Randall Swaney – Memphis Flyer

Judd Grisanti prepared his first dinners on Monday, May 19th, at Marshall Steakhouse in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Or, as the restaurant’s owner Randall Swaney, dubbed it: “Marshall Grisanti.”

Grisanti, a chef whose restaurants include the former Spindini, is the son of the late restaurateur Ronnie Grisanti. He will be cooking his Italian cuisine at Marshall’s on Mondays and Tuesdays, the days the restaurant formerly was closed. Judd and Swaney, who are longtime friends, thought it would be a perfect fit.

Apparently, it was.

“I thought it was huge,” Swaney says. “It was more people than we anticipated. So, that’s a win. A little over 100, which was great. That’s what we would have on a Wednesday night or a Thurdsay night. So, to get that on a Monday, is really good.”

Instead of the usual background music, customers dined to vocals by appropriate-for-the-night songsters, including Luciano Pavarotti. “It went from classic country to classic Italian,” Swaney says.

Marshall County Sheriff Kenny Dickerson, Beverly Hurdle, Randall Swaney at “Marshall Steakhouse Italian Edition” (Credit: Michael Donahue)

The menu for “Marshall Steakhouse Italian Edition” includes filet, ribeye, and New York Strip steaks, and Judd’s iconic “Filetto di Menzo Con Gorgonzola,” an eight-ounce prime filet with, according to the menu, “roasted encrusted applewood bacon wrapped and stuffed with gorgonzola, served with veal demi red wine reduction.”

The rest of the menu features Grisanti dishes, some old favorites and some new.

I wanted to be the first diner Monday night, so I got to the restaurant about 4 p.m. I ordered some of my personal favorite Grisanti items, at least a couple of which I’ve written about over the years.

While looking over the items, I stopped at “Pasta Alla Elfo,” popularly known among Grisanti fans as “Elfo Special.” I knew that was going to be my entree. The taste of that dish is so memorable. The menu reads, “The Original Recipe created by my grandfather ‘Elfo.’ Jumbo shrimp sautéed in garlic and butter and tossed with mushrooms, hint of white pepper over vermicelli with parmigiana Reggiano.”

Elfo Special at “Marshall Steakhouse Italian Edition” (Credit: Michael Donahue)

I was very happy when I saw one of my all-time-favorite soups, “Zuppa Di Isabella,”which Judd created and named after his daughter. The menu describes it as “Asparagus bisque with butter poached Maine lobster.” It was delicious.

Zuppa Di Isabella at “Marshall Steakhouse Italian Edition” (Credit: Michael Donahue)

The famous “Miss Mary’s Salad” — tomato, lettuce, onion, with the traditional Grisanti’s chianti vinaigrette dressing — also was part of my order. And, for dessert, I selected Judd’s cannolis: “A crispy tube-shaped shell filled with a sweet, creamy ricotta-based filling.”

Miss Mary’s Salad at “Marshall Steakhouse Italian Edition” (Credit: Michael Donahue)

It was an excellent meal.

I called Judd the next day to see how he felt about his first night.

“I think it went great,” he says. “I was overwhelmed with all the response. Social media and everybody calling and making comments has been overwhelming. So, expectations were high. You get excited, but it’s almost like, ‘Be careful for what you wish for.’”

Asked what dishes were the most poplar Monday night, Judd says, “The Elfo was very popular, of course. The rigatoni and peppers. And the chicken parmigiana.”

More items will be added. “Some things we’ll change and we’ll be adding on more traditional Grisanti items as well.”

Swaney surprised him with the Italian music at dinner, Judd says. “It made me feel at home. It made me feel like I was back at Grisanti’s on Poplar. It was a nice touch. All I could do was think of Pop.”

Ronnie Grisanti (Credit: Justin Fox Burks)

Austin Justice, Sophie Swaney, Randall Swaney at “Marshall Steakhouse Italian Edition” (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Cody and Haley Walker at “Marshall Steakhouse Italian Edition” (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Rodney and Julie Wilson at “Marshall Steakhouse Italian Edition” (Credit: Michael Donahue)

It’s a marriage made in Mississippi.

Beginning May 19th, chef Judd Grisanti will begin cooking his cuisine on Monday and Tuesday nights at Marshall Steakhouse in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He’s known for his cuisine at Grisanti restaurants, including the old Ronnie Grisanti & Sons and Spindini restaurants.

He and Marshall Steakhouse owner Randall Swaney are longtime friends, Grisanti says. They also have farms close to each other. “We’re always talking farm business,” Grisanti says. “Both talking about the hogs he was raising, and the stuff I was doing, cattle and horses, and whatnot.”

About two weeks ago Swaney asked Grisanti, “How would you like to do a Grisanti’s at Marshall Steakhouse on Monday and Tuesday nights?”

Grisanti answered in the affirmative. He said, “Man, I think it’s a great idea.’

For one thing, it would get him back cooking in a restaurant a couple of days a week, which was perfect, Grisanti says.

It also was perfect for Swaney. “Because the economy has been kind of bad for the past year,” Swaney says. “My business for seven years was up until August ’24. And then it went down. Like the rest of the country. We’re down about 10 percent.”

He was racking his brain — as well as praying about — how to get more business. Then, he says, a lightbulb went off. He ran into Grisanti four times last month. He thought, “Wait. I’ve already got a building. A whole kitchen. And nobody’s in there. What a perfect opportunity to open up a completely different restaurant on Monday and Tuesdays.’”

And there are all those people who follow Grisanti on social media “who would love to eat at a Grisanti’s restaurant. And now we have one inside Marshall Steakhouse. This is a huge winner for everybody.”

Grisanti’s dad, the late Ronnie Grisanti, was one of his inspirations when he opened Marshall Steakhouse, Swaney says. Ronnie would go into the dining room and speak to the customers. Swaney does the same thing. “The owner acknowledging the customers is something I learned and never forgot.”

Grisanti says his “biggest battle” was picking the dishes. “There are so many. Right?” Grisanti says.

“The first couple of days we’re going to start off doing what I call ‘chef’s picks.’ Judd’s favorite all-time classics dishes.”

Guests can expect to see Grisanti’s pan-seared “Halibut Rombo” with roasted red pepper pesto over white wine risotto topped with peekytoe crab and micro arugula.

He also will feature the meatballs in rustic pomadoro sauce, topped with hard ricotta salata cheese, a dish he and his dad came up with.

Grisanti also will be doing some steaks, including his “Filet de Manzo con Gorgonzola.” It’s the one I’ve been doing for 40 years,”Grisanti says. “We could never take it off the menu. An eight-ounce filet — roasted garlic encrusted, bacon wrapped, and stuffed with gorgonzola cheese, and served with sautéed mushrooms and veal demi glaze.”

Appetizers will include prosciutto-wrapped grilled jumbo shrimp with roasted garbanzo beans, and a play on Italian humus, with roasted red peppers and ‘black olive salt.’ (I take) Kalamata olives and I dehydrate them and they become hard as stone. I put them in a coffee grinder. My own salt.”

Grisanti say he’ll have his tiramisu and his “Miss Mary” or “Mia Nona” salad, his Caesar Salad with black garlic, and, for dessert, his home-made tiramisu.

And, Grisanti says, “We will have wines we normally have at Grsasnti’s.” These include a Badia a Coltibuono Cetamura chianti.

Later on, he will add more classic Grisanti dishes, including manicotti, lasagna, and ravioli. For now, he wants to “just give a little taste of what we can do and, hopefully, just grow from there.”

The restaurant will seat “only 130 guests each night because we don’t want it to be overwhelmed. We want everybody to have a good experience.”

People can make reservations on Yelp! or the Marshall Steakhouse Facebook page. But, Grisanti says, “We’re not going to turn you away at the door.”