Johns of 12th Street New York Italian Red Sauce Joint – Since 1908

JOHN’S of E. 12th STREET

SINCE 1908

JOHN LENNON, LUCKY LUCIANO, TOM CRUISE, KEVIN KLINE,

PHOEBE CATES, MONTGOMERY CLIFT,

and Many CELEBRITIES have Dined at JOHN’S over the Years

JOHN’S of 12th STREET

SINCE 1908

BEST SELLING ITALIAN COOKBOOK Author

DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE Worked at JOHN’S

For Several YEARS & COOKED in KITCHENS

WHILE Gaining EXPERIENCE as a COOK

Before Becoming a SOUS CHEF & then HEAD CHEF

At many of NEW YORK’S BEST FRENCH & ITALIAN RESTAURANTS

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JOHN’S

Get a FINE ART PRINT of JOHN’S

“RED SAUCE JOINT”

From FINE ART AMERICA

CLICK HERE !!!

JOHN’S of E. 12th STREET

NEW YORK NY

The menu at John’s has most of the expected Red Sauce dishes like; Spaghetti with White or Red Clams Sauce, Veal Saltimbocca,Chicken Scarpariella, Veal Piccata, Speedino of Mozzarella alla Romano, Baked Clams Oreganata, Spaghetti & Meatballs, Lasagna, and Canneloni. The kitchen churns out real solid Italian-American food, with standouts being there Baked Clams and their Speedino alla Romano which is without question the best in the city. John’s has quite a history with Lucky Lucciano being a regular once upon a time, along with numerous mobsters back in the day, and John’s has seen the likes of The Ramones, Cindy Lauper, John Lennon, Tom Cruise, and other luminaries walk through its doors.

There’s one other old Red Sauce Joint around the corner from John’s, and that’s Lanza’s on 1st Avenue and 11th Street (sadly Closed in 2016). Lanza’s was actually a few years older than John’s opening in 1904. Lanza’s is pretty nice and a good part of it has been preserved, although a few years ago they made some changes to the décor which sort of ruined it a bit. Lanza’s had that great classic “Red Sauce Joint” menu with items like Spaghetti Marinara, Pasta Fagioli, Manicotti, Braciole, Cannoli, and the like.

Yes, sadly Lanza’s has closed, along with DeRobertie’s Sicilian Pastry Shop next door. Both of these wonderful old-school Italian businesses were in business for more than 100 Years each, before they both sadly closed a few years ago. It’s a sin to lose wonderful old places like Lanza’s and DeRoberties. Places with so much history and old world charm of days gone by. These places will never be replaced. So sad. Thankfully John’s still stands and operates.

Bellino and Pacino – Al Pacino Favorite Pasta

AL PACINO

“BELLINO & PACINO”

Daniel Bellino is an Italian-American author who highlights Al Pacino in his cookbooks, particularly focusing on Italian-American cooking, “Sunday Sauce” (meat-based Red Sauce), and shared Sicilian roots, Bellino’s family from Lercara Friddi, Sicily, and Al Pacino – “Believe It or Not” hails from Corleone, Sicily.

Bellino’s books, such as Grandma Bellino’s Cookbook, discuss recipes like Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, which is noted as a favorite of Al Pacino.

Daniel Bellino’s Connection: Daniel Bellino Zwicke is known for writing books about Italian-American life, food, and culture. He features “Sunday Sauce” and mentions Sicilian-American connections.

Daniel writes in his book of the times when he was the Wine Director of Barbetta Ristorante in New York, where Pacino occasionally dined at. When Daniel was taking Mr. Pacino’s food order, Al would always ask if the kitchen would make him Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (Spaghetti with Garlic & Olive Oil). “The dish was not on the menu, that why Al asked if we could make us. It was an offer we couldn’t refuse,” states Bellino. And of course we always made it for Al, and he was a wonderful client to have dining with us.” The rest is history, shall we say. Al Pacino’s favorite paste was Spaghetti with Garlic & Oil (Aglio e Olio). We know this thanks to Daniel Bellino, who felt with Pacino first hand. Bellino tells this story in his book Sunday Sauce

Al Pacino & Pasta: In his book Grandma Bellino’s Italian Cookbook – Bellino features a “Spaghetti Aglio e Olio” recipe that he associates with Al Pacino. While Pacino is of Sicilian descent, this specific garlic and oil dish is commonly known as a Neapolitan specialty.
Sunday Sauce: Bellino’s recipes, often termed “Sunday Sauce alla Bellino alla Pacino,” highlight traditional, slow-simmered sauces featuring meat such as meatballs, sausages, and pork braciola.
Key Themes: Bellino’s work often highlights connections between famous Italian-Americans (like Pacino and Sinatra) and the culinary traditions of New York and New Jersey Italian-American communities.
Related Works: Other books by Bellino-Zwicke include Sinatra Sauce: Meatballs & Merriment.
Instagram +5

Bellino frequently shares these stories and recipes on his “New York Italian” Instagram and blog, often framing them within the context of classic Italian-American films and culture.

NONNA BELLINO’S COOKBOOK

RECIPES From MY SICILIAN NONNA

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AL APCINO & AGLIO e OLIO

Al Pacino and Aglio Olio you ask? What about it? Well it’s just that Spaghetti Aglio Olio always reminds me of that great fellow New Yorker Sicilian American, the one-and-only Al Pacino from da Bronx. It’s not a big deal, just a wonderful little memory for me. When I was the Wine Director at the famed Barbetta Ristorante on Restaurant Row in New York’s Theater District (where Al often performs on stage), Al Pacino used to come and eat there every now and then. He never wanted anything to fancy, but something that just about all true blooded Italian-American wants, and that dish is Spaghetti Aglio Olio, plain and simple, yet it’s in our blood. That’s what Al wanted and that’s what we gave him, and Al loved it and you will too.

Note: As has already been noted, you can make Spaghetti w/ Garlic & Oil, simply by making the above recipe, and omitting the Anchovies, and you’ll have it just like Al Pacino does.

Enjoy!

Excerpted form GRANDMA BELLINO’S ITALIAN COOKBOOK

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

Author DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE

Books

DiMaggio and Bellino – Joltin Joe DiMaggio

JOE DiMAGGIO

DiMAGGIO & BELLINO

Author Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

features Joe DiMaggio and his family’s culinary traditions in his Italian-American cookbook, SUNDAY SAUCE. The book highlights recipes like “Mamma DiMaggio’s Sunday Gravy,” honoring the mother of the legendary Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio.

Connection: Daniel Bellino-Zwicke, a cookbook author and former restaurant professional, highlights Joe DiMaggio as a key figure in Italian-American culture in his books.
“Sunday Sauce”: In his book Sunday Sauce, Bellino-Zwicke includes recipes for classic Italian-American dishes, featuring stories and recipes from famous figures, including Joe DiMaggio.
“Mamma DiMaggio’s Gravy”: The book specifically includes a recipe for “Mamma DiMaggio’s Sunday Gravy,” which is a nod to Joe DiMaggio’s mother, Rosalia, and the traditional Sunday meals of Italian-American families.
Other References: Bellino-Zwicke often highlights famous Italian-Americans like DiMaggio, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett in his work, celebrating the culture and food of Italian New York.

SUNDAY SAUCE

With MAMMA DiMAGGIO’S SUNDAY GRAVY

RECIPE

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Daniel Bellino Zwikce

DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE

Daniel Bellino Zwicke (also known as Danny Bolognese) is a prominent New York City – based author, wine professional, and former chef specialising in Italian-American Cuisine and clutlrue. With over 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry, he is recognized as a leading authority on Italian wine and the creator of America’s first Venetian wine bar, Bar Cichetti.

Professional Background

Zwicke has held various roles in renowned New York City establishments, including:

Chef & Wine Director: Worked at acclaimed restaurants such as Da Silvano, Del Posto, Barbetta, and John’s of 12th Street.

Restaurateur: Founded Bar Cichetti in 1997, credited as the first Venetian-style bacaro (wine bar) in the United States.
Influencer: Runs the successful Instagram page @newyork.italian, which has over 500,000 followers and celebrates Italian-American culture.

Published Works

He has authored numerous bestselling cookbooks and travel guides, often blending recipes with personal essays and cultural history. Notable titles include:

Sunday Sauce: A bestseller focusing on Italian-American home cooking and “secret” family recipes.
Grandma Bellino’s Italian Cookbook: A collection of traditional recipes from his Sicilian grandmother.
Positano: The Amalfi Coast Cookbook & Travel Guide: His 2021 release that combines regional recipes with travel insights.
The Sinatra Cookbook: Also known as Sinatra Sauce, featuring recipes and stories tied to Frank Sinatra’s favorite meals.
The Big Lebowski Cookbook: Titled Got Any Kahlua?, this book features recipes inspired by “The Dude”.
The Feast of the 7 Fish: A guide to the traditional Italian Christmas Eve seafood dinner.

CURENT & UPCOMING PROJECTS

New Books: He is currently working on a book about Venice (tentatively titled My Venice) and another focusing on the Chianti region and its wines.

Travel: He continues to travel extensively through Italy, recently visiting Verona, Florence, and Lucca to gather material for his upcoming works.
His books are widely available through major retailers like Amazon and
ThriftBooks

BOOKS by Daniel Bellino – Amazon.com

JOE DiMAGGIO

“The SWING”

FINE ART PRINT

JOE DiMAGGIO

Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio was born on November 25, 1914, in Martinez, California, the eighth of nine children born to Italian immigrants Giuseppe and Rosalia DiMaggio, from Isola delle Femmine (Sicily). His Italian birth name was Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio. Rosalia named her son “Giuseppe” after his father in the hopes he would be her last child; “Paolo” was in honor of Giuseppe’s favorite saint, Paul of Tarsus.

Joe DiMaggio was one of the most recognizable and popular men in mid-twentieth century America. He was celebrated in song and literature as an iconic hero, and he was married, briefly, to the nation’s number one glamour girl. On March 16, 1999, the House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring him “for his storied baseball career; for his many contributions to the nation throughout his lifetime; and for transcending baseball and becoming a symbol for the ages of talent, commitment and achievement.”1

But first and foremost Joe DiMaggio was a ballplayer. Known as the Yankee Clipper, he was the undisputed leader of New York Yankees teams that won nine World Series titles in his 13-year career that ran from 1936 to 1951, with three years lost to duty in World War II. He was three times the American League’s Most Valuable Player and he holds what many consider to be the most remarkable baseball record of all, a 56-game hitting streak in 1941. As the son of immigrants, he was the embodiment of the American Dream, a rags-to-riches story played out in pinstripes.

Joseph Paul DiMaggio was born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio on November 25, 1914, in Martinez, California, 25 miles northeast of San Francisco. His parents, Giuseppe and Rosalia (Mercurio) DiMaggio, had settled there after emigrating from Sicily. After Joe was born they moved the family to San Francisco, where Giuseppe continued to work as a fisherman. Joe was the eighth of their nine children, one of five sons. Two of his brothers, Vince and Dominic, would also play in the major leagues.

Unlike two of his older brothers, Joe had no interest in joining his father on the fishing boat. Instead, he played for several amateur and semi-pro teams in baseball-rich San Francisco. It was 19-year-old Vince, who was then playing for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League, who got Joe into professional ball. When the Seals found themselves in need of a shortstop near the end of the 1932 season, Vince convinced Seals manager Ike Caveney to give his 17-year-old brother a chance. Joe played in the final three games of the season, and then was signed to a contract in 1933 for $225 a month.

Moved to the outfield because of his erratic arm, DiMaggio hit .340 and set a PCL record by hitting in 61 straight games. In 1934, he hit .341, but a knee injury that sidelined him in August made major-league teams leery of signing him. The Yankees offered to buy his contract for $25,000 and five players, but with the contingency that he remain with the Seals in 1935 to prove he was healthy. DiMaggio made a convincing case by hitting .398, with 34 homers and 154 runs batted in.

In 1936, only two years after the departure of Babe Ruth, the heralded rookie came to spring training facing big expectations. Writing in The Sporting News on March 26, Dan Daniel noted, “Yankee fans regard him as the Moses who is to lead their club out of the second-place wilderness. . ..” It didn’t take long for the rookie to make his mark. Halfway through the season, when he was hitting around .350 and had started in right field in the All-Star Game, his photo was on the cover of Time magazine. For the year he hit .323 with 29 homers and drove in 125 runs.

DiMaggio was the classic five-tool player; in addition to hitting for average and power, he could run, throw, and field. Joe McCarthy, the Yankees manager from 1931 to 1946, called him the best base runner he ever saw. His all-around play led the 1936 Yankees to the first of four straight World Series titles. The 21-year-old sensation had established himself as the successor to Babe Ruth. After the Series, he received a hero’s welcome in his home town of San Francisco, where Mayor Angelo Rossi gave him the key to the city.

DiMaggio finished second in the MVP vote in 1937, despite leading the American League in home runs, slugging percentage, runs, and total bases. He won the first of his three MVP Awards in 1939, when he led the league with a career-best .381 average. Following that season, he married 21-year-old Dorothy Arnold, a singer, dancer, and actress he met while filming a bit part in the movie Manhattan Merry-Go-Round.

By then the 6-foot-2, 190-pound outfielder was acknowledged as the best player in baseball, but to some his ethnic background was still ripe for stereotypical portrayal. In a cover story in the May 1, 1939 issue of Life magazine, Noel Busch identified DiMaggio as a “tall, thin Italian youth equipped with slick black hair” and “squirrel teeth.” But the young ballplayer apparently confounded Busch’s general perception of Italian Americans. “Although he learned Italian first, Joe, now twenty-four, speaks English without an accent and is otherwise well adapted to most U.S. mores. Instead of olive oil or smelly bear grease he keeps his hair slick with water. He never reeks of garlic and prefers chicken chow mein to spaghetti.”3

After winning a second consecutive batting title in 1940, DiMaggio reached a new level of fame in 1941. He set one of the most enduring records in sports by hitting in 56 consecutive games. On May 15, the day the streak began, the Yankees were in fourth place, and DiMaggio had batted a lowly .194 over the previous 20 games. On June 17, DiMaggio broke the Yankee hitting-streak record of 29 games, set by Roger Peckinpaugh in 1919 and equaled by Earle Combs in 1931.

One of those rare athletes — like Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali — who transcended the world of sport, DiMaggio has been called by more than one writer the last American hero. Revisionist historians later offered a more nuanced view, portraying him as a flawed hero who became increasingly reclusive and suspicious of others. Nevertheless, when he died his enduring status as a cultural icon was confirmed by an outpouring of adulation which few public figures, in any walk of life, could evoke. His death was front-page news in every major newspaper, was covered extensively on television newscasts and specials, and was the cover story in Newsweek magazine. Referring to the frequent bulletins on DiMaggio’s health that had been issued in the months prior to his death, Frank Deford wrote that it was “as if he were some great head of state.”25 As one Brooklyn native put it, DiMaggio “epitomized an era when, for a lot of us, baseball was the most important thing in life.”

The answer to Paul Simon’s question — Where has Joe DiMaggio gone? — remains the same: Nowhere. He remains firmly lodged in the American consciousness as a stylish symbol of a time when baseball was the undisputed national pastime and America was enjoying unprecedented prosperity. On April 25, 1999, two months after his death, DiMaggio’s monument was unveiled in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park, joining those honoring Miller Huggins, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Mickey Mantle. The inscription reads, in part, “A Baseball Legend and An American Icon.”

JOE DiMAGGIO – CAREER MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STATS

GAMES PLAYED 1,736

LIFETIME BATTING AVERAGE. .325

HITS. 2,214

HOME RUNS. 361

RUNS BATTED IN (RBI) 1,537

On-BASE PERCENTAGE (OBP). .398

SLUGGING PERCENTAGE. .579

On-BASE PLUS SLUGGING .977

MAJOR AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS

3× American League MVP: 1939, 1941, and 1947.
13× All-Star: Selected in every season he played.
9× World Series Champion: 1936–1939, 1941, 1947, and 1949–1951.
2× AL Batting Champion: 1939 (.381) and 1940 (.352).
2× AL Home Run Leader: 1937 and 1948.
2× AL RBI Leader: 1941 and 1948.
MLB Record Hitting Streak: Hit safely in 56 consecutive games from May 15 to July 16, 1941.
Hall of Fame Induction: Inducted in 1955.

1937: Led the league in home runs (46) and runs scored (151), batting .346 with a career-high 167 RBI.
1939 (First MVP): Career-high .381 batting average with 30 HR and 126 RBI.
1941 (Record Streak): Batted .357 with 30 HR and 125 RBI; set the 56-game hitting streak record.
1943–1945: Missed three seasons of his prime while serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.

Brief History of Italian New York

AL PACINO

SICILIAN AMERICAN

Native NEW YORK ITALIAN

BRONX, NEW YORK|

New York City has the largest population of Italian Americans in the United States of America as well as North America, many of whom inhabit ethnic enclaves in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. New York is home to the third largest Italian population outside of Italy, behind Buenos Aires, Argentina (first) and São Paulo, Brazil (second). Over 2.6 million[1] Italians and Italian-Americans live in the greater New York metro area, with about 800,000 living within one of the five New York City boroughs. This makes Italian Americans the largest ethnic group in the New York metro area.

The first Italian to reside in New York was Pietro Cesare Alberti, a Venetian seaman who, in 1635, settled in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam that would eventually become New York. A small wave of Protestants, known as Waldensians, who were of French and northern Italian heritage (specifically Piedmontese), occurred during the 17th century, with the majority coming between 1654 and 1663. A 1671 Dutch record indicates that, in 1656 alone, the Duchy of Savoy near Turin, Italy, had exiled 300 Waldensians due to their Protestant faith.

The largest wave of Italian immigration to the United States took place in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Between 1820 and 1978, 5.3 million Italians immigrated to the United States, including over two million between 1900 and 1910. Only Irish and Germans immigrated in larger numbers.

The first New York neighborhood to be settled by large numbers of Italian immigrants – primarily from Southern Italy (mostly from Sicily) – was East Harlem, which became the first part of the city to be known as “Little Italy”. The area, which lies east of Lexington Avenue between 96th and 116th Streets and east of Madison Avenue between 116th and 125th Streets, featured people from different regions of Italy on each cross street, as immigrants from each area chose to live in close proximity to each other.

“Italian Harlem” approached its peak in the 1930s, with over 100,000 Italian-Americans living in its crowded, run-down apartment buildings. The 1930 census showed that 81 percent of the population of Italian Harlem consisted of first- or second- generation Italian Americans. This was somewhat less than the concentration of Italian Americans in the Lower East Side’s Little Italy with 88 percent; Italian Harlem’s total population, however, was three times that of Little Italy. Remnants of the neighborhood’s Italian heritage are kept alive by the Giglio Society of East Harlem. Every year on the second weekend of August, the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated and the “Dancing of the Giglio” is performed for thousands of visitors.

After World War II, the original Italian settlements such as East Harlem declined as Italian Americans moved to the North Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn’s southern tier. The geographic shift coincided with a new wave of Italian immigration. An estimated 129,000 to 150,000 Italian immigrants entered New York City between 1945 and 1973. Bypassing Manhattan, they settled in Italian American neighborhoods in the outer boroughs and helped reinvigorate Italian culture and community institutions. With the influx of postwar immigrants, Bensonhurst became the largest Italian community in New York City, with 150,000 Italian Americans in the 1980 census.

The best-known “Little Italy” in Manhattan is the area currently called that, which centers around Mulberry Street. This settlement, however, is rapidly becoming part of the adjacent Chinatown as the older Italian residents die and their children move elsewhere. As of the 2000 census, 692,739 New Yorkers reported Italian ancestry, making them the largest European ethnic group in the city. In 2011, the American Community Survey found there were 49,075 persons of Italian birth in New York.

Charles “Lucky” Luciano

Charles Lucky Luciano was born in Lercara Friddi, Sicily.

His parents immigrated to New York when he was 9 years old.

The Luciano’s settled on East 1oth Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

The neighborhood, a 100 years ago, when Lucky was growing up, was primarily

a Sicilian neighborhood, as well as Neapolitans, and Italian immigrants from Geno and Abruzzo as well.

Author Daniel Bellino “Z”

SICILIAN AMERICAN

Daniel Bellino Z, also lived in the East Village,which was known

as part of the Lower East Side when Lucky Luciano lived there.

Daniel lived on Avenue A at Saint Mark’s Place for 11 years, from 1982

to 1993. While living there, he worked 2 jobs for 7 years. He’d cook at French and Italian restaurants during the day, and at night he waited tables at John’s on 12th Street for 7 years. John’s opened in 1908 and is still in business today (2023).

Not only did “Lucky” Luciano eat at John’s and Lanza’s around the block

on 1st Avenue, he is said to have “Whacked” (murdered) someone on the East 12th Street, right in front of John’s Sicilian Restaurant.

Lucky also frequent DeRoberti’s Pasticceria, a Sicilian Pastry Shop next toLanza’s Restaurant on 1st Avenue. Veneiro’s Italian Pastry Shop which opened on East 11th Street in 1890, is just about 50 feet away from Lanza’s and DeRoberti’s.

The BELLINO FAMILY

Giuseppina & Fillipo Bellino

Immigrated to New York from Lercara Friddi in 1906

The same years as the LUCINAO Family, both Families, along with

Martino Severino Sinatra (Frank’s Father) are from LERCARA FRIDDI, Sicily.

The Bellino’s; Fillipo, daughter Lucia – my Mother, Antonino and Giuseppina

are pictured here in Lodi, New Jersey, where they moved to, after 2 years in NYC

Fillipo opened a Shoemaker Shop on Main Street in Lodi, where there was a little

gambling room in the back, where local Italian men played cards and bet on Numbers.

FRANK SINATRA

Live at RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL

NEW YORK

SINATRA SAUCE

The COOOKBOOKS

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

COOK & EAT LIKE FRANK

HOS FAVORITE ITALIAN RECIPES

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RECIPES From My SICILIAN NONNA

GIUSEPPINA SALEMI BELLINO

From LERCARA FRIDDI

And Other SICILIAN & ITALIAN RECIPES

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SUNDAY SAUCE

WHEN ITALIAN AMERICANS COOK

aka The GODFATHER COOKBOOK

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Martin Scorsese

Sicilian-American

Famed Italian-American director Martin Scorsese grew up in

a 6 floor walk-up in a Sicilian Neighborhood on Elizabeth Street

just south of Houston Street with his Sicilian-American parents

Catherine and Charles Scorsese.

His ancestral Sicilian Family are from the town of Pollizzi Generosa

in the Province of Palermo, near the towns of Corleone and

Lercara Friddi, Sicily.

Books about Frank Sinatra – Biographies and Cookbook

SINATRA And The MAFIA MURDERS

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Drawing on recently released secret files, an astonishing look at the extent to which Frank Sinatra’s life and career were inextricably linked with the Mafia, and how a number of innocent people died, simply because they knew Sinatra, or had upset him.

It was said of the young Frank Sinatra that he came across as ‘St Francis of Assisi with a shoulder holster’. In Frank Sinatra and the Mafia Murders, Mike Rothmiller and Douglas Thompson draw on previously secret Los Angeles Police intelligence files, a cache of FBI documents released to the authors in 2021 and extensive interviews with prime sources, including many who worked with Frank Sinatra and many more who tracked his long and fatal association with the American Mafia, notably his ongoing connection, after his original godfather was assassinated: Sam ‘Momo’ Giancana, who shared a lover with President John F. Kennedy.

Sixteen days after the assassination of John F. Kennedy on 30 November 1963, nineteen-year-old Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped at gunpoint from his hotel room in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. A $240,000 ransom was demanded from his father. While the FBI and Nevada and California law-enforcement agencies sprang into action, Frank secretly contacted his Mafia friends for help. The Mafia believed they could free young Frank much more quickly through their underworld connections. Some of those they questioned died.

Revealed here as never before is the extent to which Sinatra was adopted by the Mafia. They promoted his career and ‘watched his back’ and, in return, Sinatra danced to their tune. New information disclosed here shows that Sinatra also offered to spy for the CIA. Inside sources say Sinatra wanted the CIA to intercede to stop an investigation into his gaming licence in Las Vegas. But the CIA declined because they were already working with the Mob and were concerned Sinatra would learn of the Mafia’s connection to the CIA and leak it.

The BEST SINATRA COOKBOOK EVER !!!

“SINATRA SAUCE”

aka The SINATRA COOKBOOK

COOK & EAT LIKE FRANK

His FAVORITE ITALIAN RECIPES

And MORE …

AMAZON.com

SINATRA SAUCE “Music Meatballs & Merriment”

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

Sinatra Sauce “Music Metaballs & Merriment” and Living The Good Life. “Like Frank” .. Yes, it’s about Frank. That is one Francis Albert Sinatra, the Greatest Singer of The 20th Century, and Icon of American, especially of the Italian-American Enclave in America. Frank Sinatra was many things, first and foremost a Great Italian-American singer, Love & Adored by Millions. Mr. Sinatra was also an actor, citizen, and Entertainer Par Excellence. Yes this book is about those things, Frank Sinatra : the incomparable singer, actor, recording artist, Teen Idol of the 1940s, philanthropist, and Las Vegas & Nightclub Entertainer. He was like no other, Sinatra was one-of-a- kind, and he had a lust for life, “Hanging with Friends,” – sipping cocktails, with good food, and making good times. That’s what this book is about, Frank Sinatra, eating (Italian Food), enjoying a cocktail or two, and the company of family and friends. Yes, Frank Sinatra lived life to its fullest. He wouldn’t have it any other way, but “His Way.”

This book “Inspires” and gives you the tools to live out your Sinatra Dreams. You can make it reality, with recipes of Frank’s Favorite Italian Foods, Pasta, Meatballs, Posillipo, Eggplant Parm and more. Eating, drinking, and having good times, all the time as Frank did. Meals with friends and family. Meals you can cook, with recipes in this book. The info and recipes are all here in Sinatra Sauce. Read it, put on some Sinatra (music), cook, eat, and create memorable times at the table, just like Frank. That’s what this book is about: Sinatra, Family, Friends, and Good Times. “The Best is Yet to Come”

Visit SINATRA SAUCE – The Website @ https://sinatrasauce.com

Author Daniel Bellino Zwicke is a lifelong Sinatra fan. He is a Best Selling author, who lives and writes in New York’s Greenwich Village. Daniel is currently working on several other projects. He has authored : Sunday Sauce, La Tavola, Mangia Italiano, Grandma Bellino’s Cookbook, Segreto Italiano, and Positano The Amalfi Coast – Travel Guide / Cookbook.

Recipes :

SINATRA TOMATO SAUCE

DOLLY’S MEATBALLS

EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA

CAPONATA

ARTICHOKES SICILIAN STYLE

ARANCINI (Sicilian Rice Balls)

MINESTRONE alla DOLLY

DINO’S PASTA FAZOOL

MACCHERONI al FORNO

SICILIAN LASAGNA

CHICKEN VESUVIO

VEAL MARSALA

STEAK – SINATRA’S WAY

MARTY’S SICILIAN MEATLOAF

FRANK’S ITALIAN CHEESECAKE

REGINELLA SICILIAN COOKIES

And Much More !!!

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SINATRA

The CHAIRMAN

James Kaplan

AMAZON.com

“SINATRA” The CHAIRMAN

James Kaplan

Just in time for the Chairman’s centennial, the endlessly absorbing sequel to James Kaplan’s bestselling Frank: The Voice—which completes the definitive biography that Frank Sinatra, justly termed the “Entertainer of the Century,” deserves and requires. Like Peter Guralnick on Elvis, Kaplan goes behind the legend to give us the man in full, in his many guises and aspects: peerless singer, (sometimes) accomplished actor, business mogul, tireless lover, and associate of the powerful and infamous.

In 2010’s Frank: The Voice, James Kaplan, in rich, distinctive, compulsively readable prose, told the story of Frank Sinatra’s meteoric rise to fame, subsequent failures, and reinvention as a star of live performance and screen. The story of “Ol’ Blue Eyes” continues with Sinatra: The Chairman, picking up the day after he claimed his Academy Award in 1954 and had reestablished himself as the top recording artist. Sinatra’s life post-Oscar was astonishing in scope and achievement and, occasionally, scandal, including immortal recordings almost too numerous to count, affairs ditto, many memorable films (and more than a few stinkers), Rat Pack hijinks that mesmerized the world with their air of masculine privilege, and an intimate involvement at the intersection of politics and organized crime that continues to shock and astound with its hubris. James Kaplan has orchestrated the wildly disparate aspects of Frank Sinatra’s life and character into an American epic—a towering achievement in biography of a stature befitting its subject.

Sinatra Eats Italian Cookbook by Bellino

“FRANK”

GET a FINE ART PRINT

FRANK SINATRA

From FINE ART AMERICA

CLICK HERE !

IT MAKES a MOST WONDERFUL GIFT

A Young Frank Sinatra …. Hoboken, New Jersey

Frank Sinatra

“Come Fly with Me” !!!

PATSY’S “Franks Favorite Restaurant”

Frank’s Favorite Restaurant in The World, was Patsy’s on West 56th Street in New York, in The Theater District near Times Square .. Frank’s Favorites were; Calms Posillipo, Spaghetti Pomodoro, Veal Milanes (extra Thin & Crispy) and Spaghetti & Meatballs of which patsy’s makes The Best in The City ..

PATSY’S is by far the restaurant most associated with SINATRA — on its website, the restaurant notes that it “has been known for years as the restaurant Frank Sinatra made famous.” You can still order up old-school Italian there, but you might not have the exact same experience as Sinatra, who was said to have entered through a special door to sit at a reserved table on the second floor. Sinatra became especially loyal to the restaurant after making a solo Thanksgiving reservation one year, not realizing the restaurant was slated to be closed that day. Patsy Scognamillo didn’t want to turn Sinatra away, so he allowed the reservation. He also didn’t want Sinatra to know the restaurant was opened just for him — so he had the entire staff bring their families to fill the place up, something Sinatra didn’t learn until years later, according to Patsy’s lore. The restaurant still celebrates its connection to Sinatra: At right, in 2002, Joe Scognamillo served actor Bill Boggs, who had dressed up as Sinatra . (236 West 56th St.)

FRANK & AVA GARDNER

The SINATRA COOKBOOK

SINATRA SAUCE

The COOKBOOK

COOK & EAT LIKE FRANK

His FAVORITE ITALIAN RECIPES

AMAZON.com

FRANK & DEAN

FRANK’S FAVORITE ITALIAN BREAD

PARISI BAKERY MOTT STREET

LITTLE ITALY, NY NY

FRANK’S FAVORITE PIZZA “PATYSY’S”

FRANKS FAVORITE PIZZA

PATSY’S in EAST HARLEM

No Relation to PATSY’S on 56th STREET

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SINATRA at JILLY’S New York with Friends and Daughters NANCY and TINA

Frank loved going to his close Pal JILLY RIZZO’S New York Restaurant JILLY’S where Frank would eat Chinese Food, tell stories, and drink JACK DANIEL’S to the Wee Hours of the morning

Despite having served as an icon for high living for generations, Frank Sinatra was not a fan of haute cuisine. A high school drop-out from Hoboken, New Jersey, the only child of a father who was a lightweight boxer turned fireman and a political activist mother who ran an illegal abortion business that provided services for free, Sinatra even after his fame was established preferred simpler fare and cozier surroundings than were found in the five-star restaurants of the world. In New York he favored only a few establishments, none of them popular celebrity hang-outs (except for the celebrities invited by Frank). There was P.J. Clarke’s at 915 Third Ave., where Sinatra carefully scheduled his nights around those of gossip columnist Dorothy Kilgallen, whose favorite topic was anything going wrong in Sinatra’s life, especially if it concerned the disillusion of his relationship with actress Ava Gardner. Then there was PATSY’S at 236 W. 56th St., where Frank ordered the breaded veal and spaghetti with red sauce on the side. As a story goes, Sinatra found himself on the skids one Thanksgiving, without company and without plans. So he made a reservation at Patsy’s, which wasn’t open that day. But owner Pasquale Scognamillo scrambled his staff and family so that when Frank rolled in at 3pm, the place was full. Rocky Lee Chu-Cho Bianco at 987 Second Ave was where Frank would go for pizza, and if he wanted something a little more upscale, he hit the 21 CLUB over at 21 W. 52nd St., where the jacket and tie dress code was a lot less of an issue in the 1950s than it is now.

But above and beyond them all was his affection for Jilly’s Saloon. Born Ermenigildo Rizzo on May 6th, 1917, Jilly’s career in food services started early, when he worked for his father delivering Italian ice to cafés. He opened his first restaurant, JILLY’S SALOON , on West 49th Street but eventually moved it to a new location on West 52nd. It was this second incarnation of Jilly’s that attracted Sinatra’s attention. On any given night, Sinatra could be found at his regular booth surrounded by regular friends who received the call earlier in the day — having grown up an only child, Sinatra swore he would never dine alone. Jilly’s kitchen specialized not in Italian fare but in Cantonese food. Sinatra spent so much time there that Jilly Rizzo became Sinatra’s closest friend, his right-hand man, and his bodyguard.

Learn How to Make SINATRA SUNDAY SAUCE and MEATBALLS

Frank Sinatra with Jilly Rizzo and JACKIE “O”

By 1962 he and Jilly Rizzo were so close that Sinatra was securing bit parts for the saloon owner in films like The Manchurian Candidate. That same year, Sinatra and fellow Rat Packer Sammy Davis Jr. recorded the duet “Me and My Shadow,” which twice mentions ending up at Jilly’s. In Sinatra’s 1968 detective movie Lady in Cement, he pays tribute to his friend by naming a seedy Miami strip club Jilly’s. Also in 1968, Sinatra once again paid musical tribute to his favorite hang-out when, in the song “Star,” he crooned “If they’ve got a drink with her name in Jilly’s bar, the chances are the lady’s a star.”

Apart from being Sinatra’s throne room, Jilly’s was most famous as the spot where mobsters decided to murder television comedian Johnny Carson.

SUNDAY SAUCE

alla BELLINO alla PACINO

AMAZON.com

FRANK SAMMY & DEAN

And “JACK DANIEL” TENNESSEE WHISKEY

Recipe for SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS alla SINATRA

Click Here !

Jack Daniel’s and Frank Sinatra

screen-shot-2016-10-23-at-1-27-40-pm

FRANK SINATRA with Cigarette & JACK DANIELS

SINATRA and Friends at JILLY’S , New York

Sunday Sauce alla Bellino alla Pacino

A Pot of SUNDAY SAUCE

alla BELLINO alla PACINO

“SOME CALL IT GRAVY”

SUNDAY SAUCE

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

AMAZON.com

SUNDAY SAUCE

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke’s recipe for Sunday Sauce is a classic Italian-American gravy, featuring a long simmer time and a combination of meats

. His recipe is published in his book, Sunday Sauce: When Italian-Americans Cook.

About Daniel Bellino’s recipe –

Bellino-Zwicke’s recipe, like others in his cookbook, is based on traditional Italian-American family recipes and food culture.

It celebrates the tradition of simmering a meat-based tomato sauce for several hours to create a rich flavor.
An excerpt from his book notes that meat combinations often include sausages, meatballs, and beef braciole, though pork neck and veal shank are also possible additions.
His book also includes recipes for famous movie-inspired sauces, such as Clemenza’s Sunday Sauce from The Godfather and Sinatra’s Spaghetti & Meatballs.
Where to find the recipe
The book: The full recipe is available in his cookbook, Sunday Sauce: When Italian-Americans Cook. This can be purchased from online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and AbeBooks.

Excerpts: Excerpts and summaries of the recipe’s approach and ingredients can be found on Daniel Bellino-Zwicke’s personal website and various food blogs.
Inspired recipes: Since Bellino-Zwicke’s recipe is a classic version of the Italian-American Sunday Sauce, many similar recipes exist online, often referencing the same key elements, like a long simmer time and a combination of meats.
General Sunday sauce preparation
While the specific recipe is proprietary to Bellino-Zwicke’s book, the general method for this type of Sunday sauce, or “gravy,” is widely known. It involves:

Browning a combination of meats, such as Italian sausages, meatballs, and pork.

Adding aromatics like onion and garlic.
Combining with tomatoes and other flavorings (such as tomato paste, wine, and herbs).
Slow-simmering for several hours to allow the flavors to meld and the meats to become tender.
The final sauce can then be served over pasta, with the cooked meat as a second course.

“MAKING SUNDAY SAUCE”

Author DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE

At UNCLE TONY’S HOUSE

LODI, NEW JERSEY

MORE on SUNDAY SAUCE

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke’s book,

Sunday Sauce: When Italian-Americans Cook, doesn’t contain just one single recipe, but rather presents a variety of Sunday sauce traditions reflecting different family customs. The core difference between the recipes is typically the combination of meats used.

Here are the variations of Sunday sauce included in the book, based on Bellino-Zwicke’s writing:

The popular trio: Many families, including the most popular version Bellino-Zwicke describes, make their sauce with a trio of Italian sausages, meatballs, and beef braciole. This is considered a foundational version of the dish.

A simpler sauce: For some, a simpler version of the sauce is made with just sausages and meatballs. This version is notably featured as Pete Clemenza’s sauce in The Godfather.
Pork variations: Other families incorporate pork into their sauce. Some versions use pork neck, while Bellino-Zwicke mentions that he sometimes makes his Sunday sauce with sausages, meatballs, and pork ribs.
Other meat options: The author notes that other meats can be added to the mix. Some families might include chicken thighs or a veal shank.
“Secret Sauce”: The cookbook also includes a “Secret Sauce,” or Salsa Segreta, recipe. Inspired by the old-school Italian red-sauce joint Gino’s of Lexington Avenue, this version is distinct from the typical meat-heavy Sunday sauce.

“RED SAUCE”

ROCCO’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT

GREENWICH VILLAGE

Get a FINE ART PRINT from FINE ART AMERICA

CLICK HERE

Ginos Secret Sauce and Sinatra Pasta – Gino’s of Lexington Avenue Italian Restaurant Pasta with Salsa Segreta

A Waiter at GINO’S

“You’ve got to get Pasta Segrete”

Segreto?
It’s secret
in Italian. I got the idea for the book one day, well not the idea, but
inspiration I’d say. I was thinking about one of our all time favorites
restaurant, the food, the ambiance and all the fun we’d had there over the
years. Many wonderful meals with family and friend, no foes. Dinners with
Cousin Joe, Sister Barbara, Brother Michael, and Jimmy. Oh, the food was
wonderful, all the great Italian Classics of good old Italian-American Red
Sauce Joints of which this one, was one of the best. The classics, like: Baked
Clams, Stuffed Artichokes, Spaghetti & Meatballs, Linguine with Clam Sauce,
Chicken Parmigiano, Veal Marsala & Milanese, Chicken Cacctiatore, Ossobuco,
Cannolis, Spumoni, and-on-and-on. I think you get the picture. Lots of good,
affordable Italian Wine, the affable waiter, the phone booth, and the Zebra
Wall Paper. If you were a regular their, from the last sentence, you the place
I’m talking about. Yes Gino’s! Our beloved Gino’s of Lexington Avenue. Sadly
they closed a few years ago. But we still have the memories of so many festive
meals. Happy times, good eats.

I discovered the wonders of Gino’s and first
brought my cousin Joe there in 1999. The place was thrilling in that, when you
walked in, you felt you were in the perfect place. Gino’s is charged with
energy by its wonderful clientele, well-healed regulars who have been going
there for years, they know the Maitre’d, the waiters and other customers, and
likewise the waiters, bartender, and maitre’d know them. The first time you walk
in, you feel that, and want to be a part of it. We did. Back then, Joe and I
used to go out to eat together all the time, at least once a week. Joe knew
about food, but not to the extent that I did. Joe would come in every week or
so, and his driver would drive us around town. He’d pick me up early evening
for a night of feasting and good times. We’d often eat at a couple different
place. We’d have our main dinner and maybe a little bite to eat when we first
went for cocktails to start the night off. As I said, Joe loved eating, and
knew quite a bit, but as much as he knew, it wasn’t a third of what I knew
about food, wine, and restaurants, and especially the restaurant, bar, and
night club scene in New York. I was teaching Joe the ropes, so-to-speak, and Joe
was an eager student. We had quite a lot of fun those few years, with dinners
at Gino’s, Elio’s (Mondays for Lasagna), Da Silvanos’s, Bar Pitti, The Waverly
Inn, Minetta Tavern, cocktails at Pegu and Temple Bar, and way too many other
places to name right here. We did New York, we did it all!

Back to Gino’s. So I had passed by Gino’s any
number of times, but never went in to check it out. I was a downtown-er, and
that’s where we did most of our eating, with an occasional trip midtown or
other local if a place peaked our interest. So I did finally walk into Gino’s
one day. I had to check it out. When I did, as I’ve already said, I walked in
the door and immediately felt the energy of the place. Gino’s was packed, full
of life and vibrant, and I knew I wanted to be there. I didn’t eat there right
then and there, I was scouting the place out, but I knew I would be back. So I
called Joe up and told him all about the place. It sounded great to Joe, this
type of place was right up his alley, as it was mine. So Joe said yes, let’s
check it out on our next night out.

Our first ever trip to Gino’s was a few
nights later. Joe packed me up at my place in Greenwich Village. I got in the
car, as usual, we had a little discussion on what we’d be doing. We mapped out the
night of eating and drinking, good times. We talked and decided to head over to
Otto Enoteca for a bottle of wine and some Salumi before heading up town to
Gino’s and our main dinner of the night. Joe loved Otto, and I was a fan too,
so we headed to Otto.

Well, we went to Otto, drank a little wine,
had some Testa, Mortadella, and Prosciutto, and it was on to Gino’s. Back in
the car, and Ziggy (our driver) drove us up to Lexington Avenue, across the
street from Bloomingdale’s to Gino’s. We were excited as we walked up to the
restaurant and through the door. The place was packed and super-charged. We
loved it. The Maitre’d greeted us with the first of many warm welcomes. We were
in like Flynn. We sat down at a nice table in the middle of the restaurant. We
were happy campers. As happy as can be, for we sensed a wonderful meal ahead.
Our hunch would turn out to be just right. A waiter came to our table, greeted
us a warm welcome, gave us a wine list and menus, and asked what type of water
we wanted. As always, we got a bottle of flat water. Joe gave me the wine list
as he usually does and told me to pick something out. I looked over the
reasonably priced list and picked out a tried and true wine from my good friend
Luigi Capellini in Greve. The wine, a bottle of Verrazzano Chianti Classico.
The waiter went to get the wine, and Joe and I looked over the menu. We were
happy to see a great old school Italian menu. The Red Sauce kind of a good old
classic Italian-American joint, of which there used to be many, but at this
point of time, far fewer. They had; Shrimp Cocktail, Baked Clams, Hot
Antipasto, Clams Posillipo, Spaghetti Vongole, Lasagna, Canneloni, Veal Parm,
Veal Milanese, Eggplant Parmigiano, Shrimp Fra Diavolo, Veal Marsala, Scampi,
and all the usual suspects. We were in heaven, and it was heard narrowing down
what to eat.

One dish really caught our attention, and
especially Joe, who although I love my pasta, Joe had has me beat, he’s the
pasta freak. Freak in a good
way that is. The dish was Pasta Segreto (Pasta w/Secret Sauce), and us
intrigued.

The waiter brought the bottle of Chianti,
opened it, and we were on our way. I ripped off a piece of bread and ate it.
So, we decided on the menu. We order a Shrimp Cocktail and Baked Clams
Oreganata to start. We would share these two antipasto items, then move on to
the Primi, the pasta course. We decided on, and just had to have the Pasta
Segrete, a half order each. We both love Veal Milanese (Frank Sinatra’s
favorite), and as we were having antipasto, and pasta, as well as a couple
desserts, we decided on one Veal Milanese to split for the main course, thus
leaving room for some tasty desserts we knew Gino’s would have. We talked with
the our waiter about the menu, and he agreed that we had chosen wisely, and
that one Milanese would be fine, so we could eat dessert and he’d help us pick
the two best later.

So we drank wine, and nibble on the bread,
chatted and waited in anticipation for the antipasto to arrive. I love Shrimp
Cocktail since childhood and don’t always eat it all that much these days, so
it’s always a special treat. The Baked Clams and the Shrimp Cocktail came and
were a great way to start the meal. The wine was great. Hey it’s Castello
Verrazzano!

So now, we were really excited. This
mysterious Pasta Segreto was about to come out. You can get the Secret Sauce with whatever Pasta you
like, Spaghetti, Raviolis, Tagiolini, Penne, Gnocchi, or Rigatoni. Joe and I
both love Rigatoni, so that’s what we went for, two half portions of Rigatoni
Segrete. Well, the waiter brought us our Pasta with Secret Sauce. Guess what!
It was outrageous, we loved it. Joe went crazy, and could stop talking about
it, and it was just a couple weeks before he’d have to go back and get another “Fix.”
Yes the Pasta with the
Secret Sauce did not disappoint. We loved it, and would be back for many more
bowls.

We finished the Pasta, grudgingly so, as we
didn’t want the experience to end, “It was that good!” We waited a few minutes
for the Veal Milanese. It came out, and we could tell just by looking at it,
that it would be great. For those of you who might not know, Veal Milanese is
one of Italy’s most famous a classic of all dishes. It’s a Veal Chop that’s
pounded thin, breaded with breadcrumbs and fried and tipped with a Salad of
Arugala and Tomato. The dish is simple, simply delicious when done right. Veal
Milanese was one of Frank Sinatra’s all-time favorite dish, along with
Spaghetti Meatballs, and Clams Posillipo. Frank used to get it often at his
favorite of all restaurants, Patsy’s of West 56^th Street, just 10
blocks from Gino’s. Both old-school Italian Joints were among Frank’s
favorites. Patsy’s was Frank’s # 1 favorite, but Gino’s wasn’t far behind, and
Ol’ Blue Eyes ate there many times over the years. Anyway, the Veal Milanese was
just perfect and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, life is good at times like
these.

We finished our Veal Milanese, and it was
now time to think about desserts. I love sweets and so does Joe, so
he said we gotta get two. The waiter told us the Tiramisu was “The Best in
Town,” and the Cheesecake was really wonderful as well, so we went with his
suggestions. Throw in a couple cups of Espresso and some Anisette too, and we
were still in heaven.

Needless to say, our meal was fantastic. We
loved it. We loved Gino’s and would be back for more.

We went back to Gino’s a couple weeks
later. Joe loved the Pate Segrete and kept talking about it. He was back for
more. We loved the menu we had the last time, and pretty much went with the
same again. When we were eating the Segrete Pasta I identified the secret
ingredients. They were butter and Parmigiano, mixed into Gino’s basic tomato
sauce. Just a little butter and the grated Parmigiano does the trick for a
tasty sauce. The recipe is in the book, and don’t worry, we didn’t eat the same
thing every time we went to Gino’s. Over the years, we pretty much had every
dish on the menu, from; the Minestrone and Pasta Fagioli, Manicotti, Lasagna,
Spaghetti and Meatballs, Chicken Parmigiano, Veal Marsala and all. Specials
too! We ate it all. “And loved every minute of it.” Gino’s, we miss you so! But
great memories linger on.

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

EXCERPTED FROM :

SEGRETO ITALIANO – Secret Italian Recipes and Favorite Dishes

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

RECIPES

GINO’S SECRET PASTA SAUCE

SECRET SALAD DRESSING

CREAMY ITALIAN

CAESER SALAD

LASAGNA

MARINARA SAUCE

JERSEY SHORE CRAB SAUCE

CU.CUZZA

SICILIAN FIG COOKIES

And More ….

SEGRETO ITALIANO Reviews

Steven S. says :

There is something very authentic about this book and the author Daniel Bellino-Zwicke. Entertainingly straight-forward and real, this cookbook has an awesome Italian American vibe throughout from cover to cover. Use this cookbook to create a dining experience that will make spectacular memories of comfort and deliciousness!

Italian and Italian-American cuisine is one of my favorites and it is just a blast trying out these rocking recipes in my own kitchen. These really are some secrets from the masters because they are uniquely wonderful – just created the Eggplant Caponata to the delight of my friends and family!

If you love Italian American food and like to cook and impress your Soprano’s fans, then pick up this book now!

Recipe “GINO’S SECRET SAUCE”

Salsa Segreto

Outside The Old GINO RESTAURANT

Lexington Avenue

NEW YORK , NY

One block north of Bloomingdale’s famous department store. Gino Restaurant, which all the regulars called Gino’s was one of the greatest most beloved Italian Restaurants in the history of New York City. And it’s just that, part of New York City History. Sadly, we lost Gino’s nine years ago, as the restaurant sold its last plate of its famous “Pasta Segreto” in the Winter of 2010. Some of Gino’s many regulars which included the likes of Frank Sinatra were brought to tears the day Gino shut its doors. The restaurant was truly one of those much beloved places that you don’t see every day, and it’s a dam shame we lost her. All of us who ever went there have many cherished memories spent with friends and family at Gino’s. I’m sure if Frank Sinatra was still alive, he’d tell you a few stories himself. Maybe his daughters Tina and Nancy Sinatra who of course are still alive might have some memories of their father, the great Francis Albert Sinatra holding court at Gino’s. Yes we all know that Patsy’s across town from Gino’s was Frank’s favorite Italian Restaurant o f all-time, but Mr. Sinatra loved Gino’s as well, and dined there many times.

Hey Tony Bennett who is till alive, is a fan of Gino’s. Maybe he can tell us some stories. Well, best selling Italian Cookbook author Daniel Bellino Zwicke is alive and doing well, and always writing about Italian Food, restaurants, pizza, pasta, celebrities, and Italy, and he has told us a few stories of great times with friends and family; his Cousin Joe, Brother Michael, and sister Barbara, and his fond memories of eating Baked Clams, Rigatoni Segreto and Veal Milanese, which Daniel says was his typical dinner when he dined at Gino’s with Cousin Joe Macari (Macari Vineyards).

Yes Gino’s was one great restaurant, that saw the likes of Mike Wallace, Gregory Peck, Gay Talese, and Italian Bombshells Sophia Loren and Gina Lollibrigida. The great things about Gino’s was that it was a well-rum machine, and its total mix of wonderful expertly prepared Italian Food, lively ambiance, excellent service, and cool vibrant crowd made for the most perfect mix that was Gino Restaurant. And if that wasn’t enough, the prices of the food and wine was most reasonable. This was just another added plus of this legendary New York restaurant. And the restaurant that Gino’s was, as shall tell you that the type of restaurant it was what we now call Old School Italian Red Sauce Joints. Yes, an old school Italian Red Sauce Joint, and the best old school Italian restaurant that any could ever possibly be. The same as places like John’s of 12th Street, Monte’s Trattoria in Greenwich Village, Rao’s, up in East Harlem, New York. Like any Red Sauce worth its Salt, Gino’s had great Red Sauce of course, with items like, Baked Clams, Spaghetti Meatballs, Manicotti, Lasagna, Veal and Chicken Parm, and Frank Sinatra’s favorites; Clams Posillipo and Veal Milanese.

We morn the passing of Gino Restaurant, as we morn the closing of two other great Old School Italian eateries of DeRoberti’s Italian Pastries and Lanza’s Restaurant, both of which were on 1st Avenue two doors from one-another on the block of 1st Avenue between East 10th and 11th Streets in New York’s East Village, which years ago was simply known as the Lower East Side. Luckily the other famous old Italian Eatery, “John’s of 12th Street” is alive-and-kicking after more than 110 years in business in the old Sicilian neighborhood where Mob Boss Charle’s Lucky” Luciano grew up (born in Lercara Friddi) after his family moved to East 10th Street (# 265) from Sicily.

READ MORE on GINO’S

SINATRA SAUCE

The COOKBOOK

COOK & EAT LIKE FRANK

His FAVORITE ITALIAN RECIPES

AMAZON.com

SINATRA !!! “JUST BECAUSE” !!!

FRANK SINATRA – DINNER at “JILLY’S” NYC

With Daughters TINA & NANCY SINATRA

And FRIENDS

No, it’s Not GINO’S but although FRANK Ate there Many TIMES

and it was one of his All-Time FAVORITE ITALIAN RESTAURANTS

there aren’t any pictures of him there. So we put this in. “It’s a great shot

of Frank holding courts.”

#LuckyLUCIANO PASTA

SICILIAN RECIPES

MORE on SCALAMANDRE

ZEBRA WALLPAPER

GINO’S CELEBRITY CLIENTELE

Frank Sinatra

Rocky Marciano

Jackie Kennedy

Aristotle Onassis

Ed Sullivan

PerryComo

Gay Talese

Tony Bennett

Gregory Peck

Gene Tierney

PELE

David Suskind

Mike Wallace

Dan Rather

Gina Lollibrigida

Sophia Loren

Nicholas Pileggi

Nora Ephron

Ralph Lauren

Mel Ott

Other Facts

GINO RESTAURANT was named after owner Gino Circiello. Gino’s partner was Guy Aventuriero. They were both born in Capri, Italy.

The tow partners Gino and Guy financed their restaurant (Gino’s) with their own money, along with help from Franco Scalamandre who owned the Scalamandre (Wallpaper and Fabrics).

The famous Zebra wallpaper was designed by Flora Scalamandre.

Gino’s most famous dish was Pasta with Salsa Segreto (Secret Sauce)

GINO’S BAR

And ZEBRA WALLPAPER

YELP Review of GINO’S by Author Daniel-Bellino-Zwicke.com

Dinner at GINO’S of CAPRI

NY NY

Gino Circiello is 2nd from Left

Guy Aventuriero far Right

La Pastina

“My Beloved PASTINA”

RONZONI

la Pastina

My first memories of Italian food were just like many other Italian children, the first Italian food you’ll eat is going to be Pastina. Pastina are tiny little star-shaped pasta (Stelline) that Italian mothers feed their little bambini when they are first being weaned off mothers milk. The tiny little pasta are perfect for the little tikes to eat. Usually coated with a little bit of butter, Italian babies just love the stuff and this is their first introduction that will be filled with a lifetime of pasta as the centerpiece of their diet. I loved pastina and all through my childhood I’d often ask my mother to make me some for me. Later on, besides the butter, you sprinkle on a little bit of grated Parmigiano, sometimes with a little bit of warm Milk and you’re in heaven, Pastina is simple and oh so tasty. I still eat it to this day. You’ll also find Pastina in soup, especially with homemade chicken broth. Now that’s comfort food par excellence!

Now I really didn’t eat Pastina all that much for a number of years I guess, but as most adults do as they get a bit older, they will revert back to those things they loved in childhood, thus my taking up eating some Pastina con Burro e Parmigiano in the past couple of years. By the way, that’s the Italian name (in Italy) I just gave you. Pastina actually means “Little Pasta,” and the star-shaped one that we usually would have are called Stelline. So, we Italian-Americans just say Pastina, and it usually means Pastina with butter and grated Parmesan Cheese. If you’re not Italian-American and have never had this simple little dish, do try it some time, it’s quick and easy to make, and it’s as tasty as can be, you’re sure to love it, it’s Pastina.

Yes Pastina is an Italian baby’s first introduction into to their native cuisine, Italian. Over the years you’ll be eating all sorts of pasta dishes like, Spaghetti Pomodoro, Lasagna, Manicotti and the rest. You’ll eat Meatballs, Sausages, Braciole, Cannoli, and all the usual suspects of Italian and Italian-American Cuisine. You start with Pastina and it’s on to a whole lifelong discovery and experience of your ethnic cuisine Italian. You’ll eat your family’s favorite foods that have their Genesis in mother Italy, the local foods of your grandparents, then mother and father. You go to friend’s homes and have their mom’s Gravy, Lasagna, Braciole and perhaps dishes their family’s make that you may have never had before, so you’ll make new discoveries along the way. You get older and go out to eat in restaurants and make a few more discoveries as well. And when you go to Italy, a whole new world is out there before you. You go to Rome, Venice, The Amalfi Coast, Sicily, wherever you go in Italy there’s new discoveries around every corner, in markets, at trattoria’s, caffes, pastry shops, and all over. You start with Pastina, and it’s a lifelong journey from there. Enjoy!

Excerpted from MANGIA ITALIANO by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

MANGIA ITALIANO

READ ABOUT PASTINA

PORCHETTA – BRACIOLE

ROMES FAMOUS PASTA

And MORE ….

AMAZON.com

RIP RONZONI PASTINA

by Celia Mattison – for BON APPETITE MAGAZINE – January 7, 2023

The year is barely underway, but 2023 already has its first major casualty: Ronzoni announced last week that it would be ceasing production this January of pastina, the star-shaped pasta beloved in so many Italian American households.

Ronzoni gave little information as to why it would be discontinuing pastina apart from a tweet the brand shared, claiming it was a difficult but unavoidable decision resulting from a problem with its supplier. “We searched extensively for an alternative solution but were unable to identify a viable solution,” the tweet read. The backlash to the news was immediate. Tearful farewells appeared on TikTok; Twitter users decried the decision, with one user sharing a gif of White Lotus’s Jennifer Coolidge crying and shooting a gun with the caption, “Me after finding the person at Ronzoni responsible for discontinuing pastina.” At this time, six separate petitions have formed on change.org to try to save the pasta. Meanwhile, offline pastina lovers have already started hoarding boxes.

I get the devastation: I grew up eating the comfort food staple, which was often served with a simple but heaping combination of salt, butter, milk, or Parmesan. My mother made it for me when I was sick and it was the first food I learned how to make on the stovetop. At some point in fifth grade, I made it every day as an after-school snack. After two weeks of finding tiny stars in the kitchen drain, my mother dryly informed me that it was time to “cool it with the pastina.”

Pastina literally means “little pasta” and can refer to any number of miniature pastas, but Ronzoni, founded in 1915 by an Italian immigrant, helped to mainstream the star shape found in pasta bowls across the US. It boils in a few minutes because of its small shape and makes a whimsical addition to soups, whether in a chicken-and-stars or a celebratory Italian wedding. It’s often cut from the leftovers of pasta. Scraps of dough rendered celestial.

The adoration for pastina starts at an early age. YouTube hosts thousands of videos of users making pastina “just like nonna did.” The Sopranos references it multiple times; Carmela lovingly calls the dish “pasteen” when offering to make it for sick family members. “Pastina is the one thing I can count on,” one glum petitioner wrote. Another expanded on the dish’s importance to Italian Americans: “Pastina is the best! I have had it since I was a child and now make it for my family. Don’t do this! You are killing my and many Italian family traditions! Basta!”

Today, whenever I make pastina, I think about why I became so attached to the stuff. I was the only Black girl in fifth grade, getting off the bus with frizzy hair I didn’t know how to care for and a craving for the most comforting food I knew. Even though I have little contact with the white Italian-American side of my extended family, I still crave pastina when I am sick or heartbroken. Like my mother, I always keep a box in my pantry.

One small relief: Though it appears the humble pastina is the latest victim in an increasingly tenuous supply chain, supermarket chain Barilla does seem like it will continue to make the iconic shape. So rest easy, my fellow star-eaters—pastina will live on, even if it might be harder to find than before. In the meantime, get down to your nearest pasta aisle, like I’ll be doing, and stock up.

Ronzoni Pasta Company of New York – Ronzoni Sono Buoni – Ronzoni Pasta is So Good

RONZONI

MEZZE RIGATONI

“Ronzoni Sono Buoni,”
if you are Italian and grew up in the New York area in the great
decades of the 1960’s and or 70s you know the slogan. We Italians do love our
pasta, we’re weened on it! Pasta is the main staple of our diet. Many are
fanatical about and love it so, they insist on having it several times a week.
I’m one. Pasta, can be covered in a wide variety of sauces, in some soups like; Pasta Fagoli (Pasta Fazool),
in Minestrone’s, with Pasta and Peas, and Pasta con Ceci (Chick Peas). Yes, we
are weened on it. Mommy gave me, my bothers and sister Pastina coated in a bit
of butter and Parmigiano when we were just toddlers and every so
often I have to pick up a box of Ronzoni Pastina, as I love and crave it still,
and of late as with many my age, you start craving things you loved as a child,
thus my stints with PASTINA .“Ronzoni Sono Buoni,” it means, Ronzoni
is So Good, and that it is. This brand of Pasta, born in New York City at the
turn of the 20th Century has been a mainstay of not only
Italian-Americans of the East Coast but, for all. For years before the surge of
many a imported pasta product in the U.S., Ronzoni, was not the only game in
town for Macaroni, there was the Prince and Creamette, as well, but Ronzoni
dominated the market and though I don’t have stats, I would wage to say that 85
to 90 % of all commercial pasta sold in the New York, New Jersey, and
Philadelphia areas was Ronzoni, the pasta in the bright blue boxes, Ronzoni
Sono Buoni. God I wonder how many plates and bowls of Spaghetti, Ziti and other
Ronzoni pastas I ate over the years, starting with Pastina as
a toddler and moving to Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce or Meatballs,
Baked Ziti, Stuffed Shells and more. Oh “Stuffed Shells,” they bring back
memories of my mother who loved them. We had them often, along with Lasagna
made with Ronzoni Lasagana. You don’t see Stuffed Shells around that much any
more, they used to be on many a restaurant and even more home menus. There
popularity has waned, but every once and a while I’ll pick up a box of Ronzoni
large shells, just for the purpose of bringing back those memories of mom
making them and me loving them as a child. I’ll make a batch of
tomato sauce, cook the Ronzoni Shells, and stuff them with ricotta and
Parmigiano, bake them in tomato sauce, and “Voila” Stuffed Shells of
days gone by. I do the same with a Pastina as I still love the dish so, dressed
with butter and fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano, “makes me feel like a kid
again!” Yum, delicious little pleasure you can whip up in minutes and
bring back visions of your youth. All with some butter, Parmigiano and a box of
Ronzoni Pastina. That’s Ronzoni, every bit a part of my life and youth as
a spring ol Slinky, Etch-A-Sketch, The Three Stooges, Saturday Morning
Cartoons, and all the favorites of my youth,

Ronzon Sono Buoni

“Ronzoni it’s
so good!”

… Daniel Bellino Z …..

SPAGHETTI

RONZONI – HISTORICAL TIME LINE

1915: Ronzoni officially begins business as a private family-owned company

1984: Ronzoni is sold to General Foods

1990: General Foods sells Ronzoni to Hershey Pasta Group

1999: General Foods sells to a group of investors led by the New York firm Joesph Littlejohn and Levy. The new company took the name New World Pasta

2006: The Ebro Puleva Group acquires New World Pasta, which included the Ronzoni brand

2016: The Ebro Puleva Group merges with Ebro Foods

2021: 8th Avenue Food & Provisions (formerly Dakota Growers Pasta Company) acquires Ronzoni and a dry pasta manufacturing facility in Virginia. The Virginia facility is the company’s third manufacturing location; the previous two were in North Dakota and Minnesota.

SEGRETO ITALIANO

SECRET ITALIAN RECIPES

SALSA SEGRETO

FAMOUS PASTA SAUCE

RECCIPE of GINO’S NEW YORK

AMAZON.com

RONZONI MACARONI COMPANY

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS NEW YORK

1918

RONZONI FACTS

From an Article in the New York Times 1974

I’m sure these facts are no longer true, as many Americans now buy a lot more imported Italian pasta then they did back in 1974. In the 1950’s, 60’s 70’s and even into the 1980’s Ronzoni dominated the past market, not only in New York, but for the entire country.

1 – New York is the largest market for pasta in America, accounting for 20% of all pasta sales in

America, comes from New York.

2 – Ronzoni sells more than 40% of all pasta sold in New York.

3 – Ronzoni’s sales were more than $40 Million dollars in 1973.

RONZONI PASTINA

“NO MORE” !

SAD NEWS

The Ronzoni Macaroni Company is discontinuing Pastina, due to low sales. “What” ? Yes folks, it’s true. After 107 of being one of Italian-America’s favorite pastas, and the one maccheroni products is always the first one we eat, as Italian mothers feed their little babies Ronzoni Pastina, dressed in a little butter as one of the first solid foods their baby will eat, thus one of Italian-America’s most time honored traditions. We all Love our pastina. But no more. Not Ronzoni Pastina anyway. Yes, a sad day for us Italians. We will have to find another brand of pastina, even though Ronzoni’s is our most beloved, it will be no more.