“I am my father’s daughter, the Italian daughter” proclaims restaurateur Melissa Maggiore-Meyer on the Italian Daughter’s website. As the daughter of famed Phoenix chef and restaurant impressario Tomaso Maggiore, it seems almost predestined that she would follow in her father’s Sasquatch-like footsteps. At an early age, Melissa’s father taught her the beauty and joy a great meal can bring to one’s life. She cherishes the memories of gathering around the table with family and friends, sharing stories, laughter, wine, and of course, a great dish of pasta. Her love for the cuisine of her Italian heritage was cemented by extensive travel to Italy with her father.
Melissa’s passion for food, wine, and hospitality supplanted her pursuit of a Journalism degree from Arizona State University. She relocated to San Diego where she launched a number of Italian restaurants throughout southern California. One of those restaurants–Tommy V’s Urban Kitchen in Carlsbad, California–was the subject of Food Network primetime series, Family Style. In 2018 Melissa and her husband Kevin returned to Scottsdale to be closer to family. In April 2021 Melissa opened The Italian Daughter to pay homage to her late father and continue the legacy he left behind.
Chef Tomaso Maggiore was a formidable culinary presence in the Valley of the sun, founding over 35 of Phoenix’s most treasured restaurants. It speaks volumes about his influence as a parent that his offspring succeeded him in the culinary arena. Son Joey and daughter-in-law Cristina developed such stalwart restaurants as Hash Kitchen, The Sicilian Butcher, The Sicilian Baker and The Mexicano. Joey and Melissa are committed to carry on Tomaso’s legacy. Joey’s Sicilian Butcher (three locations in the Valley) is his tribute to his father who was born and raised in Sicily and had a strong passion for Sicilian traditions and the rich culture of the Mediterranean island.
The Italian Daughter in North Scottsdale is Melissa’s love letter to her father. In an interview with Arizona Foothills, she shared that her father, whom she misses every day, is the one person with whom she would have dinner if she could have dinner with anyone she wanted. She added that the one thing she would change if she could is “bringing back the family dinner.” Though she likely meant bringing the family dinner back to the family home, Italian Daughter would be a great venue for holding any dinner–date night, special occasion, business…and yes, family dinner.
We learned about Italian Daughter from Marc Resnick, the genial restaurant manager at Tempe’s superb Alter Ego restaurant. He’s relatively new to the Valley, but has lived in the area long enough to experience a 127-degree day. He knows great food and we trust his opinion. My friend Bruce “Sr. Plata” Silver doesn’t hold the same high opinion of Italian Daughter, but that’s likely because he got take-out during the dark days in which the Cabrona Virus shut down the world. We were happy to be able to dine in the restaurant’s heated and covered patio (so comfortable that it hardly seemed like a patio).
Italian Daughter is located on North Scottsdale Road about a mile beyond where the road crosses “Loop 101.” It’s quite a bit darker on this side of the 101 with far fewer homes and far less light pollution. In a further example of Twilight Zone irony, our GPS kept referring to Scottsdale as “Scotchdale” in a weird intonation reminiscent of Sean Connery. When we arrived at the nondescript strip mall, our annoying GPS told us “you have arrived at your destination” without telling us where among the 40 or so retail shops it was. It took a Magellen route to find it.
Ask (beg, plead, cajole, threaten, bribe if you have to) for Amber to be your server. Not only is she intimately familiar with the menu and restaurant specials, she describes each item better than I could. Amber guided us through our meal. When I asked about a butternut squash dish, she had me in just a few words, but listening to her mouth-watering description was so enthralling I dared not stop her. If possible, the dishes delivered to our table were even better than she described them. That’s saying something!
As we contemplated the fabulous menu, Amber delivered a loaf of bread with herbed butter to our table. Covered by a white cloth napkin, the bread was warm. The butter was soft and easy to spread (don’t you hate the near frozen butter some restaurants serve?). It took immense willpower not to consume the entire loaf, but we were determined to focus on our entrees and the appetizer Amber recommended for us. The bread is sliced into thick slices. It’s got a downy soft interior and a crusty exterior.
Perhaps intuiting that the conventional starters might be a bit much, Amber recommended we share the Panzanella Salad (crusty bread, fresh mozzarella, olives, tomato, basil, shaved red onion, cucumber, extra virgil olive oil, red wine vinaigrette). Let’s just say it’s among the best panzanella salads we’ve had. We were thoroughly impressed–maybe blown away–by the high quality of ingredients, every one of which was fresh, crisp and absolutely delicious on its own. Our debonair dachshund The Dude was most impressed by the marshmallow-sized mozzarella balls. Obviously made on the premises, they were milky and tangy. There were no greens or lettuce of any type on the salad, just the freshest olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and red onion. Fresh and peppery basil played in concordant harmony with the red wine vinaigrette.
One of my friends (who shall remain unnamed here) once told me “real men don’t eat butternut squash.” Not that I would listen to such heresy. I love, love, love butternut squash–particularly when the sweet squash is paired with savory ingredients. Amber shared that Italian Daughter’s butternut squash saccheti cacio y pepe is not to be missed. Sacchetti, which translates to “little purses” in Italian, is a delightful and visually appealing form of stuffed pasta. Amber explained that traditional cacio y pepe ingredients (aged pecorino Romano cheese, freshly ground black pepper) form the contents of each little purse along with the rich, sweet butternut squash. Wow! That unlikely pair blew me away! This may well be the best butternut squash dish I’ve ever had. Each swoon-worthy purse is an experience in ectasy.
My Kim wasn’t quite as hungry (besides she knew she could swipe some of my dish) so her entree choice was actually the soup special of the day. Potato soup with pancetta may sound rather pedestrian, but Italian Daughter’s version is “sublime” (Kim’s term). Rich, creamy and heart-warming soup is punctuated by deep porcine richness–better than bacon (which loses some of its “porkiness” because it’s smoked). Italian basil lends a delightful fragrance and peppery notes that accentuate the richness of the soup.
Italian Daughter’s limoncello cake (from The Sicilian Baker) is the only thing that could possibly top our meal. It is quite simply the very best limoncello cake we’ve ever had–by far! The cake is replete and frosted with layers (top and middle) of creamy marscarpone cream. It’s covered with Lemon-Up (crispy, lemon-flavored cookies with a layer of sugar glaze on one side) and finished with a drizzle of lemon oil. Despite the lemony influence, this is not an overly tangy, purse your lips dessert. It’s a dessert that will make you a lemon lover if you aren’t already one. Did I mention the housemade whipped cream. It’s so good and so rich.
The Italian Daughter was a delightful surprise. Though I almost always “change things up” the second and subsequent times we visit a restaurant, I can easily see ordering the very same meal I had during our inaugural visit. Amber, of course, may have something to say about that.
The Italian Daughter
23655 North Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale, New Mexico
(480) 404-6085
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 3 January 2023
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$$$
BEST BET: Limoncello Cake, Panzanella Salad, Potato Soup, Butternut Squash Saccheti Cacio Y Pepe
REVIEW #1374
Gil’s First Day in Arizona–July, 2024:
Wow, Gil, what a gastronomic trip you took to Arizona! Maybe we should get a caravan going next year. Will certainly be tempting if December / January proves to be another trip into the freezer as it has been this year. Thanks for being the forward scout, although it appears that none of these dining experiences were regrettable.
Thank you, Lynn. The Dude wants us to pack up and move to Tempe. He and I took multiple walks every day. Now that we’re home in the cold, windy climes of the Land of Enchantment he doesn’t even want to go outside.