Zucca Bar & Pizzeria/Vintage Tavern Menu

Zucca Bar & Pizzeria/Vintage Tavern Restaurant Review:

Claiming a specialty of "Staten Island-style" brick oven pizza, this boisterous restaurant has a lot going for it. Although the namesake zucchini flower, served battered and fried with either smoked provolone or lemon-olive oil sauce or tomato-based sauce, appears only occasionally, there’s plenty to like. We recommend the mussels; classically prepared, they're sautéed in olive oil, white wine and garlic, and served over Italian bread. All dishes (except pasta main dishes) come with a side of pasta (not al dente) and meat sauce, just like at the church suppers of your youth. Co-founders and childhood buddies, Joe Romano, Tim Langell and John Gibney, draw upon their memories of home-style Italian fare from New York as their inspiration. The wine list offers a few decent choices by the glass. Dine lighter and later at the adjacent Vintage Tavern, housing the wonderful carved bar from the long-closed Stone Mountain location of Manuel's Tavern. The tavern is a good place for a snack and a brew, although some mains also are served in this space.