Sorelle

Any good chef takes pleasure in great food.  But Andrea Schnell takes it to another level.

Andrea Schnell - Chef/Owner, Sorelle: "Food brings me joy in so many ways.  I mean I'm never my happiest until I'm in the kitchen."

And in Andrea's kitchen it's part cooking and part concert.

Andrea Schnell - Chef/Owner, Sorelle: "Everyone knows I'm here because I'm usually singing.  We listen to music prepping.  This is what happens in our kitchen.  We just jam and sell food."

At Sorelle Bar and Grille on Route 18 in Abington, Chef Andrea and her team are giving diners on the South Shore the exact kind of restaurant they're looking for.  The place opened about a year ago, but for more than fifty years before that, it was a beloved red sauce Italian spot named Vin and Eddie's.  So the menu at Sorelle still offers some of those old school favorites, alongside plenty of more modern dishes.

Andrea Schnell - Chef/Owner, Sorelle: "It's not just red sauce Italian, although we do have chicken parm and meatballs and all those good things your grandma made.  But we have different ingredients.  We try to locally source what we can, and we try to add some different things, different layers of ingredients, different techniques.  So it's a little eclectic, it's different than your red sauce Italian."

And just like the menu is a mix of old and new, the one hundred and fifty seat space itself also offers the best of both worlds.

Andrea Schnell - Chef/Owner, Sorelle: "What we wanted to do was create a lounge vibe atmosphere over there, and then sort of a more quieter, you know, somewhere you can take grandma, or on a date over here, so we kind of have the luxury of having two different spaces."

To start your meal at Sorelle, there are Wild Mushroom Arancini with Prosciutto and Mozzarella, and Crispy Fried Oysters with Chive-Lemon Crème Fraiche.  But if you want to stick with a comfort food classic, order the Meatballs, made from a family recipe, smothered in melted Provolone, and simmered in San Marzano Tomato Sauce.

Andrea Schnell - Chef/Owner, Sorelle: "We hold them in our homemade marinara sauce, just let them sort of bathe themselves in that delicious red sauce, and then when an order comes in they just pop in the oven, melt the cheese, and it's delicious."

For an old school dish with a delicious new school twist, try the Crispy Point Judith Calamari tossed with Sweet Chili Vinaigrette, Toasted Almonds, Pickled Red Onions, and Arugula.

Andrea Schnell - Chef/Owner, Sorelle: "You're obviously gonna get the crispy, delicious calamari, but then you're gonna get the crunchiness of the almonds, the pepperiness of the arugula, the sort of bright, acidic, pickled red onions, all of those flavors balance, and kind of give you an exciting bite each time."

When it comes to entrees, there's a Grilled 14 Ounce Angus Sirloin, a beautiful Oven Roasted Atlantic Cod, and hand tossed pizzas baked up in a brick oven.  Of course any great Italian restaurant needs to serve an outstanding Bolognese, and Sorelle's version definitely satisfies.

Andrea Schnell - Chef/Owner, Sorelle: "We braise lamb and pork and beef short rib with tomatoes and we use red wine and then we obviously have the carrots and onions in there, served over our fresh pappardelle.  You're gonna feel warm, you're gonna feel comfort, you're gonna say, 'this is not what I expected, but this is delicious, freakin delicious."

If you swear by an awesome Chicken Parm, check this baby out: it's enormous, and delicious, smothered in mozzarella and marinara, and served atop a mountain of linguine.  And while some chefs might scoff at serving such a mainstream meal, Andrea is proud to give her customers what they want.

Andrea Schnell - Chef/Owner, Sorelle: "It's not really about me necessarily, it's about what people want and I pay homage to the fact that this was a really great old school Italian restaurant for a long time so we certainly have those patrons that come in for chicken parm, and we're gonna give it to them, an even better one."

In that spirit of giving people what they want, Andrea made sure to have a burger on the menu too.  And her version is topped with melted fontina, roasted mushrooms, and crispy shallots.

Andrea Schnell - Chef/Owner, Sorelle: "The burger to me is important.  It's one of those dishes where people feel a relief to see it, even if they don't order it, they say 'ah, good they've got a burger.'  So we try to make it unique, but I think the burger makes people comfortable, and they appreciate that we have that available for them."

The hits just keep coming at dessert, with tempting treats like Caramelized Pineapple Bread Pudding, fresh filled Cannoli with homemade shells, and a unique and delicious Pistachio Cheesecake recipe passed down from Andrea's mom.

Andrea Schnell - Chef/Owner, Sorelle: "Just one of those things that reminded me of growing up in sort of the Italian kitchen with my mom.  We have a white chocolate pistachio glaze on top, fresh berries, a little whipped cream.  We started off making that and I said, 'we'll see, I don't know if pistachio is a really popular flavor,' crazy.  It's really the most popular dessert we have here now, which was a delightful surprise to me."

And whether you want to stick with the classics, or taste something new, Chef Andrea is happy to oblige.

Andrea Schnell - Chef/Owner, Sorelle: "This restaurant is for everybody, it's not just for foodies, although hopefully foodies can find something interesting on the menu, but you're gonna take out your Aunt Kathy and your mom, and everyone's got to feel comfortable."