New York Part 4 - PIZZA

Sorry for such a delay in between post, but it has been a hectic couple of weeks. I will get into that in just a little bit but first I would like to wrap up the Big Apple. The last thing I want to talk about regarding New York is probably my favorite of them all, PIZZA. New York may be famous for glitz, glamaour, fashion, never sleeping, the Yankees, high-end everything, and cheesecake(as previously discussed), but for me pizza is number one. Now before my friends in Chicago get their feelings hurt, I do enjoy a good deep dish but the larger than life slices and thinner crust makes me all "antsy in my pantsy". Now I had a few different slices while I was in the city but I am only going to talk about my favorite one, Lombardi's.

As you can see some pretty famous people endorse this place, and as soon as I walked up to this corner restaurant I knew why. As with most restaurants in the city they are not the easiest to find, but with Lomabrdi's, as soon as you get within a couple blocks, you begin to see the gatherings of people waiting to catch a seat in this small pizzeria. If there is one thing I am sure of a line is a good sign that good food is in your future. After being told that the wait wasn't going to be too long, the small L-shaped bar had a few spots open to grab a drink from their nice selection of Italian and a few local brews. The bartender was quick to fill up our glass and the restaurant just had a great buzz about it. The history that you could see in every inch of the place also gave it some nice character. After about 20 minutes, enough time to drink a few Peronis, our table was ready. While being led to our seats in the small upstairs room, we passed through the kitchen, where all the magic happens. With the smell of fresh dough and that amazing fire from the coal burning oven, I knew lunch was going to be GOOD.

As is with most meals for myself, the hardest part about dining, especially in great restaurants, is picking what to eat. After a little debate we decided a couple of things. For the first course, traditional was the key, bruschetta and caesar salad. Not usually a big salad guy this caesar was quite good with fresh romaine, big shaves of parmesan, and  a very tasty dressing. With just a few cracks of fresh black pepper, the salad got the appetite going. The bruschetta was great. The bread was fired in that great coal oven and the nice char with the fresh tomato, basil, and olive oil was nicely done. Then it was time for the star of the show. Deciding on the toppings was where most of the debate occurred, but in the end we figured it was best to get most of them. Now, I am usually a fan of simple pizza but when you have a selection of all those fresh meats, it's hard not to want to try them all. The masterpiece was an impressive combination of pancetta, pepperoni, sweet italian sausage, homemade meatballs, and  fire roasted red peppers. After the first bite I knew what all the fuss was about. All the meats were fresh and probably some of the best I have ever had. The meatballs especially were loaded with flavor and delicious. Even with all those meats you could taste each one individually which goes to show the quality of each. The star though, which really set this pizza apart, was the roasted peppers. They are roasted daily and the flavor from these guys were unlike any roasted pepper you could find.

I can honestly say that this the best pizza I have ever had. Lombardi's is considered to be the first pizzeria in America, and it is good to see they haven't lost their touch over the last 100 years.

New York Part 2 - Craftbar

Having to walk through some scaffolding, only to come upon this small door as being the only sign of where Craftbar was located, I was only hoping I had found the right place. But as soon as I walked in and saw the beautiful restaurant I knew I was in for something special. A very sleek design with dark browns and  simple paper menus this was my kinda place. The toughest part about the menu was trying to choose. Every dish on the menu looked amazing, and thanks to my friend Matt, my family and I got to taste most of them. The first wave was an array of appetizers with each one providing an unique flavor.  The first one I tasted was a braised Berkshire pork shoulder served with a tomato molasses and ramp marmalade. The pork was very tender and punched me in the mouth with its flavor. It was served with some bibb lettuce to make wraps and that little crunch from the lettuce was a nice contrast to the silkiness of the pork. Other appetizers included Pecorino fondue with acacia honey and hazelnuts, hierloom tomato salad with sweet basil seed (WOW and I am not usually a fan of raw tomatoes), and probably my favorite, field mushroom bruschetta with fontina. This appetizer was probably the simplest of all of the them, but the freshness of the dish was what made it perfect. The bread was crusty on the outside and soft in the center, just like any good bread, and the mushrooms were clean and sauteed just enough to bring out their flavor but leave them with some texture. The cheese added a perfect amount of saltiness to round out the dish.

Wave number two came shortly after, and the entrees didn't disappoint. My parents spilt a baby beet salad with smoked bacon and pickled egg, and a pressed organic chicken sandwich. Both of these were delicious. But the stars of the entrees were the veal ricotta meatballs, brother's dish, and roasted organic chicken with lovage, jerusalem artichokes, and leeks, my dish. The meatballs were almost the size of a softball and cooked perfectly. Served over some homemade pasta and with a simple marinara, the meatballs were juicy and luscious. The roasted chicken was a wonderful expression of letting the ingredients speak for themselves. The breast was roasted separately and served sliced over the dish. Moist and succulent the breast just got you excited for what was underneath. The broth was a nice chicken jus, probably from the roasting, and all the vegetables and dark meat of the chicken were nice compliments.

Now for the big finish! Dessert is probably the only way to really finish a meal. I am a firm believer that all meals, especially good ones, should finish with something sweet. Matt again surprised us with an array from the dessert menu. First was a tray of assorted cookies and confections which included a nut brittle, mini ice cream sandwiches, and a poppy seed cookie with lemon curd. Second was a creme fraiche panna cotta with market fresh berries and black pepper biscotti. While both were great, my favorite was the ricotta fritters with blueberry compote and buttermilk sorbet. The light, fluffy fritters were crispy on the outside and not too sweet. The sorbet wasn't very sweet either but the compote provided the right amount of sugar to complete the dish.

 

After the great meal, I got to take a tour of the kitchen. A very small, two story kitchen, like most in New York, sits with the main service kitchen on the same floor as the dining room, and the prep and pantry areas are in the basement.  I was pretty amazed that something this size could produce the meal we were just served. But like any good chefs, we can make masterpieces out of almost anything. Craftbar was a lovely meal and I thank Matt, the service staff, and the other chefs in the kitchen that made it possible.

New York Part 1 - Carnagie Delicatessen

New York is considered by many to be the culinary mecca of the United States and after my recent trip to this city I understand why. Over the next posts I will be discussing the amazing adventures I had with food in the week long trip I took. The first stop on my culinary adventure was the famed Carnagie Delicatessen, a place that you can't help but love as soon as you pass the window with the huge Strawberry covered cheese cakes.

As soon as you walk in the hustle and bustle of this famed deli hit you right in the face. Lots of yelling and and order calling fills the air and being from the back of the house, those sounds fell right at home. You are seated at family style tables where you don't know exactly who you are sitting to, but that always makes for interesting conversation, especially with the amount of tourists that come to New York. The first thing that you immediately taste upon sitting down are these great homemade pickles that are waiting on each table. There are two types and both with unique flavors that get your taste buds excited for what is in store ahead. After perusing what seems to be a very intricate menu, one sandwich stood out above the rest. When at Carnagie you have to get one of two things, pastrami or corned beef. So why not get them both in the mega sandwich known as the "Woody Allen", the one sandwich to rule them all.

As soon as our very entertaining server, Fergi from Egypt, set down this behemoth of a sandwich you quickly become intimidated. But as soon as you take the first bite, intimidation turns into an aggression to try to eat the entire sandwich. Both the corned beef and pastrami are amazing. You can taste every hour that those cooks put into each meat. The mix of spice and perfect tenderness of the two cuts give the sandwich an explosion of flavors in every bite. After making a valiant effort at the sandwich, I think I did pretty good.

Beside the food, the front of house is equally talented. The way the floor is worked in this place by the staff is impressive. For being such a small space they make use of every inch of it and I don't know how they keep it all straight. The way people simply come and go from the tables, there is no beginning or end to the meal but simply a revolving door that spins the entire time they are open. I can't say that I have been to many delicatessens but this one has definitely set the bar pretty high for the ones that I may venture to in the future.