Pick, Mix and Cook Italian Foods

When you're hungry for homemade Italian entrées, the solution may be just blocks away—Panzarella's booth at the Nyack farmers' market is the place pick up authentic Mediterranean meals.

Panzarella stocks types of ravioli, manicotti and eggplant rollatini, all alongside several exclusive sauces.

And for the short-on-time: there are prepared, ready-to-cook pizzas, also created with homemade sauces and cheeses. Panzarella's award-winning mozzarella is tough to top, be it raw or smoked.

Panzarella has an impressive seafood spread, too; look for pre-seasoned tuna, swordfish, mahi mahi, shrimp and flounder. A popular fish dish is the Maryland Champagne Crab Cakes—highly fragrant samples of the crab cakes are generally sizzling and up for grabs at the booth.

But fish isn't your thing, Panzarella also has steak, burgers and chicken (and even veggie burgers). All meats come from grain-fed livestock, and is USDA inspected. The meat is naturally aged, hand cut, vacuum wrapped and flash frozen for maximum freshness.

Panzarella Foods is owned by Mike Panzarella in Northern New Jersey—but there isn't a set store location from which to buy foods.

Following in the footsteps of his father, who sold fish door to door, Panzarella sells his food online or on the phone, and delivers it directly to the customer. Customers love the convenience of the delivery and quality of food choices offered, Panzarella said.

Panzarella also offers baked goods at the Nyack market; he teams with his Uncle Dino's Bakery in Hackensack, NJ. At first glance, the breads appear ordinary loaves and rolls—but there's more than meets the eye. Many are stuffed with garlic and mozzarella, prosciutto and sausage.

Panzarella Food makes an appearance at about 12 markets throughout the New York and New Jersey. And take note: pick and match what you want to make the ideal dinner (I combined macadamia mahi-mahi with ravioli smothered in vodka sauce, topped with fresh mozzarella and a side of garlic stuff bread... and crab cakes to start.)