Page 19 - Italian-American Herald - February 2025

ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERALD
FEBRUARY 2025 | ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM 19
WINING AND DINING
Gal-entine’s Day with the girls from Conshohocken at Gypsy and Southern Cross
By Nikki
Palladino
Generosity is at
the heart of how
“Conshy Girls”
Marianne Gere and
Kim Strengari run
their restaurant
group. The two
have known each other for more than three
decades, saying they’ve never forgotten how
generous people were when they were first
starting out. That may explain the motivation
behind the restaurants’ popular initiative –
Month of Love.
Each February, at either Conshy Girls
restaurant in Conshohocken – Gypsy Saloon
(128 Ford St.) or Southern Cross (8 E. First
Ave.) – diners can choose to purchase paper
hearts to be displayed, with the proceeds
supporting select, heartfelt initiatives. Last
year, the proceeds benefited the American
Heart Association’s Go Red for Women
campaign. Although this year’s initiative
hasn’t been announced, expect it to be
something equally warm-hearted. That’s
because Gere and Strengari give so much of
themselves.
When I last ate at Gypsy in November,
Strengari greeted me and my friend at the
hostess stand. “We treat every night like we’re
throwing a dinner party,” Gere says. “There
has to be a theme or starting point.”
Strengari says she loves the socializing
aspect of being at the restaurant, and for
Gere, it’s the cooking. Both Conshy Girls
grew up in Italian neighborhoods, with
parents or grandparents who were amazing
home cooks.
While neither considers this the direct
influence that led them to start working
in restaurants, an Italian influence was
unmistakable when I dined at Gypsy in
November. The restaurant sources its bread
from Liscio’s, and its meat from Esposito’s in
Philadelphia’s Italian Market.
After discovering this, I ask the Conshy
Girls if they’re from South Philly.
“No, but our dishes are as good as any
South Philly restaurant,” Strengari says.
During a December visit, I ordered from
Southern Cross’s Holiday Cheer specialty
menu. The salmon was some of the best
I’ve ever ordered out, accompanied by a
citrus cranberry sauce and pomegranate
risotto. I paired it with a cranberry amaro gin
fizz. It’s so rare that a menu is built around
“Conshy Girls”
Marianne Gere (right)
and Kim Strengari.
seasonality and color, both on the plate and
in the glass. This ties in nicely with Gere’s
philosophy to work from a theme.
This February, the theme at the Conshy
Girls restaurants will once again be to fall
in love with giving back. That’s the ethos
no doubt guiding Gere’s and Strengari’s
continued success, with Gypsy now in its
21st year and Southern Cross in its 13th
. IAH
Nikki Palladino is a writer, instructor, and
wine enthusiast living in South Jersey. Her
writing has appeared in literary magazines,
as well as online poetry collections. At-work
on her debut novel about first-gen Italian
Americans whose parents own competing
Italian restaurants, Nikki is also an Adjunct
Professor at Saint Joseph’s University and
a Certified Sommelier through the Court of
Master Sommeliers Americas. Follow her @
nikki_pall.
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