Husband-and-wife team Troy and Christina McDonald run Brugos Pizza Co. & Bistro at Stagecoach Village. (Photos by David Minton)
Tastes of Sicily
Brugos brings authentic Italian to Cave Creek By Jordan Houston
C
hristina McDonald says her mother was the first American to marry into her father’s Sicilian family. The Cave Creek resident jokingly recalls her father’s family, the Cefalus, asking her mother to sign off on two terms before wedding — to practice Catholicism and to master Italian cooking. “She had to agree to sign a contract to raise us as Catholics and also to learn how to cook Italian,” McDonald shares, noting her grandmother at the time did not speak English nor did her mother speak Italian. Fast forward to the present, McDonald continues a time-honored line of Italian family-owned restaurants, including Alioto’s 32
on the Wharf of San Francisco, Swirl in Santa Rosa and Balistreri’s in Milwaukee, and she’s continuing the legacy in Cave Creek. McDonald, alongside her husband Troy, helms the revered community staple Brugos Pizza Co. & Bistro, located at Stagecoach Village at 7100 E. Cave Creek Road, Suite 150. The Italian eatery has built a reputation for itself over the last decade as a home away from home featuring authentic Cefalu dishes, such as homemade lasagnas and savory pizzas, in a casual yet fine dining atmosphere. “It is a labor of love for sure. If you’re just doing it for the money, it’s not going to work,” McDonald says. “It’s like having people over
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to my house for dinner — it’s the same feeling you get at Thanksgiving or Christmas, only I get it every day — the anxiety and joy. It’s remarkable.” The scratch menu boasts dinner specials such as chicken marsala, shrimp scampi, chicken piccata, fancy cheese tortellini and chicken Parmesan. It offers award-winning
