La Famiglia rolls back prices to 1976
Four days a week, prices will be discounted.
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The summer of 1976 was auspicious in Philadelphia not only because of the Bicentennial and the Phillies' win of the National League East.
It was the debut of La Famiglia, the Old World Italian counterpoint to the French destination restaurant La Truffe next door. La Famiglia's wine collection – now huge and one of the best in the city – was merely enormous then, stored in a cellar that reached down to the building's 17th-century foundation.
Prices were sky-high: A steak was $16. (The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that's $67.55 in today's dollars.)
In the last 40 years, not too much has changed. Papa Carlo Sena died in 2011, and his son Giuseppe runs the place.
As he did last summer for the 40th anniversary, Giuseppe Sena will offer 1976 rollback pricing. But instead of Mondays and Tuesdays in July and August, he is extending the deal to dinners Monday through Thursday and lunches Tuesday through Friday. It starts July 5 and runs through Aug. 31.
Among the choices: Shrimp sauteed in white wine over spinach for $12.50, spaghetti carbonara for two for $8.95, and veal in garlic wine sauce for $11.95. Reservations are a must.
(Here's a great backgrounder on La Famiglia.)