If we’re talking takeout, Pelato is a solid selection, especially if you’re ordering with a gluten-free friend or family member. This fall, ownership is adding a few new dinner items to the menu, including a stromboli and baked stuffed shells made with ricotta, mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano.
I’m due for return visits to Volpe and Legami, which offered flashes of excellence during their first six months in operation, and I’ve heard that Mondo’s Italian Restaurant is back and better than ever after its top-to-bottom renovation.
But if pressed to pick one Italian restaurant to visit right now, I’ll send you to Cane Pazzo in Hanahan.
Located in a strip center between North Charleston and Goose Creek, Cane Pazzo’s off-the-beaten-path address evokes thoughts of an old-school Italian joint, one where tables cloaked in white cloth might be filled with free bread and surrounded by large groups yelling over one another. Though the atmosphere is quite homey, this place and its food are far more modern than that.
On a recent Thursday night, cocktails flowed inside an enclosed patio set beside the next-door Piggly Wiggy. The outdoor area stayed full and lively throughout dinner while, inside, patrons filled the bar area and adjacent dining room through a large archway.
If you go, start with the daily bread, sourdough freckled with burnished bits from the wood-fired oven. Tomato butter pools inside the circular piece, whose chewy char complements the savory center. Save at least one bite for a dunk in the tasty ragù draped over Cane Pazzo’s meatballs, pork blending with beef to produce tender orbs that shine in their red coat.
Pastas are the star, with house-made noodles formed into shells, linguine and crescent-shaped raviolis. But you might leave raving about the vegetables, from the Kindlewood Farms smashed cucumber salad with red onion, mint and basil to the Jimmy Nardello peppers pulsing with a salsa verde topping and crispy garlic garnish.
Dining and Cooking