Trading stromboli for sashimi

From yesterday's AM New York:

http://www.amny.com/business/am-brooklyn1114,0,5269287.story

The story begins:
"A recent walk down the famed Christopher Columbo Boulevard between 60th and 86th streets now tallies 16 Italian restaurants versus 17 Asian eateries."

I would love to know how they are defining restaurant. With Danza's closed the only Italian restaurants I can think of on that stretch are Il Colosseo and Fiorito both on the same block between 77th and 78th. I guess they are including pizza places, bakeries, pork stores, ravioli stores, salumerias and social clubs? If I am missing a sit down Italian restaurant on that stretch please let me know I'd love to try it.

I can think of World Tong, Hot and Spicy, Vermicelli, Ten Zan, and Trio Village for Asian cuisine, so they must be including takeout only places too.



There was a letter in response today:

Spreading ignorance
November 15, 2007
Re "Trading stromboli for sashimi," Nov. 14:
I did not think much of the title itself until I started reading the article. Mr. Lysiak is grossly ignorant if he thinks that sushi and sashimi are the foods that represent or symbolize Chinese people.

While it's true that most Japanese restaurants in NYC are owned by Chinese people, the article repeatedly mentioned Chinese restaurants (with headless chickens) and Chinese novelty stores in the Bensonhurst area, and yet the newspaper chose to use sushi and sashimi to represent the Chinese people.

If the Chinese community had an outspoken social activist like Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, I'm sure you would be hearing from them. I'm not upset about the article as much as I am disappointed by it because it's things like this that spread ignorance rather than educate people about cultural differences.

--Wai, Flushing