Just when you thought Italian restaurants couldn't become any more unique, the doors to DeLuca's Restaurant opened on Staten Island's South Shore and shades of the "old country" came to life. Robert DeLuca, the owner and eponymous founder of the popular Tottenville dining spot -- that was coincidentally celebrating it's first anniversary weekend --  says it so well: "At DeLuca's we strive to please diners. My whole life I've been in the restaurant business and I always aspired to open my own place. The first day I worked in a restaurant I fell in love."

In further elaborating on the restaurant business, he added: "I have a passion for food and for people and for being in a fast paced restaurant. I love what I do. I wake up every day and feel like I haven't worked a day in my life. In 12 years I've had such a draw to it. And the inspiration for this restaurant from the beginning was my mom and her cooking and rolling her meatballs in the back. It's our 'signature dish.'"