Mayor’s New UES Locale is Close to Authentic Italian Spots
By Valarie D’Elia – New York 1
Published: August 4, 2014
From a small Italian village to Gracie Mansion, NY1’s Valarie D’Elia takes a look at five ways the mayor can stay connected to his Italian roots in his new neighborhood and filed the following report. Shortly after Mayor Bill de Blasio returned from his Italian vacation he moved right into Gracie Mansion. But he won’t have to leave behind “La Dolce Vita” for long.
The Giglio street fair takes place on Pleasant Avenue from August 7-10 in East Harlem. This passionate Italian feast and festival dates back more than a hundred years, revolving around the traditional dancing of the Giglio. Perhaps the mayor can pitch in to move the five and a half ton statue along the procession route.Nearby, it might just pay for the mayor to pop his head into Rao’s Italian restaurant, the city’s most coveted reservation. If he’s lucky they might even free up some wall space for his honor’s mug.
If he can’t score a reservation at Rao’s, I suggest he head 25 blocks south to Cavatappo on First Avenue, a neighborhood favorite Milanese restaurant with outdoor seating and a lovely linguini with clams.
A short walk west to Third Avenue, the mayor can stock up on Italian specialties like grandma used to make at Milano market which has everything from mozzarella, to prosciutto, pasta and parmigiana.The mayor’s wife might enjoy a visit to Mariana Antinori’s singularly Italian boutique on Madison Avenue between 89th and 90th.Ms. Antinori personally shops for her stylish merchandise on regular trips back to Italy.
“There is no country that has this level of, I think, quality,” says Antinori.Mariana even follows the popular Italian custom, closing shop for the entire month of August.