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.
AlwaysStrong: Eddie’s Pizza (New Hyde Park, Long Island)
Arthur Bovino — March 10, 2010
Plain Thin Crust Pizza at Eddie’s in New Hyde Park on Long Island, “Home of the Bar Pie.”
It is exciting news that Eddie’s is planning to plant a flag in Manhattan with a food truck that will sell pizza featuring par-baked versions of their signature cracker-thin crusts. Bar pizza goes mobile! Can you get a tumbler of Jack on the rocks with that?
Look, it’s not that Eddie’s is the world’s best pizza, but there is something about the quasi-matzoh crust that makes it a great pace-changer between typical New York slices. Given how thin it is, it will be interesting to see how everyone adapts to eating it on the run in the city. At the New Hyde Park location, the slices are foldable, so you could technically do the two-fold move, and walk with them. The fact that they’re not very filling may mean that the lunch move is the 16-incher.
In honor of the news, here are photographs of a meal at the original location.
Featured Dish: Rustica Pizza
Arthur Bovino — March 08, 2010
Clockwise from top: Manducatis Rustica’s Rustica Pizza. The fireplace at the back of the dining room.
Manducatis has been a Long Island City stalwart almost uninterrupted since 1959. No one is saying it’s the City’s best Italian. But there is still something fun about walking through its non-descript door and into the cascading dining rooms that each feel like secrets. Development may have infiltrated Long Island City, but Manducatis’ owners, the Cerbones, have made their own progress in the past two years. Namely, when their daughter, Chef Gianna Cerbone opened her Italian café nearby: Manducatis Rustica.
There is a doll-house, but thrown together quality to Rustica’s decor. An old oven. Mismatching chairs. Brick walls. There’s a large open doorway to the kitchen. The layout takes a cue from Manducatis, with a working fireplace in the back of the first dining room.
You may have heard about their celebrated calzone, a sauce-covered $15.00 behemoth described as “a pizza folded over on itself.” But there’s also a list of brick oven, Neapolitan-style pizzas. The eponymous pizza pie, the Rustica ($13.00), is dressed with goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, and a healthy pile of fresh arugula. The dough is chewy and pliable, if not necessarily very crisp. You could see how it would make for a good calzone. For dessert, there’s fresh gelato, and cannolis done the right way— plain or chocolate-dipped, but filled to order. Now that’s Italian…American.
AlwaysInvestigating: Battle of the Pizza Cones
Arthur Bovino — February 22, 2010
Left, K! Pizzacone’s Breakfast Pizza. Right, Rio Bonito’s Margherita and Pepperoni Pizza in the Cones.
K! Pizzacone is getting the kind of opening day publicity that most restaurants would kill for. We almost ended up on Japanese television this morning just by stopping in for a Breakfast Pizza. Conesteria indeed. In anticipation of getting a first taste this morning, we visited Rio Bonito last night to have their Pizza in the Cone fresh in our minds. Let the battle of the Pizza Cones commence!
First Look: Totonno’s Reopens
Arthur Bovino — February 12, 2010
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Cheese Pizza.
Frank Ciminieri filled the fridge with small bottles of wine while talking about how much he loves Cash Cab, “I watch it for two hours in the morning when I wake up and two hours at night.”
His sister, Cookie, bemoaned the lack of mirrors in the restaurant and said, “We need some music in here.” So a customer obliged by singing Louis Prima in between taking pictures on his iPhone. Eleven months after a fire shut it down, Totonno’s is back.
The large cheese pie ($19.50) was delicious. The center crust was as thin as the styrofoam plate it sat on, the edge’s crust was light, airy, and delicate, and the upskirt was covered with wonderful, large raised flecks. That thinness created a ratio of cheese and sauce that even makes sauce-monkeys happy. And with the opening, making New Yorkers happy with pizza will be routine once again in Coney Island.
Good luck, Totonno’s. Welcome back.
Click Here for the Totonno's Pizza Porn >>
AlwaysPartying: National Pizza Pie Day
Maryse Chevrière — February 09, 2010
A few of our favorite whole pies.
Given that today, February 9th, is National Pizza Pie Day, and in anticipation of tomorrow’s long-awaited re-opening of Totonno’s, we thought we’d share some of our favorite pies, by category.
Of course, as much as we love whole pies, it’s just a mere slice of the pizza coverage on Always Hungry.
AlwaysInvestigating: Mozzarella from Factory to Plate
Arthur Bovino — January 29, 2010
Franco Spatola uses his own fresh mozzarella on his pizzas at Da Franco in Queens.
You can find great mozzarella and great pizza in New York. But restaurants that make mozzarella from scratch to put on their pizza? That’s another story. When Franco Spatola offered a factory to plate demonstration in Queens, we couldn’t resist.
Mozzarella from Factory to Table >>
AlwaysPartying: National Cheese Lovers Day
January 20, 2010
A few of our favorite cheesy dishes.
Today, January 20th, is National Cheese Lovers Day. From our favorite breads and sandwiches to multi-borough quests and cheese cave internships, Always Hungry’s love for all things fromage has certainly been well-documented. For your viewing pleasure, we have organized by category some of the best and most interesting cheese dishes we’ve enjoyed recently.
AlwaysInvestigating: Empire Slice of Mind
Arthur Bovino and Gavin Skeen — January 19, 2010
Cheese Slice from Squisito’s.
The Empire State Building is one of New York City’s defining symbols. So nearby it you might expect to find a fantastic slice of this great metropolis’ defining food. But as one local doorman advised, “I’m from the Bronx so I know, most of the pizza around here tastes like cardboard!”
It was a Midtown challenge worth investigating. Since the closing of Giuseppe’s we counted fourteen pizzerias within a two-block radius of the Empire State Building (36th to 32nd, north to south; and Park Ave to 7th Ave). That’s without venturing inside the Manhattan Mall, and including Rosa’s Pizza, which is actually in the Empire State Building. While technically Sbarro and Pizza Hut are pizza places, most self-respecting New Yorkers wouldn’t consider them representative slices (same goes for the California Pizza Kitchen, just outside the aforementioned boundaries). Similarly, a Brazilian cone pizza spot called K! Pizzacone is preparing to open nearby on Fifth Avenue. While it will be interesting to see how New Yorkers (and tourists) take to it, this taste-off to find the best ‘Empire Slice’ involved eating conventional, plain slices in each pizzeria.
Check out the top six slices below, and the full cast of cheesy characters (with a map) in the slideshow.
Click here to find out who has the best "Empire Slice" >>
Featured Dish: Co.’s Honshimeji & Guanciale Pie
Maryse Chevrière — January 13, 2010
Company’s Honshimeji & Guanciale Pizza.
The pies at Co. certainly haven’t been want for coverage, but with the constant flurry of artisanal pizza news in New York, it can be difficult to keep up. Here’s an item that may be under your radar: the Honshimeji & Guanciale Pizza.
The pie features the Co. classic charred, blistered crust and a creamy layer of garlicky béchamel. The surface is punctuated by thin shavings of guanciale, tiny Honshimeji button mushrooms that become roasted in the oven, and the real star— four sunny-side up quail eggs. This is a restaurant that understands the best way to put eggs on a pizza: one per slice. The perfectly executed runny yolk breaks upon your first bite (brunch places take note). You get to play the game of angling the slice so that it gets evenly distributed as a secondary sauce.
AlwaysHolidays: The Twelve Days of Christmas
Arthur Bovino and Maryse Chevrière — December 25, 2009
AlwaysHungryNY.com’s ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ Food Tree.
To celebrate Christmas, here’s the full food carol version of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ AlwaysHungry-style, featuring some of the great dishes we tasted in 2009 that we’re willing to sing about. Happy Holidays!
On the twelfth day of Christmas my waiter brought to me…
Twelve beets for eating,
Eleven tasty smoked things,
Ten gourds a-heaping,
Nine pies a-twirling,
Eight, made with milk-in,
Seven soups worth sipping,
Six eggs for feasting,
Five on-ion rings.
Chicks from four birds,
Three fried ‘French hens,’
Two desserts for two,
And Felidia’s pear ravioli.
Best of 2009: A Few Dishes
December 22, 2009
A few of AlwaysHungry’s favorite dishes of 2009.
There is no question that a lot of eating has gone down this year. Rookies have introduced new favorites and standbys have reminded us that oldies can still be goodies. To celebrate the conclusion of the ninth year of the aughts, we’ve compiled a little photo tour of a few of our favorite dishes and organized them into nine of our favorite food groups.
Click Here for a few of AlwaysHungry's Favorite Dishes of 2009 >>
AlwaysHolidays: On the Ninth Day of Christmas
Arthur Bovino and Maryse Chevrière — December 20, 2009
Technically, the Twelve Days of Christmas don’t start until Christmas Day, but we’re already in the spirit. To celebrate over the next three days, here’s the carol, ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ AlwaysHungry-style, featuring some dishes we tasted in 2009 that we’d be willing to sing about.
Nine Ladies Dancing. Margherita is a woman’s name, perhaps the most important one when it comes to pizza. And pizza dough dances in the air when tossed by some pizzaiolos. Badabing badaboom.
So today’s Christmas food carol begins:
On the ninth day of Christmas, my waiter brought to me… nine pies a-twirling,
Top, DiFara. Left to right by row: Patsy’s, John’s of Bleecker, Pizza Moto, Co., Veloce Pizzeria, Frank Pepe, Motorino, and Kesté Pizza & Vino, all Margheritas.
AlwaysOpinionated: Pizza, Metropolitan vs. Neapolitan
GutterGourmet — December 03, 2009
Left, a Cheese Pie from John’s of Bleecker Street. Right, Pomodorini E Provola Pizza from Kesté.
A few months ago, no less a respected publication than New York Magazine declared that the Neapolitan pizza “revolution” that was sweeping New York City had taken New York City pizza to its zenith in terms of authenticity and greatness. Ed Levine, author of the pizza bible, A Slice of Heaven, bemoaned the sorry state to which the traditional New York City slice had devolved while hailing Una Pizza Napoletana as the new king of New York City pizza. Well, I’m beginning to think that in our quest for “authenticity” we’re losing the great tradition of New York City pizza (and of its New Haven cousin).
I’m here to shout that the Emperor of Napoli has no clothes. The Neapolitan pizza “invasion” is a fad, like frozen yogurt. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for authenticity. I’ll take the latest influx of Szechuan restaurants over the chow mein of my youth any day. But pizza is different. New York City has more than 100 years of developing a style of pizza. Are there lousy slices out there? Of course. But changing ingredients to conform to Neapolitan style is not necessarily the best thing for New York City pizza.
Click Here to Read More About New York City's Pizza Style Wars >>
AlwaysOpinionated: The DiFara Slice Contention
Arthur Bovino — November 23, 2009
Upskirt of a single plain cheese pizza slice from a ‘slice’ pie at DiFara.
How many chances do you have to give a pizzeria’s slice, any pizzeria’s, before passing judgment?
Once? Twice? Four times, à la The Times? There are enough bad slices in a two block radius of the Empire State Building to not to have to try each more than once to know it tastes like cardboard. How about when there’s a one or two hour wait for a pie, you’re at the counter watching every slice and you notice the same thing about each? They’re burned. Enough empirical evidence to form an opinion?
Inconsistent pizza at DiFara (view) is not news. But consistently burned $5 slices? During a post-$5 slice DiFara visit on August 1st to sample the eponymous special (sausage, peppers, mushrooms and onions), having been fifteen spots behind the first person, and heeding Adam Kuban’s ‘Hold Your Ground’ advice for once you get inside, I staked out a counter spot. Didn’t budge until the pie was ready. It was a prime vantage point to watch every ‘slice’ pie that left the oven and each slice served.
Two ‘slice’ pies were made, and overcooked. The oil separated (before Dom’s signature drizzle), the cheese turned orange, and two-thirds of the crust’s rim was charred. The final scattering of grated cheese resembled a masking, not the pleasant accent it can be. Worse, when three patrons lifted slices plate to mouth, the upskirt was black as the coal used in Frank Pepe’s ovens. But you can’t just go on sight. Right? This was once. Right? What about when pies are made? Is the end of service a valid excuse?
A visit on Sunday (11/15) was another prime vantage point. The night’s last service. First spot on line. The order: a full plain cheese pie and one plain slice.
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