L&B Spumoni Gardens

L&B Spumoni Gardens
Two slices of Sicilian pizza at L&B Spumoni Gardens
Map
Restaurant information
Established1939 (1939)
Food typeItalian-American
Dress codecasual
Street address2725 86th Street
CityBrooklyn
CountyKings
StateNew York
Postal/ZIP Code11222
CountryUSA
ReservationsYes
Websitespumonigardens.com

L&B Spumoni Gardens is an Italian-American pizzeria-restaurant in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City.[1][2][3][4] Originally conceived as an ice and spumoni stand prior to World War II, it grew during the mid-1950s into a full-scale pizzeria that's known today primarily for its Sicilian pizza and ices.[5] The restaurant has been featured on the show Man v. Food. NY Eater critic Robert Sietsema considers L&B Spumoni Gardens a must-try Italian American restaurant in Brooklyn.[6] They were featured on Andrew Zimmern’s show The Zimmern List.[7]

History

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Founder Ludovico Barbati came to the United States in 1917 from Torella dei Lombardi, Italy.[8] In 1938, Barbati sold Spumoni and Italian Ice from a horse and wagon.[8] In 1939, he purchased a vacant property on 86th Street to make the spumoni and ice.[8] By the mid 1950s, the location came to be L&B Spumoni Gardens, with the spumoni factory, a pizzeria and a luncheonette all on site.[8]

In 2016, one of the co-owners, Louis Barbati, 61, was murdered outside his home in Dyker Heights.[9] In 2019, another co-owner, Patricia Barbati Coffey, 56, died after a seven-year battle with ALS.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "L&B Spumoni Gardens". NYC Go. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  2. ^ Sifton, Sam (December 2, 2010). "Looking for Old Brooklyn? Nosh This Way". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  3. ^ Sietsema, Robert (October 28, 2013). "Staten Island Pizzas That Stood the Test of Time". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  4. ^ Durante, Eugene (April 3, 2012). "Rating New York's 'Upper Crusts'". High Brow Magazine. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  5. ^ Bredderman, Will (September 26, 2012). "It's hip to be square! Bensonhurst legend coming to Barclays". The Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  6. ^ Sietsema, Robert (December 1, 2014). "10 Old-Fashioned Italian-American Restaurants to Try in Brooklyn". Eater NY. Retrieved March 7, 2015. five must-try Italian American restaurants in Brooklyn
  7. ^ Dellso, Meredith (April 19, 2018). "NYC restaurants get spotlight on episode of Andrew Zimmern's 'The Zimmern List'". AM New York. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d "Our Story". L&B Spumoni Gardens. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  9. ^ Burke, Kerry; Annese, John; Slattery, Denis (July 1, 2016). "Co-owner of famed L&B Spumoni Gardens pizzeria that nearly stirred mob war shot dead in backyard of his Brooklyn home". Daily News. New York. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  10. ^ Brown, Stephen Rex (February 18, 2019). "Co-owner of famed Brooklyn pizzeria L&B Spumoni Gardens dead at 56". Daily News. New York. Retrieved February 23, 2019.

40°35′41″N 73°58′52.5″W / 40.59472°N 73.981250°W / 40.59472; -73.981250