i. Biography
Rick Gencarelli’s restaurants work in a direct register: appetite first, technique in service of volume, texture, speed, and satisfaction. The cooking favors weight and clarity over ceremony, with formats built for immediate eating—sandwiches, pasta bowls, counter-service meals—and enough structure behind them to hold up under repetition.
The Climb
Technical formation at The Culinary Institute of America gave Rick Gencarelli the kitchen base for hearty, sharply focused cooking and for the operator’s side of restaurant work. The later shift is in the service model: less distance between production and guest, more emphasis on food that can move quickly without giving up intent. Counter-service cooking, as practiced across Lardo, Grassa, and Bluto’s, depends on formats that read fast and eat fully. Rick is chef and one of the owners of Lardo, chef and one of the owners of Grassa (since 2013), and one of the owners of Bluto's. Across those roles, the common thread is food built with clear appetite logic: sandwiches with old-world intention and contemporary force, and pasta made to be carefully prepared while remaining easy to order, receive, and eat.
The Work Today
The sandwich work specializes in unapologetically rich builds, using old-world techniques, contemporary flourishes, and a gonzo approach in a sandwich shop focused on bovine and swine. The craft is in construction: fat, crust, tenderness, seasoning, and layering arranged so the bite stays coherent while still delivering abundance. Rich, over-the-top sandwiches are a known part of Rick Gencarelli’s work there. At the Las Vegas location, Dirty Fries are identified as a signature item and a favorite; the Phởrench Dip is also cited among the favorites. The format stays recognizable, but the scale and flavor pressure are pushed harder without losing the comfort that makes the item work. Fresh pasta, in the Grassa model, is treated as counter-service food without dropping the craft premise. The restaurant is built around meticulously crafted bowls of fresh pasta served quickly in a casual counter-service format, presenting artisan comfort food in a no-frills fashion. Named dishes include Cacio e Pepe with truffle butter and Rigatoni with Sunday Pork Ragu. The value of the model is its discipline: a precise product delivered in an everyday frame. Hospitality for endurance cyclists gives the same food logic another context: restoration through density, timing, and generosity. As Rick Gencarelli puts it, “As someone who has spent a career nurturing and feeding people, there are few things more gratifying than feeding a fully bonked, beyond-hungry endurance cyclist! It reminds us why we do what we do.” The point is practical: food has to bring the guest back, whether the setting is a sandwich counter, a pasta line, or a rider running on empty.
Signature
In that context, the signature sits inside the restaurant’s fresh-pasta focus and casual counter-service rhythm. Dishes such as Cacio e Pepe with truffle butter and Rigatoni with Sunday Pork Ragu show the project’s working balance: fresh pasta, familiar comfort, quick service, and enough craft detail to justify repeat eating.
Recognition
The move from plated kitchens to a more direct format is stated plainly by Rick Gencarelli: “Spending the bulk of my career in fine dining and plated food, coming to Portland just kind of opened the door to explore different ways to stay in this business and have it be a little different–a different model. And I love sandwiches.” That shift is a change of frame, not a rejection of technique. Counter service, sandwiches, pasta, and high-satisfaction comfort food still require control; they simply put that control closer to the guest and under faster conditions. In Rick Gencarelli’s work, the craft is measured by how clearly the food delivers: fast, rich, direct, and built for appetite.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Rick
Where did Rick Gencarelli train or study?
Rick Gencarelli trained at The Culinary Institute of America.
What is Rick Gencarelli known for?
Lardo specializes in unapologetically rich sandwiches.
