February 2, 2006 Issue                                               

©2005 The Chestnut Hill Local

Following the prosciutto of happiness at Nido
By LEN LEAR

Co-owner Michele Iovino holds up her tuna carpaccio, one of the awesome signature dishes at Nido. (Photo by Len Lear)

This is both a love story and a food story, which seems appropriate with Valentine’s Day quickly approaching. Five years ago South Philly resident Franco Iovino, then-owner of Girasole, an Italian restaurant at 1305 Locust St. for 15 years until June, 2004 (Pelican Fish is there now), was visiting relatives and friends in Naples, Italy, where he was born and raised.

While there, Franco met a handsome young man named Giuseppe Marisco, a waiter in restaurants and an artist in tile, marble and Venetian stucco. Just as Franco was about to return to Philadelphia, he was met at the Rome Airport by his daughter, Michele, then the manager at Girasole, who was arriving for a vacation. Franco introduced her to Marisco, who had driven Franco to the airport. (Michele had previously lived in Naples from the age of three months to the age of six.)

After Franco left for home, Marisco played host to Michele, chauffeuring her all over the Rome area. They quickly became smitten with each other and stayed in touch after Michele returned to the City of Brotherly Love.

One year later, Giuseppe moved to Philadelphia permanently (in 2003), and after one more year, he and Michele were married. Early last year Giuseppe, 27, and Michele, who will be 29 on Valentine’s Day, took over a property at 1540 W. Ritner St., formerly occupied by Buon Appetito. After an extensive renovation, much of it done by Giuseppe himself, they opened Nido (“Nest”) in April, 2005.

The charming BYOB, which seats 35 downstairs and 40 for private parties upstairs, features a candlelit ambience, dark woods, a tin ceiling, marble coffee bar with antique mirrors, votive candles on the linen-covered tables, etc. Nido has style without being stuffy and a democratic menu that gives as much respect to the most humble pasta dish as to the most sophisticated fresh seafood creation.

Paying homage to her family’s Neapolitan heritage, Michele has constructed a menu of affordable, authentic regional Italian cuisine. Appetizers range from $4.50 to $9.50, pasta dishes and risottos from $10 to $15 and other entrees mostly from $14 to $19.

Highlights include appetizers such as grilled octopus with garlic, lemon and olive oil ($7.50); dried beef with arugula, parmiggiano cheese and olive oil ($7.50); fettucine with peas, asparagus, diced tomatoes, artichokes and truffle oil ($15); seared sea bass with warm fennel-orange salad ($17), and sliced sirloin steak with fresh rosemary ($19).

During our recent visit, the homemade potato dumplings were moist and springy, blushing with fresh tomato and adhering to mozzarella. A baked aggplant dish exploded with its earthly cloak of zucchini, tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese. It unfolded off the plate like an exotic silk handkerchief, luxuriating in olive oil as soft as down feathers.

Another specialty of the house is the group of six new carpaccio dishes. The tuna carpaccio was a mosaic of cold, thin slivers of fresh fish, napped in a garlicky olive oil and riddled with sun-dried tomatoes, scallions, black olives and balsamic vinegar. The dish was a textural sensation that lingered on the tongue like velvet. Chef Michele clearly demonstrates a conductor’s skill in orchestrating and balancing flavors.

For dessert, we split a sensual, rum-drenched sponge cake. (Michele provides the rum; you don’t have to bring it yourself.) Like many South Philly Italian restaurants, Nido provides complimentary after-dinner Limoncello, a wonderful, sweet exclamation point to the meal.

Our server was Michele’s husband, Giuseppe, a tall, charming guy with a great accent, but he needs to describe the dishes, their preparation and ingredients, in much more detail. I passed on the “steak with red peppers” because it sounded so pedestrian, but I later overheard a customer at a nearby table breathlessly commenting on “the best steak I ever ate.”

One thing that keeps many prospective diners from coming to the plethora of charming South Philly BYOBs is the parking dilemma. Many of us are reluctant to double-park, although it is an accepted way of life south of Washington Avenue. We double-parked on Ritner Street, less than a half-block from Nido, and had no problem.

Michele’s dad, Franco, by the way, now owns and operates the two-year-old Mimosa at 9th and South Streets as well as the 11-year-old Girasole in Atlantic City. For information or reservations at Nido, call 215-755-0860.