AlwaysStrong: Peter’s Clam Bar

Arthur Bovino — June 04, 2010

Clockwise from top: Littleneck Clams at Peter’s Clam Bar, overlooking Empire Point Marina from the deck behind Peter’s Clam Bar in Island Park.

Restaurant: Peter’s Clam Bar
Address: 600 Long Beach Rd, Island Park, NY, 11558
Contact: (516) 432-0505
Clam Bar Hours: Mon-Thu, 11:30am-10:00pm; Fri-Sun, 12:00am-10:00pm
Restaurant Hours: Mon-Thu, 12:00pm-10:00pm; Fri-Sun, 12:00PM-11:00PM
Notes: Clam Bar closes the third week of September.
Grade: B-
Recommended Dishes: Lobster Bisque, Littlenecks, Cherrystones, Baked Clams (must), White Wine and Garlic Steamed Clams, Bowl of Steamers.

The cash-only deck out back where you watch kids on the rocks cast lines into Shell Harbor. Barstools out front. Clams. Oysters. The calming bob of boats at the piers of Empire Point Marina. And of course, the crowds when work is out or the weekend begins. For many Long Islanders from the South Shore, whether it’s 90 degrees out or not, it isn’t summer until Peter’s Clam Bar reopens.

More photographs at Peter's Clam Bar in Island Park >>

AlwaysInvestigating: Seafood Pizzas at ABC and The Mark

Arthur Bovino — May 20, 2010

From left: ABC Kitchen’s Clam Pizza, and The Mark’s Smoked Salmon with “Everything Crust.”

For all the buzz and coverage of ABC Kitchen and The Mark one of the most eye-catching, stomach-growling threads linking the pizza menus at both new restaurants deserves noting: seafood pizza.

Jean-Georges' Seafood Pizzas >>

AlwaysStrong: Bigelow’s (Rockville Center, Long Island)

Arthur Bovino — February 19, 2010

Bigelow’s Ipswich Clam Burger.

Restaurant: Bigelow’s
Address: 79 North Long Beach Road, Rockville Center
Hours: Mon-Thur, 11am-9pm; Fri-Sat, 11am-10pm; Sun, 12pm-9pm
Contact: (516)678-3878
Notes: Cash only (ATM inside)
Grade: A
Always Hungry Recommends: New England Clam Chowder, Buffalo Popcorn Shrimp, Ipswich Clams (Burger)

It’s not that Bigelow’s is a secret. There are Chowhound threads, and write-ups in The Times every few years. It’s just that it is good. Why? The tiny clam shack does fried seafood that reminds you what summer is like, or acts as a figurative flag planted in June that declares summer’s arrival.

Bigelow’s is in Rockville Center just off Sunrise Highway at the edge of town. They’ve been frying Ipswich Clams in the style Russ Bigelow learned while working at hotels in New England, since he opened up in 1939. The Andreolas brothers (Christo, William and Anthony), who have owned it since 1991, take pride in the fact that the method hasn’t changed much.

Click for Photographs at Bigelow's >>

AlwaysInformed: Shuck Regulations!

GutterGourmet — December 16, 2009

Blue Point Oysters from Westport Aquaculture. Bottom right, Capt. Jeff Northrop.

The best thing to happen to the Union Square Greenmarket in years is already under fire.

Westport Aquaculture (view), which recently arrived at the market on Wednesdays, offers Connecticut Blue Point oysters and a variety of clams including Littlenecks and Cherrystones. The best part was that they’d revived one of New York City’s grandest culinary traditions: shucking ‘em on the spot. As Mark Kurlansky noted in his book, New York City was “The Big Oyster” before it was “The Big Apple.”

Now we’ve heard that the Greenmarket elders have stopped the shucking in order to debate whether shellfish constitutes “prepared food” in violation of some Greenmarket policy. Yeah they’re prepared— by Mother Nature or Poseidon. Aw shucks, guys! Gimme my oysters!

AlwaysFresh: Union Square Greenmarket (11/25/09)

Arthur Bovino — November 25, 2009

Bluepoint Oysters from Westport Aquaculture.

The AlwaysHungryNY.com Crew is hitting the streets and visiting the city’s farmers’ markets, seeking the seasonal ingredients, which inspire the culinary genius of locavore chefs and amateur gourmets alike.

This week, we were at the Union Square Greenmarket. The booths for the holiday market were going up, there was a chill in the air, and the light was beautiful. It was an all-around great day for perusing produce and people watching. One bit of news we overheard came from Capt. Jeff Northrop and crew at the Westport Aquaculture booth. Apparently, they’re trying to get approved to shuck oysters and clams at the market. Open-air raw bar at Union Square? Now that would be an interesting development.

Click on the thumbnails below for pictures from our farmers’ market tour in Union Square. Remember, you can use AlwaysHungryNY.com’s Seasonal Calendar Page to find out what is currently in season.

AlwaysTraveling: Frank Pepe’s “The Spot” Pie-by-Pie (New Haven, CT)

Arthur Bovino — October 02, 2009

One of the fifty-odd trained pizzaiolos, at his craft at Frank Pepe’s “The Spot” in New Haven.

Restaurant: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (site)
Address: 157 Wooster Street, New Haven, CT 06511 (map)
Hours: Pizzeria Napoletana, Mon-Sat 11:30am-10pm, Sun 12pm-10pm. The Spot, Mon-Tue closed, Wed-Sat 4pm-10pm, Sun 2pm-8pm.
AlwaysHungry Grade: A
AlwaysHungry Recommends: Clam Pizza, Clam Pizza with Bacon, Tomato Pie, Sausage Pie

You’ve heard the clamor: the line, The Guardian’s declaration that it’s the best place in the world to eat pizza, and claims about them having the world’s best clam pie. The following recent five-pizza pie-by-pie meal is to honor the scheduled November 2nd opening in Yonkers (1955 Central Avenue) of New York’s first Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana.

Click here for pictures of Frank Pepe's beautiful "apizzas" at The Spot >>

HungryHamptons: Gosman’s Dock (Montauk, NY)

Arthur Bovino — September 02, 2009

Top, Lobster Rolls, Fried Clams & French Fries. Left, Gosman’s Fish Market. Right, Gosman’s Topside.

Restaurant: Gosman’s Dock (view site)
Address: 500 W Lake Dr, Montauk, NY 11954-5152‎ (view map)
AlwaysHungry Grade: C-
AlwaysHungry Recommends: Bring Martin’s Potato Long Rolls and “Fantastic Lobster Salad” from Sable’s to make your own lobster rolls and just have drinks Topside at sunset.
Hours: Topside, daily, 12pm-10pm

If you spend time in the Hamptons during the summer, you can’t really call the season complete without a visit to Gosman’s Dock. The Gosman family, fishpackers for the Fulton Market back in the mid-20th century, founded it in 1943. Robert and Mary Gosman started it as a chowder stand that specialized in lobster rolls in 1950. From there, they gradually added components, culminating in what is now practically a compound with four different spots to eat (the Restaurant, the Inlet Cafe & Sushi Bar, the Clam Bar and Gosman’s Topside). Then of course there’s a bevy of stores that qualify somewhere between kitsch and quaint, and Gosman’s Fish Market, which sells fish straight from the dock where local boats unload their fresh catches.

Unfortunately, the food doesn’t measure up to the fantastic location, at least the lobster rolls and the fried clams don’t. Gosman’s lobster rolls are different both in style and presentation from those we’ve become accustomed to in the city with the proliferation of the Pearl-style. This roll is more akin to lobster salad, in fact, that’s how it’s described on the menu: Fresh Lobster Salad on a Roll. The salad is served in a large, rounded scoop on a traditional hot dog bun. At $16.95, it’s cheaper than most of the ones you’ll find in Manhattan, but in this case you miss what you don’t pay for, the meat is ground and watery. The fried clams are chewy and rubbery.

You would be better off buying whole cooked lobsters at Gosman’s Fish Market or even better, picking up Martin’s Potato Long Rolls, and a pound of the famous, “Fantastic Lobster Salad” at Sable’s (a reasonable $34), and enjoying an end of summer drink Topside as the sun goes down.

AlwaysPartying: 1933 Rollback and Pizza-Eating Contest at Patsy’s Pizzeria

Arthur Bovino — August 26, 2009

Patsy’s Pizzeria in Harlem at 118th an 1st Avenue (Patsy’s Way).

“Try drinking a grape soda,” advised Ray Cabrera, 57, a lunch companion at Patsy’s Pizzeria (restaurant page) during their 76th anniversary celebration in Harlem, “it keeps the weight off your chest.”

Ray should know the best way to eat pizza at Patsy’s— he has been doing it since he was 17. Today, he and his friend Tommie Kirk were taking a break from work to enjoy their lunch during the rollback to 1930’s prices, which Frank Brija, the owner of Patsy’s described as their way of “giving back to the community,” after being in the neighborhood for 76 years. Also on the docket later was a pizza-eating contest and the unveiling of a new street sign depicting the block on 1st Avenue as “Patsy’s Way.”

Doors were scheduled to open at 11am but the long line of crying children, bloggers, hungry locals and patrons doused in Aqua Blue didn’t start getting let in until almost a half hour later. Then Israel Miranda, the dapper, suit-wearing doorman started asking the security guard to send in parties of people, “Sexy, five,” he teased. “Sexy, two!”

Sexy?

“I keep telling him, ‘Today I’m Mr. Garcia,’” explained the guard.

Inside, lunch with Tommie and Ray was on AlwaysHungryNY.com’s dime. At these prices, it might have been possible to buy lunch for the entire restaurant without breaking $150. The waitress explained that each person was allowed to order one appetizer, one Primi Piatti, one Secondi Piatti, one pizza and one dessert. The menu noted that there were “No Subsitutions. No Take-Out or Doggy Bags,” allowed. It ruined a lot of plans devised by people on line to “roll in, order five pies and two of everything to go.”

From top left, clockwise: Patsy’s Original Coal Oven Pizza, Cheese Slice upskirt, Vongole Fresche, Fusilli con Pollo al Marsala, Chicken Parmigiana, and Coal Oven Pizza with Sausage.

At the AlwaysHungryNY.com table the bill totaled $3.75. Three people managed to eat and drink: a Coca-Cola (10¢), a Grape Soda (10¢), an Organic House Salad (30¢), Vongole Fresche (45¢), Pollo ala Parmigiana (85¢), the Fusilli con Pollo al Marsala (70¢), a Coal Oven Pizza with Sausage (75¢), and an Original Coal Oven Pizza (60¢). With a $10 tip, we still escaped under $15, well under the $70.90 bill it would have cost without tip. This reporter downed his first pie at Pasty’s by himself. There was good sauce to cheese ratio and the crust was exceptionally thin. “You have to eat it within the first two minutes,” advised Tommie, “it gets floppy fast.”

Continue Reading >>

Featured Dish: Gambas Com Acorda at Pão!

The Gluttoness — August 11, 2009

Gambas com Acorda at Pão!

Pão! co-owner, Frank Coelho, a native of Portugual, didn’t set out to reinvent the Portuguese culinary wheel, just recreate it on a quiet corner in SoHo. His regulars, many of whom are Portuguese and looking for a taste of home, rely on this quaint eatery at Spring and Greenwich for authentic Portuguese fare. Specialties at Pão! (restaurant page) include Caldo Verde, a kale-based soup with potato and linguica (mild Portuguese pork sausage) and Bacalhau and Braz, traditional sautéed cod with egg, onion and straw potatoes.

Pão means “bread” in Portuguese so it shouldn’t be a surprise that bread is a prominent ingredient in one of its signature dishes, Gambas com Acorda, Grilled Tiger Shrimp with Lemon Shellfish Bread Pudding. The beautiful, monochromatic dish features six juicy, butterflied tiger shrimp, which are practically bursting from their glistening orange shells to kiss the lemon-rosemary cream sauce dressing the plate. The shrimp tails are anchored in a mound of savory shellfish bread pudding that is riddled with bits of shrimp, scallop, clams and mussels. The pudding is made from the same broa de milho (wheat and corn bread) that adorns every table.

Gambas com Acorda is much like an Iberian shrimp and grits, with the warm bread pudding offering a smoother sensation than grits. The firm flesh of the shrimp complements the silky texture of the pudding, and the tangy lemon sauce balances its richness. The dish is perfectly paired with a crisp glass of vinho verde, a bright, clean, slightly carbonated ‘green wine’ made from unripe grapes.

Featured Restaurant: The John Dory

Arthur Bovino — July 15, 2009

Seared Stuffed Squid with Chorizo, White Runner Beans with Crème Fraîche and Cilantro

When I learned that April Bloomfield’s venture after The Spotted Pig was to be a seafood restaurant in the Meatpacking District it immediately went on my list of must-eat-there-soon restaurants. But when my French Culinary Institute classmate, Megan Griffin, left her two year gig as a Babbo linecook and climbed aboard The John Dory (restaurant page, my first meal there would have to wait until her culinary schedule would allow it to be with her. Last week, eight months after it opened, we took dinner and drinks near the window at the front of the blue-lit bar across from the famed fish tank with a few of her fellow cooks.

I ceded menu selection (best to eat what cooks want to eat on their night off) and noted our railroad view of the action on the line— you’ve got to respect an open kitchen. We started with a sampling of oysters and clams on the half-shell: “Shibumi” (one of the staff’s favorite words to call back to the expediter), Skookums, Beausoleils, Plymouth Rocks and Littlenecks. They were served with a Cilantro and Jalapeño Chili Mignonette, Horseradish in Champagne Vinegar, Cocktail Sauce and Pickeled Ramp Vinaigrette. The first and the last were the only notable riffs on oyster accompaniments I’ve had in a while.

As good as the raw bar was, you’re not visiting The John Dory for oysters, but to see if and how Chef Bloomfield has applied her renowned gastropub touch to something as delicate as seafood. A sampling of crudos was the first exhibition: Kampachi with Ginger, Sea Bream Ceviche with Scallion Purée, and Fluke with Citrus and Avocado.

Click for more on the meal at The John Dory >>

AlwaysTraveling: Frank Pepe’s Clam Pizza (New Haven, CT)

June 18, 2009

Frank Pepe’s Clam Pie with an “advanced” topping: bacon

When it comes to Clam Pie, there is much to consider: canned vs. fresh, cheese/no cheese, with sauce or without? But after all the debate, there is only one clam pie. Everything else is imitation. The Original Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, established in New Haven, Connecticut in 1925, is famous for an old-fashioned, coal-fired “apizza” with a chewy, crust. In addition to its famed “Tomato Pie,” Pepe is also renowned for its White Clam Pizza. But don’t be fooled by the word ‘pizza.” Pepe’s clam pie does not have mozzarella cheese on it, at least not the one we’re rhapsodizing. You can request cheese (and red sauce) but they discourage it. Rather, it is characterized by an abundance of freshly-shucked, briny littleneck clams, a intense dose of garlic, olive oil, oregano and grated cheese atop a charcoal-colored crust. Some people say that Sally’s Apizza on Wooster Street, a few blocks away offers competition. It’s true that Sally’s clam pie is superb, but it doesn’t measure up to Frank Pepe.

It is this disclaimer, this daunting reputation, this clam-pie munching, ten thousand-pound gorilla in the room that must precede any conversation about New York City’s best clam pizza. While no clam pie here can compare to Frank Pepe’s or even Sally’s, Lombardi’s (the first New York establishment to start serving them), and several other pizzerias have made valiant attempts.

Click here to find out AlwaysHungryNY.com’s Top 5 Clam Pie.

Have an idea for a Top 5? We’d love to hear from you. Go to the bottom of a Top 5 page and enter your suggestion into the “Suggest a Top 5” field along with your rankings and your email address.

SEARCH: Stuffed Clams in the City

June 10, 2009

When summer comes around we go crazy for clams. We like them every which way, but especially when they’re stuffed with extra goodness, like with Baked Clams and Clams Casino.

For some of the best baked clams in the city, we recommend:

Spark’s Steak House 210 E 46th St

Don Peppe 135-58 Lefferts Boulevard

Porter House New York 10 Columbus Circle

For Clams Casino, try one of the following places:

Pietro’s 232 E 43rd Street

Porter House New York 10 Columbus Circle

The Palm Tribeca 206 West Street

Il Mulino 86 W. 3rd Street

Of course, if you’re a purist and you want to test out the theory that clams, like oysters and scallops, are an aphrodisiac, there are tons of great places we’d recommend. Just enter Tasting Bar, Raw Bar and Date Place into our Very Advanced Search to discover them.

AlwaysPartying: Top 5 Sweet & Savory at Street & Savory

The Gluttoness — June 10, 2009

“Street and Savory— A Global Street Food Festival for the Benefit of Citymeals-on-Wheels” was one of the most successful tasting events I’ve ever attended, and not because Kelly Choi was hosting. Rather than trying to outdo the next guy with fancier foie gras, the mission at Street & Savory was much simpler: a legion of legendary chefs set out to creatively interpret their favorite street foods. While the dishes weren’t necessarily low-brow, the majority of them kept with the theme, and the most delicious bites were those which could easily be served on the street.

Street cart veterans, like Roy Choi of the famed Los Angeles Kogi BBQ Truck, served Kimchi Quesadillas alongside Jean Georges, Daniel Boulud and Charlie Palmer, who took on the format with impressive results. With a little under forty booths, there was much to be eaten. Our award for creativity goes to Park Avenue Summer’s “3-Minute Picnic.” Of course, this wasn’t a contest, and ultimately, the real winner was Citymeals-on-Wheels, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help feed the homeless, but of course we had our favorites among the many stands.

A quick round-up of the best of the bunch follows.

Continue Reading >>

AlwaysInformed: Harry’s Italian Pizza Bar

The Gluttoness — June 05, 2009

Eggplant Parmigiana Hero at Tuesday’s Dine Around Downtown

Gold St. may have seemed like a good idea in theory, but the 24-hour diner/bar/sushi concept wasn’t exactly embraced by locals in the financial district. As previously reported, the father-son team of Harry and Peter Poulakakos, is refurbishing the 2 Gold St. space and reverting to their successful “Harry’s” brand, this time with an Italian spin: Harry’s Italian Pizza Bar. If the term “pizza bar” sounds familiar, that’s because they’re also responsible for the perennially packed, Adrienne’s Pizza Bar.

We’ve gotten the early word on some of Harry’s new signature dishes. The menu will elaborate on Adrienne’s and include its renowned Old-Fashioned Pizzas. Aside from pizza, the big draws will be: family-style pasta portions (fitting considering this family-owned venture is under Peter’s management), a Meatball Hero, Steak Pizzaiolo, Stuffed Artichokes and Baked Clams. If you can’t wait until the June 15th opening, assuage your cravings for Italian at Adrienne’s in the meantime. Try the eggplant topping on your next old-fashioned pie— the thin slices make for a great Eggplant Parmigiana Pizza.

AlwaysTraveling: Cal Pep (Barcelona, Spain)

Jeff Zalaznick — June 03, 2009

Cal Pep is synonymous with the great Tapas and seafood of Barcelona, and has been nestled in a small square just north of the Plaça de Palau since 1977. There is no question that its chef and owner, Josep “Pep” Manubens Figueras (now approaching 60), serves Barcelona’s best tapas. Pep is known for his seafood, specifically, Razor Clams and Frito Misto, (one taste will inform you why) and in a way, his prowess is partially responsible for the abundance of those clams that we currently find being served around New York. Yes, I am giving him credit for Razor Clams. The trick to Cal Pep is go for lunch (if you’re a tourist, it’s near the Picasso Museum, which makes for a nice morning), and show up 15 minutes before they open their doors. It’s important to play close attention to the time, because if you show up ten minutes before they open, you’ll be waiting for more than a full turn to be seated. This has now been proven three times— take it for what it is.

The restaurant itself is tiny—you sit at the 20-stool bar and eat what they give you from the open kitchen. It’s also well known for its frying prowess and some fixtures of the seasonal menu not to be missed include the Fried Artichokes and the plate of fried-egg topped, deep-fried, inch-long fish, called Llengeta. In my mind, what they should be most famous for is their Tortilla Tempana. I can say with great confidence that it is the best that I have ever had in my life. It is served warm, which seems obvious but is so rarely done, and is truly a slice of Spanish heaven. When they are done with their work, they encourage you to request more. I was applauded for my last minute addition of Steak and Butifarra, and received a departing hug from Pep himself.

You can go to Cal Pep for dinner, and you can even make a reservation for large parties in the back, but the place you want to be is at the bar for lunch. To continue the seafood extravaganza into dinner, you should try their more formal restaurant nearby, Passadis del Pep, which serves one of the finest seafood meals I have ever ingested.

This is the Mecca. This is where Mario and Joe went to get inspiration for Casa Mono. This is where the tortilla at Mercat is copied from. This is the place.

Restaurant: Cal Pep
Address: Plaça Olles 8, 08003 Barcelona, Spain (view map)
AlwaysHungry Grade: A+
AlwaysHungry Recommends: Tortilla, Butifarra con Foie a l’Oporto, Almejas con Jamón, Fritto Misto

Razor Clams

Foie Gras Butifarra Sausage with White Beans & Port Reduction

Click here for the Cal Pep Dish by Dish >>