18 SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 2, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | LETTERS | CONTENTS | green chiles. In 2002, Bartolo started distributing Mosco seeds to growers around Pueblo... and the pepper took off. “I have kind of been perplexed sometimes about why it elicits such a response from people,” he admits. Bartolo believes it’s not just the fl avor of the chile that makes it popular, but also how it’s been integrated into the cuisine and cul- ture of the Pueblo community. Pino, too, has wondered how the seeds spread so fast and the chiles became so legendary, but he’s just glad that his ancestors can be honored. “[Mike] did a really good thing for the city, the state and for the family history,” Pino says. “I believe those seeds would have contin- ued to grow, but I don’t think they would have reached the potential that they have reached today.” The rivalry with New Mexico’s green chile has helped both Hatch and Mosco peppers become more popular with the public. But if you ask the very family that invented the Pueblo-based chile, they don’t quite see it as a competition. Pino grew up eating Hatch chiles, too, and says he’s al- ways enjoyed them — despite preferring the Mosco variety. “No disrespect to Hatch,” Pino says. “I love New Mexico. I love all the culture there. … Chile is good no matter what it is.” Bartolo says he’s often asked to comment on the dif- ferences between the peppers and assess which is better. But he agrees: All chiles are great. He believes people are tied to their particular peppers because chile is culture, not just calories. “It’s part of our...I don’t want to say our spiritual sustenance, but we all have an affi n- ity because we all have good memories of the food that we enjoy with friends and family that have chile in it,” Bartolo says. “That’s what gives it its uniqueness.” Bartolo is featured in Mirasol, a movie made by the Palmer Land Conservancy, a nonprofi t conservation organization, that came out September 18 (check mirasolfi lm. com for upcoming screenings). The fi lm tells the story of agriculture on Colorado’s plains as water scarcity threatens the area’s farmers. He hopes that Mirasol and the popularity of the Mosco chiles that the earlier pepper spawned remind people to stay connected to the earth. “It’s a pepper that has a long history,” Bartolo says. “I don’t at all consider myself as the person that bred it, because it’s been handed down from generations. I had the opportunity to hold the baton for a little bit of the race, and I got to run with it while passing it off.” Chiles are woven through the menu at Vinny & Marie’s, but Pino’s favorite use is in the “Mosco,” a sandwich with Italian sausage, cheese and chopped green chiles. He thinks anyone who eats a Mosco chile can taste the care and the history in every bite. What makes it so good is “the dedication and the love from my Uncle Harry in selecting the right seeds,” Pino says. He’s tried to instill that dedication in his children, Vinny and Marie, for whom his food truck is named. Pino says he learned from his great-grandparents, grandmother, uncles and aunts to be proud of who he is and where he comes from, and to strive to build the best legacy possible. “One way I can pay homage to them is by creating the food truck based around family,” he says. “We used to have some of the greatest gatherings of food, and everybody would be smiling when they left — stuffed to the gills, but smiling. That’s how I pay homage to my family with this great, tremendous history.” Follow @vinnynmariesitalian on Ins- tagram to keep up with where the truck is around Denver. Email the author at [email protected]. Cafe continued from page 17 ALL PHOTOS BY EVAN SEMÓN James “Jimmy the Wolf” Pino (above) outside the Vinny & Marie’s food truck, where family members have gathered.
