Italian-American eats

I've rediscovered an old love - Attilio's Ristorante, 1900 Lancaster Ave., Wilmington, 428-0909.
The family-run Italian "red gravy" palace was always a favorite spot when I lived in the city. It's a comfortable, homey eatery - the walls are covered with "Brady Bunch" wood panelling - where you can always dig into a plate of homemade pasta.
Is the sauce as good as Grandmom Talorico's or my mom's? No way. But then no Italian-American I know would ever dis their nonna's (or mother's) sauce.
Some friends and I recently stopped by Attilio's and I introduced them to what is one of my favorite dishes in Delaware: Attilio's hot peppers.
These crunchy, spicy, skinny peppers have been a part of the menu for at least 20 years.
Customers actually receive a blend of hot and sweet peppers. "That's so you get a little breather in between bites," Bruce Testa, a longtime employee, told me for a 2006 News Journal story.
"Part of the fun is watching people eat them," says Attilio Cafini, whose family owns the Italian eatery.
"It's a little like Italian roulette. Some people will stop and get a glass of water or eat bread. But then they go back to eating them. They're addictive, like potato chips and peanuts."
The dish was introduced by Attilio's father, Alberico, who learned how to make the crunchy peppers from family members in Downingtown, Pa.
To make the dish, the family buys long, Italian hot peppers and a variety known as "Italian sweets" from a New Jersey farm. Attilio's mother, Vincenza Cafini, cuts the peppers into thin slices and then sun-dries them. The crunch comes from flash frying in hot oil. The peppers are served with sprinkles of salt.
The cost is $5.50 for a small order, $7 for medium, $8.25 for large. If you order the peppers for takeout, add a quarter more.
Here's an Attilio's secret. If you just want a plate of extra-spicy hot peppers - no sweets - ask your server. Attilio Cafini says they put aside some of the hottest peppers for customers in the know.