Olive Bread from Vesuvio
One of my great joys at Tools for Working Wood is steering our visitors to great local places, whether great Mexican food in Sunset Park or worthwhile museums they might have otherwise missed. In that spirit, let me tell you about some of the food shopping I did with my son over the weekend.
We built up our fortitude for errands with a falafel at one one of my favorite falafel spots, the original Mamoun's on Macdougal Street in Greenwich Village. According to their website, the restaurant, which was founded in 1971, is "the oldest falafel restaurant in New York and one of the first Middle Eastern establishments in the United States." (This isn't exactly true - Mamoun's may be the oldest falafel shop in NYC, but from the late 19th century until its relocation to make way for the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and what would later become the World Trade Center site, New York had "Little Syria," a vibrant Middle Eastern neighborhood in downtown Manhattan.)
When we finished my meal, we headed to Pino Prime Meats for some lamb sausage. The shop makes the sausage fresh everyday, and I don't know a better supplier of lamb sausage anywhere. It's great with many things, including a side of robustly spiced pasta. This shop is tiny! There's a single corridor for customers and butchers, and the shop was pretty mobbed. (I generally have been at the shop on Saturdays, and it's always busy on Saturdays.) Just as noteworthy as the quality of the meats: Pino takes cash only. The trend in the past few years was to eliminate cash payments - with sufficient pushback that NYC passed a law mandating that stores are legally required to accept cash if their customers choose that method of paying. Well, no need for that intervention at Pino, which is a traditional store in this and so many other ways. The current family that owns Pino Prime Meats has been operating the store only since 1990, but the butcher shop has been operating the neighborhood (though I am not sure if it's at the current address only) since 1907.
Then it was off to Vesuvio Bakery for a snack, in this case some olive bread. Let me say they do not stint on the olives at this bakery. Vesuvio has a long history in the neighborhood as well. The original bakery was opened in 1920 but closed around 2009 - and then was reopened by a fan who was inspired to renovate the bakery's storefront and restore its operations.
Raffetto's Fresh Pasta
And then we finally headed to Raffetto's Fresh Pasta on Houston Street. Raffetto’s too has a storied past: it was founded as M. Raffetto & Bros. in 1906. As the shop’s website says, “In its early years, M. Raffetto & Bros. made three basic products: egg noodles, meat & spinach ravioli (Genoa Style) and, a little later, cheese ravioli (Naples Style). Since refrigeration was the exception more than the norm at the turn of the century, we produced and sold dry egg noodles much more than fresh egg noodles, made with the one roller machine our grandfather bought in 1916 (that machine is still used today). From the 1970’s on, the popularity of fresh noodles and having only one machine to roll out the dough made us discontinue making dry noodles. Today, Raffetto’s produces about 50 different kinds of pasta. We often wonder what Marcello would think about our range of homemade creations that include pumpkin ravioli, black squid ink linguine and rosemary pappardelle. Regardless of whether it is a classic pasta or something a little new and creative, our family still chooses to follow the same principles that has guided our family’s philosophy since 1906: use the best quality ingredients to produce the best quality pasta. “
We bought some ravioli for dinner later in the week and headed home, snacking on the olive bread.
Probably the best part about dealing with these stores is that they're all owned, run, staffed by people I can identify with. They know the product, they know their business. They care. They make the best products they can. They engage with customers. Food in these stores isn't a commodity designed for easy barcode scanning. It's a craft and making a living at any craft is an achievement. Fewer people on any given day need a wonderful hand made chair than some sausages, but the principle is the same and needs to be encouraged.
As I was enjoying the olive bread reflecting upon my shopping experience, the thought occurred to me that this is what craft is about. Almost anyone can make olive bread, but actually making the bread, and doing so in such a way that the bread is stuffed with olives, and sold to a sufficiently appreciative customer base to pay enough to make the profit that enables you to pay the rent and the staff - well, that is about mastery of craft. Same with making lamb sausage every day, at a price that is in the sweet spot of affordable-profitable, etc.
My enjoyment of woodworking is really about the enjoyment of craft, appreciating the skill it takes to make something. And respecting the lifetime of skill it takes to master a craft effectively.
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05/06/2026 Dave Steffens
Well done. Thank you for sharing your day with us.
05/06/2026 Fritz
This blog brings back a lot of memories growing up two blocks from the famous Katz's deli. My dad ran a dry cleaning store on 1st and First Ave soon after the war. Little did I know at the time that our store was the safest on the block as the Hell's Angels club house was right below the store so there was a constant roar of motorcycles at all hours. Houston St along where the park separated us, laid many eastern European specialities, e.g. gefilte fish, souvlakis, kosher bakery shops, meat butchers, etc. I was exposed to woodworking as a result of seeing European craftsman who brought their skills with them as they retained their craft. Although we are Asians, the sense of community was never stronger as we frequented many of the stores on Delancey, Essex, and Eldridge streets on the lower east side. It was always exciting to be introduced and trade different foods and cuisines with our neighbors and friends. Now that I live outside the city, I look forward to infrequent visits when I can share about life experiences with my family growing up in such a diverse setting.
05/06/2026 Bill Morison
That was a great read. I felt I was there with you. Your seeking out and honoring the skill and craft that is still out there truly resonated with me. Thank you.
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