Italian food is probably the most discussed cuisine on the island behind seafood. Everyone has a favorite, everyone has reasons why. In this episode Jesse and Maggie discuss some of their favorites and the reasons why they like most of them.

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Mondays with Maggie. My name is Jesse Blanco, host of, not only this podcast, but host of eatitandlikeit.com, her name is Maggie Crenshaw of Charter Realty on Hilton Head Island. Before we go any further, good morning, young lady, how are ya?

MC: Good morning, Jesse, I’m well. How about you?

JB: I’m good, I’m good. I think this day, as we record this, Monday morning, August 21st, I just put in my miles for the day, and it is the muggiest morning of the year so far. It’s just brutal out there.

MC: Humid. Uh-huh.

JB: Yeah. It’s just- ugh. Because we’ve gotten lucky the past few weeks, yeah, of course, it’s summer, it’s gonna be muggy, but there have been a couple of mornings where the humidity has dipped below 200, you know? And you’re like, oh! This kinda feels okay. But then there have been probably three mornings in the last seven days where I’ve gone out, whether I’ve gone out to run or not, that I go, UGH! This is just… brutal! Like you, you’re a realtor, I don’t know how you get dressed in business attire for the day. Ugh.

MC: That’s the worst part. So, I’m okay with the humidity if I’m in, like, flip flops, a hat, and a Tshirt and shorts. But then if I have to dress up and put on heels and all that, and try and make your hair look normal, it’s just… yeah. And I showed property on Saturday, you know, like I always do, so we were in and out, in and out, everybody’s sweaty… but, yeah, I mean, the temperatures aren’t really that high, it’s the humidity. 

JB: Yes. It’s brutal, but you have a good weekend otherwise? 

MC: I did! I had a great weekend. 

JB: Very good. I am wrapping up–my wife, early this year, because I didn’t watch it when it first aired, she made me promise this summer we would sit down and watch Ted Lasso. She saw it, she’s re-watching it, and so I’m making my way through season three. I told her this has to be done by football season, for a lot of reasons, including it’s my busy time, and I’d rather be watching football, so we are halfway through the final and third season. And I’m enjoying it, it’s not–I don’t think it’s as crazy a deal as a lot of people thought it was, but, you know, as my dad used to say, that’s why God invented colors.

MC: Yeah, I– that’s one I haven’t watched, but a lot of people… that may be my next one. I watch a lot of the medical things, I like New Amsterdam, Chicago Med… I feel like I could perform a (WHAT) because I watch those shows.

JB: Alrighty then. (laughing) I’ll keep that one in my back pocket, in case I’m, you know, choking at dinner some time, “Hey! This is the one! Right here!”

MC: That’s right. And so, you know, when you’re out dining with me, in particular, you’ll know you’re safe.

JB: I’m safe, I’m safe. So we are, today, going to make the rounds with the Italian restaurants on the island. You visited a new one, and I thought it was a good opportunity to talk about that new one that I have not visited, and some of the old ones. It’s a common conversation on Hilton Head Island, I see it on social media all the time, every summer, “hey, where’s the absolute, hands down, best Italian?” And frankly, before we even get into any of it, I think the word ‘best’ is overused, because what might be the best for you is not the best for me, you know, I think people get caught up in looking for the best, when they should just be looking for whatever works best for them–

MC: For what they’re looking for.

JB: Yeah, yeah. So, tell us where you went last week.

MC: So I tried Piatti. It’s a new Italian restaurant here, it’s in the–for all you old time Hilton Head people, it’s where The Brick Oven used to be, in Park Plaza, just down from the cinema, so it’s in a good location if you wanna, you know, have dinner and step over to the movie, or vice versa. Anyway, I went there with some clients after they got a house under contract, and so we went out to celebrate. We started out with a really nice bottle of wine, and of course I can’t remember what it was, but it was really good, it was red wine. But anyway, they brought us some bread and butter that was, honestly, to die for. The bread was thin and crunchy, you know that kind of bread?

JB: Yup.

MC: It might’ve been ciabatta or something–no, it wasn’t, it was too crusty for that. But it was really, really good. But we all agreed that it was too much to have appetizers as well, so unfortunately, I didn’t get to sample anything that they had on the menu there. But I would say that their menu is more or less traditional.

JB: Define ‘traditional’.

MC: Well, by that I mean– I knew you were gonna hammer me on this. What I mean is, they have things on their menu that you would expect to have on the Italian menu. They have all the pastas that you would expect to have, they hand make all of their pastas, so, mmm, delicious. And then they have the chicken and the veal section where you can get it ricotta, marsala, saboka and franchaise, or whatever, and just, served with pasta or whipped potatoes on the side.

JB: Nice! Pretty straightforward, it sounds like. 

MC: Really straightforward. Actually, I’m remembering now, I did have a salad.

JB: You had a salad! (laughing)

MC: I did have a salad. You know, we didn’t get the calamari or any of those things that you do.

JB: So this was your first time there?

MC: My first time, and I’d give it five stars. It was really, really good.

JB: Out of how many? Five out of five stars?

MC: Five, yes five stars, yeah. I had the veal ricotta, that’s just my go to, and it normally comes with… I don’t remember what she told me, not fettuccini, but something similar to that, like a flat, long noodle–

JB: Linguini?

MC: Linguini, thank you. And she said that they would honor a different request, and I said I really really love angel hair. So they gave me angel hair, and it was nice. And we skipped dessert, you know, again, we were just full, finished our glasses of wine, we were there, you know, a couple of hours, and it was just really nice.

JB: How long has that place been there, do you know?

MC: I–you know, it’s another one of those, like I said the other week, it flew under my radar, it opened and I didn’t even know it opened, so I can’t tell you.

JB: Interesting. Yeah, that happens.

MC: I think they opened this year.

JB: Okay, fair enough.

MC: Yeah.

JB: Yeah, that happens, it happens to me over here in Savannah, and especially over there, since I don’t live over on the island. A place will open, and someone will ask me, “hey, have you been to dadadadada?” And I obviously keep pretty good tabs on the food scene, but, you know, sometimes places sneak up on you.

MC: Yeah, and, you know, it’s just different, (inaudible) is different than it used to be, it used to be such a small place, and the restaurant community was pretty small, you know, so if a new restaurant was coming in, we all, you know, knew about it, and we all talked about it, but, you know, just like anything else, things change.

JB: We know we have a lot of residents of Italian descent, certainly lots of visitors of Italian descent, the Italian food conversation on the island is the everlasting gobstopper, it just never ends. (laughing) It just goes on and on and on and on and on. Where would you rank, in your preference, you know, cuisine-wise, where would you put Italian, for you?

MC: The type of cuisine I like… well, it’s up there, I mean, it’s, you know, I’ve told you before, I like Mexican, Tex-Mex, Southwestern, you know, I just love those flavors. But I would say Italian is…

JB: Top three?

MC: Second or third, yeah, top three, for sure, for sure. And I don’t really–that’s just something I don’t really make at home, I don’t, like, make pasta at home, I just feel like it’s so much better when you go out to a restaurant. (laughing) I’ll make chicken ricotta or chicken marsala, you know, those kinds of things I’ll make at home, but yeah, if I want good pasta, I go out.

JB: You know, I completely agree with you, homemade pasta is just– it makes such a difference. There’s a spot here in Savannah, fortunately for me, about five blocks from my front door, and when I’m eating some type of pasta, I go and I order a pound of fresh pasta, and I do that, I don’t buy boxed pasta anymore.

MC: No, no I haven’t bought boxed pasta for years. In fact, I have a pasta roller. When I have time, I’ll do that.

JB: Wow. That’s Fancy McFancerson right there. The Italian restaurants on the island are all very popular, they’re all, in my opinion, very good–they’re all very different, would you agree with that? And there are a ton, but I’m talking about our big three–our big four, I should say, Michael Anthony’s, Pomodori, Ambra, and Nunzio, would you agree that they’re all very good in their own way?

MC: They’re all really good, definitely all in their own way, but like, we were talking about Piatti had the– what you would expect to find on the menu. Let’s talk about Michael Anthony’s, their menu is so cool because it’s not what you’d expect to find on the Italian menu.

JB: Agreed.

MC: They change things up, you know, and it’s a thing where I sit down and I look at the menu at Michael Anthony’s, and it takes me a long time to decide what I want, whereas with the Piatti menu, you look and you’re like, okay, these are the usual suspects, you know, this is, they’ve got the bolognese, and they have the (inaudible) and they have all the things, and it’s easy, for me, to just pick.

JB: Yeah, yeah, marsalas and picattas and all that.

MC: But at Michael Anthony’s, when the waiter comes, I still won’t know. I’m like, you tell me what to order.

JB: (laughing) And I don’t disagree with that. Conversely, Pomodori is– it sounds like it’s a little more Piatti than Michael Anthony’s, having never been to Piatti, where she–Amanda, we’re talking about–has her menu–

MC: Oh, our friend.

JB: Yes, our dear friend Amanda, she has her menu, every year, she tells me, “yeah, I’m thinking about switching out some things”, but then her staff won’t let her, so it’s been pretty much the same menu for many, many years, but it’s arguably one of the most consistent restaurants on the island, would you agree?

MC: Hands down. Hands down. And, you know, she–I don’t really think–I mean, yes, she has some usual suspects, but her menu is creative, particularly her appetizers.

JB: Yes, I would agree with that. I mean usual suspects as in, like you said, at Piatti, you can get, you know, the chicken marsala, or piccata, you can get, you know, veal marsala or piccata, she’s got all of those, you can do all of that. The gnocchi is the best on the island, and I’ve watched her make it in the morning, it’s like, they’re like little pillows of love. (laughing)

MC: I know, I know, I love that gnocchi, and the short beef ragu is ridiculous, ugh, the pappardelle that she hand cuts. And, I know you probably know this, but her mother makes their sausage.

JB: Yes, I did know that.

MC: So, if you’ve ever had the orecchiette…

JB: Yes, with the broccoli rabe

MC: It is so good.

JB: Yeah, with the broccoli rabe and not only that, but the stuffed pepper with the sausage is another one.

MC: I don’t think I’ve ever had that.

JB: Really? yeah, it’s–the last time I had it, it was a yellow bell pepper stuffed with their housemade sausage, and it’s just everything you would think it would be. The sausage just tastes so fresh and wonderful. How would you compare–Ombra is a little more high-brow, in so much as, you would go there for an occasion, would you agree with that?

MC: I do agree with that, it’s a great date night or celebrated anniversary, or a birthday, definitely. 

JB: The last time I went in there–and that menu is a little… you know, I hate to use the word traditional, but less so than Piatti, as you’ve described it, and Pomodori, whereas, you know, it sounds like it’s a little more like Michael Anthony’s. I went in there one time and had a halibut… this was a few years ago and I still think about that dish, it was just so unbelievably delicious. It’s like, what did you do to this piece of fish to make it so good?

MC: (laughing) They hand raised it, they gave it a name.

JB: They did– no, I’ve learned from the farmers in my journey that once you give one of your animals a name, it gets a little sticky when it’s time for slaughter, so they never do that.

MC: There is, oh my gosh. How did we get onto the slaughter conversation?

JB: I don’t know, but we’re gonna pivot to Nunzio, I love it because it feels like a resort, would you agree?

MC: Yes! That’s a really good description. I’ve never thought of it that way.

JB: Yeah, I am not a big fan of shorts to go out to dinner, I’m not a big fan, even if they’re nice shorts and flip flops, and it’s just so everywhere on the island, I get it, but Nunzio is the kind of place where you feel like you’re in coastal Italy, and it just feels like you should be sitting outside with the breeze in your hair, you know, drinking a crisp white wine, eating their wonderful food. That’s kinda the vibe I get from Nunzio, because it’s so large, the high ceilings, and spacious, it just feels coastal, is that fair?

MC: And modern, yeah. I’ve never eaten outside there, you know, originally they didn’t have the outdoor seating, and then they added it, and I think it really is a nice touch.

JB: It is, yeah. Because it used to be, as I understand it, a gym, right?

MC: It was a gym.

JB: We’ve just gone around the horn real, real quick, as far as the Italian restaurants go. Michael Anthony’s, Pomodori, Nunzio, Ambra, and Piatti that you just visited. I think, is it fair to say, they’re all very different, and it’s worth trying them all and seeing which one you like? Because too many people ask for advice, which one should I go to? Well, pick one and go.

MC: Yeah, I mean, I get asked that question, and I say, what are you in the mood for? You know? What are you looking for?

JB: Yup.

MC: And, you know, of those that we’ve described, you know, other than Piatti because I’ve only been there once, I haven’t been to Nunzio as many times as I should for as long as it’s been open. But that’s one that, when my daughter comes into town, she requests to go there, because we had one particularly good meal some years back when they first opened, so we frequent that one. I’ll have to say, Ambra, you know, like we said, it’s a special occasion restaurant.

JB: Yeah. So is Michael Anthony’s as well, I think.

MC: Yeah, so is Michael Anthony’s, you’re right. But I do like to sit at the bar at Michael Anthony’s and have a good flight of wine.

JB: That’s now the third time you’ve said, “I like to sit at the bar at (insert the name of restaurant).” But I feel ya, I do it as well.

MC: (laughing) It’s just easier, and you have entertainment. You can watch the bartender, and you can talk to the bartender. It’s entertaining.

JB: I absolutely 1,000,000% agree. Speaking of entertaining, we will not share the day, but you and I are going this week to enjoy dinner at Alfred’s.

MC: Can’t wait!

JB: Yes, and we will be talking about it next week here in this space. We’re gonna wrap this up, we’re running short on time. If somebody said to you, “hey, I want to go try some Italian on the island”, what would be the first two that you would tell them? Occasion, Michael Anthony’s, Ambra. If it’s a little more casual, where would you send them?

MC: Pomodori, hands down. 

JB: Hands down, she says.

MC: Hands down, Pomodori. It’s just good.

JB: Yeah, it is. And it’s a family atmosphere, and the staff has been the same, I think, since Columbus discovered America, which is a tribute to their owner. It’s just a great, all around operation.

MC: That’s right. Yeah, you won’t find any summer interns there.

JB: Right. Completely agree.

MC: Just the family.

JB: Completely agree. Maggie Crenshaw, before we go, a quick plug for Charter One Realty, tell us where we can find you, if someone’s looking to buy a house, condo, shanty, or an igloo?

MC: (laughing) Well, the igloo wouldn’t make it long on this island. I am located at the Charter One Realty office at 11 Park Lane, right there mid island on the highway, and you can visit margaretcrenshaw.com. 

JB: Very good. Isn’t everything on the highway on that island?

MC: Yeah, pretty much.

JB: Yeah, pretty much.

MC: Pretty much, yeah.

JB: (laughing) Alright, we’re gonna get out of here, next week we are going to review our dinner at Alfred’s, we will be discussing it here in this space next Monday the 28th, in between you are going to attempt one last gasp at seeing Barbie so we can discuss that, because I saw it, you didn’t do your homework, but that’s okay, I forgive you. And we will reconvene next Monday morning, sound good to you?

MC: (laughing) Sounds great.

JB: Alright, thanks so much for joining us everybody, we’ll see you next Monday for Mondays with Maggie, have a great day.

# # #