermouth ad.
That’s fitting for a place where the spirits list focuses almost exclusively on Italian wines and cocktails. Light and sparkly prosecco-based drinks include the Limoncello Spritz, the Bellini (peach puree), the Rossino (strawberry puree), and the Negroni Spagliato (Campari and sweet vermouth).
Family Ties
Kristine works the front of the house at Perche’ No, as she did in Seattle, and at various times – especially when the restaurant was getting ready to open – the couple’s three children pitch in. And it’s the extended family of downtown businesses that Girardi aims to please with his lunch menu.
In the evening, Perche’ No gets a lot of patronage from those attending events at the Fox and at the nearby Tucson Convention Center, but Girardi wants to give local businesspeople the option of a nice lunch break that doesn’t break the bank. “The lunch and dinner menu are the same size portion,” he said, “but we try to make lunch affordable so people can come in and eat a couple of times a week.” An extensive list of weekly specials, based on the availability of fresh ingredients, help mitigate against potential boredom with the menu.
The word continues to spread about the restaurant’s distinctive food, served in generous portions. Although Perche No’ is less hidden than it once was, it remains a gem. And there are no plans to mess with success. “People around here like what we do, so we keep doing that,” Gerardi said.
Perche’ No Italian Bistro is located at 46 W. Congress St. For more information, visit perchenobistro.com. Keep up with Perche’ No Italian Bistro on Instagram.
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