Italian Maid Cafe

In our small town of Richmond Texas, my sister and I own the only Italian restaurant within miles. When we first opened Italian Maid Café in 1998, many of our clients thought they were eating foreign food, pronouncing it with a Texas drawl, ‘Eye-talian'. We're from Pittsburgh, where there are good Italian restaurants on almost every corner. Growing up in Pittsburgh, we almost never tried these restaurants. We never ate out, in part because our mother, her 4 sisters, and our grandmother were all fabulous cooks. But also because, being Italian women, they were difficult to please.My love of food grew out of our family experiences of eating well, and cooking large meals with our extended family. These family gatherings with ‘the blood', were known as blood clots. Cooking up 7 different kinds of fish for the Christmas Eve meal, and making homemade pasta for lasagna were just some of my memories. When I designed the menu for Italian Maid Café, I wanted to include something for everyone. Of course we have pasta, and classic Italian dishes, like Chicken Parmesan, and Veal Marsala. Our Alfredo, and pesto are homemade from scratch, and our tomato sauce is rich, with giant meatballs. But we also have southwestern Lime Grilled Chicken Breast, marinated in cilantro sauce, Charbroiled Ribeyes, and fresh Tilapia, Orange Roughy, and Grilled Salmon. We celebrate the link Marco Polo created between Italy and the Far East, with our Salmon Marco Polo, and Marco Polo Salad. For the kids, we have pizza, chicken fingers, and burgers. Which is why we say, there's something for everyone to enjoy at the Italian Maid Café!Chef Alex Ciocca is leaving Italian footprints in Richmond,