Zhuzh Up Your Pasta With This Local Red Sauce

I confess: when I make pasta at home, I use red sauce from a jar. I dress it up a little with some herbs and garlic—I’m not a monster—but I wouldn’t say my pastas are the most impressive dishes on my dinner repertoire. 

But as a working parent often responsible for making dinner and as a food lover, I discovered that it doesn’t have to be either/or when it comes to settling for store-bought or the effort of making homemade sauce. Why not leave red sauce to actual Italian craftsmen who tap into their Roman background to create sauce that’s actually tasty, but also convenient? 

Enter Nico Piña, owner and chef behind Romolo & Remo. The labels on Piña’s jarred sauces blend the iconic façade of Rome’s Colosseum with the classic silhouette of the Coronado Bridge, reflecting his childhood growing up in Italy’s capital city alongside his adolescence into adulthood spent in San Diego. When the great creative culinary boom across the world took hold (otherwise known as Covid lockdowns), he did what we all did and started cooking from home. Like, a lot. 

“These were sauces that I ate and made with my family growing up,” he says. “We’ve been doing them for a lifetime.”

Roman-style pasta sauces lean spicier than other iterations.“[Romans] love to add chiles to things,” he explains. He got so immersed in perfecting small batches of fresh sauce that he ended up buying a pallet of glass jars to be able to make enough to give to friends. From there, he started taking some orders on Instagram, and once farmers markets reopened, he realized he could make a real go at launching his own line. 

Romolo & Remo’s core sauces came from family recipes, with two base flavors each offered in mild and spicy versions. All four are gluten-free, vegan, and contain no added sugars—a rarity in shelf-stable sauces at standard grocery stores. And, he assures me, no additional dressing up is needed. (I’ll try to restrain myself. Old habits die hard.) 

Piña’s products are available online and at various farmers markets—Saturdays in Vista, Sundays at La Jolla and Leucadia—as well as small retailers like Bodega Market in Oceanside, Always Hungry Grocery & Goods in Carlsbad, Tablespoon in North Park, Home Ec in Kensington, Clos Wine Shop in University Heights, and all Valley Farm Markets and Venissimos. But if you want anything outside the core four sauces, like his traditional pesto, you’ll have to head to one of the farmers markets. “I describe those as my ‘farmers market exclusives,’” he laughs. Since he doesn’t add any preservatives, pesto’s short shelf life means it should be used right away. (Pro tip: he does, on occasion, drop off a few jars of pesto to his first retail account: Home Ec. Good luck!)

One day, Piña hopes to “conquer his backyard” by becoming the premier tomato sauce made in and available throughout San Diego. To do so would require strategic upsizing of production, which right now is a one-man-show for cooking, jarring, filling, and labeling every single jar. But if he manages to get his San Diego sauces in stores across the country without sacrificing quality or freshness… well, that’s the dream, anyway. 

But he’s not in a rush to go beyond San Diego quite yet. Here, farmers markets run all year round and locals like to support locals. “We’re quite lucky to have a very heavy localism—things made in San Diego hold a higher value to San Diegans,” he says. “Never did I really think that I was going to be able to create something that sustains me in a city that’s known to be expensive… looking back at how far I’ve come is just incredible.”

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Beth’s Bites

• I finally managed to snag two bar seats at Throne Room, the latest libation lair from the folks behind Kindred and Mothership. I went in expecting to be impressed by the drinks (I was—try the clarified Bloody Mary for a mind trip), but I didn’t realize how hard they’d smash the mezze menu as well. Marinated olives and Brie made with cashews have no business being that flavorful, so don’t leave with an empty stomach. 
• Why, oh why would a merciful God curse us with such calamitous heat? I’ve found there’s only one way to fight the devilish Santa Ana winds and that’s by sticking exclusively to poolside excursions. La Valencia Hotel got the memo and is launching its Wednesday night fall poolside movie series through October, with spooky flicks like Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic ready to screen. $35 gets you in, and it’s another $5 for a “Pup Pass” should you require a four-legged companion. 
• What better way to manifest fall than by planning a pilgrimage to San Diego’s apple town, Julian? Nickel Beer Company is gearing up for wet hop beer season, a must-try for any hopheads chasing the ultimate hop experience. If beer doesn’t suit, there are plenty of restaurants, cideries, farmstands, and of course, pie shops to wet your whistle.

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