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Behind the Scenes at Legendary Gargiulo’s Restaurant in Brooklyn

After a successful recipe collaboration with Chef Matthew Cutolo of Gargiulo's in Brooklyn, our EIC visited for a tour and some lunch.

9:00 AM EST on February 21, 2025

The exterior signage at Gargiulo's Restaurant in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

The exterior signage at Gargiulo’s Restaurant in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

We were thrilled to partner with Chef Matthew Cutolo of legendary Gargiulo's Restaurant in a multi-part series dedicated to Italian American classics. As a third-generation Italian American working in the kitchen of a restaurant owned and operated by his family in Brooklyn’s Coney Island since 1907, Chef Matthew knows the intricacies of old school Italian cooking. We wanted to share his dedication to tradition with our readers to inspire the preparation of these dishes at home. 

Here are the recipes, write-ups and reels shared by Matthew exclusively with Appetito: Family Lasagna RecipeChicken PiccataStuffed Shells, Fried Calamari, Penne alla Vodka.

To celebrate this successful collaboration, we sent our Editor-in-Chief, Andrew Cotto, out to Coney Island for a behind the scenes tour of Gargiulo’s hosted by Chef Matthew and his uncle, Mike Russo, the Executive Chef. Of course, lunch was involved. Take a look!

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