Angelina’s Authentic Italian
For more than two decades Angelina’s in Portsmouth was a Seacoast landmark widely lauded for its authentic Italian cuisine, its menu featuring everything from fresh pastas and homemade sauces to the eatery’s signature calzones. Fay Zoffoli-Ham co-founded the restaurant with her childhood friend Angie in 1983, and ran the restaurant until her retirement in 1997 — after it was sold, the business continued under the Angelina’s name before closing for good in 2005. Fast forward to 2021, and Julie Gagne of Rye — Zoffoli-Ham’s daughter — found herself taking on a friend’s request to make 10 calzones for his birthday party. “I learned how to make calzones from my mom, and of course that was Angelina’s iconic item,” Gagne said. “At his party, people were wishing him a happy birthday, and then the conversation centered around the calzones. [People said] things like ‘These are amazing’ or ‘I can’t believe it, I haven’t had one in so long!’” The response to her calzones was so positive that it inspired Gagne to set up a test kitchen in her own home to sell them. By February of this year she had transitioned into a commercial setting; now operating out of a commissary kitchen at 150 Lafayette Road in Rye, Angelina’s Authentic Italian (angelinasauthenticitalian.com, and on Facebook and Instagram) is a takeout-only business featuring a combination of some original Angelina’s recipes and items Gagne learned to make herself, either from her grandmother or during her travels to Italy. Ordering is available online with a 24-hour notice and pickups on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, from 3 to 5 p.m. The Scene recently caught up with Gagne to talk about how she’s carrying on her family’s legacy with authentic home-cooked Italian items from calzones and breads to meat and marinara sauces.
How long has Angelina’s Authentic Italian been around?
I set up shop in February. … I rent a commercial kitchen space at the Inn at Rye Place. It’s a great location [and] very easy to get to. They reopened under new ownership last year, and they have a lot of businesses within the complex.
What makes Angelina’s Authentic Italian unique?
Everything I do is made from scratch … and it’s made to order, so when you come and pick something, it’s fresh and usually it’s still warm from the oven. … I also really value sustainability, so if you look at my packaging, I package in paper which is more sustainable than plastic. I package my sauce in glass so it’s reusable.
What is your favorite thing on your menu?
I think my personal favorite is my meat sauce. I offer it a la carte [in a] pint or a quart. … If you’re in an Italian family, the meat sauce is the barometer for everything else that you do. … People are proud of their meat sauces, as I am, and the recipe and the technique changes from family to family. It’s even different within the family. When somebody who is truly Italian loves my sauce, it’s like a badge of honor.
What is something everyone should try?
The meatball calzone. It’s my No. 1 seller and it was the No. 1 seller from my mom, too. [It has] my homemade meatballs and sauce, and then cheese and homemade dough. It’s pretty damn good.
What celebrity would you like to see ordering from you?
If I had a time machine, I would say Anthony Bourdain. He’s my idol, and somebody that I think really captures the essence of connection through food. … Since we can’t go back in time, I would have to say Stanley Tucci. We’re both Italian-American, we love our roots … and we both really have a passion for eating, cooking and connecting.
What is an essential skill to running this type of business?
I think, for me, something that’s non-negotiable is that you have to have passion for what you’re doing. You have to put your heart and soul into it.
What is your favorite thing about being on the Seacoast?
I love the summer. From June to September, I can’t even touch the ground, I’m so happy.
— Matt Ingersoll
Photo courtesy of Angelina’s Authentic Italian.
