Day Three: Dinner at Pó
Our ‘big dinner,’ as we like to refer to it, was at Pó in the cute and hopping Brooklyn neighborhood of Carroll Gardens. They cook beautiful Italian food from a variety of regions with seasonal ingredients. During the day, we had gone in teams of three, each team to an assigned neighborhood in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx to get to know the flavors, history, and people that defined it. Towards the second half of dinner, each group got up and shared their experience in their neighborhood. If Shauna waits on you, just ask her about the Babbo. She’s still raving about it.
I cannot begin to tell you how magical this dinner was. Really. There is an image of our special menu below for you to check out because it would take me all day to rave about each and every one of these dishes, and we all made sure to try everything. The dinner was paced perfectly. The service was absolutely impeccable. Through the meal, you couldn’t really distinguish who the owner from the food runner to the waiter in the sense that everyone was equally as warm, attentive, and accommodating.
Some of the appetizers we had that were not on our special menu were THE MOST AMAZING MEATBALLS IN SAUCE EVER; roasted beets with endive, sliced baby artichokes, watercress, and Taleggio crostino; and cured tuna with white beans, sliced artichokes, chili mint vinaigrette. We could barely bring ourselves to talk about anything but the food. The wine parings were also beautifully chosen. What I loved about all the food was that the ingredients sang in harmony. You could clearly pick out each flavor but they all worked in perfect balance.
For our first course, I ordered the orecchiette (a handmade pasta that translates to “little ears” and is native to Apulia) with broccoli rabe in a sweet sausage ragu. The slight sweetness of the sausage and the bitterness of the broccoli rabe did this wonderful dance in your mouth, like the tension between Paso Doble partners, the push and pull of wills that make such a dynamic performance. We were all passing plates around, making sure no one missed a flavor. While my lamb entrée was delectable, I must say that the cornish hen took the cake. Wow. The dessert that I loved was the custard topped with a blueberry sauce.
This dinner, I think I can say for most of us that have made this trip for three years, was our favorite. The food, the atmosphere, the incredible warmth and service of the staff. We kept that place open well passed close and no one made us feel rushed or unwelcome, in fact the kitchen staff ducked out the back door so we wouldn’t be disturbed or alerted to the fact that the place was closed. (such a far cry from Austin restaurants that won’t let you come in and dine 20 minutes before they close.)
It was our last dinner together and it was wonderful to share those three days together experiencing NYC in a way that even my friends(with money) who live there don’t get to and it was absolutely magical.
Day Two: Good evening, Roberta’s
By the time we got to Roberta’s, we had sampled 20 different slices from 10 different pizzerias during Slices Roulette and had at least 5 different types of pizza at Kesté, and to be honest, we were fairly intimidated by the thought of eating again.
The neighborhood, while I’m sure is absolutely bustling in the day time, had an eerie, abandoned feel. From the outside, Roberta’s has a nondescript cinderblock facade with a small, handmade sign. But, we walked into Roberta’s and immediately relaxed. The place felt like home. To the right of the door is a wall of chopped wood supported by metal pipes. To the left of the door is the open kitchen, wood stove open to view with a handful of smiling, adorable boys making pizza. (we were wondering if they enforced a mustache policy because they all had one) They serve wine in small, jelly-sized Ball jars, they have a rooftop tomato garden, a little radio studio where they podcast from, and a patio the size of the restaurant where one side is covered and cozy and the other side has picnic tables and a fence lined with vintage bikes. I don’t know if the bikes were decoration or not, but they fit right in to the eclectic, casual feel of Roberta’s. The place is really cool, and not in a pretentious way.
We started out with Prosecco and pitchers of locally brewed beer. Antipasti included a baby arugula salad, delicious mixed olives, meat and cheese plates that were out of this world. I’m not an aficionado, but I love cheese almost as much as my mom (and my mom is wicked rad) and there was this Brie or very Brie-esque cheese that was the loveliest, creamiest thing. I actually snapped at someone trying to pass the plate on while I had my knife in the cheese. I was kinda mean. But it’s not my fault! 
The cheese made me do it. The second course was pastas. The braised lamb ragu pappardelle was fricking amazing. The meat was tender and full of flavor and the pappardelle seemed to me to be homemade and cooked to perfection. Definitely my favorite dish. Not to undersell the pizza, but I was a little pizzaed out at that point (I know I know, but I’m only one human). The pizza was delicious. They have really incredible topping choices including caper, smoked mozzarella, two types of prosciutto, and Berkshire pork sausage?! Yum. We were pretty tickled when a pizza came out with chorizo, radish, cilantro and sour cream. We were like, “OMG, we can’t escape Mexican food!” Not that we would ever want to, but you have to mix it up. It was pretty damn good, I have to concede, even though I’m more of a pizza purist.
The pizza chefs let our kitchen manager and magician behind our desserts, Phil, get back there and freaking make pizzas with them. How awesome is that? If you are ever there, chat them up, they are all sweet and open to talk about whatever. Pizza. Life.
What I can surely say about Roberta’s is that out of all of the wonderful places we went, and I would and will go back to all of them, this is the place I’m going to take my friends for no special occasion to have a delicious meal, enjoy each others company, wander in twos out to the patio to listen to some music, and chat with the guy who made my pizza and find out his mom is sending him chiles from her garden for the next special pizza(Alfonso, you rock!), like it’s my house but way, way cooler!
Day Two: Good afternoon, Kesté
A scant 2 hours after Slices Roulette, we arrived at Kesté Pizza & Vino, open for only 5 months, on Bleeker in the West Village. We were welcomed by the co-owner and chef, Roberto Caporuscio, who started us off with a brief history of Neapolitan pizza and his philosophy behind his pizza. Of course, it is all about the crust. Well crust, simplicity, and freshness.
Kesté, meaning “this is it” in Italian, serves authentic Neapolitan pizza. In fact, if you want to get the best in Neapolitan pizza, this is IT. Roberto is President of APN (Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani, which maintains strict member guidelines for ingredients, dough, and cooking). He’s like the Wizard of Oz of Neapolitan pizza.
Kesté was by far, leaps and bounds and kangaroo jumps, some of the best pizza we as a collective group have ever put in our mouths. We were served much more food than we ordered, and despite being stuffed to the gills, we kept eating because it was all so amazing. We started with a salad of mixed greens, walnuts, pears, with a simple dressing of lemon and olive oil. Then the pizzas started flying out. Pizza was invented in Naples a very long time ago. Tomatoes had been introduced to Italy, but in pizza’s early days, people still thought they were poisonous. So, one of the first versions of pizza, was flatbread with lard and herbs. When we heard they served a lard pizza we were super excited to try something that, by it’s description, did not exactly sound appetizing to us. I need a new word for amazing, really. The crust was at once charred and soft as a pillow, the lard was salty and crispy around the edges and the basil was a refreshing counterpart to the fatty saltiness. The Margherita was awesome, super simple and divine. The special of the day was a pizza with a truffle cream spread. That piece of pizza, it wasn’t food, there is something too utilitarian implied in using the word food. It was straight pleasure. 
We had many pizzas, all delicious, but the last pizza that really made a huge impression on me was a pizza that out of the oven was topped with arugula, prosciutto, and shaved percorino romano. If you live in New York, or can afford to drop everything and get on a plane, go here. Go here now.
And you know, in researching Kesté, I read a lot of bum reviews, and we all know that people like to complain, it makes them sound smart. 
But most of the bad reviews were from people that I don’t think really know what Neapolitan pizza truly is. For those people, I have a story. Nano, our general manager, and his brothers growing up were not allowed to say things like “eeewww, that’s weird,” or “Yuk! That’s gross.” They had to instead say, “That is not what I am used to.” And it very subtly changed their perspective, and left their minds open to eventually become used to the “weird” European food and such their parents were introducing them to. So, for those people who poo poo this pizza, are you really going to tell the President of Pizza that he doesn’t know what he’s doing? I challenge you, instead of trying to retro-fit this pizza to what you are accustomed to, look at it with fresh eyes and taste buds. The only way you would be disappointed is if you burn your tongue on an iron while getting ready. But you wouldn’t do that, I know you wouldn’t.
Day Two: Good Morning Pizza! Slices Roulette
Wake up, eat pizza. Hey, it’s what we do. It’s 1 and we are all 2 slices + deep. We are playing a game we like to call Slices Roulette. Teams of two went all around the city and brought back 2 slices from the pizzeria they were assigned to. Some good, some bad, some amazing. Even cold.
The Landscape:
Results at the bottom!
A. Washington Square Park, where we converged.
B. Bleecker Street Pizza (voted #1 NY slice by food network)
69 7th Ave S (Bet. Barrow and Jones) (212) 924-4466
C. Joe’s Pizza
7 Carmine St # 7 (Bet. Bleeker & Bedford)
(212) 255-3946
D. Ben’s Pizza
177 Spring St (Bet. Thompson & Sullivan)
(212) 966-4494
E. Stromboli Pizza
83 Saint Marks Pl (at 1st Ave.)
212-673-3691
F. Sal’s
91 Avenue A (Btwn 5th & 6th St)
212-982-3990
G. Famous Ray’s Pizza
465 6th Ave (at 11th St)
212-243-3010
H. Stromboli Pizzeria
112 University Pl (Btwn E 12th St & 13th St)
212-255-0812
I. Nino’s Pizza
131 Saint Marks Pl. (at Ave A)
212-979-8688
J. Vinny Vincenz
231 1st Ave (Bet. 13th & 14th)
(212) 674-0707
K. Artichoke Basille’s
328 E 14th St (Bet. 1st & 2nd)
212-228-2004
We tested and scored the slices. Here are the final results, and even between our staff, scores varied wildly for each place:
1. Vinny Vincenz
2. Nino’s Pizza
3. Bleeker St. Pizza
4. Artichoke Basille’s
5. Sal’s
6. Joe’s Pizza
7. Stromboli Pizzeria
8. Ben’s Pizza
9. Stromboli Pizza, Inc.
10. Famous Ray’s Pizza
Day One: Lombardi’s
Here we are! New Yawk Citay. Our first dinner at Lombardi’s, not only the oldest pizzeria in NYC, but the oldest in the country. And having been here for our first dinner for the previous two years, I had a more focused view of the experience this year. Not only knowing the history of Lombardi’s, and having our own with it, but to finally be able to enjoy my experience on a higher level beyond the blinding gastronomic pleasure.
We were met by one of the most ebullient people I’ve ever had the pleasure of learning from, Scott Weiner, who does pizza tours here in NYC. While we were enjoying our appetzers, Scott told us not only about the history of Lombardi’s but about the nuts and bolts of the 1000 degree coal burning oven, a staggering 12 feet deep, where pizzas cook in a hot 3 minutes. We were sitting on the second floor directly above the oven, and you could feel the heat in the brick wall and the floor at our feet. Ovens like this are certifiably illegal in this day and age, but this oven has been rocking pizzas out since 1905 and will not be stopped.
I think we ordered over 15 pizzas, and not one dissapointed. White pies with subtle and light ricotta browned on it’s peaks with tender meatballs and savory mushrooms. Crispy crust supporting a simple, acidic and tangy tomato sauce supporting islands of fresh mozzarella. Pancetta and chunky, hand-chopped red onion. All flavors swirled in with amazing Chianti, Pinot Grigio, and Montepulciano.
There are so many reasons we start out here every year. Scott took us in groups of five to see the kitchen and explain the oven. It was incredible to see 8 or so men crammed into a kitchen the size of a fancy bathroom moving at a seemingly chaotic speed, yet perfectly deliberate and focused. I will stop here to digress on two points. One, most of the men in that kitchen are of Latin American descent, as are many of ours, and it is absolutely humbling to see how amazingly talented and badass they are. Businesses like this are born out of an immigrant spirit of family and hard work and would never survive without that. Second, although the servers and food runners had to move at lightning speed and, most of the time, had to cut your tourist, drunken ass off to get where they needed to go they always said ‘pardon’ or ‘excuse me’ when they did.
I could go on, but we have 3 pizza eating experiences tomorrow to get down with, so I will bid you and the interweb adieu. Check back tomorrow.
And, Austin, we miss you.
I Heart NY
The best laid plans of pizza and wine will not go astray. Things are coming together. It is a mere 6 days and ticking until 26 of our staff heads to the Big Apple and the itinerary is set.
There is something that is different about New York than other cities. It’s palpable. Maybe it’s the history, maybe it’s the scale, but I think it’s something truly ineffable, that is unique for each person. But something about NYC makes you feel wistful and engaged, hopeful and nostalgic simultaneously. Falling in love, walking down the street, the constant discovery you are faced with on a moment to moment basis wether it be people you meet, or the dérives you find yourself on, all take on this weight of significance. I don’t know why, but I feel it every time I’m there and I hear it in the way former New Yorkers that work at Home Slice talk about their lives in The City.
Monday, we are headed to Lombardi’s, the oldest pizzeria in Manhattan. Among other things, their clam pie is ridiculously delicious. At Lombardi’s we will be joined by Scott Wiener, who has taken his passion for pizza to the next level. He has made pizza his mission and essentially gives pizza tours around NYC, full of great info, history, and of course yummy slices. Lombardi’s has become a tradition as our first meal on our trip and they are always so accommodating.
Afer that, we will take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. We’ve made a pact this year not to end our first night with karaoke, which we have done for the last two years. Beer + excitement + karaoke + last call at 4 AM= the perfect night of fun (if tomorrow never came). Although, I for one, will be sad to miss Joseph’s impassioned rendition of ‘Sister Christian.’
Tuesday, we play Slices Roulette, a game in which we all scurry to the great slice joints of Manhattan and converge in a park to share and critique the great and varied slices. Then we head to Kesté (which translates to “This is it”) for Neapolitan pizza. Then we head to Brooklyn to eat at Roberta’s. A young but proven pizzeria. They have a rooftop garden and a radio studio! Radical!
Wednesday we go on a city-wide scavenger hunt. Each team gets assigned a neighborhood and is given a suggested list of places to go to, and also to discover, on their own, the great places that make their neighborhood unique. After that, we head to Po in Brooklyn, which was initially started by Mario Batali. The reviews are phenomenal, both from publications and friends, and I for one never burn out eating Italian food, so I am stoked.
Thursday we head to Maffei’s for regular and Sicilian slices and then on to the Shake Shack. I know what you must be thinking. No, Shake Shack is not a pizza shop; it has burgers, dogs, and shakes. But it has a line around the block ALL THE TIME. As we are about to embark on a take-out business(open 7 days a week), we really wanted our peeps to see a place that is simple, quality, with friendly service and for us to understand from the other side of the fence something that is good and truly worth the wait. And shakes are the shit. Drinkable ice cream, yo! After that we head to the San Gennaro festival for the cannoli eating contest.
Marathon eating in NYC, courtesy of Home Slice Pizza. Rock!
Happy Happy Fun Book Art: Hall and Oates
Great works from our customers! Enjoy!
Hand hug!
I don’t know what the Konami special code has to do with Hall and Oates, but I’ll take it!
Blog Envy: Seth Mazow’s Year of the Pizza
Every fall, Home Slice hosts a Carnival O’ Pizza. We have games for kids, performances, a raffle, a dunking booth, contests of all kinds, and pizza of course. And prizes! Prizes galore! We have a pizza tossing contest where pizzaiolos from Austin and beyond compete to throw the fastest and largest pies. We have a pizza eating contest, which has been won by the same person three years running. AND we have a contest of will and endurance called “Hands on an Eggplant Sub.” Contestants place their hands on an eggplant sub and the last hand standing, wins. The first year we did it, it went 13 hours, we actually called it a draw because we had no idea it would go so long. We had no contingency plan for it going past 4 am when the last of our employees were gone for the day. So, the second year we planned for an overnighter and it went 27 hours! It was not a pretty sight.
Which brings us to last year’s winner, Seth Mazow. In a hot 7 hours, Seth was crowned. The rumor going around is that the gal he was up against forgot what she was doing (?) and took her hand off (?). Consequently, Seth won free pizza for a year, and he created a fantastic blog about his year eating pizza aptly titled Year of the Pizza.
Maybe Seth will be defending his title this year? Eh?
Home Slice’s guide to eats and fun in NYC
New York, NY. No business can survive in such a dense and vibrant city without being at least pretty good. You can walk into a tiny corner store with a little buffet and be pleasantly surprised by the fare. Constant discovery is one of the great things about NYC, for visitors and locals alike. We go there each September, and a few of us have lived there. We have compiled a list of places we love, and are still adding to it. And please, please share with us some of your favorite NYC destinations!
Below is a list of the place’s we’ve been as a group:
Lombardi’s
32 Spring St.
(212) 941-7994
Lombardi’s was the first pizzeria in the United States, founded in 1905 in Little Italy, Manhattan. It is alway’s our first dinner and continues to be the overall staff favorite. I haven’t had Pepe’s clam pie, but I think I can safely say that Lombardi’s is one of the best.
Grimaldi’s
19 Old Fulton Street
Brooklyn
718-858-4300
One of the last pizzeria’s to still have a coal fired oven, which burns at 800 degrees, Grimaldi’s has some of the most amazing crust in all of NYC. There is usually a line around the block, but don’t be discouraged at the sight of it, pizzas cook so fast, and the service is quick with no frills, they getcha in and getcha out with a belly full of great pizza.
John’s
302 E 12th St.
(212) 475-9531
Open for over 100 years, this place does the classics and does them right. Huge portions, a million candles, wine. And you’re off!
Katz’s
205 E Houston
Only a deli started in 1888 can be this huge! It’s kind of chaotic. You get a ticket and are shuffled down the line, you confusedly order from the wrong person, who is flabbergasted the you didn’t know you were supposed to order the waffle from that guy down there, and end up miraculously sitting at a formica table with your food. And don’t even think of losing that little ticket. They have bouncers and they won’t let you leave without it. You probably should sew it on your skin. But, dang girl, that pastrami just made your day.
Max
51 Ave B
Beautifully tender handmade gnocchi and squid ink pasta. Absolutely delicious food. Great, rustic but classy, yet not too classy, atmosphere.
Mike’s Deli
2344 Arthur Ave.
The Bronx
Located in the last true Little Italy of NYC, this place is the real fricking deal. A group of old men up front smoking cigars and playing dominos. Men yelling to each other behind the deli counter in Italian. Sopressata and mozzarella and baby-sized sandwiches. Not sandwiches for babies, sandwiches the size of a baby. You get to the front of the line and hear “Whaddaya want?! You better figure it quick out because these people behind ya look hungry!” You can go to the cafe across the street to get an espresso and Mike’s mom will sing opera while you sip. If you’re looking for the true Italian American experience and you don’t go here, you’re burnin’ money.
Bamonte’s
32 Withers St
Brooklyn
Like Mike’s Deli, it’s so old school Italian you keep thinking you see Tony Soprano out of the corner of your eye. No kidding, the guy in the corner looks like Tony Soprano. It’s the place with massive gilt mirrors, a million brass chandeliers, mauve walls, and huge, round family-sized tables with old men with napkins tucked into their collars.The appetizer for one of the eggplant rollatini is enough to feed a whole Californian family. And you know what? They’ve never tasted anything that good.
L&B Spumoni Gardens
2725 86th St.
Brooklyn
Spumoni Gardens was founded by Ludovico Barbati in 1939 and has been family owned and operated from the beginning. Generations later… the Italian Ices and Spumoni Grandpa sold off his horse drawn wagon are still the same. They serve great Sicilian slices and wonderful subs. Picnic tables under a red, white and green awning. It’s a great place to stop before heading to the boardwalk.
Patsy’s
2287 1st Ave
Located in East Harlem. As much as I’d love to comment on the food at Patsy’s, the espresso drinking contest between Jess and Adrian(Jess won with 7 double shots in under an hour) and the drunken race around the block for a dollar has eclipsed my memory of this place. Sorry.
Frankies Spuntino
457 Court Street
Brooklyn
Remember when you were a kid, and you had tons of flying dreams? Adults rarely have them. If you do you’re lucky. Even if you haven’t had one in 30 years, you remember what they feel like. This meal felt like that. We were at two long tables with our own dedicated bartender and server in a private brick building with one glass wall facing the tree-lined courtyard sparkling with lights. The food, the service, and the atmosphere were dreamy.
Check out some other places we’ve checked out individually and love!:
Coney Island
Amusment Park and beach
1208 Surf Ave, Brooklyn
(718)372-5159
Words can’t begin to describe the coolness of Coney Island. A very unique place. You have to go yourself. Guaranteed great time! Sadly the rides are only open on weekends in September. Take the D, Q N or F train to Stillwell Avenue (last stop). This takes about 45 minutes from midtown Manhattan. Coney Island has been bought out by shady developers, so historic Astroland Park will become condos, still there are plenty of reasons still to visit.
Bergen Bagel
Bagel Shop
473 Bergen St, Brooklyn
(718)789-7600
Best Bagel in the World according to Philly Phil.
Koassar’s Bialy’s
Bagel Shop
367 Grand St
(877)4-BIALYS
“Are you fucking kidding me?” says Phil Korshak. Accodring to Zagats, “Kossar’s Bialys, (is) a place customers call a Lower East Side landmark. If you’ve never tried a bialy, you should try these when you’re ready to graduate from bagels. People say this so-called “must stop” shop is unchanged by modern technology. And customers add that Kossar’s epitomizes what New York used to be about – a store doing one thing and doing it best. On a scale from 1 to 30, Kossar’s gets a 28 for quality and taste…”
Economy Candy
Candy Shop
108 Rivington St
(212) 254-1531
Economy Candy is pure over-the-top New York, a font of variety and abundance that would leave Willy Wonka weeping in his cocoa. Open Mon-Fri,Sun 9am-6pm
Classic Coffee Shop
Diner
56 Hester St
(212) 941-0643
Family owned for 30 years. Everything here is under $5. Try a real NY Egg Cream because we’re about to get a soda fountain on South Congress and Home Slice would like to serve them.
Bemelmans Bar
Bar
35 E. 76th St
212-744-1600
Nowhere is the discreet charm of the bourgeoisie more palpable than in this bastion of old-fashioned romance. Whether you’re falling in love or getting over it, settle into a leather banquette, order something strong and simple and let the piano player do the work. Murals of frolicking animals painted by bar namesake and former Carlyle Hotel resident Ludwig Bemelmans offer a whimsical counterpoint to what might otherwise be suffocating sophistication (and they repay a close viewing—can you spot the armed rabbit stalking its brethren?).
Cozy Soup and Burger
Diner
739 Broadway
(212)477-5566
So many places in Texas call themselves a “diner”, but this is what a diner is in NY. Notice the huge menu where you can get eggs burgers, fried shrimp and spaghetti. The split pea soup was the bomb when we lived here. Jen was blacklisted from getting delivery…ask her why.
The Doughnut Plant
Donut Shop
379 Grand
(212)505-3700
All natural ingredients. Touted as the best doughnuts ever by people like Martha Stewart, New York Magazine, Time-Out Magazine and Emeril Lagasse.
Il Laboratoria Del Gelato
Gelato
95 Orchard St
(212)343-9922
150 irresistible gelatos and sorbets, all handmade on the premises, in small batches, from locally sourced seasonal ingredients. A small café with a blue tiled floor and white banquettes offers a place to sit and watch the whole operation—or just indulge.
Gray’s Papaya
Hot Dogs
402 Sixth Ave
212-260-3532
Legendary Hot Dogs and cheap too! The best of the Papaya Posse, Gray’s, griddles the tastiest, snappiest $1.25 dog in town. No less a connoisseur of scrap meats than Mario Batali is a fan. The jury is out, though, on the mysterious Papaya drink.
Nathan’s famous Hot Dogs
Hot Dogs
Corner of Surf Ave and Stillwell Ave, Brooklyn
You can’t call yourself a hot Dog aficionado without having eaten a Nathans hot dog at coney island.
Faicco’s Pork Store
Italian Grocer
260 Bleeker
(212)243-1974
Faicco’s is a real butcher shop. The sausage, pork shoulder, tripe, and pig skin are here cut the old-fashioned way, by hand from whole pigs. The sausage – hot or sweet, with or without garlic, cheese, fennel or parsley.
Ferdinando’s Focacceria
Italian Grocer
151 Union St, Brooklyn
(718) 855-1545
Nearly a century old, this antique focacceria is proof that Sicilians landed in Brooklyn at the same time as Neapolitans.
Di Paolo’s
Italian Grocer
200 Grand St
(212)226-1033
You know those old Italian ladies that make such great food…this is their secret. This is where they get their ingredients for those delectable dishes. Di Palo’s has the most fabulous selection of Italian cheeses, meats (salami, prosciutto, and sausage heaven), olive oil, pasta, sauces, and olives. It’s still a family owned business and the service is friendly and top-notch.
Joes Dairy
Italian Grocer
156 Sullivan St
(212) 677-8780
Joe’s Dairy is one of those places that transports you back in time when you walk in. A true neighborhood institution, Joe’s has been run for the past twenty five years or so by Anthony Campanelli, who took over the business from Joe Aiello. During that time, Joe’s has been making what is arguably some of the city’s best mozzarella by hand.
Guss’s Pickles
Italian Grocer
85-87 Orchard St
(212)334-3616
The inspiration behind the lead character in “Crossing Delancey.” An old world Pickle shop. Only NY would have a pickle shop.
Veniero’s Italian bakery
Italian Grocer
342 E 11th St
(212) 674-7070
East Village “Italian pastry heaven” old world italian bakery. Open Mon-Thu,Sun 8am-12am
Staton Island Ferry
Landmark
Take the downtown 1 train (red line) to South Ferry Exit and follow the signs.
A must do. The Ferry leaves every half hour. It’s a 25 minute (50 min rt) ride & provides spectacular views of the Statue of Liberty & Lower Manhattan. Fare for pedestrians is free. It runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Whitehall Terminal is within a short walking distance from the 1, 9, 4, 5, N, R subway lines.
Reading Room of the New York Public Library
Landmark
Fifth Ave and 42nd St
(212) 930-0830
Humanities and Social Sciences Library. A landmark with unbelievable architecture and prominence. Amazing gift shop too. You have to go to the reading room to get the points.
Roosevelt Island Tram
Landmark
59th Street and Second Ave
Roosevelt Island, formerly known as Welfare Island, is a narrow island in the East River of New York City . I’m sure the island itself is cool but the Tram is really the cool part. It is $2.
Empire State Building
Landmark
350 Fifth Ave
The Empire State Building is a 102-story sky scraper. It stood as the world’s tallest building for more than forty years, from its completion in until the construction of the World Trade Center. It is now once again the tallest building in New York, after the destruction of the World Trade Center.
MoMA
Museum
44 W 53rd St
(212) 767-1050
Museum of Modern Art. If you ever need inspiration this is one place you will find it. Beware, you can spend hours and hours and not even know it.
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum
Museum
108 Orchard St
(212)431-0233
Reservations recommended 11-5:30pm. The heart of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is its landmark tenement building, home to 7,000 people from 20 nations between 1863 and 1935. Visitors to the Museum tour the cramped living spaces and learn about the lives of past residents: a German Jewish family (1870s), an Eastern European Orthodox Jewish family (1918), and an Italian Catholic family (1930s). The Tenement building can only be viewed by guided tour ($9 for adults, $7 for students/seniors). For tours and times, visit www.tenement.org/tours.html.
Central Park
Park
Between 59th st. and 110th st. (N and S)
and Between 5th ave Central Park west (E and W)
843 acres or 6% of Manhattan’s total acreage, including: 150 acres in 7 waterbodies, 250 acres of lawns, 136 acres of woodlands, 26,000 trees including 1,700 American Elms. BEAUTIFUL! Also, Modonna jogs here when she’s not in England.
Patsy’s Pizzeria
Restaurant
2287-91 First Ave
(212)534-9783
East Harlem lost its best Italian restaurant, Andy’s Colonial, last year. Not uncoincidentally, Patsy’s expanded its menu to include such southern Italian soul food as eggplant rolatini, cavatelli with broccoli rabe, and an unusually good pasta fagioli soup. Dine in the afternoon and see burly locals run in and out, their trucks idling outside, in your own private episode of The Sopranos.
Babbo
Restaurant
110 Waverly Pl
(212)777-0303
Terri’s favorite restaurant. Right around the corner from one of the places Terri and Jen lived. Another Mario Batali restaurant. You do need a reservation.
Franny’s
Restaurant
295 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn
(718)230-0221
Another Mom and Pop, neighborhood joint. This hopping little Italian restaurant has the vibe of Home Slice. It too subscibes to the philosophy; Simple is the best. Less is more. This brooklyn gem is also environmentally responsible, supporting only sustainable, local and/or organic producers. Great Pizza, Pasta, Wines and more.
Freeman’s
Restaurant
at the end of Freeman’s Alley, off Rivington
Our second year, I was sitting on the balcony of my room talking on the phone with a friend, who was a New Yorker, and asked him what his favorite restaurant in all the city was. Freeman’s, he said, and my empty phone gaze was quite literally trained on the place itself. It is exactly at the end of the alley directly across from the hotel we stay at. If that’s not Santa de Comida knocking with a battering ram! I hung up, an went directly there. This place is masculine and timeless. Not for those sensitive to the plight of furry things, the high ceilinged walls of cracked and stained plaster are peppered with taxidermy. One of the best burgers I have ever had, hands down. They serve rustic, simply prepared dishes like a lamb stew with root vegetables and potato-herb dumplings.
Gino’s Italiana Cuisine
Restaurant
780 Lexington Ave # 1
(212)758-4466
Weird cash only place just north of Bloomingdales, kind of old school fancy and some famous clientele. Any pasta with Gino’s sauce and a great Gino’s chopped salad.
Lupa
Restaurant
170 Thompson St
212.982.5089
Down-home Roman trattoria and not just for Mario Batali’s celebration of odd animal parts and Italian delicatessen, or for partner Joe Bastianich’s bid to bring depth and finesse to a casual Village joint’s wine service.
Umberto’s
Restaurant
386 Broome Street
(212)431-7545
Where mafioso, Crazy Joe Gallo, was gunned to his death on April 7, 1972. Apparently the only place anyone should really eat in little Italy anymore. Known for fresh seafood dishes. Frequented by celebrities such as Robert DeNiro, Martin Scorcese, Michael Douglass and Bette Midler open 11;00-4:00am 7 days a week.
Totonno’s
Restaurant
1524 Neptune Ave, Brooklyn
(718)372-8606
“Only God Makes Better Pizza,” Zagat. Still standing, Totonno’s is the oldest continuously operating pizzeria in the U.S. Run by the same family. They still use the finest tomatoes imported from Italy, handmade mozzarella cheese, and dough which is made daily.
Peasant
Restaurant
194 Elizabeth St
(212)965-9511
Late-night haunt for food scholars seeking the essence of roasted eggplant, say, or perfectly oval pizza bianca, or crackly, wood-cooked sardines. The food is served at crowded oak tables, in piping hot terra-cotta pots, and the feeling you always get, late in the evening, when the ovens are roaring, is of taking part in a communal, mildly bacchanalian, gourmet event. http://www.peasantnyc.com
Emilio’s Balotto
Restaurant
55 East Houston St
(212)274-8881
If Little Italy had good restaurants, they’d be like this. Though the front room has been romantically renovated, the kitchen still cooks up the same congenial mix of northern and southern food as before. Go senatorial with a roast rack of lamb, or dine like a plebeian on broccoli rabe and sausages.
Juniors
Restaurant
386 Flatbush Avenue Extension at Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn
(718)852-5257
In 1950, restaurant Founder Harry Rosen and Master Baker Eigel Peterson, created and produced what is now known as the World’s second Most Fabulous Cheesecake (next to Home Slice’s). The recipe has been part of the Rosen family for three generations.
John’s Pizzeria
Restaurant
278 Bleeker St
(212)243-1680
Don’t even think of going to any of the other Johnny-come-lately branches of this august Greenwich Village institution—only the original turns out superlative thin-crust pies. Order the voluminous salad, dressed with red-wine vinaigrette, and ponder why the menu insists on listing every possible combination of pizza toppings.
Mama Louisa’s Hero Shop
Restaurant
609 New York Avenue, Brooklyn
(718)773-7785
This anomaly two blocks north of Kings County Hospital is a serious Italian kitchen embedded in a rural general store. Over the counter vault such delights as a roast-beef hero bathed in mushroom gravy, rigatoni bolognese, rock lobster marinara, and artichoke Parmesan, among other culinary phenomena.
Una Pizza Napoletana
Restaurant
349 E 12th St
(212)477-9950
Una Pizza is a completely unusual place run by a guy, Anthony Mangieri, who, depending on your point of view, is either a pizza visionary or a crazy man. He makes pizza in the Neapolitan fashion, and that’s all he serves. Only 4 choices–the Marina, Margherita, Bianca and Filetti– The pizzas are served in only one size, a 12-inch diameter, and they are not cut. Mangieri also uses only the best ingredients: San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, pure flour, EV olive oil, Sicilian sea salt, fresh chopped garlic.
Ecco
Restaurant
124 Chambers St
(212)227-7074
Becomes a piano bar on weekend nights. A little bit fancier old school atmosphere than Bamontes. “Old-world charm, an excellent seasonal antipasto, and classically prepared pastas, veal chops, Italian bouillabaisse, and osso buco. Very cozy narrow booths line the east wall, and tile floors take you back to the Gilded Age….”
Brick Oven Gallery
Restaurant
33 Havemeyer Street, Brooklyn
(718)963-0200
Voted best pizza by the NY Press, this brick oven joint boasts that its brick oven is 112 years old. Maybe this is true, but to be honest all we really care about is the pizza and it is pretty darn good. Atmosphere is classic Brooklyn, wood paneling and all, and perfect for a cozy dinner. Italian entrees with often homemade pasta are a nice added bonus. David Wofford says THIS is the best Pizza in N.Y.
H & M
Shopping
558 Broadway, to name one
All over the city. Ladies…worth the stop. Imagine a better “Forever 21” (Men’s clothes too). Please don’t go to an Old Navy in NY unless you lose your flip flops.
Barney’s
Shopping
660 Madison Avenue
Raymond can tell you all about Barney’s
Ben’s Pizza
Slice
177 Spring St
(212) 966-4494
Ben’s is famous for its terrific Sicilian-style pizza (in big squares with lots of sweet tomato sauce and cheese). They have a killer neopolitan slice too.
Driggs Pizza
Slice
558 Driggs ave.
(718)782-4826
In Williamsburg is excellent classic NY pizza.
House of Pizza and Calzone
Slice
132 Union St, Brooklyn
(718)624-9107
Everything starts with the crisp, perfectly browned crust, because the pizza wranglers are experts at this half-century-old Red Hook institution. And the closing of the latticini just down the street has not diminished the slice’s splendor. Or go wild with the unusual deep-fried calzone, oozing ham and ricotta.
DiFara
Slice
1424 Ave J, Brooklyn
(718)258-1367
Domenico DeMarco has been elevated to sainthood by the city’s favorite foodie website (chowhound.com), and devotees dote on his every move as he fiddles with each pie, shaking on cheeses and artistically arranging the elements, shredding fresh mozzarella and cutting fresh basil onto each pie. Sometimes his artichoke slice is “on,” sometimes not, but the enjoyment of watching him work is reason enough to make a Midwood sojourn.
Famous Ray’s on 11th
Slice
465 E 11th St
(212)243-2253
Famous corner N.Y. Slice place. Sarah Ulfik’s favorite. Open until 3:00am mondays then 4:00 am tu-th, then 5:00am. In college, Jen had a job across the street at public school P.S. 41. If you ever think Home Slice has crowded working conditions, ask to use the bathroom at this place and take a picture.
Rosario’s
Slice
173 Orchard St
(212)777-9813
Classic, delicious, corner slice place. Phil says, “best slice in the city…try the eggplant.”
Joe’s Pizza
Slice
7 Carmine Street
(212)366-1182
Killer Slice.
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