Ristorante Pesto won a spaghetti-and-meatballs trophy for its seafood cavatelli on the "Rachael Ray" show.
Contributed Art/Rachael Ray Show
by Sharon Lurye PhillyVoice Contributor
A family-run restaurant has done South Philly proud with its pasta.
Ristorante Pesto, of 1915 S. Broad St., represented Philadelphia on the "Rachael Ray" show on Monday in a culinary battle meant to answer the question, "Which U.S. city's Little Italy has the best pasta?"
The restaurant competed against teams from New York and San Francisco against the toughest judge imaginable: an Italian grandma. YouTube star Daym Drops also helped judge the food.
John Varallo and his daughter Maria served up cavatelli pasta with shrimp, lobster and crabmeat in a rose' sauce, causing Drops to exclaim, "You brought that seafood game so heavy!"
John Varallo and his daughter Maria react when the winner is announced. (Contributed Art / Rachael Ray Show)
As a prize, the restaurant got a trophy in the shape of spaghetti and meatballs.
The real prize, of course, is repping their city and showing how much love they put into each dish.
"Anything - you gotta put love in it. Everything you do. You don't have love for it - you gotta get out," John Varallo told 6ABC.