Basilio Inn • 1921

Piedmontese cooper Basilio Giovannini transformed a pre-Civil War carriage house into Staten Island's oldest restaurant in 1921, where Italian immigrants once gathered to play bocce and share homemade wine under the grape arbor. Now in the Asperti family for over half a century, the kitchen still turns out old-world fare like tripe alla vicentina and spiedini alla romana with herbs and vegetables plucked from the on-site garden. Homemade pasta, seasonally shifting menus, and a bocce court that hosts tournaments keep the century-old tradition alive.