GUSTI Blog

Piazza Italian Market in Easton, Maryland

Congratulation Emily! For the grand opening of your Piazza Italian Market, a gourmet and deli shop. Emily is a very brave young woman and she opened her shop in the middle of a bad economic recession. Also, the works in the Piazza were delayed and had lots of problems which she faced with wit and patience, as you can read on her blog.

Emily came to visit us to shop in our warehouse, late November. She is very pretty and kind, but also very determined. Emily knows exactly what she wants, which is a great start for a great successful story. Emily wants good products, integrity and honesty. On these premises, we'll be her partners forever.

Good luck, our friend and best wishes for a very successful 2009 and years to come!

BTW - from Tony Mantuano, a message to fellow Italians

By the way, we think it is very cool how Italians have
expressed their support for Obama. We have had so many inquiries from
media and friends in Italy about his dining experience here. Makes us
Italo-Americans very proud of our heritage as well.

Happy Holidays,

Tony

 

grazie Tony. buon lavoro e auguri a tutti.

Buon Natale e Buone Feste!

courtesy of Marina and Kobi

Tratturello is on its way to Obama - Part 4

Previously, on this screen:

Spiaggia, a restaurant (a great restaurant) in Chicago is a favorite of Barack Obama's AND is a customer of Gustiamo's, TOO. 

Francesco Travaglini is the producer of Tratturello, an EV olive Oil (a great Olive Oil) in Molise and is shipping its new harvest to Gustiamo. Bottle #1 is a gift to Obama.

The shipment arrives, we taste it and YES, it is fit for a king and for Obama.

I write to our friend, Tony Mantuano, the owner and chef of Spiaggia, and ship bottle #1 and #2 to him double and triple packaged, with all kind of warnings on all sides of the box. Wonderful Tony replies immediately, and says he'll do his best to give bottle #1 to Obama. This is a miracle and a wonderful Christmas Gift. It makes us feel good: any dream can come true in this great country. Thank you Tony.

To be continued...

Terra Amore e Fantasia - Tomatoes from Puglia selected by Sabatino Abagnale

Sabatino Abagnale is the producer of Miracolo di San Gennaro (the San Marzano tomatoes beyond DOP). He also selects the best plum tomatoes, grown by friends in Puglia, and cans them with the label Terra Amore e Fantasia. This product already has many fans, including Anthony Malgieri who uses them at his Una Pizza Napoletana in NY, in my modest opinion (not too modest, I was born in Napoli) one of the best pizza in the world. Possibly, with Chris Bianco's in Arizona, the best pizza in the world ouside Napoli. The new harvest of Terra Amore e Fantasia is finally arrived in the warehouse.

Buon Natale! Gustiamo Shipping Deadlines

Place your order on or before DECEMBER 21 and your gift will reach its destination before DECEMBER 25.

Living on the hedge...? Place your order on DECEMBER 22 and we will do everything humanly possible to get your gift to its destination before DECEMBER 25.

Inexpensive Olive Oil

A restaurant, dear friend and customer of ours, was offered to buy olive oil from a well known brand at $7 per liter. How can they do it? I paid the euro @1.51, yesterday.

Gustiamo on NATIONAL TV

There is always a first time! Our Sant'Eustachio coffee was presented as the perfect holiday gift on the Today Show at 9 in the morning of December 10!!! Pretty nifty, eh? NBC says that 60 million people are watching at that hour. We were all so excited... even the website went kaput for 2 hours. It was great, nevertheless. It feels good to be famous.

Tratturello EV Olive Oil - bottle #1 - Part 3

The shipment with Tratturello's new oil has arrived in the warehouse with no problem, which is a miracle, these days. Fabio, of IS shipping, speculates that the FBI instructed their friends at FDA and US Customs to be fast, for once, because the bottle #1 is destined for Barack Obama.

Now, we need to find bottle #1 immediately, to make sure it doesn't go to just anybody. Since we are very busy, these days, anything "extra" we ask in the warehouse does not make us popular. This is me asking Gerard:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdzuVbB7E1k

We found it! Now you don't have to worry about getting the President's oil! To be continued...

 

 

 

 

                                         

Gustiamo Christmas Party - It takes 5 to tango, sometimes 7

This photo is after far too much wine at Gustiamo's Christmas Party, last Thursday. From left: Gerard, Anne, Martina, Antonio, Beatrice. David is the photographer. Phyllis was with us, too, at dinner; but she left right after dinner and missed half of the fun and all of the dances.

Dinner was DELICIOUS - even if I say so myself. Menu was: senatore cappelli with lobster sauce; red snapper and roasted potatoes; vanilla ice cream and balsamic  vinegar (25 years) - a classic combination, Gerard says.