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  • Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Calamari Rings are Now at Russo's Pizzeria Italian Kitchen!

    Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Calamari Rings are Now at Russo's Pizzeria Italian Kitchen!
    2026/02/12
    Ciao Everyone!They are here and they are great. For now they are only at the Fresno Location which is cool, but maybe they’ll end up in Clovis soon.The review is in and ready fr you to listen in on or read below.Enjoy the rings.Mark & PattiThanks for joining us for this edition of DelPaggio’s.Want to support us by buying us coffee so we stay awake and energized to do these reviews?You can support our efforts by Buying Us a Coffee at this link.You can read here or click the transcripts icon and listen and read along!Hey everyone, it’s Mark. It’s time for another edition of Del Paggio’s and Del Paggio’s Pantry Grade. But today, today only, we’re doing another review of Russo’s Pizzeria. But there’s a reason for it, and it’s a special reason. And I want to explain a special reason.A week ago, I had gone to lunch with Don, one of the owners. He, Don, and his wife, Katarina, own Russo’s, both locations. And I was having lunch with Don, and he mentioned about they were going to be getting calamari rings. And I said, wow, that’s really good.And they’re going to be only having them at the father location, which is just past Shields, because they have two deep fryers. That way one’s for fish, one’s for everything else. Great idea. Clovis doesn’t have that, but Fresno does. Anyways, I was really excited about it. Well, two days later,we had been invited to dinner by Don and Katarina to test out some of the different foods. And Patty and I went there, and we spent the night, and we were talking about some other things, which hopefully I’ll be talking about on Del Paggio soon.But anyways, we were there, and he was all excited because they had gotten the calamari rings. So he brought out an order. Now, I am not a huge calamari fan, whether it’s rings, fried calamari, stuffed squid, whatever. I had it so much as a kid, I kind of just lost my enthusiasm about it.Well, anyways, the rings came out, and I was dying to try them. They were lightly battered, and they were crispy. They were tender. Now, I know rings, okay, because restaurants I’ve worked in always had calamari rings. Sometimes those rings can be tender. Other times they can be tough like rubber, just like squid is and everything else.These rings, the ones I ate, were all tender. I didn’t have one tough one. Patty didn’t have any. I don’t think Don did. I don’t think Katarina did. No one said that, oh, this is a tough one. Nobody complained. They were all very good. They were very tasty. They were very tender.We had a little dipping sauce, cocktail sauce for them, but you could eat them plain. That’s how great the batter was. It wasn’t real thick. It wasn’t real thin. It was just right. It was kind of crunchy, fluffy. They were excellent. Now, look, I can go on and on and on about the calamari rings. And I should.But I’m going to also talk about we had pizza. We had two different types of pizza. The pizza there is always excellent. The sauce is good. The meats are fresh. The cheese is fresh. Everything is excellent. We really haven’t had a bad meal there. And Patty and I have eaten here a few times.And I haven’t done reviews on everything, and I should. And I will. But... But just recently, just the times I go with my grandson or I go with Patty or I just go, it’s been excellent. But that night, the calamari rings were the hit of the night.Along with the wine we had, we had a great wine that Don’s brother had chosen. So I’ve got to give him kudos for the wine list because he did a great job. This wine was excellent. But those calamari rings, listen, if you live in the San Marquis Valley or the Central Valley, let’s go that way.We don’t want to go too far up. Central Valley, and you either live in Fresno or Clovis or you come in to visit, go to Russo’s on Fowler. And get the calamari rings. You have to try them. You have to taste them. They are excellent. And it’s a good-sized platter on top of it.I mean, it’s not just a one-person platter. Four of us ate off of it. So that gives you an idea. And we have some, you know, Don’s a pretty big guy. I’m a big guy. So it filled us up. It made it hard to eat pizza afterwards, to be honest with you. But they were excellent.Oh, yeah, we had some chicken wings. That’s what it was, I wanted to say. That’s for another review because I want to have another review. But let me tell you, the chicken wings were unbelievable. And I’ll talk about those in another review soon, coming soon. But anyways, enjoy your day. This is Mark.This is Del Pagio’s and Del Pagio’s Pantry Raid. We’re out of here for today. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit delpaggios.substack.com
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    4 分
  • Russo's New York Style Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen

    Russo's New York Style Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen
    2026/02/01

    Ciao All!

    You know how much I love pizza, and usually complain about places out here saying they have New York Style pizza. Well this spot wins my award for the best New York Style pizza in Fresno and surrounding areas.

    Listen in for more!

    Tap the “Transcript” tab above to read along

    or

    If you prefer reading, here you go!

    Hey everyone, it’s Mark and it’s another edition of Del Paggio Pantry Raid. But today we’re doing a restaurant review. Yes, the first one that I’m doing with the podcast. The first one with the new style of everything and the name. But this one is really important to me.

    The name of the restaurant is Russo’s New York Style Pizzeria Italian Kitchen. Now, they have a location in Clovis. And they have another one down. I guess it’s still Clovis or Fresno, actually. And one’s up on Herndon. The other one’s down on Fowler. And it’s owned by a husband and wife. And they’re unbelievable. I met them.

    Patty and I met them one night. We met the wife one night at the restaurant because we were so impressed with the food. And we wanted to speak to someone. And she came out and we introduced ourselves. And I told them that we’re going to do reviews. And I haven’t done a review yet. We’ve eaten there.

    A few times now. And I’ve also taken my grandson or our grandson, Nolan, to the place. And we’ve had excellent food every time. We’ve had pizza. Nolan and I seem to get pizza more than anything. And Patty and I have sandwiches, salads. But today, I ran there just real fast with Nolan.

    And I wanted to try their soup. And they have a tortellini burrito soup. got chunks of chicken tortellini and i didn’t get a bowl i got a cup with a side uh sandwich for andrew uh nolan sorry i keep saying andrew but nolan and he had a meatball sandwich and the meatball sandwiches are unbelievable the meatballs are

    unbelievable they’re tender you bite into them they’re just soft and pillowy and they’re cooked to perfection The spicing in it is excellent. Everything is excellent. We’ve had it on pizza. We’ve had it in sandwiches. The other thing that I really love about this place that I cannot always find is a chicken cutlet sandwich. It was unbelievable.

    Now, if I could get a veal cutlet, I’d really be cool. But it’s a chicken parm sandwich that’s excellent. I’m going to try the chicken parm pasta sooner or later. But they have a huge menu of sandwiches and pizzas and soup. They have two soups, tomato basil soup and the tortellini brodo soup.

    They have a soup and salad combo. They have a cucumber and feta salad. Whatever you can think of, they have. They have desserts. They do pizzas that I’ve never seen before. They have this huge pizza. And Patty and I got it one time for the kids just to show them. It’s got to be like... 36 inches round.

    I have to look and see if I can find it on here. It’s a huge pizza, okay? And I can’t – I don’t know where it is. It’s a party pizza. And you can cut it in slices or you can cut it in – oh, here it is. Oh, no, that’s it. That’s the 16-inch.

    So they have a 16-inch. They have a 16-inch square, 16-inch round. They have regular Italian food. I haven’t tried all the food yet except for the meatballs, so we’re going to be going in to check that out for you. But everything is excellent. I recommend this place highly, and you should get there as soon as possible.

    If you live in the area, you’ll love it. And you’ll want to go there often. And they have a rewards program. Every time you go, you get more points. Listen, take your family to Russo’s. Tell them Mark sent you. Go in there. And if you don’t have a great experience, let me know.

    But I’m guaranteeing this, that you will have one of the best experiences you’ve ever had. It’s like being at home, being with family. And that’s what it’s all about. So, you guys, I’m recommending this. Highly recommend, overly highly recommend Russo’s in Clovis in Fresno, California. Make it your stop. And, hey,

    I’ll be back with a recipe this week and some other news about the site, the newsletter. You guys take care. Buon appetito. This is Mark and Patty signing out.

    Buon Appetito!

    Mark & Patti



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit delpaggios.substack.com
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    4 分
  • Something New is Coming and Of Course a Recipe

    Something New is Coming and Of Course a Recipe
    2026/01/25

    Sometimes it pays to create!



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit delpaggios.substack.com
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    6 分
  • One More Thing-Plus a Recipe

    One More Thing-Plus a Recipe
    2026/01/16

    Ciao All!

    Sorry to interrupt your Friday, but this needed to be clarified and I wanted to give you a DelPaggio’s Pantry Raid from a few years back.

    Don’t judge on the recipe until you give it a try. I bet you’ll like it in the end. IMHO!

    Have a Fantastic Weekend!

    Buon Appetito!

    Mark & Patti



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit delpaggios.substack.com
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    5 分
  • Welcome to 2026 at DelPaggio's

    Welcome to 2026 at DelPaggio's
    2026/01/08

    Ciao Everyone!

    Two things to remember…

    * Click the transcript tab if you want to read instead of listening.

    * You can support us here at Buy Us a Coffee



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit delpaggios.substack.com
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    7 分
  • New Changes Coming for the New Year!

    New Changes Coming for the New Year!
    2025/12/23

    Mark & Patti



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit delpaggios.substack.com
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    3 分
  • The Podcast is Back

    The Podcast is Back
    2025/09/18

    Ciao Friends!

    Take a Minute or two and listen in. We’re back!



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit delpaggios.substack.com
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    3 分
  • We Are Back and On Track!

    We Are Back and On Track!
    2025/02/12

    Welcome All,

    Thanks for tuning in and sorry it’s been so long, but we will make it up to you.

    Hang in there and listen and follow along!

    Buon Appetito



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit delpaggios.substack.com
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    5 分