When he was growing up in a restaurant family on Hill Avenue in the Edenwald neighborhood of the north Bronx in the 1970s, Richard “Richie” Milani learned that the most important ingredient in that business is love. Love of food and the traditions behind it. Love of the actual work of preparing dishes. Love of the family, friends, neighbors and customers who will enjoy them. And most importantly, he insists, love of God. And he intends to make that transcendent emotion the basis of his newly opened pizzeria and restaurant, Milani’s, located at 29 Academy St. near the corner of Cannon Street.
“Having a rapport with the people is essential – they have to like me before they like anything else,” Milani said. “And an important part of this is considering the neighborhood family. This area has been through some tough times, but we love the people of this neighborhood, and we are going to participate in reviving this neighborhood and bringing back the love that once was here.”
The gregarious Milani should have no trouble getting people to like him or his philosophy, and since the path to many people’s hearts goes through their stomachs, he will have a powerful advantage there too. For although Milani’s looks like a pleasant but modest pizza joint from the outside, it is in fact a full restaurant, deli and catering establishment with a stunning variety of Italian delicacies on offer, and different specials every day of the week.
On the day I passed by, the specials consisted of Portobella pizza, different varieties of foccaccia, and ravoli a la putanesca, the multi-ingredient sauce that originated as a desperate improvisation in the poorer parts of Italy, and wound up becoming one of the peninsula’s most memorable dishes. All were excellent, the pizza having just the right quality of crustiness, to my mind, the foccaccia the right doughy softness, and the puttanesca sauce as authentic and delicious as that I first tasted in a private home in Rome a quarter-century ago, when my cultural and culinary explorations of Italy were just beginning.
To authenticity and good taste, Milani’s adds originality and creativity. There are several regular menu dishes of the owner’s own creation, such as the Matthew Jr. pizza (pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, meatball, onions, green peppers, olives, fresh mozzarella) to honor his grandson and the Aegean sub (prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, fresh tomato, fresh basil, olive oil) to honor the nightclub next door, whose owner helped Milani set up his business. Mozzarella is perforce a recurring theme throughout the menu, as it is made on the premises fresh daily, as is the staple “Grandma’s bread” which is a special creation of Milani’s mother Rose Marie, who dutifully prepares it herself.
But it is of course the standards that anchor an establishment, those can’t-go-wrong meals that are there for you everyday, and Richie has seen to it that they abound.
Antipasto, chef, and Caesar salads; mozzarella, Caprese, and calamari appetizers; Italian and American combo subs; meatball, chicken, eggplant, veal and sausage parmesan heros; 16 varieties of gourmet pizza, from spinach and broccoli to margarita and white; baked ziti, ravioli, spaghetti and lasagna.
“Of course I recommend everything, but the lasagna is to die for,” said Milani, following the biblical injunction that the last shall be first.
Milani is quick to remind his customers that his is a full catering establishment with the capacity to cater meals for up to 500 people, and also has the connections to do full events, providing tents, tables, chairs, even clowns and other types of entertainment for children.
But as with any establishment of this size, it is what passes over the counter on a day-to-day basis that provides an indication of the health of the business and its place in the community.
Milani said that things are humming along, and as I saw when I dropped in, he is quite right.
“Business so far is excellent – superb,” he says. “All sorts of people from around Poughkeepsie have been coming in from the colleges, hospitals, and the offices on Market Street.
“We opened on March 20, the first day of spring. Renewal is what we’re looking for, and with the help of God and our customers, we’ll get it.”