Grisanti bringing 'the original' Italian cuisine to Tupelo
Aug. 16—TUPELO — Raised in an Italian family, trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and guided by chefs in Italy, it's fair to say that Judd Grisanti knows all about Italian food.
And he's ready to share it in Tupelo.
Grisanti has partnered with Clay Knight for monthly pop-up dinners called The Original Grisanti's at Uptown. They'll run every Thurday-Saturday throughout the year at Knight's Uptown Grocery at 316 N. Spring St., starting this Thursday.
But Northeast Mississippians may be familiar with Grisanti's food. There are the restaurants in the Memphis area bearing the family name, and during the pandemic, take-home entrees were made available at grocery stores across the region, including Todd's Big Star and Brooks Grocery store.
Grisanti recently sold his interest in the family business including the take-home meals to strike out on his own. He admits the family break was not amicable but declined to speak more about it.
Nevertheless, he's ready to start a new chapter, first with the pop-up experiences, with hopes to open a restaurant of his own once again.
"I'm not here to rock the boat or put anybody out or say I'm bringing authentic Italian to Tupelo," he said. "I just want to have fun again and share my passion for food. That's all."
Grisanti is the fourth generation of the famous family. He cooked alongside his father, Rinaldo, and his father, Elfo, as well as his uncle "Big John."
"I was pinching raviolis when I was a kids and standing on wooden Coca-Cola boxes," he said. "I still make my pasta by hand."
Grisanti intends to bring an eclectic menu one he calls "antico nuovo," or the Old World meets the New World.
"I'm very much into molecular gastronomy like sous vide and liquid nitrogen, but that's not meant to be intimidating," he said. "It's nothing new and people have been doing it for ages. We'll be making different ice creams or gelatos for example. We can dehydrate things or freeze things and get different textures and flavors — that's what I like to do."
Fresh pasta and seafood will be on the menu, as will pizza and meat dishes. The menu will revolve depending on the availably of fresh ingredients.
Grisanti insists that while the food may look and sound upscale, it won't be priced that way.
"Have we done something that nobody else has done before? No," Grisanti said. "Somebody's done it someplace somehow and maybe we've done it with a twist and our own little touches and style."
