Every frequent restaurant goer wants to feel like an insider at our favorite spots or at otherwise buzzy places where snagging a table is something of a jockey sport.
At Emilio's Ballato, the more than half-century-old red sauce Italian institution in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the latter means being plugged into the secret menu and knowing that these are dishes to request. Anyone who’s been here is all too aware of the famous and democratic no-reservations policy (with the exception of a back private room that Emilio Vitolo Jr uses to host family and friends)—a line spanning two or more hours is the inevitable precursor to any meal.
Below, get ready for the dish on one of New York's buzziest boîtes, and check out what our Inspectors had to say here.
Started as Ballato's in 1956 with John Ballato, the restaurant was bought in the 1990s by Emilio Vitolo and renamed Emilio's Ballato. Today, Emilio himself is the main chef and owner. All three of his sons (Emilio, Mario, and Anthony) are trained as chefs, and Anthony is very involved with the kitchen, where he is behind the secret menu.
“It’s made up of recipes that I’ve experimented with over the years and love making for people who enjoy eating them, but they’re not written down anywhere or listed as specials,” he says.
Regulars, Anthony says, still turn to Emilio's Ballato musts such as the supersized chicken parmesan and linguine vongole but gravitate more toward this lesser-known repertoire. Word that it exists is largely spread through food world chatter and Anthony’s Instagram account where he often posts pictures of enticing plates.
According to Anthony, the bestseller hands-down in the lineup of more than a dozen is the Veal Antonio, a pounded thin 16-ounce veal chop that’s breaded, fried and topped with a cream-based vodka sauce, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella and peas. The Mozzarella Carrozza, an Italian take on grilled cheese that’s stuffed with the eponymous cheese dipped in egg, crusted with panko and deep fried, is another gut-buster as the Carbonara.
Other pasta dishes include a basic as it comes Cacio e Pepe and the Penne Antonio with crumbled spicy pork sausage, peas, cream and diced plum tomatoes.
The only way for diners to get a taste of Anthony’s secret menu, he says, is for them to relay the request to their server or with him personally. “We’ll never tell you about it,” he says. “The people who know me well walk right into the kitchen in the back and tell me what they want themselves. It’s like I’m your friend cooking for you. I might be crazy with orders but comply with every ask.”
All images courtesy of Emilio's Ballato
