Paffuto is serving up something legendary.
The Italian-inspired market and cafe in South Philly is launching a new “Legends Series” with eight weeks of special panzerottis, and each treat will pay homage to some of Philly’s best culinary talents.
The savory turnovers that originated in Central and Southern Italian cuisine resemble a small calzone, and Paffuto is quite known for the bites. In the past, locals could find classic, breakfast, roast pork and broccoli rabe, and even soup panzerrottis.
The new series of bites will launch on Wednesday, April 9, and different “Legends” picks will roll out for two months featuring flavors that each respective chef is known for. Specials run Wednesday through Sunday every two weeks at the Bella Vista locale. First up will be an homage to Marc Vetri with a braised rabbit and fennel sausage ragu panzerotti, and a vegetarian pick featuring Swiss chard, brown butter, ricotta, and mozzarella – a play on Vetri’s famous gnocchi.
Subsequent panzerotti will pay tribute to chefs Greg Vernick of Vernick Restaurants, Chutatip ‘Nok’ Suntaranon of Kalaya, Shola Olunloyo of Studiokitchen, Randy Rucker of River Twice and Little Water, Cristina Martinez of South Philly Barbacoa and Casa Mexico, and Pierre Calmels (formerly of Bibou, which operated in the current Paffuto space,) a release notes. The final week will feature a blueberry dessert “pie-zerotti” to pay homage to pastry chef Abby Dahan of Provenance. Some weeks, like the first one, will feature a vegetarian option as well.
The exact flavors of the forthcoming treats will be announced soon, but locals can expect takes on Vernick’s famous skillet chicken, Nok’s lamb massaman curry, Olunloyo’s West African jollof flavors, Rucker’s southern flavors, Cristina’s lamb barbacoa and Pierre’s French cuisine.
The Legends Panzerotti’s will cost around $15 (depending on the ingredients), and the finale dessert pick will cost around $10. Guests can feel good about picking up some of the treats as well — a portion of proceeds will be donated to a charity of each chef’s choosing, with the first one going to the Vetri Community Partnership. The chef schedule is to be determined, but Paffuto will announce the next chef in the series on Instagram every other Monday.
“If you’re coming up as a chef in the restaurant industry in Philadelphia, you’ve undoubtedly learned something from at least one of these incredible chefs,” said Paffuto co-owner Jake Loeffler.
“We look up to all of these chefs, so to get their blessing to pay homage to them means so much to us. The chefs featured in the series have received more than 40 James Beard nominations and the entire group is loaded with immense talent. This is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time now, and we’re really excited to explore all of the flavors and navigate this process while raising money for a bunch of great causes.”
The “Paffuto Boys” – chef/partners Daniel Griffiths, Jake Loeffler, and Sam Kalkut opened the eatery in late 2023.
Paffuto, which means “plump” in Italian, has seen the three chef/partners splitting all of the work in and out of the kitchen — and each one has spent time making their mark in the City of Brotherly Love.
Philadelphians may have seen Loeffler working in top kitchens such as Vernick Fish, Tabachoy, Rouge, Kensington Quarters, and Philadelphia’s Four Seasons Hotel, while Griffiths has worked at standouts like Laurel, Talula’s Garden, BBQ Smokehouse in the Bok Building, Jean-Georges Philadelphia, and Tabachoy. Kalkut from New York, attended CIA (the Culinary Institute of America) with Loeffler, and worked at Jean-Georges with Griffiths, as well as Boka in Chicago, and Kensington Quarters in Fishtown.
“All three of us grew up with Italian culture, so it was obvious for us to make Paffuto an Italian-focused concept,” said Griffiths in a past statement. “Both Jake and myself have families from Southern Italy, which was a common thread for us, and Sam’s dad grew up in the Bronx, so all three of our lives featured a ton of Italian food growing up and to this day.”
To learn more about Paffuto and their Legends Panzerotti series, visit paffutophl.com
