Whom You Know

Monday, April 15, 2024

#SensationalSalad Kicks Off at @AmmosNewYork #AmmosEstiatorio Since 2009 by #DimitrisNakos Godfather of the Mediterranean Diet and Athens Native by #PeachyDeegan @ManhattanPeachy

Salata a la Dimitri

"In Greece, you cannot eat dinner without salad presented on the table: it's an essential element to the balance and goodness of a successful meal. Salads in Greece are always included whether you are dining out or making dinner at home. We are excited to introduce you to our three stellar salad selections which you can additionally customize to be your own with our many side options! Here we present them to you in their original recipe."
-Dimitris Nakos,
Founder and Owner of Ammos Estiatorio

Whom You Know has always required a green salad as part of a meal, and as we enter the spring we endeavored to concentrate on this important component of a meal! The very best Peachy's Picks only will be showcased in all of their produce glory, and we're starting at the top with Ammos! Ammos actually has a salad named after the owner! Actions speak louder than words readers....

And why are the Ammos Salads the greatest?

You can customize them to your little heart's desire!

Here are your options to add to any of these:

Chicken Breast

Tiger Shrimp

Salmon

Grilled Octopus

Pan Seared Tuna

Grilled Kalamari

Here they are in their "original canvas" form.

"I like to cook at home and I love salads, and this is one of my creations crafted from simply using my favorite ingredients: Baby arugula and mixed greens, mixed berries, strawberries, dry Kalamata figs, Macadamia nuts, cashews, Greek honey & garlic balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Add cheese for an extra (choice of feta or gorgonzola cheese)"

-Dimitris Nakos

This brilliant combination awaits your palate and unlike restaurants that have all the usual suspects in salads, at Ammos you can meet the owner and salad namesake! And it's honest-to-goodness innovation that he has personally created from his taste levels to brighten your culinary world.

A beacon of refreshment is the gorgeous Horiatiki!

Beefsteak tomatoes, Kalamata olives, Spring onions, cucumbers, tri-color peppers, barrel-aged feta, fresh Mount Taygetos oregano, evoo combine in perfect proportion to each other. Ingredients don't get any fresher than this, and you know we don't edit pictures here. It really is this strikingly brilliant in person, which makes it that much more delicious! Every component is also well-cut in each of these salads by Executive Chef Bruno Marino!

Finally, for a lighter touch please meet the Pantzaria Carpaccio.

Thin-cut oven roasted golden and blood beets, shallot vinaigrette, pistachio yogurt sing a song that you ought to listen to: you can't BEET IT!!!

Ammos Estiatorio continues to Earn Our Highest Recommendation and is the first Peachy's Pick to be highlighted in our brand new column: Sensational Salad!!!

info@ammosny.com

https://ammosny.com/

https://twitter.com/ammosnewyork

https://www.instagram.com/ammosestiatorio/

https://www.facebook.com/AmmosEstiatorio

#PeachysPicks #IlGattopardo @IlGattopardoNYC A Peachy's Pick for 13 Years and A FAVORITE!!! #GianfrancoSorrentino #PaulaBollaSorrentino #VitoGnazzo #PeachyDeegan A Peachy's Pick Since 2011, Il Gattopardo Spring 2024 #FineDining #Manhattan

As you know it is the high holy time of Stanley Cup Playoffs almost and if Peachy was stranded on a desert island right this second with only three things to eat from Il Gattopardo, they would be these, detailed below!

A winning hat trick (3 goals, silly, aren't you reading NHL Peachy with Gordie upstairs) in Peachy's stomach!

First, read its history:

Owned by the trifecta of talent Paula Bollo Sorrentino, Executive Chef Vito Gnazzo, left, and Gianfranco Sorrentino, right, Il Gattopardo was a Peachy's Pick Starting in 2011! It was last featured in 2022, and we're absolutely positively thrilled to give you an update on how they are staying on top across the board from Vito's top-notch quality cuisine to atmosphere to never overlooking the smallest detail.

Of course, their sister restaurant is The Leopard at Des Artistes which we featured in 2011 first at the very beginning when it opened, and we're delighted to tell you that The Leopard has news: Vincenzo Adamo, born and raised in the beautiful southern Italian city of Naples, joined The Leopard at des Artistes team as Sous Chef in 2022, and in 2024 has been promoted to Executive Chef so you will be hearing from him soon. You all remember Vito was the original chef and still is at Il Gattopardo!

Paula and Peachy, above, and Peachy and Vito below

...at The Italian Consulate!!!!

Peachy and Gianfranco at Il Gattopardo:

We began with the gorgeous beet salad: Oven-roasted baby beets with Tuscan Kale, red wine Ubriaco cheese and brilliant toasted hazelnuts were a welcome opening, and this visit we were delighted to meet and work with Andrea Brunetti, expert waiter who has immaculate attention to detail and presents with the right flair. Absolutely we would encourage you to make a reservation because these are coveted tables; the arancini is also a lovely touch.

Gianfranco taught Peachy nearly everything she knows about Italian wine and she gives him credit in practically every other Italian review! Gruppo Italiano was in our Best of 2023: Day 20. The wine list at Il Gattopardo is like a wine bible and this visit we ordered the gospel of Sagrantini di Montefalco 2015 Cantina Tudernum (Org) from Umbria, just like Andrea!

We reveled in its excellence and versatility throughout the evening, and can unequivocally say there is not a bad wine choice to be had at Il Gattopardo ever.

Absolutely outstanding is the Lightly Smoked burrata Pugliese, and it is elevated to the culinary echelons of excellence with the ferrari of prosciutto, Culatta: Culo di Maiale (pig's behind! ass!). The best way to experience this gastronomic wonder is obviously at Il Gattopardo and the pickled fennel hiding below, shown discovered with our fork.

All lasagna is not created equally.

Some is just superior.

Namely, Lasagna "di Carnevale" with mini meatballs, ricotta and smoked mozzarella.

The meatballs alone will win you over and we ought to know, as we once did intensive meatball studies with Vito who has shown us firsthand that NOBODY does it BETTER!

These are typical from Naples and they are with tomato sauce, not bolognese. No ground beef. MEATBALLS!!!!!!!!!

The cheese element is ricotta and mozzarella which they must order from heaven based on the taste.

Say yes please to the Parmigiano Reggiano on top.

Meatball Glamour Shot:

As a rule, for a restaurant to remain a Peachy's Pick, we do visit once a year and in this case, we were looking for consistency. We last had this AMAZING ARTISINAL SENATORE CAPPELLI CAVATELLI WITH SHELLFISH RAGOUT in 2022 and you can see it in the review; we can happily confirm that Il Gattopardo is ALWAYS in it to win it and NEVER rests upon its laurels like some of the people that think they are their competition, but it is clear to us that Il Gattopardo is better. We consider far more than we publish on and we don't remember exact dishes for years on end unless we really love them, and we love this one.

Enchanted treasures from the sea ravish your palate. It's delicate and fresh and perfection any time of the year.

Red Snapper is not common on New York menus; Peachy does eat it often in Florida.

It is simply superlative at Il Gattopardo and even better when you consider its backup singers in this dish. Poached red snapper with clams, mussels and white wine broth is light and exquisite and further accentuated by the zucchini, potatoes and tomatoes hand-cut. It's like a painting in an art museum-so gorgeous! Note we never edit pictures: you win like Il Gattopardo or we would not publish.

Obviously, nothing is overlooked here and you automatically get the right fork and shell discard dish.

Il Gattopardo is a real beacon of civility in the crazy world of New York today, and that is reconfirmed with the Veal Chop Milanese-style with organic arugula salad, olive oil and balsamic dressing. You'll revel in the purity and simplicity done so well, and don't overlook the outstanding Brussel Sprouts with guanciale!!! Other places halve them, but they are quartered at Il Gattopardo.

They are even better quartered of course.

And for everyone in Peachy's life that has heard her go on and on and on about ALAIN DELON, you can thank Il Gattopardo for making her aware of him in the first place because bien sur mes amis it is named after the movie he is in with Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale (click here for our Top 10 Alain movie list)-and Claudia has been here. Alain we would most seriously do anything to have dinner with you at Il Gattopardo!!!

We may not have gotten Alain yet from France, but you should know that the Wild Strawberry Tart will be the best dessert you have this season, and the operative word in its name is Wild. The wild strawberries are imported from France!!! The petite beauties are the most flavorful and delicious strawberries you will ever eat (unless maybe you go to France?). Joined with vanilla custard on a tarlette, it is a spring celebration on a plate. And of course the biscotti is to-die-for.

Cookie Monster, see, even you will be happy when you come with us.

This is exactly how we feel about Il Gattopardo:

We love it.

Il Gattopardo continues to be Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.

http://www.ilgattopardonyc.com/

https://twitter.com/IlGattopardoNYC

https://www.instagram.com/ilgattopardonyc/

https://www.facebook.com/ilgattopardonyc

STAY TUNED FOR MOZZARELLA E VINO LATER THIS YEAR!

Recent Testimonials by Brand Ambassadors on their Experience with Whom You Know

"I work with Peachy Deegan because she's prolific at what she does. She's a hard worker, she's thoughtful and she's tasteful at what she writes which is very important. Peachy gets the facts correct, and just that alone is worth its weight in gold."

-Edward Tricomi, Master Stylist and Owner of Warren-Tricomi
https://warrentricomi.com/

"No one has yet to express their taste for our cuisine better than Peachy Deegan on Whom You Know. Thank you for transforming our flavor into words, unlike any other before.
Sometimes WHOM YOU KNOW, really makes a difference and Ammos Estiatorio is grateful to know Peachy Deegan!"
-
Dimitris Nakos, Founder and Owner of
Ammos Estiatorio
https://ammosnewyork.com/

“Whom You Know has done an amazing job of featuring our company over many years [seven]. Peachy has worked tirelessly to create a well-curated selection of topics and brands that are clearly of relevance to her growing audience of readers. Her articles are filled with great insights based on first-hand experience. She does her research, knows her business and is a pleasure to work with!”

-David Sasuga, Owner of Fresh Origins Microgreens
www.FreshOrigins.com

"Peachy Deegan has the pulse of the nation and highlights exceptional opinion leaders in more than 23,000 inspiring and entertaining posts. Her 100,000 twitter followers are a true testimony to Peachy’s ability to inspire, motivate and entertain. She is a feminine force to be reckoned with and an exemplary example of an influential voice in today’s world."

-Mica Mosbacher, author of the new book The Hurricane Factor: Stormside Patriots and tv political commentator

"It was an honour to be chosen for Movers and Shakers by Peachy Deegan. The questions in the interview were intelligent and insightful and I thoroughly enjoyed answering them. The reaction to the interview has been overwhelmingly positive and has helped bring my art practice to a wider audience."
-Damien Flood, Internationally Acclaimed Artist
http://www.damienflood.ie/

"We were so fortunate to hit Peachy’s radar. Her review of our Warmies was spot-on and came at a great time in our company’s early history.
Peachy has such a strong relationship with her readers. She provides honest and real comments; she is truly a trusted source in a very large circle
of consumers."
-Scott Wehrs
President
Intelex U.S.A.
http://www.intelexusallc.com/

"We at Primola love working with Whom You Know and are proud to have been a highly-ranked Manhattan restaurant by Peachy Deegan since 2012, and are featured seasonally. We appreciate the fantastic work Peachy does highlighting our cuisine with her sublime writing style and the whole neighborhood of the Upper East side. Also, we are glad that she has started a Made in Italy column! If you have the opportunity to be considered for review, we'd highly recommend working with her."
-Giuliano Zuliani, Owner of Primola Restaurant
https://www.facebook.com/Primola-Canaletto-restaurants-NYC-135616799831091

"
Peachy Deegan is a gem. She is wonderful to feature our Irish brands in 'Whom You Know'! The articles are beautifully and passionately presented, bringing products and brands to life, making both relevant and fun for her many faithful followers to read. I am immensely proud for our hand-crafted products to be included in this venue!"

-
Bill Follett
President, Belleek Group North America
www.Belleek.com

"As you know from my past features, Peachy Deegan and I were in the same class at Boston College prior to either of us becoming entrepreneurs. When we played together on the BC Alumni softball team in Central Park years ago, she mentioned she could not find a great dentist in Manhattan and could often be found networking on her phone in the outfield hiding from the ball. She was my second patient ever in 2006 when I opened my dental practice; I was one of the first sponsors on Whom You Know and the first Mover and Shaker featured in 2009 and have worked with her continuously since. She's even talked her friends that are doctors into being my patients, and they subsequently send their hospital colleagues. I don't know anyone that is as great of a networker and writer as Peachy, nevermind that she is upstanding and always good for her word. Cosmopolitan Dental is so happy to be in the company of the caliber of major brands she works with today, and although she will tell you a million ways to get your teeth dirty between Peachy's Picks, Terrific Takeout and Peachy's Pantry, Peachy Deegan will tell you there is only one way to get your teeth clean!"
-Dr. Garo Nazarian, Founder and Owner of Cosmopolitan Dental
http://cosmopolitandental.com/