STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Waitress Lois Donofrio and chef Emil Habaschi have presented countless meals at The Colonnade Diner in their collective decades of service. In this episode of The Dish, the two loyal employees picked their favorite meals to show off with some customer favorites and speciality Greek eats.
But overall, top tastes consistently, say the chef and Lois, are the 8-ounce burger with fries, and a Grilled Chicken salad with kalamata olives, creamy feta plus greens with roasted pita points. If a patron wants to get a little heartier, the kitchen presents pan-fried, whole flounder and platters of meaty lamb chops with sides of fried potatoes and broccoli rabe.
Lois Donofrio has been a server at The Colonnade for 34 years.(Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)
Breakfast is tremendous, says Lois. On a weekend, to serve hundreds of pancakes — including fruit stuffed versions — and omelets is an understatement.
How does the restaurant handle such volume?
Pan-roasted flounder with vegetable sides. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)
Lois explains the diner format where the server is truly on the front line. She recalls her days at Toto’s Restaurant, formerly of New Dorp Lane, where the role of a waiter or waitress was to bring only the food to guests. At The Colonnade, among other things, a waiter or waitress must ladle the soup, roast the toast and portion the pickles with diner’s famed creamy cole slaw. Yes, it’s quite a bit of extra work compared to a traditional sit-down restaurant. But Lois wouldn’t have it any way.
Complimentary cole slaw and pickles (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)
Check out this episode of The Dish, a live broadcast that streams from the Advance’s Facebook page each Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. Come into The Colonnade’s sparkly kitchen to see where the cooking and assembly action happens. By other spaces in comparison that we’ve viewed together on The Dish, it’s pretty massive back there!
By the way, gone at The Colonnade are 24-hour days. Service times now are 7 a.m. to midnight daily at 2001 Hylan Boulevard.
The Greek salad to go along with spanikopita. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)
The restaurant is owned by Marko Platis, established in 1975. It seats about 300 guests and features a private party room plus an outdoor area called Santorini Grill. The al fresco section is named as such as a nod to Platis’ hometown in Greece.
The diner can be reached at 718-351-2900.
Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
The Colonnade Diner has been a Dongan Hills mainstay since 1975. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)
"dish" - Google News
September 24, 2022 at 12:08AM
https://ift.tt/vNADFCT
How to feast at The Colonnade Diner | The Dish - SILive.com
"dish" - Google News
https://ift.tt/QkINrSp
No comments:
Post a Comment