During the late 19th- and early 20th-century when the bulk of Italian immigrants came to
America they sailed into New York Harbor from all over the old country. Many came with
the intent to work not in farming as they did back home, but in high paying industrial and
construction jobs in the city. It was the intention of many to eventually return to their
families (which many did) while others sought a fresh start and a new life. Lady Liberty
opened her arms to mostly Southern Italians from regions like Campania, Calabria, and
Sicilia because it was these areas that were the most impoverished. With these new
immigrants came a sense of pride and tradition that is the fabric of all Italians. Each family
and each village had their own way of cooking; their own way of doing things, their way
which was the only way and no other could do better. That attitude still exists in Italians
all over the world and there is a grave seriousness that surrounds it. An Italian cannot
settle for something that isn’t just right, especially when it comes to food; to do so would
be to fail, to lower his or her social standing.
Being strangers to a new land caused these regionally feudal people to be drawn together
in a strange new world by the simple common and comforting bond of being from the
same country. They came to live in the same areas and formed enclaves all over New
York's five boroughs and so as it always does with immigrants that live in the same
neighborhoods a girl from Corleone might fall in love and marry a boy from Napoli and
consequently the customs and traditions from these areas became amalgamated by virtue
of their union.
The new bride would take the cooking lessons learned from her mother and her family’s
treasured secret methods and regional recipes and would come to the groom’s home to
learn how to cook for her new husband from his mother. Soon the new bride's skills would
be put to the test by cooking a meal for her new father-in-law and if he approved (which
inevitably he did) all was right in the family. Thus Italian food which is so different in
every region in the old country came together to form a new hybrid cuisine we know and
love today as Italian-American food.
Back then it was not uncommon for the women from many households and families to get
together on Sunday after church and cook a feast; Sunday after all was family day. The
women would work together cooking a multiple course meal that was served
intermittently throughout the afternoon as each dish became ready. And after a long week
of hard labor the men would sit around, talk, drink, smoke, practice their English and play
Bocce Ball, while course after course of delicious, mouth watering, and irresistible home-
made food came out of the kitchen. The men knew each morsel was made with the care,
attention, love and adoration, as bestowed upon a newly born child. Bearing that in mind
and the fact that it really did taste phenomenal they ate with reverence, and honest
appreciation.
In this day and age saying we make our food with love seems cliché and sounds like
hyperbole and perhaps even superficial. In the case of Mama Marucci's it's not. We have a
passion for authentic New York home style Italian food that is unsurpassed. It's delicious,
wholesome and fresh food made with the finest quality ingredients available, and held to
the highest culinary standards. The only way to understand and believe that we do make
everything with passion and zest is to try our food. “Quello che, lo ritrovi” means, “what
you put in is what you get out." We hope you will agree we’ve put so much in, you have
no choice but to fall in love.
Everything we serve is made fresh from scratch. The only foods we do not actually make
by hand on a daily basis are the cold cuts and some of the cheeses. Because we insist on
making everything in small batches and insist on top quality and freshness occasionally we
may be out of an item. So if you order something and we do not have it, don't get mad; be
happy because what you do get is food that is “produzione propria” which means
"produced on this property." Food that is at once fresh and clean, crafted with love and an
unyielding commitment to authenticity, quality and to you our patrons. “Chi mangia bene,
viva bene." - "Who eats well, lives well!"
America they sailed into New York Harbor from all over the old country. Many came with
the intent to work not in farming as they did back home, but in high paying industrial and
construction jobs in the city. It was the intention of many to eventually return to their
families (which many did) while others sought a fresh start and a new life. Lady Liberty
opened her arms to mostly Southern Italians from regions like Campania, Calabria, and
Sicilia because it was these areas that were the most impoverished. With these new
immigrants came a sense of pride and tradition that is the fabric of all Italians. Each family
and each village had their own way of cooking; their own way of doing things, their way
which was the only way and no other could do better. That attitude still exists in Italians
all over the world and there is a grave seriousness that surrounds it. An Italian cannot
settle for something that isn’t just right, especially when it comes to food; to do so would
be to fail, to lower his or her social standing.
Being strangers to a new land caused these regionally feudal people to be drawn together
in a strange new world by the simple common and comforting bond of being from the
same country. They came to live in the same areas and formed enclaves all over New
York's five boroughs and so as it always does with immigrants that live in the same
neighborhoods a girl from Corleone might fall in love and marry a boy from Napoli and
consequently the customs and traditions from these areas became amalgamated by virtue
of their union.
The new bride would take the cooking lessons learned from her mother and her family’s
treasured secret methods and regional recipes and would come to the groom’s home to
learn how to cook for her new husband from his mother. Soon the new bride's skills would
be put to the test by cooking a meal for her new father-in-law and if he approved (which
inevitably he did) all was right in the family. Thus Italian food which is so different in
every region in the old country came together to form a new hybrid cuisine we know and
love today as Italian-American food.
Back then it was not uncommon for the women from many households and families to get
together on Sunday after church and cook a feast; Sunday after all was family day. The
women would work together cooking a multiple course meal that was served
intermittently throughout the afternoon as each dish became ready. And after a long week
of hard labor the men would sit around, talk, drink, smoke, practice their English and play
Bocce Ball, while course after course of delicious, mouth watering, and irresistible home-
made food came out of the kitchen. The men knew each morsel was made with the care,
attention, love and adoration, as bestowed upon a newly born child. Bearing that in mind
and the fact that it really did taste phenomenal they ate with reverence, and honest
appreciation.
In this day and age saying we make our food with love seems cliché and sounds like
hyperbole and perhaps even superficial. In the case of Mama Marucci's it's not. We have a
passion for authentic New York home style Italian food that is unsurpassed. It's delicious,
wholesome and fresh food made with the finest quality ingredients available, and held to
the highest culinary standards. The only way to understand and believe that we do make
everything with passion and zest is to try our food. “Quello che, lo ritrovi” means, “what
you put in is what you get out." We hope you will agree we’ve put so much in, you have
no choice but to fall in love.
Everything we serve is made fresh from scratch. The only foods we do not actually make
by hand on a daily basis are the cold cuts and some of the cheeses. Because we insist on
making everything in small batches and insist on top quality and freshness occasionally we
may be out of an item. So if you order something and we do not have it, don't get mad; be
happy because what you do get is food that is “produzione propria” which means
"produced on this property." Food that is at once fresh and clean, crafted with love and an
unyielding commitment to authenticity, quality and to you our patrons. “Chi mangia bene,
viva bene." - "Who eats well, lives well!"
