JOE & PAT'S PIZZERIA ... A Brief History
Established in 1960, the restaurant was named for Giuseppe Pappalardo and his brother (Joe) and Pasquale Pappalardo (Pat) of Naples, Italy. In 1958 the brothers had immigrated from a small town near Naples, to Staten Island, New York. They opened Joe & Pat's in 1960. Doing well, their mother joined them a year later in 1961.
Lunch at JOE & PAT'S .. Friday, January 28, 2022
My buddy Pat called me up on Thursday, and said, "What are you doing." I told him I was getting ready to go to work. He told me that ahe was getting together with a couple of our friends the next day for lunch at Joe & Pat's Pizzeria, and asked if I wanted to join them. Are you kidding me? Of course I do. What's better than getting together with friends or family, to eat some good Italian Food and have a couple glasses of wine? I'm sure you all know the answer.
Pat, "OK, we're meeting a 1, see you then."
Me, "Awesome. See you tomorrow brother."
Friday rolls around, and I'm having my morning coffee, when Pat calls. It was just 11:30 am. I pick up the phone, "What are you doing (Pat)"? Having coffee. "Where are you?" I told him I was at a cafe on 6th Ave. "OK, I'm driving through the tunnel, I'll pick you up in 20 minutes."
Cool, I continued drinking my coffee, and doing some work on my laptop. Twenty minutes later Pat calls and tells me I'm in front of the theater (IFC). "OK, I'll be there in a minute.
I hop in Pat's car and we had to the East Village. We get to the East Village, and it takes us a few minutes to find a parking space, but we do. Two minutes later, we're in Joe & Par's and Lou and Noah are already there. The bartender checks our Vaccine Cards (these are Covid days 2022). We sit down and give our Pals a hug. It's always great getting together, whether in times of a pandemic or not, and we're all gald to see each other. We sit down, and Lou ask us if we want some beers. "Not me," I tell him, "I'm gonna get a Negroni." Pat orders a Dewars & Water, and I ask the waiter for a Negroni. When our drinks come, we all cheer one another.
We chit-chat a bit, and our buddy JP is not there yet, and we all decide we want to order a couple things. We're all hungry. Pat ask if anyone wants some Baked Clams? Hell yeah, I tell him. How bout some Scunili? "Hell yeah," again. A few minutes later the Clams and Scungili come and they both right on the money. The Clams are nice and tasty, and the Scugili is tender and perfectly cooked in a slightly spice Fra d'Avalo Sauce. "Yumm."
DIGGIN The PIZZA
We ordered 3 different pieces : one with Pepperoni, one called a Tri Pie which is a Margherita Pizza with a little touch of Basil Pesto. Both of these Pies were damn good. I really liked the Tri Piec which Lou loves and he ordered that one, it was very good. The Pepperoni Pie was absolutley amazing. We all loved it, especially Pat and I. I think I ate about 5 or 6 pieces of it (we had 2 large Pepperoni Pies). Someone asked how we rated the Pepperoni Pie, and 3 of us gave it a 9, including me. But after I thought about it again, I gave it a 9.5, it was that good! Damn Good.
Lou also ordered the Vodka Sauce Pie, which wasn't bad, but far from being my favorite.
Overall, we had a great time, and I loved the Pizza, and gained a new found respect for Joe & Pat's, as I went there about 2 and a half years agao with my cousin Tony, and we weren't super thrilled. I wanted to get a Clam Pie, because I used to Love eating them at Lombardi's on Spring Street. We got one, and it wasn't very good (mabe better now). Then we got a couple slices of the Origianal 1960 (Pizza Margherita) and we loved it. So now, my new view on Joe & Pats 1st Ave, is that it's great, and one of the best Pizza's in New York, the city that makes the Best Pizza in the World. "Yes better than Napoli, I tell you." It's true, and many would agree. So that's that. If you want good Pizza in New York, you can't go wrong with Joe & Pat's. "Tryit."
Daniel Bellino Zwicke
January 28th 2022
JOE & PAT'S
Thankfully, the owners of Joe & Pat's have preserved the old storefront of the old Lanza's
Sicilian Restuarant on 1st Avenue in Downtown Manhattan. Lanza's operated for more than 100
on 1st Avenue between East 10th and 11th Streets in the Lower East Side of New York, now known
as the East Village for the past 40 years or so.
Mafia Boss Salvatore "Lucky Luciano's family immigrated from Lercara Friddi, Sicily in 1906, young Salvatore was just 8 years old. They settled in a small apartement on East 10th Street, right around the corner from Lanza's, which Michael Lanza opened in 1904. Over the years, Luciano had many a meal at Lanza's, as well as another Sicilian Restaurant around the block, John's of East 12th Street which opened in 1908, and is still operating today (2022), and still has the original decor of tile floors, and painted murals of scenes in Italy and Sicily. No doubt "Lucky" ate many a Cannoli from DeRoberti's Sicilian Pastries, which was just two doors north of Lanza's on 1st Avenue.
Inside JOE & PAT'S 1st Avenue
New York, NY
They did a fine job preserving as much as the old Lanza's as possible.
The place looks great, and I'm happy to see the old murals and remember
man good times with my friends : JP, Jorge, Kohn O'Sullivan, Miachael,
Toem, and my ex-girlfriend Dante, Saturday lunches and dinners at Lanza's,
sadly no longer in operation, yet it has been preserved as best it now can.
Basta !
Inside JOE & PAT'S
The OLD LANZA'S
1st AVENUE
NY NY
Our TASTY PEPPERONI PIE
JOE & PAT'S MANHATTAN
1/6/2022
NYC
RECIPES FROM MY SICILIAN NONNA
SOUPS - PASTA -DOLCE and ???
NEW YORK PIZZA
POSITANO FOOD & TRAVEL
MAKE PIZZA at HOME
Foodporn Foodie s of NEW YORK
