When I heard of the Prince of Venice food truck, I chuckled to myself. To the best of my knowledge, no royalties live in Venice California, or does the name of the truck mean something else?
The Prince of Venice food truck was conceived by a real prince – Prince Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia. He is the grandson of the late King Umberto II, last reigning king of Italy. Like many people that visited LA, Filiberto experienced LA’s food truck scene. He sought to carve his own niche by having a truck that produces a variety of fresh pasta and to serve it with delicious handmade sauces.
Food trucks stop in a variety of different places. I found the Prince of Venice recently at the the Shores in Marina Del Rey. Their truck has a large glass window and when they saw me taking pictures, they invited me aboard. I was delighted that I was able to capture the action and converse with them as they worked.
Generoso Celentano is the chef of the Prince of Venice. I found him to be down to earth, full of energy and friendly. He was formerly a chef working with Neal Fraser at Red Bird in DTLA. Celentano also was a chef in his hometown of Salerno, Italy.
Madeline hails from New Orleans. She grew up in food services as both of her parents were into the food business. Madeline is approachable, friendly and has the perfect personality for interfacing with customers. Once you start talking with her, you’ll quickly see her sassy side.
The Prince of Venice advertises that they use freshly made pasta. In my mind, I thought that they would make their pasta in the food truck commissary. I was surprised to see a Italian made Rosito Bisani Pasta Extruder TR/75 on-board the truck. It is the Binford of pasta machines and it will probably outlast the life of the truck.
Their signature dish is the Maccheroni alla Bolognese. Roasted carrots and celery is finely diced and mixed with red wine, free range ground beef and tomato paste. It is topped with freshly grated parmesan. The result is a delicious meaty sauce that sticks to the ridges of the tubular pasta.
The pasta with butternut squash in a sage cream sauce in the foreground
I also tried the Creste di Gallo pasta with butternut squash in a sage cream sauce. Creste di Gallo pasta is named “rooster crest” because of its resemblance to a rooster’s cockscomb. Because of its ruffled edge, the pasta retained much of the delicious sage cream sauce.
Curry chicken pasta
Maccheroni alla Bolognese
To address the needs for people desiring a meat option, they created a chicken curry pasta. After launching it, they removed it from their menu thinking that it didn’t quite fit with their line-up. Customers often ask that it return and so it is now part of their daily menu. Casarecce pasta is tossed with shredded chicken and a sauce that joins a pinch of curry to a creamy alfredo. To me, it was like eating a Thai pasta dish.
If you like Italian pasta, you should definitely give The Prince of Venice a try. Their pasta is made fresh on-board the truck and combined with their sauces, the end result is remarkable. You even have a Salerno chef preparing it solely for you!
Check their website for their stops. They also have a monthly stop at First Friday on Abbot Kinney.
The Prince of Venice
http://www.princeofvenicefoodtruck.com/