When Guy Fieri Found Old-School Italian in the Back of a Baltimore Market
“With a name like Guy Fieri, you know I love Italian food,” Guy declared as he stepped into Pasquale’s, a Baltimore gem where serious Italian cooking happens in the back of a grocery market. This isn’t a restaurant that started with a business plan—it started with customers asking “make me a sandwich.” One table became many, and suddenly this market was serving up some of the most authentic Italian food in Baltimore.
The Lasagna That Guy Called One of the Best
Joe de Pasquale and his wife Sabrina don’t cut corners. For their lasagna, they make the pasta noodles fresh for every single pan. Guy watched Sabrina work the dough: one pound of flour, five eggs, a little salt, and “a lot of love,” plus just a teaspoon of olive oil. After resting under a damp towel for twenty minutes, the dough gets rolled through the pasta machine seven times to reach the perfect thickness.
The layers tell the story of this dish: a butter-greased pan gets a base of house-made marinara, then pasta sheets overlapped to hold together when sliced. From there it’s Parmigiano-Reggiano for saltiness, fresh ground beef seasoned simply with garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley, hand-pulled mozzarella, and light ricotta. Three layers of this, baked open on top at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
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Guy’s verdict? “That’s up there with any of the best lasagnas there are.” He noted how nothing poured out when sliced, how you could taste the meat distinctly, and how the ricotta stood out. Much like the traditional Italian preparations you’d find at spots serving Pizza in Florence, Italy, this is cooking rooted in technique passed down through generations.
Two Hundred Pounds of Fresh Mozzarella a Week
Pasquale’s makes around 200 pounds of mozzarella weekly, and Guy got the full lesson. Sabrina explained it’s not a recipe—it’s a technique that takes many batches to master. Starting with curd submerged in hot water (no salt), she worked it until all the lumps disappeared. “Didn’t I see this in Gladiator? The sacred mozzarella?” Guy joked as he watched the stretching process. The finished balls go into salt water for 40 minutes, creating what Guy described as “a little salty exterior, firm on the inside but melts in your mouth.”
That mozzarella goes on everything—the lasagna, the sandwiches stacked with prosciutto, capicola, and sopressata, and the fresh caprese salads.
Arancini: The Sicilian Rice Balls Guy Couldn’t Stop Praising
The arancini stole the show. House-made beef stock gets brought to a boil with arborio rice, sea salt, white pepper, and butter. Halfway through cooking, saffron goes in—but timing matters. “The saffron can’t last that long,” Sabrina explained. “You kind of put it in there, let it bloom, and boom.”
After cooling, the rice gets formed into balls with a well in the center holding a mixture of beef and pork with marinara and vegetables, plus mozzarella. Dipped in flour-water then breadcrumbs, they fry at 350 degrees until golden brown, served with warm marinara.
Guy was genuinely moved: “If I was taught how to make those at home, I never would have left home.” He loved the firm center with creamy exterior, the peas mixed in, and how the meat, rice, and mozzarella all blended together. This is the kind of from-scratch cooking that rivals dishes like Buttermilk Biscuits | Big Bite in terms of dedication to craft.
Tips from Sabrina’s Kitchen
For fresh pasta: Let dough rest 20 minutes under a damp towel so it doesn’t dry out. Run it through the machine seven times for proper texture.
For mozzarella: Work out every lump before shaping. The salt bath creates flavor contrast and helps preservation.
For arancini: Add saffron halfway through cooking rice—too early and it loses impact. Let rice cool 20 minutes before forming balls so they hold shape.
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