If you want to taste a chef who really takes grandma cooking to the next level, few can match what Nicola "Domenic" Domenico is turning out at his self-named Domenico's. The former Red Room and Tucker's chef, who opened this cozy, earth-toned BYOB in Ventnor last fall, makes the best arancini I've eaten since visiting Sicily. The saffron rice-balls were stuffed with a tri-meat ragu and mozzarella, a recipe he learned from a woman from Bagheria.
There are more upscale dishes, like the colossal seared scallops served beneath the luxurious tartness of a truffled balsamic glaze. There was a gigantic pork chop that wore its South Philly-style swagger on the bone with a wicked agrodolce, whose sweet and sour was spiced with the sass of cherry peppers. Domenico showed his soft touch with a quick Neopolitan sauce of ripe cherry tomatoes and basil that was perfect for hollow fusilli and plump sauteed shrimp.