Sources

The Citarella Kitchen

The sound of a whisk against a ceramic bowl. The sweet aroma of baking bread. The tantalizing sight of rich mozzarella cheese bubbling atop a roaster of homemade lasagna.

The Citarella Kitchen is a place where food is still prepared with all the senses. There, we aspire to the same high standards for peerless quality, flavor, and rich texture that has made our gourmet seafood a part of the fabric of New York, New York since 1912. Yes, the city we serve may move fast. But in our kitchen, we still let things take time to simmer.

Our prepared gourmet dishes are of the highest quality because we always, always, always start with the freshest ingredients from the world’s finest sources. Sources like the icy Atlantic waters of Nova Scotia, where the most flavorful, meatiest cold-water lobsters make the foundation for our sweet and succulent lobster salad. And sources like Plainville Farms, where Pennsylvania farming families have been raising exquisitely flavored, juicy organic turkeys for over 200 years.

"Our culinary philosophy is unadulteratedly old world. Everything we make in our Citarella kitchen—and that’s hundreds of unique dishes everyday—is made from scratch."

We don’t outsource. We “in” source. We craft our own stocks, sauces, and artisan pastas in house. And when you’re far from home, we want our dishes to make you feel at home. That’s why standards like our soul-affirming chicken soup and delicious chocolate chip cookies are made with a reverence not just for quality ingredients but tradition.

Our recipes come from far and wide. And many Citarella favorites come from owner and original fishmonger, Joe Gurrera. Yes, Joe knows fish. But Joe also loves food. He’s traveled all over the world to source the best of it. What he learns in trattorias in Italy and crab shacks in the Carolinas—even in our own Brooklyn backyard—he brings back to our kitchen. And it’s there, that our executive chef Carolina—and her staff of 75—takes Joe’s inspiration and chops it, bakes it, and sears it into some of the finest cuisine you’ll find in New York.

Take our authentic lasagna recipe. It’s full of dry-aged ground sirloin, vine ripe tomatoes, and four cheeses imported from Italy. Or, any of chef Carolina’s award-winning, handmade desserts that magically transform a little sugar, butter, and flour into sweet perfection. In our Citarella Kitchen, you’ll taste a lot of brilliantly balanced flavors.

But you’ll never taste any shortcuts. Whether it’s our signature turkey meatballs on the go or a fully-catered Thanksgiving dinner with a perfectly executed, crispy skinned organic bird, dressing, gravy, and all the fixings, if it comes out of our kitchen, it is the culmination of decades of culinary curiosity and commitment to excellence. That’s our DNA. And it’s in everything we serve at Citarella gourmet market. Because every day we have the privilege of cooking for the world’s most discerning city. And that is something we will never take lightly.