Philadelphia Chefs Swap Spaghetti for Kimchi and Crab in Italian Kitchens

James Nardone’s deep-fried polenta fritters at Elma are topped with scarlet crab and horseradish. The dish is one of the most popular items on the menu at his small Fishtown restaurant. Nardone describes the plate as a savory funnel cake with crab sauce. He notes that very little about the dish is traditionally Italian.

This approach reflects a wider shift in Philadelphia’s dining scene. Chefs are moving away from the standard checkered-tablecloth spaghetti and meatballs model. Instead, they are building menus that blend Italian regional traditions with personal influences and global flavors. The result is a cuisine that feels distinct from the classic Italian American fare previously dominant in the city.

At Irwin’s, chef Michael Vincent Ferreri serves an eggplant caponata recipe that is one hundred years old. The dish originates from his great-grandmother. Ferreri also incorporates flavors inspired by trips to Spain, Istanbul, and Cairo. He cites trade, immigration, and warfare as historical forces that shaped Sicilian cooking. These elements now appear on his summer menu as a tomato and watermelon crudo.

Ferreri explains the operational rhythm of his kitchen. He says the team adheres to a centuries-old tradition of cooking from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. At 5 p.m., the staff begins plating food in the style of a modern restaurant. This hybrid method allows for traditional preparation with contemporary presentation.

Chris D’Ambro at Ambra takes a different path. Last spring, he served pasta topped with ramp kimchi. His summer menu features tuna crudo with corn and a fig leaf panna cotta with lime and pickled coriander. The flavors evoke Thai cuisine. He also serves a terrine of capon, veal cheeks, and chanterelles topped with mustard oil. His aunt smuggled the oil out of Italy because it is not available for purchase in the United States.

D’Ambro describes his work as specific to his small restaurant. He says the approach feels natural. His menus are biographical, drawing on food memories and personal experiences. The inclusion of French techniques and Thai flavors reflects his own history. He uses the term modern Italian because it provides diners with a clear reference point. The label gives him space to define the food on his own terms.

Townsend Wentz at A Mano cooks from every region of Italy. He follows the seasons along the coast and uses Spanish ingredients with French technique. He puts Greek feta in panzanella and Basque peppers in antipasti. Wentz says regionality is unimportant to him. He explains that Philadelphia is freezing in the winter and boiling in the summer. He believes championing a single region would be a mistake.

Nardone’s menu is driven by family history. His parents are of Abruzzese and Calabrese descent. He recalls crowded family tables where food was measured by what fit in a container on the counter, not by grams. He is chasing those flavors at Elma. He recently stopped using homemade chicken stock. He now uses College Inn because it is what his family has always used. He says the decision is not laziness but an attempt to replicate a specific family flavor.

Chefs in this group are creating menus that embrace potential rather than rejecting tradition. They highlight the friction between history and biography. They champion the mix of regionalism and diaspora. By stepping away from rigid expectations, they make room for a new style of cooking to develop. The emerging cuisine is delicate and still evolving.

This movement involves a cohort of chefs who are steeped in the region’s red-sauce traditions. They combine family history with firsthand knowledge gained through travel. They are reshaping what Italian American food tastes like in a city that long believed it knew the answer. The new canon is driven by personal experience and a willingness to experiment.