By Nathan Duke
Whitestone’s Rocco DiNardo said his pizzeria along 14th Avenue has drawn a loyal following since he opened it one year ago because the eatery makes all the food on its extensive menu fresh.
DiNardo’s Restaurant and Pizzeria, at 145-16 14th Ave. in Whitestone, boasts a widely varied menu that includes pasta, eggplant, seafood, chicken and veal dishes as well as numerous types of pizza, soup and salads.
“Everything is made to order,” DiNardo said. “If you want chicken noodle soup, we start fresh with the chicken, carrots, celery. It takes a little longer, but people are willing to wait.”
The most popular items at DiNardo’s include a vegetarian pizza with grilled zucchini, asparagus and eggplant grilled on a bed of mozzarella; chicken saltimbocca with spinach, prosciutto and mozzarella; and penne alla vodka.
“A lot of our recipes were the ones my mother used,” said DiNardo, who worked as an executive chef at Price Waterhouse in the 1980s. “I’ve learned what the upper crust liked to eat, but I also make food that hardworking, middle-class people like to eat.”
Other menu items include shrimp parmigiana, chicken cacciatore, eggplant rollatini, gnocchi bolognese, lobster ravioli, shrimp scampi over rice and nearly 20 different styles of pizza.
The pizzeria, open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. but closed Sundays, also recently added a new dessert case filled with tiramisu, cannoli and cheesecake as well as an espresso machine. It delivers in northeast Queens with a minimum $10 charge and also caters events.
DiNardo said he has garnered a loyal crowd of regulars at his restaurant since he transformed it from the pizzeria at the site. The eatery opened June 21.
“Whitestone is an unbelievable neighborhood,” he said. “The people are extremely nice and they stick together. They’re slowly but surely learning that my food is very tasty. I’m getting a following.”
DiNardo’s will soon be adding other items to its already-long menu, including salmon and coconut shrimp. For a full meal, such as a soup, salad, pasta, a drink and an entree, customers can expect to pay between $35 to $40 per person.
“We have very reasonable prices compared to other restaurants,” DiNardo said.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
