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FOOD
Food & Drink
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Scottsdale’s newest Italian restaurant is Campo Italian, which opened for dinner service on Hayden Road on June 1. Their pizza dough is made with organic flours from Noble Bread. (Studio Alcott)
2 chefs team up for Campo Italian
BY KRISTINE CANNON
Progress Staff Writer
About 15 years ago, chefs Alex Stratta and Jeremy Pacheco were living in Las Vegas, working at separate successful restaurants inside Wynn Las Vegas.
Surprisingly, not once have the awardwinning chefs teamed up to open up a restaurant together – until now.
Opened for dinner service starting June 1, Campo Italian is Scottsdale’s newest Italian restaurant, boasting authentic dishes inspired by both chefs’ families and upbringings, from gnocchi and pizza to handcrafted pasta and meatballs. “Twenty-five years ago, I had the best meatballs I ever had, and I’m like, ‘I have to have that recipe,’” Stratta said of his sisterin-law’s meatball recipe. “I’ve been using it literally for 25 years. It’s just so good.”
But it’s Campo Italian’s bolognese lasagna that Pacheco said is the perfect example of an authentic Italian dish that combines both Stratta’s and Pacheco’s family recipes.
“I know it sounds basic, but we both have recipes for Bolognese we like and
Boondocks Patio & Grill owners Jake Kory and Luke Kory are expanding their popular neighborhood restaurant and bar into Tempe. (Pablo Robles/Progress Staff Photographer)
Scottsdale’s Boondocks plans Tempe locale
BY KRISTINE CANNON
Progress Staff Writer
Since taking over the old Spanish Fly space in Old Town in 2014, Boondocks Patio & Grill has become one of the more popular casual hangout spots in Scottsdale. Patrons flock to the neighborhood restaurant and bar to order burgers and “docktails,” to watch sporting events on their LED TVs, and to enjoy live music by local artists on the expansive outdoor patio.
And this summer, Boondocks is bringing that experience to its old stomping grounds: Tempe. Boondocks No. 2 will take over the old Prankster’s location near Broadway and Rural roads.
“Jacob and I are the owners and brothers, and we both went to ASU. We have another two brothers who went to ASU, and both of our parents went to ASU. We’re one big ASU family,” said co-owner Luke Kory.
The 3,200-square-foot restaurant will boast that same wood and exposed brick look that patrons of the Scottsdale location have come to know and love.
And it will serve the same menu, in-
use, but we were able to combine both of our Bolognese recipes into a lasagna dish that we are both proud to serve,” said Pacheco, Genuine Concepts’ executive chef.
“Really, every dish was like that,” Pacheco continued of Campo Italian’s menu. “Whether it’s a recipe, plating or presentation, Alex and I are both able to combine our strengths to create a final dish that we and more importantly our guests will be happy with.”
In addition to strong family ties, the dishes also feature authentic, high-quality, local products and ingredients – like pasta made by Sonoran Pasta Co., wagyu beef carpaccio made with American wagyu from Rovey Family Farms, and pizza dough made with organic flours from Noble Bread.
“Jason Raducha from Noble Bread was nice enough to help us develop a pizza dough recipe that we feel sets us apart from other pizza places,” Pacheco said. “We are able to use that same dough for our bread that we serve with our eggplant puree and our sandwiches.”
What also sets Campo Italian apart from other Italian restaurants in the Valley is its place within the Genuine Concepts family.
Culinarily overseen by Pacheco, who joined the Genuine Concepts family himself last fall, the neighborhood-focused restaurant group comprises The Vig, The Little Woody, The Womack, Ladera Taverna y Cocina and The McMillan.
“As we were developing Campo as a group, we wanted Campo to have the vibe and feel of The Vig with an Italian backbone,” Pacheco explained.
Designed and decorated by Trina Boyd, Campo Italian boasts a warm, inviting in-
James Beard Award-winning chef and northern Scottsdale resident Alex Stratta recently opened his new restaurant Campo Italian. (Debby Wolvos)
terior featuring community tables and an open floorplan.
It’s a restaurant both Stratta and Pacheco hope will feel like a second home for patrons.
“We want guests to come in and order multiple items, share, and enjoy with a well-made cocktail or great glass of wine,” Pacheco said.
Campo Italian is located on Hayden Road, taking the place of Stratta’s previous Mediterranean-focused restaurant, Stratta Kitchen, which opened to the public right before the pandemic hit last spring.
“We unfortunately opened at the absolute worst time,” Stratta said. “Pre-COVID, people went full throttle on comfort food and enjoying wine, beer, ice cream. People were like, ‘Ah, finally, I’m free!’ So, it wasn’t what I expected it to be.”
Stratta shelved the Mediterranean con-
BOONDOCKS ���� page 28
cluding their popular half-pound burgers made with 100 percent American beef and cooked to order.
“We stepped up our game,” Luke said. “Since the get-go, we have fresh ground meat that comes in. We don’t do the frozen patties; we do the fresh ground. And they’re really big, meaty burgers.”
Patrons also rave over Boondocks’ ribs. The Scottsdale Rack... of Ribs is a full rack of whiskey maple-glazed spareribs served with coleslaw and mac ‘n’ cheese.
“Our ribs are amazing, and I would rival them to some of the smoke houses out here,” Luke said.
Boondocks makes everything from scratch, unlike other bars that might lean on frozen fare.
“We had a lot of notoriety after COVID about how good our food is,” Luke said. “Even our chicken tenders: We brine them for a day.”
Unlike the Scottsdale location, Tempe Boondocks will be more “food-forward” and open for lunch.
Like the Scottsdale location, the new Boondocks will feature daily acoustic sets during the week and full band shows on the weekends.
Because the Tempe Boondocks will be
.Campo Italian was designed and decorated by Trina Boyd. (Studio Alcott)
cept and tapped back into his roots: Italian food.
“My go-to has always been Italian and especially regional rustic and we’re doing it the right way,” said Stratta, who not only once spearheaded the award-winning Italian restaurant Stratta at Wynn Las Vegas and was chosen as Iron Chef Italian on “Iron Chef USA,” where he was nicknamed the “Italian Scallion.”
For Stratta, “doing it the right way” means making great pizza, great fresh pasta, and giving guests dishes that are familiar yet executed, as he put it, “true to form in the sense of tradition and history.”
“You know, trying to cook really to the roots of where this stuff comes from in the first place,” Stratta said. “[My dishes are] linked to culinary heritage and history and tradition and real research into the foundations of regional cooking that have their tentacles in my family cooking.”
Overall, Pacheco describes working on Campo Italian with Stratta as a “true collaboration.”
“It was very exciting for me to have the chance to finally work side by side in the kitchen with someone I have looked up to professionally for so many years,” Pacheco said.
Information: 480-597-9195 or campoitalian.com.
smaller than the Scottsdale location, the sound and the size of the bands who perform will be “a little tighter,” Luke said.
“But we’re going to keep going with the live music,” he continued. “There’ll be more opportunity for some more of those acoustic sets during the week.”
The Tempe location will maintain a similar indoor-outdoor feel as the Scottsdale restaurant, which features one of Scottsdale’s largest climate-controlled patios.
“We built out a patio for it, and we opened up the windows to the inside,” Luke said.
In addition to boasting a 20-foot window overlooking Broadway, the new Boondocks will feature 20-foot garage doors that open up into the patio.
“It’s going to feel like you’re outside and open-air, kind of like Scottsdale is, except it’s going to have a little more under-roof than we’re used to,” Luke explained.
The Boondocks team isn’t against continuing to expand in the Valley. They just plan to do so at their own pace.
“We’ve had a couple of opportunities in the west side, the east side, and then even Phoenix, but nothing’s really fit the mold,” Luke said. “If it doesn’t feel comfortable ... then we’re not going to push it into something.”
