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Community Corner

Notes from a Food Diva: Il Toscano

Carol Brock talks to Douglaston residents about Italian eatery that has operated in the community for 26 years.

Did you read last Sunday Times’s front-page story on the Maitre d’hotel at the Tower Bar in Hollywood, CA? Douglaston is not to be outdone. We have Mauro Privilegi, the maitre d and owner of , a fine dining establishment down by the Douglaston Long Island Rail Road station. 

Since it’s a Douglaston restaurant, Douglaston owned and operated, it only seems fitting to record comments by Douglastonians who dine there.

On a commute to Penn station on the LIRR, Joan Blackwood - who was then living in the big house on Cherry Street and working for the Lighthouse for the Blind - told me that she was busy with a fundraiser luncheon given at Manhattan’s Pierre Hotel.

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“Mauro is banquet captain and handling it,” she told me.

 Impressive. I had once gone to a business luncheon at the Pierre, which has a very special curry-only dining room down stairs. In the 1960s, curry was new, so savoring it at a restaurant on Fifth Avenue at 61st Street with heads of state made it more so. The service was even more memorable - absolutely unobtrusive, but always there. We were shocked when we looked art our watch. And I didn’t get back to Good Housekeeping, where I was working at the time, until 3 p.m.

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I had also gone to numerous beautifully orchestrated wine tastings there. And I knew that the Chaine des Rotisseurs, an international gastronomic society devoted to cuisine, wine and fine dining, gave their black tie dinners at the Pierre.

I have since learned that not only Mauro was in “banquet” at the Pierre, but also daughter Lisa who is now at Douglaston’s Il Toscano.

Rod O’Connell, a frequent Il Toscano diner, recently told me that Mauro, early in his career had been a waiter in the first class dining room of a deluxe trans Atlantic ocean liner known as the Leonardo da Vinci that sailed between Genoa and New York. Rod knows because he‘s been back and forth to Europe, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.

Perhaps, Mauro’s penchant for dinnerware and place-setting perfection at his restaurant comes from the time spent on the Leonardo da Vinci and the Pierre. Each night, at every place setting, his staff lifts every glass, turns it around to check the sparkle and polishes each piece of silverware.

“Mauro has an excellent eye for flowers and is very selective,” says Lori Cress, of Cress Florist on Northern Boulevard. “The arrangements are always festive and unique. Sometimes he buys flowers and combines them with vegetables.” 

And Douglastonians enjoy the autumn displays out front with cornstalks, pumpkins and squash that act as an upper for train riders going to Port Washington and those standing on the platform. 

Mauro rises early and does his own marketing at Hunts Point, then goes home, takes a nap and is back at the restaurant at 6 p.m. to assume his post as maître d.

Gloria Kemper Bodie remembers that when she was working on beautifying the south side of the Douglaston station, she saw Mauro personally hosing the sidewalk in front of Il Toscano after his morning marketing. One day, he came over and presented her with a portobello mushroom so large that it could be best used for a chapeau and said, “You are as driven as I am.”

Peter Angelilli, who lives across the street from Mauro, notes his extreme patience. “He was teaching his grandchildren how to make sabayon, taking them ever so carefully through each step, from the separating the eggs to the stirring during the cooking process over water. He exhibits the same patience with his staff.”

Mauro has always been at the front of the house, but he knows how to cook from his mother. In fact, one of the restaurant’s signature recipes, Nona’s Lasagna, came from her as well as, possibly, the signature sautéed lobster in garlic and olive oil. [Restaurateur] Lidia Bastianich told me years back that Il Toscano was the best Italian restaurant in the area. 

Whenever Mauro travels, he does what restaurateurs do these days - always speaks to the restaurant owner when dining. It happened on Mauro’s and wife Jan’s trips to Spain and Brazil as well as this summer’s week in Paris. His favorite dining spot on this recent trip? Josephine’s Chez Dumonet. 

Jan agrees: “The restaurant we loved in Paris was at 117 Rue du Cherchez-Midi in the 6th Arr.  Their pigeon was superb. This old-world bistro is cozy, the staff is friendly and helpful.”

Enoteca Toscano, which he built and opened on the north side of the Douglaston station for his son Alex, was a gem that hosted creative luncheons upstairs and a chic gourmet market downstairs. I had my first portobello sandwich there and I can still savor it.

This charming restaurant/marketplace offered fresh produce, herbs and spices, olive oil, pasta, prosciutto and salami, croissants and pottery serving dishes. The market closed, but Alex is using his culinary school credentials at Il Toscano.

In 1995, Mauro expanded Il Toscano and one of the first events in the new dining area was a wine tasting dinner (one of several held at Il Toscano for the Great Neck Adult program) in the upstairs room, recalls Robert Rainer, wine instructor of the adult program. 

“A wine is matched with every course, always starting with champagne and ending with a dessert wine,” he said.

It's now been 26 years since Mauro took the risk of bringing fine dining to Douglaston on the south side of the station with Il Toscano, located at 42-05 235th Street.

Sabayon

Zabaione (aka Sabayon) is a wonderful Marsala flavored custard. Jan sends this very simple version. 

5 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg

2 Tbsp sugar

½ C. Marsala

Combine egg yolks and whole egg with 2T sugar in top of a double boiler above simmering water. Beat with a wire whisk until it is pale yellow and fluffy. Slowly, add the Marsala, continuing beating, until the zabaione thickens enough to hold its shape. This may take as long as 10 minutes. Serves four.

Can be served warm, in a stemmed glass, with biscotti. Can also be served over assorted fresh berries, our favorite. The recipe can go further. After Marsala is added and zabaione is thickened, remove from double boiler and set in pan of ice water, beating until mixture cools. Beat 1/3 C heavy cream until stiff. Fold into zabaione mixture and refrigerate. Absolutely decadent over fresh fruit or ice cream.

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