Real pizza?
When I visited Cosmo’s, the pizza restaurant on Oleander that debuted a little over a month ago, I was thrilled that I could barely understand the eponymous owner. Having grown up in suburban
But Cosmo’s seems to be the real thing – all homemade sauces and Cosmo kneading dough and flipping pies into the oven right before your eyes. I didn’t ask but it looks like he’s been doing this since at least the Eisenhower administration. At the very least you can’t go wrong with massive calzones and strombolis for under $6.50.
A waitress confided in me that although Cosmo’s lacks a liquor license, you can bring brew and wine in from outside (and The Wine Sampler is conveniently located next door). She reported that license laws changed Jan. 1 and you now need a letter from the city commissioner and pay a $2,000 fee. Cosmo’s is slowly jumping through the hoops.
While Cosmo tried to sell my wife and me on a romantic Valentine’s Dinner, his restaurant isn’t what I would call the right setting for that. It’s more of a bring-the-family-after-a-soccer-game type of place. Oh, and they deliver within a 5-mile radius.
At least that’s what I think Cosmo said.
Cosmo’s
4107-F Oleander Drive
Wilmington, NC
(910) 313-6080
map
Looks like Bistro Blonde agrees with you, R.: Good stuff!:
Restaurant Review: Cosmo’s Italian
Thanks for the tip. I rather enjoy massive strombolis
Cosmo also makes all his own bread! I tried the Meatball Hero and it was great! I hope his business grows.
PS. We are former New Yorkers too!
Can’t wait to try it. I’m originally from Brooklyn NY and have yet to have pizza
that is as good as New Yorks. The closest I’ve come is Sbarro in the mall and
Franks at the beach! Will def be trying Cosmo’s.
Hi Alia,
I’m originally from Astoria, NY. Brooklyn Pizza in Ogden is really good. It’s the best NY style pizza I’ve had in Wilmington. They’re located behind the Blockbuster Video in a little strip mall. I think there’s a Carvel Ice Cream shop a couple of stores down.
Are there actually any people left in Wilmington that are *from* Wilmington???
There hasn’t been good pizza in this town since Duffy’s closed up…
Wow Bahgeera! You have been here a long time! I may be from Astoria, NY but I was here when Duffy’s was here.
And Antonia, was Duffy’s authentic enough for you? What led to Duffy’s demise? I’m attempting to referee the Wilmington pizza wars over the past 25 years.
Hi Reina,
No. If I remember correctly it was very much Pizza Hut style. Everything back then was like that. When Michael Angelo’s opened, and I don’t remember when, their pies were the closest to New York style pizza. They are very salty though. I believe I Love NY Pizza downtown also has good pizza, but again rather salty in my opinion. Pizza Bistro downtown I thought had excellent pizza; but alas they’ve closed. Have not tried some of the newer pizzerias like Cosmo’s, Slice of Life, or Antonio’s. Brooklyn Pizza in Ogden has excellent NY style pizza. My 9 year old can’t wait to go again. In his own words: “Mom that pizza was delicious!!!” I’ve been here a long time, but if the locals have never been to New York and tasted what we’re talking about, how can they compare?
Oops. I ordered delivery from Cosmo’s last night and it didn’t go very well. Got a Sicilian, which is New York-speak for deep dish, and it was so undercooked we had to stick it in the oven. Even after 15 minutes of additional heat the dough was gooey. Also, there seemed to be a shortage of cheese, as if mozzarella were over $100 a barrel instead of oil. I’m hoping this is a sign of growing pains.
I haven’t been to Cosmo’s (although I saw it last night when departing from a fabulous Mexican seafood stew dinner at El Marinero across Oleander) but I have to wonder - is the thick accent Greek or Italian? I assume since you’re a New Yorker it wasn’t Brooklyn, and while there are Italian Cosmos, it sure seems more Greek to me.
One thing I learned from my Bronx-born ex is that there are about 23 Greek-owned Italian restaurants for each actual Italian-owned one in NY, and since then I have noticed that it’s true elsewhere as well. The food may be fabulous, but the accent guarantees only foreign origin, not native authenticity!
And one of the things I learned from living in Sicily is that even a thick Italian accent guarantees very little in the way of delivering an “authentic” pizza to a New Yorker, as what they eat and make in Italy is only a second cousin to what y’all are expecting. The Brooklyn or Bronx version would probably be a lot better indicator.
All that said, I have had some great slices at the place on the Boardwalk across from Britt’s Donuts over the years, with that particular ex, with whom I also shared slices back up yonder in the Big City a couple of times and can agree with his assessment of the similarity, as well as with another gritty native New Yorker. Both of them said it was the only place in town for pizza by the slice at that point (one many years ago, the other a couple of years ago.) I don’t know if that’s the Frank’s you mention above or not.
Was just going to ask about good mexican restaurants in the area.
Susan, you like el Marinero? Is that your favorite? We’ve passed by and wondered, and want to find a home cocina
Antonia, I remember when Buddy Gerald opened the first Duffy’s, coming into a market that included, as I recall, only two Pizza Huts and a Village Inn in the way of pizza joints. I don’t remember much about the actual pizza, far more about the mass quantities of beer consumed by UNCW students without the best of manners all the time, and vaguely that it may have been one of the first buffets around but that might not be correct.
The real importance of Duffy’s is that it was the beginning of what was probably the first local restaurant dynasty/chain of sorts. In the mid-70s and into the 80s, it included at least two Duffy’s (South College & Shipyard and Market & Kerr), Tuesday’s on Oleander, the Olympia 1873 at WB (mainly a bar, but also for a time including a fairly ambitious menu and the springboard for Bill Lia, who started the Oceanic – I think still under the Gerald dynasty’s sponsorship - where the former little, Greek Crystal Pier restaurant with its wonderful fish stew had been), and probably a couple of others I can’t remember right now.
I wasn’t around when the dynasty ended, but I suspect that Buddy’s company probably morphed into the Atlantic Quest Corp., owner of Oceanic, Henry’s, Bluewater and Eddie Romanelli’s, that’s in the middle of being sold, and he may even still have an interest in it for all that I know. My recollection is that he tried to pass the dynasty on to his two sons, Wes and Jay, who were basically wild and spoiled WB hodads, and when that didn’t work, he sold out. Now there is little recorded of the whole thing and I don’t know whether he’s still alive - neither he nor his sons appear to be listed in this year’s Wilmington phonebook, and a quick Google search on him just now found only a mention of his being a landowner on Treasure Cay in the Bahamas after Floyd in 1999, and as a survivor in his sister’s 1998 obituary.
Anyway, thanks for the trip down memory lane, funny how the mention of one restaurant name can bring back all that info!
Ian - Last night was the first time at el Marinero, but won’t be the last. I liked it because it’s mighty authentically Mexican - of 2 dozen people in there while we were there, there were 4 gringos - and also because it’s different from the usual. You know what I mean, no matter how authentically Mexican, most of them seem to share the same menu printer, at least, if not the same ownership you suspect sometimes.
I was actually going to write a review for it this weekend but it seems to have pretty much gotten by me now. Must be the time change, good excuse for everything for the next couple of weeks!
We had a good fish ceviche, one of 2 or 3 options but the only one we could get as my friend Connie is allergic to shrimp. Didn’t say what kind of fish, but it was probably tilapia as their menu has a lot of it. It was rather finely minced, but the sauce/marinade was fabulous, very limey, plenty of heat and cilantro and a little salty. It was presented rather oddly, on a flat salad plate, but it included avocado slices, and it all went away pretty quickly with the usual house chips.
I got the 7 Mares soup, only available Friday-Sunday, with a rather salty broth (that actually was just right when soaked up with the very nice bread, probably the kind they use for their tortas, that I got a whole loaf of) full of very tender octopus, a couple of clams, a couple of mussels, and a handful of woefully overcooked shrimp that the dogs got for breakfast today. There were also several vegetables, including cabbage, carrots, onions, a slice of corn on the cob, and a mystery one that may have been un-spiny chayote or perhaps very young yuca. When I asked for lime to squeeze in it, I got a very nice whole one, cut in half.
Except for the shrimp, which at least did a good job of adding flavor to the broth, and one clam that failed to open, it was all very good. I brought the leftovers (mainly the broth and vegetables, with a little octopus, and half the loaf of bread) home and had a nice lunch of it today.
Connie got the whole grilled tilapia called “huachinango (something, perhaps sarandeado)” which was also very good. Apparently in Mexico it’s usually snapper, but the tilapia was nice, although very bony – not necessarily more bones than other fish, but very hard bone, which did make it fairly easy to pick the meat from them. It came on a big platter by itself, with the usual rice, beans and salad on a separate one, and some very nice fresh, homemade tortillas.
Either of our meals would have been fine for two to split, especially with an appetizer. They were out of frozen margaritas so I got something mango that was OK, but I really should have switched to beer. Connie had a rocks margarita and then a Pacifico beer – she had had pretty much the same meal and quite a few Pacificos while visiting “Arizona’s beach” on the upper Sea of Cortez for her brother’s wedding last year, and said the whole experience was pretty much a carbon copy, except for the tilapia, and she was highly satisfied with the choice.
Wow, great, Susan.
If this were stars, how many would it be? (I’ll paste it into a review (?)) -ed.
good plan, I was too lazy to log in …. I’d give it 3.5 stars and also forgot to mention that for the meal as detailed, the check for two was $50, not bad but not a great bargain either.
Hi Susan,
I asked my father today about Buddy Gerald, and he said that he’s pretty sure he’s still alive and thinks that he does a lot of traveling and sailing. Did Duffy’s ever name itself Snoopy’s? Something is ringing a bell about that College Rd and Shipyard location. Something else is ringing a bell about a lawsuit because of the use of the name. Do you recall anything? A couple of things I don’t remember was Buddy Gerald’s affiliation with the Crystal Pier Restaurant or Olympia.
Antonia - I had completely forgotten that part. Snoopy’s was the first name of the first one on College, and there was a problem, not sure if an actual lawsuit or not, so he changed the name. Funny, there are still Snoopy’s Hot Dogs in Raleigh, don’t know how they get away with it.
I can’t remember if Tuesday’s or the Olympia came first. Tuesday’s was a takeoff on Darryl’s from Raleigh, pretty big building with eclectic and knick-knack-y decor and big American casual menu. The Olympia was sort of a small, bar version of the same theme, really nice bar with brass rail and comfortable stools, lots of dark wood, booths and tables, tiny kitchen and great big, pretty good quality oil copy of Manet’s Olympia hanging behind the bar. Really overkill on the decor for what really was a college beer bar in the days of the 18-year-old legal drinker, before liquor by the drink.
I was a Wit’s End denizen for a while but got fond of the Olympia a couple of years later when Bill was the manager. Before a fairly extensive remodeling into the Olympia, it was a dive bar (maybe not as divey as the Wit’s, but that’s another story) called the Spot, but that was before my time. Buddy owned the Olympia, outright I think, and my understanding was that he opened it for the boys. They weren’t very good at it. Later, the Mediterraneo expanded into that space, I think, and since I no longer go across the drawbridge more than once a year, I have no idea what’s there now. I’d have to go online to look, but I don’t care that much!
Bill Lia, I think, kept working for Buddy’s company after he left the Olympia, and like I said, I think was still working for them when he was the original manager of the Oceanic. I wasn’t living here then so don’t really know all the details, but I know the old Crystal Pier restaurant was replaced, I think torn down and rebuilt but don’t know. I only ever ate at the Oceanic two or three times and I just don’t remember.
And here’s another update tidbit: David Schreiner, who owned the Wit’s and later opened David’s Deli, now runs and I’m pretty sure owns Valino’s on CB Road at Southern Boulevard, which sort of looks like an Italian place but puts on a mean blue-plate special. What a long, strange trip for a Yankee who came south to go to Carolina! As odd as it seems, the first bagel I ever had besides a Lender’s frozen was at the Wit’s and boy was it good. I wasn’t brave enough to try the lox, but they did actually serve it, a long time before there was a bagel bakery anywhere within probably hundreds of miles.
[…] restaurant review from Susan, extracted from a long discussion in Real Pizza? […]
After seeing Cosmo and some examples of his offerings that really whetted my appetite on the commercials that have been running nonstop on WILM the past week or so, and after Ranald’s original favorable impression above, I decided to give it a try tonight.
I’m sorry to report that I can offer only that as a review: sorry. I really did want to like it, and the commercial seemed much more Italian than New York, featuring as it did zuppa di pasta e fagioli, anche la pizza Margherita, but there was almost nothing that even reached acceptable about our meal.
We knew from Ranald there was no beer or wine, but were somewhat taken aback that there wasn’t even iced tea. Maybe it’s not Italian or New York-ish, but given that the usual beverages are not available, one might expect the slightest acknowledgment of where it actually is.
The first disappointment was that the pizza Margherita wasn’t the Italian kind, with sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. It included the latter two, but with the house pizza sauce instead of tomatoes that make it Margherita instead of marinara, so pizza was out. (Perhaps for NY pizza and calzone-lovers, there is reason to patronize, but I’m not in that camp, can take ‘em or leave ‘em.)
Ordering regular dinners instead, we were again disappointed when the two slices of bread that came out in a basket with a little dish of olive oil and regular red-wine vinegar just after we ordered turned out to have staled after a night in the refrigerator. The tomatoes in the caprese and the house salad were grocery-store cottonballs, the mozzarella was doing an excellent impression of extra-firm (and normally flavorless) tofu. The pasta e fagioli was the best part of the experience. It was only good, not great, hampered by the absence of black pepper on the table and two more slices of literally ice-cold, stale bread and an equally icy shaker of parmesan, brought only after a special request.
The chicken piccata was truly awful. The chicken was bleached-white, not a hint of color from grill or skillet, and the consistency of an Aerosole. The most likely explanation is that it was actually cooked in the microwave, as incredible as that idea is to me, given the concept the place presents. The linguine had a funny taste, and only the capers were actually good.
Cosmo certainly looks and sounds the part of both a Sicilian native and New York pizzeria transplant, but after eating there once and I promise you only once, I’d have to say that appears that he only played one on TV. We went this evening during prime dinnertime, and only six other parties, maybe 20 people total, were there the whole time, nor did I see any evidence of takeout orders. If you want to eat there, I suggest you hurry, as their days are numbered.
I guess Cosmo’s has officially lost in the Wilmington pizza wars.
Buddy Gerald is not associated with Atlanic Quest. He had Wally’s and Annabell’s for a while. He sold Wally’s, for sure to Pusser’s and was later puchased by the Oceanic ppl.
I tried Brooklyn Pizza yesterday and thought it was so-so. While the animated guy behind the counter was authentic New York (”you” is pronounced “chu,” as in “What can I get chu?”), the pizza is good but not outstanding. My wife’s thin crust arrived with a generous topping of canned mushrooms that looked to have a good case of jaundice. My thin crust cheese and sausage was pretty good, but the Sicilian wasn’t crispy enough and below par.
I like to give eateries a second chance because any staff can have a bad day. Also, my taste and Antonia’s could be wildly different.
Incidentally, it’s located behind a Hollywood Video, not Blockbuster as previosuly reported.
Another good place for pizza and Italian food — one I had completely forgotten about — is Elizabeth’s on Market and Kerr. It’s not real convenient to where I live, and they don’t deliver, so I’ve only been a handful of times in 4 years. But I ate there yesterday and although it was packed for lunch and our food took a little time to arrive, it was worth the wait. All strombolis, regardless of what comes inside, are $6.60 and satisfying enough to take leftovers home. A rather harried staff was kind and courteous.
Buddy and George Harriss sold their group of TUESDAY’S to Campbell Soup in 1983 and by that time,all the Duffy’s had been sold or closed. I stayed on with Campbell”s for two years then left to create Elijah’s for River Enterprises ( Thomas Wright ).
I left River Enterprises In 1990 and started up Atlantic Quest Corporation with a few key people from Elijah’s and The Pilot House. We opened the Oceanic that spring followed by Eddie Romanelli’s,Henry’s and Bluewater Grill. In 2002 I sold Atlantic Quest to the same group of people that helped start it.
I worked for Buddy and George for many years but they were not involved with anything I did after they sold Tuesday’s. Hope that clears up some of the history for you.Thanks-Bill
Hey Bill - how great to hear from you, even second hand like this.
I spoke to the Atlantic Quest lady at a meeting a few months ago and she said you were pretty much still around here and doing fine as far as she knew. I had forgotten all about you & Elijah’s since I wasn’t living here then either, and as you could tell was pretty fuzzy on the Atlantic Quest stuff too. Randy W. moved in with us in San Antonio in 1985 or so, and that was the last time for many years that I had a good update on what was what in the Wilmington hospitality scene - which has kind of expanded since then!
Anyway, the old days at the Olympia remain clear in my memory and I still look for a sub as good as the ones you used to make there. I’ve always been glad it worked out so well for you!
SUSAN.
A friend of mine who works for Atlantic says their holdings have been divided up recently.
Hasn’t there been a big shift inside, with a new owner from Raleigh (Carolina Ale House?), Blue Water as the jewel, Romanelli’s being sold back to some original AQ folks….?
Thank you for clearing that up for me Bill. This if from the ‘Horses Mouth’, Alot of stuff I never understood. I’m in Charleston SC and ready open a restaurant! Just spoke with Dana, and he is opening a restaurant with Staphen, soon, here. He already has one in SC, at the beach.
I worked at Wally’s the entire time as a manager, and left for the islands with Pusser’s. I’m in SC now selling POS, but would like to get in the restaurant thing again in Wilmington.