If you grew up with Italian food in Italy, then trying to prepare it abroad can pose some difficulties. So much of Italian cuisine depends on the quality and freshness of the ingredients. Fortunately, I live in downtown Manhattan, around Union Square, and there have been plenty of places to shop for ingredients as far back as I can remember. Now, with the new Eataly Flatiron within walking distance, I have the convenience of one-stop shopping for practically all my needs. The products are high-quality and wide-ranging, the atmosphere is amazing, and the convenience unbeatable.
But before Eataly came, I had my go-to shops. And I still go there. Sometimes for a particular ingredient that’s become a staple in my home. Other times out of a desire to go shopping in family-owned stores with friendly owners always willing to give advice, exchange in small talk, or give you a taste of something special.
Sure, when I’m in a rush (as one invariably is in New York) I walk over to 23rd Street and get everything I need at Eataly. But on sunny days I like to walk through the Village to my many points of reference. That way I can enjoy one of the world’s most vibrant neighborhoods in the city that is without question the capital of the world.
Where mom-and-pops rule
If I’m heading eastward I’ll stop at Russo’s Mozzarella and Pasta on 11th, between 1st and 2nd Avenues. It’s been there since 1908, when the East Village was still full of Italians. I particularly like their fresh fennel sausage, perfect for a pasta alla zozzona. Owner Jack Cangemi and his adepts will always let me know what’s freshest and what’s new. The mozzarella is always good, and the olives are the best in the neighborhood.
Right next door to Russo’s is Veniero’s Pasticceria and Café, which has been there since 1894. You can get everything from Sicilian cannoli to strawberry shortcake. Sure, it’s been Americanized over the years – the Italian ricotta cheesecake is a sort of hybrid between a Neapolitan pastiera and a New York cheesecake – but Veniero’s is legendary. A pleasant place to sit and indulge your sweet tooth.
If the weather isn’t conducive to long walks, I’ll stop in at Agata and Valentina, on University Place between 10th and 11th. This is already a big supermarket version of Italian products. Here you’ll find everything. The original shop uptown on 79th St. was open by Sicilian native Agata Musco and her Italian-American husband Joe Musco. “People come from all over the city for our sun-dried tomatoes,” Joe says.
Raffetto
For fresh pasta and a flavor of Little Italy (which is actually farther south and by now almost totally engulfed by Chinatown), I’ll walk all the way to Raffetto’s on Houston St. It’s located just across the street from Saint Anthony of Padua’s Church – the first church built by Italian immigrants to America in 1866. Owner Andrew Raffetto is still in the same shop where his grandfather Marcello Raffetto, who came from Genoa, set up in 1906. You can see him working the pasta-cutting machine, making custom-width fresh pastas for customers. Has he had to adapt to the presence of Eataly? “No, I still manage to keep the prices lower for the same products. And we supply so many restaurants that we had to set up a pasta factory in New Jersey.”
For some protein with your fresh pasta, there’s Pino’s Prime Meats, established in 1904, on Sullivan St. a few doors down from the Saint Anthony of Padua’s Church (which, during the Christmas season, sets up a gigantic life-size nativity scene along Houston). I go there for the stigghiole alla palermitana, a Sicilian street food specialty they make with veal sweet breads.
Di Palo
Little Italys
When I’m in the mood for a full-on Little Italy experience, I go all the way to Grand St., where I’ll find Piemonte Ravioli and the legendary Di Palo’s. Or I’ll even take the subway out to one of the “real” Little Italys: either to Arthur Ave. in the Bronx, where I’ll stop at the Madonia Bakery, or to Bensonhurst in Brooklyn where the sausages from Frank and Sal’s are always worth the subway ride.
But wherever I go, on the way back, I’ll try to stop at the Union Square farmer’s market. Because, there’s nothing in New York like this outdoor market for buying fresh produce directly from the producers. And in doing so, I somewhat ease my nostalgia for Italy – where food and freshness is supremely important.