STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — In this recovery stage of the pandemic, the optimism rides high for those of us writing on the industry. With so much good news from the Borough President’s Office emerging with a new garden program, to Sen. Chuck Schumer announcing a restaurant relief plan, we are feeling downright festive. So let’s take this opportunity to play...Name! That!! Restaurant!!!
Alright now, there are a few ground rules for our exercise today. First, you’re on your honor. So, no peeking at the answers in the text below the picture before serious pontification or straight-up Googling. Second, feel free to reach out with your answers before checking the descriptions. And third, the winner gets...the privilege of winning.
So, let’s take a ride on this restaurant rodeo!
Restaurant #1: Known for its seaside perch and paella, this long-time restaurant pretty much washed away in Hurricane Sandy in 2012. But it became another fine dining spot. Can you name the first, Spanish restaurant to occupy the space and its successors? (Staten Island Advance File Photo)STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
1.) At the base of Barclay Avenue, Carmen’s Restaurant, Annadale, was a popular spot to dine overlooking the Raritan Bay. It was around since the 1950s and owned by Carmen herself. Over the years it was equally as known for its paella and lobsters as it was for some Italian dishes like fried calamari and zuppa di mussels. That’s the long story short.
In 2011, it was became Puglia of Hester Street, then Puglia’s by the Sea, destroyed in Oct. 2012 by Hurricane Sandy. And that was that for any restaurant there.
Restaurant #2: From whom did these cream puffs come? (Staten Island Advance File Photo)
2.) There are a few answers to this question and it pivots on where the late Mary Siep was cooking at the time. The chef was known for her cream puffs, custard-filled and sometimes warm to the touch as they continuously came from the oven. She cooked at The Brighton Lounge owned by Jimmy Conte.
Chef Mary Seip cooking a dish in the kitchen of the Rosebank Tavern. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)Staten Island Advance
Mary went onto Rosebank Tavern where she was hired by the late Gene Lynch. She moved onto Pascarella’s Forest Gardens, formerly of West Brighton.
Restaurant #3: Hint — Chinese food was served by the pool (Staten Island Advance File Photo)
3.) The El Sal at Royal Flamingo, Crown Palace
It was probably in the late 1970s that the restaurant born as El-Sal, part of the Flamingo Swim Club complex in Bay Terrace, was converted from a solid Italian restaurant to a solid Chinese restaurant.
Over the years, Crown Palace I, set far back from Amboy Road, had been “a model of consistency,” according to the Advance food critic at the time, adding, “Spacious and somewhat more sophisticated than most Chinese restaurants, it offers all the traditional fare as well as an extensive list of specialties and more distinguished cuisine.” But it also offered a walk-up window for pool club members. And it was pretty fancy with linen cloths on the tables and tuxedo-dressed waiters. It burned down in the 90s.
This is what Crown Palace in Great Kills looked like in the 1980s. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)Staten Island Advance
For good measure what was your favorite Chinese place of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s — or maybe further back in time on Staten Island? There might have been Peking Garden of Bulls Head.
In my case growing up in Dongan Hills, Lum Chin was our spot. My pals from school on the South Shore loved Lee’s Imperial (once Tai Chi) and in Great Kills.
Remember Mark’s Place? It’s where Michael’s Meatballs and Martinis now thrives in Dongan Hills.
Tung Bo of Stapleton.. anyone remember that place on the second floor of a Stapleton building?
Restaurant #4: Hint: It's now a strip mall with the restaurant's moniker worked into the new name of the complex. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)
4.) This is the one and only Riviera Chateau. Here it is in its better days:
How Riviera Chateau of Oakwood looked in 1971. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)Staten Island Advance
Whether you celebrated Ring Day at school or wanted a fancy night out, this Oakwood spot was an elegant, happening spot. It was owned by the Coppotelli family with matriarch Marian who also ran Bowling on the Green, formerly of New Dorp, with her son Bobby. That building was where the Hylan Boulevard library now lives.
The Riviera Chateau was demolished in 1996. The property is now home to a strip mall that includes a drive-thru Burger King, sushi restaurant Hokkaido and a pizzeria.
Restaurant #5: It lived by the seashore and was a great place for jazz. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)
5.) This is the famed The Shoal’s. Even way back when it was Saeur’s, a German restaurant, a landmark building built in 1903. Owned by the Dinger family, also of Dinger Farms, formerly of New Springville, The Shoal’s had quite the nightlife and was known for jazz. Picture gas and bait, rowboats and a dry dock yard plus the restaurant — it was a busy part of the Great Kills marina. Although it burned down in 1970, it is a huge source of memories for life-long Staten Islanders.
Restaurant #6: It wasn't Sardi's but that Manhattan restaurant fueled the idea for a Staten Island approach to the concept. (Staten Island Advance File Photo of yours truly)
6.) American Grill — this was established originally in West Brighton with my husband in 1999. The thing that made it interesting perhaps were the caricatures on the wall. When Dave and I were at Sardi’s one night in the mid-’90s it seemed like the perfect thing to have on Staten Island. The faces around the restaurant meant the restaurant would always feel full of company.
I miss those times on many levels, especially the regulars and the nice camaraderie among the staff. But through the pandemic, it occurred often in my mind: would American Grill or any of our historic eateries have survived the pandemic? With people so much at the base of their formula, it would have been an incredible struggle. I admire restaurant owners for having pulled through 2020 as graciously as they did.
Keep in touch.
Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
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