Has anyone eaten at Rao's in New York? I heard its extremely difficult to get a table. Also its apparently popular with Mobsters and Celebs, anyone tell me if its good? thanks guys

I've eaten there twice and the food was no better than twenty other family style Italian places in the city that have none of the silly pretensions associated with Rao's. You'll get the same "atmosphere," but better food at Dominick's on Arthur Avenue, or Bamonte's out in Williamsburg. Plus, you could walk into either of those places and be seated in less than an hour. It sure beats waiting two years .

Rao's is on the corner of 114th and Pleasant. My Dad grew up on Pleasant Avenue, between 117th and 118th Streets. When my grandmother died in 1991, she was one of the last Italian born residents on the block. The neighborhood is almost entirely Latino today. Not that I'm judging. Times change, demographics change .

Wow! I heard its almost impossible to get a table there? Do Mafia guys still frequent there?

I guess, but I think you're more likely to run into an actor or a screenwriter than a mob boss. Like I said, the neighborhood has really changed. Years ago, it was an Italian American stronghold, and the block was crawling with mob guys. They're just not there anymore.

The mob guys that still frequent the place probably go out of either pure nostalgia, or just to flaunt the fact that they can get in. The owner, Frank Pellegrino, is the biggest mob wannabe this side of Joe Pesci .

PB, i guess they are not there any more cos they are all eating mashed taties i the prison canteen these days........??????

Yeah, Yogi. Bangers and mash.

Do you limey bastards ever eat anything else?

Yeah we do.....roast beef and yorkshire puddings and fish n chips as well......all on the same plate sometimes

Rao's markets a line of pasta sauces that, though expensive (at least by my definition of the word), seem to be well-regarded in many foodie circles. The blog The Watery Gourmet compared Rao's to a line of jarred sauces marketed by Chef Mario Batali and preferred Rao's - albeit slightly.

Anyway, those sauces are probably about as close as most of us average citizens (read: peasants) are going to get to a table at Rao's.



Pretty good selection of flavors, too. Makes me wonder, though, how it must have sounded when they were deciding how to market some of the flavors with appropriate descriptive slogans. Imagine when they were discussing the Puttanesca:

"Hey, I got it! We'll say, Try Rao's Puttanesca Pasta Sauce - Just Like Your Mother Used To Make!"

Bet that guy's sleeping with the fishes.



Signor V.

I wouldn't want to eat in any exclusive restaurant that would have me as a guest.

I don't know about "Rao's Homemade" sauce -- it's probably not even made by them but licensed, I don't know. But at like $10/jar, no thanks. I do wanna try it once, though, just to see. But can it be better than homemade?

There are some decent jarred sauces in Italian specialty markets with real ingredients that aren't bad. So is the readily available Francesco Rinaldi brand. I usually have a few jars of their "ToBe Healthy" line on hand.

Actually, the folks from Rao's worked with someone from my office when they were looking for a distribution center. Not sure if the sauce was going to be manufactured there as well, but he got some free samples and said they were delicious. Of course, he makes Stove Top and uses canned gravy on Thanksgiving, so I can't rely on his taste.

DITTO! Fuck them! I ate there several years ago and I'll tell you what? I wasn't that impressed. While it was very good I wouldn't "die" to go back there / get in there. There are plenty of excellent restaurants that I would put up against it......restaurants where you don't have to be made to feel that they are granting you the 'privilege' of 'allowing' you to eat there.

They can kiss my ass because I refuse to kiss theirs!

Damn... I was gonna hold the GBB reunion there in a couple months, but after hearing all this I cancelled the reservation I fought so hard to get lol

Bastardo!

Then I guess we're all gonna convene at that three-star trattoria Chez Malta's in New Jersey for the sit-down!

"Come over here, Geoff, learn something. You never know, you might have to cook for twenty guys someday. You see, you start out with a little bit of oil..."

Signor V.