Northport Chef Challenged
in Bobby Flay Throwdown
The Observer  Oct. 2007

     When it comes to the best meatballs in the land, look no further than Woodbine Avenue in Northport Village.
     At least that is according to the Food Network.
     Bobby Flay is one of the Food Network’s top chefs, hosting a variety of culinary programs, including “Throwdown with Bobby Flay.” When he decided recently to have a meatball throwdown, Mr. Flay and the Food Network picked Michael Maroni, of Maroni Cuisine in Northport to challenge in a meatball cook-off—otherwise known as the throwdown.
     “Throwdown With Bobby Flay, The Meatball Challenge,” a competition between Mr. Flay and Mr. Maroni will air on the Food Network Tuesday, October 23 at 9 p.m. and again Wednesday, October 24 at midnight.

     During an interview this week, Mr. Maroni and his restaurant partner and wife Maria Maroni explained the process that led to the show, and the thrill involved in being part of the throwdown.
     Mrs. Maroni said that the Food Network contacted them in May but said nothing about Bobby Flay, a throwdown or meatballs. Instead, the Food Network producers told Mr. and Mrs. Maroni that their restaurant was being considered for a show called The Family Table.
     “They asked us to send in an audition tape,” Mrs. Maroni said. They prepared an eight-minute tape of Michael making his acclaimed meatballs, and sent it in. The tape included a little bit of background about Michael, a self-taught chef, and about the restaurant and about Northport Village.
     The tape was submitted in June, and in July the Food Network informed the Maronis that the restaurant had been selected for a featured on “The Family Table.” On a Sunday in July a Food Network crew spent about 10 hours filming at the restaurant and around Northport Village and on Monday they spent a long day filming at the Maronis’ Northport home.
     While Michael Maroni was in the backyard making his famous meatballs, Bobby Flay suddenly appeared and challenged him to the throwdown. Mr. Maroni was quick to accept the challenge.
     “Apparently, my jaw hit the floor,” said Mr. Maroni about reaction to the arrival of Bobby Flay at his home. “I was totally surprised. I had no clue he was going to show up at my house, and I thought this was going to be a completely different show.”
     “My biggest worry was that I would be like Ralph Kramden—abada, abada, abada...” Mr. Maroni said. “But I’ve been on television five or six times and I’ve been taped before. All my stage fright went away quick and I was fine with it. It was really a lot of fun.”
     “He was the nicest guy,” said Mrs. Maroni about Bobby Flay. “He was nice, humble and a really great guy.”
     Mrs. Maroni declined to say who won the throwdown. “You have to watch the show.”   

ON THE SET: Michael Maroni’s wife Maria (right) in the backyard of their Nothport home with celebrity chef Bobby Flay during the filming of the meatball throwdown.

“It was a really surreal experience. We were in the second day of filming, we thought we were doing something completely different and all of a sudden this celebrity chef comes walking into our backyard,” Mrs. Maroni said. “My husband does not get thrown all that easily, but this was amazing to him. It was very, very exciting for us. It was an experience of a lifetime.”      Mrs. Maroni said after the initial surprise, her husband was composed, and never came across as nervous or star struck. She said he interacted well with Bobby Flay, and that she thinks the show will be fun to watch.      Mr. Maroni said his meatballs are made from the recipe from his father’s mother, who is also Maria Maroni, a native of the town of Benevento in Naples, Italy. “My grandmother made the best meatballs on the planet,” Mr. Maroni said. He said she moved to Oyster Bay in 1925, and the Maroni family has been cooking its meatballs here ever since.      Mr. Maroni started cooking for a living when he was 16 years old at Old Gerlichs in Glen Head. He served a stint in the Navy from 1977 to 1979, then returned to the kitchen as a private chef for the Sea Cliff Yacht Club, the Nassau County Bar Association and several other places around Long Island. “I’m completely self taught,” he said. Mr. and Mrs. Maroni opened Maroni’s on Woodbine Avenue in Northport in 2001.      “I think I did well,” said Mr. Maroni, who also declined to reveal the outcome of the throwdown. “I made the meatball I’m known for.”      The meatballs were judged by Richard Sholom of the New York Times and by Julia Petrocelli-Vergari of Raphael’s Vineyard. “I think it was really legit and really fair,” Mr. Maroni said.      “He made a Bobby Flay ball,” Mr. Maroni said of his opponents meatball. “He is a great chef. He picks somebody who he knows to be among the best at something, then he challenges them, but he still makes it his way. He wasn’t trying to mimic my meatball. He was trying to beat me with his own meatball.”

Huntington, NY- Supervisor Frank Petrone and fellow Board Members recently honored Maroni Cuisine (also known as Maroni's) of Northport with a proclamation for their recent televised victory in the Food Network's show "Throwdown-Meatball Challenge" hosted by Bobby Flay. Maroni's stepped up to the plate utilizing Grandma Maroni's 100-year old traditional meatball recipe that rivaled the dish prepared by host Bobby Flay and showcased to the world that 100 years of tradition is something to be reckoned with.

Maroni's has been serving the community since 2000, which is owned by head chef Mike Maroni and his wife Maria, who accepted the proclamation on the family's behalf. What really added some flavor to this presentation was the red-pot of hot, spicy and saucy meatballs that was specially prepared for this occasion by the head chef himself. Thanks to Grandma's traditional meatballs, Maroni's recipe for success will continue to roll along for the centuries to come.

Zagat Survey 2007/2008   F 28  D 14  S 23  C $72

Northport chef Michael Maroni orchestrates "the most original dining experience on LI" according to multitudes of mavens who find "magic in every bite" of his "unusual, outstanding" Eclectic-Italian tasting menu ("the way to go") that roams from exceptionally "tender duck" to sashimi to "oh those meatballs!"; despite the "thimble-sized" 20-seat space ("don't  bring your elbows"), most "love the vibe" and the "ultrafriendly staff", and are happy to savor the "incredibly expensive" "miracles on a plate" at least once.

Savory Tastes, Multiplied by 14
                 The New York Times.  By Joanne Starkey
                                             Feb 26, 2006

Does a 14-course tasting meal of exceptionally good food sound like fun? We found that to be the case at Maroni Cuisine in Northport.

Maroni's is like no other restaurant in Long Island. Some fancy French places and upscale New American spots offer tasting meals, but they are a different breed. Those at sophisticated restaurants usually consist of five to seven courses and may
take three hours to complete. At Maroni's the

dishes arrives in a short order, sometimes two at a time,  and number 13 or 14. Still, a meal may be over in one and a half hours.

When Maroni's opened in 2001, its small storefront held only four tables. About 75 percent of the business was takeout. Today the restaurant seats 24, and 75 percent of the action takes place in the dining room.

Seating is tight, and it is very likely you will get to know your neighbors. There is a lot of neck craning to see what dishes other tables are receiving, knowing that something similar will be coming your way very soon.

About 90 percent of diners choose the tasting meal over the  a la carte possibilities. The multicourse meal costs $50 at lunch, $75 on weeknights and $85 on weekends, and it includes unlimited wine and sambuca-spiked espresso. Taxes and tips are extra.

The restaurants atmospheres is warm, casual and homey. Michael Maroni is in the kitchen, his wife and father are behind the counter and assorted friends and relatives are the waiters. Mr. Maroni, in his chef's whites, makes frequent forays into the dining room, urging diners to enjoy the food he ahs just cooked.

The mood was celebratory and fun. Mr. Maroni's favorites - the Grateful Dead and the Beatles - were heard in the background.

A meal at Maroni's takes a commitment. Diners must call the day of the reservation to confirm it. They must also make a trip to the bank or remember their checkbook because no credit cards are accepted. The 10 percent who prefer to order a la carte are left in the dark until they receive their check. There was no written menu, and waitresses were vague about the prices, saying the accounting was done in the kitchen.

Our bill was only a final total; nothing was itemized. It looked about right, but who could tell?

Despite these annoyances, dinner was something to savor, especially the tasting meal. It began with a sampling of Maronis famous meatballs and tomato sauce, based on the 100 year recipes of Mr. Maroni's grandmother.

Dishes change nightly but many include oysters on the half shell, crispy scallion potato pancakes topped with sour cream and caviar, velvety tuna and salmon sashimi in an Asian ginger soy sauce, scallop scaloppine in a tangy white wine caper sauce, chicken Milanese crowned with an arugula tomato salad, a demitasse cup of spinach eggdrop soup spiked with sambuca, crab-shrimp cakes with roasted asparagus over a carrot ginger sauce, or shrimp tempura with spicy atoli paired with a lush crab mousse anointed with apricot sauce.

Diners may also find mini Kobe beef cheeseburgers cooked to juicy medium rare perfection and seductive Memphis style barbecued ribs which fell from the bones.

Many of the same dishes can be ordered a la carte. The miniburgers go for $10 a la carte; two would make a fine supper. Those memorable ribs are $25 for an entree size portion of six. The night we went the a la carte route we also sampled a top of the line duck with very crisp skin and moist meat and two memorable salads - a chopped beauty with Gorgonzola and a perfect classic Caesar. They were small but delicious.

The night we ordered a la carte we found the desserts skimpy; a very tiny ramekin of chocolate mousse crowned with toasted marshmallow, a miniscule Chipwich of vanilla ice cream sandwiched between chocolate chip cookies and what the waitress called a homemade Dove bar. It was about the quarter of the size of the commercial variety and had been rolled in chocolate cookie crumbs before being robed in chocolate.

When we has the tasting meal, the small dessert sizes made sense. All we could manage were a few bites, but all made sweet finales. The crème brulee was thick and satiny, and the mini cannolis were especially crunchy and tasty.

A meal at Maroni's is a memorable experience and one I hope to repeat soon.
 

Maroni Cuisine

Very Good
 

A Real Neighborhood Favorite
NY Newsday

Few Long Island restaurants are recommended with the fervor that devotees cite Maroni Cuisine, or as it's usually called, Maroni's.

The 25 seat, storefront spot, ready for takeout as much as sit-down, has immediate appeal both as a neighborhood mainstay and now as a highly personal, destination restaurant.  The food often is imaginative, sometimes excellent.  And Michael and Maria Maroni are engaging hosts.

Whether you are seduced by the entire package, however, is another matter.  While the fare sometimes reaches three stars, the overall experience doesn't. Maroni's is an exceedingly tight space - post-cozy, beyond smug, making the most of the address.  Seating for two or three is different from communal dining only be degree or inch.  Five or six customers may form a "U" around tables on either side of the entrance, which is modestly curtained as if to create the effect of a bay-window arrangement.

Those curtains are waved aside when a waiter or chef Michael Maroni delivers a dish.  Be prepared for an appearance at any time.  Surprise and serendipity are among the ingredients.

The meal often can move along at a very brisk pace, and lingering isn't likely.  There always seems to be someone ready to take your chair at this popular, idiosyncratic restaurant.

No formal menu exist, only a general listing on a greatest-hits board.  You will be advised about specials, and encouraged to try a tasting menu.  That is very good advice.

One night, you may nibble on first-rate sashimi, perhaps yellowtail or salmon.  Slivers  of shark's fin bring in a more exotic, slightly crunchy source of protein and over shadow their partner, well-made shrimp tempura.

Succulent stone crab claws instantly transport you to Florida through the end of their season.  Fried Ipswich clams are crisp and sweet; baked clams oreganata, tender and right.  Tuna tartare arrives with a velvety texture and fine flavor.  Whole prawns with cocktail sauce elevate the usual opener.

More entertaining, however, are Maroni's clever mini-sandwiches.  Maybe it will be a Kobe beef cheeseburger, a mouthful of luxury and good humor that's a little larger than a square inch, wittily sent out with Tater Tots.

The compact pastrami-on-rye will spur calls for seconds, or prompt a drive to Second Avenue.  A warm-weather treat that the converted understandably have demanded through the winter: the addictive lobster BLT.

Maroni's tends to push the house's "chop chop" salad, a satisfactory combo of greens, carrots, tomatoes and Gorgonzola.  And "Grandma Maroni's famous meatballs and spaghetti" have their modest, homey place.  Likewise, the linguine with white clam sauce.

But you're here for the gutsier short-rib ravioli.  Or perhaps the Maroni rendition of "beggar's purses."  These aren't the caviar-and-creme fraiche-filled crepes immortalized at The Quilted Giraffe a generation ago.  But the crisp packages stuffed with shrimp paste and water chestnuts do have flair.

The kitchen prepares a meaty duck with dried orange-Grand Marnier syrup.  Once, it was a trifle overcooked; another time, ideal.  Lamb chops are rosier, and finished with a spirited chile-mint sauce.

All these gymnastics leave you ready for a finale such as the rice pudding with tamarind sauce.  Baked Alaska here suggests the familiar riff on tartufo, with a layer of meringue.  Tiramisu almost appears a nod to nostalgia at this point.

The Maroni's used to run a restaurant in Glen Head called Mirepoix that was a more serene, restrained, refined affair, and very good.  But by comparison, meals at Maroni's in Northport practically give off sparks.

Reservations are coveted.  Regulars abound.  After a visit or two, you will be tempted to join the chorus.
 

Maroni Cusine
Newsday July 27th, 2001

Why: Big flavors in small quarters
When: Same menu all day, Monday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
How Much: Menu not divided into appetizers and entrees; items around $6 to $20; no desserts
Wheelchair Access: Steps at entryway

Michael Maroni, wearing a bright red chef's head wrap imprinted with chile peppers, emerges from behind the stove of his little takeout/eat-in cafe in Northport to chat with customers.  A down to earth guy, Maroni also owns Mirepoix in Glen Cove, which is ranked as one of Long Island's fine dining establishments.  At the Northport place over which he and his wife Maria preside, folks can order such

But there are also some upscale touches.  One day, we saw a lobster "martini" on the blackboard menu for $19.  There was also a thin-crust margherita pizza for $6.50.

The place has but three tables and order-at-the-counter service.  Live with it; the rewards are ample.

We started with that lobster martini, made with lots of snowy lobster meat tossed with pieces of watermelon and fresh herbs.  A shrimp martini, also served in a martini glass, features hot shrimp in a rich garlic butter.  On another visit, we had a sushi and sashimi plate featuring toro (fatty tuna) and salmon, which were pristinely fresh, artfully cut.  Sesame seaweed salad was another Asian treat.

Do order the lobster roll, a dandy6 made with large pieces of lobster and just enough mayonnaise.  If you buys yours to go, it is $8.50; in the restaurant, served with either a salad or Maroni's marvelous Old Bay housemade potato chips, it is $11.50.  Either way, it is the best of the genre within 50 miles.

Mussels, lots of them, come in one of those white enamel pots;  we ordered ours aglio olio, in an ambrosial bath of garlic and olive oil.  A pizza was delightfully crisp, oozing fresh mozzarella, topped with bright tomatoes and fresh basil.  The basil, used liberally as a garnish, appears again atop the shrimp fra diavalo over linguini, lots of shrimp in a brightly incendiary sauce.  On another occasion, a special of "drill" pasta (gemelli) with crushed black truffle sauce was hearty and fragrant, crowned with shaved pieces of Parmesan cheese. Seared iron-skillet, free-range chicken breast, which we asked to have made to order (it is also available from the takeout showcase) was juicy and delicious.  And you must order a batch of "knobby fries."  They are hand cut French fries dipped into a tempura batter and fried to a golden brown, the batter hanging off in irregularly shaped "knobs."

Although Maroni doesn't offer dessert, we purchased some of the housemade chocolate chunk cookies on display in a glass cookie jar.  Enjoy then on a park bench across the street.

As you gaze out at the harbor, think about how fortunate Northport is to have an eatery such as this.
 

An Italy by the Sea in Northport

     At last a lobster roll ( and a darn good one) comes to the waterfront village of Northport with the opening of Maroni Cuisine, a little take out and eat-in cafe at 18 Woodbine Ave, 631-757-4500.  Sitting at one end of the three tiny tables, I was wowed by the house specialty, "Grandma Maroni's Meatballs", made from a 100 year old recipe (meatballs may be purchased for takeout in a returnable white enamel pot, which, for a few extra dollars, you get to keep).  Executive chef-owner Michael Maroni, who also owns Mirepoix in Glen Head, is assisted by chef de cuisine Matt Wagner; both chefs split their time between the two restaurants.  Maroni's wife, Maria, is in charge of the front of the cafe.  The Maronis are Northport residents.

Zagat Survey 2003   F 24  D 14  S 20  C $30

     Michael Maroni, the "charismatic" owner of the highly rated Mirepoix in Glen Head, is preparing "phenomenal, creative" Italian-Eclectic cuisine both for takeout or to eat in at this "teeny-tiny" (20 seats) but "romantic" Northport storefront; insiders jones for the "great spaghetti with meatballs", but if you leave the selections up to the chef, he'll "keep you surprised", and the "unmatched" staff offers "service with a smile"; N.B. an expansion is planned.

Where Sophistication and Basics Meet
 The NY Times August 5, 2001

Maroni is the tiniest eating place ever reviewed in the A La Carte column.  It has just three tables and six chairs.  Yet the food at this sophisticated storefront at 18 Woodbine Ave in Northport (631-757-4500), which depends more on its brisk takeout business than sit down customers, often displays flair and imagination.

No doubt its sense of style stems from the Maroni family, local residents who also own the upscale Mirepoic, a highly regarded contemporary American restaurant in Glen Head.  Two of Maroni's three table have red roses at their centers and cloth covers and napery.  The cushioned cafe chairs are festooned with festive white ribbon bows.  Bottles of quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar line the counters, and there is a basket of great looking breads of various shapes, sizes and textures in the rear.

More importantly, the food in those counters, for both takeout and eat in purposes, is not the usual tired breaded cutlets and dried out potato salad, but seaweed salad, arugula, shaved ricotta salatta, roasted pepper and chopped salad with dried fruit, mixed nuts and balsamic vinegar.  Even more surprising are the blackboard specials: martini glasses of fresh cracked conch with garlic oil basil (414), octopus with sweet carrots and roasted sesame seeds ($11) and sautéed lobster with sweet lobster nectar ($15.50), as well as string bean mushroom salad ($9) and a pot of paella ($19), Spanish rice laced with chicken, sausage, mussels, langostinos, string beans and spinach.  Yet the regular menu's headliners are meatballs and mussels with or without pasta.

Sleek suburban couples in convertibles pull up to Maroni and tend to order those blackboard selections while sun-tanned types in blue jeans off boats nearby Northport Harbor often opt for pizzas, pasta salad, sandwiches, French fries, chicken and those mussels and meatballs.

Disparities in prices and portion sizes (the menu and blackboard make no distinction between appetizers and entrees0 are significant.  The rustic choices are a buy, the refined ones aren't.  The martini glasses, accompanied by a clump of greens and goat cheese, contained small quantities of delectable delicacies at double digit prices.  The large chunks of warm sautéed lobster in a subtle, briny broth and tender strands of cooling octopus in a creamy mayonnaise studded with carrots and sesame seeds were especially flavorful.

On the other side of the value valley was the pizza, a crisp, paper thin pie that yielded eight pieces for $6 ($7 with toppings like grilled chicken and broccoli), a lobster roll ($8.50) that was light on mayo and long on lobster and taste, a generous serving of lightly salted, curvy, crusty French fries (2.50) and those meatballs and mussels.  The last are sold in pots intended for from 2 to 3 people ($15 or $17 with pasta) to 9 to 12 eaters ($55 with or without pasta). I ordered them as a single portion at $10, 17 pristine medium sized mussels and a big heap of pasta in a fiery though not very tasty fra diavalo sauce and five finely ground jumbo, vibrantly seasoned meatballs around a pile of spaghetti covered with a standard pomodoro sauce ($8.50)

Salads and chicken sold by the pound are good bets.  A quarter pound of the refreshing seaweed salad ($4.25); the thin, delicate, vegetable and cheese infused pasta salad ($2) or the crunchy green bean and mushroom mix ($2) are recommended accompaniments.

Seared boneless chicken cutlets, topped with fresh basil and seasonings that provide plenty of punch, were an excellent choice at $7 a pound or as part of a hero sandwich ($6).

No desserts or breads are served but complimentary wine is.  There is waitress service, though patrons are encouraged to select their own drinks from the cooler.  Flowering plants line the tiny entrance and Italian music floats through the air, under a high tin ceiling.  Diners who want to splurge can, but few do.  Both unreconstructed lovers of basic, earthy vittles and more dainty souls will find satisfaction here.