DOUGH by Licastri

USA 🇺🇸🍕

COVID-19 UPDATE: Though primarily a takeout joint, DOUGH by Licastri has an outdoor deck that remains open for warmer days.

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Written by Joseph Gessert, photographed by Liv Dillon.

Staten Island pizza is commonly cited but rarely appreciated in full by New Yorkers from the other four boroughs. Though challenging without a vehicle, diners that make the drive (or subway/bus/train ride) are often rewarded with pies that are as billed: as good or better than your average pie from Brooklyn or points further afield.

 

Many Staten Island pizzerias serve whole pies rather than slices, and these come in a variety of perspectives: neighborhood pizzeria (Villa Monte, Nonna’s, Brother’s), old school (Denino’s Pizzeria Tavern, Joe & Pat’s, Lee’s Tavern), newer school (Pizzeria Giove, Campania), and close to the ferry (Pier 76, the now-defunct Paulie’s). A newer entry in that second-to-last category is Richmond Road’s Dough by Licastri, which opened in 2016.

 

Gourmet pizzas and creative toppings are more common in Brooklyn and Manhattan than Staten Island, but Dough by Licastri combines genuine creativity with a rock-solid grasp of pizza basics—their dough, as you might expect, is fantastic, their sauces are balanced, and the pies do not drown in toppings. The results are nothing short of inspiring.

The Hotter than July ($24, above) is a spicy meat-heavy red pie, topped with fennel sausage, hot soppressata, fresh mozzerella, pecorino, and grilled long hot peppers, and finished with fresh basil and jalapeno honey. The garbage pie is a common menu item at Staten Island pizzerias, in which (generally) three meats and a couple of of veggies are combined on the same pie. This is in the same spirit, but whereas garbage pies tend to be enjoyable but less than the sum of their parts, the Hotter than July ingredients cooperate in an ensemble effort, every bite a little different, and everything a little bit better than it would have been on its own. Which would already have been pretty fantastic.

 

 
Over on the white pie side of things, the Popeye and Olive Oyl ($22, above) takes a white spinach pie and adds red onion, substitutes smoked mozzerella and bechamel for the white component, and tops it with pickled teardrop peppers. This Peruvian ingredient is one you have likely not had on a pizza, but which you might find yourself asking for side orders of to add to future pies.

One such option for that is the Pistachio Pesto Pie ($22, below), which substitutes pistachios for basil and adds bechamel and sausage to the mix. It is rich and nutty and again genuinely makes sense when you eat it, which you will want to do again as soon as possible.

 

 
Besides pizza, Dough by Licastri has sandwiches, salads, and a handful of similarly-creative appetizers. During a recent lunch an impulsive order of mac & cheese eggrolls ($10.50, below) was far superior to other deep-fried mac-and-cheese products, served with sweet chili sauce and complicated by blue cheese and (inevitably) bacon.

 

The eggroll wrapper kept the mac and cheese moist and, just, wow. You might find yourself almost annoyed to have one more thing to order besides the amazing pies.

 

 
For the car-less, you could plan a lovely and extremely caloric daytrip of taking the ferry and then the train to south Staten Island, combining a visit to Dough by Licastri with a pie from the nearby Lee’s Tavern, or even a third stop at Pizzeria Giove. Beautiful High Rock Park and Historic Richmondtown are also within easy bus or bike distance if you need to walk off the pizza.

 

Though the restaurant itself is minuscule, outdoor dining is available on a surprisingly pleasant back deck fenced off from Richmond Road, and diners are encouraged to BYOB. You might see turkeys walking by on the sidewalk as you eat your pie. You might also find yourself wondering if this could be not just the best pie in Staten Island but one of the very best in the city.

 

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DONGAN HILLS Staten Island

1456 Richmond Road

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Juquilita Laundromat & Deli

🇲🇽 MÉXICO

Google Street View

COVID-19 UPDATE: Juquilita is takeout only, unless you are doing your laundry and wolf down a taco on the side. The tiny store can get crowded and the kitchen is often backlogged, so it is best to call in orders ahead of time, or go for a walk while your food is prepared.

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Written by Joseph Gessert, photographed by Liv Dillon.

 

Mexican food in New York City did not hit its stride until the past decade or so, following an influx of immigrants from Puebla and other states driven by NAFTA’s destabilization of the Mexican economy. Being new immigrants to a high-rent city, would-be restaurateurs have been resourceful—much of the best Mexican food in New York is cooked behind the deli counters of bodegas-cum-taquerias.

 

Staten Island’s Juquilita Laundromat & Deli goes a step deeper into the pool of resourcefulness. It started life as a simple coin laundry, which spawned a grocery store, and now hosts a taco counter making some of the best burritos on the island.

 

 

New York burritos suffer in comparison to their West Coast counterparts in part because most locally-manufactured flour tortillas are not big enough to make a proper Mission-style burrito, and most taquerias are not doing enough burrito business to justify making their own flour tortillas. Juquilita sidesteps this handicap by overlapping two Banderita-brand tortillas in a Venn diagram of deliciousness.

 

It does not hurt that their carnitas are top-notch, or that they generally hit the sweet spot of bean/rice/meat proportion. In a busy kitchen the preparation can be uneven, but on a good day their carnitas burrito ($9, below) sings. Burrito puritans might raise their eyebrows at the lettuce, or the pickled jalapeños, but the sum effect is hefty and delicious. Please note that Juquilita does not have a salsa bar, and your green and red sauce will set you back an extra 50 cents a cup.

 

Beyond the burritos, Juquilita's menu is ever-expanding with hand-written addendums. A torta Hawaiana ($9, not shown) is sloppy in the best way, ham and melted Oaxacan quesillo anchoring a mess of chipotle, avocado, beans, and canned pineapple. If you do not like pizza with pineapple, this might still do the trick.  

 

Tacos Aztecas ($10 for three) combine bistec with quesillo and grilled nopal. Other recent menu additions include a selection of Pueblan tacos placeros, and a few nods to the increasing number of non-Mexican customers from the neighborhood. A bacon egg and quesillo sandwich ($3.75, below) is served with avocado, grilled jalapenos, and a dash of mayonnaise. Another variant substitutes chorizo for the bacon. It’s great to see the Mexican ingredients dressing up a classic New York sandwich.

 

A New York City-Oaxaca mashup.

 
If you’re in a hurry there are often ready-made guisados simmering in pots back in the kitchen. A recent Saturday lunch yielded an exemplary red pipian with rice and beans ($7.50, below). Pipian in New York is often mild and liquid-y, but Juquilita’s iteration is thick with ground pumpkin seeds and very rich. Well worth a second order the next time it is available.

Besides laundry and tacos, Juquilita offers a full meat counter, fresh produce, and a remarkable selection of Mexican groceries jammed into a multi-pupose space. This could be the start of an epic North Shore Mexican food crawl: starting at Juquilita for pipian and a burrito, walking up Castleton to the excellent Oaxaca Pizzeria Deli & Taqueria for tacos de alambre and nachos con pico de gallo, and then staggering on to Port Richmond Avenue, the heart of Staten Island’s thriving Mexican community.

 

 

 

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WEST BRIGHTON Staten Island

343 Broadway

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Lebanese Eatery

LEBANON 🇱🇧

COVID-19 UPDATE: Takeout only, which isn’t much of a change from their usual business model. Online ordering is available at lebaneseeatery.com, and will reduce wait times.

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Written by Joseph Gessert, photographed by Liv Dillon.

 

Until last year Lebanese Eatery was a lunch counter tucked in the back of a bustling supermarket. The market is now gone, but thankfully the eatery remains, serving some of Staten Island’s most well-executed Middle Eastern food.

 

All of the usual Lebanese mezzeh are on offer, and everything is excellent, but extra love is put into the baked goods. Mini lamb pies ($1.50) are seasoned with red pepper and yoghurt, while chicken pies (also $1.50) are flavored more mildly. Large meat pies (beef, $3.50) are a meal in themselves. All are best supplemented with a side of toum for dipping ($4.50 large). Toum is the Lebanese cousin to aioli, an emulsion of garlic, oil, and lemon juice. The emphasis is on the garlic, and on Lebanese Eatery’s menu as on many US menus, it is sold as “garlic sauce.”

 

 

Also great with toum is stuffed squash ($2.99). The skill of Lebanese Eatery’s kitchen is evident in the barely-there thinness of the squash, which has been meticulously hollowed out and filled with a blend of rice and spices, then cooked in a tomato broth. As with other Lebanese restaurants, vegetarians and vegans can eat well here. However, the main business at Lebanese Eatery is in meat, and their meat shawarma ($9.99 for a wrap) combines beef and lamb off the spit with perfect proportions of pickle, veggie, and bread.

 

Nearby Todt Hill is home to a well-established Palestinian community, and Lebanese Eatery branches out into some Palestinian dishes as well as their Lebanese mainstays. Chicken maqluba (“upside-down,” the one-pot rice dish that is Palestine’s national dish) is an occasional special, but was not on offer during a recent weekday visit. Also available is kunafa ($4.50), the baked filo-and-cheese dessert that is omnipresent in the West Bank and served in volume at Bay Ridge’s Nablus Sweets. Other Palestinian dishes are available on Lebanese Eatery’s catering menu and as occasional specials.

 

There is nothing revolutionary happening here menu-wise, but it is all done really well, and served with obvious pride by a familial staff. As the menu states, “all food homemade by chef (mom),” and her cooking is definitely worth a trip out of your way. And then again, perhaps in a borough that’s been so hostile at times to immigrants, proudly serving authentic food from far away is revolutionary in itself. Regardless, the cooking is fantastic, and worth a trip from anywhere.

 

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ELM PARK Staten Island

1686 Forest Avenue

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Killmeyer's Old Bavaria Inn

GERMANY 🇩🇪

[COVID-19 UPDATE: The very cozy wood-paneled interior and beautiful bar are unfortunately closed at the moment, but the biergarten is in full swing for lunch and dinner. Staff does a great job with masks and everything is distanced quite well.]

There is never a bad time to talk about the meaningless of the word "authenticity" when describing food. Killmeyer's Old Bavaria Inn might be one of the greatest examples of a place that will send people's thoughts in opposite directions, but a good starting point.

The biergarten is especially inviting in 2020.

Certainly this is not the place you should bring your friends who are visiting from Germany, they will probably have a lot to say about your choice. But is this authentic? With absolute certainty, yes. Places like this permeate every region of the country, and weave the entire U.S. story of European migration, 19th century manifest destiny imperialist thought, and the generations and generations of families that have come since.

It is also representative of the borough and the country as a whole. To get here on public transit from other boroughs, it takes quite a commitment, a ferry, a subway ride, and then a bus. Even by car it shows off the end of the world nature of this community in southwestern Staten Island.

So about that authenticity? The "German specialties" portion of the menu is the place to start, but as mentioned, your friends from Munich might never take your advice for dinner plans again. These are the recipes of a few generations down the line, and they will call it "American food." Meanwhile it will make the group of old locals sitting next to you conjure up the stories told to them by their almost-German grandparents back in Wisconsin.

The good news? They are both right. The best bet however is the 3 sausage sampler ($19, above), which does not show up on the lunch menu but is always available. There are four or five choices of sausages here, all of which probably come from Schaller & Weber or something similar, making them good quality. Unfortunately the mustard is just your standard deli variety.

The bed of sauerkraut that the sausages come on and the gravy that covers the pork jägerschnitzel ($11 at lunch, above) have an interesting, if not offputting, sweetness to them. Again, this is the result of many generations down the line and worthy of study rather than scorn.

And the best way to study these aspects of the United States is to keep ordering, and enjoying the great selection of German beers that Killmeyer's has on offer both on draft and in bottles and cans. The biergarten is simply a secret eden that you have needed for the last six months.

Killmeyer's sauerbraten with red cabbage ($12 at lunch).

Unfortunately the history of the spot is mainly indoors and the beautiful mahogany bar that was built in 1890 cannot be enjoyed at the moment. When you go inside to use the restroom, sneak a peek at it and make plans to return during better days.

The current owners have taken care of the property since 1995, but the story of this little slice of Staten Island goes back at least to 1855 when the first Killmeyer originally purchased it. Some stories push its history back to the late 1700's.

The beef goulash ($10 lunch price, above) has "over egg noodles" next to it on the menu, but somehow it could not have been pictured without spaetzle until it arrived exactly as described. Accompanied also by a small packet of oyster crackers, the generational research still had so much further to dig.

But sitting with a second Krombacher Pils, or maybe in front next to the "world's largest Hummel," enough of it made sense for continued enjoyment of the restaurant and the history. This is not only Staten Island in a nutshell, but also New York City, and the entire country. At least a slice of it anyways.

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CHARLESTON Staten Island
4254 Arthur Kill Road

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COVID-19 Takeout and Delivery Ideas

SITE UPDATE/COVID-19

I obviously do not need to tell you what is happening in the world. I just wanted to mention that if you read this website but are not following us on social media, the @EattheWorldNYC Twitter feed has been going through each and every restaurant ever written on these pages and figuring out if they are offering takeout and/or delivery options right now.

Please follow us on Twitter for more:
https://twitter.com/EattheWorldNYC

If you are having reservations about ordering food right now, that is understandable. I found this article recently published on Serious Eats to be very informative concerning the safety of prepared foods right now and what you can do to keep yourself safe:
https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/03/food-safety-and-coronavirus-a-comprehensive-guide.html

I hope you all are very well, and thank you for reading these pages over the years. I can't wait to get back to it.

I COULD USE YOUR HELP

Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

You can Venmo me @JAREDCOHEE or click here to send PayPal donation, no account is necessary. Thank you!

Café con Pan Bakery II

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

In the world of chain operations, Café con Pan is the type the city needs. This location is the second of three, a company that originated in Sunset Park, Brooklyn about ten years ago but has spread to two spots in Staten Island since. Currently in its sixth year of business, this panaderia and pasteleria makes a lot more than baked goods and sweets.

Café con Pan exists at a really exciting time on Port Richmond Avenue in Elm Park, a stretch that gets more and more interesting with every visit. Its many tables might not seem busy at most times, but in just a few minutes you realize it is a very active place. People are in and out quickly, grabbing sweet breads or tamales and tortas mostly for takeout.

In the dining area, those chairs and tables are all so colorful, each painted differently with scenes from rural life mixed in with cathedrals, horses, and men playing music around a fire. The barstools each have a scene from a movie. The bar is loaded up with alcohol, but early in the day at least it does not see much action.

While deciding what to get, the large family that had come in just before went straight for the tongs to grab pan dulce. To make a lunch decision easier, a danish and coffee was ordered to follow suit and give a bit more time. The shop has a logo that looks a lot like this order, so it confirmed it was a proper first move.

Café con pan.

If you grab a menu, you get a sense of the massive amount of cooking the place does in addition to their many racks of breads, cakes, and cookies. A full range of antojitos as well as soups and weekend special exist alongside the torta section, which is 30 deep!

Two tamales ($2 each, below) started this meal, of which the rajas con queso was the winner. Plenty of cheese worked well to smooth the masa and keep it moist, something the verde was lacking.

Tamal verde de pollo/tamal de rajas con queso

Conchas

A few of many cookies

As other families had come in to request custom cakes for future parties, the next course of this meal was decided to be the pozole con 2 tostadas ($12, below). This pork and hominy soup was deeper and richer than usual with ample amounts of oregano and rosemary. The tender meat was delicious. The only thing missing was some ground red pepper, which does not appear to be available to spice up the soup.

The two tostadas come completely plain except for a squirt of crema on top. This is a bit different than most restaurants around town, which serve a more "complete" tostada with beans, lettuce, and cheese as well alongside the soup. This allows you to combine bites easier and eat them with the pozole rather than simply as a side.

When it was finally time to attack that list of tortas, the torta mixta ($11, below) won the lottery, a sandwich packed with three meats (chicken tinga, bacon, and ham) as well as two types of cheese, beans, lettuce, avocado, and jalapeño. All of these ingredients were excellent.

What held it back, somewhat surprisingly for the setting, was the bread. It appeared as if the bread was once good, but was it old now and reheated, possibly in a microwave? While this was disappointing, surely a next time would have fresh bread?

The torta should not be written off just by one attempt. If you have had an experience good or bad, please let everyone know in the comments, and of course the article will be updated when another torta is eaten soon.

Or will it be that chipotle torta burger full of quesillo they advertise?

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ELM PARK Staten Island

137 Port Richmond Avenue

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Mashawi Grill

LEBANON 🇱🇧

Recently Mashawi changed its name slightly so that "Lebanese Kabob" was replaced simply with "Grill" and "Mediterranean & Conscious Kitchen" added underneath. What this means in practice is that the focus has shifted a bit away from, ironically; mashawi, which is an Arabic term for anything you can grill or barbecue. Technically this can include vegetables but it is usually taken to be meats.

The restaurant has always had a long list of fresh smoothies and juices and this looks to keep getting bigger as they focus more on health. But meat lovers and cholesterol addicts don't let this all scare you, it is easy to put together a nice Lebanese meal here no matter what your desires. The daily special plates seem to have disappeared, but the array of mezze and kabobs is still alive and well.

Often when you find muhammara ($6, above) on a menu the restaurant reluctantly tells you that unfortunately it is not available "today" so this was ordered with caution. This was not the case here and a good rendition of the red pepper and walnut dip arrived to be scooped up generously with pita.

In the mood for shawerma but hesitant to order it because no spit was in sight, a closer look at the menu reveals they grill this and other sandwich meats on a charcoal grill. As you can imagine this method of preparation fits the healthy model, but it was intriguing nonetheless. A charcoal grilled chicken shawerma wrap ($7, below) comes served nicely with both a spicy pepper oil and a garlicky tahini.

While the fat drippings from the spit were certainly missed, the sandwich is good in its own respect. Washed down with the excellent fresh lemonade ($5) made with mint, watermelon, and pomegranate, rejuvenation was eminent.

A plate of five warak ennab ($4, below) was recommended by the counterman here and did not disappoint. These little cigars might not look like much, but the Lebanese-style vegetarian stuffed grape leaves were a perfect complement to the meal. One disappeared before the photo, don't worry your math is not faulty.

It is often easy to find your way to a large and probably unhealthy mixed grill platter in Middle Eastern restaurants, but Mashawi Grill was an unexpected detour from this type of meal. What they are doing is easy to appreciate, especially for those that come prepared for a fresh and light lunch or dinner.

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GRANITEVILLE Staten Island
956 Richmond Avenue

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Oaxaca Pizzeria Deli & Taqueria

MÉXICO 🇲🇽

Since around the 1990's, Oaxacan folks moving to the east coast of the United States have settled into tight knit communities together, often with those from the same small towns back home. This is usually a product of language, for many indigenous people from the Mexican state have made this change and do not have the Spanish to fall back on immediately like many of their countrymen and women. In this general area, the largest groups are in New Brunswick, NJ and up the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie, but a smaller group has settled in and around Port Richmond, Staten Island.

One long-running establishment serving Oaxacan style gorditas, tlacoyos, and other hints of back home is actually a pizzeria of sorts. Like many recent arrivals, making pizzas for New Yorkers was an entry level idea that grew into more. Since this space already had the oven from a previous tenant, pies are still made with all the care you would expect, it is just that some come with the toppings you more readily associate with antojitos mexicanos.

On a first visit a while back, the limitation of one stomach made a full pie out of reach as they do not sell slices of their specialties like the pizza ranchera which comes with avocado and chorizo or the pizza azteca with slices of bistec and cactus. Instead the desire for Oaxacan cheese won the day and an order of their massive taco alambre ($4, above) was placed.

Because of the queso fresco, the taco alambre reminds you of something of an open-faced quesadilla. It comes piled with bistec, ham, bacon, grilled peppers and onions, and is all topped with the cheese. A small condiment bar faces the comfortable dining area and includes three homemade salsas, radishes, limes, and pickled jalapeños.

A second visit included reinforcements and finally a chance to try the pizza. As seen above, this is done in the style of New York City with a thin crispy golden crust and slightly puffed up rim. Two prices are given for each pie, but are not small and large as might be guessed. "Grande o extra grande" were the options available, as everyone chuckled at the order for a "pequeña." The 16" grande pizza estilo Oaxaca ($17, above and below) was indeed large and served with all the good bits of carnitas.

A few slices of jalapeño are visible, but these peppers are also somehow infused into the sauce as each bite has a nice kick to it, the perfect complement to really good quality carnitas. Pizza "purists" will always have their say about such things, but beautiful creations like this deserve their time in the sun just as much as pepperoni and sausage.

As this pizza got smaller and smaller, the restaurant hummed with customers mostly making takeout orders. A small mountain of salsas were prepared in small to go portions for the coming days, and the relaxed nature of the place was perfect for grabbing a drink out of the fridge and stretching out your legs. A few customers sat down with their tacos or sopes, topped generously with their meat of choice.

It is very clear why Oaxaca Pizzeria has stayed a popular option on this stretch of Castleton Avenue. Return visits will be necessary to give everything a chance.

Unfortunately, this went unused.

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PORT RICHMOND Staten Island
1240 Castleton Avenue

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Randiwa

SRI LANKA 🇱🇰

Do you remember the original San Rasa down on Bay Street in Tompkinsville? The spot that is now a Senegalese restaurant? Before it briefly moved up the hill in St. George, it was cooking pretty wonderful foods and even had a lovely beer garden of all things! Close to the ferry, it was like heaven on earth Staten Island. When it moved, it changed hands and the location just was not as nice, closing its doors after a short time.

The chef/owner of that original San Rasa is back here much further west on the island in Bulls Head, conveniently right off a Staten Island Expressway exit. Open since the end of 2016, fortunes finally aligned to have a meal here and it was a true regret to have waited so long. He seems just as talented as ever, although unfortunately there was no replication of the beer garden.

The awning proclaims "Sri Lankan & Indian Cuisine" but I do not remember seeing the latter, this may be a ploy to attract some of the less adventurous islanders. Quite a thorough portion of the Sinhalese side of Sri Lanka is presented on the menu here, many return visits could reward new dishes and flavors.

In the mood for the black lamb curry, an order of hoppers ($15, above) was placed with it. You can also order curries on their own with sides of basmati rice, but hoppers are more representative of how you might eat it in Sri Lanka. An order comes with five, one of which has an egg cooked inside, perfectly runny when punctured. Tear off pieces of the delicate "bowls" and scoop chunks of meat and curry to eat. These are made with fermented rice flour but given a slight sweetness from coconut milk.

It is the curry itself that is "black" and not the lamb, a result of intense roasting of the curry powder and addition of black pepper. The resulting dish may not be completely devoid of color, but it is far from devoid in flavor as well, full of herbs and a nice level of heat if you asked for it that way.

My travels in Sri Lanka were filled with evenings outside eating freshly stir-fried dishes of "devilled" meats, and on this night the memories of those sweat-inducing plates was enough to call for another order. This was one of the easiest ways to find a quick meal, and ubiquitous anywhere south of where the island gets more Tamil.

Most of those plates were delicious, while some were overwhelming with freshly sliced peppers full of seeds. When our server here in Staten Island asked about heat levels, I was sure an order at the top level would not be too bad, not like those back in Sri Lanka that actually felt like they had been possessed by the devil.

While not quite at those levels, the dish was not afraid to bring the heat. As always, this is accompanied by sweetness and a slight tang in all devilled dishes, creating bites that go to all corners of your mouth. It gets served with a nice big side of rice just in case.

Next time here, orders should include biriyani, godamba roti, other curries, kottu roti, and some dishes from the entire of page of "Sri Lankan-Chinese" they offer. Randiwa is offering a comprehensive look at the daily appetites of Sinhalese Sri Lankans.

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BULLS HEAD Staten Island
1405 Richmond Avenue

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