Williamsburg Fun at TNE, Roberta's, & Huckleberry Bar

The Noble Experiment: Owney's

Today we did a tour of The Noble Experiment, New York City's only exclusively rum distillery. It's a small operation and the founder Bridget gave the tour herself and poured us samples of her final product Owney's Rum. As a bonus, we also got to sample some leftover holiday editions infused with Rosemary, Mint, and Vanilla Bean. Oh the cocktails one could make with these gems!

Grimaldis: East Side Edition

Grimaldi's: Pepperoni Pizza

Did you know there's a Grimaldi's outpost in Kips Bay? We sure didn't! That is until today when we went to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug with a couple of friends at the Kips Bay movie theatre and they suggested grabbing some pizza for lunch. "Sure!" I said and started heading West assuming we were headed to Limelight Marketplace. "Where are you going??" said my friend as he started heading South on 2nd Ave. I tend to keep up on NYC food news so was really surprised this slipped under my radar.

Two Texans Two Boots To Go West

Garlic & Bayou Beast

We absolutely love our favorite local pizza joint Patsy's, but living in NYC has taught us that yes- you can have too much of a good thing. We wanted the convenience and share-ability of pizza, but were looking to mix it up a bit so decided to try Two Boots.

Robbed of Words at Roberta's

Bloody Mary

We were in an area of Williamsburg we hadn't been to before scoping out some potential new apartments and we were famished. I pulled out my phone and was very surprised to find that we were really close to Roberta's which has been on my "must-try" list for a while thanks to the ravings of a good friend of ours. So we headed towards it and found ourselves walking down an abandoned warehouse lined street with not a soul in sight. Even The Mr. started getting a little nervous.

Midway down the block, a cab going in the opposite direction stopped and some girls asked us if we knew where Roberta's is. Uh-oh, I thought it was just up ahead, but if that was the case, they should've passed it. This wouldn't be my first time getting led astray by Google Maps...but when we got to the corner it was supposed to be on, we were pointed to a very inconspicuous door. Opening it was like falling through the back of the wardrobe into Narnia. We were suddenly surrounded by warmth, a lively crowd, and enticing food.

Let Me Tellya About Donatella

Donatella

Came to Donatella tonight with a girlfriend. Have always been intrigued to try pizza outta that glitzy gold oven. We really enjoyed the ambience and settled in for a nice meal.

Gotta go to Co.

I've been hearing fantastic things about Co. forever, but it took me an embarrassingly long time  to put two-and-two together and realize that "Co" is that place across the street from my apartment that has the big "Company" sign outside. Oh boy, good one. Now we had absolutely no excuse to get our tuckuses here ASAP. And so we did.

We started with the veal meatballs served in homemade marinara with truccione sare (rustic country bread) and butter. Lordy, lordy, thems some goooood meatballs.

Veal Meatballs

A Slice of History at Lombardi's

The Basement 

Half Pepperoni Margarita Pizza

We took advantage of our half day at work by heading over to Lombardi's to see how America's First Pizzeria stacks up. We thought we were being clever by going around 3pm in between the dinner and lunch crowds, but we were still facing a 20 minute wait (really not that bad though). After we took a quick stroll around the block, our wait time was over and we were led downstairs to our table. It didn't take us long to decide on what to order- our classic half plain/half pepperoni margarita pie.

Head West to Ovest

After a trip to the USS Intrepid with some family, we found ourselves on the West Side Highway and starving. I used mobile phone technology to find the closest restaurant with the best reviews that would appeal to my company and discovered Ovest Pizzoteca. I had no idea what to expect, but was shocked to find a super trendy restaurant in Chelsea's no-mans-land.

Grimaldi's vs Patsy's: The Secret Revealed

Best Pizza in NJ

I went over to my friend's apartment in Hoboken for a movie night and she told me that I had to try her favorite Hoboken pizza joint. Apparently, it rivals Patsy's across the river and there is some kind of rivalry between the two. She calls her pizza place (which is on her speed dial) and we get ourselves a mushroom and olive pie with some extra marinara for our dipping pleasure. Amazing! She is absolutely right, they've got pizza in Jersey which rivals the best-of-the-best in NY. She can't remember the name, but assure's me if I search for 'best pizza hoboken' it will be the first result...and that it starts with a 'G'.

So imagine my surprise when I find out that it's Grimaldi's! I didn't realize they had a Hoboken location- and in fact, they have two. Then I also happen to run across this little Wikipedia page about Grimaldi's. It explains that Patsy Grimadi opened Patsy's first, sold it, then opened Grimaldi's. But the recipes and ingredients remain the same between the two. Aha! So all the times The Mr and I have mumbled "this is just as good as Grimaldi's" with our mouths full of Patsy's Pizza- we were right!

The best part about the Grimaldi's in Hoboken? They deliver! No waiting around under the Brooklyn Bridge for an hour here folks...

Newbie Foodies v Food

We've been watching Man v Food recently with a mix of jealousy and horror and have become fans of the adorable Adam Richman. When we found ourselves with a free afternoon off of work and no plans, we decided to make the pilgrimage to Brooklyn to visit his hometown favorites.

Stop 1: Vito's Bakery

Ok, this wasn't one of Adam's picks, we were just thirsty and needed a snack, but it was good enough that it definitely warranted a mention.

Cookie

Strufoli 

Ahhhh a classic New York Bakery full as far as the eye can see with all kinds of wonder. My personal version of heaven. They also had a deli in the back which looked good, but we got our seltzer and a cookie and were on our way, sadly without a plate of strufoli- which looked divine.

Stop 2: Brennan & Carr

Brennan and Carr

Started with our roast beef sandwich at Brennan & Carr. A good solid roast beef dip, definitely a good neighborhood favorite, but not worth going out of your way for. Enjoyed the old school wood panelling and laid back friendliness of the staff.

Stop 3: L & B Spumoni Gardens

We preferred the sicilian over the regular, but L & B Spumoni Gardens falls into the same camp as Brennan & Carr. A great pit-stop if you are in the area, but not worth going out of your way for.

This Pizza Ain't No Patsy

Patsy's has been our go-to pizza place since we've been living in NYC. When we lived in Gramercy, and outside of their delivery zone, we would walk the mile to pick up our pie. Now that we live in Chelsea we are thrilled to be only a few blocks away. I don't have much more to say than it is great, local New York style pizza, but I just couldn't believe that we don't have a post up for them- so here it is. We'll make sure to pull out the camera on our next visit/delivery!

Getting a little plumper with Plum

We were invited to come and try out Plum Pizzeria & Bar, which opened last August. We were welcomed warmly by Alex Alexopolous Co-Owner, Executive Chef, and Wine Director. As you may have guessed from his name, he hails from Greece and so does his partner-in-pizza, Adonis Nikoloulis. So why Italian? Well, their experience working at Patsy's in The Village and their passion for Italian wine drew them towards taking what they knew about pizza and improving on it. They make everything they can fresh, in house, including all the sauces, mozzarella, pepperoni, and pasta.

Insalata Caprese

Home made mozzarella, impossibly fresh tomatoes, freshly roasted peppers, house made pesto, a balsamic reduction, and extra virgin olive oil make such a fresh caprese salad that you'd swear it was summer.

Penne Alla Vodka

The bacon added an intense smokey flavor to this house made traditional tomato cream sauce.

Yellow Pumpkin Ravioli with Pistachio Sauce

Seasoned with lots of nutmeg, this dish was voted favorite amongst a few non-cream sauce fans. It was almost sweet enough to be dessert!

Fettuccine Carbonara

Peas, meaty wild mushrooms, and Italian bacon add lots of delicious texture to this light cream sauce. Like with the vodka sauce, the bacon adds an intense, smokey flavor.

Rigatoni all Bolognese

A nice hefty portion of ground veal and beef make this classic and simple tomato sauce my runner up pasta choice.

The Pizzas!

And now we finally get to the pizzas! From front to back: 1/2 plain & 1/2 mushroom & pepper, garlic & pepperoni, and sausage & onions. Surprisingly, my favorite was the pepperoni! Usually I find pepperoni pizza too greasy, but the homemade pepperoni added tons of spice and flavor with none of the unnecessary grease.

No sagging here

Alex told us the secret to his crisp pizzas are the PLUM tomatoes (eh? get it now? Plum!) that he uses, which add lots of yummy, tomato flavor without lots of juices that make a sloppy slice. Plus, the temperature controlled, gas-powered brick oven make sure that the crust comes out to the same satisfyingly snappy texture every single time.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

The desserts at Plum are one of the few things not made in house. Instead Alex has them made by some local pastry chefs that he knows. He allows them complete editorial freedom so the dessert menu changes frequently. We all managed to finish this incredibly rich & decadent slice of cake despite the fact that we had just tried 4 different pastas and pieces of pizza!

We also loved all the wine pairings. For a casual little pizzeria, Plum has an impressive and extensive wine list, because Alex believes you don't have to pay $60+ dollars a plate to enjoy a good wine. This makes it the perfect spot to meet up with good company. It's casual and affordable, but without sacrificing on getting some really well prepared food and a magnificent glass of wine!

*My meal was provided by the restaurant as part of a Press Dinner.

Austin Edition: Conan's Pizza

We're in Austin for Thanksgiving so will be visiting some of our favorite restaurants in the Capitol of the Lone Star State:

Old school action figures above ordering counter

We were starving and found ourselves near campus and were frantically trying to decide where to get dinner when we drove past Conan's Pizza. Sold. This is yet another quirky and delightful Austin original. We ordered a deep dish The Savage with their famous whole wheat crust and grabbed a couple of house salads to stave off our hunger while we waited.

The Savage

We devoured The Savage like...well...savages. And left happy and very satisfied.

Getting Good Grub at Grimaldi's

Finally, I get to experience the legend that is Grimaldi's. Took a little stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge and got in the legendary line and hunkered down for a wait. But we only had to wait about 20-30 minutes which was really not bad, especially on a Friday night. Was worth the trek AND the wait, this is some darned good pizza. Can't WAIT until the Limelight Marketplace opens up around the corner.

I heart Artichoke

I always thought Artichoke Basille and I would come together under very different circumstances. Mostly me wandering around drunk and it being delicious greasy food available at 2am in the East Village. Surprisingly, when I did come to have my first slice of Artichoke it was in broad daylight in Chelsea and I was decidedly sober. The Mr. and I split a slice (of the Artichoke of course) which was a good call because it is incredibly rich. Imagine your favorite restaurant artichoke dip slathered on pizza dough. Yep, you've got it. Yummy, but oh so wrong. Our dining companion opted for their margarita slice and spoke of it highly. If it's this good sober, I can't wait to enjoy it after a night of hearty drinking.

Firehouse Pizza has lit a fire in my heart

My dad was in town on business so his sister and mother came into the city for a nice family dinner. I bought some wine, we got to chatting, and we didn't feel like breaking up the party to go out for dinner so we decided to just order in some pizza. I fired up Seamless Web and found Firehouse Pizza who had some pretty amazing reviews- only the best for my family! Once I saw they had a Penne alla Vodka pizza I stopped cold. I mean come on. You know what my problem is with pizza? Not enough carbs! (This is why I also can't wait to try Five Points' Potato Pizza). Went ahead and made the executive decision to order and let my family pick the second pie, we wound up with the following order:

Fried Calamari $8.50
Penne alla Vodka Pizza $18.95
Chicken Pesto Pizza $21.95

The delivery time took quite a while, but it was well worth the wait. The Penne alla Vodka Pizza was everything I dreamed it would be and more. If you are a fellow carb junkie like me, stop what you are doing and figure out how you can make this happen for you.

The Mister who is our household calamari expert proclaimed it as 'decent', which I think is probably good for delivery calamari. Not being one for chicken pizza I will also default to his opinion on that one as well which he described as "excellent".