Panzerotti Party in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
Members and friends of the Comitati delle Due Sicilie USA met up at Panzerotti Bites (235 Smith St.) in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn this week for an enjoyable evening of food and fellowship. Warmly welcomed by owners Vittoria and Pasquale, our hungry little troop settled in the cozy shop with open kitchen and patio seating, and perused the wide selec...
Grimaldi's restaurants: A 75-year tradition of Italian dining in Upstate NY
Fred and Rita Grimaldi opened a small restaurant on Bleecker Street in Utica in 1943. They were young newlyweds, married with one child. They lived over the restaurant, which served lunches and dinner, and gave away pieces of garlic pizza. During the next seven decades, three generations of Grimaldis opened and ran restaurants across Upstate New Yo...
Mario's in the Bronx Has Had a Century to Get Everything Right
Southern Italian-American food, I read, is making a comeback, despite the fact that it has never been away. Yet, driven by endless articles about new, “authentic” pizzerias, the food media seem suddenly aware that Italian-American cooking has for more than a century been built on solid foundations of Neapolitan, Calabrian, Abruzzese and Sicilian tw...
Enzo’s NY Pizzeria serves flavors of authentic Italian food
Before Enzo Sejdini began forming the concept of what would become Enzo’s NY Pizzeria in Flower Mound, he was busy learning his craft at Gelatoria Lucica, a gelato and pizza shop on the coast of Croatia. Originally started by his grandfather after he moved from southern Italy, and now operated by his uncles, Gelatoria Lucica set the precedent for w...
This kid knows where to find the best Italian food in NYC
He has more than 10,000 Instagram followers, hangs out with chefs, photographers and podcasters and gets his tab picked up by local restaurateurs. And he’s 11 years old. The kid in question is Luca Marconi, a fifth grader who, under his Instagram handle @LucaTwoTimes, is also a big-talking food reviewer. For the last year, the cuddly Williamsburg,...
Battle Over Westchester Italian Ice Shop Gets Heated
Many in the town of North Castle say they’d rather deal with parking problems than a collapsing cliff. A popular Ralph’s Italian Ices is looking to buy a plot of land next door to expand their parking lot, but those who live by fear it will cause issues. “I spent the last eight years taking care of my parents, fighting to keep them at home, safe an...
The Mozzarella Kings of New York
Mozzarella isn't just a cheese, it's a work of art—at least the way it's made at Casa Della Mozzarella in the Bronx. Located on the corner of 187th Street and Arthur Avenue, the beloved Italian deli is helmed by father-son duo Orazio and Carlo Carciotto. Armed with little more than a pot of boiling water, a few pinches of salt, and an old wooden oa...
Frank's Italian Ice: A generational favorite
As temperatures rise, so does the demand for frozen treats, and one family in Greece has been serving them for generations. “Hot day, best place to be, right here having ice cream,” said Frank's Italian customer Carmen Mirabella said. It’s what keeps customers coming back generation, after generation, after generation. “I wish my grandfather was he...
Old School Italian in Queens: Red Sauce, Yes; Cellphones, No
The facade of Il Triangolo, a wedge of a restaurant in north-central Queens at the sharply angled intersection of Corona Avenue and Junction Boulevard, isn’t much broader than the door. But the entryway opens to a space that widens in both directions, like arms extended for a hug. This is a gesture not atypical for the owner, Mario Gigliotti, who u...
Sofia's Italian Bistro brings Neopolitan pizza to Mamaroneck
Sofia's Italian Bistro, which specializes in Southern Italian cuisine and wood-fired pizza from Naples, opened June 25 in Mamaroneck. The space had previously been Lum Yen Chinese restaurant which closed earlier this year. According to the website, owners Antonio Mauro and Sammy Reyes, who also own La Vela Dining & Bar on 11th Avenue in New York C...
East End Eats: Bravo, Il Mulino!
Il Mulino is like the Italian version of the Hillstone Group of restaurants. Big, expensive, efficient, and very good. It has numerous locations in New York City and on Long Island, along with outposts in Orlando (Disney World), Atlanta, San Juan, Las Vegas, Tokyo, and now Wainscott. This big, beautiful Tudor house on Georgica Pond has seen many re...
Are Food Tours Worth It? Eating My Way Through The Bronx Made Me Fall In Love With NYC Again
I've only lived in New York for about a year now, but I've been in love with the city for as long as I can remember. And like any normal relationship, my infatuation with NYC has had its peaks and valleys. Sometimes it's hard to look past the stale smell of the subway or the $14 price tag on every decent-looking salad, but when I was invited by Mar...