Menu innovation that the restaurant industry has been hungry for has arrived. Chef Anthony Russo, the creative culinary mind, founder, and CEO of chef-driven concepts Russo’s New York Pizzeria and Russo’s Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen, announced the launch of an innovative new menu that blends generations of Russo-family Italian recipes with trending, heart-healthy new ingredients.

“Our menu enhancements put our fresh, natural ingredients on a pedestal,” says Chef Russo, who has spent several months testing his modern twists on his family’s recipes in these newly released pizzas and dishes. “We want customers to see our chefs tossing freshly-made pizza dough, sautéing vine-ripened tomatoes with pasta and our family’s Sicilian olive oil, and spinning salads with handpicked garden ingredients you would find at a local farmers market.”

The new menus for both Russo’s New York Pizzeria and Russo’s Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen feature more than 80 delectable items and take a fresh approach on Italian classics by showcasing fresh, locally sourced ingredients that are certified organic. Each entrée is prepared with Russo’s proprietary first-press extra virgin olive oil, created using olives from Chef Russo’s family olive grove in Sicily. New items include the Chicken & Kale Pesto Pasta Salad, made with grilled chicken and fresh kale, tossed with pesto sauce, cucumbers, Roma tomatoes, and penne pasta, as well as the Spinach, Kale & Artichoke Dip appetizer.

“Our new menu items were created to give today’s consumers who want fresh, homemade tastes made from the finest ingredients at every dining experience more variety while still remaining true to our authentic Italian roots,” Russo says. “It showcases our commitment to research, development, and adjusting to guests’ evolving taste buds and behaviors.”

Chef Russo also added several new thin-crust, hand-tossed pizzas made from the finest ingredients, including the Calabrese Napoletana pizza topped with crumbled Italian sausage, fresh kale, mushrooms, Mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, drizzled with olive oil and garlic sauce. Vegetarians can delight in the new Spinach, Kale & Artichoke pizza covered in spinach, artichoke hearts, kale, all-natural Mozzarella cheese, and roasted garlic in a creamy Alfredo sauce. The new menu also includes Chicken & Kale pizza, Italian Works, and Prosciutto & Arugula pizza varieties.

The new, fresh, chef-driven menu items are now on display at NYPizzeria.com and RussosCoalFired.com.

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