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Voice Over: Listener-supported WNYC studios.

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Brigid Bergen: This is All of It. I'm Brigid Bergen, in for Alison Stewart. Thanks for spending part of your day with us. Whether you're listening on the radio, live streaming, or on demand, I'm grateful you're here. On today's show, we will talk about the heat island effect. A new research that shows its impact on New York City. We'll speak with the hosts of the Who Weekly podcast, Bobby Finger and Lindsay Weber, and we'll speak with the New York Times theater reporter, Michael Paulson, about the crisis facing American theater companies. That's the plan. So let's head south to Staten Island.

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Brigid Bergen: It's been a hot town summer in the city for a while, but now it's actually cooled off a bit. It might be a good time to get back to exploring New York, which we're doing in our series, Summer in the City. Last week, we talked about where to go and what to do in Queens. In this week's installment, we are hopping the free ferry and heading to Staten Island to the Borough of Parks. Joining us to talk about this is Pamela Silvestri, the food editor for the Staten Island Advance. Pamela, welcome to WNYC. Thanks for joining me on All of It.

Pamela Silvestri: Thanks so much for having me. I'm so delighted to be here.

Brigid Bergen: Listeners, of course, you are a critical part of this conversation. You gave us great suggestions last week about what to do and where to go in Queens. Now you have to bring it to Staten Island. What are your suggestions for a restaurant, a park, a historic house, a beach? We want to hear all of it. Give us a call at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. We want your summer in the city recommendations for Staten Island. You can also text us at that same number, that's 212-433-9692 or reach us on social @allofitwnyc. Okay, so Pamela, let's establish some of your bona fides. What's your relationship to Staten Island?

Pamela Silvestri: I'm the food editor at the Staten Island Advance, and I'm a lifelong Staten Islander. I'm a native Staten Islander. I'm a very proud New Yorker. I grew up on Staten Island. I went to Bryn Mawr College, and I came back to Staten Island, my hometown.

Brigid Bergen: I know you're going to give us a lot of food suggestions, which I am so excited about. Before we get there, you need to clear up a longstanding controversy in our newsroom. Is it the Staten Island Advance or is it the Staten Island Advance?

Pamela Silvestri: It's the Staten Island Advance.

Brigid Bergen: I don't know where it came from, but you've heard it before, too, I'm sure, the advance pronunciation.

Pamela Silvestri: Absolutely, absolutely.

Brigid Bergen: Listeners, you have heard it first here on WNYC. For now, cleared up directly from the source. Food editor, Pamela Silvestri, has made it clear to us it is the Staten Island Advance. No more weird pronunciation of this newspaper's name. Now, let's get into some of your food suggestions. You're a former restaurateur as well. It's a huge borough, in fact. How do you want to break this up? Should we go by train stop?

Pamela Silvestri: I think that's a great idea, actually. Just off of the Staten Island Ferry, though, first of all, is St. George. There's a lot of restaurants there within walking distance to the ferry, and the St. George Theatre, which is a great destination for folks looking for a whole afternoon, evening package there with the meal and a show. I will have to say that there are a few I'd like to highlight. Right off the ferry is Ruddy & Dean at 44 Richmond Terrace, and that is owned by the brash Danny Mills, who's from the North Shore, and a real New Yorker. He offers steaks and oysters. A little further up, on Bay Street, actually, is Beso, and that's at 70 Bay Street. Next door to that is Pier 76, which has great pizza. They have pies and slices. A little further up, near the St. George Theatre, is Enoteca Maria, which is probably our most famous restaurant, and that's on 27 Hyatt Street.

Brigid Bergen: What kind of food is served at Enoteca Maria?

Pamela Silvestri: Enoteca Maria is a wine bar, actually, that has a program of food that's from Nonna's around the world. They serve Pakistani food or whatever Nonna is cooking in the kitchen, and to wheel it down to Staten Island, and it's grounding in a lot of Italian food. The core menu is Italian and it's cooked by Nonna herself.

Brigid Bergen: If you're going to Enoteca Maria, do you go online in advance? Do you find out what the cuisine might be for that particular night, or is it just a surprise? How should our listeners prepare themselves if they want to take a trip on the ferry and then maybe check the place out?

Pamela Silvestri: It's a very approachable restaurant in the respect that you can call the owner, Jody Scaravella, and actually make a reservation. That's what I recommend.

Brigid Bergen: Oh, wow.

Pamela Silvestri: Yes, to make sure the seasonal stuff is on the table, Jody himself, I see him at the Green Market, St. George, which is right around the corner from his restaurant. He's always buying locally harvested stuff and things from Bucks County, especially zucchini blossoms, which are really hot on Staten Island. That's, I would say, a signature dish.

Brigid Bergen: Oh, wow. That's so great. As you might expect, we have suggestions pouring in from our listeners. Let's go to Sylvia in Staten Island. Sylvia, thanks for calling All Of It on WNYC. Sylvia, I think we had a little trouble with your line. Let's try, can we try Gregory in Harlem?

Gregory: Yes, you can try Gregory in Harlem. hi, there.

Brigid Bergen: Great. Thanks for calling All Of It.

Gregory: Listen, I'm a former St. George resident. I lived on Lafayette Avenue, when a little bar down the street called Adobe Blue, which had hundreds of different beers behind the bar. Is that still open?

Pamela Silvestri: Adobe Blues changed owners about two years ago. It is owned by a gentleman who is a contractor. He started a project that resulted in the bar collapsing and then a bazillion other little tidbits to fix around. Now it's a three-story operation that is still not open, but I'm anticipating it being opened by January or February. Hopefully, he'll resume that amazing beer program that you remember.

Brigid Bergen: That sounds such a great recommendation. I love that we're getting both our suggestions and questions for my guest, Pamela Silvestri, from the Staten Island Advance. She is the food editor there. Now I think we have Sylvia in Staten Island. Sylvia?

Sylvia: Yes, I'm here.

Brigid Bergen: Great. Thanks for calling All Of It.

Sylvia: Hello?

Brigid Bergen: Hey, Sylvia, turn your radio off.

Sylvia: Okay.

Brigid Bergen: Okay.

Sylvia: I'm here.

Brigid Bergen: All right. Sylvia?

Sylvia: Hello, Sylvia from Sunnyside and we don't have a train station nearby. I just wanted to focus on some of the things here in the Middle Island. The first thing I would recommend is right here in Clove Lakes Park, which is probably the most beautiful of our parks here in the borough of parks. [unintelligible 00:07:32] There is a restaurant right in the center of it, which is the Stone House. They have fabulous meals, and also a wonderful brunch on Sunday. A couple of other restaurants near the park, relatively new is Osteria Santina, which is actually owned by one of my neighbors. Of course, we're known for Italian fare.

A third one that I would mention is Nino's on Hylan Boulevard. That's just a personal favorite. I've lived on Staten Island more than 50 years. I'm not a native, but I love it here. We're not just the borough of parks, but we are definitely the borough of restaurants, especially Italian restaurants since more than half of our population is Italian American to this day. That's our specialty.

Brigid Bergen: Sylvia, thanks so much for your call and thanks for calling WNYC. Before we move to another train stop, Pamela, I want to talk a little bit about other types of food you might find around the St. George area. I know that this area is also the home to one of the city's largest Sri Lankan populations. Any recommendations for some Sri Lankan food in the neighborhood?

Pamela Silvestri: Absolutely, there's lots of it. In fact, the first restaurant, which is pretty well known, thanks to its proximity to the ferry, is Sagara Food City. That's at 98 Victory Boulevard. It's not too far from Flagship Brewing Company, which is on Minthorne Street. That is right off the Tompkinsville train stop. The beauty of that little nugget is that you can go and get your food from Sagara Food City. A lot of people come to Staten Island looking to taste it. There's no place to sit down in the restaurant. It's a takeout only. You can go to Flagship, for instance, or in front of the courthouse in St. George and sit there and order your food from Grubhub or go pick it up and walk over to one of those spots and enjoy it.

Brigid Bergen: That sounds great. Again, we have lots of callers. Let's go to Manu in the Lower East Side.

Manu: Hello.

Brigid Bergen: Hi, welcome to All Of It.

Manu: Thank you. Thank you for putting me on. I wanted to recommend a place I visited in Staten Island. The first time I was there, it was called then the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art. It was a museum, but it was primarily a Tibetan temple. I think it's one of the luckiest spots in Staten Island, because the first time I visited there, the Dalai Lama came. I spent some time with only about a half dozen people who took care of the museum, the temple, and we were very happy to have met the Dalai Lama. Even without the Dalai Lama's presence, I highly recommend it.

Brigid Bergen: I've heard that museum is really gorgeous, Manu. Thank you so much for that suggestion. We're going to move to another train stop in a moment, Pamela, but I want to just mention, because I personally am a baseball fan, that if you take the ferry, you are right near the Staten Island baseball stadium. If you're not so hungry but you want to do something else, can you tell us about what kind of baseball you can check out in the St. George area?

Pamela Silvestri: Brigid, there is a fabulous ballpark there. It is called, it's a long name, Staten Island University Hospital Community Ballpark.

Brigid Bergen: It's [unintelligible 00:11:16].

Pamela Silvestri: I write about it so often because of the FerryHawks that are there, and they are a wonderful team.

Brigid Bergen: These are the former Staten Island Yankees, am I right?

Pamela Silvestri: Totally different owners, different league, and they are really a great-- It's a great community feeling to be in that ballpark. They got new seats in the last year or so, and the ball field itself is absolutely beautiful. The backdrop is the stunning thing, and that is, you could see Robbins Reef Lighthouse, and you could see the Lower New York Harbor. It's absolutely stunning, and to the ferry going back and forth, the cargo ships. Then they have fireworks at the stadium often.

Brigid Bergen: Oh, that sounds great.

Pamela Silvestri: I would suggest very strongly looking up a FerryHawks game and going to it. Fabulous.

Brigid Bergen: Let's move to another train stop. We've got some more callers, so we're going to get them into. Callers, thanks for your patience. We want your suggestions, but let's go to the Stapleton Stop. Now, this is a neighborhood that is also home to several of the members of the legendary rap group, the Wu-Tang Clan. There's a mural that the city built in the neighborhood. There's a Wu-Tang district in the neighborhood on the corner of Vanderbilt Avenue, and correct me if I say this wrong, Targee Street.

Pamela Silvestri: Targee.

Brigid Bergen: Targee Street, thank you. That's where the music video, Can it Be All So Simple was filmed. It's got a lot going on. What are some recommendations you have for things to check out near and around the Stapleton Stop?

Pamela Silvestri: Stapleton has a lot of great little restaurants. I would suggest if it's your first time to Staten Island, taking the SIRTOA, which is the rapid transit, getting off at Stapleton, and then going down the stairs and going north, and you'll see a development called Urby. That is a residential complex that has anchors of restaurants that are very, very good. All of them are excellent. My favorite in that whole complex is Pastavino, which is a property of Vic Rallo, who you might know from PBS. They do a fabulous job with wine. It's a stunning view, and they have outdoor dining. If you want to experience the waterfront from another angle, it's fabulous.

Brigid Bergen: I have to just quickly, because my producer, Kate Hinds, who in a past life was a transportation reporter, would not let me not acknowledge that you said SIRTOA, which is the Staten Island Rapid Transit Authority, the train that runs through Staten Island that, as I understand it, it changed its name in the '90s. Does Staten Islanders refer to it as the SIRTOA mostly?

Pamela Silvestri: I think a lot of people call it the rapid transit. It's certainly not a subway because it's not below ground. It was actually built by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1860.

Brigid Bergen: Oh, wow. That's amazing. Let me get some of our callers in here. Let's go to Matthew in Sunnyside. Matthew, thanks for calling All Of It.

Matthew: Yes, thanks. I just wanted to mention Clove Lakes one more time because another caller brought it up. It's a beautiful park, and I like to go fishing there sometimes in the actual lake. It's a freshwater lake, of course. I can catch some catfish. I'm trying to catch sunnies, but I don't know if they're still in the lake. I think older Staten Islanders will remember a lot more fish in there. Then there was a, I think, some dumping incident and it killed the lake off, but it's been alive and well for a while now. It's just beautiful. Even if you don't catch anything, you can just stand there and look out at the trees and everything. It feels like you're not even in Staten Island or in New York, maybe upstate rather. It's gorgeous. I recommend it.

Pamela Silvestri: Matthew, I have to tell you, I love that park so much. Sylvia brought up a great point about The Stone House being in the middle of there. I just want to address one thing. In The Stone House, there's another restaurant called the Chef's Loft, and that is by appointment only. They will create a special meal for you. Basically, you agree on price and everything else beforehand. To address your point, Matthew, there is excellent bird watching there. I don't know about that bridge. Do you know that bridge that goes in the middle of it by the-- It's not the one by the restaurant, it's a little further out, but boy, oh, boy, it's cardinals and finches. Ah, it's just extraordinary just to come to Staten Island to see the birds from there.

Matthew: Yes, and under the bridge, there's actually a lot of swallows making their nests there. If you stand on the bridge, you can see them flying underneath. It's really nice. You can see herons, too. Herons are amazing in flight. They're huge.

Brigid Bergen: Pardon my pun, but you're making our hearts swoon, Matthew. Thank you so much for that suggestion. Listeners, this is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Brigid Bergen filling in for Alison Stewart this week, and we are talking summer in the City. I'm joined by Pamela Silvestri, the food editor for the Staten Island Advance. Listeners, you are a huge part of this conversation. As you just heard from Matthew, your suggestions are absolutely beautiful. Give us a call at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. We want your recommendations. You can also text us at that same number, 212-433-9692, or reach us on social @allofitwnyc. We have a lot more recommendations from Pamela and our callers coming up just after this short break.

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Brigid Bergen: This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Brigid Bergen in for Alison Stewart. We're talking about summer in the city. I am joined by Pamela Silvestri, food editor for the Staten Island Advance, because we're talking about all the things you can do, see, and eat in Staten Island, and there are lots of things to eat. We've got a lot of callers, but before we get to another caller, let's talk about another neighborhood, Pamela, Dongan Hills in Staten Island. What are some of the places you would recommend we check out there?

Pamela Silvestri: Dongan Hills actually is my hometown. Actually, it's so named for Thomas Dongan, who was the governor of a province of New York, the province of New York in the 1600s, interesting. One of my favorite pizza places is Lee's Tavern, which is it's 60 Hancock Street. That is just a charming neighborhood place. It was named for Leroy Moresco, who is the original owner of the place, and now, the Palmini family owns it. Fabulous people, great beer selection, and a fabulous pizza. I recommend the clam pie very highly. Also, in Dongan Hills is a restaurant called Ayat, which is a Palestinian restaurant, which has gotten actually acclaimed for the New York Times in its Brooklyn location. Ayat is interesting because it's transporting. They don't serve liquor, but they do have very nice wood-burning pizzas like [unintelligible 00:17:52] on pizzas and really good home style cooking.

Brigid Bergen: This segment is making me hungry at lunchtime. We're giving you lots of suggestions. I want to read a text that we got. This is from Jeff Yang. "As someone who grew up there and did not live the experience, I want to say that the Asian communities of Staten Island are in full bloom these days. New Dorp Highland is a retail epicenter with legit Chinese restaurants including a very good dim sum place and a huge Chinese supermarket." A great recommendation there. Thank you so much, Jeff, for listening and for sending that text.

I also want to respond to another message that we got from a listener asking us to mention the name of that park that we have been talking so much about. It was Clove Lakes Park. Another place for people to check out if you're looking for something to do other than eat, but maybe you can get some food and bring it there and eat it in the park. We've got callers. Let's go to Margo in Brooklyn. Margo, thanks so much for calling All Of It.

Margo: Hello, thanks for taking my call. I want to recommend Cargo Cafe. It's on Bay Street. Does your guest know it?

Pamela Silvestri: Oh, yes. I know it very well.

Margo: Oh, great.

Pamela Silvestri: A big shout out to Michael, the owner, who loves Batman. What are your favorite dishes there?

Margo: I love the eggplant wraps, and they also have a wonderful salad that they put cranberries and cheese with it. It's wonderful. I also want to mention on Thursday nights at 8:00 PM, they have a jam session, a jazz jam session led by a wonderful bassist, Packy Lynch. I just want to give a shoutout to them, and also the fact that they always have artwork on their front walls that's painted different-- It changes every couple of months and it's so beautiful to stop there and look at their wonderful cafe.

Brigid Bergen: That's an excellent suggestion. The address is 120, Bay Street, which is right off the Staten Island ferry. That's a good operation. They have outdoor dining as well. That was a great pick for St. George. Margo, thank you so much for your call. Let's go to George in Manhattan. George, welcome to WNYC.

George: Thanks, Brigid. I'm calling to shout out the Alice Austin House. It's a charming carpenter, gothic wooden house right on New York harbor. It was built by the 19th-century photographer, Alice Austin, and her family of the country house. It is now a significant LGBT landmark in New York City. Alice and her partner, Gertrude lived there. They documented all of their frolics. They've got an amazing collection. The director is just fantastic. Victoria Monroe has done a great job in vivifying the museum. It's an easy bus ride from the ferry, too, or I take my bike.

Brigid Bergen: Oh, that's great. George, thank you so much. You answered my question before I asked it, which was how do you get there? Which I think is an important question. Go ahead, Pamela.

Pamela Silvestri: I just wanted to add that there's a bed and breakfast at the base of Highland Boulevard at 1 Highland Boulevard, which overlooks the harbor. You can stay there, go to Alice Austin House, have a picnic. There's several different restaurants in this section of Staten Island, which is called Rosebank. It is really a nice little food town, actually. There's a place called Bloom Cafe, which is vegan fair and a great alternative milks and things like that with their coffee shop.

There's a Jay's on the Bay, which does like a brunch program, as well as other nice dishes and a little yard in the back. Also, there's a place called Mellow Bistro, which is really exciting. It serves some really nice upscale food. One more place is Don Cheech, which is owned-- The guy who owns it, Mossimo, is really a great character and just a fabulous chef. He is bringing great things to that section of Rosebank with steaks and things like that. A beautiful outdoor section.

Brigid Bergen: Pamela, we have to talk about the pizza tour. I'm going to set that up by telling you we got a text from a listener who said, "Denino’s Pizzeria still has the best pizza, not only on Staten Island, but in all of New York," which is a pretty bold statement to make, but I'd love to get your reaction and any other suggestions you have for places people should check out.

Pamela Silvestri: I'd like to go back to Staten Island and survive this trip after I tell you what I think about pizza on Staten Island, and it's absolutely excellent. I'm going to determine a handful of places that I think are superb, and I have to agree with you, Denino’s is super superb. It's absolutely excellent. That is at 524 Port Richmond Avenue in the Port Richmond section. It's right across the street from a great place to go get ices, which is Ralph's Ices.

There's also another place, New Dorp, it's called Pizzeria Giove. It's owned by a guy named Giove. It's at 278 New Dorp Lane. That's right in a section of Staten Island that's becoming a Chinatown, which we'll get to in a moment, which is something that the other caller brought up. Joe & Pat's has thin-crust pizza that's on Victory Boulevard, actually at 1758 Victory Boulevard. Excellent pizza. Just one of my favorites, and the pepperoni puckers, which is really nice. Again, Yeats Tavern, we can't forget that, with the clam pie, although I have to say it doesn't travel well.

Brigid Bergen: Good tip.

Pamela Silvestri: That is one place you have to sit there and eat it. Nona's, which is on Brower Court in Great Kills, right off the Great Kills Train Stop. Excellent pizza. Great people there. Round Pie, which is a newcomer to Staten Island. Round Pie has two locations on Staten Island. It's 1957 Victory Boulevard, which is not far from Joe & Pat's. You could do a little pizza tour on your own there. They also opened up another place at 1919 Highland Boulevard, which is in Dongen Hills. Very good.

Brigid Bergen: Are these primarily New York-style thin-crust type pizzas, or are we talking all kinds of rifts on the pizza genre?

Pamela Silvestri: There are rifts on it. I have to say, Round Pie, this newcomer has this some proprietary textural thing going on. I'm going to attribute it to what I think are Panko breadcrumbs, which allow there to be ball bearings on the bottom of the crust. It has a different mouthfeel to it. Also very good ingredients they're using. Joe & Pat's thin-crust, it's super thin. Some people don't like it like that because it's maybe not satisfying, but it's a delicious pie nonetheless. I also have to shout out DOUGH By Licastri, which has a really nice Sicilian pie. People are going to argue with me on that. I will say that Brother's Pizza through the pandemic and everything else, still good. Still excellent with their Sicilian. There's a difference between a Sicilian and a grandma slice. Sicilian is a doughy, thick, fluffy experience as opposed to grandma, which is a thinner square slice.

Brigid Bergen: I want to just go back briefly. You mentioned that there was an emerging Chinatown in a neighborhood, and I missed the neighborhood that you said.

Pamela Silvestri: It's New Dorf. New Dorf has a train station, and around it are tons of restaurants. I'm going to recommend a bunch of them. I just want to also address the fact that we have a burgeoning Chinatown there. Part of it is a result of a new supermarket that is in a former catering hall, and it's called HL Supermarket. They have a location in Brooklyn. It's a fabulous supermarket, and a lot of the restaurant owners have been shopping there also that are Chinese Americans. In the midst there, one of the best places is called Precious Island Tea Shop, which is at the base of New Dorf Lane. Folks that are from Staten Island might remember that as Chinatown restaurant, actually, from years ago. A little further up, it's a newcomer, it's about eight months old. It's called Siu. It's S-I-U. Siu is a Chinese hot pot. It's the first Chinese hot pot on Staten Island.

Brigid Bergen: Pamela, I have some more callers that I want to get in here. Let's go to Dean in Staten Island. Dean, thanks for calling All Of It.

Dean: Hi. I just wanted to mention Lakruwana. It's a family-owned business that's right near the Urby that you mentioned off the subway. All the walls are painted there, and the doors are like these big gold doors, and you go inside, and it's really no other place. I think it only fits about 20 people, but it's the whole family is there and they have an all-you-can-eat Sri Lankan food. Everybody goes there. They also have their own little museum for Sri Lanka. The owner is also really interesting to talk to.

Brigid Bergen: That's great, Dean. Thank you so much for that. Let's go to John in Staten Island.

John: Hello. I want to recommend Jerry's 637 Diner, 637 Bay Street in [unintelligible 00:27:01].

Brigid Bergen: Is this a classic diner?

John: The food is fantastic. Pretty much so, yes. Not in the sense of what a Manhattanite might consider a diner, but they have an extensive menu. It's excellent. All of it is. I've eaten actually all of it. Their prices are not expensive.

Brigid Bergen: All right, John, thank you so much for that recommendation. We are closing in on the end of it, and I want to read some of the texts that we've gotten. We have a text that suggested, "I wanted to add North Shore of Staten Island. Has some of the best Mexican food in New York City, both in Port Richmond, but also Atlixco Bakery in Deli, let's see, on St. Paul's. That's another recommendation.

Pamela Silvestri: Excellent.

Brigid Bergen: We have another recommendation from a listener who said we also have some good Vietnamese restaurants. Anything you want to shout out there, Pamela?

Pamela Silvestri: Pho Mac is a great place in Bulls Head. That's not too far off the Staten Island Expressway, one of the exits there. There's Pho Rainbow, which is in new Dorpican. That's the barging Chinatown. I do want to mention also to go to the end of the line of Tottenville. We have to get there. There are a few places we have to shout out. One is Angelina's Restaurant. Angelina's is a great place to watch the sunset.

They have a farmer there, Susan from Cobblestone Farm. She brings the zucchini flowers and all sorts of produce from New Jersey. There's Paradise Island where you could sit and watch the sunset. There's a bar and grill there. That's really fabulous on Ellis Street as well. La Bella Marketplace is an Italian super duper market, where you can get just about any Italian product. That's also on Ellis Street at 99 right off of the Arthur Kill Train Stop.

Brigid Bergen: We got another text from another listener shouting at another neighborhood we haven't talked too much about, or an area. It says, "Hello. I'm a Native from Staten Island, and it breaks my heart that many tourists take the Staten Island ferry for free, and hardly any visitors go to Snug Harbor. Not only does it have beautiful Chinese scholar gardens, the grounds are just beautiful. On the restaurant aspect. Many restaurants on Bay Street." There's some restaurants-- this listener suggest a whole bunch of restaurants, but they also recommend visiting the military grounds on the end of Bay Street. Lots of great restaurants there. We haven't talked a lot about Snug Harbor. We talk about it briefly, any recommendations you have in and around that area?

Pamela Silvestri: Yes. Excellent point there with Snug Harbor, which is stunning. You could spend an entire day there. One of the things to see or taste is a Harbor Eats, it's open Wednesday through Sunday from 11:30 to about 6:00. They serve buggers and things like that, pulled pork. Egger's Ice is also on the property. That's open daily from about 11:00 to about 8:00. If you go further out, there's a wonderful restaurant right on the water blue, which you could see the ships coming in from the harbor. Absolutely stunning. If you dare to go a little further down, you can go to Liedy's North Shore Tavern, which is at 748 Richmond Terrace. It's owned by Larry Liedy, which we have to give a shout-out to who's a true blue Staten Islander. If you catch him in there at the bar, you'll see he'll show you the actual phone booth that Madonna's Papa don't Preach was videoed in and it still works.

Brigid Bergen: Wow.

Pamela Silvestri: That's how you can actually reach him at the restaurant. It's a real Staten Island thing.

Brigid Bergen: A couple more recommendations that we got from listeners that we're not going to be able to get on the air. Shout out to Richmond County Orchestra and the Riverside Opera Company. Another listener wanted to shout out Duffy's an Irish pub. Lots more, and Pamela, I know that you had tons more recommendations, but we're going to have to leave it there for now for this installment of Summer in the City, Staten Island Edition. My guest has been Pamela Silvestri, food editor for the Staten Island Advance and silive.com. Thank you so, so much for joining me. This has been a lot of fun.

Pamela Silvestri: Thank you so much.

 

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