Pizza
Last day to catch Madison Square Eats!
Madison Square Eats
If there’s one thing you do tonight, I’d suggest checking out Madison Square Eats if you haven’t yet! I realize this might be sort of a disservice to tell you all about this so late in the game, but since there IS one more day to catch it, I figure why not.
Madison Square Eats
Madison Square Eats
I have been passing by it for months but I FINALLY stopped by last week. They have outposts from some of the best restaurants and food carts in Manhattan and Brooklyn all in one place. The tables and canopy of lights give it such a pretty ambiance too.
Roberta's Pizza
Roberta's Pizza
I wanted a burger from Graffiti but they had run out so I walked down to the Roberta’s Pizza booth and ordered a seasonal personal size pizza with squash, mushroom, thyme, and basil. Delicious!
Seasonal pizza!
The Daily Show: Jon Stewart on Trump/Palin and New York Pizza
I was going to save this for Friday’s links, but I can’t get over The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart rant on Donald Trump’s NY (underwhelming) pizza joint of choice with Sarah Palin recently…hilarious!:
Luzzo’s Pizzeria in the East Village
Luzzo's Pizzeria (photo credit: Luzzo's)
Contrary to what you might think, there’s not a lot of pizza places I really love out here. I think my Midwestern roots keep me from loving thin crust as much as I should (although not gonna lie, you will probably never see me refuse a slice). I tried Luzzo’s in the East Village a few months ago with friends, and I actually really enjoyed the thicker crust of the brick over pizza that you find here.
The Bufala: tomato sauce, bufala mozzarella, basil
Funghi: tomato sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, basil
The size of the pies are not huge, but the slices are thick so don’t let it fool you…two pies easily fed four people with some slices to spare. If you can handle spice, be sure not to forget to use the red pepper oil to dip your slices in.
Red pepper oil -- this thing is brilliant
Pastas at Patsy’s – Greenwich Village
If you ever need a quick solution for a group dinner, the family style portions of Italian dishes Patsy’s (a chain in NYC) are not only generous but just so delicious. On a recent visit, my friends wanted to order the Penne alla Vodka, but I was rooting for the Pappardelle alla Toscana (pappardelle with sun-dried tomatoes, wild mushrooms, aged parmigiano and pecorino cheese in a creamy sauce). I lost over a game of rock, paper, scissors though and we ordered the penne. I was actually surprised at how tasty the seemingly simple dish was. I normally find some of the Italian restaurants to be more of the same, but here, I think the brick-oven pizzas and pastas are quality, not too expensive, and FILLING. A great combo.
Penne alla vodka, $33
Spinach ravioli, $33
Dinner at Emporio and dessert at Balaboosta in Nolita
Candle lit back room at Emporio
I actually found out about the quaint Roman-style trattoria Emporio in Nolita through my friend Archana’s blog at LettuceVeg.com. She took much better pictures than I did with my camera too, but I’m glad I went on her recommendation because everything we had was delicious. Plus, I was obsessed with the candle-lit back room where we had our little girls night. The middle of the space has communal tables. Though, if you want more privacy, the booths along the sides have curtains you can pull on either side so you block out the distractions.
Ricotta Ravioli, $16
The Top 15 foods I miss at U of I
The Quad at U of I Photo Credit: UIUC.edu
This post is going to be really fat of me. But remember I mentioned that there were so many dishes I missed from my college days at UIUC? Well, I wasn’t kidding when I said I was going to compile them in a list. I think it’s also where my interest in food heightened since there were so many options (I have my fat pictures to prove it…you’ll probably never see them though). I’m not sure if all of these are even standing still, but regardless:
15. Coffee filet steak from Radio Maria. One of those hidden gems in Champaign that created unusual combinations with common food. Hence, the coffee steak.
