Pino grew up in a large Italian American family in the Grove area of Pueblo. "My family had a farm out on County 26 Lane. Growing up there was just so much abundance of good food around, and a lot of it was Spanish and Mexican-infused foods. And green chile was big — a lot of people don't know this, but a bunch of Sicilians and Italians grew that chile and they made a lot of green chile, probably some of the best," he says.
When he was younger, "my mother was sick and a lot of things didn't make her happy, but being in the kitchen with the family did," he recalls. "To see that and to see everybody together in the kitchen was quite interesting. It just made me feel like this is something I want to do, because when people eat, they smile."
Much of Pino's time in the kitchen revolved around sampling his grandmother's food, but because of his mother's illness, he began cooking, too. "A lot of that responsibility was up to me," he says. "I liked making stuff my grandmother made, and I would try to do it and it was never on point. It took me a while to get things done exactly like hers."
He primarily learned by asking questions and consistently persuading his family members to share their knowledge and demonstrate how to make things. Once he grasped the basics of selecting and combining proteins and vegetables to create meals, he took charge of meals at home — and started getting compliments. "'Man, you got it down. This is what we remember when we were younger,'" he recalls being told.
James "Jimmy the Wolf" Pino launched this food truck named after his two children in 2021.
Chris Byard
He worked as a foreman in the Denver area and made good money until he realized he was unhappy. "I hated going to work every day," he admits. "I thought about food constantly. I would watch the Food Network. I would go to places and critique them. I thought about starting a blog but never did. And then the pandemic came. ... I lost a lot of friends, and I realized that I'm just going to go after my dreams. I had a new kid on the way, and I didn't want him or my daughter to think that you can't go after your dreams and that you just have to settle for less."
He began pulling resources together and telling relatives about his plans to launch an Italian food truck. Even with their full support, Pino experienced moments of self-doubt. "As I started seeing the truck being built, I'm not lying, I was scared shitless," he says. "I thought, maybe I'm not good, maybe I'm not cut out for this. ... My grandmother told me, 'Just do it. Just do it like you are cooking for a big family.'"
After his grandmother's encouragement provided him with renewed confidence, he was all in and simply needed a name before hitting the streets. "I was going over all these names in my head, and my kids were in the kitchen, excited and helping me cut vegetables. I looked down at my kids and went, 'Vinny and Marie's — that's it.' I teared up, and they were so surprised I was naming it after them," Pino says.
In April 2021, he officially launched Vinny and Marie's.
While his chicken parmigiana sandwich is the most popular menu item, Pino's personal favorite is the Mosco, named after his uncle Harry Mosco, who first started growing green chiles on his family farm. It's loaded with Italian sausage, American and provolone cheese, and a hearty portion of Pueblo (aka Mosco) chiles.
"For me, it's special because it's just something I grew up on as a kid," Pino says. "My grandmother would put sausage on the table and she'd have a bowl of green chiles that she had cut and cleaned on the side. I would just get a piece of bread and some cheese and make a sandwich. It was fucking good, and it was hot and spicy."
He adds, "What I'm trying to do is show my meaningful representation of my family, how I grew up and what it meant to me to be together and to serve people good food and make them feel good."
Other menu items include the classic sausage and peppers sandwich as well as pasta dishes and panzerotti, a deep-fried Italian dough stuffed with cheese.
To get a taste, follow @vinnynmariesitalian for the truck's schedule.
