These 2 East Village mainstays are open for now

• Russo's Mozzarella & Pasta, 344 E. 11th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue (checking on the hours)

• East Village Meat Market, 139 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today.

A visit to Russo’s Mozzarella & Pasta

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

As a longtime fan of Russo’s Mozzarella & Pasta I was excited to be invited to watch head cheesemaker and longtime store manager Jimmy Paleta create their delicious fresh mozzarella.


[Michael Paleta with his father Jimmy Paleta]

Store owner Jack Cangemi welcomed me in the classic Italian foods shop at 344 E. 11th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. We spend a few minutes looking at the varieties of fresh pastas and sauces as well as the meats and cheeses before I am told the cheese curds are patiently waiting for us in the basement.









We venture down the steep steps to a basement with low ceiling (no small feat considering Jack is 6-7!) to watch the cheesemaking process, which went surprisingly quickly.

Jimmy soaks the shredded curds in boiling water and stirs until the smooth, ropy stringy cheese comes together. He smiles as he creates individual pound-size cheeseballs and braided twists. Following a brief cold saltwater bath, everything is wrapped, brought upstairs, and made available for sale.















Russo’s has been in existence since 1908. Jack, who grew up on East 10th Street, bought the business in 1986. Jack used to work part-time at Russo’s as a kid and was toiling in an "unhappy, not-fun job at EF Hutton" when the former shop’s owner approached him about buying into the shop.

Jack answers my questions about the business ("lease is good, landlord is great") and speculates on whether his son, Anthony, will one day take over with Jack’s longtime — 25-plus years — managers. He shows me around the tiny shop pointing out his favorite food (roasted artichokes), while Jimmy’s son, counterperson Michael Paleta, slices up some of the fresh mozz that his father just made.



"No such thing as a typical customer — it's no longer just old Italian people, people who have shopped here for 50-plus years," Jack says. "Now we also have East Village artists and musicians, families from Stuy Town, NYU kids — it's a diverse crowd. People know and appreciate good food. And, I like to think, good prices."

Jack says that he doesn't have any expansion plans: having three stores is enough (the original location on 11th Street and two more in Park Slope). He says the plan is never to close. "Where else can you feed two people a homemade meal for $10 to $15, a dinner that includes pasta and sauce and a salad? You can’t even do that at McDonald’s," he says. "You should have a Big Jack, not a Big Mac!"


[Cangemi with Bobby Giurdanella, owner of Bella Tile]

You can keep up with Russo’s on Instagram.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A moment with Wayne Diamond as he checks out 'The Wayne Diamond' at Russo's


[Cangemi and Wayne Diamond]

A moment with Wayne Diamond as he checks out 'The Wayne Diamond' at Russo's

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

I’m interviewing and photographing Russo’s Mozzarella and Pasta owner Jack Cangemi at the classic shop when, fortuitously and with great fanfare, the fast-talking, perpetually tan actor Wayne Diamond drops by from the Upper East Side to supervise the creation of a sandwich made in his honor. (If you've seen the critically acclaimed "Uncut Gems," then you'll recognize Diamond for his pivotal role in the casino scene with Julia Fox.)


[Cangemi and Diamond]

As for the sandwich, The Wayne Diamond is mozzarella, roasted peppers, pesto and mortadella on a ciabatta roll. Diamond, who was said to make a fortune working for decades in the Garment District, is accompanied by his friend (and PR agent) Elissa Buchter. He takes a moment to give a Wayne Diamond-esque endorsement of Russo's...



The sandwich, priced at $8.95, is available should you too want to experience The Wayne Diamond at Russo's, 344 E. 11th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Meanwhile, look for our A Visit to Russo's post soon!

Behold the Russo's-Black Seed bagel bread bomb

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Russo’s Mozzarella and Pasta (@russosnyc) on Jan 6, 2020 at 6:39am PST

Russo’s Mozzarella and Pasta, the neighborhood institution (circa 1908) over on 11th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, has teamed up with Black Seed Bagels for this combo sandwich — bagel bread stuffed with prosciutto and handmade mozzarella and served with a pesto dipping sauce.

The creation is available all month at any of the Black Seed locations, including the one at 176 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street.

In which Russo's kind of gives us heart failure

Nothing like turning west from First Avenue onto East 11th Street yesterday … and seeing the contents of one of your favorite shops out on the sidewalk.



Gah.

Turns out that the folks at Russo's are just doing some electrical/repair work.

Back open tomorrow, per the sign.



Now we'll go to New York magazine for a quickie overview:

Russo's has endured for a long time — they opened in 1908. Inside this diminutive shop, you'll find every Italian provision you'd expect — fresh ravioli, tortellini, gnocchi and linguini, cheese, olive oil, and canned tuna imported from Italy, as well as sausage, pepperoni, anchovies, and pignoli nuts.

Updated 8/7

Russo's reopened for business this afternoon around 3. There is a new floor and faux-brick walls ... not to mention two new display cases under the front counter... we didn't take any photos, as they were still getting things put back together. Food is the same!

Noted

There goes the Russo's mural on East 11th Street at First Avenue. (Not sure exactly when this happened.) The most recent Russo's mural arrived in September 2011.

Russo's mural progress

11th Street and First Avenue... Via EV Grieve reader Juan TRED.

And from Dave on 7th...

Previously.

New mural in the works for the Russo's-Something Sweet wall

In late July, workers refurbished the building on the southwest corner of First Avenue and 11th Street... painting over the Russo's ribbon mural in the process...

But! A new mural is in the works, as you can see... no one was around ... so we don't know who the artist is yet...

Of course, we're hoping (and assuming) that this will be for Russo's (or Something Sweet) and not an ad for, say, vodka.

Something Sweet had nothing to do with the loss of the Russo's mural

As we noted the other day, workers painted over the Russo's mural on East 11th Street. Blue Glass talked with the folks at Something Sweet. Because the mural was technically on their wall, there's a perception that Something Sweet ordered the paint job. Apparently several people have said unkind things about this to the Something Sweet staff.

Anyway, Something Sweet had nothing to do with the makeover. The building's landlord did. As for a new mural, the staff at Russo's was fairly noncommittal on the issue.

Workers paint over the Russo's mural on 11th Street

Last Monday, we pointed out the arrival of a sidewalk shed outside Something Sweet on the corner of First Avenue and East 11th Street...

And, let's awkwardly quote ourselves.... "As long as no one gets any funny ideas about painting over the Russo's mural on the 11th Street side..."

[2nd Russo's image via]

That's right! And this past weekend... checking in on the painting progress.

...and yesterday...

Ugh.

The store was founded in 1904. I don't know how long the mural has been here... Could workers have spared it? Not such a crazy concept. The pigs were actually saved on Second Avenue. Regardless, just one more familiar site in the neighborhood that has disappeared...