Frankie Cee's Pizzeria - Little Italy, NYC

We were in Little Italy on the 4th of July weekend and were looking for a place to have dinner. Now, Mulberry Street is just lined with cafes and restaurants, so we didn't really know which one to pick. Most of them had all types of "promotions" going on, with waiters standing outside, trying to lure in customers. We decided to walk away from the popular and touristy part of Mulberry street, in search of something that will not put a huge dent in our wallets.

We found Frankie Cee's Pizzeria right at the edge of Little Italy. Unlike all the other places, there wasn't any smooth talking waiters, trying to lure us inside. All we saw was little checkered tables filled with people and the menu painted on the walls. It looked like a laid back place to have dinner, so we decided to give it a try.

There were all kinds of pasta, pizzas, sandwiches and Italian entrees available at very affordable prices. I later found out that this place used to be called Pizzeria Cee's and it used to be a market. Their pizza was so good and popular, that they decided to expand, put in tables and chairs and make it into a restaurant. The pizza seems to be a crowd favorite, with a steady stream of pizza pies coming out from the kitchen while we were there.

Check out all the condiments on the tables. You know you are in Little Italy when you can find so many herbs, cheeses and oil on your table :P Also, I just love the location our table. We could just sit back, relax and watch the world go by. Sitting there with our drinks, just people watching, makes me feel like we were in Europe and not in the heart of NYC! Must be due to the influx of sidewalk cafes/restaurants in that small area and the smell of fresh pizza, baking in the oven!

They had quite an extensive drinks menu, with all kinds of sodas, sparkling water, fruit juices, wine and beer. Kevin had a Sam Adams (which is part of his dinner set) and I had an Orangina ($2.50). Boy, it's been a while since I had an Orangina....so that was goooood! :D For those of you who have not tried Orangina before, you have to try it. It's sparkling orange juice with pulp! Yummmy yummy stuff!

Kevin ordered their pizza special. You get an extra large slice of pizza (either plain cheese or pepperoni) and a bottle of domestic beer/ glass of wine for $6. Not too bad of a deal actually. Kevin said that the pizza was really good, with just the right amount of sauce and cheese. The thin crust was also very yummy.

I ordered the Ham Calzone ($5). This calzone was sooooooo good. I cannot believe the amount of cheese they had in there. I have always said that there is no such thing as "too much cheese" but really, there was just too much cheese in there! In a good way, of course! :P The moment I cut the calzone into half, the cheese just started to ooze out! I bet they just stuffed the whole block of cheese in there..lol! The dough was super yummy and baked just right. Very very nice. Also, I just love the marinara sauce that came with the calzone. Really flavorful with big chunks of tomatoes...definitely not the watery stuff that we usually get from the other pizza places. The calzone was so huge, I couldn't even finish it. Next time, we will just order one to share!

So, what was the total bill for all this food? Only $14.70 (and that's including tax)!!! What a good deal! This is even less than what we would pay if we were to get dinner from McDonalds! The only downside is that they do not accept credit/debit cards. Everything is cash only. They do however have an ATM inside the shop if you didn't bring along enough cash.
Overall, we had a great dinner. Awesome food, really friendly staff, affordable prices and a perfect view of Mulberry Street. What more could a person ask for? I would definitely recommend Frankie Cee's Pizzeria if you are looking for a no frills restaurant in Little Italy that serves awesome and authentic Italian food at really affordable prices.

Frankie Cee's Pizzeria - Little Italy, NYC,
186 Grand St.
New York, NY 10013
Tel: (212) 9252954
Fax: (212) 2269046

A Wonderful Evening in Little Italy

From the South Street Seaport, we hopped into a cab and headed over to Little Italy. It wasn't too far away actually but with day being super hot and humid ( I believe it was a little over 100F!), we decided to just spend a few extra bucks and take a cab. We have never really explored Little Italy before, well, except for those times we walked thru it to get to Chinatown and when we went for last year's Feast of San Gennaro Festival (all we saw was the back of other people's heads, cos there were just too many people :P). So, we were really excited to head over there and check out the neighborhood!

Our cab dropped us off at the edge of Little Italy and we decided to walk down Mulberry Street. Bustling with all kinds of action and activities, Mulberry Street is definitely the heart of Little Italy. Restaurants, outdoor cafes and souvenir shops line both sides of Mulberry Street. Also, the entire street is closed to traffic, so it was really fun to just slowly stroll down the street, with a drink or gelato in hand, while taking in all the sights and sounds of Little Italy.

You know you are in Little Italy when you begin to see signs like those all over the place! I bet looking for a parking spot along Mulberry Street is the least of the worries for the Gambino family :P Nahh, those are actually souvenirs from the many gift shops along Mulberry Street. You can get all kinds of Italian American souvenirs like "Proud to be Italian" t shirts, Italian flags to Italian food cookbooks and ITALIA soccer jerseys. There are also quite a few shops that sell fresh olive oil in barrels, home made fresh pasta, fresh smoked meats and all types of cheeses. I must make a mental note to return and buy some fresh pasta one of these days.

Since it was close to dinner time, we started looking out for possible dinner locations. There were just so many restaurants/cafes to choose from! Everybody had their menu out and the waiters were all standing outside, actively promoting their specials and trying to get as many customers as possible. Some of them even offered a free glass of wine with an entree or free appetizers. Sure, it sounds good initially but you gotta be really careful. A simple plate of pasta in some of these places can go for about $30-$35 bucks! Just regular pasta, nothing special. So yeah, if you were to pay $30 bucks for some pasta, suddenly a free glass of cheap wine doesn't sound all that tempting anymore :P

We continued walking (away from the crowded and popular section of Mulberry St) towards the edge of Little Italy, and thats when we saw this restaurant. It doesn't look as upmarket as the other restaurants, in fact, it was rather laid back and casual. The menu looked good and the prices were really reasonable, so we decided to have dinner there. Will blog more about that in the next post!

After dinner, we continued walking around Little Italy for a bit. We were looking for some sort of dessert when we spotted a little roadside stall selling homemade gelato and Italian ices. There were quite a lot of people in line, getting their gelatos, so I figured that the gelatos must be pretty good. You could get it in either a cup or cone and it comes in three sizes - small ($4), medium ($5) and large ($6). Apart from Chocolate and Vanilla, some of the more popular gelato flavors are Hazelnut, Cuppuccino, Pistachio and Cookies n Cream. They also have Peach, Melon, Mango, Raspberry and Lemon Italian ices as well as sugar free ices in Tangerine and Cherry flavor.

If you are not a fan of gelatos and Italian ices, they also have some yummy looking Italian desserts. You can pick up a Cannoli for $4 or a mini Cannoli for $2. You could also have a Cannoli with strawberries for $5. Apart from Cannolis, the Italian Cheesecake ($5) and Tiramisu ($6) looks good too!

Both Kevin and I decided to get a gelato each. He had a medium Cookies n Cream and I went for the medium Hazelnut. When we first looked at the cup, the small looks kinda tiny. That's why we went for the medium (yes, greedy us!). Should have gone for the small cos the medium was just wayyyy too much! Two huge scoops is more than enough for TWO people :P I guess we didn't really mind though, cos the gelato was soooooooo yummmy! Super creamy and good, seriously, it was just amazing! No wonder they pride themselves as "Little Italy's #1 Home Made Italian Ice and Ice Cream". After getting our gelatos, we happily strolled thru a few other neighborhoods before going to the WTC PATH station to catch our train home. What a wonderful way to end a fun day out in the city =)

82nd Annual Feast of San Gennaro

After the disappointment of not getting into Oktoberfest in Central Park, we decided to head over to Little Italy to check out the Feast of San Gennaro - New York City’s longest-running, biggest and most revered religious outdoor festival in the United States! Originally started to keep alive the spirit and faith of the early Italian immigrants to America, the Feast today is expected to attract more than one million people from all over the world to the streets of Little Italy to participate in this annual Salute to the Patron Saint of Naples. Check out the amount of people at the Feast. We had trouble even trying to get in!!

Eventhough this was originally known as an annual celebration of faith, the Feast of San Gennaro is now better known for its festive atmosphere. An 11-day event featuring religious processions and colorful parades, free musical entertainment, a wide variety of Italian delicacies, charming restaurants and cafes and the a world-famous cannoli-eating competition!

Kevin's colleague told him (even printed out the history of this feast, location as well as it's daily events for us) that we MUST go to the Feast for the food! She is Italian and without fail, she and her family would be there every year for the food. If an Italian tells us that the food is good there, I know she is not lying :P So yeah, we were there for the food! With that as motivation, we took a deep breath and pushed thru the sea of people to get in (thank god the people thinned out as we navigated thru the inner streets).

Mmmm mmmm mmmmm, the smell of Hot Italian Sausages, Cheese Steaks, Rib Eye Steaks...all kinds of grilled meat just filled the air. There were so many meat stalls to choose from, we didn't know where to begin!

We then saw something that we have never seen before. It looked like pancakes but way thicker. It smelled pretty good too. It's actually two corn patties with loads of mozzarella stuffed inside. We bought one for $5, just to try something new. I didn't really quite like it because it was way too greasy but Kevin liked it. Sooooo, he had to finish it by himself. No problem there :P

Apart from all the sausages, meats, pizzas, strombolis, calzones, pastas...ect, there also all kinds of yummy desserts! Various types of cannolis, lobster tails, tiramisu, cream puffs and gelati. Oh so yummy yummy!! I can actually feel my waistline expanding just by typing all this.

This is one of the more popular stalls during the Feast. It seems that they have the best biscotti and nougats around. Too bad we didn't know of their fame until we came back home. If not, I would have bought some just to sample it.

Ahhhhhh one of my all time favorite carnival food..Zeppoles! Since it's an Italian festival, I would imagine them having great Zeppoles. Guess what? I was right!! They are the best...ever!! Oh I love Zeppoles, oh yes I do!

If you are not a fan of street food or walking around while eating, there are also over 35 different Italian restaurants featuring some of the best food Italy has to offer. Many of them have pre fixe menus as well as regional favorites. Of course you can also sample some of the finest Italian wines available. I just love how they converted part of the street to al fresco sitting in front of each restaurant, it gives it an European feel, doesn't it? :P

So, apart from food (which constitutes about 80% of the stalls), what else was there? Well, there were also a few stalls selling "Italian pride" apparel - from Italia jerseys to baby rompers.

There were also stalls selling all kinds of knick knacks and this stall. I have never seen so many different types of cigars before. I was told that they carry cigars from all over the world and also make some of the finest cigars on Mulberry St.

Just before leaving the Feast, we headed over to the carnival games section. There were all kinds of carnival games, mostly for kids though :P

Also, I was quite amused that they had carnival rides right in the middle of the narrow streets of Little Italy. Imagine opening up your apartment window and seeing some stranger go by on the Ferris Wheel!! Anyways, we had a great time just walking around and eating some really good Italian street food. Kevin's colleague was right, everybody should head over to Little Italy during the Feast to check out the food. We will most definitely be there again next year!!!