AlwaysTraveling: New Haven Pie-by-Pie (New Haven, CT)
Arthur Bovino and Maryse Chevrière — November 12, 2009
Top from left: Frank Pepe’s Medium Shrimp Pie with Red Sauce, Large Plain Pie at Sally’s Apizza, and Modern Apizza’s Medium Italian Bomb.
Frank Pepe’s Yonkers location just recently opened so in honor of New Haven-style pizza coming to New York, we’re sharing our recent experience of trying New Haven’s three most well-known pizzerias on one day during a pizza club outing organized by pizza blogger, Jason Feirman of I Dream of Pizza.
Click for Pictures of New Haven Pizza from Frank Pepe's, Sally's, and Modern >>
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: Bobby’s Burger Palace (Lake Grove, NY)
Jeff Zalaznick — July 10, 2009
Bobby Flay’s Crunchburger (Double, American Cheese, Potato Chips)
It’s not well-known, but Bobby Flay has a tri-state burger chain called Bobby’s Burger Palace (site) with a menu inspired by his travels. All but two burgers are named for American cities or regions. His Long Island outpost is a ten minute detour off the Long Island Expressway in Lake Grove’s Smith Haven Mall. As at any fast food joint, you order at a counter, but here food is brought to you in the dining room.
There are four BBP outposts: Smith Haven Mall (Lake Grove, NY), Monmouth Mall (Eatontown, NJ), Bergen Town Center (Paramus, NJ), and at Mohegan Sun (Uncasville, CT).
Restaurant: Bobby’s Burger Palace (view site)
Address: 355 Smith Haven Mall, Lake Grove, NY, 11755-1201 (view map)
AlwaysHungry Grade: B+
AlwaysHungry Recommends: Crunchburger, Miami-style
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.
AlwaysTraveling: Stan’s Donuts & Coffee An’ Donut Shop
Arthur Bovino — June 05, 2009
Above, the donuts on display inside Stan’s Donuts in Los Angeles, California.
National Donut Day, now today is a food holiday we can really get behind. And there’s even some explanation as to why today is donut day. Supposedly, the tradition of celebrating donuts on the first Friday in June started as far back as 1917, when female volunteers for The Salvation Army prepared donuts for homesick soldiers who served in World War I. The day was officially established in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army to raise funds during the Great Depression.
Thinking about donuts reminds us of two legendary donut places on opposite sides of the country: Stan’s Donuts in Los Angeles and the Coffee An’ Donut Shop in Westport, Connecticut. Before showing you some great pictures, we should note a few things:
1. There are reports of free donuts today.
2. If you haven’t already done so, you should check out AlwaysHungry’s Top 5 Dessert Donuts.
3. If you’re looking for more local restaurants that serve great donuts, use our Very Advanced Search. We’ve got great recommendations, whether the restaurants spell them Donuts or Doughnuts.
Now, on to the good stuff.
AlwaysPartying: Joe & Mario’s 4th Annual Wine & Swine
Jeff Zalaznick — May 12, 2009
from left to right, Cesare Casella, Billy Gallagher, Mario Batali & Dave Gallagher slicing up the Whole Roasted Pig
Yesterday, Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali hosted their 4th Annual Springtime Wine & Swine event, at the Bastianich home in Greenwich. In addition to Mario, Michael Schlow (Radius), Cesare Casella (Salumeria Rosi), William Gallagher (Becco), Dave Pasternack (Esca), Fortunato Nicotra (Felidia), and Andy Nusser (Casa Mono & Tarry Lodge) were all making it happen in the kitchen.
The surprise guest was Schlow, who was in from Boston making his award-winning Radius Burger. Topped with cheddar, horseradish mayo and fried onions, this is unquestionably one of the finest burgers in the world. Pasternack’s Balsamic Octopus is also a gift to humanity, as it truly defines what tender octopus should taste like. The Ribeye was immaculately tender and served perfectly rare. The Pig, cooked overnight and served whole, was a revelation as well. The party was phenomenal—the weather was beautiful, the band was rocking, and excellent Wine and Swine was served all-around. Perfect Monday.
AlwaysTraveling: Super Duper Weenie (Fairfield, CT)
Jeff Zalaznick — May 04, 2009
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Gary Zemora was working as a chef at Pasta Nostra, a respected South Norwalk Italian restaurant, but he just couldn’t shake the image of a painting he had seen of the 1977 Super Duper Weenie truck. Originally owned by Robert Turner, who first parked it in Norwalk, CT, the truck was sold to Neil Farans, the owner of a Texaco station, who was burdened with selling the thing until Gary Zemora emerged as the truck’s saving grace.
Zemora quit his job and opened up shop in 1992 with the mindset of a serious gourmand. When the restored roadside hot dog truck developed a cult-like following, it was time to open a sit-down restaurant to better accommodate the legions of loyal Super Duper Weenie diners. Now located in Fairfield, CT, the specialty of the house are the locally-sourced, smoked hot dogs, which are split down the middle and cooked on a griddle until a crusty shell seals the succulent juices inside. The dog that Gary uses is very important to him, and when you ask him about it, he laments for the local butcher from which he once sourced his hot dogs. On his old butcher, “A great man ran this business for 50 years, and then his son comes in and fucks the whole thing up.” He is happy with his current meat, but admits that it will never compare to what he once had. Luckily, he maintains such a high quality operation that no one else would notice, but, like many great chefs, Zemora is a perfectionist. Only fresh-baked rolls will suffice, and Zemora’s high-standards also inform his homemade condiments— meat chili, onion sauce, coleslaw, and sweet and hot relishes (both made from scratch with Zemora’s own pickled cukes). With such care put into the accoutrements, it’s only fitting that the menu offers spellbinding combinations like the Dixie (meat chili and coleslaw) and the New Yorker (sauerkraut, onion sauce, mustard and hot relish).
Fresh cut and served hot out of the fryer, salt-and-pepper French Fries are a must whether you’re eating a New Englander (sauerkraut, bacon, mustard, sweet relish and raw onion) or Super Duper Chicken Nuggets. Even the nuggets get the homemade treatment. Pounded cutlets are sliced, tossed in the Super Duper seasoning blend, then deep-fried to golden perfection. Although it feels weird to say it, these may well be the best chicken fingers that I have ever had. Not only because they are treated with such care , but also because they are served with the most exquisite homemade BBQ sauce, and with a specially sourced honey mustard that totally seals the deal. Zemora also is famous for his soups. During my visit, he forced some New England Clam Chowder on me, and, much to my surprise, it was delicious. The clams were fresh, and the broth had the perfect consistency. Making soup is a passion of his, and something that he often does for off site catering. Super Duper Weenie is the ultimate road trip food stop when it comes to cuisine and charm, and the perfect amuse bouche on a drive up to New Haven for pizza. Next time you are heading north on I-95, make it happen.
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