In the spring of 2023, Joe Benny’s, a casual Little Italy restaurant beloved for its meatballs, focaccia pizza, and unstuffy attitude, closed after a decade-long run. It was yet another post-pandemic blow for a gastronomically iconic neighborhood where unfortunately more restaurants seemed to be closing than opening.

Today, Little Italy’s outlook looks a little tastier, thanks in large part to Joe Benny Gardella, the man who put his heart, soul (and body) into Joe Benny’s and has opened its bigger and bolder successor, Benny’s.

Gardella shuttered his first restaurant in part because he needed back surgery, a result, he says, of working virtually nonstop for 10 years in the small, cramped space. Now physically and spiritually renewed, he has teamed up with co-owner Benny Sudano to open a restaurant that they hope will help spark a renaissance in the neighborhood.

“We said, ‘Let’s get the guy who was born and raised in Little Italy and the new guy and see if we can get this resurgence going,’” says Gardella, who has lived in Baltimore since 2000 and moved to Little Italy in 2020. “The goal was to have old-school Little Italy meet new Little Italy—and if they had a kid, that’s what I wanted it to be.”

The reproduction metaphor is an apt one considering “Best Balls on the Block” is written on the awning over Benny’s High Street entrance (Meatballs in this case.) Once inside, it’s even more apparent that this is a less stodgy restaurant than its more traditional neighbors.

Classic rock fills the air in the spacious and lively bar, which, on the nights we visited this summer, was crowded with some people who were just drinking, others who were snacking, and couples eating full meals. There’s a small dining room in the back with dark wooden tables, no red-and-white checkered tablecloths in sight.

We started with cocktails curated by Josh Sudano (Benny’s son), another partner in the venture. The Margarita Siciliana adds limoncello to the standard tequila, triple sec, and sour mix to create a version with a sweeter aftertaste. Wednesdays feature half-price bottles of wine, which are grouped into two categories on the menu: Decent (the Ermes Vento pinot noir is described as “light but with attitude, like Sicilians”) and the pricier Reserves. Sangria, bottle and tap beer, and nonalcoholic drinks also are available.

The star of the antipasti is, of course, the Sloppy Balls (Benny’s loves its cheeky puns), the same beef and pork variety slathered in tomato sauce from Gardella’s grandmother’s recipe that he served at his previous establishment. There is a difference: Here they come on a bed of polenta covered with burrata, making for an even more decadent and delicious dish.

The tasty octopus carpaccio features thinly sliced pieces of octopus with a crisp, light dressing that accentuates the natural flavors. An order of focaccia pizza delivers, as the menu warns, the promise of “a big damn slice.” We split about half of the Norma Jean, topped with eggplant, tomatoes, escarole, and burrata, and took the rest home.

We suggest you save your carb intake for one of the excellent pastas. Orecchiette e granchio, small ear-shaped pasta with corn, tomato, and crab in a guanciale cream sauce, was rich but not overpoweringly so. Rigatoni with short rib cooked for four hours was a special on a night we visited; the meat was tender and the sauce exquisite.

But the best pasta dish is undoubtedly the rigatoni al pistacchio, crumbled fennel sausage in a pistachio pesto sauce that’s a milder yet more complex version than we’ve ever had. The origins of the dish can be traced back to Sicily, where Gardella’s parents emigrated from before eventually settling in Prince George’s County, where he grew up.

“On the base of Mount Etna there’s a town called Bronte,” he says. “Their main source of income is the pistachio business. You go to this town, 75 percent of the menus, whether it’s sweets, savory dishes, you name it, use pistachios. I’d go every year and bring back pistachios. I’ve always had a liking for them.”

Vern Smith, Benny’s chef, created the dish. Its presence is another sign that Gardella—who says he and Sudano have more projects in the neighborhood in the works—is infusing a shot of adrenaline into the Little Italy food scene.

“If you don’t put life into these ethnic neighborhoods, they kind of fall by the wayside,” he says. “I want to be part of the resurgence, because I don’t want Little Italy to fade away.”

BENNY’S: 300 S. High St., Little Italy. HOURS: Tue.-Fri. 4-10 p.m., Sat. noon-11 p.m., Sun. noon-9 p.m. PRICES: Antipasti $13-18; pasta $19-29; entrees $24-36; dessert $8. AMBIANCE: Not your father’s Little Italy restaurant.

EAT

Jan. 26: Little Italy Meatball Fest

Pandola Learning Center, 914 Stiles St. 3-6 p.m. $40.

Sure, clean eating is all the rage, but there’s something about a giant plate of spaghetti and meatballs that makes it worth putting off the diet for a day. Bring your appetite to this all-you-can-eat meatball festival at Joe Benny’s, where attendees can help themselves to a seemingly endless buffet of pasta, salad, bread, and dessert. Sample each contestant in the Best Meatball competition and, if you can stomach it, enter into the meatball-eating contest for a truly carb-tastic afternoon.

DRINK

Jan. 25: Chesapeake Oyster, Wine, & Beer Festival

The Assembly Room, 316 Guilford Ave. 12-4 p.m. $69.

What’s the best way to wash down a bushel of world-class oysters? Heavy Seas beer, of course—and two dozen other wines and spirits you will find at this 13th-annual, adults-only seafood extravaganza. Blend briny bivalves and boozy flavors downtown at the Assembly Room, where tickets give you an all-access pass to a shuckin’ good time.

SEE

Jan. 25-Feb. 22: On The Verge

Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. Times vary. Free.

Creative Alliance is known around town for bringing together works that range in media, style, and material by artists that represent every corner of the city, and its latest exhibition is no exception. Opening with a reception on Saturday night, On The Verge showcases a wide variety of pieces by 25 up-and-coming artists, featuring some local names, as well as rising talent from Japan and Pakistan. Stroll through the Highlandtown arts center to take in these diverse works, and leave with a new favorite artist to keep up with as they rise through their career.

HEAR

Jan. 26: Beer Maria: Fully Tilted Music Collab

Full Tilt Brewing, 5604 York Rd. 10 a.m.-9p.m. $20.

Dear Maria, count us in. The hype surrounding Full Tilt Brewing’s collaboration with Towson-born punk rockers All Time Low will reach its peak this Saturday during the launch party for blonde ale, Beer Maria: Count Me In, inspired by one of the group’s mega hits. Spend the day at the Towson brewery sipping on the new brew, noshing on snacks by Bottoms Up Bagels and The Rolling Grill Pit Beef and Catering, and listening to guest performer James VanDeuson. There are heavy-handed rumors that All Time Low will take the stage for at least a few songs, so stick around to jam out and raise a glass with these hometown rock heroes.

DO

Jan. 26: Lunar New Year Celebration

The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free.

Ring in the year of the rat with this annual colorful celebration at The Walters Art Museum. With activities for visitors of all ages, let the kiddos help build a giant floral rat sculpture, participate in a zodiac-themed scavenger hunt in the Arts of Asia galleries, and snap photos in the photo booth. Be sure to secure a spot in the auditorium for a performance by The Baltimore Chinese School, and then make your way to the museum’s sculpture court to watch a traditional dance by the Johns Hopkins Yong Han Lion Dance Troupe.