The Blog-Shy of 2010, Part iii
Adrienne's Pizza Bar
My fellow bean counters (aka, my co-workers) and I instigated "Pizza Fridays" to boost team morale, so I suggested we go to Adrienne's Pizza Bar in the Financial District (where our main client is located) for a Friday lunch one week in November, as one of my friends who used to work in the area highly recommended it. The pizzas offered at Adrienne's are thin-crust square pizzas, best known as "grandma-style" pizza.
We ordered a white pizza which has ricotta and fresh mozzarella. Surprisingly, for someone who requires tomato sauce on pizza, I really enjoyed this one. It has a really awesome dough-to-cheese ratio--it seems really doughy when you eat it (like a good doughy), but after you're done eating, you don't feel overly stuffed. I ate about 3-4 pieces, and I felt pleasantly full!
This is the old-fashioned pizza with crushed tomato and homemade fresh mozzarella, topped with pepperoni and sausage. Because of the toppings added, the pizza tends to get a little soggy if you don't eat it fast enough. Also, I don't recommend ordering this for take-out unless you live a couple blocks away from Stone Street--it definitely tastes best right went it's served out of the oven.
Adrienne's Pizza Bar
54 Stone Street
New York, NY 10005
http://www.adriennespizzabar.com
--November 12, 2010
Osteria Morini
Back in November, Marcus took my mom and me out for a post-Thanksgiving Sunday brunch at Osteria Morini, Chef Michael White's recently opened the restaurant this past fall with a rustic atmosphere and "soulful" cuisine from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Osteria is Italian for a place where the owner "hosts" people--very much like a tavern in the Italian countryside, less formal than the typical trattoria or ristorante. Morini is an ode (per New York magazine's blurb) to "the owner of the famous San Domenico restaurant in Imola, near Bologna, where White worked for seven years." I'm going to have to disagree with The New York Times' restaurant critic, Sam Sifton, on his disappointed review of Osteria Morini. I really enjoyed it at brunch. I thought it was good combination of hearty yet light.
I ordered the cappelletti, a truffled mascarpone ravioli with melted butter and prosciutto. The portion was just enough for me (I can never finish a full pasta dish when dining out), and truffle-infused dishes always make me happy. I've developed a new love for ravioli-like pastas (agnolotti, especially), and this one definitely takes a cake!
My mom ordered the bistecca, which had grilled skirt steak, fried eggs (with some panko--yum!), and wild mushrom sugo. I stole a bite, and I definitely say the fried egg with the panko bits was my favorite part!
Marcus had the creste, which had mussels, shrimp, scallops, parsley, and aglio. From what I remember, he said he enjoyed this, too.
I forgot to note down this dessert (and I can't seem to find the dessert menu from Osteria Morini anywhere), but I will tell you that it was filled with lots of peanut-butter-goodness and lots of crunch! A delicious dessert to send us on our merry way!
Osteria Morini
218 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10012
http://www.osteriamorini.com
--November 28, 2010
Katz's Delicatessen
Since I had never been to Katz's Delicatessen, Marcus took me there one weekend in December. Key tip: make sure you're standing in a line for a sandwich, and do not lose your ground--someone may well cut right in front of you without you realizing.
Please order the lemonade--it's amazing!
This is Marcus's pastrami sandwich with mustard. I don't even like mustard, and I enjoyed the bites I stole from it! Juicy and lots of meaty flavor. I promise after having this whole sandwich, you'll skip your next meal from being so full! I had a beef brisket sandwich which was a very filling lunch, too. On a completely separate note, I didn't hear any patrons reenacting the sandwich orgasm scene from When Harry Met Sally.
Price point: $14.45-14.95 for a standard hot sandwich.
Katz's Delicatessen
205 East Houston Street
New York, NY 10002
http://www.katzdeli.com
--December 4, 2010
Greenwich Grill
Derek had recommended Greenwich Grill to me some time last year, and the concept of a Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant really had me curious. I went there back in September with a friend from college, and in December, I decided to bring Marcus there, because I really wanted to try the baked uni miso lobster with seafood misto that stood boldly on the menu. It is a fresh lobster oven-baked with sea urchin and soybean miso paste, served with grilled daily fresh seafood. It was an incredibly rich combination of umami flavors rolled up into tender lobster meat. We also had the seafood ceviche as a starter, consisting of daily fresh fish, clams, shrimp, octopus, tomato, and avocado dressed in homemade jalapeno sauce and shared the spaghettini with sea urchin, little neck clams, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. This neighborhood gem has everything one looks for in a solid local restaurant that isn't flooded with tourists.
Price point: $12.50 for the starter; $18 for the pasta; $24 for the entrée, plus an additional $10 for an extra lobster piece.
Greenwich Grill
428 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10013
http://www.greenwichgrill.com
--December 10, 2010
Ippudo
It wouldn't be a good food year if there isn't a little Ippudo somewhere! We went back again at the end of the year for the Hirata buns (i.e., steamed buns filled with pork, served with Ippudo's original spicy bun sauce). Good meat-to-bun ratio, and the specialty sauce is incomparable to anything similar. The meat is a little fatty, giving it an extra moist and juicy texture.
And we can't for get the signature ramen dish at Ippudo--the Akamaru Modern, the original tonkotsu soup noodle with Ippudo's special sauce (red stuff seen above), pork belly chashu, cabbage, kikurage, scallions, miso paste, and fragrant garlic oil. Arguably the best bowl of ramen noodles in all of Manhattan. Can't wait to go back again for another visit this year!
Price point: $8 for 2 Hikata buns; $16 for one Akamaru Modern ramen.
Ippudo
65 4th Avenue
New York, NY 10003
http://www.ippudony.com
--December 19, 2010
Yerba Buena Perry
Probably the worst food-related photo I took this year (please forgive me as I only had my HTC Incredible in this dark restaurant), this was the sampler of fries at Yerba Buena Perry, consisting of avocado fries, watermelon fries, and hearts of palm fries, served with yerba mate ketchup. These were so great--the concept of watermelon fries was already mindboggling! Juicy and crispy! This was definitely an awesome starter dish I shared with my friends, Ariana and Mimi over lovely cocktails this past December.
Yerba Buena Perry
1 Perry Street
New York, NY 10014
http://www.ybnyc.com
--December 22, 2010
That's all folks--the Blog-Shy of 2010! Hopefully I'll be a more diligent blogger this coming year (I will not fall behind... I will not fall behind...)--lots of stories to share!
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