Roberto's gets is higher ratings the way most do in Zagat's... by it's name recognition and not by it's merits. Queens seems to be a forgotten boro when it comes to Zagat's. They love Manhattan and Brooklyn. Roberto's is all there is in that area so it stands out. As for the Lemon Ice King... I don't know what you expect from frozen water and flavoring but when it comes to 40 or 50 flavors of italian ices they were probably the first and surely the most famous. The place is there more than 60 years selling ices 6 months of the year (in the winter they sell candy apples) so they must be doing something good.
Quintessential New York Restaurant
- Thread starter Monk
- Start date
Roberto's gets is higher ratings the way most do in Zagat's... by it's name recognition and not by it's merits. Queens seems to be a forgotten boro when it comes to Zagat's. They love Manhattan and Brooklyn. Roberto's is all there is in that area so it stands out. As for the Lemon Ice King... I don't know what you expect from frozen water and flavoring but when it comes to 40 or 50 flavors of italian ices they were probably the first and surely the most famous. The place is there more than 60 years selling ices 6 months of the year (in the winter they sell candy apples) so they must be doing something good.
I'm not sure you can say that when there are like a million places on Arthur Avenue.
Now you might say Roberto's is the only REALLY GOOD place in that area. But it better be you who says it and not me, cuz I don't wanna be there when all the partisans of Dominick's or Mike's Deli hear it.
Now you might say Roberto's is the only REALLY GOOD place in that area. But it better be you who says it and not me, cuz I don't wanna be there when all the partisans of Dominick's or Mike's Deli hear it.
Last edited:
Yeah? Tell that to Dominick's, Rigoletto's, Mario's, etc.
I don't know how you can compare the Park Side with Roberto's. Just totally different. The Park Side is classic hearty red-sauce Southern Italian (i.e. Italian-American) --think anything parm and pasta -- and Roberto's is comtemporary stuff with emphasis on seafood and seasonal vegetables and whatnot. I doubt you'd find one dish on the menu in common (athough you'd never ask for a menu at Roberto's. It changes almost daily).
I don't know how you can compare the Park Side with Roberto's. Just totally different. The Park Side is classic hearty red-sauce Southern Italian (i.e. Italian-American) --think anything parm and pasta -- and Roberto's is comtemporary stuff with emphasis on seafood and seasonal vegetables and whatnot. I doubt you'd find one dish on the menu in common (athough you'd never ask for a menu at Roberto's. It changes almost daily).
Last edited:
I don't know which Parkside you've been to but half their menu is seafood and most the other half is veal. Their prized dish is osso buco but only served up one or two nights a week. Last time I was there in January I don't think there were more than a half dozen parm and pasta dishes on their menu.
I don't know much about restaurants but I always thought the Parkside was good but had more hype and accolades than it deserved.But the bocci games in the park and the Ice King gave it a neighboorhood feeling that has all but disappeared from the city.Once I ate upstairs at the Parkside in a room that was a surreal shrine to Marylin Monroe with every kitschy doll,painting and artifact imaginable and photos of Joe D and the Kennedy boys.Speaking of them,the walls of Joe Abbracciamento's on Woodhaven Blvd. are covered with photos of pols,mostly Queens Dems who've stopped by over the years.There's one of Teddy and Eunice Shriver with the owners from the mid 70's.The food is comparable to the Parkside IMO.The remodeled upscale Crisci's in Williamsburgh ain't the same place where my old neighbor Uncle Lucky used to hang out.
The Abbracciamento's at the Canarsie Pier was the better one. The one on Woodhaven is too big now that they took over the old Drake movie theater and it's a bit over priced for the area.
Crisci's in Williamsburgh is the one I misspelled above... great place, better than Bamonte's and they had a chef my grandfather pegged as being from Abbruzzi Italy. He walked into the kitchen to meet him and sure enough he was. I haven't been there in years though (10 at least).
Those Eye-talians sure did love those Kennedy's... even after they got knifed in the back by Robert.
Man does that bring back old memories. The last time I was at Abbracciamentos was probably 32 yrs ago. My GF took a qualude before dinner and got so fucked up I had to cancel the dinner and drag her ass out of there. Geez, haven't thought about the place in years. Didn't Joe pass away many years ago?
Also, used to go to the Drake as a kid.