GUSTI Blog

Speedy Speedy True Romeo

2012-01-23T13:12:50-05:00

This is how the place looked a month ago, when we went to visit Justin Bazdarich and Todd Feldman in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. A great location, a place with lots of potential, but other than a wonderful oven (from Italy, assembled in California), there was not much to see!

A month later, Speedy Romeo is ready to open tomorrow! Incredible!!!

Justin and Todd not only have a ton of energy and move fast, they also want to do the real thing! They carefully and respectfully did their homework: they cruised Italy with Judy Witts Francini (ciao Judy!) in search of real recipes and inspiration from legendary pizzaioli in Roma and Napoli; they tasted all the products very carefully; they toured the purveyors of best foods and learned all about the products (click the arrow below to see the video of their visit to Gustiamo. Watch, they are also making a film of the whole opening process - how cool is that?).

You MUST go to Speedy Romeo! I can't wait! I'm sure the pizza is fabulous! Why? Because they have everything it takes: passion, technique and Italy's best ingredients! Order Pizza with San Marzano Tomatoes; it might be a little more expensive, but trust us, it's going to be worth it! Justin and Todd use the real San Marzano tomatoes. We can attest to that! Good luck to Justin and Todd and long life to Speedy Romeo!!!

Help Needed!

2012-01-17T11:57:44-05:00

Looking for an admin assistant.

Best candidate has a passion for true foods, speaks Italian, can drive.

We offer: office/warehouse in the South Bronx, Italy's best food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, fun + $s. Added benefit: admin assistant will work with an amazing team of people... priceless! Pls write to GetHelp@gustiamo.com

Sant'Eustachio Club

2012-01-15T11:44:13-05:00

You drink Sant'Eustachio coffee every day (bravo/a!); you place regular orders with us; however, you are just plain tired to have to enter the same information so often, in the shopping cart. You are right!

Starting now, we'll make your life easier and your purchase of this legendary coffee less expensive.

Buy 5 or more tins and we'll ship them to you the 3rd week of every other month, without shipping charges. Just email Martina and tell her how many tins you would like to receive, starting next week (next delivery will be 3rd week of March, then 3rd week of May... Hope you get it).

Of course, you can disenroll whenever you wish. It will cost you another email to Martina.

Start the day and a very Happy New Year with the best coffee in the world. And Grazie mille!

Beauty by the Bite

2012-01-02T19:47:19-05:00

According to this article in the NYTimes, there are products in the supermarkets which are classified as nutricosmetics and functional foods. I've never seen them. Have you? This thing is huge! The article says it is a growing business, expected to reach $8.5 billion in 2015. It's drinks and foods with names such as Age Defying Water, Slimming Chocolate Chews, Clear Skin Capsules... Who buys this stuff?

Of course, doctors say that no, good skin does not come from "slickly marketed drinks and food", but from vegetables, whole foods, plain water. The designer Norma Kamali (picture left), interviewed in the article, is among the critics of all this madness and is a strong supporter of olive oil, which she has been been using all her life... she ingests and applies olive oil to reap various benefits. She says olive oil is ideal for massage and stress relief. You can brush your teeth with oil and cinnamon to clean and remove bacteria. Use olive oil liniments for rashes and burns. Take a tablespoon or more a day to stay regular. This is all she said. Well, look at the results in the picture! She is in her 60s, doesn't she look wonderful? Forget all that nutri beauty garbage, buy good food and you will become beautiful and healthy, also!

Pasta from Gragnano, Citta' della Pasta!

2012-01-01T14:50:43-05:00

The town of Gragnano is universally known as the "Citta' della Pasta". The brand has become so important that it looks like everybody is making pasta in Gragnano. (Like everybody in the world is growing San Marzano Tomatoes!) This is going to stop, and soon. The Town of Gragnano just received IGP status from the Italian Government. With all that the new Italian political ministers have to do these days, that they are working on IGP status for Gragnano pasta shows you how important this acknowledgement is. From now on, all the impostors using "Gragnano Pasta" in their labeling may be prosecuted by law.

To celebrate this historical moment, Sergio Faella of Pastificio Faella, the oldest artisanal Pastificio in Gragnano, will be in NYC next week where he will meet journalists and chefs at the Italian Culinary Academy. He will explain why his Pasta is the best Gragnano pasta in the world!!!

Grazie Sergio, have a wonderful trip and stay in NYC! Way to start the new year!!!

MESCIUA: A SECRET SPEZIA-LITY

2011-12-24T17:38:35-05:00

From our good friend Steve Maslow, who loves Italy, in particular the region of Liguria, and Gustiamo! Mesciua is a typical recipe from La Spezia, Liguria. All the ingredients in this recipe are carried by Gustiamo. Perfect! This is Steve's lovely article:

Foodies, poets and musicians have loved La Spezia at least since Ancient times: the Romans named the city “Species” (Spezia in the local Ligurian dialect) meaning ‘splendor’: perhaps for its imposing location, between mountains and sea, at the top of a spectacularly beautiful harbor;

or perhaps they named it for the mussels that grow in the surrounding waters, so highly prized by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (1122-1110), that he decreed any Ligurian delegation visiting him must bring a shield filled with the plump delicacies, or maybe Spezia was named for the incomparable beauty of its Gulf which drew Dante, Shelly and Byron, DH Lawrence, Baroness Emma Orczy (The Scarlet Pimpernel) and Countess Elena Visconti (La Straniera) to live by its shores.

Most famously, Wagner claimed that the sight of the Sea off La Spezia inspired the opening measures of his best-loved work, the monumental tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen.

We do not know if it is the water or the air or the natural beauty, but we do know a great cuisine when we eat it.

Not surprisingly we at Gustiamo are ourselves inspired by the way the foods of La Spezia reflect the way in which man and nature have been sustaining each other there for more than two millennia. We sampled mesciua, the best-known ‘spezia-lity’ of La Spezia at the Ristorante All’inferno, near the city’s fish market. Click here for recipe. It's a wonderful soup and it uses all Gustiamo's ingredients.

Steve Maslow

Gustiamo Joins the National Free Shipping Day, Today

2011-12-16T07:44:39-05:00

Today, is National Free Shipping Day! No shipping charges on all orders of or more $99,00, placed today, until 11:59 pm. You MUST write the Magic Word (Promo Code) in the "Special Instructions" box of your shopping cart. Magic Word is "Buon Natale".

Questions? Call us at 718 860 2949. When you do call us, make sure you ask for other promotions that are running today. Did I hear something about Panettone and Pandoro baked by Master Pastry Chef Luigi Biasetto in Padova? Perhaps. Please, ask Nicolette: 718 860 2949.