Where it begins.

The first moment my parents blended their cultures wasn’t when they got married, nor was it when they had children—it was when my Italian-American dad cooked my mom dinner for the first time. The only item on the menu that night was lasagna; a traditional Italian dish made with blood, sweat, tears, and ground beef.

Straight out of the oven came the indulgent pasta dish—but, my mom had one issue,

“Where’s the rice?” she said.

Confused but eager to please, my dad quickly whipped up a pot of basic white rice before serving to my mom and her family of 6 in a tiny pre-war apartment on the Upper West Side.

Call it my mom’s Ecuadorian heritage remaining prominent in our lives, but still to this day it’s a tradition in my family to serve white rice as a side for lasagna—and practically every meal we have together.

An homage to the melting pot of cultures that I am, I’ve created ‘With a Side of Rice.’ The perfect representation of my love for food from all over the world.

Buon appetito. Buen provecho. I hope you enjoy.