Wendy DamonteChannel 2 News
What used to be an Arby's on the corner of McCarran and Prater is now anything but fast food. Angelica's is the best of two worlds. Italian and Mexican wonderfully combined under one roof. Bea Pico's family owns it. "My dad was an Italian chef in San Francisco for a good 25 years. We moved out to Fallon when I was 10 from San Francisco. And we bought a Mexican restaurant and he combined them."
Her dad, Julio Contrera, spends most of his time in the kitchen making his specialities he's perfected during more than 40 years behind a stove's flame. If you've eaten in Fallon, you might be familiar with Don Julio's and Julio's. They are both his.
But now he's trying to get closer to Reno for one small, but very special reason. Angelica's is named after his granddaughter. "My parents are totally in love with their little one year old granddaughter. So that's why they opened up this place eventually trying to move from Fallon to live closer to Angelica."
And after just a few months in business, the Italian offerings are decidedly more popular. "More to the Italian than the Mexican. The lasagna, the shrimp scampi, we have gnocchi gorgonzola, osso bucco which is a really good Italian meal."
The shrimp scampi is the most popular thing on the menu. The lobster ravioli come in a cream sauce with asparagus. And the gorgonzola gnocchi are homemade potato dumplings with chicken breast, mushrooms and gorgonzola cream sauce.
As for the Mexican side, the sangria is their own recipe. And since it has red wine in it, it might just go with either order, whether it be Mexican or Italian.
Angelica's is located at 683 N. McCarran Blvd. in Sparks, next to the Applebees. For more information call 775-351-1750 or go online to www.angelicasitalian-mexrestaurant.com
