Two brothers open traditional Italian restaurant

Sacramone’s Italian Restaurant opened in East Meadow two months ago and is starting to attract some attention for its authentic, home-style recipes.

The owners, brothers Domenico and Anthony Sacramone, decided to expand to Long Island after the success of Sac’s Place, their first Italian restaurant in Astoria, Queens.

“We have established quite a following in Astoria, with people traveling from all over the five boroughs and beyond to enjoy our traditional Italian specialties and coal-oven fired pizza,” said Domenico. “We expect that the discerning palettes on Long Island will also appreciate the quality and care that we put into our food.”

Transporting some of their favorite recipes to Long Island, the restaurant is known for its homemade pastas, raviolis, stuffed shells, manicotti and pizza crust. Domenico said the cooks also prepare all sauces from scratch and everything is made to order so customers can alter recipes on request.

“We’re very traditionalist when it comes to cooking,” said Domenico. “All my recipes are my mom’s recipes.” His mother, Maddalena Sacramone, moved to New York in 1954 and her husband followed. Her father was already a citizen and she was looking for a better life. Maddalena’s hometown, Abruzzo, in central Italy, was a war-torn village following World War II.

Domenico said that growing up during wars and the depression made Maddalena strong and resourceful. She made all meals and coffee from scratch and would save fat and grease to make soap. She passed these traditions to her sons.

“My mother always told me, you’ve got to learn how to cook,” said Domenico. “She said, ‘watch me and you won’t have a problem.”

Anthony and Domenico solely use the recipes their mother shared with them at the restaurant.

“By creating this restaurant, we wish to share the experience of growing up in a family of good cooks where food was and still is an expression of love and caring,” the brother’s wrote in a note to customers on the catering menu.

In 1988, Anthony was wearing a suit and working in corporate America and Domenico was attended Queen College studying computer science when they decided to get into the restaurant business.

“It is a lot of work,” admitted Domenico, “but with the right partner it’s good . . .the corporate world just wasn’t for us.” He added, “Education is still the most important thing. Everyone should go to college, in my opinion. The more knowledge you have, the better decisions you can make in life.”

Sacramone’s Italian Restaurant is located at 2366 Hempstead Turnpike and features prints from Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. The brothers also installed a coal-oven fire with lava rocks from Mount Vesuvius.

In addition to the restaurant, the Sacramone’s offer a catering menu and will either drop off food or provide full-service for a backyard bash or white-glove affair.

For more information, call (516)513-1919.