Thousands of Pittsburghers hold fast to their Italian culinary heritage, and Frankie Marckisotto is one of them. His point of pride: a sausage recipe passed down from generation to generation. “The recipe has been in our family for maybe 60 years. 80 years? Maybe even longer,” he says. “I don’t know exactly how long it’s been around.”

Michael Conte grew up making Italian sausage, too. The two became friends in 2020 and soon will be family; Conte’s sister, Macrae, is engaged to marry Marckisotto later this year. The budding new unit just merged their gustatory lineages into a business, and opened Frankie’s Sausage in Sharpsburg earlier this month.