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As a kid in Gravesend, Brooklyn, I wore my Italianess everywhere in my neighborhood. You could spot it in my walk, my speech, and in my attitude. I guess it was like Tony Manero’s walk in the opening scene of the iconic film Saturday Night Fever. But to survive, I had to keep my identity in check as I stepped between two different lives: the one I...

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I have a new favorite bartender. His name is Enrico, and he works at a place in Red Hook called Bar Mario. It’s been open for only about a month, though most of the people inside already know Enrico’s name as well. Before Bar Mario, he worked at restaurants in Manhattan for a couple decades and before that owned a bar and pizzeria in a mountain tow...

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Another day, another iconic Brooklyn pizza joint has announced it’s shutting its doors for good. Sal’s Pizza Store, a mainstay in Carroll Gardens for more than 50 years, will be closing on Sunday. According to a note on the restaurant’s door, the owners say they are “deeply saddened to inform all our loyal customers” that it was closing and thanked...

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Although I was born and raised in the city of New York, I am embarrassed to admit that I had never partaken in the offerings of Lombardi’s — the first pizzeria in the United States — until last year when I returned to New York and that oversight was finally corrected. Lombardi’s: The First Pizzeria In the United StatesTo be honest, I am a pizza sno...

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In an iconic painting by the great fantasy artist Frank Frazetta (1928-2010), a stoic barbarian, whose chiseled face resembles the artist himself, leans on his sword atop a mound of vanquished enemies, taking grim satisfaction in his bloody work. This piece, as well as any, represents the stature that the Brooklyn-born artist continues to enjoy mor...

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Many big names from the baseball world attended the seventh annual Italian American Baseball Foundation (IABF) Gala in Brooklyn on December 1.The guest list featured several current and former major leaguers, executives, and media personalities, such as Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, MLB's Senior Vice President of International Jim Small, and New York...

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The Columbian Lawyers Association of Brooklyn got their passports out and traveled all the way to Staten Island where they were welcomed by Justice Ralph Porzio during its monthly meeting at Nino's Restaurant on Hylan Boulevard on Jan. 10. The Columbian Lawyers are one of the most powerful and influential bar associations in Brooklyn, but the group...

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Today’s post and recipes are a tribute to two of my favorite pizza joints, Brooklyn’s L&B Spumoni Gardens and Boston’s Galleria Umberto. While both specialize in what we collectively consider Sicilian pizza—meaning square-cut slices, baked in a pan, with a thick, close-textured crumb—neither actually originates from Sicily. In fact, as I only just...

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At the Raquet and Tennis Club FIAC (FOUNDATION FOR ITALIAN ART & CULTURE) honored Brooklyn Museum Director Anne Pasternak with the FIAC Excellency Award 2022. In the presence of FIAC Chairman Daniele Bodini, President Alain Elkann, Italian Ambassador to the United Nations Maurizio Massari, Consul General in New York Fabrizio Di Michele, and Directo...

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Christmastime in Italy (and, of course, in Italian America) wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of the Presepio, the lovingly crafted Nativity Scene. And for centuries, generations of artisans in the city of Napoli have been heralded for creating the world’s finest Presepi. But, in the heart of Brooklyn’s famed Dyker Heights neighborhood, th...

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