Addison's Disease in Dogs: What You Need to Know

5 New Staten Island Restaurants Worth A Taste — From A $5 Taco To A $279 Steak

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — With lots of new dining options on Staten Island, we'll tackle them one bite at a time.

So, for now, let's turn the focus on five significant spots that round out their respective neighborhoods. Each is actually producing eats and drinks from scratch and/or from carefully sourced ingredients. Here are the places that made our list this quarter.

Gelaterra — Navy Pier Ct., Stapleton; 718-564-3512

It's Yanna Zarra's second food venture in Urby with gelato, as the name of her new place suggests. (She also owns gourmet coffee and brunch spot Cafe Americano across the street.) Made right here on Staten Island, the Gellaterra product is spectacular, especially the French vanilla (one of three vanilla varietals), an intense dark chocolate and Shark Tank, a blue concoction that tastes like toasted marshmallow. Sure, those flavors sound simple but the flavors are complex, well-balanced and a true experience on the palate.

Closed Monday and Tuesday. Open Wednesday and Thursday from 4 p.M. To 9 p.M.; Friday from 4 p.M. To 10 p.M.; Saturday from noon to 10 p.M.; Sunday from noon to 9 p.M.

Brew Bar — 11 Giffords Lane, Great Kills, 267-240-8004; Instagram.Com/brewbarco

It's a beautiful, airy space in which to work...Or chat a-latte! This stunning little shop has a few design surprises for those who sit, sip and savor. Plus, there are sumptuous pastries to enjoy, all locally made — another perk. Service is efficient despite some intricate processes of the serious barista.

The coffee shop recently expanded its hours and is now open from 7 a.M. To 7 p.M. Tuesday through Sunday.

Sally's Smokehouse — 25 Navy Pier Ct., Stapleton, 718-815-8080; Sallyssouthern.Com/sallys-smokehouse.

The delightful scent of woodsmoke greets a guest who steps into the tiny eatery. It features a few tables and a counter at which to savor St. Louis-style ribs, smoked chicken and other BBQ delights selected from the cold and hot display cases. A Sally's staff member will also pile on a metal tray with servings of rice, beans, slaw, potato salad, mac 'n' cheese, cornbread and a variety of sauces, house-made condiments plus all the fixin's.

Open daily from 11:30 a.M. To 8 p.M.; Friday and Saturday until 9 p.M.; Sunday from noon to 8 p.M.

Guitterrez II — 809 Castleton Ave., West Brighton; 646-934-3047

Evelyn and Hector Guitterrez present fresh baked Italian rolls and bread loaves plus an assortment of Mexican pastries, cookies and biscuits. The goods come fresh from the oven several times a day. The best part, however, is the restaurant component with South of the Border breakfast, lunch and hearty entrees like birria. That decadent dish comes with the beef drippings for the dunking.

Open daily from 6 a.M. To 7 p.M.

Sushi ranges from $24 to $38 and can have elaborate, sometimes dynamic presentations. (Courtesy of Le Malt Imperiale)Staten Island Advance

LeMalt — 75 Putnam St., Eltingville, 212-301-7614; LeMaltImperiale.Com

The members-only, BYOB optional, dress-to-impress dining coterie prides itself on exclusivity. Joining entails a $1,500 initial fee and membership that runs from $4,800 to $9,600. But one can test drive the place with a club member or for a single time as a regular patron simply by making a reservation. Unaccompanied newbies are seated in a plush front dining room with access to the fabulous bar but, fair warning, not to the inner dining/lounging chamber.

Aside from concierge perks and lockers in which to store one's own booze, there are zero traditional amenities here like at the borough's other "club" clubs — no pool, no gym, no group activities aside from the privilege of dining with fellow Imperiale-ists. But, oh, what serious competition to the more traditional "club" clubs' does LeMalt bring with food and service. On the flip side, LeMalt has no view about which to brag in its plebeian strip mall setting unless you like your Wendy's.

Lamb chops at Le Malt are an occasional appetizer. At the time of our visit, main courses ran from $29 to $278. Options included pan-seared lemon sole, Norwegain salmon, a prime porterhouse served au poivre, prime tomahawk ($278), prime cowboy steak, A5 Wagyu New York Strip, Mishima Reserve Wagyu skirt steak, Hudson Valley duck breast, double pork chop, winter gnocchi with braised short ribs, penne Arabbiata and the 8-ounce brisket-short rib blended Imperiale Burger served with truffle fries ($29.) (Courtesy of Le Malt Imperiale)Staten Island Advance

So raise a proper piece of glassware to LeMalt's interior decorators, along with their professional servers for making the whole dining experience both rewarding and truly transporting! And the kitchen does a great job, particularly with steaks, picking-type fare and some over-the-top sushi. If the chef can amp up the desserts and mix up the menu much more regularly to keep the membership engaged, regular visits here will be worth it for the curious epicurean.

Open for dinner starting at 4 p.M. Through 11 p.M., Monday through Saturday.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Staten Island Politicians, Union Heads Welcome Local NAACP Chapter To Congestion Pricing Opposition

Staten Island pols and union heads on Friday welcomed the local chapter of the NAACP to the congestion pricing opposition — arguing the looming $15 toll to drive on some of Manhattan's busiest streets will harm minority communities.

The bipartisan contingent of elected officials and local leaders rallied against the state's congestion tolling plan, claiming the resulting shifting air pollution patterns will disproportionately impact Staten Island's low-income minority neighborhoods.

"If someone wanted to deliberately create a plan with the goals that wealthy, white residents would breathe cleaner air while low-income, minority residents would breathe in more toxic air pollution, then this congestion pricing program would meet those goals," Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said.

At a press conference Friday, Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella decried the MTA's impending congestion pricing plan with other local leaders. Brigitte Stelzer

Fossella was joined at Staten Island Borough Hall by teachers' union president Michael Mulgrew and other officials, who hailed the Staten Island branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for lending their voice to the fight.

"Simply stated: if the MTA's congestion pricing program is implemented, more will get sick, more Staten Islanders will die from the increases in the resulting hazardous air pollution," Fossella charged.

"That sickness and those deaths will occur among the residents of Staten Island's most diverse and low-income neighborhoods."

New York's controversial congestion pricing plan is expected to take effect as early as mid-June after a barrage of delays and lawsuits has held it up for years.

Under the plan, passenger vehicles will be charged a $15 toll to enter Midtown Manhattan below 60th Street. The MTA argues the new surcharge will raise $1 billion per year, which would be used to fund upgrades to the city's public transit system.

The MTA has long maintained that the $15 toll hike, set to begin in mid-June, will unclog city streets and lead to less pollution, assertions the group are challenging. AP

Transit officials have long said the new pricing scheme will ease traffic on some of the Big Apple's busiest roadways and reduce pollution in Manhattan.

Mulgrew, head of the United Federation of Teachers — which is suing over the congestion plan — took the transit agency to task for its assertions, which he claimed fly in the face of reality.

"The research is there. What they are doing is wrong. Plain and simple, it's wrong," Mulgrew said, accusing the MTA of being "willing to say, promise, or do anything, no matter the consequences" in order to "get [their] billion dollars."

Minority City Council Leader Joseph Borelli (R-Staten Island) derided MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber as "a snob" and "an elitist."

"Come and find working-class people who live in some of the poorest zip codes in our borough, and tell us, John Lieber, tell us how this is benefiting our lives," Borelli challenged the MTA chief during the Friday press conference.

United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew joined Fossella in welcoming the Staten Island branch of the NAACP to lend their voices to the fight. Brigitte Stelzer

For Jasmine Robinson, acting president of the Staten Island branch of the NAACP, the congestion pricing plan hits close to home.

"What is the meaning of congestion? It means to block, to clog, and this plan is going to block and clog so much traffic, and this is going to impact our communities negatively," she said Friday.

"We talked about people that are always in these areas. This is me. This is where I live."

She implored the MTA to reconsider what she called "an injustice" against hardworking folks who have no choice but to commute by car from Staten Island, which she called "a transportation desert."

Neighborhoods on Staten Island's North Shore — stretching from St. George to Mariners Harbor — are already designated by the Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice as "Environmental Justice Areas."

These areas suffer from poor air quality and high asthma and asthma-related hospitalization rates.

According to the office's latest analysis, those disparities in health outcomes that already exist between Manhattan and Staten Island's North Shore will only worsen if the congestion pricing plan is implemented.

Demetrius Crichlow, chief of the MTA's subway operations who once ran the Staten Island Railway, defended the agency's imminent congestion toll rollout.

"Staten Islanders want good transportation, they support transportation. They want great bus service, they want Staten Island Rail to operate as frequently as possible," he told reporters Friday.

"Congestion pricing is a means to get there. We all know the infrastructure has to be replaced, we know that we need new trains, we know that we need new signal systems. We know that we need those things, and we need funding."

Additional reporting by Nolan Hicks

Japanese Restaurant At Staten Island Shopping Complex Closes; Could It Be Temporary?

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — By noon on Tuesday, Empire Outlets food service workers at Bake Culture baked, and a Häagen-Dazs ice cream scooper scooped. On the Fourth Level outside of a darkened Wasabi Steak and Sushi, the wind whistled.

The alleyway leading to the ferry view with former Nori Sushi and Kung Fu Tea spaces on the left and Clinton Hall's location on the right. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri

The sleek and sprawling Japanese restaurant's dining room overlooking Richmond Terrace closed suddenly earlier in the month. Calls to the business were not returned. A representative who answered the phone at Empire Outlets' office said Wasabi's closure was only temporary and would not address questions as to why it shut.

Despite the signs, there are no open food venues at the moment on Level Four of the Empire Outlets. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri

With Wasabi's momentary departure, "Let's Eat" signs remained on a wall just outside of the venue. Its perky verbiage invoked the spirits of former occupants on this top level at the Outlets — Kung Fu Tea and Nori Sushi Shop, both shuttered over a year ago.

A view of a now dark Wasabi from the stairs leading up to Level Four. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri

Also once on this floor was MRKTPL, an expansive space that served as a communal dining hall with international flavors. According to the culinary marketplace's website, it is now closed for renovations.

Wasabi promoted its hibachi, sushi and steak menus. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)

MRKTPL had two subtenants during its roughly two-year tenure with Caribbean-themed Nacho Mama and a Filipino all-day breakfast aka silog house called Filled Cafe. However, the lessor aka "MRKTPL Empire Outlets, LLC" locked its doors in August, 2022, according to its sole two tenants. At that point, Nacho had about a two month run and Filled had functioned for seven months after relocating from Stapleton.

MRKTPL was located at the end of this corridor on the Fourth Level. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri

With work orders dating back to 2020 on its doors, Clinton Hall remains dormant currently. The rooftop bar was open sporadically last summer. Its Staten Island phone number is disconnected although its parent company says on the Clinton Hall website it's simply "closed for the season."

A view from Wetzel's Pretzels which is one of two restaurants with beer and wine at the Empire Outlets. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri

The Empire Outlets opened in 2019 after about four years of construction with a vibrant restaurant scene under the tutelage of BFC Partners. As per Silive.Com/Advance reports, Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group (GSUIG) payed "$10 million to retain control of property, putting an end to an almost two-year-long foreclosure process that they had initiated in 2022." In the meantime, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was introduced by the New York City Economic Development Corp. In December for the North Shore Entertainment and Amusement Site.

Right off of the Ferry are Wetzel's Pretzels, Starbucks and Bake Culture plus Hazel's soul food truck. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri

WHAT TO EAT AND DRINK AT EMPIRE OUTLETS

Empire Outlet's open restaurants can be found just a few steps from the Staten Island Ferry terminal exit on the concourse level facing Manhattan — Starbucks, Wetzel's Pretzels, boutique Asian bakery Bake Culture, Häagen-Dazs and Hazel's 423 Food Truck. A trip up the stairs or escalator with a quick walk toward Borough Hall on Richmond Terrace brings a traveller to Shake Shack. Both Shake Shack and Wetzel's Pretzels sell beer and wine.

Shopkeepers at Empire Outlets include #BadAssBootCamp, H&L, Old Navy Outlet, Lids, Nike Outlet, Staten Island Playhouse, Verizon Wireless, Nordstrom Rack, Jewelers on Fifth and a handful of smaller businesses. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)Pamela Silvestri

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

---