Featured Dish: Kesté’s Insalata Pizza Sandwich
Arthur Bovino — August 11, 2010
A quarter cross-section of Kesté‘s Pizza & Vino’s Pizza insalata.
Last June, when Grub Street reported on the pizza wallet at Kesté Pizza & Vino, aka the Portfolio, we took note with excitement— the Neapolitan pie goes portable! But we measured the ‘Neapolitan’ equivalent of New York’s street slice against the original with mixed results. While they tasted good, wallets made with regular Kesté pies (they wouldn’t make minis), with toppings and without, eaten crust or tip first, either burst open or devolved into a mess of bread and cheese. Whether you were sitting or walking, it was a fail. A new innovation at Kesté, the Pizza Sandwich, had more promise.
Featured Brunch: Roberta’s
Arthur Bovino — July 23, 2010
Clockwise from top: Duck Egg and Mortadella Sandwich and Iced Tea at Roberta’s in Brooklyn.
The concrete jungle sizzles in summer. Light twinkles off the glass condo windows through waves of heat. You get jostled by sweaty sidewalk-denizens. The City is too much. Too full, too busy, too— too much. It’s Saturday. Almost noon. Or maybe Sunday and already past two. You’re hungry. Need food. Brunch. Breakfast. But you don’t want French toast. Enough Eggs Benedict. You laugh in the face of omelettes. You want something different, somewhere else. It’s time to flip this meal upside-down. You need to head to Brooklyn— to Roberta’s. You need pizza for brunch.
Featured Restaurant: South Brooklyn Pizza
GutterGourmet — July 19, 2010
A Margherita slice at South Brooklyn Pizza in the East Village.
I’ve devoted a large part of my life in search of great pizza. I don’t go around joking, or lightly declaring a “new greatest” pizza. But, I recently had a private tour with Jack, the pizzaiolo at the new South Brooklyn Pizzeria on First Avenue near 7th street, and folks, there’s a new greatest pizza in town.
Featured Brunch: Balaboosta
Maryse Chevrière — June 11, 2010
Coconut Brioche French Toast stuffed with Cream Cheese and served with Stewed Strawberries.
On a warm, summer Sunday afternoon, the SoHo-Nolita juncture at Mulberry Street can be frazzle-inducing. Throngs of bag-toting tourists weave down Broadway, a crowded street fair along the Little Italy main drag, the scene outside Balthazar. You’re hungry. You just want a quiet, no-need-to-wait brunch— a few small plates. For this, take refuge in Balaboosta, the young off-shoot from Taïm chef, Einat Admony, where familiar dishes are given the Middle Eastern treatment.
AlwaysInformed: Eddie’s Pizza Truck Debuts June 10th
Arthur Bovino — May 27, 2010
Plain Thin Crust Pizza at Eddie’s in New Hyde Park on Long Island, “Home of the Bar Pie.”
Courtesy of the Always Hungry Twitter feed, we hear that the new truck by Eddie’s Pizza, which was first reported by Slice as slated to hit the City’s streets in late May, has pinpointed an actual planned day to start serving their bar pies while on the move: June 10th.
If you haven’t eaten at Eddie’s before, and you’re planning your weekend Hamptons trip, check out HungryHamptons: Where to Eat on the Drive for the details on how to get there.
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.
Slice by Slice: New York Pizza Suprema
GutterGourmet — May 17, 2010
The Bacon Slice at New York Pizza Suprema in Midtown, and a Bacon Slice upskirt.
Any discerning pizza-lover who has missed a train at Penn knows the deal: Rosa’s will do in a pinch. But if you hurry, the place to grab a slice is New York Pizza Suprema, catty–corner on 8th Avenue where it has been since 1964. Suprema is a bastion of goodness in the pizza wasteland that is Midtown. What’s not often noted is that it can be discussed as a destination too. It’s no stretch to mention it in a conversation about members of New York’s pantheon of Metropolitan slicerias. We’re talking Joe’s, and Patsy’s of Harlem. As Suprema’s website says, “This pizzeria was here before Madison Square Garden.” But it had been a while since we’d visited so it was time for a state of the slice.
AlwaysStrong: Pretzel Crust Pizza at Pietro’s (East Meadow)
Arthur Bovino — May 14, 2010
Pretzel Crust Pietro’s Speciale Pizza at Pietro’s Pizzeria in East Meadow.
Location: Pietro’s Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen
Address: 476 East Meadow Ave, East Meadow, NY
Contact: (516) 794-8820
Hours: Mon-Thu, 11:00am-10:00pm; Fri-Sat, 11:00am-12:00am; Sun, 12:00pm-10:00pm.
Grade: C+
Recommended Dishes: Sesame Crust Pizza, Pretzel Crust Pizza.
You’re driving through East Meadow, nearing Pietro’s Pizzeria and Italian Kitchen and you see a neon sign declaring Pietro’s place in the universe: “Home of the Original Sesame Seed Edge Pizza.” “Really?” you’re thinking, “They invented it in East Meadow?” You pull the car over, tires squealing, but before your mind wanders far down the very winding road of the origins of sesame crust, the menu grabs your attention again: “Try Our Sesame, Onion, Garlic, Pretzel or Poppy Seed Edge – Free on request.” Pretzel Crust Pizza?
AlwaysInformed: The Hellfire Slice
GutterGourmet — May 10, 2010
The Hellfire slice at Hell’s Kitchen Pizza.
Curry phaal, super hot buffalo wings, Szechuan noodles, pizza. Pizza?
If you twist off the top of the dried red pepper flakes jar in order to get the proper level of spice on your run-of-the-mill slice, then there’s a pizzeria for you. The aptly named Hell’s Kitchen Pizza is located in, well, Hell’s Kitchen, on 10th Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets. You may have heard about it by way of their Mac-and-Cheese Pizza, but the eponymous slice, the Hellfire, is what’s of interest to heat-seekers.
This baby packs a triple threat of hot Italian sausage, sliced red and green cherry peppers, with pepperoni thrown in for good measure. We’re not talking habanero or Scotch bonnet Scoville levels here, but if you like your pizza with a kick, this slice kicks ass.
Location: Hell’s Kitchen Pizza
Address: 691 Tenth Avenue
Contact: (212) 765-8565
AlwaysInvestigating: Jumbo Slice Wars
Arthur Bovino — April 27, 2010
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Plain Jumbo Slice at Pizza Mart in D.C.
With Spike Mendelsohn’s We the Pizza slated to open in about six weeks, you’d think that would be the subject of conversation for DC’s pizzascenti. Much to the chagrin of some DC food-lovers, Travel Channel’s Food Wars recently shone the spotlight on jumbo slices with a face-off between the Chishti brothers’ dueling jumbo slice shops: “Pizza Mart,” and “Jumbo Slice.” As a Georgetown graduate, I can vouch for ruling in favor of Pizza Mart. But the resolution of one feud raises another question.
Locals have noted that DC is not a pizza town. Of New York’s iconic foods, pizza is king. Among slices, Koronet may not be the best, but it is one of the largest, and most visually memorable. So, how would Pizza Mart fare against New York’s jumbo slice?
AlwaysInformed: Tripe and Ramp Pizza at Colicchio & Sons
Maryse Chevrière — April 08, 2010
Tripe Pizza with Ramps and Shishito Peppers.
“It’s spring in NY bring on the ramps,” chef Tom Colicchio tweeted on March 18th. And now he has— onto a new Tripe and Shishito Pepper Pizza, served at dinner in the Tap Room of Colicchio & Sons.
The pizza was introduced to the menu a few weeks ago, but ramps were added only within the last three or four days. It’s a sauce-less, cheese-less pie— more like a jazzed-up, doughy flatbread (that’s not a bad thing). Of the three starring ingredients, the flavor of the shishitos is the most pronounced.
The shishitos were described as a kind of culinary Russian Roulette since only one in ten is extremely spicy. They provide a blistered smokiness, and lingering heat. They’re juicy too, lending some desirable wetness. While the small strips of soft tripe almost mimic the texture of lightly-cooked pieces of bacon, the flavor is almost imperceptible. (Which when you think about how wrong funky-tasting tripe can be, is not necessarily a negative). And the ramps? Well, the chef is right, bring ‘em on.
Featured Dish: Nick’s Calzone (Forest Hills, NY)
GutterGourmet — April 05, 2010
Prosciutto Calzone at Nick’s Pizza in Forest Hills.
Let’s review some general guidelines for finding great pizza in New York:
1. Location: Brooklyn or Manhattan
2. History: minimum of 50 years
3. Family: founded by Italian immigrants
4. Equipment: coal or wood burning oven
Now, forget the rules. Let’s talk about Nick’s Pizza (left). Two Greek brothers started Nick’s in 1993. Though Greek, Nick and John Angelis, have pizza in their veins— their father was a pizza man who learned his craft in Naples. They and their family members are responsible for Adrienne’s, and a few Angelo’s and Dean’s pizzerias (as well as the Patsy’s licensees). That’s a lot of respectable pizza. Nick’s Pizza on Ascan Avenue just off Austin Street in Forest Hills, paved the way. It’s just out from under a trestle of the Long Island Railroad.
First Look: Paulie Gee’s
Arthur Bovino — March 22, 2010
Clockwise from top: The E & O Pizza with Fior di Latte, Marinated Kale, and Guanciale; chef Paul Giannone; Paulie Gee’s in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Brooklyn’s newest pizza drama is playing out in Greenpoint, just blocks from Metropolitan, in a space that was previously a restaurant of a former Top Chef contestant. The new chef is someone with considerably less airtime, a guy from Jersey named Paul Giannone— Paulie Gee.
Until weeks ago, Paulie’s pizza-making was mostly confined to the oven he built in his yard. Now pizza-lovers and aficionados are gathering to see if this former software quality assurance engineer can pull off dreams of joining the City’s elite pizzaiolos. It’s the kind of New York— er— Brooklyn story you can literally sink your teeth into. To learn more about his story, check out this interview.
Recently, we joined Slice’s managing editor, Adam Kuban, at Paulie Gee’s to sample some of this Brooklyn-born dreamer’s early efforts.
Hungry Chefs: Paulie Gee
Arthur Bovino — March 22, 2010
Hungry Chefs is Always Hungry’s series of featured interviews that bring you into the kitchen with interesting and noteworthy members of the culinary community. This edition is with Paul Giannone.
Paulie Gee hard at work at his eponymous pizzeria in Greenpoint.
You do your best every day to realize your dreams. But how many people get to see their dreams come true? And if and when they come true, how does what was dreamed measure up to reality? There’s man in Brooklyn making pizza who may be best suited to answer these questions, Paul Giannone. Or as New Yorkers are starting to know him, Paulie Gee.
As recently as February 2009, Paulie was profiled talking about a pizzeria as a ways off. Last week he broke from making Neapolitan pies to discuss Paulie Gee’s, his pizzeria in Greenpoint.
AHNY: Paulie, you’re living a dream here, aren’t you? How did this come to be?
Paulie: I always loved to cook, I’d invite people over my house just so I could cook for them. You know, for the past 25 years, people have been encouraging me to open a restaurant. What I did for a living wasn’t what I really enjoyed. But opening a real restaurant always seemed daunting.
First Look: Pulino’s Bar and Pizzeria
Arthur Bovino — March 15, 2010
Sausage Egg Breakfast Pizza.
Funny how things work. Frank Pepe’s opened its first New York location in Yonkers last November. Last week, Eddie’s of New Hyde Park announced it would soon make its first inroads into Manhattan since they opened in 1941. Now both styles of pizza have met on Bowery and Houston in Pulino’s Bar and Pizzeria, Keith McNally and Nate Appleman’s much-awaited pizzeria. The kicker? As Eater has well-documented with its first looks at the decor, the place looks like it has been there on the corner forever.
Of course, Neapolitan-style was a New York staple long before Frank Pepe’s left the confines of New Haven. But Pulino’s combines the crust texture and taste of Pepe’s with an even thinner pie, one that’s just about 2½ times the thickness of what you’d expect from Eddie’s. Not to say it’s cracker-like, it’s not at all. But it is not a doughy pie. Do not think Kesté, Co., or Motorino. Nor are pizzas as charred as the ones pictured by Zagat. What we have here folks, as was the intention – is an idiosyncratic style of pizza. A standardized amoeba shape, a thin crust, and square cuts.
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