Martorano's Kitchen to Make Seminole Hard Rock Debut

Steve Martorano may have had humble beginnings running a one-man sandwich delivery business out of the basement of his mother's South Philly home, but there's nothing humble about his newest restaurant venture, set to debut later this month in the gaudy Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. 

Consider this: Martorano's Italian-American Kitchen will sprawl over 7,400 square feet and seat 300 indoors and out. It will feature a mozzarella bar with antique prosciutto slicer; employ a nightly DJ spinning classic R&B and pop tunes through a 10,000-watt, state-of-the-art sound system with interactive lighting; and, of course, be hung with enough hi-def TVs to stretch from Hollywood to Pluto. (OK, maybe not that far, but you get the idea.) 

Oh, and to help out with the grand opening party slated to kick off at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 25... a few close personal friends like Shaquille O'Neal, Real Housewives' Kelly Bensimon, celebrity kid brother Frank Stallone, and more. 

As for the food, if it ain't broke, don't stop cooking it. So from the Kitchen's exhibition kitchen, Steve and crew will be turning out the signature dishes that have kept his Café Martorano in Fort Lauderdale packed tighter than a four-foot sausage in a two-foot casing. That means Martorano's renowned meatballs, jumbo shrimp scampi bread, orecchiette with hot and sweet sausage, bucatini Amatriciana, and the like. And for you late-night types, Philly cheese steaks, meatball sammies, chicken wings, and three types of pizza. 

But no humble pie.