
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Charlie Gitto’s on The Hill: Shrimp Diavolo used to be served as an appetizer, without pasta, or as an entrée, atop linguine. It still is, if you ask.

Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Gioia’s Deli: If the secret menu is listed on one’s website, is it really a secret? Either way, Gioia’s sandwiches—with such monikers as The Porknado 2 (pictured) and The Spaceball—are so good that we really don’t care.

Photo by Kevin A. Roberts
Trattoria Marcella: Starting as a NYE special in 1995, Steve Komorek’s lobster risotto has never officially been on the menu, but there are requests for it every night.

Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Sidney Street Café: Customers are requesting a “breakfast for dinner” appetizer (deep-fried farm egg and ham on brioche with gravy) that was popular years ago, and chef-owner Kevin Nashan is obliging.

Photo by Kevin A. Roberts
Mai Lee: Any 30-year-old restaurant with a 300-item menu has to have a few items that have slipped through the cracks over the years—in this case, the seafood-charred rice.

Photo by Kevin A. Roberts
Blues City Deli: Should you want to stray off menu, owner Vinnie Valenza will make you a Honeydripper or re-create the former favorite Redbird (pictured). He’ll even make one during the Cards’ offseason.