Palm Springs, CA

For Italian food lovers, a new chapter has begun at 425 S. Sunrise Way, where Those Italian Cousins has opened its doors in the space long occupied by Mario’s Italian Restaurant, a fixture of the city’s dining scene for years.

The restaurant is helmed by cousins Maurizio Tunis and Patrick Abbate, who’s family roots are in Sardinia, the Italian island known for its rustic, sea-influenced cooking traditions. Rather than adapting to American-Italian conventions, the pair say they’re bringing the food of home to the desert unchanged.

“We cook here only what we cook in Italy,” Abbate said, adding that diners shouldn’t expect to find chicken Parmigiana on the menu.

The fish and meat dishes are made using special wine recipes from Sardinia and a nearby region in Italy called Puglia. The menu has several sections: antipasti (starters), pinse, and bigger pasta and meat dishes. Pinse is a type of flatbread from Rome. It’s similar to pizza, but the crust is lighter and easier to digest.

Some of the standout dishes include a meaty pasta called mezze maniche bolognese, a truffle and ricotta pasta called sacchetti al tartufo, and slow-cooked beef short ribs served with gnocchi. Their pinse options range from a classic margherita to their own special version, topped with sausage, black olives, cheese, and arugula. The cousins said they hope to add regular pizza to the menu someday, but for now they’re focused on perfecting their pinse.

For dessert, the restaurant offers seadas, a traditional fried pastry from Sardinia. It’s filled with cheese, topped with orange zest, and drizzled with honey. It’s a dessert you won’t find at most other Italian restaurants in Palm Springs. Other sweet options include tiramisu, cannoli, and a chocolate treat called salame al cioccolato.

With its focus on real Sardinian cooking, Those Italian Cousins adds something new to the Palm Springs food scene, giving locals and visitors another tasty reason to explore what the city has to offer.

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