Description
Welcome to "Red Sauce America" our coast-to-coast celebration of old-school Italian-American restaurants.
Getting a seat at Rao?s is like buying a time-share. Since 1896 the tiny Italian-American restaurant has been serving up family-style lemon chicken and seafood salad beneath strings of Christmas lights on a corner in East Harlem. But after New York Times food critic Mimi Sheraton gave it a three-star review in 1977, Rao?s enacted a notoriously strict reservation system to preserve its devout community of regulars. Now table assignments are made in weekly, monthly, or annual increments, and only a rare few get inside. Forget being somebody?you need to know somebody to get past co-owner Frank Pellegrino Jr. His father, Frank Pellegrino Sr., was nicknamed Frankie No for his stalwart ability to turn away celebrities and regular folks alike.
Item Special Note
A "Reservation for 4 people" (almost impossible to get)