“One of Those Fabled Italian Restaurants”
35 Broadway (Wythe Ave)
(718) 218-9272
Tue-Thu 11am-11pm
Fri-Sat 11am-12am
Sun 12pm-10pm
By Mary Yeung
Walking into Patricia’s is like walking into a big bear hug. The place is very spacious, with a vaulted ceiling, a roaring brick oven pizza, and red-and-white-checkered tablecloths on big round tables. The waiters are super friendly with Rembrandt smiles a mile wide. You can tell, these people just can’t wait to feed you.
You may not have heard of Patricia’s, but they are very popular in the Bronx, and have been in business for over twenty years. There is the original Patricia’s on East Tremont Avenue, and a sister restaurant in Riverdale called Nonno Tony’s, and now they have brought their exuberant old world cooking to Williamsburg.
Giacomo Alaio is the chef and owner. Patricia’s is named after the family friend who loaned him money to open his first restaurant in 1991. Giacomo came to America when he was ten, and started working in restaurants by the ripe old age of 12. He got his cooking chops from his father, Antonio, who cooked for an Italian restaurant on Mulberry Street. Giacomo says he came to Williamsburg looking for a more international audience for his cooking, which sounds like a polite way of saying “those snooty Manhattan food writers won’t go the Bronx…”
Asked if he is worried that many hipsters are trend chasers and may not have the proper appreciation for “old world cuisine,” Giacomo shook his head and said, “I’m not worried, because I’m serving them real food, food that’s freshly made and delicious.” He points out that besides pizza and pasta, Patricia also has an extensive menu that offers seafood, meat, and vegetarian entrees. Prices are very family friendly. Pizza pies are $9 to $18 depending on size and toppings, wines ranges from $20 to $80 a bottle, and entrees runs from $12 to $24.
The pizza here is very good. The classic Margarita, with a thin and crispy crust, topped with juicy red tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and garnished with whole leaf basils is fresh and bright. Another good choice is the shrimp with zucchini pie, served with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese; it was velvety and luxurious, though grilling the zucchini first would have made this pie less wet.
There are many seafood dishes on the menu, among them is the baby octopus, simply grilled in the pizza oven with just a touch of salt and rosemary. It was sweet and tender. The seafood salad was briny and brimming with shrimp, squid, and crunchy bits of celery; you can almost feel the Mediterranean Sea breeze sweep through the cavernous room. There are a couple of specials that I think should be added to the menu, one is a roasted Italian vegetable medley that has the taste of fire and good olive oil, and another is a Japanese-style eggplant, cooked in a rich, mysterious meat sauce. Those are two dishes I would love to have again and again. The wine collection comes from all over the world, with an emphasis on different regions of Italy.
Patricia’s is one of those fabled Italian restaurants where everybody can get what they want and be happy with their choices. The kids can have pizza or spaghetti with meatballs, Mom and Dad can get the chicken with broccoli rabe and Pinot Grigio from Trentino, the Grandparents can get Penne alla Norma (Penne with baby eggplant and aged ricotta) with a glass of Chianti, and the uncle who works for Goldman Sachs can go for the Chilean Sea Bass with baby clams in a wine sauce and a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino from Tuscany.
Having spent a couple of my childhood years in Da Bronx, I know that the Bronx is to New York as Texas is to America; everything is bigger there, the apartments, the parks, the food portions, the hearts, especially the hearts. In ‘Too Cool for Stew’ Williamsburg, Patricia’s may just be the warmest spot in the neighborhood.
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