A Visit to Gargiulo's of Coney Island
The Brooklyn Icon of Italian Dining Preserves the Past While Charting the Future.
Recently, I was invited to visit Gargiulo’s, the Italian restaurant that—along with Totonno’s Pizzeria, Williams Candy and Nathan’s Famous—is one of the few culinary institutions left from the glory days of Coney Island. It is also the only fine dining destination to be found within earshot of the seagulls flying over boardwalk.
This invitation afforded me the happy opportunity to think deeply about Gargiulo’s, a restaurant I treasure but don’t visit nearly enough, primarily because of its remote location. We are big fans of old New York Italian joints here at The Mix and have been known to venture to neighborhoods as far flung as Corona, Sheepshead Bay and Ozone Park to patronize particular masters of the sauce that is red. But, for some reason, Gargiulo’s has often seemed a bridge too far. After a recent Christmastime dinner visit, however, I’ll have to alter that misconception.
I first visited Gargiulo’s in 2011 as part of my “Who Goes There?” column for Eater. Here is part of what I wrote:
The ceilings of the main dining room—just up a flight of steps from the bar and copious entryway—must be among the highest of any restaurant in New York. Arched mirrored windows line the walls; chandeliers drip from the ceiling. Two large doors lead to what is essentially an open (or at least very visible) kitchen. A huge cherub oversees the festivities.
It's the kind of place that encourages roaming. A party of 30 called at the last moment and was accommodated immediately. A birthday party suddenly emerged from some unseen hall, shiny balloons bobbing up and down as they meandered through the room. Old friends talked over wine long after dinner was over. Kisses and hugs were exchanged between tables when it came time to go. Every few minutes, an aged family member emerged from the kitchen in soiled whites, leaned against the doorway and wearily surveyed the scene to make sure everyone was happy.
It was only a year later when I went again. It was in December 2012, and Brooklyn was still recovering from the ravages of Hurricane Sandy. Pete Wells, the restaurant critic for The New York Times, in a beneficent gesture, was determined to bestow some much-needed media attention upon the borough’s suffering old-school restaurants. So he gathered up a group of ten, myself included, and booked a large round table at Gargiulo’s. We all ordered something different and the dishes were passed, round robin, with Wells taking a bite of each. (No review ever emerged, however.)
Gargiulo’s next entered my radar by proxy. Several years ago, I become acquainted with a charming couple named Cliff and Mary Frances Lungaretti. They were cocktail aficionados who, despite their youth, decided to get married at Gargiulo’s and had become regulars ever since.
“My grandparents were married in Coney Island in the 1950's,” said Cliff Lungaretti. “My grandma recommended Garguilo’s as a one-stop-shop where we knew the food would be good, which was our main concern when planning our wedding.”
If the Lungarettis were going, I reasoned, the old place must be doing something right. Or maybe the restaurant was just doing the same old thing they’d always done, only doing it very well. It was time to find out.
Gargiulo’s was opened by Michael Gargiulo in 1907, when Coney Island was at its peak at an affordable, urban, outdoor amusement park for all peoples. It was originally located at 1420 Mermaid Avenue, at the corner of W. 15th Street. By 1930, it had moved a few yards down the block to 2911 W. 15th Street, where it stands today. From the beginning, it was a special-occasion place, a place for weddings and meetings of various social societies.
In 1965, the venue was purchased by Michael, Nino and Victor Russo. The Russos began their career in hospitality in the early 1960s, opening a 16-seat pizzeria on Nostrand Avenue. Their second property was Da Luigi, an 80-seat restaurant named after their father.
Gargiulo’s remains in the Russo family’s hands today. At this point, they have owned the restaurant longer than the Gargiuilo family did. The two clans are still in touch.
The Octopus and the Tombola
Newbies who walk into Gargiulo’s typically have heard two things about it: the octopus and the tombola.
Anyway, that’s what I knew when I first went.
First, the octopus. Gargiulo’s used to collaborate on functions with the nearby New York Aquarium. At some point in the 1970s, in honor of this partnership, Ralph Russo built a huge octopus made of paper mâché and styrofoam and hung it from the dining room ceiling. The sculpture, unavoidable as it was, naturally became a talking point. Eventually, it worked its way up to being a cherished centerpiece.
During a renovation of the restaurant in the early 1990s, it was necessary to move the octopus. The moment workmen touched it, however, it fell apart in their hands. That was the end of the New York restaurant world’s only mock cephalopod.
To talk to members of the Russo family, the objet d'art is not missed. Customers tell a different story.
“To this day,” said chef Matthew Cutolo, who is the young face of Gargiulo’s these days, “you still get people coming up to the top of the steps and saying, ‘Where’s the octopus?’”
When Cutolo launched Gargiulo’s e-commerce site last December, he designed a t-shirt with an octopus on it. It is a best seller.
Now, the tombola. This is a game of chance that is brought to each table (of 8 or fewer) at the end of every meal when it’s time to pay the check. The tombola looks like a small red plastic pineapple and is filled with 90 dice. You pick a number between 1 and 90. If, after a shake of the tombola, that die comes out, your meal is on the house. (That is, excluding beverages, tax and gratuity, so, even if you win, you’re going to pay something.)
Cutolo said customers win once or twice a week.
Matthew the Kid and Mike the Bake
A few short years ago, Matthew Cutolo was studying accounting and finance in college. Halfway through school, he realized a life behind a desk was not for him. He called his Uncle Louie, who also had a background in accounting, but now worked at the restaurant. Louie asked, “So, are you going to come to work when you’re done?” Cutolo began full time at Gargiulo’s in 2017.
Cutolo has a sitcom’s worth of uncles and aunts in his professional orbit. Each rules over their own fiefdom. Louis Russo is the “numbers guy”; he handles the books. Aunt Raffaela (“Rae”) is the event planner. Uncle Nino does public relations and marketing. Uncle Mike is the head chef. And Uncle Anthony runs the dining room; he’s the guy you see at the top of the steps that lead to the main dining room.
Cutolo wasn’t sure which area of operation he would end up in, but he gravitated toward the kitchen. He’d been cooking since he was a kid. He began trailing his cousin, the pastry chef, who had the nickname of Mike the Bake.
“My cousin Mike the Bake was the pastry chef for over 40 years,” said Cutolo. “He wouldn’t give a recipe to anyone. Italian heritage and culture—and our business especially—it’s very family-oriented and it’s all about tradition. He was semi-retired at that point. We have to keep these traditions going. I made sure to stick by his side and learn.”
Cutolo would sit and observe what he could. Mike the Bake, whipping up a batch of Gargiulo’s famous cannolis, would add an ingredient to a bowl. He would then take a lap around the kitchen, checking in on various situations and people. Mike would eventually return to the bowl and add a second ingredient, rendering every measurement by eye. Matthew would take notes.
Those cannolis are notable, a recipe worth learning and preserving. Each is piped to order. If you order cannolis at 8 p.m., you’re not going to eat pastry shells that were filled that morning. Cutolo is not sure of the provenance of the recipe. Mike the Bake grew up in Italy and took an interest in his local pastry shop at an early age.
“I’m not 100% sure, but I assume that’s where that recipe came from,” said Cutolo. “Ours is a little different from your typical Sicilian cannoli. I like to call it a Neapolitan cannoli. It’s a little lighter, a little more airy, but still has the crunch and texture of a classic cannoli.”
The key to a great cannoli? Cutolo pauses to think a bit, then says, “I think there has to be a good balance between the shell and the filling.”
The Old and the New
After Covid, when the restaurant reopened, Cutolo took over the specials menu. He strives for a mix of old and new. “I really wanted to introduce the new techniques, the new presentations,” he said. “But also a lot of dishes from Italy that you might not see that often.”
One of the new dishes that he helped develop was a pan-seared red snapper, mixed with little red onion and cannellini beans and topped with parsley oil. On the old side are dishes like pizza rustica, a decadent, savory pie stuffed with ricotta cheese, meats and cheeses. Think of a quiche that went on vacation to Italy and ingested some steroids. It is traditionally made around Easter. Once easy to find in Brooklyn, it is now a rare site. The delicacy will make its bow at Gargiulo’s on March 1 and stay for only a week or so.
Every old Italian restaurant needs a signature dish, and Gargiulo’s is Penne Pasqualina, a pasta entree made with zucchini, onions, prosciutto, and fresh tomatoes in a cream sauce. It’s not an old recipe, but an original. Unusually for a signature dish, it’s of fairly recent vintage. It was invented in the 1980s by Carlo Parmigiano, a chef from Naples who the Russo family hired for a time.
“Everybody has their bolognese and marinara,” said Cutolo. “You can get that anywhere. You can only get Penne Pasqualina in one place, and that’s us.”
The Beef and the Burger
One of my favorite bits of Gargiulo’s food mythology doesn’t have to do with the Gargiulo’s menu at all. It concerns Brennan & Carr, another old Brooklyn eating institution. Brennan & Carr specializes in roast beef sandwiches. There are none better in the city. But there is a curious item on their menu: the Gargiulo Burger.
“Brennan & Carr is always a fan favorite of ours and we have a good relationship with the Sullivans, the current owners,” said Cutolo. “They’re in the restaurant a lot, too. Years and years ago, the whole business was my cousins and uncles. It was all family. We used to go to Brennan & Carr on a Sunday night and that was the hangout. We’d get some burgers, played some cards. My Uncle Louie always wanted a burger, but he said ‘Put the roast beef on top. Put the cheese on top. And take the whole thing and dunk it in the [roast beef] juice.’ We used to bring a couple loaves of Italian bread and put the burgers in.”
The Gargiulo Burger was an off-menu item for many years. But eventually, Brennan & Carr asked if they could put it on the menu. The Russo family gave their blessing.
“It’s nice to have that connection at another old-school Italian spot,” said Cutolo.
Soon this cross-pollination sandwich may also have a home on the Gargiulo’s menu. On Friday nights every summer, the restaurant stages a pizza garden in its driveway. Cutolo said his aunt recently suggested the Gargiulo Burger be added to the garden menu. That may happen, but with a tweak: the garden will serve Gargiulo sliders. (And Gargiulo’s will make its own roast beef.)
The Young and the Old
So, to paraphrase my old Eater column, who goes to Gargiulo’s these days?
“Coney Island has changed significantly over the years,” said Cutolo. “In the ‘20s and ‘30s, Coney Island was the place to be. It was Disneyworld before Disneyworld, Vegas before Vegas. Everyone wanted to be there and everyone knew Gargiulo’s.”
Today, Gargiulo’s draws from the big Italian populations that still exist in Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst, as well as returning regulars who now live in New Jersey, Long Island and Florida. (“Long Island and New Jersey, what’s in the middle?” he said. “Gargiulo’s!”) But there has also been an influx of new young people from Park Slope, Williamsburg, Bay Ridge and Bushwick. People like the Lungarettis, a photo of whose marriage hangs in the gallery in hallway leading to the restrooms.
“Everytime we go to Gargiulo's the owners and the staff treat us like family,” said Cliff Lungaretti, explaining his loyalty. “They remember our anniversary, birthdays, and family milestones.”
“They genuinely make us feel special,” said Mary Frances Lungaretti. “They take time to stop by the table, give us hugs and handshakes and wish us well.”
I brought up the Lungarettis when interviewing Cutolo. He recalled them immediately. “I do remember their wedding day,” he said. “Part of their wedding was taking pictures around Coney Island. I remember chauffeuring them around.”
I was surprised when Cutolo told me he actually drove the Lungarettis around Coney Island for photo opportunities. But I assume he’d do the same for anyone else.
“I think that’s what unique about us,” he said. “They’re not just customers. They’re friends.”
An initial visit to Gargiulo’s can be intimidating at first. The space is so grand, the ceiling so high, the menu so vast with choices. Asked for the best way to first experience Gargulio’s, Mary Frances had very specific instructions: “Introduce yourself! Also, order a Martini, baked clams, stuffed artichoke, rigatoni bolognese, red snapper racanati or ‘chicken Frances’ as I like to call it. Have the pistachio Martini alongside an espresso with your cheesecake. It's the perfect meal!”
Cliff added a critical piece of advice. “Don't rush to your next destination,” he said.
Chicken Scarpariello
This is a recipe direct from Gargiulo’s. Make it. If you like it, take the F train to Coney Island and give the genuine article a try.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (4-6 pieces, depending on size)
6 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1 cup dry white wine
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 cup chicken stock
8 oz. sweet or spicy Italian sausage
1 cup cherry peppers, sliced
Salt & pepper
Fresh parsley
Recipe:
Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Place the chicken thighs skin-side down and sear until golden brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Flip and sear the other side for 3-4 minutes. Remove and set aside. Work in batches to prevent overcrowding the pan.
In the same skillet, add the sausage whole and cook until browned on all sides. Remove, slice and set aside with the chicken.
Lower the heat to medium and add the chopped garlic. Sauté until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.:
Pour in the white wine, deglazing the bottom of the pan and scraping up any browned bits. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes to reduce slightly.
Add the red wine vinegar and chicken stock. Stir to combine.
Return the chicken and sausage to the skillet, nestling them into the sauce. Add the cherry peppers and reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20-25minutes, or until the chicken is tender and cooked through (internal temperature reaches 165°F/74°C).
Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
Garnish with fresh parsley before serving.
Serve with crusty bread, roasted potatoes or broccoli rabe.
Drum Roll Please….
Yes, it is time to announce The Mix Subscriber who won the Bourbon and Rye Week Infinity Bottle guessing game—Andrew Benner, come on up!!
My number was 60, and Andrew Benner guessed 63 (cue the fireworks!). Andrew will be receiving his bottles (yes Robert Simonson made one for the Bourbon and one for the rye) as soon as we decide on a mutually agreeable location. Congratulations, Andrew!!
Also, we have a runner-up. YES! David Kaplan is the runner-up, as he guessed 56 and that is just way too close to walk away empty-handed, so we will be giving him a bottle of a single bourbon or rye to ease the sting of his narrow loss.
Just to refresh your memory, here are the past week’s Bourbon and Rye Reviews - including the final tastings below. A half-ounce of each went into the infinity bottle:
Old Grandad 16yo Bourbon; Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Rye; Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Bourbon; Russell’s Reserve 10yo Bourbon; Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond, Fall 2024; Woodford Reserve Straight Rye; Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon; Dad’s Hat Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey; Dad’s Hat Bottled-in-Bond Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey; Dad’s Hat Syrah Finish Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey; George Dickel/Leopold Brothers Column Still Collaboration Blend; Leopold Brothers Maryland Style Rye Whiskey; Leopold Brothers Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Three-Chamber-Rye-Whiskey Barrels; Fort Hamilton Rye; Shenk’s Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey; Bomberger’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 2024 Release; 1792 Small Batch Bourbon; Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Woodinville Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Casks; Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch Whiskey; Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Whiskey; George Dickel Chill-Filtered Rye Whiskey; George Dickel Bourbon Whiskey; Pollinator Spirits Rye Whiskey; Pollinator Spirits Bourbo; Jackson McCrea Rye Whiskey; Michter’s Straight Bourbon; Michter’s Toasted Barrel Finish Bourbon; Midsummer Night’s Dram, Act 12; Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse Straight Bourbon; Dry Fly Straight Bourbon 101; Smokey Hill Barrel Proof; Elijah Craig Single Barrel; Weller Special Reserve; Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Eagle Rare 10yo Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey; Ancient Age Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Benchmark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Bomberger’s PFG Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Chocorua Straight Rye Whiskey; Brothers Bond American Blended Rye Whiskey; Darts Arts Straight Bourbon Whiskey Cask Strength; Dark Arts Straight Rye Whiskey; Dark Arts Straight Bourbon Whiskey; and Johnny Drum Kentucky Bourbon.
That was an amazing meal!!
Now I have to go! Grew up in the area and loved another Coney Island red sauce joint, Carolina, which was around the corner on Mermaid Ave. near Stillwell. That's been gone for years. Love the shout out to Brennan and Carr. Best roast beef sandwich on earth. Great work.