Maurizio Papparo’s Mediterranean villa By Lance Sparks
Maurizio Papparo looks trim and relaxed. True, his thick hair shows streaks of gunmetal gray on black, but his hazel eyes sparkle, and smiles play easily across his face. At 48 years old, the busy Eugene restaurateur might be expected to show the effects of pressure. He has three worrisome concerns: Ciao, his new pizzeria in Gateway; Brindiamo Catering, based in Creswell’s old Emerald Valley; and, of course, the Excelsior, an upscale Italian restaurant and boutique inn on East 11th, his flagship since 1993. Still, Maurizio Papparo seems utterly serene. His athlete’s body is firm, shoulders thickly muscled, smooth face beaming warm welcome and Florentine charm.
The Excelsior reflects its owner, exuding the Old World elegance of a Tuscan villa blended with comfortable hospitality. A stone wall topped with wrought-iron flourishes draped in flowering jasmine surrounds a warm brick-and-stone patio under shade trees. Inside, the foyer guides guests to a finely crafted hardwood-and-glass case displaying the artistry of renowned pastry chef Milka Babich. Dining rooms are painted in cozy Tuscan golds and creams, walls adorned with paintings by local artists. Tables are dressed in bright white cloths, silver gleaming, glasses polished. Above the fireplace, Roman busts watch over diners. In the bar-café area, classic black and white tiles cover the floor and lead guests to the terrace, where stained glass pieces replace windows to suffuse the space with color. Overall, the effect is harmonious, like dining in an art gallery that feels like home.
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Maurizio Papparo has traveled far and worked hard to achieve his success. He was born in 1961 in Torre Annunziata, a small town near Pompeii, the youngest of the eight children of Armando and Gemma Papparo. The family soon moved to beautiful Florence, where Armando worked for the city and Gemma tried to invent ways to nurture eight kids. Maurizio says, “Food was always an important aspect of our daily life,” and “sometimes we made a meal out of very little.” From the age of 5, Maurizio says his “main love was soccer.” And he became a very good goalkeeper, eventually drafted by a professional team, a bright career in his future—until a nasty accident cut short his prospects.
The young Maurizio had found an important friend, Stefano Gailli, whose family operated Guidi Catering, caterers to Armani, Valentino, and others in the fashion world. Guidi is also famous for their gelato, in which they trained and employed Maurizio. Tired after a soccer workout, Maurizio was cleaning a gelato machine and nipped off the tip of his right index finger. Goalkeepers, unlike other soccer players, need their hands—and all their fingers. Maurizio’s soccer dreams ended.
But his future in food, especially gelato, opened up. “I fell back on food because I love food,” Maurizio says, “and it’s another job [like soccer] where I didn’t have to work for a living.” At Guidi, Maurizio developed an expertise in gelato, the über-creamy Italian ice cream, and learned an important lesson: “If you want to be great, don’t compromise.”
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After high school in Florence, Maurizio attended the Istituto Tecnico per il Turismo, honing his kitchen and business skills and earning his certificate—then gelato took him on a series of journeys, the most critical of which landed him in Eugene after “a life-changing moment.” It began with a 2 am call from Frank Ernandes, owner of Mazzi’s. Ernandes proposed a gelateria for Eugene. Maurizio flew out. The result was Marco’s Gelato in 1982, an event that also changed Eugeneans’ taste for ice cream. Maurizio later worked with Lochmead Dairy to establish their gelato program, thriving today.
Once in Eugene, Maurizio Papparo sank roots. He married and had two sons, Stefano, now 24, and Gianluca, now 22. That marriage didn’t hold, but Maurizio later remarried, and his wife, Dana, gave him another son, Preston, now 11. His business successes led to the purchase of the venerable Exclesior in 1993; ambitious remodeling created the attached inn with 14 handsome rooms, and the Excelsior was reborn, now serving an extensive menu of exquisite Northern Italian cuisine made with the freshest local ingredients. It’s a menu set by Maurizio and shaped by his Florentine memories of flavors and textures.
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As a result, the Excelsior has emerged as Maurizio imagined: “The Excelsior is a place where at the end of the day, you can come home.”
Mingling Flavors Vibrant, creative dining at Cafe Maroc By Katie Lewis
At Café Maroc, East meets West in a stunning and intricate but always delicious blend of spices. Luckily, the leisurely dining pace affords time to dissect the many flavors. In a single bite of harira—a chickpea, lentil, and tomato soup traditionally served during Ramadan—saffron briefly obscures coriander before yielding to ginger. Enhanced by the decor and atmosphere, the melding seems to intensify each individual flavor.
Tagine-style cooking is driven by desert sensibilities, namely the scarcity of water and fuel, explains Café Maroc executive chef and owner Adam Bernstein. In a heavy clay pot, vegetables, fruit, meat, and spices mingle—it is this marriage of sweet and savory that largely defines Moroccan cooking, a cuisine steeped in tradition and colored by the ancient spice trade.
“Most of the flavors are identifiable, because they have Mediterranean or European roots,” Bernstein says. The native Moroccan elements, like saffron, mint, olives, and citrus, brighten the savory imported spices. Bastilla, the national dish of Morocco, perfectly pairs these sweet and savory elements: Chicken or tempeh is tucked between thin phyllo layers and softened with a dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar.
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Café Maroc, the newest venture from the veteran Eugene restaurateur, offers a rich North African experience, with an eye on sustainability. Opened in July 2008 in the space formerly occupied by Luna Jazz Club, Maroc features moderately priced fare and relies primarily on local and seasonal products.
The seeds for this North African eatery were planted during Bernstein’s days as a young chef in New York. Under the tutelage of a Moroccan chef in a small French bistro, Bernstein learned the fundamentals and was exposed to the graciousness of Moroccan hospitality while dining at the chef’s home.
Years later, Bernstein has translated the elements of this hospitality into Café Maroc. In the dining room, low tables with floor cushions are interspersed among cozy dining nooks. The space was decorated in part by Jewell Murphy of Eugene’s Passionflower Design, and the many colors, textures, and details provide a rich visual counterpart to the sensual nature of the dining experience. Most evenings, a rotating cast of belly dancers entertains the diners. It’s customary to eat with your hands using bread as the utensil (though silverware and chairs are available for those more comfortable with Western conventions).
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While Moroccan cuisine dominates the menu, the smattering of Ethiopian and Middle Eastern fare, like the Ethiopian potato stew with goat or tempeh and berbere (a spicy red sauce), is not to be overlooked. Various incarnations of lamb from Anderson Ranch in Brownsville form the backbone of the larger plates—kebabs, or meat braised with saffron honey and almonds. For vegetarians, the seasonal vegetable tagine offers a savory option.
Along with these standout large plates, Maroc’s moderately priced five-course dinner adds small portions of mildly spiced red pepper hummus, seasoned olives, small salads, bastilla, and harira, as is customary in formal meals. Thin layers of phyllo-like bread enfolded upon itself like a handkerchief accompany each course.
As the courses overlap, the colorful nature of the food itself creates a table that is visually stunning. “It’s a vibrant spice palate in color, texture, and flavor,” Bernstein says. Saffron brightens the delicate couscous with sunny hues. And two common condiments—chermoula, a mixture of cilantro, lemon, and olive oil; and harissa, composed of chili peppers, garlic, coriander, cumin, and olive oil—enliven dishes with green and red spice.
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Settle the palate in traditional fashion with Maroc’s exceptional sweetened mint tea. It is the perfect and strikingly simple conclusion to the rich complexities of a North African meal.
