Rao’s Classic is a nostalgic, generational recipe book with a story to tell. Steeped in Italian culture dating back to the turn of the century, Rao’s on 114th Street and Pleasant Avenue in East Harlem is the focal point, setting, and backdrop of the narrative. One of my earliest memories dates back to 1976, on a late autumn Sunday afternoon.
Note From The Author
I was seven years old and visiting my great-aunt and uncle, Annie and Vincent, for Sunday dinner with my parents. Their brownstone, and the birthplace of my great-uncle Vincent in 1903, was just fifty feet away from the ruby red doors of where Rao’s still stands today. This book is a journey through eras of tranquility and turbulence, and of times of celebration followed by sudden downturns...
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