Staten Island’s very best of 2022: Your favorite restaurants, businesses - SILive.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — They’re the bonafide best.

With the help of our readers, the Advance/SILive.com set out to find some of the borough’s favorite businesses, restaurants and more this year as part of our Best of Staten Island series.

Over the course of eight months, we visited an eclectic mix of 21 different establishments; from dance schools and diners, to tacos and burgers, we learned first-hand what made these places — and the people — so special.

What’s on tap in 2023? Well, you’ll just have to stay tuned.

In the meantime, check out this year’s winners.

DANCE SCHOOLS

For our first Best of Staten Island category of 2022, we asked readers to tell us their favorite dance schools, and they nominated 37 standout spots through hundreds of comments on social media.

The top-three vote-getters of this April poll were Center Stage Dance Studio, Star Struck Dance and Mrs. Rosemary’s Dance Studio.

Center Stage Dance Studio owner Amanda Dalli has a mantra: Anybody can dance. Her award-winning Bulls Head-based biz has built a loyal following in her nine years of business, welcoming in boys and girls of all ages to learn — and love — the art she has practiced since she was a toddler.

Deep in the South Shore of Staten Island, Gail Willadsen-Criscione and her team at the award-winning Star Struck Dance are churning out incredible dance routine after incredible dance routine — but, even more importantly, they’re cultivating enthusiastic 4- to 18-year-olds to take on life outside the studio, empowering them with poise and a sense of self-respect.

Mrs. Rosemary’s Dance Studio is a Staten Island institution, and sisters Luanne Sorrentino, Roe Hillers and Doreen Cugno have carried the studio’s legacy with pride. Their mother, original studio owner and namesake of the New Dorp gem, started the business in 1959 — and it has flourished since.

To read all about the top three winners, click here.

AL FRESCO DINING

In June, we asked readers to tell us their favorite places to dine al fresco. The top-three vote-getters were Pastavino, DeLuca’s Italian Restaurant and Nürnberger Bierhaus.

A modern Italian spot, Pastavino has quickly ascended the ranks in the Staten Island food scene despite opening a mere three weeks before the coronavirus pandemic lockdown of 2020. The waterfront restaurant — located within Stapleton’s Urby apartment complex — has an effortlessly cool vibe that extends from its main indoor dining space to its expanded patio.

DeLuca’s Italian Restaurant in Tottenville has built an incredible outdoor dining mecca. Diners can choose from several al fresco options: the covered front patio that easily seats 20; an outdoor bar and a garden patio area complete with tables and space to lounge that can host 80 guests; and a massive tented dining room that can fit 140 guests, and can be sectioned off into two separate spaces.

A true neighborhood joint, Nürnberger Bierhouse in West Brighton is abundant with locals who are happy to tell you why this bar and its backyard space are tops. Blue-checkered tables and a blue-and-white canopy for shade — reminiscent of the Staatsflagge of Bavaria — plus a standalone bar make this inviting, cozy garden feel extra special.

To read all about the top three winners, click here.

TACOS

In September, we wanted to know where to grab the best tacos in the borough. Readers chose Maizal Restaurant, Fresh Twist and Burrito Bar as their favorites.

Maizal in Rosebank makes everything from scratch, and uses authentic Mexican spices the staff gets straight from the source. When they’re available, be sure to order the can’t-miss queso birria tacos or the literal melt-in-your-mouth honey-glazed pork belly tacos. You’ll thank us later.

New Dorp’s Fresh Twist continues to live up to its name: Taking fresh ingredients and giving them a distinct, healthy twist that you can’t find anywhere else. The birria tacos are by far the best-selling tacos, and are just one of the several quality, non-greasy Latin-fusion classics that make customers feel good inside and out.

Burrito Bar in West Brighton only recently started serving tacos, but the dish has quickly become the standout for diners looking for a solid meal. Among the best-sellers: the beer-battered fish tacos.

To read all about the top three winners, click here.

DINERS

Diners are triple threats: Good food, good prices, good service. In November, we asked readers to tell us their favorite diners in the borough, and decided on Page Plaza Diner, Hylan Diner, and Z-Two Diner and Lounge.

When it comes to diner fare, Page Plaza Diner in Tottenville offers an attractive mile-long menu and a promise that every dish will leave customers feeling satisfied. Best sellers include eggs Benedict with salmon for breakfast; the chicken kebab platter for lunch; and the risotto for dinner when it’s an offered special.

Dishes at Hylan Diner in New Dorp are restaurant quality, but at diner prices and with diner portions (read: large). Popular dishes include the challah French toast; pan-seared salmon with dijon cream sauce and greens; an Italian panini with grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella and balsamic glaze; and of course a classic diner burger that’s been zhuzhed up with bacon and onion rings.

A commitment to quality is apparent in the bevy of incredible food Z-Two in Tottenville serves up. The epic Hawaiian risotto tops the list. Served in a half pineapple with clams, mussels, shrimp, and scallops, the dish is as pleasant to look at as it is to eat. Order the octopus salad, New York strip steak with potato salad, or literal drool-inducing chicken and waffles and you can’t go wrong. And don’t sleep on the milk shakes, egg creams or smoothies.

To read all about the top three winners, click here.

CHINESE RESTAURANTS

For our final Best of Staten Island category of 2022, we asked readers to tell us about their favorite Chinese restaurants. The top-three winners were Loon Chuan, Empire Szechuan and Good Taste.

Let’s just say it right off the bat: Loon Chuan is damn good. The Tottenville restaurant — a staple in the community since 1990 — has perfected its craft over the decades, offering dishes that are consistently rich in flavor, perfect in texture and just a plain joy to eat. It’s the restaurant’s high standards that has created an army of devoted regulars who just can’t help but keep coming back for more, over and over again.

Susan Chan is as loyal to her customers as her customers are to her. Chan, who runs Empire Szechuan with her husband Tony Lau, has owned and operated the restaurant since opening it in 1993. While it has changed locations several times in its nearly 30-year history, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed: Chan’s love for serving excellent food at affordable prices.

Everything you need to know about Good Taste is right in its name. The restaurant, located on the border between Eltingville and Great Kills, serves up food that will leave even the pickiest of eaters satisfied. There’s nothing flashy about the fare; instead, owner Meiqin Dong prefers to let the food speak for itself.

To read all about the top three winners, click here.

BEST OF STATEN ISLAND BRACKET BUSTER

This year, we decided to try something new.

During certain months of the year, we asked Staten Islanders for their favorite local spots to grab a specific dish. We took the top 16 most-nominated places, paired them up in a bracket, and then had readers decide who moved on, with only one establishment taking home the title. It was like a March Madness bracket with a delicious twist.

BURGERS

In May, Duffy’s took home the crown for best burgers on Staten Island in our very first Bracket Buster challenge.

The tavern gets fresh meat daily from Elm Park-based Staten Island Meats Inc., and nothing is ever frozen, there is never holdover for the next day, and freshness reigns in the kitchen. From a small kitchen comes mighty flavor: The hand-formed burgers are cooked in a 60-year-old broiler that has called the space at 650 Forest Ave. home through the several iterations of restaurants and bars over the decades. Perhaps the biggest detail that sets Duffy’s apart is its use of English muffins in place of burger buns, a move the tavern has employed since the very beginning.

To read all about the winner, click here.

CALAMARI

In July, Denino’s calamari was designated the best on Staten Island by readers.

Or should we say galamad?

In an industry where proprietors try to outdo their competition with wildly excessive food trends fit for viral social media content, the Port Richmond staple takes a decidedly different path: Let quality ingredients speak for themselves. Denino’s calamari is deceptively straightforward — and consistently delicious. Denino’s attention to detail doesn’t stop at the cephalopod: A special tomato paste-based marinara is created specifically for the calamari. Rich, thick and made fresh every day, it offers a welcome hit of acid.

To read all about the winner, click here.

GRANDMA PIE

In October, we tasked readers with figuring out the best grandma pie for our third and final Bracket Buster challenge, and Brother’s Pizzeria in Port Richmond was the overwhelming winner.

Brother’s has been consistently at the top of the pizza scene, thanks in part to the traditional family recipes passed down from co-owner Filippo Giove’s mother to him and his pizzaiolo brothers, Pietro and the late Bart, who opened the eponymous spot nearly five decades ago. Combine the flavor-bomb sauce with a satisfyingly thin crust, top-quality cheese, fresh basil — and a little Giove love — and it makes sense why Staten Islanders go crazy for Brother’s.

To read all about the winner, click here.