Have you ever gotten into a fight with someone that ended with one person saying, “If you don’t like it, do it yourself”?
It’s a classic clapback, and it turns out it’s part of the origin story of a longtime Sunnyvale business. In the ’50s, Frank D’Ambrosio and his wife Tina were arguing about the quality of meat she was purchasing for sausages she made for family meals. The family had moved from Connecticut to Palo Alto and found it difficult to get high-quality meat at local markets compared to when they were living on the East Coast.
“Why don’t you make your own sausage?” Tina told her husband.
So Frank went to the garage and got to work making sausage using a meat grinder. He brought the finished product to restaurants and pizzerias and called it a New York-style sausage.
Nearly 75 years later, New York Style Sausage Company now produces 200,000 pounds of sausage at its Sunnyvale manufacturing facility each week, making it the largest manufacturer of fresh Italian sausage on the West Coast. If the D’Ambrosio name sounds familiar, the family also operates Giorgio’s Italian Grill & Pizzeria, the longtime Mountain View restaurant formerly known as Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi Too!.
Read more about the food manufacturing business tucked in the midst of Silicon Valley in Stephanie Lam’s profile.
Looking for a pun in the wurst way,
Julia Brown
Six Fifty Editor
editor@thesixfifty.com
How the family behind a longtime Mountain View Italian restaurant got its start ‘making sausage in the middle of microchips’
Started in 1951 by the family behind Giorgio’s Italian Grill & Pizzeria in Mountain View (formerly Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi Too!), New York Style Sausage Company produces 200,000 pounds of sausages each week from its Sunnyvale facility.
‘Pushing Boundaries’ takes ceramics in new directions at the Palo Alto Art Center
The group show, which runs through Dec. 7, is the second in a series on ceramics at the Art Center. It features pieces that explore identity, with many that use unusual techniques or materials.
From ‘yappy hour’ to doggie scrambles, here are a few Peninsula restaurants serving up canine meals and treats
The Peninsula loves its pets. Some local eateries offer special dog menus so that canines can enjoy chowing down on a meal just for them alongside their human companions.
Congrats to Mark M. of Menlo Park, who was the first reader to correctly identify where last week’s photo was taken (it’s Saint Anthony’s Cemetery in Pescadero!).
The first person to reply to this email with the correct place where the below photo was taken will win a prize from The Six Fifty and a shoutout in our next newsletter!
Be sure to check out our November events guide for more things to do!
Unique Boutique Holiday Craft Fair: Nov. 7-8 Browse handmade gifts ahead of the holiday rush at this two-day event in Sunnyvale.
Holidays at the Johnston House: Nov. 8 Attendees can take a tour of the historic Johnston House; shop for gifts; partake in cider, wine and food; and listen to live music.
November Makers Market: Nov. 8 Little Green hosts a market featuring goods from local artists and businesses, plus live music and refreshments available.
Quique Escamilla: Nov. 8 The award-winning singer-songwriter blends traditional Mexican styles with rock, reggae, ska, jazz, cumbia and more and addresses social and political issues through his music.
Veterans Day Celebration: Nov. 11 Enjoy refreshments and listen to music and remarks from local leaders in honor of those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Community Services Agency will collect donations of canned food and warm clothing.
Dan Ashley: Nov. 13 News anchor and musician Dan Ashley and guitarist Jeff Tamelier bring an acoustic performance of Americana, country and rock originals and cover songs to Millbrae’s library.
Friends of the Menlo Park Library Book Sale: Nov. 14-15 Find a bonanza of books, puzzles, games, music and more.
Popovich Comedy Pet Theater: Nov. 15 See dogs, cats, birds and even a pig perform alongside juggler and comedian Gregory Popovich at this family-friendly show that aims to promote animal rescue and adoption.
Spread the Love: Nov. 16 eCr Pub hosts a food and essential items donation drive for local families in need plus live DJs, face painting, food and drinks.
Plan Ahead:
The Wildcats Benefit Concert: Nov. 19 Longtime Peninsula band The Wildcats perform a concert of rock ‘n’ roll favorites to benefit Americares, an organization that provides health programs, medicine, medical aid and emergency support to communities in crisis.
Ada & The Engine: Nov. 21-Dec. 7 The Pear Theatre presents popular playwright Lauren Gunderson’s show about visionary mathematician Ada Lovelace, sometimes called the first computer programmer.
Art on the Square Holiday Show: Nov. 22 Art on the Square’s annual holiday show brings more than 25 artists inside the San Mateo County History Museum offering work for sale, plus live blues music.
Root Down Fall Farm Fest 2025: Nov. 22-23 The Pescadero farm will open to the public with food from Full Steam Dumpling, farm meat products for sale and vendors offering tasty goodies, plus live music from Lucas Lawson.
Holidays at Filoli: Nov. 22-Jan. 11 Filoli transforms into a festive wonderland with lights, decorations and the all-new Thistlewyck – a holiday village in the redwood forest featuring tiny trains and fairy houses.
Holiday Card Writing for Seniors: Nov. 22 Brighten a Daly City senior citizen’s winter by making a homemade holiday card with Peninsula Book Collaborative. Supplies will be provided, but you can also bring your own.
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair: Nov. 22-Dec. 21 The Cow Palace transforms into a Victorian England winter wonderland of entertainment, shops, foods and, of course, Dickensian characters.
A Driving Beat: Through Nov. 23 A mother and her adopted son take a cross-country road trip set to a hip-hop beat in TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s newest show.
Zoppé Italian Family Circus: Through Nov. 30 Nino the clown and a host of other dazzling performers return for the 18th year of Old World-style family circus fun.
Making connections: How a Redwood City woman is fostering community through jigsaw puzzle competitions
Putting together puzzles is more than a pandemic pastime for Emma Taylor, founder of the Peninsula Puzzlers.
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Prosecutors allege Mountain View massage parlors were part of regional brothel networkMarch 31, 2026 3:10 pm