The Wise Guys Guide To Eating In Little Italy: 5 Places For Mob Lore, Red Sauce
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It can be hard to reconcile the touristy New York City Little Italy of today with its gritty gangland past. Peering around at all the camera-clutching out-of-towners as they navigate the narrow, tchotchke-lined streets, you'd be forgiven for quizzically asking, "This was the stomping ground of legendary mobster 'Crazy Joe' Gallo?"
There were always restaurants, of course. Gallo's legend is connected with quite a few of them. "Old timers remember, and it's a fact, that before Gallo's murder, Little Italy was home to classic restaurants like Puglia and Grotta Azzura, which are both still in business today," says archivist Arthur Nash, author of the book New York City Gangland. "But, it was never the Restaurant Row that began to spring up after Gallo's bloody last stand in 1972."
Although some eateries from the neighborhood's dodgier days have shuttered in recent years — including Il Fornaio, Luna and Taormina — there are still plenty of opportunities for a guy or gal to grab a bite at one notorious address or another.
Many of these old hitman haunts are highlighted on Nash's New York City Gangland Tour, a new app available on iTunes, which maps out more than 300 places steeped in mob lore around town. With this, we asked Nash, who once moonlighted as a food writer before moving on to the crime beat, to dish on the lurid backstories of five significant Little Italy tour stops, and what you should order at each:
La Mela
Seedy history: Decades ago, this spot was known as the underworld-friendly Mayfair Boys Civic and Social Club, site of a notorious 1951 shooting which claimed the life of the club's owner. The alleged shooter, Colombo family hitman Carmine DiBiase, was sentenced to death for the crime but later walked free after an appeal, allowing him to allegedly commit an even more famous murder some two decades later: the 1972 assassination of Gallo. Meanwhile, upstairs, the Genovese crime family once kept an office where operatives organized and skimmed millions annually from the Feast of San Gennaro festival before investigators moved in to rid the event of mafia influence in 1994. Nowadays, the spot is a local favorite and reputed hangout for entertainers. Film director Abel Ferrara, who has written a foreward titled "Lights! Cammora! Action" for a planned print edition of Nash's gangland tour, is a fan of the fried calamari.
What to order: Pasta fagiole, broccoli rabe, zuppa di clam and anything with marinara sauce, which Nash calls the best in Manhattan. "Sauce, not gravy!" he specifies. "Sorry, Goodfellas fans." 167 Mulberry Street, 212-431-9493, lamelarestaurant.com
Caffe Roma
Seedy history: This longstanding pastry shop was formerly owned by Carmine "Eli the Baker" Zeccardi, a reputed Genovese crime family underboss and loan shark who vanished in 1977. Family members paid a ransom of $100,000 in an attempt to secure his release before contacting authorities, but Zeccardi never returned. Decades later, the Zeccardi family still runs the place.
What to order: Cappucino and cannoli is standard but Nash says the seasonal holiday pies (apple, blueberry, pumpkin) are favorites with the remaining neighborhood fixtures. 385 Broome Street, 212-226-8413
Ferrara Bakery
Seedy history: Site of a 1971 burglary in which a crew led by Gallo allegedly stole $50,000 from a locked safe on the second floor. According to Nash, some believe the heist precipitated Gallo's own murder a few months later.
What to order: In addition to classic confections such as cheesecake and cannoli, Nash recommends the "Lobster Tail" — a flaky pastry filled with Bavarian cream 195 Grand Street, 212-226-6150
Da Gennaro
Seedy history: The original location of Umberto's Clam House, this corner restaurant is where Gallo was famously shot and killed while celebrating his 43rd birthday alongside friends and family — a grisly incident later dramatized in Bob Dylan's 1975 song "Joey."
What to order: Mozzarella in carrozza, carciofo ripieno (stuffed artichoke) and ravioli arigosta 129 Mulberry Street, 212-431-3934
Da Nico
Seedy history: Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani – who famously indicted the heads of New York's five mafia families during his attorney general days in the 1980s – once called this pizzeria "The Best of the Best in Little Italy," ranking it as his top dining recommendation for visitors to the city during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Giuliani was such a fan, in fact, that the mayor's office once helped broker a deal giving the restaurant exclusive use of the building's back patio. Ironically, the place was also a hangout for crime figures, according to testimony in the racketeering trial of Bonanno boss Joseph Massino. Following this revelation, The New York Times quipped that GOP organizers made Giuliani's recommendation "disappear" from the convention web site.
What to order: Giuliani has been known to order the rigatoni with sausage and peppers. Also try the Pizza Napoletana and Gamberi Fra Diavolo. 164 Mulberry Street, 212-343-1212, danicoristorante.com
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