-I'm here at the world-famous Rao's in East Harlem, New York.
This is one of the most famous Italian restaurants
in the world.
Notoriously, you cannot get a table here.
I would say, over a year wait, if you even want to try.
But I'm lucky enough to be at this table
with the one and only, the co-owner Frank Pellegrino Jr.
Frank, thank you for having me. -No, pleasure.
I'm lucky to be at this table with you.
-Oh, really? You couldn't get a reservation?
-No. -All right.
We got to talk to someone. -[ Laughs ]
-But when you're in this restaurant, it feels so good.
It's so -- It's so intimate.
How many tables are there in here?
-There's only 10 tables. -And -- and no menu, right?
-No menu, no menu. -You have to get invited here.
People own the tables here. How does that work?
-It's basically squatter's rights.
My dad, when the restaurant started,
gained a lot of notoriety
back in the late '70s and early '80s.
My father refused
to displace anybody who was already coming here.
And that was really the beginnings of table rights.
So, if you were here before, we never want to let you go,
'cause you're part of the success of this.
You're what makes Rao's Rao's. Rao's is about people.
It's about neighborhood. It's about, believe it or not,
embracing people even though you can't get in here to eat.
And every week, you come here on a Monday,
you'll see the same people.
And people have had tables here for over 40 years.
-Wow. -It's remarkable.
-It's really an unbelievable experience.
I can't even describe the feeling that you get.
I came here the first time, I came early
and make sure I'm here for the dinner.
And I walked in, and everyone was like, "Who are you?"
I go, "I'm here to meet my friend Tom."
I was like, "Go to the bar, have a drink."
"Okay." And down the bar,
there was this guy in, like, a sharkskin suit, silver.
And he's drinking. He has white hair.
He's drinking a coffee out of one of those glass coffee mugs
that are a little bit higher. And he's drinking coffee.
And he goes, "Hey, Jimmy, how are you doing?"
Not even looking at me, which is the first sign of,
"You're gonna -- You're in trouble."
So I go, "Hey, hi. How are you, man?"
I ordered, like, a gin or something.
He goes, "Yeah, everything is good.
You danced with my wife." -[ Chuckles ]
You know what I'm talking about? -Yeah.
So I go, "Dude --" I go, "Who's around me?
What is he talking about?"
And he's like, "Yeah, yeah, you danced with my wife."
I go, "Oh, man." Like, "Wow.
This is how it ends." I can't even think what to say.
And I go, "Well, I got to -- I-I--"
And I looked at him. And he's such a friendly face.
And he goes, "At Drew Barrymore's wedding.
How you doing? Good to see you again."
And I go -- He goes, "I'm the owner, Frank.
How you doing?" I go, "Oh, my gosh."
[ Laughs ] I just freaked out.
I saw my life flash in front of me.
Oh, no. It was the best. And from then on, we hit it off.
And thank you for letting me come back.
I know Billy Joel comes here a lot.
I've seen, I think, presidents have been here.
What memories do you have? -One of my fondest memories,
believe it or not, that knocked my socks off,
I couldn't believe what I was seeing,
happened right here at this table
with our mutual friend, Tommy.
He brought in a bevy of celebrities and singers --
Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan, Jim Carrey was at the table,
Robin Williams was at the table.
There was about eight people here.
And they all got up
and sang "My Girl" like do you with my dad.
-No way. -It was unbelievable.
An indelible mark in my memory. Never go away.
-I'll never forget it, because I sang it once.
I sang maybe something with your dad --
"Under the Boardwalk" or some doo-wop.
And then, every time I came,
your dad would come by and say hi.
And I know he's gonna ask me to --
he's like, "Come on, sing something."
And every time, we'd sing, and then standing ovation.
Because it was only 10 tables. But it's so fun.
It's so intimate and fun.
I can't describe this feeling that no one can really get.
I mean, you really feel that from the food.
By the way, I can't even talk about how delicious the food is,
the meatballs. -Okay.
-That's the one thing that I -- I mean, there's so many things.
But how do you make the meatballs?
Could you show me? -I would love to show you
how we make the meatballs. -Let's do this.
-Let's do it.
-We're making meatballs right now.
I know this apron. -Turn around.
-Oh, my gosh. Look at this! Oh, my gosh.
-Tie it for you. -Look at this!
If anyone knows a good sauce -- or some people call it gravy --
it just smells so good.
-I'm gonna let you kick it all off.
-Okay.
-So, the first thing I'd like you to do is
take a little bit of salt, a little bit of pepper.
-Okay, here we go.
Do you know what percentage ground beef this is?
-It's a pound of beef, half a pound of pork,
and a half a pound of veal. -Wow.
-Now, before you start to massage the meat,
I want you to put a little pepper on there.
Come on, you're gonna get your hands a little dirty.
Rub it in, come on, like this. -Rub it in, okay, yeah.
-And we got to turn the meat.
It looks very well blended together.
Beautiful. -Thank you.
-So, now we're gonna take these two eggs.
-Okay. -Half a cup of water.
Dino showed me a little trick
and a method that really works well.
We're going to make it snow on the meatballs.
We're going to put some -- -Cocaine?
-Cheese. Yeah, oh, [Chuckles]. -Oh, parsley, Parmesan cheese.
-Those days are long gone. -[ Laughs ]
-Has anyone ever cooked in here, celebrities?
-A couple people come in for tips here and there.
-Has anyone been thrown out of here?
-Not to my -- I can't remember. -[ Laughs ]
-Can't remember. -Wow! Did you get that?
-Take a handful like this, right?
-Yeah.
-And now you roll.
And roll.
That's perfect. -It's something, right?
-I'm gonna have Dino show you how to fry the meatballs.
-I know Dino. I love you, Chef.
All right, Dino, what do we got here?
What do we got brewing?
-Frying pan, we're gonna heat the oil up.
Put them in nice and easy.
And once they're golden brown,
we'll put them in the sauce and finish them off.
-Oh, my gosh!
Anyone who loves meatballs, look at this.
Oh, my God, there's meatball bloggers out there
that are freaking out right now that I'm in the kitchen of Rao's
making the world-famous meatballs.
All right, so, you got these golden brown.
You put them in the sauce, and you leave them for how long?
-20 minutes, a half-hour.
-Do you make your sauce homemade?
Or do you use Rao's from the jar?
-Homemade. -That's what I do.
-Homemade. -But it's the same recipe.
-hose recipe was it? -It was my great-grandmother's,
which was passed to my grand-aunt Annie,
who was the chef here with my Uncle Vincent.
Are you ready to judge your work, pal?
-Let's go. Let's see it. -Come on, let's go eat.
-Wow. -Wow, wow, wow.
-Oh! -Wow!
-Hey, fellas, how you doing? -How are you?
-How you doing, guys? -Welcome to Rao's.
-This is Jimmy's prepared pasta. -You made this?
-Yeah. -And that's called a meatball?
It's like a ball of meat? -Do you want any Parmesan?
-Are you gonna join them? -Come on. Come on.
-I have to.
This is my favorite meatball in the world.
-Have you done it? -First bite.
-Mmm! -Oh, my God.
-Buon appetito, gentlemen. Enjoy.
-Thank you. -My pleasure.
-Mmm!
Seriously, that is unbelievable.
-My God.
-Actually, I want more. It's unbelievable.
My thanks again to Frank Pellegrino Jr.,
a co-owner of Rao's here in East Harlem.
This is such a treat. Amazing, amazing.
These meatballs are the best.
In fact, I know someone that would love these meatballs.
Can I get some to go? -You count on it, for sure.
-Thank you, buddy. -Thanks, pal.
-I love you. -Love you too.
-Are you gonna finish that?
-Yeah, I'm gonna take them to go.
-All right. -[ Laughs ]
-I'll get that.
♪♪