A “Slice” of Italy in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn | Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern | Travel Channel

Andrew follows his roots back to Brooklyn, NY, where Queen Ann Ravioli is turning out heavenly homemade pasta and sauces. Owner George Spitzer is a lifetime resident of Bensonhurst and treats Andrew to his favorite neighborhood spot, L & B Spumoni Gardens. There, they indulge in some traditional Sicilian eats while savoring a spumoni recipe that’s 75 years in the making.

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no other Brooklyn neighborhood is more old school Italian than this little slice of Benson Hurst this is or was Brooklyn’s Little Italy depending on your take in the mid1 1950s 18th Avenue was lined with little family shops where if you didn’t speak Italian you weren’t Italian enough Queen Anne ravioli has been a fixture on 18th Avenue for the past 40 years George Switzer is a former New York City Cop who took over the business his father-in-law started t yes talone toini talone capetti angot raviti yeah you name it you do it it’s crazy how many types you have here have you ever counted no we’re always changing you know yeah the products change with the seasons because Italian food always honors them we have the squash coming in I think that’s what came in in that uh vegetable delivery we probably be making that by Saturday they’re making it not 15t from where they sell it now do they ever everything back here everything is done back here and we can just yes we have two sides the original side and this is the new side when I say the new side this was originally a Camary bakery at the time really from from Moonstruck oh same family oned this side of of the store this is Frankie the chef of the future’s up Frankie how I am how you doing just watched that it’s hot is this hot a little that’s a nice sauce that’s a nice sauce thank you it’s a marinara [Music] sauce can I put the spaghetti in you want to know something you could you could put my shoes in there and I would eat that is that’s just I mean did anything really beat that mean is there a more perfect food it’s acidic it’s bright it reeks of sunshine that’s amazing [Music] Frankie’s been working here for 25 years the pasta machines have been here just as long or longer George takes almost as much pride in his machines as in what they produce so this is a 20 30y old I’d say you were saying yeah yeah is this the most popular size the the big one yeah the champagne cut as they call it the champagne cut is one of George’s Gourmet ravioli filled with Rota and pecarina Romano with Frankie marinara just steps away it’s impossible to pass upow that’s a nice ravioli thank you don’t you think so very much so the filling is the filling is just took them out of the water just that right time did I thank you very much perfect do you know say that getting here is not simple but it’s a the food is elegantly simple that is ravioli heaven [Music] now this is the new building yeah this is uh 25 years a we’ve had this place and so the old stuff is in through the other side yes that was the original store that everything was done in wholesale and Retail right and does Frankie make stuff in there too or you just keep Frankie at the stove making pasta sauce on Frankie stays on this side why would you do that to Frank someday go to the other side go on that side and meet salad and then you find out where Frankie stays on on this side all right the Machinery on the other side is so old it was delivered here by horsedrawn wagons this is an old style pasta press from the turn of the century there’s no two of them alike I don’t know how many more exist so this is obviously the way it was done you must be s yes s what’s up S nice to meet you Andrew nice to meet you too s how long have you been doing this 30 years 30 years they keep you in Frankie separated for a reason well that way we kill each other s is a man of few words but he’s an artist when it comes to handling this pasta press after the dough is needed he loads it into the tubes the Press packs the dough down into the tube with some types of pasta like fetuccini the dough needs to be heated inside the tube just enough to make it a little firmer before it goes through the press this is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen I love this it I just see here’s here’s what you can’t duplicate I mean the machines get a bad R oh it’s made with the machine this is such a fabulous unique product and now he’s drying it in on the old style method sticks oh you got to be kidding me we use the stick so we use the [Music] screens there’s no other way to make pasta of this texture and no new generations of workers learning the art of how to use it the the machines eventually are going to go away the neighborhoods are going to change you know the the SS of the world are you know and people don’t want to take this stuff up this is a link to a way it was done 100 years ago yeah can I do one sure I just I just want to say that I did all it this way yep well I got an extra going It Go all [Music] right did a good job we’re on the stick now my God all right yeah no no no I got a [Music] stick security we have a code three on on the dry rack a codee three that’s a tangled noodle wa one of these racks is just a little less Artisan than the others unreal the first generation Italian population of Bens Anders may be dwindling but everyone has a taste for the neighborhood traditions on summer evenings people still head to the local hangout George knew as a kid I grew up about 200 ft away from here I grew up 11 Street one block down yeah and my mother remembers when they would serve the spon in the horse driven wagon yeah yeah L&B Spumoni Gardens began selling ice cream door too 75 years ago by the time George was in high school it was an ice cream stand that also sold Pizza Sicilian style Square not round with tomato sauce on top of the cheese now what’s the obsession that you have with a corner Square cuz that’s all you were talking about in the car quite frankly I thought it was a little fetishy weird maybe it is but you know uh I don’t know I I like the I like burnt right and and the the crust is burnt and on a corner you’re getting maximum crust also they make a very Saucy slice so if you get the center slice without that edge it’s all over it’s a exactly uh two corners corners please what else uh uh a nice burnt side what can I say I’m a side man and George doesn’t really want to share his Corners anyway see it’s the olive oil in the crust and this in those ancient pans exactly I was going to say that they’re using the same pants here you have I mean you know I’m just like a a Schmo that loves to eat right I’m not a a chef but there’s a texture here and there’s there’s flavors here from the from the the dough end and from the Tomato end I love it ridiculous [Music] as great as its Pizza tastes it’s Spumoni that gives this place its name chocolate pistachio and cherry vanilla ice cream with a scoop of dried fruit and nuts that can vary depending on who’s making it come here I’m making room sit down here nothing much what’s going on Andrew Camille Barb’s grandfather was the guy with the hor drawn wagon who started this business exciting it is it’s good spon is good now remember that’s Grandpa’s recipe my father my brother yeah now my son they improve it each time improving the product while still honoring tradition is how these vintage businesses stay ahead of The Changing Times L&B now includes a sitdown restaurant selling dinner Entre what keeps the place crowded is something intangible and Timeless there’s just still so much of a good vibe here I mean I imagine this has always been a happy place you have food and crowds good F good food it’s a happy occasion e