A Jagged Path to Refuge

By Rifugio's Country Italian Cuisine | 06/14/2024
A plate of food with meat and vegetables on it.

Cultivating farm-to-table country Italian cuisine at Refugio’s with chef Richard Balogh Written by Annabelle Stefanoff During a family trip to Europe at 16 years old, Richard Balogh, head chef, and owner of Rifugio’s, experienced his first calling to food. I remember eating my first fresh fig from the tree. The only experience I had was Fig…

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Lasagna The Journey and Exploration

By Rifugio's Country Italian Cuisine | 06/14/2024
A skillet with some food in it on top of a table.

The Journey and the Exploration of Lasagna Began many years ago when I opened the Caffe then called Il Caffe Rifugio. Being a Sicilian, American-born in Cleveland, Ohio, and moving to the Great Northwest I always wanted to have a space to craft food and art. Being an Alumni of the University of Cincinnati DAAP…

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