Not everyone is fortunate enough to grow up with their great-grandmother. But chef Chris Cosentino was, and his Italian great-grandmama Rosalie’s impact on his life and career is quite evident in Rosalie Italian Soul, the intimate restaurant named for her in the new C. Baldwin hotel in downtown Houston.

A first-generation Italian immigrant who settled in Rhode Island, Rosalie Consentino left behind the authentic Italian ingredients of her homeland and made do with comparable foodstuff she found on American soil.