Taryn Varricchio: Plates
of meatballs beside twirls of spaghetti covered in marinara sauce are ingrained in South Philadelphia. And they've made this restaurant a landmark in the neighborhood. This is Ralph's Italian Restaurant, and it's been serving Philly's best spaghetti and
meatballs for 120 years. Customer: If you like
traditional Italian red-gravy Sunday dinner, this is the place to come. Taryn: Back in the kitchen, chefs stay busy making
1,200 meatballs a week. The meatballs, set beside spaghetti, have been a staple at Ralph's since the restaurant's
very first menu, in 1900. Jimmy Rubino: I mean,
this is stuff that my great-grandparents brought over. My grandparents made them, my parents made them. I'd say about 95% of the
menu that you see now is still the original menu. Customer: It's authentic South Philly. It's red sauce. It's
just good Italian food. Taryn: But not every
Italian restaurant in Philly does meatballs like Ralph's. Other restaurants either
use just beef, just pork, just veal, or a mix of all three. But Jimmy sticks to two
meats that bring out a smooth and tender
texture in each meatball. Jimmy: A lot of people,
a lot of restaurants, a lot of people make their
meatballs with just ground beef. We use ground beef and ground pork. Pork for two reasons: fat, flavor. The fat in the pork kind of gives it, like, a velvety texture. And, obviously, pork meat itself makes it nice and lighter, as opposed to, like, almost like a round hamburger. Taryn: He adds small
cubes of wet Italian bread to help bind the meat together and a mix of salt, pepper, crumbled pecorino Romano cheese, dry herbs, and sautéed,
caramelized garlic. And then Jimmy uses about 4 ounces of meat and rolls each one by hand. The restaurant fries the meatballs rather than bakes them, so they get a crispier
coating on the outside while staying soft and
juicy on the inside. Jimmy: You have to test the oil, because if you put the meatballs in there while the oil's still, like, not hot, it'll absorb in like a sponge, and then you'll end up
with oily meatballs. Taryn: Once the meatballs turn dark brown, they make their way to the plate next to a swirl of spaghetti and two ladles of red gravy. Customer: I've always
had a great meal here. I was here about two weeks ago with another buddy of mine who'd never been here, so there you go. Taryn: Look how big this meatball is. Really, though. My mom's meatballs are not this big. Ooh. That's a dense, dense meatball. It's like what Jimmy was telling us, he uses the pork to give it
that silky, velvety texture. And it really is, it's,
like, smoother and silkier, and not, like, packed,
compacted ground beef. You get kind of, like,
two different dimensions with those two meats. And it is incredibly flavorful. Customer: We've been coming
here for at least 45 years. Taryn: Ralph's officially
became the oldest Italian restaurant in America continuously owned by the
founding family in 2012, when a restaurant in San Francisco closed. But it wasn't without a
few bumps along the way. Jimmy: You're talking about
depression, world wars, prohibition.
Taryn: Prohibition. Jimmy: And it's funny because, going back when I was a kid, there were still customers alive that were alive then that remember my grandfather would serve
them wine in coffee cups 'cause you weren't allowed
to serve alcohol then. Taryn: And those customers
have kept coming back. Along with a long list of celebrities, from former President Theodore Roosevelt and Frank Sinatra to Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, who together famously left a $500 tip at the restaurant, to the loyal locals who
consider it a staple and after 120 years couldn't imagine South Philly without it. Customer: This is certainly
a part of the city. Certainly a part of South Philadelphia. An iconic place on 9th
Street in the Italian Market.
When we perform in Philly I am definitely going there. Looks amazing