Inside Rao's: Tour with Frank Pellegrino Sr. (Part 1)

[@amarbaha]

Ate here back in 2000 at it was like stepping back in time. Had one of the round tables by the bar, was like eating a Sunday dinner at a friend's house. Frank took me into the kitchen to show me how the chefs make the food, such a superb and wonderful person and host. The pride flows through. Also told me where he sourced the Gaeta and Sanniti olives from and since then they have been my favourite! I put my name on the list in 2000 let's see when I get another reservation ;-) !!!

[@BostonsF1nest]

I love this place so much. It has so much character to it. It’s almost like having Sunday dinners with your family every night you go in there.

[@zachkatsihtis4152]

Had the chance to have dinner at Raos, it was a great experience…

[@halfdayofthejackal9372]

Lucchese hook up?

[@louauricchio7865]

I went to Benjamin Franklin high school on 115th St. and Pleasant Avenue I lived on 114th St. between 1st and 2nd Ave. I pass by Rao’s every day on the way to school back in the day his grandfather had a cherry tree in his yard and I have kids used to go by and steal cherries off the tree and he chase it with a broom that’s quite a day quite a remembrance my uncle hung out at the restaurant I’ve been there a number of times myself this is during the 50s 40s and 50s I’m 86 years old now and I met a lot of people in that restaurant local wise guys and the rest

[@dealzman]

This guy is hitting on her the entire time!!

[@dabearcub]

Aditya Siripragada She’s hot.

[@yankees29]

Frank was a charming guy. Guy was legendary.

[@tommysoprano1441]

Fucking right he is I would be 2 She is stunning

[@blackcitroenlove]

He's a loveball, he loves people and enjoys making them feel happy and at home. I remember walking in on forearm crutches and he immediately gave up his seat at the bar so I didn't have to stand.

[@markb.9910]

Nah she was trying to get a table 👀

[@Heavy_Distortion]

The bodies are buried in the basement.

[@bigrichfish]

Ehhh, you want to eat, go to Patsys, you want to say you went to Raos, go have a drink at the bar, no reservation needed. But can’t eat at the bar, sorry.

[@funkoff5]

Wow!117years they've survived,that's amazing and they've kept it in the family.

[@rickproctor6693]

I love the food and the intrigue.

[@yankees29]

Sauce in a jar is illegal in my house...unless it’s Rao’s. Once in a blue moon I get lazy and use Rao’s sauce in my dishes. It’s the closest thing to home made.

[@jgray4234]

I agree. The only one I'll eat from a jar. It is incredible how homemade it taste for not coming straight off the stove at home.

[@mulder19x95]

Same here. If I'm making the dish its Rao's I'll use. I also recently got their soup and OMG I will never touch Campbell's or Progresso ever again. Their soup is absolutely phenomenal and it tastes homemade.

[@NunYa953]

I was lucky enough to eat here once. It changed my life.

[@G5xgajsjY793]

I am very lucky to eat their store bought marinara sauce while watching this video 😂

[@CatEyedGoddess]

How the hell did you get in?!!!

[@anticom6099]

That sounds pretty dramatic. What changed exactly

[@NunYa953]

@@anticom6099 It's the most incredible Italian food on earth.

[@anticom6099]

@@NunYa953 ok but what changed

[@prophetfuture9225]

Trisha Takanawa always giving us the best reporting

[@sheteg1]

Warm, friendly as inviting ? Only if you are Famous. Better Italian food to be had.

[@cowboy68]

Just Because you can’t go ha ha

[@gordongiobanni7543]

Uggottzz

[@cowboy68]

@@gordongiobanni7543it’s ugatz

[@shaserdeses]

Pelegrino: it’s illegal to not have menus and prices Me: what would the police say about that Pelegrino:taken care of

[@dr.finnegan3949]

This pellegrino guy is that cop from Sopranos, right?

[@sm1734]

yes

[@FamousFoodies]

Yes! He played a detective.

[@jfg1104]

@@FamousFoodies no FBI AGENT, but same difference. He also played an FBI agent in the HBO movie "Gotti" and was in "Goodfellas" as well

[@antoinesilva1527]

He played the New Jersey FBI Branch Chief.

[@zivkovicable]

Lucky me, I I got to eat there on my first evening in NYC in 1992..My girlfriend at the time managed a restaurant in Little Italy and her (famous in that world) boss had a permenant table at Rao's, fortunately due to a cancelation we got to go...Food so good i was close to tears, and for a European NYC first timer it was like being in a movie.... My Nona is from Bologna, and Italians who stayed can be a little snobbish about Italian American food, including my Nona..She never wet to Rao's though, & to be fair she was snobbish about food from other regions of Italy too....

[@joshlowney6326]

my dads been probably 100 times. Been having left over raos meatballs since i was allowed to eat 😂😂

[@cashmeregirl]

The frozen vodka pasta is great

[@cateringservicesnyc2783]

This video is very excellent, truly fun to view.

[@FamousFoodies]

Thank you for watching!

[@susananderson9619]

Does his son or grandson have a huge garden in a New Jersey neighborhood?

[@Nataloff]

Honors to the great and late "Frankie No."

[@RubbleByte]

He sounds like Bernie Sanders. Too bad the founder left this planet. He left with a remarkable old world treasure that’s known all around.

[@antoinesilva1527]

I knew he played Frank Cubitoso but just now know he played Johnny Dioguardi too. That’s some clout to had.

[@michaelmaddox2536]

Still trying to figure out the average cost of their food. For two am I looking at $100+ or nah?

[@josephchabot1214]

Michael Maddox 100 pp typically. Only cash accepted.

[@benedettoskitchen9545]

If you somehow get a chance to have a meal here consider yourself very lucky. Extremely difficult.

[@RasheemH]

It's not worth the price.

[@sm1734]

@@RasheemH 125 dollars a person without tip

[@yankees29]

Impossible to get a table. The tables are basically owned.

[@illuminatioracle]

is there grass on the field at michelle park? if so, play ball!

[@bongfunkmc]

Hahaha high quality turf

[@arthurmatzel2217]

What happened to Nicky "the vest" bar tender?

[@welderrrrrr5668]

He’s from the sopranos dea agent this cool

[@jfg1104]

FBI agent, also played an FBI agent in the HBO movie "Gotti" and was the guy cooking steaks in a pan, in jail , in the movie "Goodfellas"

[@antoinesilva1527]

@@jfg1104 Johnny Dioguardi, capo in the Lucchese crime family.

[@guychi-chifly950]

He looks just like the head FBI guy in the sopranos lol

[@SuperKoreanzombie]

That’s because it’s the same guy

[@snokky1611]

r/wooosh

[@FBT9356]

More celebs at Patsys met Ben Gazzara getting drunk at the bar , risottos off da chain !

[@ranbutch7544]

RIP

[@funtimeswheatha6552]

I love this 💕😍💕😍💕

[@tommysoprano1441]

RIP Frank :(

[@uranooblol6590]

Rao is my last name LMAO

[@itsatuffwrld840]

That new york accent

[@tommysoprano1441]

she is fucking gorgeous

[@ryancooper2901]

Jokes if so good why not expand

[@bhagheshrao17]

I never knew there is restaurant named after my surname

[@blackcitroenlove]

Mine too, my stepfather adopted me 20 years ago, they're related to this family.

[@Topszn1992]

Good Fellas vibes

[@georgeedward1226]

Just don't badmouth the singers.

[@miketexas4549]

Wolf of Wall Street brought me here

[@AB-xh4vr]

I think he passed away

[@edwinrivera797]

Oh I thought u meant the wine 🍷 🍷 vino cellar !!!!

[@Paelorian]

Can a non-celebrity with no connections make a reservation? I'd be willing to wait years.

[@0103cookie]

yea, just call in and say you wanna make reservation at (time) am/pm on (Month) (Date), 2082

[@RasheemH]

Don't. It's not worth it.

[@Paelorian]

@First Last What a stupid opinion. Do Italians forget how to make good food the moment they cross the Atlantic ocean? Italian-American food is like a regional variation of Italian food and many of the ingredients and dishes are very similar or even identical. Go into any Italian-American speciality food store and it's filled with foods you'd find in Italy, including many imports. It's a cuisine clearly suited for the palate of those who enjoy Italian food. It's the food Italians made when they came to America. You're going to tell me you can't enjoy food in an Italian-American restaurant? I make Italian-American and Italian dishes all the time and they're both authentic to where they come from. Italian-American foods like pepperoni and veal parmigiana are delicious.

[@JudgeJulieLit]

You'd get a table faster if in those wait years you become a celebrity and get connections.

[@3303ck]

Watch out mafia

[@frankesposito2182]

Mob owned Snake Pit!!!

[@raoshahzeb8148]

Wall of streat movie scean

[@kristintalarico5488]

The thing that bothers me about this is that those of us who were raised by Italian grandparents and have a very special connection to the Italian experience can’t eat there! They should offer tables weekly to families of Italian immigrants. That’s the real Italian way!

[@viclor2876]

I'm not Italian lol, but I definitely agree. It's your heritage, they should do something like that.

[@mulder19x95]

I agree as the son of an Italian immigrant. Sadly though Rao's is a part of the 1%er crowd. It's highly exclusive and the truest example of the phrase "it ain't what ya know it's who ya know". Not even Jimmy Fallon could get in until he requested they do a segment about them on the Tonight Show. That was the ONLY way he could eat Rao's. What's truly sad is Rao's opened up a second restaurant here in Las Vegas and I absolutely adored it. It was phenomenal and the food tasted amazing but they closed it down this year. It just lost popularity and so it closed.

[@frankesposito2182]

Not an Honest establishlent!!!

[@projectsoundpodcasts4164]

Frank Esposito why because you couldn’t get a reservation? Loser.

[@hobbes4583]

i eat there all the time. they know me. they call me when I can't make it and deliver to my house. I live in a whole skyscraper by myself. you can't come.

[@Hmonks]

like the rest of the world. they don't tend to really care.

[@phillipsmom6252]

hobbes45 .... Dreamer

[@thebootymuncher3417]

hobbes45 -_-

[@jaycee7417]

I’m sure he smashed

[@845835]

He creeped hard enough

[@stevew278]

Raos? More like GAYOs