#deninos

apparently there is something great about staten island and that is their pizza. after traveling by rail, water and land, the mecca (said somewhat loosely) of pizza places lives in staten island. a surprise to me as well. not even sure where i was on the island, deninos is clearly situated in the best spot. the walls inside are donned with numerous awards and old school photos that make up shaolin (the wu tang way to say staten island.)

we order wings and a full pie to share. after just a few minutes the wings come out and immediately fill my nose with a pungent (in the best way possible) smell of heat and pepper and they were delicious. pizza to follow.

normal size pizza pie, nothing too fancy, no larger than your body slices, no crazy toppings, though you can get good toppings if you want. thin pizza, super crusty and overall pretty great, it’s no wonder why they got so many honors.

if you happen to go, take me with you because you can only go by car and i don’t have one.

Great article from www.silive.com that breaks down this past weekends episode of Girls, an HBO original series.

I love Staten Island.  Staten Islanders love Staten Island.  People who have actually took the time to visit and explore Staten Island love Staten Island.  I also love New York City, the city that we're apart of and love working in Manhattan every day.  I feel like Staten Islanders are the luckiest people in the city.  We live in the suburbs basically, we have tons of parks and wildlife, we're a stones throw away from Manhattan, which yes, is the best city in the world (again, Staten Island is apart of that city).  Why people, actors, writers, etc... who have most likely never stepped foot on the Island and explored the history, food, and great people we have to offer here, continue to bash our Island will always perplex me.  We (Staten Islanders) work in Manhattan, we go out to restaurants in Manhattan, see Broadway shows there.  We go to see the Yankees in the Bronx, or the Mets in Queens.  We go to visit friends and family in Brooklyn or grab a hot dog and ride the Cyclone at Coney Island.  Staten Islanders love the other boroughs and spend time and money there, yet for the most part that love is not reciprocated.

Don't get me wrong, I do believe the Staten Island haters are in the minority.  I've taken coworkers that live in Manhattan out to Staten Island on a weekend to show them around (Richmond Town, Van Duzer Days, SI Yankee Game, Denino's Pizza) and they loved it and want to visit again.  After Super Storm Sandy I saw countless New Yorkers from all boroughs come and volunteer with us side by side as New Yorkers.  The image of all those Marathon runners days after the storm boarding the Staten Island Ferry to come over to help us in our greatest time in need was inspiring.  To those few haters either in Hollywood or those just ignorant enough to talk bad about a borough they've most likely never stepped foot on, I invite you to come visit.  Come see what we have to offer here, how we live our lives here.  Experience the history of the historically preserved Richmond Town, or the Conference House where Benjamin Franklin sailed over to negotiate a peace treaty with the British during the Revolutionary War.  Take a hike in the Greenbelt that offers amazing views of wildlife and greenery you would forget how close you were to Manhattan.  Grab a slice at Deninos and then a Ralph's Italian Ice across the street, which has been serving Italian Ices since 1920.  Direct Message me and I'll gladly make up an itinerary of where to go and what to see here.  If you experience a rude Staten Islander or two, I apologize, but I never judged Manhattan on one or two (or hundreds) of rude people I've met there. If you do visit, I'm 99% certain you will have a different view of Staten Island.   We're all in this together, so lets just be New Yorkers.  We can have our rivalries at times, which is healthy, but no need to judge entire boroughs based on utter nonsense.