Parisi: Denver dining to rival Florence.

• Author: Smith, Kathy
• Position: AND AROUND THE HIGHLANDS - Brief article

The Italian-American community newspaper Andiamo! recently dubbed Parisi the "best Italian restaurant" in Colorado.

Simone Parisi opened the eponymously named restaurant shortly after moving to Colorado from Florence, and it immediately burgeoned into a bustling business.

Parisi hails from a restaurant family. "When I was growing up, my parents would tell me to go work for a particular butcher because he was the best, or a deli because it was best in the business," he says. He moved to Denver with his new wife Christine in 1997. He was excited to open a restaurant here because "the equipment is newer and so much better." In Italy, he says, "The preparation is so much more laborious."

Parisi wants his customers to be exposed to traditional, home-style preparations from the Florence region. Describing his cooking style, he says, "We are...