Red Sauce Episode 1: Patsy's Tavern

The Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America announces the launch of Red Sauce: An Italian American Culinary Journey, a docuseries produced in collaboration with the School of Communication & Media at Montclair State University.

Red Sauce explores how Italian American food—including pizza, chicken parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs, and the Philadelphia cheesesteak—transformed America, and how through food Italians assimilated into American culture. Narrated by Mark Rotella, Director of the Coccia Institute and the Italian American Foodways Project at Montclair State University, the series will feature established Italian American eateries and will highlight both the restaurant's history and its geographical location in connection to Italian American culture and history.

The pilot episode features Patsy’s Tavern & Restaurant located in Paterson, NJ. Opened in 1931, Patsy’s has become a household name within the North Jersey Italian American community for its rich history, and it was one of the first establishments in the area to introduce the bar pie. The restaurant preserves its old-fashioned ambiance by baking all pizzas in the original ovens dating back to 1931.