February 21, 2025 • 42 mins
I've lived in Connecticut most of my life and have always loved NYC but somehow I have never made my way to Coney Island. There is a certain familiarity it has always had to me from the movies, but truthfully, I've never heard stories of the real history it holds. Matthew Cutolo, chef at Gargiulos, talks to us about the Coney Island that once was, what it looks like today and the role his families restaurant has played in it all.
From conversations on hosting guests like Leonardo DiCaprio, to the journey to launching their own jarred tomato sauce that you can purchase and use at home today. This conversation feels like you're listening to me sitting down talking with a long lost cousin...and you're invited.
Whether the conversation of 'stinky cheese' and cannolis is new to you, or if you grew up surrounded by stories of old world Italian tradition, this is for you.
Learn more about the Gargiulos here
Follow Chef Matthew on socials @matthewcutolo
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey everyone, happy New Year Whenever you're
listening to this.
We were just talking about this, our guests today and I.
The holidays were so sweet, sobusy, but man are we tired.
So I hope that as you arelistening to the episode today,
you are cozied up, soaking upall the holiday memories and
excited for the year ahead.
Well, if you are anything likeme, you spend a lot of time in
(00:24):
the kitchen.
You guys know that if you'vebeen around here for any length
of time, and in our familythere's a lot of kids, cousins,
wesley family, friends andsometimes it could feel like
having kids in the kitchen ismore frustrating than it is.
Helpful.
I get it, but there's a flipside of that.
You might not always realizethe impact that it has on the
(00:45):
next generation and the examplethat it's setting, and today's
conversation is a testament tothat Just the power of what the
impact that having kids in thekitchen can have.
Today's guest is Matthew Cotolo,and he is a restaurant owner
out of Coney Island, which, ifyou don't know, is in New York,
(01:06):
and I've lived in Connecticut mywhole life.
I've been to the city.
I love New York, I love theItalian New York scene, but I
have actually never been toConey Island, and so we're going
to talk a lot about that, hisbackground and the rich history
of his restaurant and thegenerations past.
Well, if you do not know abouthim, here is a little bit more
to get you up to speed.
(01:27):
Chef Matthew Cattolo is athird-generation
Italian-American chef, proudlycarrying on the legacy of
Gargiulo's, a Brooklyninstitution in the heart of
Coney Island.
Born in Brooklyn and raised inLong Island, matthew grew up
immersed in the rich traditionsof Italian American life.
His great-grandparentsimmigrated from Naples in the
(01:49):
early 1900s which I kind offorgot about this.
My grandpa did too, from Naples, and so we actually should
probably explore that a littlebit.
And those roots continue toinspire his approach to food and
hospitality.
His culinary journey took apivotal turn during his time
studying abroad in Naples, wherehe immersed himself in Italian
(02:09):
culture and cuisine, perfectingtraditional Neapolitan dishes
and rediscovering the importanceof family through food.
Matthew's menu at Gargiulo'sreflects his deep respect for
both tradition and innovation,which I love, offering diners a
true taste of Naples paired withthe warm familial hospitality
(02:29):
his grandparents instilled inhim.
Whether he's crafting a classicpasta dish or creating a fresh
take on a beloved Italian staple, chef Matthew continues to
celebrate the rich history ofvibrant flavors that make
Gargiulo's a landmark ofItalian-American cuisine.
At Gargiulo's, matthew blendshis family's time-honored
traditions with his own creativeflair, offering diners a true
(02:53):
taste of both Naples andBrooklyn.
Every dish is more than just ameal.
It's a tribute to his heritageand the generations of the
family who made it all possibleSuch a beautiful story that I
know you guys are going to lovehearing a little bit more about.
But let's talk about the newyear.
Guys, the new year can seemlike a season of rest, but also
a season of really big goals.
(03:13):
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(03:59):
Hi, I'm Katie, a hospitalityeducator and the host of Making
Room by Gather podcast.
I'm Katie, a hospitalityeducator and the host of Making
Room by Gather podcast.
I am set to see our communitiesget back to the table through
hospitality, but it wasn'talways this way.
My husband and I moved toThailand and through it I
experienced some loneliness, andwith it I was given a choice to
sit back and accept it or to dosomething about it.
(04:22):
And for me, that meant twothings that I needed the healing
to learn how to accept aninvitation and the confidence to
know how to extend one.
Through this process, Ideveloped some of the richest
and deepest relationships of mylife.
Through Making Room by Gather,you will hear conversations from
myself and experts in the areasof food, design and
(04:44):
relationships.
You see there are countlessthings trying to keep us from
the table.
But can I tell you something?
Take a seat because you areready, you are capable, you are
a good host.
Okay, it's going to be a funone.
I'll let our listeners know.
(05:04):
Right before the conversation,we were starting to talk and I
was like whoa, whoa, hold on.
I want to hit record first.
So glad to have you here.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Yeah, so happy to be on with you.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
So before we hit record, we were talking about
Coney Island a little bit and Iwas asking you.
I was like, okay, what movieswere recorded there?
Speaker 2 (05:25):
And I'm going to hit myself because I feel like there
was a childhood, childhoodclassic movie and it was maybe
like a scary scene for a kid inconey island, like well, there's
warriors, um, you know the onewhere they they clink the
bottles on their hand come outto play and, um, that's a,
that's like a classic cult, likeConey Island movie.
(05:45):
That was shot there.
And then there's just been somany others throughout the years
Wonder Wheel with Kate Winslet,if with Ryan Reynolds that shot
there a couple of years ago.
So that was nice and thank God,you know, the area is having a
little bit of a let's call it aproduction boom where there's
(06:06):
lots of casts and crews comingdown and shooting some fun,
exciting stuff.
And you know, especially too,if you do like period pieces in
the 80s or late 70s, it's alwayssuch like a nostalgic place to
come down and film and kind ofyou get to see it transform back
to the old days a little bitwith some of the set pieces that
(06:27):
they do and it's just, it's anice thing for the neighborhood,
it's a nice thing to get theword of Coney Island out there.
Sometimes, being in the, youknow, most Southern part of
South Brooklyn, you get a littlelost in a fray.
But we're there and it's such a, it's such a great place to be.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
So there's Hollywood's depiction of it, and
when I think of Coney Island, Ithink of a hot dog, I think of
the.
What else?
Like, I guess, what about theway that Hollywood shows it is
like true.
And then like what do you wishpeople knew about it?
That maybe they don't capturetrue?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
And then like, what do you wish people knew about it
that maybe they don't capture?
Well, it has such a longhistory.
I would love, kind of, if theyeven went back further into the
1920s and 30s.
Boardwalk Empire touched on ita little bit but it was kind of
in a different lens.
But back then, you know, it waslike Disneyland before
(07:25):
Disneyland it was Vegas, beforeVegas.
Coney Island was the place to be, and that's when you know the
restaurant really was oh, we'regoing to Gargiulo's, because the
restaurant opened in 1907.
And again back in Coney Island,you know tons of people went
down there and big banquets, bigfunctions, big events going out
(07:47):
to dinner, and Gargiulo's wasone of those places.
So you know, gargiulo's is thelongest standing business in
Coney Island and it has such arich history that dates back so
much further than maybe what'sbeing portrayed now.
But any way you showcase it, Ithink it's great to just bring
attention to the area.
(08:08):
Like I said, sometimes you canbe forgotten, we are a little
out of the way, but it's such agreat place to experience,
especially if you've never beenbefore.
There's nostalgia, there's justa lot of fun between the
amusement parks and the ridesand the beach right there it's.
It's really a great place.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Yeah, I would love to make my way there Cause, like I
said, I love, obviously, likeItalian culture and I love New
York, but I'm I'm curious.
So I live very close toWorcester street in Connecticut.
Have you spent time there?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
No, I have not.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
No, oh, come out, come have pizza with us New
Haven.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Oh, it is Okay.
So I went to school atQuinnipiac.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Oh, no way.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
So I was like right down, is that where, like Frank
Pepsi's?
Yeah, of course, yeah.
So yes, I've been there.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
I was going to say you have to have been there.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
No, I have been there .
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Yeah, parts is when you walk in and there's the wall
of all the people that havebeen there, like the greats.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
it goes back a long time.
So how about your restaurant?
Have you had any likenoteworthy guests that you're
like really proud of?
Yeah, we have kind of like asimilar wall, um, right off of
the bar, um, but there's beenjust there's been so many you
know great people that have comein and out.
Um, trying to think off the topof my head Leonardo DiCaprio
was there.
Robert De Niro, marissa Tomei.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Those alone.
That's all you need really.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Cate Blanchett.
You know there's just there'sso many.
You're trying to go through thelist and I'm trying to look at,
like the wall that you know wehave all those pictures on Mike
Piazza, like yeah, there's justbeen.
Countless numbers throughoutthe years, and one nicer than
the next.
We're very fortunate for that.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Incredible.
I love that history.
I don't know.
I love learning about family.
You know family history ingeneral, so it's sweet to hear
that yours goes so far back.
Now I'm actually curious.
So your family came over fromNaples early 1900s.
I know my family entered thefarming industry right away when
they landed, so yours did.
They go right into therestaurant, like they came and
(10:18):
just opened a restaurant or whatdid that look?
Speaker 2 (10:20):
like A little different.
So my family actually it's onmy mother's side but started out
with pizzerias and then in 1965, the Russo family, my, my
uncle's, great uncles, that'swhen they purchased Gargiulo's.
And you know they bought thatand it was.
(10:43):
It was tough in the beginning.
You know Coney Island had verymuch changed from its heyday.
And then in the late 1970s wegot three stars from the New
York Times, which was unheard offor a restaurant outside of
Manhattan at the time.
And Mimi Sheridan was the NewYork Times reviewer that came
(11:05):
down and they asked her why didyou give Gargiulo's three stars?
And she said what they set outto accomplish, they did so well
and it was home style, it wasmaking you feel at home and the
food was classic, authenticflavors.
And next thing, you know thatspawned, you know, tons of
(11:26):
people coming down to experienceit and enjoy it.
And then in the early 80s weput the catering hall on.
So there's just been countlessnumbers of families who have had
their parties there, eventsthere.
You know everybody in SouthBrooklyn has been to an event at
Gargiulo's at one point oranother.
In South Brooklyn has been toan event at Gargiulo's at one
point or another and it's sogreat to see kind of the
(11:47):
families continue to have theirparties there generation after
generation, and my four uncles,my uncles and my aunt are the
current owners and, yeah, I'mthe next generation now learning
from them, each one of them,which is so great and trying to
continue on our family legacy.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Wow, how does that work with family business?
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Some days are better than others.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
But I love it because six days a week we're together
and at 2.30 every day day we sitdown and have lunch together at
the family table in the diningroom.
Um, because who's running inthe morning, who's running in
the evening, you know.
So, at 2 30 every day we makesure to put a little time aside,
(12:35):
sit down, have a, have a nicelunch and then, uh, get back to
it.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
I'd love to get a glimpse of that.
That could be a good reel foryou guys.
Just have a time lapse offamily dinner, yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Some days we'll have to edit out some parts, but for
the most part it'll make itthrough.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Oh, I love it.
Gosh Well, okay, so much ofyour story is about what you
learned from your family andworking with your family and
just being around them and beinginspired by them, and what I
loved about one part of yourwrite-up was, of course, that
inspiration and learninghappened in the kitchen, but I
also saw a line that it alsohappened in the backyard.
What did you mean by this?
What did that look like?
(13:14):
Yeah, so my grandparents.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
They bought a summer house out in Shelter Island in
the early 1960s and there wasnothing, you know, in Shelter
Island at that point.
It was a few houses scatteredhere and there, but mainly
undeveloped, not like it istoday.
And we've had it ever since.
I'm actually here now taking alittle break after crazy month
(13:39):
of December.
But we always had people over,you know, and cooking was such a
big part of that andentertaining and just whoever
wanted to show up, you invitedthem and made them feel welcome.
And you know my I always say mygrandfather was the one that
kind of instilled the passionand the drive of cooking in me
(14:04):
and there's pictures of me twoyears old, you know, on the
kitchen stool.
I've got my hands in pizzadough going at it, learning from
him.
And you know he's the one thatI really learned from in the
beginning of my life and therewas just there was always food,
there was always people.
My grandmother had a joke, youknow we have a small driveway,
(14:24):
the cars fill up and then westart lining the front of the
house with cars and she wasalways happiest when, you know,
the front of the house wasfilled with cars because it
meant there was people, therewas friends, family, love,
laughter and everything inbetween.
So in the backyard was a bigplace for me to kind of learn
all of these things aboutcooking, entertaining, you know,
(14:46):
family, friends, everything.
And it always holds a specialplace in my heart.
And now I'm kind of at the agenow where I'm doing that with my
friends and bringing them outhere during the summer and
entertaining, and a lot of myfriends now too are in the
industry.
So it really is great to geteverybody out.
(15:07):
One, we're all together, buttwo, it's so peaceful out here,
you know, to get out of the cityand kind of have this solace,
this solace.
So it's really nice and I lovenow that I can kind of, you know
, pass these traditions along,incorporate them with my friends
.
That, you know, was taught tome so many years ago.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
I love that and you know what's wild.
I've never even heard ofShelter Island.
Yeah, where is it?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
The Long Island Forks right, so at the end, and
there's a little island right inthe middle and that's where we
are out of montauk uh, beforethat okay, so it's literally
right in the middle of the twoforks that you know.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
It's so wild I can't even picture what it looks like
like on a map you'll be likeyou'll be looking at it later.
Oh, it was there the whole timewe went to the hamptons just
for a day trip, just toexperience it like a year or two
ago, and that was the firsttime I've ever been on long
island, like you know.
Yeah, I've been out there.
That's great, and that's noteven true long island, right?
(16:10):
Yeah, yeah see.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
So now you'll have to come.
Next summer you'll come to myhouse, and then we got two brick
oven pizzas from naples too.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
So so you don't have to tell me.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
When you're talking about, like the family, the cars
, like that's my scene andthat's how I was raised and I
told my husband, like this pastholiday season it was sweet for
us, but my grandparents havepassed away.
Family is changing, people aregetting married, grandkids, all
that stuff, and we don't havethat.
It is changing, people aregetting married, grandkids, all
that stuff, and we don't havethat.
It's not as prevalent in ourlife as it was in past years and
(16:44):
so I'm missing that.
But, like you said, it's kindof like the season of life where
we have to create it now.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
You know, yeah, exactly, Life goes on and it's
all about keeping thosetraditions alive and you know
kind of passing it on to thenext generation and your kids
now for them to experience that.
And you know kind of passing iton to the next generation and
your kids now for them toexperience that, and you know
they learn that and then theypass it on.
So it's one of those thingsthat it was always.
It was definitely instilled inme, but it was always around.
(17:11):
So it's just like we grew up.
That's all we know.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
So it's kind of easy to do in a way, but it's a lot
of fun.
I'll tell you that much.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
I don't know if you guys were like this, but my
husband is Swedish and didn'tcome from Connecticut and so
very removed from the Italianculture and just experienced
like hospitality differently.
And so when we first starteddating and he was like
everyone's not an uncle, I waslike yeah, exactly, and he's
like no, no, no, but what onesare actually related?
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Yeah, there's definitely that that goes on.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Right, yeah, but like everyone's not an uncle.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Yeah, everybody's family.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Yeah, everyone's family.
Yeah, I love that.
I love it so much.
So a huge passion of yours ispreserving Neapolitan cooking
and do you say Napolitan.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
What is it?
You know it could be NeapolitanNapolitan, it could be anything
.
I guess it depends who you'retalking to.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
I know, I know I heard that a lot growing up, but
I feel like when we're in theUS, talking about like cooking
in the United States, we couldvery easily differentiate like
food from the South or food fromthe North, but we actually
don't have a great lens for thatas Americans when it comes to
Italian cooking.
So what would you say likedifferentiates Neapolitan
cooking from the rest of Italy?
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Yeah, and that's one of those things that I love
about Italian cooking, becausethere could be dishes that have
so many variations and it alldepends upon the region that
you're from or you know, whatyou learn from.
North and south very different,and it's all based upon, you
know, the region that you're inand the abundance of ingredients
(18:52):
, what was readily available,because a lot of these recipes
are years and years old, yearsand years old, so it wasn't like
you know, you could call up thetruck and say, all right, bring
me, you know, 10 cases oftomatoes up north and get them
as easy as you can.
Today it was, you know.
Okay, what can we farm, whatcan we get at the local market?
So, being from Southern Italy,the climate is much more
(19:17):
adaptable for farming.
So you're going to see a lotmore tomatoes, olives, olive oil
and then, being so close to thewater, especially in Naples, a
lot of seafood.
Whereas you go further north,you know you're getting into the
more mountain regions, you'regoing to see a lot more beef, a
lot more butter, a lot moresalami, great cheeses, a lot
more butter, a lot more salami,great cheeses, pecorino, romano,
(19:41):
parmigiano-reggiano, gorgonzola, truffles, mushrooms, because
you know, those things excel inthe kind of damper, colder, you
know lands of Italy, whereassouthern the heat, you know
that's better for, again, thetomatoes, the eggplants, the
olives.
And then it's just differenttoo.
(20:01):
You look at pasta.
You know fresh pasta up northincorporates a lot more eggs,
egg yolks, whereas from thesouth it's just water and
semolina, and that's how youmake it.
So I think you know people nowin today's world, they see all
this Italian cooking, like yousaid, they might not know the
difference, but I love that andI kind of love teaching that and
(20:25):
incorporating that into thespecials menu at the restaurant.
And you know, okay, this dishis from up north, this dish is
from southern.
This is this tradition, this isthat tradition.
So there's just so much youknow, this is that tradition.
So there's just so much youknow culture and traditions to
be for people to learn.
And I love doing that now on,like my Instagram and YouTube
(20:46):
and TikTok pages and kind ofhighlighting those differences.
Because, again, if you takebolognese, there's 10 different
ways you can make it.
You know, from the Southern tothe North there's more butter in
it or there's a touch of cream.
Down south there's more tomato.
That's what's available inthose regions, and that's how
(21:06):
the recipes were developed yearsand years ago.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
I love asking this question, and you might not have
an answer to it If youabsolutely had to buy a jarred
sauce yourself.
What brand do you go for?
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Well, we have just launched our own jarred sauces.
That's right so that might bethe perfect segue.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
That wasn't even a setup.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
That wasn't even a setup A little bit of product
placement, yeah, I know.
So yeah, that's kind of one ofmy passion projects over the
past couple of years was reallydeveloping that and getting that
out, because I think you knowsuch a long history in the
restaurant and generations frommy family everyone's kind of
(21:51):
contributed at different pointsto the success of it and growing
the business and hopefully thiscould, you know, be my little
contribution.
But you know I, my family, hasbeen instrumental in doing it,
from all my uncles and my auntand getting it out there and
kind of getting it off theground.
It was a little bit of a longprocess between COVID and just
you know, recovering from thatand so much going on, but it's
(22:12):
finally out there.
It's available for nationwideshipping and pretty soon
hopefully we'll have it ingrocery stores and you know
it'll be a little more easilyaccessible.
But if you go on Gargioloscomyou can get your own today.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
That's.
Oh my gosh, that was like thebest accident.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
I know I was like oh, this is awesome.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
That's so funny.
I have to get my hands on some,because I was telling my
husband the other day I justdon't have the time I used to, I
need to make it.
I used to make my own sauce.
All the time I was using redsauce, I would make it, um, and
I'm just.
I've been so disappointed withthe sauces on the shelves, um,
and so I'm excited for yours.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Yeah, you let me know , I'll send you a couple of
bottles, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
That's so fun, wow.
Well, one thing I feel likethere's so many different topics
we could talk about here, butone thing I loved about like
your bio and learning more aboutyou is you're described as kind
of like old school, but withlike a fresh energy or a fresh
spin, and I was thinking aboutthis.
Past Christmas, there was alocal Italian shop that I used
(23:14):
to always go to with my grandpa.
It was like the Italian shop,and I drove by the other day.
There's still the sign there,but it's closed, and I was like
man, where do I go?
Like there wasn't a replacementfor it and I was like I could
go to, stop and shop and getsome of the imported stuff, but
it's just not the same, and sothose are the types of things
that you're trying to reallypreserve, like the old world
(23:35):
Italian traditions that are kindof like, I don't know, going
away.
So I want to hear that in yourown words, though Like what does
old school mean to you?
Like old school Italian?
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Yeah, Okay.
So, like you said, traditionthat's what it's all about, Um,
culture and tradition andkeeping those things moving
forward and alive.
And one of my favorite thingsin the restaurant is somebody
comes in and they say I haven'thad that since my grandmother
made it, or I haven't had thatsince my mother made it, those
(24:10):
type of things.
I love that, and especiallywhen it comes to holidays and
things of that nature, biggerevents throughout the year,
that's where I really get in andtry and keep those holiday
dishes alive, especially thispast Christmas Struvely, the
Zeppeli di Natale, the LittleBowls Now you have coming up
(24:33):
sooner it'll be Conreval, so wemake Pizza Rustica.
And then St Joseph's Day, theZeppeli, San Giuseppe.
There's so many you know daysthroughout the year, but those
holiday traditions and keepingthose alive, that's what it's
all about for me.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Yeah, it's the best.
I picture my grandpa going toLuigi's that was the name of the
store and he would come homewith the brown bag with the
stinky cheese.
And it was a little kid, I waslike man, that stuff stinks.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
And now like it's my favorite, and when I get it at
the grocery store it's just notthe same, like it doesn't have
the same stink it's a luxury,being in Brooklyn still, that we
still have, you know, a goodamount of those stores that you
can just run out and go get some, some stinky cheese or anything
(25:22):
you know kind of that you'dlike.
But one of my favorites isColuccio's in Brooklyn.
Know the family well and youknow they import so many
products so it's so great.
You know I need it.
Could be anything and I'll justrun to them and be able to get
it.
Or Labella is another great one.
And Bensonhurst.
(25:42):
You know they import a ton ofproducts too.
So for me it's a little easily,more easily accessible than,
let's say, connecticut.
But you know I love that too,because there's so many people
that still go there asking forthose types of things and for
them to still be there and beable to provide it.
And there's so many other storestoo, specialty stores that you
(26:03):
can go to and get those things,and again, most of them they're
family owned, they're familyoriented.
So it's great that there kindof still is that connection in
the area.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah, yeah, I miss all of it.
You know, like the oldergeneration passing away now, if
there's not people like youreally working, working
intentionally to preserve it, itcan.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Yeah, it's up to us now.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah, it is.
It is up to us.
Huh man, I don't know if thisis a Connecticut like Italian
scene, but I remember my grandpacoming home with a cannoli with
the red and white stringwrapped around the boxes.
Is that?
Do you see that too?
Or was that just like a localthing?
Speaker 2 (26:38):
No, that's a bakery thing.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Is it really?
Okay, yeah, absolutely I don'tsee that as much and I'm like
that was Christmas to me.
The boxes with the red andwhite, again, you know.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
I'm fortunate where I'm still in Brooklyn, so
there's still plenty of that.
And you, you know, beingrestaurant and catering business
, you deal with a good amount ofbakery still, which is so nice
to see.
But yeah, I actually have ourfamily cannoli recipe and so I
still make those in therestaurant and continue that
(27:08):
tradition.
On Our cousin, mike the Bake,he was the pastry chef for 40
years in the restaurant and hedidn't give a recipe to anyone.
And so when I first startedfull-time after I graduated
college, he was semi-retired atthat point.
He would come in one day a weekdo the cheesecake, do the
cannoli, and then again, if wehad those holiday things, he
(27:30):
would really push those along.
And I just I noticed, you know,when it's his time to retire,
who's going to make these things?
You know what I mean.
Like these, these are knownGargiulo items.
Like we have to keep this going.
It's all about, again, thetradition.
So I made it my point where Iwas like I'm going to learn from
(27:53):
Mike to make and again, hedidn't give a recipe to anyone
for 40 years.
So when we started he came in.
I was like Mike, I want tolearn, okay.
And his famous saying was ifyou want to learn, you got to
watch.
So we started and let's justsay he would put flour in the
mixing bowl.
He would go take a lap aroundthe kitchen, go talk to somebody
(28:14):
for 10, 15 minutes, right, andthen come back to the bowl and
put the next ingredient in.
But I made sure I'd stayed bythe bowl so that when he was
back I could see.
And then you know he put sugarin.
This time he'd go do the samething.
He'd take a lap around thekitchen and I was still waiting
there.
And that went on for, I want tosay, a good six months.
(28:34):
And then after six months itwas okay, we're putting
everything in the bowl here andlet everything come together.
Then that was a good couple ofmonths maybe another six months
and then it started reallydeveloping into OK, shkrib,
shkrib, right, because hisEnglish was still a little
broken.
So it was like a mix betweenNopliton dialect and English.
(28:59):
It was like our own littlelanguage.
Only the two of us couldunderstand.
But he would say you know,write down this.
We're putting 10 eggs, we'reputting a scoop of flour, and a
scoop is like a shovel or yourhands.
It's not like, oh, we're takinga cup and then we're putting it
in.
It wasn't like that.
It was like put my hand in andthrow it in the bowl, um, so
(29:22):
that lasted a couple months andthen all of a sudden it was.
This happens why?
But this happens because if youadd too much of this, this
would happen.
And that's when I really startedlearning the intricacies of
everything.
But he was just so amazing toobecause he could go from baking
and then hop on the line andcook any dish.
And I always say my grandfatherwas the one that instilled the
(29:46):
passion.
Mike the Bake was the one thatreally taught me how to cook in
the restaurant and take me tothat next level.
So I A lot of these traditionalrecipes are his.
You know from our family thathe was the only one to have, and
now now I am the only one thathas the recipes, so out of the
(30:08):
whole family, there's plenty ofsecrets I still have, so I
always joke.
They got to keep me around fora little while longer.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
I was going to say it's a lot of power.
Oh, my goodness, I love it.
So yeah, cannolis were a hugepart of my upbringing, my
favorite dessert.
It meant the holidays, it meanta special occasion, and I'm
gluten-free.
Now I have to be for healthreasons and I would,
historically, go somewhere andask if I could buy the cream and
make my own shells, or I wouldbuy shells.
(30:36):
This is the first year I mademy own shells and I did pizzelle
.
So pizzelle, however, how doyou say it?
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Pizzelle.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
Pizzelle, yeah.
And so I got a press.
I made a gluten-free recipe.
They were nice and crisp, butby the time we ate it they were
so soft.
So how do you preserve thecrunch?
That was like the question ofthe holiday.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Well, you know, it's one of those things.
I don't know how to cook glutenfree very well, so I don't know
if I have an exact answer foryou.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
OK, so just a shell in general, because how long
would a shell stay fresh, wouldyou guys say in the restaurant
industry, like how long wouldyou serve it?
Speaker 2 (31:16):
Like a cannoli shell.
If you keep it in an airtightcontainer it could last quite a
while, but normally I'm makingthem so much that we're just
going through them.
You know constantly.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
And let's be real, when they're on a table, they
don't stay around long, rightyeah?
Speaker 2 (31:31):
no exactly.
Especially in a Venetian houror something like that, where
you put the desserts on thetable.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
We're getting empty dishes back in the kitchen to
wash, which is which is so niceI think the biggest problem was
it wasn't fried for me, theywere baked well, I just did a
pizzelle like in a press.
I roll.
Yeah, yeah, I think the canolashells yeah, yeah, so well, I
rolled it and then I just filledit right away.
I think if I did a fried shellthat's definitely.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
That's the more authentic way.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
I know.
I was trying to know what youuse like almond flour.
No, I used a.
It was like a potato rice flourmix and it was delicious, um,
but it just didn't texture.
It was yeah, yeah, keep wellfor a long time.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
And now ours are more of a Neapolitan way of making
the cannoli than the Sicilian,so they're a little lighter and
airier and we make sure that topreserve that.
You know you still have thecrunch we stuff everything to
order, so nothing sitting around.
It's not like the shells aregoing soggy or anything like
that.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
Nice, that sounds great.
Well, I was going to say Ican't wait to try one.
My husband will try it, I'll.
I'll eat the cream.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
We'll give you a little cream on the plate with
some strawberries.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
Oh, that's not.
Hey, that's even better, thatsounds great.
Well, we talked a little bitabout it, but I want you to kind
of finish painting the picturefor us.
So someone comes to therestaurant, what would you say
in your words, differentiatesthe experience at Gargiulo's
from another Italian restaurant?
Like, what could they expect?
Speaker 2 (33:09):
When you walk in you will feel like you're at home,
and that's a testament to theguys that we have working.
It's a testament to my unclesand aunt, who have made this
atmosphere that you're just sowelcome and so comfortable.
And we're so fortunate that theguys that we have working have
(33:31):
been with us, almost most ofthem, for 20 plus years, Whether
it be the guys in the diningroom or the guys in the kitchen.
Whether it be the guys in thedining room or the guys in the
kitchen, you know they startedwhen they were teenagers or
young adults, and you know 30years later, they're still here
and especially in the kitchen.
It's been so great to beembraced by them and they've
(33:54):
been so helpful in seeing youknow that I want to learn.
I want to get to that pointwhere I have the 30 years
experience.
I want to learn.
I want to get to that pointwhere I have the 30 years
experience.
So it's really really nice,especially in that capacity too,
because they'll teach me thingsand then you know I'll teach
them maybe newer ways or adifferent way to plate something
or a presentation or thingslike that.
Or again, teach them adding alittle milk is northern, you
(34:19):
know using lard and is moresouthern.
Adding a little milk isnorthern, you know using lard
and is more southern.
So it's just.
It's a great workingenvironment for me, especially
in the kitchen, but in thedining room the guys are
absolutely incredible.
They've been with us for solong and you know, we know how
they think, they know how wethink it's.
It's a great.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
I cut out for just a second.
Let's see, oh, I cut out forjust a second you back, yeah, oh
, that's okay, we're back, wegot it.
That says a lot about you guysas like bosses, I guess, or like
family, for to have that like,to have them around that long,
like the restaurant industry, issuch high turnaround.
That's such a testament to youguys and the atmosphere.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
It really is a testament to my, to my uncles
and my aunt.
Like I said, they've justcreated such a great culture and
atmosphere in the restaurantthat makes it easy to work and
and some days again, typicalrestaurant business type of deal
.
Some days are easier thanothers, some days are harder,
but you know that's kind of theindustry that we're in and you
(35:34):
know you still want to try andjoke around a little once in a
while just to keep it a littlemore lighthearted, because it's
it's a fast paced, quickenvironment and you know it can
drag you down at times and youknow it's nice to go to a place
for work where you feel welcomeand you're happy to go.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
Yeah, I love it.
I love it.
Well, you went to Quinnipiac.
How far is the restaurant fromthis area?
Speaker 2 (35:58):
About two hours.
Oh that area About two hours, oh, that's not bad.
But again, if you're on 95, itcould be a little more than that
, Especially with construction,you never know.
But it wasn't bad at all.
So it was nice that I eitherwanted close enough where I
could go back and forth you know, home, as I kind of pleased or
(36:19):
far enough where that wasn't theoption.
And I remember visitingQuinnipiac and going there with
my mother and it was just therainiest of days.
There was like thunder andlightning and things like that
and as soon as I stepped on thecampus it was like, ok, this is
where I'm going.
It was just kind of one of those.
The light bulb went off momentsand fell in love with it right
(36:42):
away and made so many greatfriends over the years that
still in touch with such a closeknit group.
So it was one of the greatexperiences of my life.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Great four years I haven't even been to well.
I think I went to oneconference there, but I knew
that I was going to go out ofstate, so I didn't visit.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Yeah, I love.
I love knowing that therestaurant is just two hours
from here.
We have to come, my husband andI we'd love it.
Yeah, we'll make a point tocome, cause it's everything that
you're describing are thingsthat I've been missing lately.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
Just in life.
You'll find it in Gargiulo's,that's for sure.
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
Well, what a sweet way to end huh, that was like a
mic drop Like, and I'll sharewith everyone when we finally
make our way there.
But we end each of ourconversations with the same
three questions and I'd love tohear your answers to them as
well.
Something you have eatenrecently and loved.
We're just closing out theholidays, so I'm curious what
you have to say.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Yeah, we're just closing out the holidays.
I'm curious what you have tosay.
Yeah, I haven't gotten out alot in the past couple months,
but there's one day of the yearAlways make time for me and my
mother.
We go to the city and we do thetree, we go to a Broadway show,
we go out to dinner so that'salways one day of the year that
I look forward to.
And we ate in a Frenchrestaurant called Marseille, and
(38:10):
they had a sticky toffee breadpudding that was absolutely
incredible to die for.
I mean, the whole meal wasgreat from start to finish, but
that dessert just capped off theevening.
It was really, really good.
And then we saw SunsetBoulevard with Nicole
Scherzinger, if I'm saying thatcorrectly.
She was amazing.
And then we saw the tree, whichwas great.
And then we stopped by myfriend's bar, bartley Dunn's,
for a couple espresso martinisbest in Manhattan and so, yeah,
(38:34):
that was one of those days.
I haven't really gotten out toeat as much as I would like to,
but that was definitely one ofthe best things that I've eaten
recently.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
That's amazing, For how close I am to New York.
I don't get there enough, andmy husband's more of like the
outdoorsman.
I'm like the city girl and Ineed to make a point to get
there Cause I just like comealive.
You know when you're talkingabout that I'm like man.
That's my dream day.
That's like that's the best.
Um, I often tell my husband I'mlike we live in the sticks.
(39:05):
He's like you don't know whatthe sticks is.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
We're in Connecticut for us city folk.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
Um, okay, how about this?
And it might be what you justthe answer you just gave to,
might be a crossover, but agathering you attended that made
you feel a strong sense ofbelonging and, if you could
pinpoint it, what it was thatmade you feel that way?
Speaker 2 (39:27):
So I would say this is kind of a new tradition that
I've started.
A lot of my friends now are inthe industry and they're
actually almost all of them arefrom Ireland and they're
actually almost all of them arefrom Ireland.
So they're all involved in barsin different capacities who's
an owner, who, you know, who's abartender?
(39:49):
But I started the tradition acouple of years ago Now this is
one of my favorite times of theyear and for me the biggest
thing is I just want to be withmy friends and I want to be with
my family.
Biggest thing is I just want tobe with my friends and I want
to be with my family.
And again, for the industry,it's one of the busiest times of
(40:09):
the year, so you can kind ofget lost a little bit in the
hustle and bustle.
So I make it a point we set adate and we all go out to Peter
Luger's in Great Neck and it'sjust.
It's such a fantastic evening.
I had two of my uncles comethis year too, so it was all my
friends, you know my family.
It was just so good and thefood was incredible.
(40:30):
I love that because you know forme and I think you know any
other people in the industry too.
Like you have a rough day andyou can say, oh, this customer
did this, or you know the POSwent down.
You tell that to like one of myfriends from college.
(40:52):
You're like, oh, okay, you know, you tell it to somebody else
who knows.
It's like such a greatspringboard to have, because we
all know what we're goingthrough.
We're going through the samethings, yeah.
So it's really I love it.
It's important for me to havethat kind of now and there's
some of the best friends I couldever ask for.
So that's kind of like one ofthose moments where it's like
(41:14):
okay, I'm doing what I'm doingwhat I love, I'm doing what I'm,
you know, meant to be doing andI'm surrounded by great people
and great friends and family.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
So yeah, I can relate to that.
There's there's so much power.
I think life is a balance.
You have to have people in yourlife that are different than
you to like, challenge your likeworldview, Right, but it's so
important to have people thatare in the same industry too,
for that very thing, for thatsense of belonging and
understanding.
Yeah, that's so good.
Well, last but not least,something you've discovered
(41:43):
lately that you think everyoneshould know about a random
Amazon purchase, a Netflix show,anything like that.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
Again a little busy the past month, month and a half
, so I haven't had too much timeto discover anything.
but I'm really looking forwardto kind of sitting down in the
new year and watching the pastaqueen's new show on Amazon, I
think.
I think she's an incrediblepersonality, I love her, all of
her social content andeverything like that.
(42:11):
So I'm really looking forwardto to having some time to be
able to watch that, because fromthe looks of it the little bit
that I have seen she's going upand down Italy.
From the looks of it, thelittle bit that I have seen
she's going up and down Italyand one of those things of
showcasing traditions,showcasing local ingredients and
recipes and just reallyhighlighting the cultural
(42:32):
aspects of Italy.
So that's definitely one thingthat's on my list that I'm
looking forward to checking out.
Speaker 1 (42:37):
I've been trying to get her on the show for like a
year.
She's hard to get a hold of.
What is it on again?
What network it's on?
Amazon?
Is it really Cause I love hertoo?
Yeah, that's so fun.
I love when she like roastsdifferent trends that are going
around social media.
It's so funny.
Speaker 2 (42:56):
She does, the one about breaking the pasta and
things like that.
Like I, I love those.
I'm same boat as you are.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
Yeah, it's the best.
Oh, man.
Well, this conversation warmsmy heart.
Thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (43:09):
Tell people where to find you again, for those that
are interested.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
If you go on Instagram, youtube, tiktok, just
type in Matthew Cutolo, hit thefollow button and, like Mike
DeBake said, if you want tolearn, you got to watch.
There's plenty of authenticItalian recipes and traditions
that we highlight there.
Speaker 1 (43:25):
That's the best.
I love that phrase so good.
Well, guys, I hope this warmedyour heart as much as it did
mine, and we will see you nextweek.
Hey everyone, happy New Year Whenever you're
listening to this.
We were just talking about this, our guests today and I.
The holidays were so sweet, sobusy, but man are we tired.
So I hope that as you arelistening to the episode today,
you are cozied up, soaking upall the holiday memories and
excited for the year ahead.
Well, if you are anything likeme, you spend a lot of time in
(00:24):
the kitchen.
You guys know that if you'vebeen around here for any length
of time, and in our familythere's a lot of kids, cousins,
wesley family, friends andsometimes it could feel like
having kids in the kitchen ismore frustrating than it is.
Helpful.
I get it, but there's a flipside of that.
You might not always realizethe impact that it has on the
(00:45):
next generation and the examplethat it's setting, and today's
conversation is a testament tothat Just the power of what the
impact that having kids in thekitchen can have.
Today's guest is Matthew Cotolo,and he is a restaurant owner
out of Coney Island, which, ifyou don't know, is in New York,
(01:06):
and I've lived in Connecticut mywhole life.
I've been to the city.
I love New York, I love theItalian New York scene, but I
have actually never been toConey Island, and so we're going
to talk a lot about that, hisbackground and the rich history
of his restaurant and thegenerations past.
Well, if you do not know abouthim, here is a little bit more
to get you up to speed.
(01:27):
Chef Matthew Cattolo is athird-generation
Italian-American chef, proudlycarrying on the legacy of
Gargiulo's, a Brooklyninstitution in the heart of
Coney Island.
Born in Brooklyn and raised inLong Island, matthew grew up
immersed in the rich traditionsof Italian American life.
His great-grandparentsimmigrated from Naples in the
(01:49):
early 1900s which I kind offorgot about this.
My grandpa did too, from Naples, and so we actually should
probably explore that a littlebit.
And those roots continue toinspire his approach to food and
hospitality.
His culinary journey took apivotal turn during his time
studying abroad in Naples, wherehe immersed himself in Italian
(02:09):
culture and cuisine, perfectingtraditional Neapolitan dishes
and rediscovering the importanceof family through food.
Matthew's menu at Gargiulo'sreflects his deep respect for
both tradition and innovation,which I love, offering diners a
true taste of Naples paired withthe warm familial hospitality
(02:29):
his grandparents instilled inhim.
Whether he's crafting a classicpasta dish or creating a fresh
take on a beloved Italian staple, chef Matthew continues to
celebrate the rich history ofvibrant flavors that make
Gargiulo's a landmark ofItalian-American cuisine.
At Gargiulo's, matthew blendshis family's time-honored
traditions with his own creativeflair, offering diners a true
(02:53):
taste of both Naples andBrooklyn.
Every dish is more than just ameal.
It's a tribute to his heritageand the generations of the
family who made it all possibleSuch a beautiful story that I
know you guys are going to lovehearing a little bit more about.
But let's talk about the newyear.
Guys, the new year can seemlike a season of rest, but also
a season of really big goals.
(03:13):
And as you are working towardsthose goals and planning for
them, feast and Fettle wants tohelp you.
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(03:34):
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Save $25 off your first week atfeastandfeddlecom $25 off your
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(03:59):
Hi, I'm Katie, a hospitalityeducator and the host of Making
Room by Gather podcast.
I'm Katie, a hospitalityeducator and the host of Making
Room by Gather podcast.
I am set to see our communitiesget back to the table through
hospitality, but it wasn'talways this way.
My husband and I moved toThailand and through it I
experienced some loneliness, andwith it I was given a choice to
sit back and accept it or to dosomething about it.
(04:22):
And for me, that meant twothings that I needed the healing
to learn how to accept aninvitation and the confidence to
know how to extend one.
Through this process, Ideveloped some of the richest
and deepest relationships of mylife.
Through Making Room by Gather,you will hear conversations from
myself and experts in the areasof food, design and
(04:44):
relationships.
You see there are countlessthings trying to keep us from
the table.
But can I tell you something?
Take a seat because you areready, you are capable, you are
a good host.
Okay, it's going to be a funone.
I'll let our listeners know.
(05:04):
Right before the conversation,we were starting to talk and I
was like whoa, whoa, hold on.
I want to hit record first.
So glad to have you here.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Yeah, so happy to be on with you.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
So before we hit record, we were talking about
Coney Island a little bit and Iwas asking you.
I was like, okay, what movieswere recorded there?
Speaker 2 (05:25):
And I'm going to hit myself because I feel like there
was a childhood, childhoodclassic movie and it was maybe
like a scary scene for a kid inconey island, like well, there's
warriors, um, you know the onewhere they they clink the
bottles on their hand come outto play and, um, that's a,
that's like a classic cult, likeConey Island movie.
(05:45):
That was shot there.
And then there's just been somany others throughout the years
Wonder Wheel with Kate Winslet,if with Ryan Reynolds that shot
there a couple of years ago.
So that was nice and thank God,you know, the area is having a
little bit of a let's call it aproduction boom where there's
(06:06):
lots of casts and crews comingdown and shooting some fun,
exciting stuff.
And you know, especially too,if you do like period pieces in
the 80s or late 70s, it's alwayssuch like a nostalgic place to
come down and film and kind ofyou get to see it transform back
to the old days a little bitwith some of the set pieces that
(06:27):
they do and it's just, it's anice thing for the neighborhood,
it's a nice thing to get theword of Coney Island out there.
Sometimes, being in the, youknow, most Southern part of
South Brooklyn, you get a littlelost in a fray.
But we're there and it's such a, it's such a great place to be.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
So there's Hollywood's depiction of it, and
when I think of Coney Island, Ithink of a hot dog, I think of
the.
What else?
Like, I guess, what about theway that Hollywood shows it is
like true.
And then like what do you wishpeople knew about it?
That maybe they don't capturetrue?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
And then like, what do you wish people knew about it
that maybe they don't capture?
Well, it has such a longhistory.
I would love, kind of, if theyeven went back further into the
1920s and 30s.
Boardwalk Empire touched on ita little bit but it was kind of
in a different lens.
But back then, you know, it waslike Disneyland before
(07:25):
Disneyland it was Vegas, beforeVegas.
Coney Island was the place to be, and that's when you know the
restaurant really was oh, we'regoing to Gargiulo's, because the
restaurant opened in 1907.
And again back in Coney Island,you know tons of people went
down there and big banquets, bigfunctions, big events going out
(07:47):
to dinner, and Gargiulo's wasone of those places.
So you know, gargiulo's is thelongest standing business in
Coney Island and it has such arich history that dates back so
much further than maybe what'sbeing portrayed now.
But any way you showcase it, Ithink it's great to just bring
attention to the area.
(08:08):
Like I said, sometimes you canbe forgotten, we are a little
out of the way, but it's such agreat place to experience,
especially if you've never beenbefore.
There's nostalgia, there's justa lot of fun between the
amusement parks and the ridesand the beach right there it's.
It's really a great place.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Yeah, I would love to make my way there Cause, like I
said, I love, obviously, likeItalian culture and I love New
York, but I'm I'm curious.
So I live very close toWorcester street in Connecticut.
Have you spent time there?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
No, I have not.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
No, oh, come out, come have pizza with us New
Haven.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Oh, it is Okay.
So I went to school atQuinnipiac.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Oh, no way.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
So I was like right down, is that where, like Frank
Pepsi's?
Yeah, of course, yeah.
So yes, I've been there.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
I was going to say you have to have been there.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
No, I have been there .
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Yeah, parts is when you walk in and there's the wall
of all the people that havebeen there, like the greats.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
it goes back a long time.
So how about your restaurant?
Have you had any likenoteworthy guests that you're
like really proud of?
Yeah, we have kind of like asimilar wall, um, right off of
the bar, um, but there's beenjust there's been so many you
know great people that have comein and out.
Um, trying to think off the topof my head Leonardo DiCaprio
was there.
Robert De Niro, marissa Tomei.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Those alone.
That's all you need really.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Cate Blanchett.
You know there's just there'sso many.
You're trying to go through thelist and I'm trying to look at,
like the wall that you know wehave all those pictures on Mike
Piazza, like yeah, there's justbeen.
Countless numbers throughoutthe years, and one nicer than
the next.
We're very fortunate for that.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Incredible.
I love that history.
I don't know.
I love learning about family.
You know family history ingeneral, so it's sweet to hear
that yours goes so far back.
Now I'm actually curious.
So your family came over fromNaples early 1900s.
I know my family entered thefarming industry right away when
they landed, so yours did.
They go right into therestaurant, like they came and
(10:18):
just opened a restaurant or whatdid that look?
Speaker 2 (10:20):
like A little different.
So my family actually it's onmy mother's side but started out
with pizzerias and then in 1965, the Russo family, my, my
uncle's, great uncles, that'swhen they purchased Gargiulo's.
And you know they bought thatand it was.
(10:43):
It was tough in the beginning.
You know Coney Island had verymuch changed from its heyday.
And then in the late 1970s wegot three stars from the New
York Times, which was unheard offor a restaurant outside of
Manhattan at the time.
And Mimi Sheridan was the NewYork Times reviewer that came
(11:05):
down and they asked her why didyou give Gargiulo's three stars?
And she said what they set outto accomplish, they did so well
and it was home style, it wasmaking you feel at home and the
food was classic, authenticflavors.
And next thing, you know thatspawned, you know, tons of
(11:26):
people coming down to experienceit and enjoy it.
And then in the early 80s weput the catering hall on.
So there's just been countlessnumbers of families who have had
their parties there, eventsthere.
You know everybody in SouthBrooklyn has been to an event at
Gargiulo's at one point oranother.
In South Brooklyn has been toan event at Gargiulo's at one
point or another and it's sogreat to see kind of the
(11:47):
families continue to have theirparties there generation after
generation, and my four uncles,my uncles and my aunt are the
current owners and, yeah, I'mthe next generation now learning
from them, each one of them,which is so great and trying to
continue on our family legacy.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Wow, how does that work with family business?
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Some days are better than others.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
But I love it because six days a week we're together
and at 2.30 every day day we sitdown and have lunch together at
the family table in the diningroom.
Um, because who's running inthe morning, who's running in
the evening, you know.
So, at 2 30 every day we makesure to put a little time aside,
(12:35):
sit down, have a, have a nicelunch and then, uh, get back to
it.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
I'd love to get a glimpse of that.
That could be a good reel foryou guys.
Just have a time lapse offamily dinner, yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Some days we'll have to edit out some parts, but for
the most part it'll make itthrough.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Oh, I love it.
Gosh Well, okay, so much ofyour story is about what you
learned from your family andworking with your family and
just being around them and beinginspired by them, and what I
loved about one part of yourwrite-up was, of course, that
inspiration and learninghappened in the kitchen, but I
also saw a line that it alsohappened in the backyard.
What did you mean by this?
What did that look like?
(13:14):
Yeah, so my grandparents.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
They bought a summer house out in Shelter Island in
the early 1960s and there wasnothing, you know, in Shelter
Island at that point.
It was a few houses scatteredhere and there, but mainly
undeveloped, not like it istoday.
And we've had it ever since.
I'm actually here now taking alittle break after crazy month
(13:39):
of December.
But we always had people over,you know, and cooking was such a
big part of that andentertaining and just whoever
wanted to show up, you invitedthem and made them feel welcome.
And you know my I always say mygrandfather was the one that
kind of instilled the passionand the drive of cooking in me
(14:04):
and there's pictures of me twoyears old, you know, on the
kitchen stool.
I've got my hands in pizzadough going at it, learning from
him.
And you know he's the one thatI really learned from in the
beginning of my life and therewas just there was always food,
there was always people.
My grandmother had a joke, youknow we have a small driveway,
(14:24):
the cars fill up and then westart lining the front of the
house with cars and she wasalways happiest when, you know,
the front of the house wasfilled with cars because it
meant there was people, therewas friends, family, love,
laughter and everything inbetween.
So in the backyard was a bigplace for me to kind of learn
all of these things aboutcooking, entertaining, you know,
(14:46):
family, friends, everything.
And it always holds a specialplace in my heart.
And now I'm kind of at the agenow where I'm doing that with my
friends and bringing them outhere during the summer and
entertaining, and a lot of myfriends now too are in the
industry.
So it really is great to geteverybody out.
(15:07):
One, we're all together, buttwo, it's so peaceful out here,
you know, to get out of the cityand kind of have this solace,
this solace.
So it's really nice and I lovenow that I can kind of, you know
, pass these traditions along,incorporate them with my friends
.
That, you know, was taught tome so many years ago.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
I love that and you know what's wild.
I've never even heard ofShelter Island.
Yeah, where is it?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
The Long Island Forks right, so at the end, and
there's a little island right inthe middle and that's where we
are out of montauk uh, beforethat okay, so it's literally
right in the middle of the twoforks that you know.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
It's so wild I can't even picture what it looks like
like on a map you'll be likeyou'll be looking at it later.
Oh, it was there the whole timewe went to the hamptons just
for a day trip, just toexperience it like a year or two
ago, and that was the firsttime I've ever been on long
island, like you know.
Yeah, I've been out there.
That's great, and that's noteven true long island, right?
(16:10):
Yeah, yeah see.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
So now you'll have to come.
Next summer you'll come to myhouse, and then we got two brick
oven pizzas from naples too.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
So so you don't have to tell me.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
When you're talking about, like the family, the cars
, like that's my scene andthat's how I was raised and I
told my husband, like this pastholiday season it was sweet for
us, but my grandparents havepassed away.
Family is changing, people aregetting married, grandkids, all
that stuff, and we don't havethat.
It is changing, people aregetting married, grandkids, all
that stuff, and we don't havethat.
It's not as prevalent in ourlife as it was in past years and
(16:44):
so I'm missing that.
But, like you said, it's kindof like the season of life where
we have to create it now.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
You know, yeah, exactly, Life goes on and it's
all about keeping thosetraditions alive and you know
kind of passing it on to thenext generation and your kids
now for them to experience that.
And you know kind of passing iton to the next generation and
your kids now for them toexperience that, and you know
they learn that and then theypass it on.
So it's one of those thingsthat it was always.
It was definitely instilled inme, but it was always around.
(17:11):
So it's just like we grew up.
That's all we know.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
So it's kind of easy to do in a way, but it's a lot
of fun.
I'll tell you that much.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
I don't know if you guys were like this, but my
husband is Swedish and didn'tcome from Connecticut and so
very removed from the Italianculture and just experienced
like hospitality differently.
And so when we first starteddating and he was like
everyone's not an uncle, I waslike yeah, exactly, and he's
like no, no, no, but what onesare actually related?
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Yeah, there's definitely that that goes on.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Right, yeah, but like everyone's not an uncle.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Yeah, everybody's family.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Yeah, everyone's family.
Yeah, I love that.
I love it so much.
So a huge passion of yours ispreserving Neapolitan cooking
and do you say Napolitan.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
What is it?
You know it could be NeapolitanNapolitan, it could be anything
.
I guess it depends who you'retalking to.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
I know, I know I heard that a lot growing up, but
I feel like when we're in theUS, talking about like cooking
in the United States, we couldvery easily differentiate like
food from the South or food fromthe North, but we actually
don't have a great lens for thatas Americans when it comes to
Italian cooking.
So what would you say likedifferentiates Neapolitan
cooking from the rest of Italy?
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Yeah, and that's one of those things that I love
about Italian cooking, becausethere could be dishes that have
so many variations and it alldepends upon the region that
you're from or you know, whatyou learn from.
North and south very different,and it's all based upon, you
know, the region that you're inand the abundance of ingredients
(18:52):
, what was readily available,because a lot of these recipes
are years and years old, yearsand years old, so it wasn't like
you know, you could call up thetruck and say, all right, bring
me, you know, 10 cases oftomatoes up north and get them
as easy as you can.
Today it was, you know.
Okay, what can we farm, whatcan we get at the local market?
So, being from Southern Italy,the climate is much more
(19:17):
adaptable for farming.
So you're going to see a lotmore tomatoes, olives, olive oil
and then, being so close to thewater, especially in Naples, a
lot of seafood.
Whereas you go further north,you know you're getting into the
more mountain regions, you'regoing to see a lot more beef, a
lot more butter, a lot moresalami, great cheeses, a lot
more butter, a lot more salami,great cheeses, pecorino, romano,
(19:41):
parmigiano-reggiano, gorgonzola, truffles, mushrooms, because
you know, those things excel inthe kind of damper, colder, you
know lands of Italy, whereassouthern the heat, you know
that's better for, again, thetomatoes, the eggplants, the
olives.
And then it's just differenttoo.
(20:01):
You look at pasta.
You know fresh pasta up northincorporates a lot more eggs,
egg yolks, whereas from thesouth it's just water and
semolina, and that's how youmake it.
So I think you know people nowin today's world, they see all
this Italian cooking, like yousaid, they might not know the
difference, but I love that andI kind of love teaching that and
(20:25):
incorporating that into thespecials menu at the restaurant.
And you know, okay, this dishis from up north, this dish is
from southern.
This is this tradition, this isthat tradition.
So there's just so much youknow, this is that tradition.
So there's just so much youknow culture and traditions to
be for people to learn.
And I love doing that now on,like my Instagram and YouTube
(20:46):
and TikTok pages and kind ofhighlighting those differences.
Because, again, if you takebolognese, there's 10 different
ways you can make it.
You know, from the Southern tothe North there's more butter in
it or there's a touch of cream.
Down south there's more tomato.
That's what's available inthose regions, and that's how
(21:06):
the recipes were developed yearsand years ago.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
I love asking this question, and you might not have
an answer to it If youabsolutely had to buy a jarred
sauce yourself.
What brand do you go for?
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Well, we have just launched our own jarred sauces.
That's right so that might bethe perfect segue.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
That wasn't even a setup.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
That wasn't even a setup A little bit of product
placement, yeah, I know.
So yeah, that's kind of one ofmy passion projects over the
past couple of years was reallydeveloping that and getting that
out, because I think you knowsuch a long history in the
restaurant and generations frommy family everyone's kind of
(21:51):
contributed at different pointsto the success of it and growing
the business and hopefully thiscould, you know, be my little
contribution.
But you know I, my family, hasbeen instrumental in doing it,
from all my uncles and my auntand getting it out there and
kind of getting it off theground.
It was a little bit of a longprocess between COVID and just
you know, recovering from thatand so much going on, but it's
(22:12):
finally out there.
It's available for nationwideshipping and pretty soon
hopefully we'll have it ingrocery stores and you know
it'll be a little more easilyaccessible.
But if you go on Gargioloscomyou can get your own today.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
That's.
Oh my gosh, that was like thebest accident.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
I know I was like oh, this is awesome.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
That's so funny.
I have to get my hands on some,because I was telling my
husband the other day I justdon't have the time I used to, I
need to make it.
I used to make my own sauce.
All the time I was using redsauce, I would make it, um, and
I'm just.
I've been so disappointed withthe sauces on the shelves, um,
and so I'm excited for yours.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Yeah, you let me know , I'll send you a couple of
bottles, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
That's so fun, wow.
Well, one thing I feel likethere's so many different topics
we could talk about here, butone thing I loved about like
your bio and learning more aboutyou is you're described as kind
of like old school, but withlike a fresh energy or a fresh
spin, and I was thinking aboutthis.
Past Christmas, there was alocal Italian shop that I used
(23:14):
to always go to with my grandpa.
It was like the Italian shop,and I drove by the other day.
There's still the sign there,but it's closed, and I was like
man, where do I go?
Like there wasn't a replacementfor it and I was like I could
go to, stop and shop and getsome of the imported stuff, but
it's just not the same, and sothose are the types of things
that you're trying to reallypreserve, like the old world
(23:35):
Italian traditions that are kindof like, I don't know, going
away.
So I want to hear that in yourown words, though Like what does
old school mean to you?
Like old school Italian?
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Yeah, Okay.
So, like you said, traditionthat's what it's all about, Um,
culture and tradition andkeeping those things moving
forward and alive.
And one of my favorite thingsin the restaurant is somebody
comes in and they say I haven'thad that since my grandmother
made it, or I haven't had thatsince my mother made it, those
(24:10):
type of things.
I love that, and especiallywhen it comes to holidays and
things of that nature, biggerevents throughout the year,
that's where I really get in andtry and keep those holiday
dishes alive, especially thispast Christmas Struvely, the
Zeppeli di Natale, the LittleBowls Now you have coming up
(24:33):
sooner it'll be Conreval, so wemake Pizza Rustica.
And then St Joseph's Day, theZeppeli, San Giuseppe.
There's so many you know daysthroughout the year, but those
holiday traditions and keepingthose alive, that's what it's
all about for me.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Yeah, it's the best.
I picture my grandpa going toLuigi's that was the name of the
store and he would come homewith the brown bag with the
stinky cheese.
And it was a little kid, I waslike man, that stuff stinks.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
And now like it's my favorite, and when I get it at
the grocery store it's just notthe same, like it doesn't have
the same stink it's a luxury,being in Brooklyn still, that we
still have, you know, a goodamount of those stores that you
can just run out and go get some, some stinky cheese or anything
(25:22):
you know kind of that you'dlike.
But one of my favorites isColuccio's in Brooklyn.
Know the family well and youknow they import so many
products so it's so great.
You know I need it.
Could be anything and I'll justrun to them and be able to get
it.
Or Labella is another great one.
And Bensonhurst.
(25:42):
You know they import a ton ofproducts too.
So for me it's a little easily,more easily accessible than,
let's say, connecticut.
But you know I love that too,because there's so many people
that still go there asking forthose types of things and for
them to still be there and beable to provide it.
And there's so many other storestoo, specialty stores that you
(26:03):
can go to and get those things,and again, most of them they're
family owned, they're familyoriented.
So it's great that there kindof still is that connection in
the area.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah, yeah, I miss all of it.
You know, like the oldergeneration passing away now, if
there's not people like youreally working, working
intentionally to preserve it, itcan.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Yeah, it's up to us now.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah, it is.
It is up to us.
Huh man, I don't know if thisis a Connecticut like Italian
scene, but I remember my grandpacoming home with a cannoli with
the red and white stringwrapped around the boxes.
Is that?
Do you see that too?
Or was that just like a localthing?
Speaker 2 (26:38):
No, that's a bakery thing.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Is it really?
Okay, yeah, absolutely I don'tsee that as much and I'm like
that was Christmas to me.
The boxes with the red andwhite, again, you know.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
I'm fortunate where I'm still in Brooklyn, so
there's still plenty of that.
And you, you know, beingrestaurant and catering business
, you deal with a good amount ofbakery still, which is so nice
to see.
But yeah, I actually have ourfamily cannoli recipe and so I
still make those in therestaurant and continue that
(27:08):
tradition.
On Our cousin, mike the Bake,he was the pastry chef for 40
years in the restaurant and hedidn't give a recipe to anyone.
And so when I first startedfull-time after I graduated
college, he was semi-retired atthat point.
He would come in one day a weekdo the cheesecake, do the
cannoli, and then again, if wehad those holiday things, he
(27:30):
would really push those along.
And I just I noticed, you know,when it's his time to retire,
who's going to make these things?
You know what I mean.
Like these, these are knownGargiulo items.
Like we have to keep this going.
It's all about, again, thetradition.
So I made it my point where Iwas like I'm going to learn from
(27:53):
Mike to make and again, hedidn't give a recipe to anyone
for 40 years.
So when we started he came in.
I was like Mike, I want tolearn, okay.
And his famous saying was ifyou want to learn, you got to
watch.
So we started and let's justsay he would put flour in the
mixing bowl.
He would go take a lap aroundthe kitchen, go talk to somebody
(28:14):
for 10, 15 minutes, right, andthen come back to the bowl and
put the next ingredient in.
But I made sure I'd stayed bythe bowl so that when he was
back I could see.
And then you know he put sugarin.
This time he'd go do the samething.
He'd take a lap around thekitchen and I was still waiting
there.
And that went on for, I want tosay, a good six months.
(28:34):
And then after six months itwas okay, we're putting
everything in the bowl here andlet everything come together.
Then that was a good couple ofmonths maybe another six months
and then it started reallydeveloping into OK, shkrib,
shkrib, right, because hisEnglish was still a little
broken.
So it was like a mix betweenNopliton dialect and English.
(28:59):
It was like our own littlelanguage.
Only the two of us couldunderstand.
But he would say you know,write down this.
We're putting 10 eggs, we'reputting a scoop of flour, and a
scoop is like a shovel or yourhands.
It's not like, oh, we're takinga cup and then we're putting it
in.
It wasn't like that.
It was like put my hand in andthrow it in the bowl, um, so
(29:22):
that lasted a couple months andthen all of a sudden it was.
This happens why?
But this happens because if youadd too much of this, this
would happen.
And that's when I really startedlearning the intricacies of
everything.
But he was just so amazing toobecause he could go from baking
and then hop on the line andcook any dish.
And I always say my grandfatherwas the one that instilled the
(29:46):
passion.
Mike the Bake was the one thatreally taught me how to cook in
the restaurant and take me tothat next level.
So I A lot of these traditionalrecipes are his.
You know from our family thathe was the only one to have, and
now now I am the only one thathas the recipes, so out of the
(30:08):
whole family, there's plenty ofsecrets I still have, so I
always joke.
They got to keep me around fora little while longer.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
I was going to say it's a lot of power.
Oh, my goodness, I love it.
So yeah, cannolis were a hugepart of my upbringing, my
favorite dessert.
It meant the holidays, it meanta special occasion, and I'm
gluten-free.
Now I have to be for healthreasons and I would,
historically, go somewhere andask if I could buy the cream and
make my own shells, or I wouldbuy shells.
(30:36):
This is the first year I mademy own shells and I did pizzelle
.
So pizzelle, however, how doyou say it?
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Pizzelle.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
Pizzelle, yeah.
And so I got a press.
I made a gluten-free recipe.
They were nice and crisp, butby the time we ate it they were
so soft.
So how do you preserve thecrunch?
That was like the question ofthe holiday.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Well, you know, it's one of those things.
I don't know how to cook glutenfree very well, so I don't know
if I have an exact answer foryou.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
OK, so just a shell in general, because how long
would a shell stay fresh, wouldyou guys say in the restaurant
industry, like how long wouldyou serve it?
Speaker 2 (31:16):
Like a cannoli shell.
If you keep it in an airtightcontainer it could last quite a
while, but normally I'm makingthem so much that we're just
going through them.
You know constantly.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
And let's be real, when they're on a table, they
don't stay around long, rightyeah?
Speaker 2 (31:31):
no exactly.
Especially in a Venetian houror something like that, where
you put the desserts on thetable.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
We're getting empty dishes back in the kitchen to
wash, which is which is so niceI think the biggest problem was
it wasn't fried for me, theywere baked well, I just did a
pizzelle like in a press.
I roll.
Yeah, yeah, I think the canolashells yeah, yeah, so well, I
rolled it and then I just filledit right away.
I think if I did a fried shellthat's definitely.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
That's the more authentic way.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
I know.
I was trying to know what youuse like almond flour.
No, I used a.
It was like a potato rice flourmix and it was delicious, um,
but it just didn't texture.
It was yeah, yeah, keep wellfor a long time.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
And now ours are more of a Neapolitan way of making
the cannoli than the Sicilian,so they're a little lighter and
airier and we make sure that topreserve that.
You know you still have thecrunch we stuff everything to
order, so nothing sitting around.
It's not like the shells aregoing soggy or anything like
that.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
Nice, that sounds great.
Well, I was going to say Ican't wait to try one.
My husband will try it, I'll.
I'll eat the cream.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
We'll give you a little cream on the plate with
some strawberries.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
Oh, that's not.
Hey, that's even better, thatsounds great.
Well, we talked a little bitabout it, but I want you to kind
of finish painting the picturefor us.
So someone comes to therestaurant, what would you say
in your words, differentiatesthe experience at Gargiulo's
from another Italian restaurant?
Like, what could they expect?
Speaker 2 (33:09):
When you walk in you will feel like you're at home,
and that's a testament to theguys that we have working.
It's a testament to my unclesand aunt, who have made this
atmosphere that you're just sowelcome and so comfortable.
And we're so fortunate that theguys that we have working have
(33:31):
been with us, almost most ofthem, for 20 plus years, Whether
it be the guys in the diningroom or the guys in the kitchen.
Whether it be the guys in thedining room or the guys in the
kitchen, you know they startedwhen they were teenagers or
young adults, and you know 30years later, they're still here
and especially in the kitchen.
It's been so great to beembraced by them and they've
(33:54):
been so helpful in seeing youknow that I want to learn.
I want to get to that pointwhere I have the 30 years
experience.
I want to learn.
I want to get to that pointwhere I have the 30 years
experience.
So it's really really nice,especially in that capacity too,
because they'll teach me thingsand then you know I'll teach
them maybe newer ways or adifferent way to plate something
or a presentation or thingslike that.
Or again, teach them adding alittle milk is northern, you
(34:19):
know using lard and is moresouthern.
Adding a little milk isnorthern, you know using lard
and is more southern.
So it's just.
It's a great workingenvironment for me, especially
in the kitchen, but in thedining room the guys are
absolutely incredible.
They've been with us for solong and you know, we know how
they think, they know how wethink it's.
It's a great.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
I cut out for just a second.
Let's see, oh, I cut out forjust a second you back, yeah, oh
, that's okay, we're back, wegot it.
That says a lot about you guysas like bosses, I guess, or like
family, for to have that like,to have them around that long,
like the restaurant industry, issuch high turnaround.
That's such a testament to youguys and the atmosphere.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
It really is a testament to my, to my uncles
and my aunt.
Like I said, they've justcreated such a great culture and
atmosphere in the restaurantthat makes it easy to work and
and some days again, typicalrestaurant business type of deal
.
Some days are easier thanothers, some days are harder,
but you know that's kind of theindustry that we're in and you
(35:34):
know you still want to try andjoke around a little once in a
while just to keep it a littlemore lighthearted, because it's
it's a fast paced, quickenvironment and you know it can
drag you down at times and youknow it's nice to go to a place
for work where you feel welcomeand you're happy to go.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
Yeah, I love it.
I love it.
Well, you went to Quinnipiac.
How far is the restaurant fromthis area?
Speaker 2 (35:58):
About two hours.
Oh that area About two hours, oh, that's not bad.
But again, if you're on 95, itcould be a little more than that
, Especially with construction,you never know.
But it wasn't bad at all.
So it was nice that I eitherwanted close enough where I
could go back and forth you know, home, as I kind of pleased or
(36:19):
far enough where that wasn't theoption.
And I remember visitingQuinnipiac and going there with
my mother and it was just therainiest of days.
There was like thunder andlightning and things like that
and as soon as I stepped on thecampus it was like, ok, this is
where I'm going.
It was just kind of one of those.
The light bulb went off momentsand fell in love with it right
(36:42):
away and made so many greatfriends over the years that
still in touch with such a closeknit group.
So it was one of the greatexperiences of my life.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Great four years I haven't even been to well.
I think I went to oneconference there, but I knew
that I was going to go out ofstate, so I didn't visit.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Yeah, I love.
I love knowing that therestaurant is just two hours
from here.
We have to come, my husband andI we'd love it.
Yeah, we'll make a point tocome, cause it's everything that
you're describing are thingsthat I've been missing lately.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
Just in life.
You'll find it in Gargiulo's,that's for sure.
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
Well, what a sweet way to end huh, that was like a
mic drop Like, and I'll sharewith everyone when we finally
make our way there.
But we end each of ourconversations with the same
three questions and I'd love tohear your answers to them as
well.
Something you have eatenrecently and loved.
We're just closing out theholidays, so I'm curious what
you have to say.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Yeah, we're just closing out the holidays.
I'm curious what you have tosay.
Yeah, I haven't gotten out alot in the past couple months,
but there's one day of the yearAlways make time for me and my
mother.
We go to the city and we do thetree, we go to a Broadway show,
we go out to dinner so that'salways one day of the year that
I look forward to.
And we ate in a Frenchrestaurant called Marseille, and
(38:10):
they had a sticky toffee breadpudding that was absolutely
incredible to die for.
I mean, the whole meal wasgreat from start to finish, but
that dessert just capped off theevening.
It was really, really good.
And then we saw SunsetBoulevard with Nicole
Scherzinger, if I'm saying thatcorrectly.
She was amazing.
And then we saw the tree, whichwas great.
And then we stopped by myfriend's bar, bartley Dunn's,
for a couple espresso martinisbest in Manhattan and so, yeah,
(38:34):
that was one of those days.
I haven't really gotten out toeat as much as I would like to,
but that was definitely one ofthe best things that I've eaten
recently.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
That's amazing, For how close I am to New York.
I don't get there enough, andmy husband's more of like the
outdoorsman.
I'm like the city girl and Ineed to make a point to get
there Cause I just like comealive.
You know when you're talkingabout that I'm like man.
That's my dream day.
That's like that's the best.
Um, I often tell my husband I'mlike we live in the sticks.
(39:05):
He's like you don't know whatthe sticks is.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
We're in Connecticut for us city folk.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
Um, okay, how about this?
And it might be what you justthe answer you just gave to,
might be a crossover, but agathering you attended that made
you feel a strong sense ofbelonging and, if you could
pinpoint it, what it was thatmade you feel that way?
Speaker 2 (39:27):
So I would say this is kind of a new tradition that
I've started.
A lot of my friends now are inthe industry and they're
actually almost all of them arefrom Ireland and they're
actually almost all of them arefrom Ireland.
So they're all involved in barsin different capacities who's
an owner, who, you know, who's abartender?
(39:49):
But I started the tradition acouple of years ago Now this is
one of my favorite times of theyear and for me the biggest
thing is I just want to be withmy friends and I want to be with
my family.
Biggest thing is I just want tobe with my friends and I want
to be with my family.
And again, for the industry,it's one of the busiest times of
(40:09):
the year, so you can kind ofget lost a little bit in the
hustle and bustle.
So I make it a point we set adate and we all go out to Peter
Luger's in Great Neck and it'sjust.
It's such a fantastic evening.
I had two of my uncles comethis year too, so it was all my
friends, you know my family.
It was just so good and thefood was incredible.
(40:30):
I love that because you know forme and I think you know any
other people in the industry too.
Like you have a rough day andyou can say, oh, this customer
did this, or you know the POSwent down.
You tell that to like one of myfriends from college.
(40:52):
You're like, oh, okay, you know, you tell it to somebody else
who knows.
It's like such a greatspringboard to have, because we
all know what we're goingthrough.
We're going through the samethings, yeah.
So it's really I love it.
It's important for me to havethat kind of now and there's
some of the best friends I couldever ask for.
So that's kind of like one ofthose moments where it's like
(41:14):
okay, I'm doing what I'm doingwhat I love, I'm doing what I'm,
you know, meant to be doing andI'm surrounded by great people
and great friends and family.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
So yeah, I can relate to that.
There's there's so much power.
I think life is a balance.
You have to have people in yourlife that are different than
you to like, challenge your likeworldview, Right, but it's so
important to have people thatare in the same industry too,
for that very thing, for thatsense of belonging and
understanding.
Yeah, that's so good.
Well, last but not least,something you've discovered
(41:43):
lately that you think everyoneshould know about a random
Amazon purchase, a Netflix show,anything like that.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
Again a little busy the past month, month and a half
, so I haven't had too much timeto discover anything.
but I'm really looking forwardto kind of sitting down in the
new year and watching the pastaqueen's new show on Amazon, I
think.
I think she's an incrediblepersonality, I love her, all of
her social content andeverything like that.
(42:11):
So I'm really looking forwardto to having some time to be
able to watch that, because fromthe looks of it the little bit
that I have seen she's going upand down Italy.
From the looks of it, thelittle bit that I have seen
she's going up and down Italyand one of those things of
showcasing traditions,showcasing local ingredients and
recipes and just reallyhighlighting the cultural
(42:32):
aspects of Italy.
So that's definitely one thingthat's on my list that I'm
looking forward to checking out.
Speaker 1 (42:37):
I've been trying to get her on the show for like a
year.
She's hard to get a hold of.
What is it on again?
What network it's on?
Amazon?
Is it really Cause I love hertoo?
Yeah, that's so fun.
I love when she like roastsdifferent trends that are going
around social media.
It's so funny.
Speaker 2 (42:56):
She does, the one about breaking the pasta and
things like that.
Like I, I love those.
I'm same boat as you are.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
Yeah, it's the best.
Oh, man.
Well, this conversation warmsmy heart.
Thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (43:09):
Tell people where to find you again, for those that
are interested.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
If you go on Instagram, youtube, tiktok, just
type in Matthew Cutolo, hit thefollow button and, like Mike
DeBake said, if you want tolearn, you got to watch.
There's plenty of authenticItalian recipes and traditions
that we highlight there.
Speaker 1 (43:25):
That's the best.
I love that phrase so good.
Well, guys, I hope this warmedyour heart as much as it did
mine, and we will see you nextweek.
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