Monte’s Venetian Room, a restaurant near
the Gowanus Canal, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. It’s
a place that has changed with the times without changing much
of anything. Monte’s tale features immigrants from Naples who
realized the American dream; their offspring who presided over
the dining room as it turned into a celebrity haunt for the likes
of Frank Sinatra and Connie Francis; and the current owner, who
keeps the eatery’s history alive today.
The restaurant’s story begins in 1906 when Angelo Montemarano,
son of Angelina and Rocco, opened Angelo’s Restaurant on Carroll
Street. Angelo chose the location for its convenience: The rear
of the eatery shared a yard with his parents’ grocery store,
making it easy to run over for provisions.
Assisting Angelo was his wife Filomena, who cooked, cleaned,
shopped for meals, and during her free time, gave birth to seven
sons and three daughters. (The daughters died in infancy.)
The restaurant was a hit with the "paisanos," says
Tony Monte, the godson of Angelo and Filomena, who has owned
the eatery since 1995. The "paisanos" were all nationalities:
From the streets of Gowanus came the Italians, Swedes, Germans,
Jews and Irish, and closer to Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill
were immigrants of Middle Eastern descent. The clientele arrived
by tugboat or on horses, and tethered them outside the eatery.
It may be hard to imagine, but in the 1900s, the Gowanus Canal
was the main thoroughfare for commerce in the borough.
Angelo’s wasn’t fancy, just a small place with sawdust on the
floor and a potbellied stove. But Filomena’s Neapolitan dishes
– like homemade pasta, lasagna, a meaty minestrone (they still
serve an excellent version of the soup), and the T-bone steaks
cooked on that stove – engendered a loyal crowd.
During Prohibition in the 1920s, Angelo’s became a speakeasy
of sorts. Filomena’s cooking remained the same, but alcohol,
illegal to sell at that time, was offered to the patrons.
"There was a shoot behind the bar where liquor was thrown
if the police raided the place, but," says Monte, "the
cops never really bothered anyone."
In 1938, Angelo took a trip to Venice and fell in love with the
city. On his return, Angelo’s Restaurant was renamed Monte’s
(shortened from Montemarano) Venetian Room. With the sophisticated
name, came a more refined interior. Doing the labor themselves,
the brothers added more space to the front, pushed the kitchen
and the restrooms to the rear of the restaurant, and built a
small stage and dance floor. But the piece de resistance is a
series of canvases painted by Joe Carroll that form a mural around
the entire dining room. Carroll’s Impressionist renderings of
the Italian city’s boat-filled canals remain in place.
The decor hasn’t changed much since the late ’30s. Neither has
the Neapolitan menu. Monte is proud that in the 100 years of
its existence, only "five or six" chefs have cooked
in the kitchen. Louis Chuya, a relative newcomer, has been with
the restaurant for 20 years.
"If I take anything off the menu, the customers complain,"
says Monte. His diners are local neighborhood folk and others
who travel to the eatery from as far as Staten Island. They order
linguini with clam sauce, an excellent, spicy calamari "Fra
Diavolo" and one of the finest cheesecakes (made with ricotta,
just barely sweet and as creamy as mousse) to grace any table.
"The New York Times said our cheesecake was the best in
the city served in a restaurant," Monte says with pride.
Frank Sinatra was a fan of the dessert when he frequented the
place.
From the early ’50s through the late ’70s, the eatery (then owned
by Nick Monte, who took over the reins in 1932, when he was 16
years old, following Angelo’s retirement) was the "go to"
place, says Monte, for the celebrities of that era. Sinatra sometimes
sang at Our Lady of Peace, a church on Carroll Street. After
his performance, he liked to grab a bite at Monte’s, sometimes
in the company of the other "fellas," Dean Martin and
Tony Bennett. Connie Francis and Hedy Lamarr liked to hang out
there. So did Ben Gazzara.
Monte remembers the night that Sammy Davis Jr., "the nicest
guy on earth!" he says, stopped in after a gig at the original
Copacabana and didn’t leave until 8 am.
"It was the late 1970s," says Monte. "Sammy and
bunch of his guys came in and took the big table in the corner.
Sammy performed for a while, ate a little, talked, drank and
then sang some more. The place went wild. Everyone loved it when
Sammy was here."
Monte’s isn’t a "scene" any longer, but it has become
the "go to" place for filmmakers ("Prizzi’s Honor");
three documentaries were shot there as well as several commercials
and countless episodes of "Law and Order." It’s a hangout
for Monte’s loyal customers, their children and great grandchildren.
"I have our older customers coming in wanting certain dishes;
their kids ask for special things and their grandchildren are
customers, too," he says. Here and there on a recent Friday
night, black clad, tattooed diners sit beneath the huge crystal
chandelier. They seem happy with their chicken Marsala, and comfortable
among the family groups and regulars.
In honor of the restaurant’s centennial birthday, Monte hosted
a weekend block party on the last weekend of July with food and
tables set up outside the eatery. Since then, he has offered
a three-course, $19.06 prix fixe dinner – including salad, pasta
and entree of chicken or fish – on every night but Saturday.
The menu has been so popular with the clientele that Monte plans
to run the special until the end of December.
Monte’s customers can enjoy the prix fixe while they await a
once-in-100-years spectacle.
In 1978, Nick Monte hosted a 72nd anniversary bash to celebrate
New York’s oldest Italian restaurant (a distinction also claimed
by Barbetta, an eatery in the theatre district). During the event,
a time capsule was buried near the restaurant. Inside it are
a dollar bill, a 15-cent stamp, local newspapers, a bottle of
wine, gas and electric bills, and, says Monte, "a lot of
stuff. I don’t remember." The capsule was supposed to be
exhumed at the centennial, but no one associated with Monte’s
remembers exactly where it rests.
"I know it’s somewhere in the parking lot," say Monte.
He’s asked the old timers who attended the party for photos of
the event. "If I see pictures, I’ll know where to dig."
Monte’s Venetian Room (451 Carroll St.
between Nevins Street and Third Avenue in Gowanus) accepts American
Express, MasterCard and Visa. Entrees: $12-$26. Now through December,
Monte’s is offering a three-course, $19.06 prix fixe dinner –
including salad, pasta and entree of chicken or fish – every
night but Saturday. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner daily.
For reservations, call (718) 624-8984.
