Greenwich Village Newport Steak

The PERFECT NEWPORT STEAK

Bordeaux and Chianti

"And You Can't Hear But 

The ROLLING STONES"

Are Playing in The Background

"BLISS !!!

The Perfect Newport Steak? What? I make it. Not everyone can. Number 1, you have to start with a Great Steak, a Newport Steak. A Steak not known to many. Well if you're fortunate to live in New York's Greenwich Village, you might know about them. Then again, you might not, cause just because you live in The Village, doesn't mean you know of this little thing of wonder, The Newport Steak. The Newport Steak is a thing of wonder, especially if you love Steak but don't want to shell out about $19.00 a piece or more to get one. That's uncooked from the butcher, a nice Prime Sirloin Steak that is. Now a Newport Steak on the other hand will cost you about $7.50 on the average, or roughly 2 1/2 times less than a Sirloin, and you do not give up on taste or quality. It's just as good. Maybe better.

   It is said that The Newport Steak was created by Jack Ubaldi, an Italian immigrant who owned a Butcher Shop in New York's heavily Italian Greenwich Village some time around 1947. The Newport Steak is actually most commonly known as Tri Tip Steak and comes from the Bottom Sirloin portion of a cow. The Tri Tip is not well known nor much in demand. Well not among the masses, but we "Smart Ones" know better. We always get equal or better quality of anything, but always pay less. Thus the case of a Tri-Tip or if as we call it in New York's Greenwich Village "The Newport Steak" In California, Californians know it as The Santa Maria Steak.

   Anyway, Mr. Ubaldi, wanted to sell this lesser known cut to his customers, but didn't want to sell it as Tri Tip, he wanted a catchyer name. A name that would help sell this wonderful little steak, that was oh so tasty and cost far less than Sirloin, T-Bone, Porter House or Rib Steaks. He wanted a name that in the name itself would sell the steak. One day jack Ubaldi was looking at a pack of Newport Cigarettes and noticed that the logo of Newports was more or less the same shape of the Tri Tip Steaks that he cut. Right then and there Jack Ubaldi named his cut of Tri Tip 
"The Newport Steak" the name caught on and they've been selling Newport Steaks at Florence Meat Market on Jones Street in Greenwich Village ever since. They're are a couple other spots in the area where you can get a Newport Steak. Ottomanelli's down the block at Bleecker and Joes Streets sells them, as well as Pino's Prime Meats on Sullivan Street, and is a place where I often pick up a Newport Steak or two, along with ones from the original Florence Meat Market.

     Well, I picked up a couple the other night and cooked them for me and a friend. As usual, they came out perfectly. We had a Couple good bottles of wine as well, in a nice bottle of Villa Sesta Chianti and a fine Bordeaux. And if that wasn't good enough, and don't you think it should have been? We listened to The Rolling Stones while I cooked those "Tasty Steaks" some Roast Potatoes and Carrots. Those steaks, yes they were Perfect. Not many people can cook a Steak as Good as Me, "No Brag Just Fact." Yes it's Fact, I can cook a Steak Better than anyone of ever met or eaten a steak cooked by another, and that includes Steaks I've had at Sparks Steak House, Peter Luger and other places renowned for their steaks. If you knew me, you'd know I'm telling the truth. Ask anyone who has ever eaten a Steak that I've cook, "They tell you."

  Any way, yes the Steaks were perfect. My mouth is watering now just thinking about them. Dam, I tell you, Those Newport Steaks were "So Dam Good" they were practically "Orgasmic" I kid you not. Ask my Pal Chris, or my Buddies Raoul or Jimmy S, they'll tell you. So we had The Perfect Steak, drank Chianti, and listened to The World's Greatest Rock Band of All-Time "The Rolling Stones." And yes Boys and Girls, Ladies and Gentlemen, "Sometimes Life Can Be Blissful." Yes It Can.



Daniel Bellino Zwicke

Newport Steaks are Cut From The Tri-Tip mof The Bottom Sirloin



WHERE To GET A NEWPORT STEAK

FLORENCE MEAT MARKET    "The ORIGINAL" Jack Ubaldi Created The Newports Steak here at Florence Meat Market in the 1940s ..... Jones Street (Near Bleecker)
 Greenwich Village, New York, NY

PINO'S PRIME MEATS .....  Sullivan Street, Soho, New York NY

OTTOMANELLI'S  ....  Bleecker Street between Jones and 7th Avenue, Greenwich Village

A Couple Fresh

Newport Steaks

Ready to Cook

SUNDAY SAUCE

MEATBALLS - MACCHERONI - SOUPS

STEAK "ITALIAN STYLE"

AMAZON.com

Bellino and Pacino

 

AL PACINO

"BELLINO & PACINO"

Daniel Bellino is an Italian-American author who highlights Al Pacino in his cookbooks, particularly focusing on Italian-American cooking, "Sunday Sauce" (meat-based Red Sauce), and shared Sicilian roots, Bellino's family from Lercara Friddi, Sicily, and Al Pacino - "Believe It or Not" hails from Corleone, Sicily.

Bellino's books, such as Grandma Bellino's Cookbook, discuss recipes like Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, which is noted as a favorite of Al Pacino. 

Daniel Bellino's Connection: Daniel Bellino Zwicke is known for writing books about Italian-American life, food, and culture. He features "Sunday Sauce" and mentions Sicilian-American connections.

Daniel writes in his book of the times when he was the Wine Director of Barbetta Ristorante in New York, where Pacino occasionally dined at. When Daniel was taking Mr. Pacino's food order, Al would always ask if the kitchen would make him Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (Spaghetti with Garlic & Olive Oil). "The dish was not on the menu, that why Al asked if we could make us. It was an offer we couldn't refuse," states Bellino. And of course we always made it for Al, and he was a wonderful client to have dining with us." The rest is history, shall we say. Al Pacino's favorite paste was Spaghetti with Garlic & Oil (Aglio e Olio). We know this thanks to Daniel Bellino, who felt with Pacino first hand. Bellino tells this story in his book Sunday Sauce

• Al Pacino & Pasta: In his book Grandma Bellino's Italian Cookbook - Bellino features a "Spaghetti Aglio e Olio" recipe that he associates with Al Pacino. While Pacino is of Sicilian descent, this specific garlic and oil dish is commonly known as a Neapolitan specialty.
• Sunday Sauce: Bellino's recipes, often termed "Sunday Sauce alla Bellino alla Pacino," highlight traditional, slow-simmered sauces featuring meat such as meatballs, sausages, and pork braciola.
• Key Themes: Bellino's work often highlights connections between famous Italian-Americans (like Pacino and Sinatra) and the culinary traditions of New York and New Jersey Italian-American communities.
• Related Works: Other books by Bellino-Zwicke include Sinatra Sauce: Meatballs & Merriment. 

Bellino frequently shares these stories and recipes on his "New York Italian" Instagram and blog, often framing them within the context of classic Italian-American films and culture.

NONNA BELLINO'S COOKBOOK

RECIPES From MY SICILIAN NONNA

AMAZON.com

AL APCINO & AGLIO e OLIO

Al Pacino and Aglio Olio you ask? What about it? Well it’s just that Spaghetti Aglio Olio always reminds me of that great fellow New Yorker Sicilian American, the one-and-only Al Pacino from da Bronx. It’s not a big deal, just a wonderful little memory for me. When I was the Wine Director at the famed Barbetta Ristorante on Restaurant Row in New York’s Theater District (where Al often performs on stage), Al Pacino used to come and eat there every now and then. He never wanted anything to fancy, but something that just about all true blooded Italian-American wants, and that dish is Spaghetti Aglio Olio, plain and simple, yet it’s in our blood. That’s what Al wanted and that’s what we gave him, and Al loved it and you will too. 

Note: As has already been noted, you can make Spaghetti w/ Garlic & Oil, simply by making the above recipe, and omitting the Anchovies, and you’ll have it just like Al Pacino does. 

Enjoy!

Excerpted form GRANDMA BELLINO'S ITALIAN COOKBOOK

by Daniel Bellino Zwicke

Author DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE

Books

.

The Duomo - Florence Italy

 

SANTA MARIA del FIORE

"The DUOMO"

FLORENCE

At The DUOMO

FLORENCE, ITALY 

Author Daniel Bellino Zwicke

Amazon.com

"The DUOMO"

FIRENZE

ITALIAN FOOD & TRAVELS

ROME VENICE PIZZA PASTA & ?

AMAZON.com

.

Being Tony Bourdain

 

TONY & DAVE

"LETTERMAN"

There Will Never Be Another ANTHONY BOURDAIN

SINATRA SAUCE

The COOKBOOK

AMAZON.com

DiMaggio and Bellino

JOE DiMAGGIO

DiMAGGIO & BELLINO

Author Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

 features Joe DiMaggio and his family's culinary traditions in his Italian-American cookbook, SUNDAY SAUCE.  The book highlights recipes like "Mamma DiMaggio’s Sunday Gravy," honoring the mother of the legendary Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio. 

• 
  
• Connection: Daniel Bellino-Zwicke, a cookbook author and former restaurant professional, highlights Joe DiMaggio as a key figure in Italian-American culture in his books.
• "Sunday Sauce": In his book Sunday Sauce, Bellino-Zwicke includes recipes for classic Italian-American dishes, featuring stories and recipes from famous figures, including Joe DiMaggio.
• "Mamma DiMaggio's Gravy": The book specifically includes a recipe for "Mamma DiMaggio's Sunday Gravy," which is a nod to Joe DiMaggio's mother, Rosalia, and the traditional Sunday meals of Italian-American families.
• Other References: Bellino-Zwicke often highlights famous Italian-Americans like DiMaggio, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett in his work, celebrating the culture and food of Italian New York.

SUNDAY SAUCE

With MAMMA DiMAGGIO'S SUNDAY GRAVY

RECIPE

AMAZON.com

Daniel Bellino Zwikce

DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE

Daniel Bellino Zwicke (also known as Danny Bolognese) is a prominent New York City - based author, wine professional, and former chef specialising in Italian-American Cuisine and clutlrue. With over 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry, he is recognized as a leading authority on Italian wine and the creator of America's first Venetian wine bar, Bar Cichetti. 

Professional Background

Zwicke has held various roles in renowned New York City establishments, including: 

Chef & Wine Director: Worked at acclaimed restaurants such as Da Silvano, Del Posto, Barbetta, and John's of 12th Street.

• Restaurateur: Founded Bar Cichetti in 1997, credited as the first Venetian-style bacaro (wine bar) in the United States.
• Influencer: Runs the successful Instagram page @newyork.italian, which has over 500,000 followers and celebrates Italian-American culture. 

Published Works

He has authored numerous bestselling cookbooks and travel guides, often blending recipes with personal essays and cultural history. Notable titles include: 

• Sunday Sauce: A bestseller focusing on Italian-American home cooking and "secret" family recipes.
• Grandma Bellino’s Italian Cookbook: A collection of traditional recipes from his Sicilian grandmother.
• Positano: The Amalfi Coast Cookbook & Travel Guide: His 2021 release that combines regional recipes with travel insights.
• The Sinatra Cookbook: Also known as Sinatra Sauce, featuring recipes and stories tied to Frank Sinatra's favorite meals.
• The Big Lebowski Cookbook: Titled Got Any Kahlua?, this book features recipes inspired by "The Dude".
• The Feast of the 7 Fish: A guide to the traditional Italian Christmas Eve seafood dinner. 

CURENT & UPCOMING PROJECTS

New Books: He is currently working on a book about Venice (tentatively titled My Venice) and another focusing on the Chianti region and its wines.

• Travel: He continues to travel extensively through Italy, recently visiting Verona, Florence, and Lucca to gather material for his upcoming works. 
• His books are widely available through major retailers like Amazon and 
• ThriftBooks

BOOKS by Daniel Bellino - Amazon.com

JOE DiMAGGIO

"The SWING"

FINE ART PRINT

JOE DiMAGGIO

Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio was born on November 25, 1914, in Martinez, California, the eighth of nine children born to Italian immigrants Giuseppe and Rosalia DiMaggio, from Isola delle Femmine  (Sicily). His Italian birth name was Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio. Rosalia named her son "Giuseppe" after his father in the hopes he would be her last child; "Paolo" was in honor of Giuseppe's favorite saint, Paul of Tarsus.

Joe DiMaggio was one of the most recognizable and popular men in mid-twentieth century America. He was celebrated in song and literature as an iconic hero, and he was married, briefly, to the nation’s number one glamour girl. On March 16, 1999, the House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring him “for his storied baseball career; for his many contributions to the nation throughout his lifetime; and for transcending baseball and becoming a symbol for the ages of talent, commitment and achievement.”1

But first and foremost Joe DiMaggio was a ballplayer. Known as the Yankee Clipper, he was the undisputed leader of New York Yankees teams that won nine World Series titles in his 13-year career that ran from 1936 to 1951, with three years lost to duty in World War II. He was three times the American League’s Most Valuable Player and he holds what many consider to be the most remarkable baseball record of all, a 56-game hitting streak in 1941. As the son of immigrants, he was the embodiment of the American Dream, a rags-to-riches story played out in pinstripes.

Joseph Paul DiMaggio was born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio on November 25, 1914, in Martinez, California, 25 miles northeast of San Francisco. His parents, Giuseppe and Rosalia (Mercurio) DiMaggio, had settled there after emigrating from Sicily. After Joe was born they moved the family to San Francisco, where Giuseppe continued to work as a fisherman. Joe was the eighth of their nine children, one of five sons. Two of his brothers, Vince and Dominic, would also play in the major leagues.

Unlike two of his older brothers, Joe had no interest in joining his father on the fishing boat. Instead, he played for several amateur and semi-pro teams in baseball-rich San Francisco. It was 19-year-old Vince, who was then playing for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League, who got Joe into professional ball. When the Seals found themselves in need of a shortstop near the end of the 1932 season, Vince convinced Seals manager Ike Caveney to give his 17-year-old brother a chance. Joe played in the final three games of the season, and then was signed to a contract in 1933 for $225 a month.

Moved to the outfield because of his erratic arm, DiMaggio hit .340 and set a PCL record by hitting in 61 straight games. In 1934, he hit .341, but a knee injury that sidelined him in August made major-league teams leery of signing him. The Yankees offered to buy his contract for $25,000 and five players, but with the contingency that he remain with the Seals in 1935 to prove he was healthy. DiMaggio made a convincing case by hitting .398, with 34 homers and 154 runs batted in.

In 1936, only two years after the departure of Babe Ruth, the heralded rookie came to spring training facing big expectations. Writing in The Sporting News on March 26, Dan Daniel noted, “Yankee fans regard him as the Moses who is to lead their club out of the second-place wilderness. . ..” It didn’t take long for the rookie to make his mark. Halfway through the season, when he was hitting around .350 and had started in right field in the All-Star Game, his photo was on the cover of Time magazine. For the year he hit .323 with 29 homers and drove in 125 runs. 

DiMaggio was the classic five-tool player; in addition to hitting for average and power, he could run, throw, and field. Joe McCarthy, the Yankees manager from 1931 to 1946, called him the best base runner he ever saw. His all-around play led the 1936 Yankees to the first of four straight World Series titles. The 21-year-old sensation had established himself as the successor to Babe Ruth. After the Series, he received a hero’s welcome in his home town of San Francisco, where Mayor Angelo Rossi gave him the key to the city.

DiMaggio finished second in the MVP vote in 1937, despite leading the American League in home runs, slugging percentage, runs, and total bases. He won the first of his three MVP Awards in 1939, when he led the league with a career-best .381 average. Following that season, he married 21-year-old Dorothy Arnold, a singer, dancer, and actress he met while filming a bit part in the movie Manhattan Merry-Go-Round.

By then the 6-foot-2, 190-pound outfielder was acknowledged as the best player in baseball, but to some his ethnic background was still ripe for stereotypical portrayal. In a cover story in the May 1, 1939 issue of Life magazine, Noel Busch identified DiMaggio as a “tall, thin Italian youth equipped with slick black hair” and “squirrel teeth.” But the young ballplayer apparently confounded Busch’s general perception of Italian Americans. “Although he learned Italian first, Joe, now twenty-four, speaks English without an accent and is otherwise well adapted to most U.S. mores. Instead of olive oil or smelly bear grease he keeps his hair slick with water. He never reeks of garlic and prefers chicken chow mein to spaghetti.”3

After winning a second consecutive batting title in 1940, DiMaggio reached a new level of fame in 1941. He set one of the most enduring records in sports by hitting in 56 consecutive games. On May 15, the day the streak began, the Yankees were in fourth place, and DiMaggio had batted a lowly .194 over the previous 20 games. On June 17, DiMaggio broke the Yankee hitting-streak record of 29 games, set by Roger Peckinpaugh in 1919 and equaled by Earle Combs in 1931.

One of those rare athletes — like Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali — who transcended the world of sport, DiMaggio has been called by more than one writer the last American hero. Revisionist historians later offered a more nuanced view, portraying him as a flawed hero who became increasingly reclusive and suspicious of others. Nevertheless, when he died his enduring status as a cultural icon was confirmed by an outpouring of adulation which few public figures, in any walk of life, could evoke. His death was front-page news in every major newspaper, was covered extensively on television newscasts and specials, and was the cover story in Newsweek magazine. Referring to the frequent bulletins on DiMaggio’s health that had been issued in the months prior to his death, Frank Deford wrote that it was “as if he were some great head of state.”25 As one Brooklyn native put it, DiMaggio “epitomized an era when, for a lot of us, baseball was the most important thing in life.”

The answer to Paul Simon’s question — Where has Joe DiMaggio gone? — remains the same: Nowhere. He remains firmly lodged in the American consciousness as a stylish symbol of a time when baseball was the undisputed national pastime and America was enjoying unprecedented prosperity. On April 25, 1999, two months after his death, DiMaggio’s monument was unveiled in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park, joining those honoring Miller Huggins, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Mickey Mantle. The inscription reads, in part, “A Baseball Legend and An American Icon.”

JOE DiMAGGIO - CAREER MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STATS

GAMES PLAYED     1,736

LIFETIME BATTING AVERAGE.    .325

HITS.   2,214

HOME RUNS.  361

RUNS BATTED IN (RBI)    1,537

On-BASE PERCENTAGE (OBP).   .398

SLUGGING PERCENTAGE.  .579

On-BASE PLUS SLUGGING .977

MAJOR AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS

• 3× American League MVP: 1939, 1941, and 1947.
• 13× All-Star: Selected in every season he played.
• 9× World Series Champion: 1936–1939, 1941, 1947, and 1949–1951.
• 2× AL Batting Champion: 1939 (.381) and 1940 (.352).
• 2× AL Home Run Leader: 1937 and 1948.
• 2× AL RBI Leader: 1941 and 1948.
• MLB Record Hitting Streak: Hit safely in 56 consecutive games from May 15 to July 16, 1941.
• Hall of Fame Induction: Inducted in 1955. 
• 1936 (Rookie Season): Batted .323 with 29 HR and 125 RBI in 138 games.

• 1937: Led the league in home runs (46) and runs scored (151), batting .346 with a career-high 167 RBI.
• 1939 (First MVP): Career-high .381 batting average with 30 HR and 126 RBI.
• 1941 (Record Streak): Batted .357 with 30 HR and 125 RBI; set the 56-game hitting streak record.
• 1943–1945: Missed three seasons of his prime while serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.