This post was written by Jim Primo, owner of Primo’s Italian Bistro in South Lake Tahoe.
So what can I say about Primo’s Italian Bistro?
After growing up in the restaurant business my whole life, and working with my family for almost fifteen years, I grew a great passion for this business.
Now, living in South Lake Tahoe for nearly twenty years, the one thing I missed most about Boston was our family dinners on Sunday afternoons. My grandmother would have the gravy on by eight in the morning to simmer all day, then would make fettuccine pasta by hand and leave it all over the kitchen to dry.
Needless to say my one goal with Primo’s was very selfish, but, I wanted to bring back those memories and the flavors I grew up with.
Knowing I could not possibly start making pasta by hand for the whole restaurant, I started to search and found a machine we had flown over from Italy that could make up to thirty pounds of pasta an hour. When we got the machine up and running I was so amazed at what it could do, I started sending videos back home to show family what I had found.
Now that I had the pasta, I needed the gravy, or tomato sauce as they say on the West Coast. Remembering the only company we used back on the East Coast I contacted them and they told me the only place in the west that carried this product was out of Arizona and it would be tough getting deliveries, but if I made a large enough order they could ship to me direct (that’s a lot of tomatoes).
Now that I had the two most important details covered, I needed a menu. Our thing at Primo’s is that we make everything from scratch, so not only are the flavors more exciting but the standard of quality also stays consistent. In doing so, I stayed with a more limited menu and left room for our weekly specials that consists of three appetizers and three entrees, that not only lets us utilize fresh and seasonal ingredients, but for the more frequent diner offers more options.
Over all it gives me great pleasure to have my friends, new and old, enjoy the foods I grew up with and see them enjoy it as much as I do. From the Bruschetta and Sambuca Shrimp to the house made gelatos and desserts.
I would like to say “thank you” to all the locals that support us and “welcome” to all the new friends that will join us in the future.
“There are no strangers here just friends we have not met” (unknown)
