In 2009, Benchmark client Marco Polo Ristorante spun off their to-go operation as Enoteca on Court. Enoteca has developed as a restaurant in its own right with Joe’s son Marco Chirico at the helm. Marco has been immersed in the NYC Italian restaurant business since the age of eleven. The heart of Enoteca’s kitchen is the traditional brick pizza oven, which imparts that unmistakable crispness to mushrooms, zucchini, kalamari, and more. Of course, with a name like Enoteca, “wine rep...
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Restaurant
La Masseria, the Italian farmhouse a block from Broadway
You
may have the universe if I may have Italy. --Giuseppe Verdi
Benchmark prints La Masseria's menus. Their name means "farmhouse," and their cuisine is inspired by the owners' upbringing in Capri and Puglia.
The menu includes the signature simplicity of Southern Italian farm fare, with organic grains and vegetables accompanied by fish, shellfish and crustaceans. Look at the asparagus and tomatoes around that burrata (above) – that will have your theater-night crew singing...
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Slurpin’ it up with Ivan Ramen
“Anything can wait, except ramen.”
That’s right, Benchmark client Ivan Ramen’s owner, Ivan Orkin, advises customers to eat it IMMEDIATELY. Piping hot, just-tender rye-blend noodles, anointed with a 6½-minute boiled egg, all with a clump of fresh scallions on top. That steaming first slurp takes on a certain zen, but Ivan’s signature roasted tomatoes taste still powers through as a dynamite take-out item.
Orkin, otaku New Yorker, channeled his love of Japanese culture into a Tokyo ...
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Quando, quando, quando will we eat at Fresco by Scotto®?
Fresco by Scotto® is an Italian restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. Established in 1993, it is operated by the Scotto Family—Marion, Rosanna, and Elaina Scotto. The kitchen is led by Executive Chef Benjamin Kacmarcik. Their menu is “Tuscan cuisine and regional Italian cooking with a modern flair” – spectacular plates of veal, salmon, seared scallops, and steak.
For over four years, Benchmark has printed for them, including laminated menus, reservation sheets, and business cards.
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Tito Murphy’s feeds Latin delights to theater crowds
Churro french toast
Benchmark client Tito Murphy’s is a Latin restaurant in Hell's Kitchen, on Restaurant Row by the Theater District. As we roll into Hispanic Heritage Month and chillier months, their heated street cafe and heated rooftop patio will keep us warm to take in the neighborhood ambience.
The Hell's Kitchen neighborhood was traditionally an Irish neighborhood. The origin of the name is disputed, but in 1835 Davy Crockett reprehensibly commented about a different Irish ...
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Find the deeper meaning of “tortilla” at Huertas
Northern Spain-style restaurant Huertas has been in Manhattan's East Village since 2014. This Benchmark client specializes in pintxos ("PIN-chos"), meaning “little bites.” Their pintxos include tantalizing toothpicked morsels such as olives, egg, pickles, and chickpea churros. Servers circulate among the dining tables, and the guests point out the pintxos they want, served dim sum-style, but accompanied by Huertas’ homemade vermouth.
Since it is Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s investiga...
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La Flor de Izucar blooms with birria, bakery, breakfast & more
It’s Hispanic Heritage Month, and Mexican
Independence Day is on September 16, so let’s check out some really
chido Mexican food!
Alfredo Torres runs La Flor de Izucar Cafe with his sister Yasmeen and brother Javier. Established in 1990, this minority-owned business was founded by his father, Mariano Torres, after immigrating to NY from Puebla, México, with his mother, Silvia Torres. The cafe is in Sunset Park, an industrial area known most of all for its flourishing community of firs...
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Rossana Russo keeps Lunella’s a family-run, autentico affair
Ready for date night? Ready for Little Italy, fritto di calamari, homemade gnocchi, and the perfect espresso to pick you back up? Well, you can satisfy that with a woman-owned business – Lunella Ristorante Italiano.
Restaurateur Rossana Russo’s Italian immigrant family has owned and operated various restaurants on Mulberry Street for generations.
Lunella’s is located on a narrow block of Nolita (North Little Italy) that evokes old times. There’s the reassuring 1950s-style moon o...
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