01/10/2026
october 1st marks the start of itlaian-american heritage month, celebrating the millions of itlaians who crossed the atlantic from the 1880s, right up until present day.
our own great aunts, uncles from the grasso family in syracuse made the same journey, and beyond, including new york, london and even basingstoke, looking for work and opportunities.
with them, they took their culture and food, shaping the world as we know it today.
at grasso, we celebrate this food and the evolution of it, and thought we’d give a little run down of some of our most popular dishes.
🧡🧡🧡
up first, we have our mozzarella sticks, and you might think they are a truly american invention, they have roots in campania, as mozzarella in carrozza (mozzarella in a carriage).
our mozzarella sticks are served on a bed of calabrian nduja, and drizzled with our homemade hot honey.
cunchy, soft, sweet and spicy.
next up are meatballs…
back in italy, meatballs (polpette) are often much smaller in size, and usually eaten on their own. this changed in america, where meat was more affordable and more abundant than it had been back home. and not only did they grow in size, but being served with spaghetti became the norm.
our signature meatball dish is called mom’s spaghetti, using pork and beef, and made to our own family recipe.
it’s a dish we would request on special occasions when growing up, such as birthdays or big family lunches.
and in the restaurant, just by the kitchen, you’ll see a series of photos of a child eating spaghetti and meatballs - that’s our brother james, around 40 years ago.
some claim vodka sauce comes from italy, and others new york. but what is generally agreed is that it became a fixture on menus on both sides of the atlantic during the 1980s.
our vodka sauce is prepared with slow-cooked imported Italian tomatoes, which we add cream and vodka to, mix in a generous amount of al dente penne, and top with parmesan and our own slow-cooked chillis in oil.
it’s become pretty popular, so we collaborated with Saucerer to create a version for home cooking - and its now available at delis across the uk, at wholefoods and on ocado!
the caesae salad is
