Scott Tacinelli & Angie Rito

Don Angie & San Sabino - New York, NY

Husband and wife Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli are the chefs and owners of beloved, Michelin-starred Italian American restaurant Don Angie and San Sabino in the West Village of New York City. The duo met over 12 years ago working at Park Avenue Seasons in New York City—Tacinelli working as a cook after a pivot from a career in corporate sales while Rito began as a server and quickly joined the kitchen team. What began as a friendship quickly blossomed into romance after a three-week backpacking trip across Spain in 2009.

Before opening Don Angie together, the two helmed the kitchen at Quality Italian, where they invented the renowned “Chicken Parm Pizza,” and later the acclaimed pop-up restaurant dinnertable.

In 2018, they fulfilled their dream of opening their own special neighborhood spot with Don Angie, an intimate restaurant serving up a modern ode to Italian-American cuisine. The restaurant quickly received tremendous critical acclaim, including a 2-star review from The New York Times and inclusion on Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America list in 2018. Rito and Tacinelli became known for boldly unexpected dishes that challenge your perception of traditional Italian-American cooking, earning them a nomination for Best Chef: New York City and New York State by the James Beard Foundation in both 2019 and 2020, respectively, and Outstanding Chef 2022. Don Angie was also awarded a Michelin star in 2021 and 2022, and has been nominated for Outstanding Restaurant in 2025.

In 2021, Rito and Tacinelli authored their first cookbook, Italian American, published by Clarkson Potter. In 2024, Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli opened their second restaurant, San Sabino, just next door from Don Angie, offering their signature, playfully unexpected spin on Italian cuisine, with a bold, coastal American seafood focus.