Italian food has been part of Melinda and Elio Trovarelli’s lives since they met four decades ago. “My mother is Italian, and she took me on a trip to Rome,” recalls Melinda, who grew up in Colorado. “We stayed in a little hotel above this tiny pizzeria. The second night we were there, I walked in and met my husband, who was the owner.”
The couple stayed in Rome for 10 years before moving to Southern Arizona, where Melinda’s mother had retired. Running a restaurant “was the one thing we knew how to do together,” Melinda says, so they found a place in Tubac and opened Melio’s Trattoria — its name a combination of their first names, but also a nod to the Italian phrase di meglio, or “the best.”
The regulars — and there are many regulars — will tell you the name fits. Elio’s scratch-made lasagna is one special that often has patrons calling ahead to confirm he’s making it that day. Another is the pasta pescatore (pictured), topped with scallops, calamari, shrimp, clams, mussels and a homemade red sauce.
The fixed dinner menu includes Italian staples such as spaghetti carbonara (with onion, salted pork, egg and Parmesan), veal Marsala and maltagliati Bolognese, along with thin-crust, hand-rolled pizzas. At lunch, there’s a selection of pasta dishes, sandwiches and salads. Everything is made to order and authentically prepared.
Melinda made it her mission to master homemade desserts — with a little help from an in-law. “My husband’s sister came over [from Italy] once a year for seven years … and she taught me how to make tiramisu and a mimosa cake,” she says. “It started from there, and I just dove into it.” Now, Melinda’s homemade tiramisu, pies and cakes round out the menu.
Punctuating the experience is the restaurant itself, which offers both a panoramic view of the Santa Rita Mountains and an intimate dining experience. Melinda’s mother ran an art gallery, and that family history is evident in the paintings covering the walls and ceilings. Twinkling lights, Chianti-bottle candles and Italian music help set the mood for guests.
That, plus a dedicated staff, has been a winning formula for Melio’s, which recently marked 30 years in business; for the past 18, it’s been in its current location, along the Interstate 19 frontage road. “We have customers who’ve been coming in since we opened,” Melinda says. “I’ve seen children come in as babies and have spaghetti with butter for the first time. One of them came in the other day, and he had just turned 21.”
She adds: “It goes so fast. It’s just so hard to believe.” But time flies, one supposes, when you’re in the business of serving great food.
Melio’s Trattoria
2261 Interstate 19 Frontage Road
Tubac, AZ
United States