What to Get at Palizzi Social Club According to Philly's Best Chefs

Guides

The city’s top hospitality pros dish on their go-to orders at South Philly’s most exclusive social club.

Devoted foodies and restaurant newbies love Foobooz. Sign up now for our twice weekly newsletter.

Palizzi Social Club has been an institution since opening its doors on December 11, 1918. More than a century later — and with acclaimed chef and current president Joey Baldino at the helm — the members-only spot isn’t just surviving; it’s thriving.

The Club is one of the most coveted reservations in town. Sure, it’s exclusive, but the real draw is the food. Baldino is serving some of the best Italian food you’ll find in Philly, making it a favorite among chefs, bartenders, and hospitality professionals.

Curious to know what some of Philly’s top industry folks like to get, I asked a handful to share their go-to orders. From a crowd-pleasing seafood pasta to a clarified dirty martini, here’s what the city’s food and drink elite are having.

What to Eat

Sesame semolina bread and panzarotti

Bread Basket

Yes, you read that right. At Palizzi, the bread basket — often, an afterthought at restaurants — is a worthy warm-up act. There’s a crusty sesame semolina loaf, crunchy breadsticks, and a mozzarella and anchovy panzarotti, and salsa picante on the side. It’s a beauty to behold for any carb lover and sets the tone for the rest of dinner.

Friday Saturday Sunday’s Chad Williams likes the bread so much that he asks for an extra basket whenever he’s there. Kampar’s beverage director and general manager Sam Pritchard is also a big fan — “Heck, the whole bread service is worth the trip,” he says — while Liberty Kitchen’s executive chef Beau Neidhardt confesses he’ll “slaughter the bread.”

Panzarotti

Every year, Baldino looks forward to the panzarotti at his cousin’s Christmas Eve dinner. While they might not get an invite to that soirée, Palizzi diners can enjoy a similar version, made with mozzarella and anchovy for a pleasantly briny flavor.

Neidhardt says “the mozzarella and anchovy panzarotti stands no chance” when he’s there, while Pritchard calls Palizzi’s take on the dish “unmatched.”

Classic Caesar

Palizzi’s humble Caesar — made traditionally with romaine lettuce, shaved Parmigiano, and anchovy — has won over the likes of Marc Vetri, Mike Solomonov, and Jesse Ito. And the list goes on: Michael Vincent Ferreri of Irwin’s, The Lovers Bar’s head bartender Paul MacDonald, Machine Shop pastry chef Emily Riddell, Rachel Lorn of Mawn and Sao, Alex Kemp of My Loup and Pine Street Grill, and Friday Saturday Sunday’s Hanna Williams all love the club staple, too.

While the Caesar is a pretty fuss-free dish — down to its no-frills presentation in a little wooden bowl — Baldino has still made his own mark on the salad. “We put our little twist on it, balancing the intense heat of the garlic with milder shallot and adding a sprinkle of thyme to round out the flavor,” he says in his book, Dinner at the Club: 100 Years of Stories and Recipes From South Philly’s Palizzi Social Club, written with Philadelphia magazine contributor Adam Erace.

There’s also the addition of Locatelli pecorino in the dressing — Baldino’s nod to the more affordable cheese that many Italian American families would have in their kitchens when he was growing up — and croutons made from the club’s sesame semolina bread.

Stromboli

Palizzi’s stromboli is a must whenever Ferreri or My Loup’s bar director Jillian Moore visits.

This version tastes just like the stromboli Baldino’s mom would make him growing up, filled with mozzarella and pepperoni and tinged with oregano and garlic. It’s also served the same way, without marinara. (But we won’t tell if you dunk it into the salsa picante that comes with the bread basket.)

Spaghetti with crabs

Spaghetti With Crabs

By far the most in-demand pasta dish on the menu, the spaghetti with crabs is unsurprisingly a hit with Philly’s culinary elite. “If you ask me, a meal at Palizzi is not complete without the crab spaghetti,” Kalaya’s Nok Suntaranon says. “Without being too heavy, the crab gravy is layered with flavor from delicious additions like anchovies and clam juice. I just love it.” The sauce gets its rich taste from whole blue crabs simmered in marinara for two hours. The crabs are left to sit in the mixture as it cools; anchovy fillets and clam juice add umami, while Chablis and brandy are added for a deeper flavor.

The dish has also won over Chad Williams, Ferreri, Ito, and Vetri — for whom the menu item is particularly personal. “The spaghetti with crabs holds a special place in my heart, as it’s a dish I would often share with my father,” Vetri says, speaking of his late dad, Salvatore. And it’s a meaningful dish for My Loup’s Moore. “I actually cried the first time I had the crabs and spaghetti,” she says, “because of how much it reminded me of my grandfather’s recipe.”

Escarole and beans

Escarole and Beans

One of Baldino’s Palizzi favorites is also one of the simplest items on the menu: the escarole and beans. The wintry classic is doused in olive oil, covered in grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and served with a grilled hunk of sesame semolina bread on the side — ideal for dipping and mopping up the dregs of the bowl.

While the club president prefers to eat the vegetarian-friendly dish as it is, Alice bartender Justin Bruno orders it with extra protein on the side. “My go-to order is a timeless combo: sausage alongside escarole and beans,” Bruno says. “Mixed together, it’s the perfect balance of comfort and flavor.”

Lamb chops

Lamb Chops

“The lamb lollipops may be the best thing on the menu,” Kampar’s Pritchard says. They’re also a must-order for My Loup and Pine Street Grill’s Alex Kemp and Amanda Shulman — the latter considers them “the perfect dish.” Chad and Hanna Williams, MacDonald, and Phila Lorn of Mawn and Sao regularly get the chops, too. “I must look hungry because they always send out the lamb chops,” Phila says. “All of this happens after midnight.”

Before they’re tossed on the grill, the chops are rubbed with anchovy paste, lemon, rosemary, and bay leaves, then left to marinate before they’re coated in oil and cooked until they’re just medium.

Raviolo Vasto

Another pasta highlight, the raviolo Vasto — named for the Abruzzese town that the Club’s original members hailed from — is fun to split with dining companions. Slice the giant spinach and ricotta-filled parcel down the middle and an egg yolk glides out, deepening the rich notes of the sage-infused brown butter sauce and giving the dish a silky finish.

Moore always gets the raviolo when it’s available, while Chad Williams and Solomonov are also fond of the pasta. For Solomonov, it’s cozy food like this that makes dining here feel like an intimate experience. “Eating at Palizzi feels like an invite to Joey’s Sunday supper,” he says.

Chicken Cutlet

The chicken cutlet, often available on Palizzi’s late-night menu, is a crowd-pleaser with hungry industry folks after a long shift — including Ito, the Lorns, and Moore.

Prepared similarly to the club’s veal cutlets, the chicken is pounded flat and marinated in Palizzi’s “Club Rub” (parsley, garlic, and red pepper flakes), then dusted in flour, dipped in egg, and coated in a breadcrumb mix with dried oregano and Parmigiano-Reggiano before they’re fried until crispy. The result? A delicious, nostalgic after-hours snack.

What to Drink

Cocktails from Palizzi Social Club

Whether they’re gathered at the main bar or upstairs at the President’s Room, the city’s hospitality pros like to end a long day cradling everything from a Peroni to one of Palizzi’s signature cocktails.

Many, including Ferreri, Neidhardt, and the Williamses, opt for a classic Negroni, made the traditional way with equal parts gin (here, they use Beefeater), Campari, and sweet vermouth, served on the rocks.

Martinis are also, unsurprisingly, popular. Much of the menu at the President’s Room is dedicated to the drink, from a grown-up appletini to a clarified dirty martini — a regular order for Baldino and Moore, who also like to get the house espresso martini (a favorite of Rachel Lorn’s, too). While Kemp is partial to a classic dirty martini, Ferreri drinks his gin martini with an olive, lemon, and orange twist; and MacDonald of The Lovers Bar starts a night at the club with “a proper, grown-up martini” — made with two parts gin, one part vermouth, and a lemon twist — before finishing it with Lambrusco.

Kampar’s beverage wizard Pritchard often gets the Cosmopolitan and says bartender Gabrielle Fenerty makes “the best Cosmo I have ever had.” Or, Pritchard will go off-book to try drinks that aren’t on the menu. “While the menu cocktails are always great, I think watching Jorgen [Eriksen, Palizzi’s general manager and beverage director] play with off-menu rum cocktails is one of life’s best delights,” he says. Pritchard also enjoys the “fancy Stoli-Doli” — a take on the pineapple-infused vodka martini popularized by the Capital Grille — that Eriksen and bartender Jason Ferraro make.

As for Palizzi’s signature cocktails, Rachel Lorn orders The DiCicco, named after Dominico DiCicco (who served as club president in the ‘30s) and made with olive oil-washed vodka, dry and white vermouth, and a lemon peel garnish. Baldino likes to get The Bozzelli, named for another of his predecessors, Michele Bozzelli (Palizzi president from 1946 to 1951). A spicy spin on a Last Word, the beverage is made with gin, Galliano, Cocchi Americano, and a few drops of a house-made habanero tincture, which gives the drink a warm finish. “The Bozzelli is my favorite drink on the menu and how I test our bartenders,” Baldino wrote in his cookbook. “If they can correctly make this cocktail,” he adds, “I know they’re in good shape.”