three dishes that tell the story of upcoming grana

“I never wanted to open an Italian restaurant,” Pat Pascarella said when talking about his newest endeavor. But come this spring, he is doing just that with restaurant Grana, set to open in Piedmont Heights.

While cooking with his cousin and sous chef Pat Siciliano, the chef/owner of Decatur’s White Bull reminisced about the food his immigrant parents cooked. They talked about the southern Italian peasant dishes that are their comfort food. From that moment on, Grana was born and every bit of it takes inspiration from family.

Cooking from recipes of his Italian American family, Pascarella hopes to instill that family meal feeling of lower Italy in his new place. The Piedmont Heights restaurant will seat 170 with a mezzanine and a rooftop where he envisions groups relaxing with al fresco drinks.

White Bull’s beverage director Matt Scott is in charge of the program which focuses on a wine list of 100% Italian wines. He will focus predominately on native varietals from producers who practice biodynamic and natural methods as much as possible. Beers come from around the world. The cocktail list centers around spritzes and negronis, like his Pump Up the Beet, which combines gin and vodka with Campari, Cocchi de Torino, and beets.

The result of Pascarella’s vision is sophisticated yet playful, soulful but unpretentious, and altogether and we predict crowd pleasing. There are three dishes that tell the story of Grana.

Pasta e Patate

This was the dish Pascarella missed most from his family’s cooking. A humble dish scrapped together from what is leftover in Italian kitchens. It’s pasta and potatoes and depending on how much time or stock is added to it, it can be soup like or a pasta dish. Pascarella’s is rich, creamy and rustic. Ditalini pasta ( “small thimbles”), potato, tomato, and prosciutto pooled together - it’s the dish one would crave on a cold and rainy night. We learned the word “azzeccatta” tasting this. It’s rib-sticking goodness. An order of Pallone, flatbread with Sicilian olive oil, benne seeds, and sea salt is a good accompaniment.

Margherita Classico

Fresh mozzarella, tomato, and leaves of fresh basil on simple crust is the hallmark of Naples, Italy. It’s made of few ingredients, with no tricks, but quick flashed in an oven, a great cook can achieve sweet and savory and tender and crisp in the same bite. Pascarella does that. His two gorgeous wood fired Marra Forni brick pizza ovens are named Sophia, for his daughter, and Monte, for the daughter of his business partner. Family is all around. (Truffle Stracchino will also knock your socks off).

Polpette Flight

Yeah, that’s right. A meatball flight. In an Italian family, there are mom’s meatballs, grandma’s meatballs, aunt Rose’s meatballs (ok, that’s in my family), and meatballs that are topped with a beloved ingredient. Pascarella, the clever genius, put his family of meatballs into a flight. Mommy’s are topped with grana Padano and basil. Tender and juicy pork has whipped ricotta. Nonna liked to cook hers with raisins. As homage, Pascarella topped balls with tangy currant mostarda. Brasstown beef balls have gouda, red onion jam, and truffle, like a fancy slider without the bun. Veal meatballs are fried crispy with a spicy mayo atop. His signature meatballs have a sage veloute and a singular crispy leaf of sage. One order is enough for a few people to share and it’s more fun as a conversation starter than politics.