I ate at the oldest Italian restaurant in the US, and it was one of the best dinners I've had in a while

The weekend we went to Philadelphia happened to be the first weekend the city allowed indoor dining again. With restaurants only open to 25% capacity, we had a lot of trouble finding a place to eat on Saturday night. We called countless places around the city, and all of them said they were booked for the night.

After an hour of trying, we finally got a reservation at Ralph's located in South Philadelphia.

Since it was the only restaurant in the city that would take a last-minute reservation on a Saturday night, I didn't have high hopes for the dining experience, but I was instantly surprised that Ralph's was clearly a legitimate restaurant on a busy street.

The general rule is that a packed restaurant means it's a great restaurant, so the emptiness of Ralph's made me a bit skeptical again. There were only four tables in each corner of the room and only one of them had people eating. I reminded myself that there is a pandemic and this limited seating and empty atmosphere is normal, even preferred for my safety.

I later learned that there was a second floor with additional seating, but I wasn't allowed up there because of COVID-19 safety concerns.

There was a paper place mat laid out in front of me, and the first words on the paper read: "You are dining at the oldest Italian restaurant in America."

As I continued to read on, I learned that Francesco Dispigno and his wife, Catherine, immigrated to the US from Naples, Italy, in 1893. They settled in an Italian neighborhood in Philadelphia and opened the country's first Italian restaurant in 1900, naming it after their son, Ralph.

Over 120 years later, the restaurant is now run by the fourth generation of Dispignos and operates out of the same building. Throughout the years, notables like Taylor Swift, Frank Sinatra, Patti LaBelle, and many others have all dined at Ralph's. According to the restaurant, President Joe Biden was even a frequent visitor when he was a senator — and I quickly learned why.

I started to feel embarrassed for prejudging the restaurant and now felt lucky to even have scored a reservation at this historic restaurant.

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As someone who has a deep love for bread, I am always looking for restaurants that have the best starter bread. Unfortunately, Ralph's bread was a bit dry, and I had to dip it in olive oil.

The menu had a ton of pasta options, including penne alla vodka, ravioli, and lasagna. There were also a few seafood options, but the star of the menu was the variety of chicken dishes. One of my friends and I ultimately decided to get the "Ralph's Famous Chicken Parm" for $22.

For me, a great chicken Parm comes down to three characteristics: a thin piece of chicken, a crispy breading, and a great sauce. Fortunately, Ralph's "famous" chicken Parm checked all three boxes. The best part of the dish was the sauce, which tasted perfectly sweet and reminded me of my grandmother's home-cooked meals back when I was young.

I didn't know if it was the fact that I hadn't had a great Italian meal in a while thanks to the coronavirus lockdown or if it really was that delicious, but my entrée was one of the best dishes I've had in a while.

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Since the spaghetti was covered in the sauce that I already loved, I had no complaints about the delicious side. It was the perfect complement to the chicken Parm.

The chicken florentine had spinach, artichoke hearts, mozzarella, white wine, and butter, and it cost $22. My friend said the sauce was the best part of the entire dish.

Despite the fact that we were all full from the meal, our server convinced us that we had to try Ralph's cannoli for $8. When it arrived, I knew we weren't going to be disappointed because it had chocolate chips, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup drizzled on the plate.

The cannoli was perfectly baked and the filling was deliciously sweet.

After enjoying a delicious dinner in Philadelphia, I took one last look at the exterior of Ralph's. This restaurant has survived the Great Depression, two world wars, and is now facing a devastating pandemic, yet it still stands and continues to serve anyone who walks through the door.

Although I was just one customer in Ralph's 120 years, I was honored to get just a taste of this delicious history.

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