slices of summer

[Pompei's slice]

I don’t crave pizza often, but within the past few months I’ve eaten couple slices worth writing about. I suppose I’ve been generally disappointed by New York pizza because the random pieces I’ll eat on occasion never live up to the hype. Also, for me, the power of pizza is far less than the power of Mexican food or ice cream. Thus, while I’ll drive 45 minutes for a lick of Christina’s, I’m far too unmotivated to trek to DiFara to try its acclaimed pie.

But! When good pizza comes my way, I do not object. In Massachusetts, my favorite pizza is from Papa Gino’s, an east coast chain with two locations five minutes away from my home. It’s my go-to place for an everyday slice. My brother, cousin and I agree that Papa Gino’s has perfected the ratio of cheese to sauce to thin but not glaringly crispy crust. It’s dependably satisfying, which is usually what I desire when it comes to pizza.

Back in the New York area, the first satisfying slice I had was when Waq took me to his hometown favorite, Pompei Pizza in Bayonne, NJ. For the past couple years, I had been listening to him praise Pompei. Of course I trusted his sense of taste- we had eaten many a meal together- but I was never in Bayonne long enough to try Pompeii for myself until one overcast Saturday this past February, when that Pompei slice, thin, cheesy, and fresh, brightened my day with its pleasing proportionality. Below, Waqas’s description of the pizza:

Waqas: “Well, the thinness is perfect; it’s thin enough to be crispy but the pizza never falls or droops, which thin pizzas often do. And the crust is light and fluffy without being doughy or overly chewy. They put a generous amount of cheese on it and the sauce is just slightly sweet/tart and has a great herby spiciness to it. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this pizza, plus, the smell of the place billows out onto Broadway.”

The second noteworthy slice I had was with work folks on a balmy evening a couple weeks back at a Ray’s on Prince Street- yes, Ray’s, that pizza store that sits on the corner of every block in Manhattan. Although Kim said that it was the first Ray’s in the city* and swore that the pizza was beyond average, I still had my doubts. We ordered a pie, half vegetarian and half pepperoni. I usually prefer thin crust pizza but Ray’s thicker crust was pillowy and aromatic and topped with soft ricotta, thin rounds of tomato, sliced garlic and basil. The superior quality of fresh ingredients used in the pizza made it memory worthy- I’ve been yearning for that slice of summer ever since.

*According to Wikipedia, the Ray’s on Prince is the first Ray’s in the city and all the Ray’s pizza places are not connected as one big chain but, for the most part, are independent restaurants that share the same name.

Pompei Pizza, 480 Broadway, Bayonne, NJ. (201) 437-5408
Ray’s Pizza, 27 Prince Street, New York, NY. (212) 966-1960

Read Full Post »

a purple meal (and the most tender coconut pie)

[Filipino food at Cendrillon]

 

Cendrillon
45 Mercer Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 343-9012

In the belly: fresh lumpia, mixed noodles with shiitake, Asian greens, and eggplant fritter, young coconut pie
Rating: Very enjoyable and different- both food and atmosphere. Dessert was unbelievably good.

Last week, Sandhya and I went to Cendrillon, a Filipino restaurant, for lunch. Other than us, there was just one customer, but the inside of the restaurant was so peaceful and pretty: high ceilings, gauzy curtains, exposed brick, sparkling, branch-like white lights, and a sky-lit backroom, filled with greenery. I had never eaten Filipino food before so I had no idea what to expect. What I found was the surprising presence of my parents’ favorite vegetable, the friendly purple yam, and really great coconut pie.

We started with the Fresh Lumpia: sautéed veggies (cabbage, mushroom, leeks) stuffed in a crepe made with…yes, purple yam batter. The crepe itself tasted faintly yogurty and soft, and the purple was a fun color to eat. It was drizzled with a tamarind-peanut sauce, which added some depth to otherwise fairly standard, but tasty, scallion flavors.

We also ordered the mixed noodles with shiitake, Asian greens, and eggplant fritter. This bowl of soup was picture-perfect: a purple eggplant, cut like a flower with dusky white petals, floated pristinely atop a woodsy-amber broth filled with noodles, scallions, and mushrooms.

And then, there was dessert. I’ve never eaten a coconut pie that celebrated so well the juicy meat of the fruit. Usually, coconut pies and cakes have shredded coconut; Cendrillon’s had thick, soft sheets of tender young coconut (buco/buko), held safe inside a flaky golden crust (lined with purple yam), and topped with a scoop of real vanilla-bean ice cream. What makes this pie even better is that the waitress asked us if we minded waiting ten minutes- they made all the desserts to order. Fresh baked pie? Less time at the desk? The choice was easy, and so very worth it.

lumpia: $6; mixed noodles: $8.50; buko pie: $7.50

Read Full Post »

sizzlers!

Sizzlers is a special dish, a Bombay treat. Sizzlers, the Breach Candy sandwich, pav bhaaji, hot, soft paneer tikka- these are all the foods I crave on the 16 hour plane ride across the world. My desire to visit India is always doubled by the possibility of stuffing myself silly on Bombay’s khanna.

While there are entire restaurants devoted to Sizzlers in Bombay, I’ve never seen them served anywhere in America- until 3 days ago, when I had them at Wild Ginger. In Bombay, I’ve eaten them most frequently at my masi’s house. Sitting around the table, each family member gives orders for what we want on our sizzling platter, choosing 5 or so ingredients out of a delicious list that includes bananas, cutlets, peas, paneer, peppers (red, green, yellow), pineapple, tomatoes, onions, and french fries. About ten minutes later, scorching iron skillets are carried into the room, our choices bubbling and fuming under the blanket of a slightly sweet, smoky sauce.

The sizzlers, or the “Soy Cutlet Sizzling Platter with Black Bean Sauce” at Wild Ginger was the same idea.

Stewed, and slightly charred tomatoes; sweet green peas; succulent heads of broccoli, and the soy cutlets- oh, I am so in love with these soy cutlets. They were firm and juicy- crispy, blackened outer skin, the black-bean sauce enabling them and the other veggies stick a little to the skillet, and tender, chewy insides. I adored this dish. Just like the sizzlers of my Bombay memories, I had a variety of juicy flavors and textures to slowly eat my way through, all fiery hot and laced with sauce. I want to go back to Wild Ginger for so many more meals- and the next things to try are the Seitan Skewers with Satay Sauce and the Basil Soy Protein with Asparagus and Zucchini.

Soy Cutlet Sizzling Platter: $12
Wild Ginger is at 380 Broome Street, New York, NY.

Read Full Post »

hummus at hoomoos asli

I had lunch at Hoomoos Asli the other day. It’s right next door to work, and although I rarely go there, it’s nice to know that there’s a good, cheap falafel place nearby. It’s a kosher place so they have no dairy products, and the people who work there insist (an order is written on the menu) that customers pronounce hoomoos phonetically as hooo-moos, not hummus. It gets busy at lunch time, especially for take-out, but we went a little early, and were seated right away.

I ordered falafel and an Asli coffee, and my dining partner ordered a feast: lentil soup, chopped tomato salad, and a platter of hoomoos and tahini. We also got a side of a dark green spicy topping, made of what we believe to be parsley.

It was all great and fairly cheap- not the $2 falafel of Ali Baba’s, but $4.50 is a good price for a lunch sandwich in Soho. The falafel was hot and garlicky, but the real standout item here is the hoomoos. Once, I ate a plain hoomoos sandwich, with chopped tomatoes and fresh Israeli salad on top. So much hoomoos wasn’t overwhelming, like I thought it would be, because it was so darn delicious, and creamy but not heavy. The pitas are warm and fluffy like pillows in a hotel room – not the usual dry thin pitas that simply function as a way to keep the sandwich together but instead an integral part of the sandwich’s appeal. Later, I realized I could have gotten fries in my falafel- a Middle-Eastern vegetarian hoagie sounds so awesome. But, a good thing about Hoomoos Asli is that I always feel as though I’ve eaten a healthy meal after one of the falafel sandwiches- probably because everything is so super fresh.

My coffee was a complex delight, with the ground spices at the bottom that made it much more exciting than a regular coffee. My colleague said her soup was really tasty and I tried some of the tomato salad- lightly dressed in oil and garlic, it was juicy and addictive.

Hoomoos Asli is at 100 Kenmare Street, New York, NY. Tel: 212-966-0022.

Read Full Post »

zoe’s portabello sandwich

About a month ago, I went to Zoe for lunch. I got the portabello sandwich: slices of thick portabello on foccaccia, with rosemary aioli and smoked onions. The sandwich was decadently buttery and the smoked onions were excellent, but small, and spare.

The side salad was arugula with orange and fennel. All in all, pretty yummy, but it was definitely pricey at $11.95, and made me miss the $5 portabella pitas from the Baltimore Farmer’s Market, where the portabella is highly marinated and then slow roasted on the grill, along with thick onions, and then stuffed into a pita and topped with feta. I think feta with grilled portobella is a really super combination of sweet/juicy and salty.

Zoe is on 90 Prince Street, in New York.

Read Full Post »

la esquina; zen palate

Maria and I had dinner at La Esquina tonight. We got these really tasty margaritas, which I guess were worth the $8. Then we ordered two dishes to share: the Quesadilla de Huitlacoche, a quesadilla filled with Mexican truffle, roasted corn, epazole (an herb), mushrooms, and cheese) and the Aguacate con Queso, a sandwich that was stuffed with avocado, red onion, cheese, black beans, lettuce, tomato and chipotle mayo, and came with a side of salad and potato chips. YUM! The quesadilla was good but nothing spectacular- I didn’t see any corn and didn’t taste much besides the cheese and mushrooms (still good things to taste) but the “traditional Mexican street sandwich,” served on a crusty wedge of bread, was full of garlic and the sharp onion and cheese and avocado deliciousness! A picture of the sandwich (whenever I hear “street food” I immediately love it…)

And a few nights ago, I went back to Zen Palate for the second time, with my cousin who was visiting from India. While he claimed that the food was “bland,” I think it’s really flavorful, healthy, and reasonably priced. Zen Palate serves a variety of fare- mainly Asian-influenced foods, like burgers, sandwiches, salads, pasta, and veggie medleys. Oh, and they are a vegetarian restaurant, which rocks- they have a ton of great fake meat and I never wonder if I am tasting the flavor chicken stock in a delicious soup or something. We got the Tex Mex Moo Shoo, which is kidney beans, barley, and soy protein (it’s actually really good) in a spinach tortilla, served with this really yummy guac and a side salad of carrot peanut cole slaw.

Oh, and it comes with two crunchy spring rolls, so the meal feels very complete. It’s in Union Sq, so central-ish and convenient and the waiters are very sweet.

Read Full Post »

spring street natural

Spring Street Natural is ALWAYS good. You should go there. They have these awesome, fresh salads full of goodies like juicy strips of portabella and creamy avocados and goat cheese and RED ONIONS! And they dress them really well- the dressings complement, never intrude.

I went and got the Taco Salad (so did Karen- so it’s double taco!):

And Susan got the Portabella Mushroom Salad which was just so good I was regretting my Taco Salad decision:

Go! And I work around the corner so then come say hi to me and bring me a cookie. Thanks.

Read Full Post »

mexican radio/ole grill– updated

I went back for a work lunch and tried the Vegetable Enchiladas with Mole Sauce ($15).

Definitely better than anything I had eaten there before. The sauce was nutty and layered, and I liked the vegetables inside the enchiladas – spring onion, zucchini, lots of green. My only complaint was that I wish there had been some more cheese…proportionally, the vegetables outweighed the cheese 3:1.

———————————————————————–

Okay, we went to Mexican Radio in Soho. I think I’ll just post a few pictures and tell you that the food was nothing spectacular- for the price. It definitely wasn’t bad (unlike Panchitos) but I think the most disappointing part of the meal was paying $8.95 for a handful of guacamole.

In Boston, at Ole Grill, guacamole is $8-9 dollars, but it’s fresh, and the quantity is huge. They make it at your table, so you see that they are cleanly slicing and scooping three avocados into the heavy stone bowl. They add other ingredients- tomatoes and cilantro among them, crush it all up until the consistency is chunky, and serve it to you. At Ole, you can make a meal out of drinks and that fresh green guacamole, though I usually end up ordering something else, like their mini turnover quesadillas filled with poufy white goat cheese and charred poblano peppers (yum!!).
Unfortunately, Mexican Radio was the opposite with guacamole- $8.95 for a pale, overly smooth green handful that tasted like sour cream! I was in shock!
The nachos were decent, but a smaller portion than I was used to:

The spring rolls were also just okay- filled with corn, but most of the taste came from the peanut sauce:

However, the Napolitos Salad- grilled cactus with apples, jicama, pumpkin seeds, and herbs with Tequila vinaigrette, was refreshingly tasty.

Louise from work tells me that she loves the vegetarian burrito there- so I might go back and try that. She says it’s her favorite burrito in New York.

Read Full Post »