Summer In The City: Food and Fun on Staten Island

This summer, we will feature a guide for what to do in all five boroughs. Today Pamela Silvestri, food editor at the Staten Island Advance, talks about her favorite summer attractions from around the borough. Plus, listeners share their favorite summer spots on Staten Island.

Alison Stewart: This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. Every day this week, we're giving you the things to do in each borough. Yesterday was Brooklyn. Today, we take the ferry to Staten Island. Not only is Staten Island one of the greenest boroughs with over 170 parks, but it's also a borough full of good food, historic landmarks, museums, outdoor activities, and a whole lot more. Staten Island native and advanced food editor, Pamela Silvestri is here to give us her best picks, from lighthouses to local restaurants, to hikes through peaceful wetlands. Welcome back, Pamela.

Pamela Silvestri; Thank you so much. So good to be back.

Alison Stewart: Listeners, we want to hear from you. Are you from Staten Island? Do you have a favorite spot, park, restaurant? You want to give it a shout out? What sites have you visited? Tell us your Staten Island stories. Call or text us at 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. Do not call us if you are driving. Pull over and then call us. Don't call us when you are driving. That's our only rule.

You grew up on Staten Island. Your background is in the restaurant industry. What is it about Staten Island that made you so invested in food?

Pamela Silvestri; My Uncle, Jim, owned a restaurant on the Upper east side of Manhattan called Jim McMullen's, and my Mom was the bookkeeper there. Ever since I was a little girl, I was going to the restaurant and I just got the bug for food and the restaurant business.

Alison Stewart: What have you noticed in recent years, maybe since the pandemic, the trends in food?

Pamela Silvestri; Interesting. I think that everything is a lot more casual. Good thing, because Staten Island is known for its pizza, so it makes it certainly a very palatable thing for us to have and showcase. But definitely, more casual dining, a lot more attention on local products and things like that, which is wonderful for Staten Island since there's a lot of people that grow their own food and things like that.

Alison Stewart: All right, let's dive right into your list. Located right near the ferry terminal is the National Lighthouse Museum, a museum that explores maritime history and lighthouse technology. What are some of the popular exhibits there?

Pamela Silvestri; There, they have little representations of lighthouses from around the region. But what's really exciting about them is that they offer tours around the lower New York harbor, so you can see the different lighthouses, some of which were built right there at the National Lighthouse Museum, where it is today. You could take a tour sunset at the time the cruise ships go out.

Alison Stewart: Oh, it's beautiful.

Pamela Silvestri; It's very nice to see the fireboats pumping water in the water right outside the Statue of Liberty, as the cruise ships are going out to sea. It's very nice.

Alison Stewart: I understand the museum is celebrating its 10th anniversary, although the buildings have been around since 1864-ish?

Pamela Silvestri; That's about right.

Alison Stewart: What was the museum originally used for, the land it was used for?

Pamela Silvestri; The lighthouses actually were constructed on their side in pieces and then assembled out at sea. They were actually constructed in the lights, the lenses, and things like that, right there where the museum is today.

Alison Stewart: Oh, wow.

Pamela Silvestri; Yes, it's pretty fascinating. There's a little pier where people go fishing and things like that, so it's very maritime-focused.

Alison Stewart: What are some upcoming exhibits at the museum?

Pamela Silvestri; Of course, the cruises, the yacht cruises, and things like that. Also, what they do have is Chowderfest and different festivals and things like that. It's right off the Staten Island ferry, which is very nice because it's just a quick walk there. Also, right near the lighthouse museum is St. George, which is sort of the capital of Staten Island, so to speak. You can just literally step off the boat and you can see borough hall, which is an historic building.

Alison Stewart: That was going to be my next question, the borough hall. The murals at the borough hall, what are those about?

Pamela Silvestri; It was a public works project during the Great Depression. They had beautiful murals painted. It really does give a nice history of New York harbor, which Staten Island was very much part of. You can see the Lenny Lenape Indians, the native people there. There are also very, very charming pictures of what the harbor looked like before it was developed, the marshland and things like that. It also sets the precedent for what was to come, which were breweries and other things that were reliant on the waterways and the fresh water. At one time, there were dozens and dozens of breweries too.

Alison Stewart: Oh, that's really interesting. All right, that's the bureau hall mural, as well as the National Lighthouse Museum. Let's take a couple of calls. Mark is calling in. Hey, Mark, thanks for making the time to call All Of It today. No Mark. No Mark. All right, maybe Mark will call us back.

Anyway, I'm speaking to Staten Island food editor Pamela Silvestri about the things to do on Staten Island, and we are taking your calls. Our Phone number is 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. Oh, I have a little in big letters. No calls right now, problem with the board. They'll tell me when it's cleared up. I'll continue talking to you. How about that?

Pamela Silvestri; One of our most famous restaurants is a place that people have been calling Nonnas.

Alison Stewart: Enoteca?

Pamela Silvestri; Enoteca Maria.

Alison Stewart: All right, explain this to me.

Pamela Silvestri; Enoteca Maria started out 2014 or so. It was a restaurant that was started on the principle of a bunch of Nonnas who basically--

Alison Stewart: Italian grandma?

Pamela Silvestri; Exactly, and they took their specialties from regions of Italy, and they replicated them for people who were coming into the restaurant at 27 Hyatt Street, Enoteca, meaning wine bar, and there was a wine focus, and the owner, Jodi Scaravella, who's probably our most famous restaurant owner on Staten Island right now, was the subject of this Netflix movie called Nonnas.

This really brought a lot of attention to the neighborhood, and there is no way you can get a reservation, so don't even ask. I don't even have an in there, but Joe actually has a line out the do. But other things in the neighborhood, which are nice, there's a little bakery next door called Rispoli Bakery. There's a lovely restaurant called [crosstalk] Bakery, Stoppa Bakery.

Alison Stewart: Yes, it's good.

Pamela Silvestri; It's an Italian pastry shop. It has beautiful cannoli and been around forever. It's been around forever, it makes beautiful breads, but their pastries are lovely.

Alison Stewart: All right, cannoli, pastries. What else? You got me a bakery. I'm stuck here.

Pamela Silvestri; The owner's very lovely, so it's just a charming place if you can't get into Enoteca Maria.

Alison Stewart: All right. Here we go, the phone lines, they're back. Let's talk to Mark. Hey, Mark.

Mark: How are you Alison? Great to be on and say hello. Just heard Pam Silvestri talking about Staten Island. I am the administrator of the Freshkills Park out here in Staten Island, and I just had Pam come out and go kayaking with us. She came out and saw our bird tower and our 50,000 violets that we're planting. It really is one of the most exceptional large landscape parks to be built in New York City, probably the last large landscape park to be built that will ever be built because there's simply no more land out there.

I just wanted to talk about Freshkills. We don't have any restaurants at Freshkills, and I know you guys are talking about Enoteca and Nonnas and all that fun stuff, but we love watching the birds and the foxes and all the other wildlife out there, dine on whatever they can find in the tall grassland.

Alison Stewart: I wanted to ask you, Mark, what lessons does Freshkills offer us about sustainability and about urban renewal, especially for our younger visitors?

Mark: I think there's a couple of things. First, Freshkills is more than just a park. It is a platform for doing exceptional things for the people of the City of New York, especially the children. We brought 7,000 kids, New York City school kids, many Title 1 school kids, from historically discriminated against communities, out to Freshkills to learn and play and just enjoy the great outdoors. We look at Freshkills as really the great second chance, and so many of us need that. I think Staten Island is the poster child for second chances, and Freshkills is too. But it just goes to show how the land is resilient, and if you start collecting your garbage correctly, it won't be going into landfills. If you start composting, it'll be going back into our gardens and not going into a waste flow, and we teach that to the kids every day.

Alison Stewart: Thanks a lot for calling. We really appreciate it. Freshkills was once one of the largest landfills for people who didn't know the history of it. What do you like about Freshkills?

Pamela Silvestri; I love that place. It was a hard sell for me because I grew up where the seagulls were flying over these mountains of garbage for years, but it is an absolutely brilliant project, and it's a miracle that the water is so clean there. For Mother's Day, my husband took me kayaking there. I do love it. It's extraordinary, and yes, the birds are beautiful, sandpipers running along the shoreline. There's a bald eagle that is in the neighborhood there. Also, the restaurants around it.

There's the West Shore Inn, which is actually an historic restaurant because it has been focused on steaks since the 1960s. It's got little pieces of history of Staten Island around it. There's also a very nice playground not too far from there called Shmuel Play Playground, and it's got water coming up from the ground. It's beautiful. It's a really lovely park to take children to.

There is another place called Sandwich and Pickle, which is like an eastern European place, which is not too far from there. If you do something, biking, kayaking, whatever, at Freshkills, you can always stop by one of those places.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Tom, who is calling in from Staten Island. Hi, Tom. Thank you so much for making the time to call us today.

Tom: Hey, thanks for taking my call. I'm Tom. I'm the co founder of Maker Park Radio at NYC, at Staten Islands community nonprofit streaming radio station, and big hi to Pam. She's great. She does great things on Staten Island in the advance, and a big hi to Mark who just called in from Freshkills, because he does a great job at Freshkills.

I want to recommend taking your bike across on the ferry. The shoreline is really bikable. You could bike down to Stapleton to Maker Park, which is across from our little radio station. Maker Park has a new art exhibit that's been put in for an annual residency program, so you can see the art that's in Maker Park. Sometimes we have events in Maker park, so you can see a concert or some art exhibits or anything like that. There's some great restaurants, as Pam can point out. Right nearby, we've got a great Sri Lankan restaurant around the corner called Lakruwana. We've got Steppe Pizza bar right down the street, it's a great little neighborhood in Stapleton. It's about a 10-minute bike ride to the south of the ferry.

Alison Stewart: Thanks for calling in. Tracy again from Staten Island. We're happy to have you on the air.

Stacy: Hello and hi, Pam, it is, it's Tracy. I am just calling to give a shout out to the Mount Carmel feast in Rosebank. It's an Italian grotto that was built by artisans over 100 years ago. For two weekends every summer, this is the last weekend, they have a festival with food and games and beer, both kinds, regular and light beer. It is just so Staten Island, and it's one of my favorite places to go. Thank you.

Pamela Silvestri; Great suggestion.

Alison Stewart: Okay, one, do you know everybody on Staten Island?

Pamela Silvestri; It's a small town. It's a very small, big town, half a million people, but once you move there, once you're walking around there, everybody gets to know you.

Alison Stewart: All right, let's talk about this, Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Gardens. It's got 28 buildings. What will I see in those 28 buildings?

Alison Stewart: It's extraordinary. It's a beautiful location. Not too far, by the way, just to plug the food there. New Hillsboro Brewing Company, which has beautiful food there within a few footsteps away. The flowers, the gardens themselves, the greenhouses, it's really spectacular. There's a bunch of other things that you can see there. There's the Chinese Scholars Garden, which is very peaceful. It does bring a lot of people on the weekends, but every day, there's something new blooming there. Not only the gardens, the things that are there, the buildings that are there are old housing for the sailors that were there at Snug Harbor.

Robert Richard Randall was a sea captain who took care of the elderly, merchant marines, and he put housing on Staten Island for them when they were old and decrepit and didn't have families. That's where they ended up, and so, as a result, you could see a lot of what was there when the sailors were there. You could see the old fruit trees and again, things blooming all the time.

Cherry blossoms are extraordinary. It brings people from around the world. There's also an incredible children's museum there. There's the Noble Maritime Collection, which is in one of the buildings, which is one of my favorite places to go. It has old artwork from different parts of New York City. You could see what the landscape looked like from years ago, and it's got a history of maritime in New York City.

Then also, there's the Staten Island Museum, which has various exhibits of local artists. Also, in the background at night, if you go at night, you can actually see some of the wildlife on Staten Island. We're known for our turkeys, but also you can see a lot of red foxes at sunset. You can hear the sounds of the Snug Harbor Little League in the background. It's really a charming place.

Alison Stewart: We are talking to Staten Island expert Pamela Silvestri about things that you can do on Staten Island this summer. Listeners, we want to hear from you. Are you from Staten Island? Do you have a favorite spot that you want to shout out to everyone? Our number is 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. We'll take more of your calls and we'll have more with Pamela after a quick break. This is All Of It.

You're listening to All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. This is our Summer in the City series. We are concentrating today on Staten Island. I'm speaking to Staten Island advanced food editor Pamela Silvestri about all the great things you can do on Staten Island. We are taking your calls and your texts. Here's a bunch of texts we got coming in. Silver Lake Cemetery on Victory Boulevard is now a historic landmark. This says, Alison, the Wu Tang Clan mural is great for anyone who is a fan of the band. They are also on their final tour and just performed at MSG last Night. We got a shout out that says, shout out to Phillips Candy, he used to be in Coney Island. Moved to Staten Island when the MTA was renovating the Stilwell Avenue station. It's amazing. Let's talk to Ted, who is from Staten Island. Hi, Ted, thanks for calling in.

Ted: Hi. Can you hear me okay?

Alison Stewart: Hear you great. You are on the air.

Ted: I would just give a shout out to the beaches as my favorite thing to do in Staten Island, that people might not know about. I mean, maybe because it's on the bay, it's a little bit sheltered from the heavier surf that you might encounter if you went to say, Rockaway. That's my first one. My second one, Pam has already kind of covered the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, but it's really a must see place, and there's just a wide variety of activities going on.

For instance, next month there's a big dance festival going on, workshops and performances. If you have any interest in dance at all, make a trek across the pond and come see us.

Alison Stewart: Thanks, Ted. Let's talk to James. Hi, James. You are on All Of It.

James: Hi, how are you doing?

Alison Stewart: Doing great.

Ted: Hi, how are you? Privileged to be on. Thank you so much. I'm a sixth generation Staten Islander, although no longer living there. In fact, it was really funny that when Ms. Silvestri mentioned Captain Randall about the founder of Snug Harbor, but you see, he was my great, great, great great grandfather's landlord on his dairy farm, which is now part of Silver Lake. I grew up in Arrikar, which the Dutch called Old Dorp or outer Dorp. There's a new dorp and there's an outer dorp.

The real thing, I'm still an evangelist for Staten Island, even though I'm not living there. I really like to point out the view from the top of Grimes Hill, which is a little bit hard to get to by public transportation, but really worth the effort to find your way up there. It's a view over the harbor from the best perspective I can think of in the harbor. It is extraordinary. It makes you love not only Staten Island, but all of New York.

Alison Stewart: James, love your call. Thank you so much for calling in. You're nodding your head, Pam.

Pamela Silvestri; Oh, James, you just struck a chord there. It is such a beautiful view from up on Grimes Hill. One of the places up there that you can catch a really nice view is up at Wagner College, which also has a very good basketball team. It really is a nice view there. Also, Fort Wadsworth is off of Bay street, and that is where there is a coast guard base nearby. That is a really extraordinary view. Sweeping views of the harbor, you feel like you could throw a stone at the bridge, the Verrazana Bridge. It's really lovely.

Those are very, very good points.

Alison Stewart: You have on your list, the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art. It's a really large contemporary art gallery.

Pamela Silvestri; It's lovely, and the building itself, too, is extraordinary. Just to pack a lunch, go there. It's on the property of Snug Harbor. By the way, there's also a couple of restaurants I have to point out there. There's Harbor Eats, where you can grab a hot dog and some casual food and some pulled pork. There's also Egger's Ice Cream, which is an historic ice cream parlor on Staten Island. It was established in the 1930s on Staten Island, and it's one of the dairy places that are very, very nice on Staten Island.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk about some historical sites. The Conference House that represents Staten Island's revolutionary history. Tell us more about the conference house.

Pamela Silvestri; The Conference House is at the very tip of Staten Island, and it takes a while to get to it. Years ago, there was a trolley that ran along Highland Boulevard. It went all the way from, actually what is now Rosebank down to the end of Staten Island. The Conference House is a revolutionary war site. When you go there and you walk through the halls of the place, you can really get the feeling of what it was like to be out on that part of Staten Island, so close to New Jersey. It's a wonder why Staten Island is not a part of New Jersey, since it's so close.

They do have some lovely activities there, especially around in fall. It's a great place to watch the leaves change. Yes, it's gorgeous, and very, very nice, great place to have a picnic. Not too far away is the town of Tottenville itself, and there's some very nice little restaurants there. There's a place called Mangia, which, believe this, the pizza is absolutely excellent. The owner there is very charming as well, and there's also Rocky's Pizza there, of course, lots of pizza.

There's a nice little coffee shop out there, too. There's just a lot to do, and it's a very nice walking town not too far from The Conference House.

Alison Stewart: All right, let's take a couple more calls. Charles is calling from the Upper west side. Hi, Charles. Thanks for Calling All Of It.

Charles: Thank you, Alison. You have a gorgeous guest. Years ago, when I was a young puppy, one of my sister's godmothers lived in the senior housing off Lexington, and there was an old town hall of New Brighton, and the biggest oak tree was on its property. Across the street was a restaurant that had changed a few owners. Last time I saw it was Mexican, but that was maybe 10 or 15 years ago. Does she know that structure I'm talking about? Is it still standing?

Pamela Silvestri; Oh, good question. Adobe Blues is the restaurant you might be referring to. Is that right? Adobe Blues?

Charles: I can't remember the name, but I know it's changed hands since I was young. Then later, it became, I think a Mexican restaurant, but I'm not sure what it is now or if it's even a restaurant anymore. But do you remember the old town hall of New Brighton?

Pamela Silvestri; I do. I remember it very well. It's actually off of Cassidy Place, which is now a senior center. The restaurant that you're talking about is actually an historic restaurant. It's one of the oldest restaurants in New York City that is still, unfortunately, not open. It was called Adobe Blues in its last iteration, and it was prior to that, it was called the Cottage Inn. Also, there were singing Irish waiters at one point in the 1930s, 1940s. It was also a very good bar for the Snuggies, as they were referred to sometimes. But the old sailors from Snug Harbor would walk over there and use that as one of their watering holes, as well as Leedy's, which was one of the oldest taverns in New York City until it closed about a year and a half ago.

You bring up a good point. Adobe Blues was actually a landmark with beer until it closed. Its owner has passed away, and it's under new ownership, and hopefully, the guy, Artie, will get that place up and running again soon.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Mary Kate. Hey, Mary Kate, thank you so much for calling All Of It.

Mary Kate: Am I on?

Alison Stewart: You're on the air.

Mary Kate: Okay. Hi. I still here talking.

Alison Stewart: Oh, yes. Turn your radio down, dear. Turn your radio down, and now you can talk.

Mary Kate: Oh, great. Thank you. I would like to say hi to Pamela and also mention our absolutely stunning Tibetan museum, which is located on Lighthouse Hill. This is an amazing site that has been designated a holy site by the Dalai Lama himself. It has a huge collection of ancient Tibetan art, and also, it was built by a woman in the 1940s when women really didn't do that. She carried stones up Lighthouse Hill to build her site. It is one of the most beautiful sites on Staten Island, and definitely it's peaceful and it's a must see.

Alison Stewart: Did you want to add anything to that?

Pamela Silvestri; I think Mary Kate did an exquisite job explaining exactly how wonderful it is. It's a very serene sight in a charming little building. You'd never know that there was so much behind a stone wall as you drive by. It's certainly worth a trip to go on weekends in particular. Not too far from there is historic Richmond Town, which is a place that-- The Tibetan museum is a little bit of a hike from the ferry, but if anybody does stop there, there are some nice little worthwhile places to stop in and eat.

Again, Historic Richmond Town has a little Main Street Cafe and a little live historic village in there. Not too far from there is a place called Cafe Verde, which is an Italian Mediterranean place. Also, at some point, I'd also like to point out that not far from the Tibetan museum are all these beautiful little park spaces, including historic Richmond Town. Places like where you can have Richmond County Fair, which is in the fall, and that's coming up in Labor Day weekend, and lots of places for festivals around the island. That's also very nice to see in the borough.

Alison Stewart: We have to mention Alice Austin House.

Pamela Silvestri; Yes.

Alison Stewart: We've talked about it on the show quite a bit. The site is recognized as an LGBTQ historic site. She was a well known photographer. What would you want people to know about the Alice Austin House?

Pamela Silvestri; That is another beautiful place to view New York City. It's right on the water, not too far from there is actually a bed and breakfast, and also Rosebank, which is a little town that has a lot of little restaurants in it. Alice Austin House is a very special place. You could see again where Alice Austin photographed the fellow Staten Islanders and found a great place for solitude. You could see why she really loved that and loved her Staten Island as a result.

Alison Stewart: In our last minute, anything you want to mention? Any kind of festivals that are happening that we should think about on Staten Island?

Pamela Silvestri; There are a few. I mentioned the Richmond County Fair. There's also a great soul food festival, which is the second year. It is definitely a great thing to go to. It is on August 31st, it's at Snug harbor. Shawn A. Dixon is the owner of a restaurant there.

Alison Stewart: Oh, she's the best.

Pamela Silvestri; She is the best. She's awesome. Her soul food is carried over at that festival, so definitely something to see, as well as Fig Fest, which is on September 13th, and that's at Nansen's Lodge, which is in Travis. Historic Travis of Staten Island.

Alison Stewart: All right, listeners, just so you know, there will be a transcript available of this conversation, so if you didn't get everything down, it will be all there, all our listeners calls, all of Pam's suggestions. My guest has been Staten Island advanced food editor Pamela Silvestri, telling us all about the great things we can do on Staten Island. Thank you for your time today.

Pamela Silvestri: Thank you so much for having me.