In the highly saturated landscape of Italian cuisine in Southern California, La Parolaccia Osteria has set itself apart by sticking to tradition.
Since 2006, the Procaccini family has served the Long Beach community a taste of homestyle Roman cooking with authentic family dishes that represent owner Stefano Procaccini’s Italian upbringing.
Now, after their recent nomination for “Best Chef: California” from the James Beard Foundation, Stefano and his son Michael Procaccini are set on continuing to offer customers honest, simple and delicious food.
As one of the most prestigious institutions in the culinary world, the James Beard Foundation recognizes restaurants and chefs for their exceptional talent and achievements in the culinary arts.
“You just kind of always think that this stuff happens to famous people, or, like, trendy stuff, things in LA. You know, we’re just here as a mom and pop,” Michael said.
While Stefano leads the kitchen and Michael works the pizza oven, daughter Francesca orchestrates the front of the house, working in tandem with one another to provide their customers with unforgettable dining experiences.
Calling on the simplicity of rustic Roman cuisine, the menu at La Parolaccia deviates from Americanized Italian classics and instead highlights the kind of food that Michael and Francesca grew up eating with their family.
Traditional dishes like Cannelloni al Forno – a rolled pasta filled with spinach and ricotta or Melanzane Parmigiana – a fried eggplant layered with cheese and tomato sauce, are the kind of menu options that make La Parolaccia so exciting.
“Having an honest product … eventually like any good art that is pure it will find its lane and eventually get people that are on board with it,” Michael said.
Yet for many years, lesser-known dishes like suppli, a rice croquette stuffed with mozzarella and beef ragu, would often get overlooked by patrons.
Noting the attention the restaurant has received on social media along with the James Beard nomination, Michael has seen a heightened interest in dishes that challenge what Americans have come to associate with Italian food.
“There’s a lot of things on the menu that we tried doing maybe ten years ago but they didn’t take because people didn’t know what it was, so, it never got ordered,” he said.
Nestled on the corner of a residential neighborhood in Bluff Heights, La Parolaccia transports visitors to Italy with their wooden tables, exposed red brick, warm gold walls, Vespas and photos of the Italian coastline.
Intent on preserving the integrity of their Roman roots, the Procaccini family has never compromised on offering customers a true taste of their home, and this includes the ambiance.
“We try to make people feel like they’re at home in Italy,” Michael said. “Sitting in Italy in someone’s home.”
What first began as a 20-seat restaurant, has now expanded into five connected rooms that are filled with happy dinners day in and day out.
“We’ve grown with the community. Especially during COVID, it was all the community. People taking to go … it was all the neighborhood,” Michael said.
According to Michael, becoming a pillar within the community can be attributed to the family’s mission to not reinvent the wheel when it comes to Italian food, but to instead showcase why traditions stand the test of time.
With family restaurants and pizzerias in Rome, Stefano came to Long Beach with a vision of recreating a piece of home here in Southern California using food as his vessel.
Passing down his love for Italian food to his son, Michael has worked at the restaurant since he was a teenager, and remembers cooking as being a pivotal part of his family’s life. Now as an adult, Michael’s love for food, specifically his love for pizza, has continued to blossom.
Listing Pizza Rosa, Pizza Bianca and Pizza con Patate as a few of his favorite Roman dishes, Michael finds immense joy in cooking the food that he grew up eating.
As a former student, and now instructor at the Sede Nazionale della Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli in Parma, Italy, Michael has honed in on what bread and pizza mean not only to himself but to the Procaccini family.
With dual citizenship, the family makes frequent visits to Italy. Michael has found that it is often a time when he can recalibrate his palate back to his roots and bring that knowledge with him to the restaurant.
“Food is a story. Even if you don’t understand someone’s language… food is a universal language,” Michael said.
La Parolaccia Osteria is open Tuesday through Thursday from 4-9 p.m., Friday from 4-10 p.m., Saturday from 2-10 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. It is located at 2945 E. Broadway, Long Beach.
This article was edited on March 20, 2024 to for accuracy.