Tuesday, June 12, 2018

JOHN TRAVOLTA DAY Lennys Pizza BROOKLYN

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JOHN TRAVOLTA

as TONY MANERO

In SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

1977



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JOHN TRAVOLTA Returns to BROOKLYN

86th STREET , BENSONHURST

On JOHN TRAVOLTA DAY



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JOHN TRAVOLTA Eats a Double Decker

One SLICE of PIZZA on TOP of ANOTHERAt LENNY'S PIZZA

BROOKLYN

NEW YORK

on JOHN TRAVOLTA DAY

Tuesday June 12, 2018

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SUNDAY SAUCE

From Another ITALIAN-AMRICAN

JERSEY BOY

Author Daniel Bellino "Z"


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I had a most wonderful day today in Brooklyn at the JOHN TRAVOLTA DAY Celebration on 86th Street in Bensonhurst at LENNY'S PIZZA where John Travolta ate a Double Decker while walking down 86th Street in the opening scene of the 1977 Blockbuster Movie SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER Starring Italian-American Actor from New Jersey John Travolta. John strutted his stuff to the BEE GEES  other was a Monster Billboard Hit along with othersongs like : MORE THAN a WOMAN, IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU (Evan Ellerman), and the rest of the Saturday Night Live Soundtrack.

Anyway JOHN TRAVOLTA DAY was the Brainchild of Mr. Travolta's fellow actor Willy Mateo of Brooklyn who co-stars with John in the upcoming motion picture GOTTI about famed MAFIA BOSS The Late JOHN GOTTI. The event was Hosted by CBS FM Radio Station with Disc Jockey Brooklyn's own JOE CAUSI as Mater of Cermony.
 
So I hopped on the D Train at West 4th Street in New York's Greenwich Village and I was on my way. When I first heard about JOHN TRAVOLTA DAY I knew I wanted to go. The night before, I was sort of on the fence whether to truck it all the way out to Bensonhurst or not. Now in retrospeccy, boy am I glad I made the decision to go. As Willy Mateo, Joe Causi and others said, "they were making history.," and they were. John has never done this before and he may or may or not do it again, who knows when the 50th Anniversary of this Iconic Movie SAYURDAY NIGHT FEVER comes rollong around in 9 years?
 
So I trucked it out to Bensonhurst and got off at the 20th Avenue Station in Besnonhurst Brooklyn. As I walked out of the train station I could already hear the music playing right there on 86th Street. I waldedup to the crowd, and boy was it crowded. After there a few minutes I started having seccond thoughts about the whole thing. i don't really like crowds and with all these people, what would I see? Well I stuck it out. I waited well over an hour in this Brooklyn crowd. I had brought two copys of my book SUNDAY SAUCE that wanted to give to both JOE CAUSI and 
JOHN TRAVOLTA. I signed one copy to Joe and one to Mr. Travolta in the hopes of giving a copy each to John and Joe.
 
So I waited patiently hoping that it would all be worh it in the end. Well, guess what? It was. I had an absolutely wonderful time. John finely made it up to the stage and I along with the large crowd got quite excited. we were all thrilled to see this Iconic Actor who all touched our lives so many years ago. many of us were quite young way back in 1977 and life can be tough, things change and life just happens. Millions of us got great Joy from watching John Travolta as Vinny Barbarino in WELCOME BACK KOTTER about the so-called SWEAT HOGS, misfits in a Brooklyn High School. But what we reallly loved most was John Travolta's wonderful performance Tony Manero in the much loved film SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER.
 
Yes the crowd went wild when John took the stage and started speaking, saying how Brooklyn was in his DNA and how Happy he was to come back. John was quite gracious in his speaking to his adoring fans and afterwards as he signed hundreds of autographs, ate some Lenny's Pizza and Boogied to STAYING ALIVE, we all just loved it, and in these crazy times we live in it's moments like this when we can share time together re-living old fond memories like seeing SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER at the local movie theater, seeing John Dance and act a great part. We all just loved itand a moment that made history on JOHN TAVOLTA DAY in BROOKLYN NEW YORK. Than You John, we loved the day, we love you and the music and memories of a long time ago.




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Daniel Bellino Zwicke


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JOHN TRAVOLTA Graciously Signing Autographs

in Front of LENNY'S PIZZA

BENSONHURST 


On JOHN TRAVOLTA DAY

BROOKLYN , NEW YORK
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JOHN TRAVOLTA Boogyingdown

In BROOKLYN

NEW YORK


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JOHN TRAVOLTA

as TONY MANERO

In SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

PIZZA

at LENNY'S PIZZERIA

BENSONHURST

BROOKLYN
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The RAGU BOLOGNESE COOKBOOK

SECRET RECIPE BOLOGNESE

by DANNY BOLOGNESE





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JohnTravoltaDAYbrooklynnnnn


JOHN TRAVOLTA with Wife Kelly Preston , Acotr Willy Mateo

John Gotti Jr., and Radio DJ BrOOKLYN'S Own JOE CAUSI

On 86th Street Bensonhurst BROOKLYN on JOHN TRAVOLTA DAY








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Saturday, June 9, 2018

Anthony Bourdain Quotes

 

BourdainTONYyyyy

Our Boy Tony

PERSONAL MOTTO ... “Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.” SHAKE SHACK BURGER ... On Shake Shack: Back before Danny Meyer’s burger restaurant became a global chain, Bourdain frequently picked it up when he returned from trips. In 2011, he said that when one opened near him on the Upper East Side, “I dropped to my knees and wept with gratitude.” His order: “I’m having a double cheeseburger naked, please. No lettuce. No tomato. No nothing. Just cheese and two burgers on a potato bun. I’ll have two of those and I’m happy. I’m singing America, fuck yeah!”

SHACKburger

MINUS the Lettuce and Tomatoes for TONY

CRONUTS ... Cronuts : At the peak of the craze over Dominique Ansel’s croissant-doughnut hybrid, Bourdain gave his seal of approval: “Oh God, it’s good. Oh God, it’s really good.” .

TONY on KEEN'S

On the cherished institution that is Keens steakhouse: “You can’t really do any better or more authentic than Keens, a place that goes right back to the old school all-male world of beefsteak parties, the political power built around beef, bloody aprons, and smoke-filled rooms.” The comments were part of his No Reservations visit to the Midtown staple, where he dined with Josh Ozersky. “I like to think if you came here in another 50 years it would be exactly the same,” Bourdain said.

BourdainOzerslyKEENS.jpg

The Late Great Anthony Borudain

with The Late Great Josh Ozersky at KEEN'S

Drinking Scotch Whiskey and Eating MEAT !

BIG SLABS of MEAT

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On VEGETARIANS ...

“Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter-faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn.  To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living.  Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food. The body, these waterheads imagine, is a temple that should not be polluted by animal protein. It's healthier, they insist, though every vegetarian waiter I've worked with is brought down by any rumor of a cold.  Oh, I'll accomodate them, I'll rummage around for something to feed them, for a 'vegetarian plate', if called on to do so. Fourteen dollars for a few slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini suits my food cost fine.”   

The EAST VILLAGE  ....   

On changes in EAST VILLAGE: “I don’t even want to talk about what the East Village used to be like compared to today. It was like Mad Max, post-apocalyptic. Now, it looks like a fucking Dave Matthews concert.”

    On His WORK ... “I have the best job in the world. If I’m unhappy, it’s a failure of imagination.”   On Learning to COOK : “Basic cooking skills are a virtue... the ability to feed yourself and a few others with proficiency should be taught to every young man and woman as a fundamental skill. [It’s] as vital to growing up as learning to wipe one’s own ass, cross the street by oneself, or be trusted with money.” On QUEENS :

On Queens as a place to eat: In Season 9 of Parts Unknown, Bourdain highlighted food in various parts of Queens. The proliferation of street carts, he says, is what makes it so great: “Manhattan is very much the, you know, ‘not in my backyard neighborhood’ in a lot of ways. I mean, for this reason, Manhattan in my view is a lot less interesting than Queens. This is a wonderland.”

  EGGS ...   “An EGG in anything makes it better.”  

BourddainCroque.jpg

A CROQUE MADAME

The Way TONY Would Liked It

A Croque Madame is the French Sandwich the  CROQUE MONSIEUR CROQUE MONSIUER with a Fried Egg on Top, Ham and Gooey Melted Gruyere Cheese 

    TRAVEL ... On traveling, on culture, and on moving: “If I am an advocate for anything, it is to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food. It’s a plus for everybody.” On CHARACTER ...  “Skills can be taught. Character you either have or you don’t have.”    

BadAssCOOKBOOK

The BADASS COOKBOOK

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Friday, June 8, 2018

Farewell Tony

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BourdainTONY


TONY


Anthony Bourdain

JERSEY BOY

1956 - 2018


GOD BLESS

RIP



Friday June 8, 2018 is quite a sad day. We mourn the loss of the great and irriplaceable Anthony Bourdain, a man loved and venerated by many. I hero to some as with I. We loved watching Tony travel the World, devouring it, and enjoying every minute of it, as only Tony could do. Anthony has his own special charm and sardonic humor and wit that was all his own, uniquely Bourdain, ad this is why those of us wo loved and enjoyed Anthony will miss him, and for another bright light snuffed out, we mourn his loss, but remember him fondly. Farewell Tony, you will be profoudly missed. Good Bless and Rest in Peace.


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  Daniel Bellino Zwicke





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Tuesday, June 5, 2018

New York Top 10 Best Under $10

# 1

VANESSA DUMPLING HOUSE

118 Eldridge Street, NY NY  

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The ORIGINAL VANESSA'S DUMPLING HOUSE

118 ELDRIDGE STREET

NEW YORK NY

and in WILLIAMSBURG , BROOKLYN


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4 DUMPLINGS For Just $1.50

4 orders Shown Here

That's Just $6.00



DumpinSesamePANCAKE


A SESAME PANCAKE

Filled with BEEF BRISKEY CUCEMBER CYLANTRO 
and CARROTS
$2.50


# 2

PAPAYA KING & GRAY'S PAPAYA

HOT DOGS


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PAPAYA KING
86th STREET and 3rd AVENUE

SINCE 1932



GRAYSpapaya


GRAYS'S PAPAYA

HOT DOGS 

and FRUIT JUICE

"This was one of our old pal Tony Bourdain's favorites. Tony just loved the place, and whats not to love? They've got tasty Fruit Juice, whatever kind you like, along with a couple of the Best Hot Dogs in town, and your good to go."

God Bless Tony, RIP, Anthony you had and still have millions of fans. I bet you would be surprised of how many millions of people think about you every single day. And fondly. And people wish you were still around, and can't believe you passed. Yes Tony people really do miss you and think of you, and wish you were still here on planet Earth. God Bless you Anthony."

BROADWAY at 72nd STREET

NY NY

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PapayaKINGdogs.jpg


The RECESSION SPECIAL
At PAPAYA KING

2 HOT DOGS and a SOFT DRINK

Just $4.45 (NOT ANY MORE)

WORLD'S BEST CHILI DOGS


GRaysPAPAYADogs.jpg


HOT DOGS on THE GRILL

At GRAY'S PAPAYA

# 3

SHAKE SHACK

Madison Square Park and Other Locations  


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SHAKE SHACK

The ORIGINAL

At MADISON PARK

At 23rd STREET

NEW YORK NEW YORK


SHACKburger.jpg


A SHAKE SHACK BURGER

 $6.85 
$8.10 For a DOUBLE

LEARN HOW to MAKE YOUR OWN

SHAKE SHACK BURGER

RECIPE is In The BADASS COOKBOOK

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13338-badass-small

SHAKE SHACK

BURGER Recipe INSIDE !!!


# 4

MAMOUN'S

119 Macdougal Street, Greenwich Village and 30 Saint Marks Place , NEW YORK .


MAMOUNS.jpg

Waiting for their FALAFEL MAMOUN,S


Mamoun's has long been one of the greatest Cheap Eat Deals in town. Mamound Chater, an immigrated to New York in the late 1960s from Damascus, Syria. He opened Mamoun's Falafel at 119 Macdougal Street in 1971, and claimed it to be the 1st Falafel Joint in America. Mamoun's is World Famous. It's a tiny little spot that churns out Falafel and other Middle Eastern foods around the clock t Days a Week, 365 days a year. The Falafels are tasty and a great cheap eat at $3.50 a pop as of this writing.  People line up every single day to get their Falafel, Hummus or whatever, but the Falafel is and always will be the King. 

The story of Mamoun Chater and his little falafel stand is quite amazing. That little stand on Macdougal Street makes a small fortune by itself, but the family has opened numerous other Falafel Joints in New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York. It's a winning combination of a tasty sandwich, that's quite inexpensive, and healthy to boot.


# 5

El Castillo de Jagua

113 Rivington Street, near Essex, on the Lower East Side of New York




El Castillo de Jagua

113 Rivington Street, LES, New York

Great Cheap Eats, including their awesome CUBAN SANDWICH (CUBANO)

Rice and Beans

Perrnil (Roast Pork Leg) Goat Stew, Cuban Coffee, and More ...


I've been going to Castillo de Jagua for some 30 years now. I love it, always have. I used to go to a few other Carribean Latin joints in the area, but some of those are gone. Castillo de Jagua remeains, and these days whenever I get a hankering for my beloved Cubano Sandwich, de Jagua is me go to place for the famous Cuban Sandwich, so I head right on over to Rivington Street to get my fix until next time. I used to eat at least 1 or even two of these bad boys every week when I lived on Avenue A back in the 80s and early 90s. I get up, walk down Avenue A, cross Houston Street and on to Essex Street until I hit Rivington, make a right, and there I was. Sometimes I'd get Pernil, which is that delicious Roast Pork Leg that Domincans, Cubans, and Puerto Ricans know how to cook up so well. An order of Pernil (Roast Pork Leg) comes with Rice and Beans (Red or Black), and maybe some fried plantains (Fried Bananas) if you're lucky. Yes it was always one of two items that I'd get, either a Cuban Sandwich (Cubano) or an order of Pernil, occasionally Mofongo, and I really loved Gandulas which was some white rice with gandulas beans mixed in.

Anyway, if you've never been to one of these Carribean Latin Cuisine Restaurants, it's high time you did. They're a New York institution that serve dam tasty food, dishes you've probably never had, and at reasonable prices to boot.
 

CUBANO

A CUBANO

Sandwich Cubano

$7.50



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RICE and BEANS


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# 6


JOE'S PIZZA

Carmine Street, GREENWICH VILLAGE NEW YORK  

JOE'S PIZZA

Two SLICES 


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A PIZZA at JOE'S

Get a SLICE or WHOLE PIE


# 7

KOSSAR'S BAGELS

367 Grand Street, NEW YORK  

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KOSSAR'S BIALYS & BAGELS

367 GRANDE STREET

NEW YORK NY


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EVERYTHING BAGEL with CREAM CHEESE

$2.00 to $2.75

More Great BAGEL SHOPS

ZABAR'S

BAGELS on The SQUARE  (my Neighborhood Bagel Joint)

Carmine Street

GREENWICH VILLAGE
BLACK SEED BAGELS
1st Avenue , East Village


MURRAY'S BAGELS

Sixth Avenue near 11th Street, Greenwixh Village

# 8

SAIGON VIETNAMESE BANH Mi

369  Broome Street, New York NY

 

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SAIGON

VIETNAMESE BAHN MI

369 BROOME STREET

NEW YORK NY
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saigonSand.jpg$


A BAHN MI SANDWICH

SAIGON

Just $6.50


These Sandwiches are dam Tasty. They're served on awesome crispy French Baguette Bread, and filled with Chicken, Beef, or Pork, fresh Cucumbers and Cilantro and whatever. This is one of the Best Sandwiches in town, and as far as Vietnamese Bahn Me goes, they are the # 1 joint in all of New York, "Trust me, I've been going there for years. Long before most American's ever knew or dreamt about this lovely little thing. That's the way it usually is. I usually know about many culinary delights years before the rest of America catches on. This has been the case with the Cubano Sandwich (my 1st was 1983), the Negroni (I had my 1st in 1985) , Aperol Spritz (1995), and the Vietnamese Bahn Mi, I started eating around 2000, and Vietnamese Pho (Beef Broth rice noodle soup) I discovered way back in 1983. 

"So if you want to know what the hot thing Americans will be eating 10 years from now, ask me."
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# 9

PHO

at Nha Trang

87 Baxter Street , NY NY  

PHO.jpg


PHO

with FREE TEA

Just $7.00

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SpringRollNaahnTRANG

SPRING ROLL

$5.50


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VietICEcoffe


Vietnamese Ice Coffee
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#  10

SUN SAI GAI RICE SHOP

220 Canal Street, NY NY  


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ROAST DUCK , BARBECUED PIG

or SOY SAUCE CHICKEN and RICE

with Free TEA for Just $6.50


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A Tasty PORK BUN

Just $1.50


RoastDuckWonton


A BOWL of TASTY ROAST DUCK WONTON SOUP

Roast Duck , Wonton , and Invigorating Broth

Only $6.50



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GOT ANY KAHLUA ?

The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK

The COLLECTED RECIPES of The DUDE







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Louis Prima Pizza at AvelinoPizza Macari Vineyards




MORTADELLA PISTACHIO PIZZA

at AVELINO PIZZA


at MACARI VINEYARDS

Mattituk, New York


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Video

MACARI VINEYARDS

Sponsored by LEXUS


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James Starace , Joe Macari Jr.,

Eddie Macari (Pizzaiolo)

Author Daniel Bellino Zwiccke

At AVELINO PIZZA

at MACARI VINEYARDS

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LOUIS PRIMA and PIZZA

at AVELINO PIZZA

at MACARI VINEYARDS

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LOUIS PRIMA & PIZZA

at AVELINO PIZZA



Yes Louis Prima and Pizza at Avelino Pizza at Macari Vineyards in Mattituk New York n The North Fork of Long Island .. If you make a visit to Macari Vineyards (NY WInery of The Year 2014), you can get some authentic Neapolitan Pizza by Edward Macari on his Pizza Truck Avelino Pizza at Macari Vineyards. That's a Winning Combination ; Relaxing at a table next to the vineyard, sipping on a bottle of tasty award winning wine as you bite into one of Eddie Macari;s masterful Pizzas and listen to a great selection of music from Louis Prima, Dean Martin, The Rolling Stones,   and Sophia Loren singing "YOU WANT To BE AMERICANO" from the motion picture "It Started in Naples" starring CLARK GABLE and SOPHIA LOREN.

We recenting hit Macari Vineyards when delighted in drinking a bottle of Macari CAB FRANC, eating a MORTADELLA PISATCHIO PIZZA as we listened to SOPHIA LOREN singing the Whiskey & Soda "I Want to Be Americano" song. We were in "7th HEAVEN" when our EDDIE SPECIAL PIE (Pepperoni & Sausage) arrive at our table. This was our day at Macari Vineyards. Can't wait to go back real son.

Basta !


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MANGIA ITALIANO


MEMORIES of ITALIAN FOOD

Daniel Bellino "Z"




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SOPHIA LOREN


YOU WANT to BE AMERICANO


From "IT STARTED in NAPLES"

Starring : CLARK GABLE & SOPHIA LOREN



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