You don't need a nonna to love cheesy, golden stuffed shells. And you didn’t have to grow up in a house that made Sunday gravy to crave saucy, garlicky braciole. The affection for red-sauce cooking is strong among chefs right now, and they’re answering the call for classic Italian-American fare at restaurants like L.A.’s Cosa Buona, Austin’s Juliet Italian Kitchen, and Philly’s Palizzi Social Club, No. 4 on our Hot 10 list.
The South Philly eatery is chef Joey Baldino’s resurrection of a rules-driven social club started by Italian immigrants in 1918; the old version counted his uncle and other relatives as members. Now Palizzi has become a way for Baldino to pay homage to the past while, for the first time, inviting the rest of us to celebrate the food he grew up eating. “The way my mom—and my aunts and my grandmother—cook is straightforward, fresh, delicious, and simple,” he says. “That’s what 99 percent of my menu is based on.”
That includes things like wilted escarole with cannellini beans and rib eye with marinara sauce. Then there’s another tradition that Baldino honors: the aforementioned rules. No excessive phone use, no hats, no “loud, obnoxious behavior,” and no entry without membership, which is available at the door every night for $20 and a reference from another member. Of course, there is one workaround: making Baldino’s recipes at home, no membership required.
Get the recipes:
Ricotta Pie with Amarena Cherries