North of New York City Locali Serves Excellent Italian Food In The 'Burbs
One of the best things about New York City is that it stops at the northern edge of The Bronx and has never intruded, as in so many newer cities, into what was once countryside and now is more mundanely referred to as the suburbs. Westchester County to the north is itself home to large cities like New Rochelle, Mount Vernon and Yonkers, all with th...
Nearly 100 Years Of Tradition At Defonte’s Sandwich Shop
In 1922 in Brooklyn, Italian immigrant Nick Defonte bought a corner store for $100. That store became Defonte’s Sandwich Shop, a Red Hook icon. Today, his grandkids run the original deli along with a second Staten Island outpost. At Defonte’s, staff and longtime customers bring all the boisterous conviviality of a family reunion. “You walk in here,...
Rocco owner opens seafood dining bar
There's not a bad seat in the house at Rella. That's because any seat you choose -- and there are only 15 -- is a seat at the chef's table. The new restaurant, which opened on Monroe Avenue in June, is an intimate dining bar where you can watch the kitchen's every move. There are no tables, and no waiters. Instead, the cooks do double duty, deftly...
Il laboratorio del gelato launches limited-edition tomato flavor this week
Ah, remember the days when a tomato collaboration meant Heinz' EZ Squirt ketchup for the movie premiere of Shrek? Green was for the ogre and purple was for Donkey, and true '90s kids can still recite the difference in flavor notes. For National Ice Cream Month, one of our favorite spots in the city for gelato, the Lower East Side's il laboratorio d...
Hundreds of heroes: Lioni’s to open a new location in Sunset Park
An iconic Bensonhurst sandwich shop is getting a second-coming this week. Residents of Sunset Park are set to become part of the Lioni Italian Heroes family as the Italian-American shop officially expects to open there on Thursday or Friday, the Brooklyn Eagle has learned. “We had been looking at Industry City and the area for about a year. The are...
Iconic Savarese Italian Pastry Shoppe is back and better than ever
One of Brooklyn’s most beloved bakeries has had quite a year. Savarese Italian Pastry Shoppe at the corner of 60th Street and New Utrecht Avenue celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2018. But on March 26, a fire at Savarese caused minor damage to the upstairs apartment. Thankfully, the fire was contained, the bakery was not affected and no one was s...
Dolce Gelateria opens in Franklin Square
The corner store at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Langdon Street in Franklin Square has housed a series of workaday businesses, among them, a flooring distributor, a heating-and-plumbing service and a photo studio. But the ramshackle site got a glamorous makeover when Vito and Danny Altesi decided to turn it into a cafe featuring homemade...
ITA Kitchen to bring a new Italian dining experience to downtown Bay Shore
Salvatore Sorrentino has been searching Bay Shore high and low for the last five years for the perfect spot for his Italian restaurant. It wasn’t until he was scrolling through Craiglist with his wife, Christina, that he found the best fit: the old Gino’s Pizzeria at 45 West Main Street. “It was really random,” said Christina. “We were on Craigslis...
Italian restaurant Grano opens in downtown Schenectady
Italian restaurant Grano officially opens its doors in downtown Schenectady today in the former home of Aperitivo Bistro, which closed suddenly in March. The restaurant is owned by Armondo Cioccke and Danny Petrosino, who are also chef-owners of Osteria Danny in Saratoga Springs and Armondo's Villa Tuscan Grill in Rotterdam. Grano will specialize i...
NYC’s best new Italian restaurants
Arrivederci, ramen and bibimbap — it’s celebrazione season for Italian food lovers. A half-dozen marvelous new and new-ish restaurants are re-energizing New Yorkers’ favorite cuisine. This fresh crop isn’t obsessed with red sauce or overworked Tuscan recipes. Instead, it reflects influences from up and down the Boot between Italy’s Alpine and near-...
Taking a fresh look at Steve's Piccola Bussola in Syosset
What’s the best restaurant on the Island? Steve’s Piccola Bussola in Syosset, at least according to my own recent, completely unscientific survey of Uber drivers who’ve picked me up over the past few days. I myself had never heard of the place, further proof, if any is needed, that I’ve lived on Long Island for exactly five minutes. As anyone who’s...
At the Table: Schenectady restaurateur’s latest venture would make mama Amelia proud
Although I had never visited Randy Loren’s previous establishment, Dolce Vita, I was curious about the new venue he was creating at the long-vacant Ground Round in Schenectady. It seemed like forever that the sign in front promised the opening of Amelia’s Italian Eatery. Mother’s Day was opening day, appropriate because Amelia was Randy’s mom. Amer...