ROANOKE, Va. – Take one step into Sal's Italian Restaurant, and you feel like part of one big, happy, Italian family; from the smells to the sounds to the tastes.Â
Jeff Baker is happy to have found this gem, since moving from the Northeast. "The tastes are phenomenal, and I miss that being from the Northeast. So I'm glad they brought it here."
Brothers Jerry and Michael Scotto continue their dad's legacy and his American Dream.
Their parents came over from Italy, and have owned restaurants from New York to here in Roanoke.Â
Michael is the head chef, and says his passion for cooking started at a very young age.Â
"As a kid, I would cook and come up with creations and hide the dirty dishes, so my mom wouldn't find out."Â
He'd then go visit his father at work, where he'd learn even more. That, today, has turned into delicious dishes like Pasta Alla Vodka and Chicken Saltimbocca. Then, you have their desserts; everything from cannolis to tiramisu.
Jerry Scotto says, "A lot of our desserts are the real deal. The gelato is imported from Italian distributors, and the tiramisu is all homemade."
And when you bite into their food, you get a glimpse of their father, Sal.Â
"When you taste a certain sauce that Michael has made and it's Dad's recipe or his smell to it, you feel it. You really do."