Arte e Cibo

The next time you eat at Tonda, your waiter might not just be the one serving you pizza. He might have made me the art on the walls. Cacho Falcon is the waiter, artist, and wonderkid on display at Tonda right now, and his art is getting as many accolades as our cuisine. Because it's never enough for us to just bring you the Neapolitan food we love, we'd like Tonda to be an experience. Why is why we're planning special Sunday brunches with DJs and Monday night events throughout the summer and into the fall. We'll keep you posted on all of this right here on the blog. Oh, and because we're loving the whole internet/restaurant world, we've gone and made ourselves a Facebook. Just one more way for Tonda to be a part of the community.

Behind the Scenes

We know Bob Giraldi, the Renaissance man/owner of Tonda, quite well. In fact, we get to see him almost every day. But not everyone does. And while he'll be at Butcher Bay, and would love to say hello to loyal patrons, Black Book Magazine gets us up close & personal with Bob for their column "Industry Insiders". Its a long, hefty interview, fitting a resume as long as Bob's, and writer Nadeska Alexis covers everything from food to film shoots, and even sneaks a Michael Jackson reference into the intro. Just as important, they used one of our favorite photographs, taken by Daniel Krieger at Tonda!

Quite Presidential

We usually turn to Time Magazine for the latest news about Barack Obama. But now we've got another excuse to pick up this weeks issue: Tonda, and owner Bob Giraldi, are featured in a story called "Posh Slice: Pizza, a Budget Staple, Goes Upscale". We're in good culinary company in the article, not to mention writer David Kaufman calls out one of our favorite dishes, the Pesto Pizza. Since Time is so political, we just hope someone at the White House happens to catch the article. Michelle and Barack, we'd love to have you next time you're in town.

Superiore Chef

We watch Top Chef as much as any culinary-minded New Yorker, so we were pretty thrilled when Season Four contestant, Spike Mendehlson, who knows a thing or two about pizza, told New York Magazine he was including us in his self-described "New York pizza binge". Next time, Spike, say hello when you come to visit, and we might even throw you an apron and put you to work.

Cucina di Estate

We love pizza in the summer as much as anyone. In fact, so much is pizza associated with our youthful school vacation daliances that we can hardly separate the two. Little league pizza parties, anyone? But we're adults now, we've experienced New York City in balmy Augusts, and sometimes the heat leaves us wanting something a bit lighter for our plates. So we thought we'd remind everyone that while we'd never stop serving up our pizzas for kids at heart, of any age, we have some lighter fare for those upcoming summer heat waves.

First up is our Seafood Salad. Nothing satisfies us quicker on a scorching day than seafood:



Next is a salad of a different sort. Less seafood, more mixed greens, black olives, and cherry tomatos. But because Mediteraneans have learned over centuries that a little sea food goes a long, refreshing way, we top of the Haricots Verts with Italian Tuna:



You still need a morning cup, even in the summer, so why not a Brunch-time cappucino mixed with cooling Greek Yogurt and Granola:



And lastly, here's something that requires no appetite at all. Our Frappes, like this Mixed Berry version, are cold enough to stop the heat:



These choices, our variety of beers (try the Lucky Beer in the green Buddha bottles), white wines, and proseccos, and our wide open, airy windows, we hope to keep you cool summer.