STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.—We’ve got nothing going on this frigid winter day, with more snow in the forecast and Staten Island sitting in that sunny, cold hush before the next storm. So what better time to check in on what’s cooking inside the borough’s kitchens—with real humans making real food and the honest smells rising off the stove? No AI in these Staten Island kitchens.
That said, a reader recently asked: Whatever happened to Chef Mike Basile from the former Trattoria Vento in West Brighton (now Filoncino)? So I headed to Villa Monte earlier this week to find out. The Tottenville spot at 7001 Amboy Rd. is where Basile—soft‑spoken and steady as ever—has landed since his Vento days.
Inside Villa Monte’s dining room in Tottenville, where families, regulars and newcomers settle in for pizza, pasta and old‑school Italian comfort.(Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)Meet the chef
Chef Mike is 46, old‑school, mild‑mannered, and a dad of twin girls who already know how to stretch dough thanks to the cooking and pizza‑making lessons he and his wife share with them at home.
On this afternoon, he stands over a saucepan of fragrant risotto. It’s his specialty, and he smiles as he ticks off the ways he can make it—tomato fra diavolo-style, with butternut and sage, and, as he says, “a thousand different ways.” For Villa Monte’s purposes he keeps it Italian and traditional or follows the seasons.
Chef Mike Basile, smiling in his element by the stove at Villa Monte, stirs one of his favorite dishes: risotto.(Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)
Indeed, his risotto has become a signature. Basile says he typically begins with a base batch: onions sweated with rice, cooked slowly with chicken stock for more than 30 minutes, then cooled. Each order gets its own finish—seafood enriched with butter, cream, white wine and clam juice. He could build a beef one from Chianti and mushrooms or a bacon‑and‑cheddar version in the spirit of Super Bowl Sunday. Today he’s inspired to whip up a spinach‑and‑artichoke risotto and walk us through the steps while we chat and talk a little shop.
Back in the windowless kitchen, it’s not as warm as you’d think with cold air rushing through the exhaust system. The chef starts with a coating of olive oil in a sauté pan and an ample amount of sliced garlic. The garlic browns, its perfume rising. While the aroma develops, Basile walks over to the deep fryer, drops flour-coated artichokes into a stainless basket, and lets them crisp and brown.
Back at the stove, he hits the pan with a splash of wine and it hits back with a hiss of steam.
He taps his tongs against the rim—click clack—a habit developed from hours of rhythm at the workstation, then adds the arborio rice and ladles in chicken stock. It bubbles instantly. With the bottom of the ladle, he draws slow circles, clockwise then counterclockwise, coaxing the starch to creaminess. Heavy cream goes in next. He stirs and stirs. The mixture thickens, loosens, then tightens again as liquids meld into a glossy sheen.
Behind the demonstration and routine is a guy who loves the method, just not the chaos.
Steam rises from Basile’s finished risotto as he works the line on a cold January afternoon inside Villa Monte’s kitchen.(Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)
“The most pleasant part of the day is the morning,” Basile says. “Prepping food. Setting up the kitchen. I love the cooking. I love the prep work. The line gets to me. The tickets get to me after so many years.” However, he has a strong staff backing him up and keeping the line moving.
Molten eggplant crowns the Sicilian slice, adding an unctuous counterpoint to the crunchy crust.(Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)Cooking and conversation
As Basile cooks, he talks about his career—one built over years in the kitchen. Unable to afford the French Culinary Institute, he started as a fry and salad cook in Great Kills and worked his way up through kitchens in both New Jersey and Staten Island. He worked the line at DiCristino’s on New Dorp Lane until it became Giove Pizzeria.
Pinwheels with freshly kneaded dough is among the mainstays of the parlor. (Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)
He later ran Surf & Turf 35 on Route 35 in Hazlet, but Hurricane Sandy disrupted the business and pushed him into his next chapter. From there he spent four years between the Staten Island and Freehold locations of Aunt Butchie’s. He cooked at Afternoone’s for a few years, then in 2022 joined Trattoria Vento in West Brighton as opening chef. His Staten Island kitchen tours also include Bella Vita in Dongan Hills, where he honed a specialty in Northern Italian fare, stocks and rich sauces.
In 2023, he launched a custom-built food truck venture, but soaring electric costs caused it to buckle. That eventually led him to Villa Monte, where he began by delivering pizzas for the summer and was pulled into the kitchen within a week. By Labor Day he was the executive chef, now working four days a week overseeing inventory, developing specials, and cooking on the line himself.
Today the restaurant is owned by Joe Graziano and his family. Basile says they’re ready for the next chapter. Villa Monte opened in 1984, with the Tottenville location coming under Graziano’s ownership in August 2024.
Villa Monte has a decades‑long presence in Tottenville with a distinct Grandma slice and carefully made rolls. (Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)
“We are bringing it to another level,” Basile said quietly.
Back on the line, he shakes a square white plate gently, settles the risotto evenly over the surface and crowns it with the freshly crisped ’chokes. Steam rises and drifts away on a burst of cold January air rolling through the vents. Happily, it’s warm by the stove on a Staten Island day with Chef Mike Basile.
With its full bar and two dining rooms, Villa Monte offers plenty of space for diners to settle in. In this Tottenville dining room, guests enjoy Executive Chef Mike Basile’s risotto, seafood dishes and Italian comfort fare.(Advance/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)