Oct. 2, 2014 By Michael Florio
A new restaurant servicing authentic Sicilian food is about to open in Ditmars.
Razzies Pizza, which will be located at 29-04 Ditmars Blvd, is expected to open in about two weeks serving pastas, seafood, paninis, sandwiches and pizza–all with a Sicilian kick, according to chef Alex Mara.
The menu will feature “grandma” pies, he said, which is like a Sicilian slice, but with a thin crust cut into squares.
“That is the authentic Italian pizza—the real thing,” Mara said. However, the restaurant will also serve New York-style pizza. He said that he will also be offering items such as Italian fries, stuffed meatballs and an octopus seafood salad.
Mara was born in the United States but moved to Sicily as a child, where he attended Academia Barilla Culinary School. He returned to the US as an adult and worked at Cipriani prior to signing on with Razzies.
“We are not a generic pizza parlor,” Mara said. “We will serve authentic, homemade cooking that you would have eaten in the old days.”
Razzies will offer restaurant-made items such as mozzarella, bread and salad dressings. The bread will be used for the sandwiches and paninis.
The owner of the restaurant is Harry Puccio, an Italian immigrant who grew up in Astoria. He said the restaurant will have 17 seats inside, with plans to put eight seats outside next summer.
Renovations on the restaurant began back in March.
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