Ask the Foodie - the Pizza edition

Hey,

One of my cousins is coming to the City to see a play and wants to get good city pizza and I knew you were the "Foodie" to ask!

Hope all is well and the Colts still blow!

Thanks!
BonBon

Well BonBon,

I should know better than to help a disgruntled Pats fan but in your case I will make an exception.

Pizza in New York is an embarrassment of riches (unlike New England) and I am going to give you a few of many cheesy, rich tomato sauced options in NYC.

One of my personal favorites is Gonzo, a delightful warm and cozy restaurant with thin crust pizzas on 13th Street. During my last visit, Alfred Portale was there enjoying a pizza a few tables away and hey, chefs know where to eat!

You can also suggest Otto, a mere blocks away, where Molto Mario Batali dishes up some amazing griddle cooked pizzas...I'm still trying to convince someone to get the pizza lardo (yes, made with lard) with me! Any takers?

Or perhaps your cousins can weigh in on the long-standing debate on whether the best pizza in New York is at Lombardi's in SoHo or Grimaldi's right on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO. Ms. Foodie says...Grimaldi's by a basil leaf.

And finally, you can ask your Boston gal pals what they thought of Patsy's Pizzeria, which has various locations around the city. This is probably your most economical option and again offers thin crusts and fresh toppings.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to great pizzas. Just like nail salons and Starbucks you can find great pizza on just about every corner in Manhattan!

Bon Appetit BonBon and GO COLTS!

"Foodie"

Dining at Diwan

This is my second trip to Diwan, an Indian restaurant on the east side of Midtown. It usually takes a bit of convincing to get me to do Indian since I am not a huge fan, but since it was going to be one of my last meals for some time with RRR & Contessa before they head off to a long assignment in Virginia I was up for one last culinary adventure.

The decor at Diwan is a bit nondescript but on both occasions, the dining room was quite full, mostly with business people and young professionals. Our waiter was quite attentive and helpful in interpreting the menu for us, even with a large party of twenty next to us.

Since I know Contessa would never steer me wrong, I joined her in getting a Biryani, a dish of
long grain Basmati rice steamed with onions and various spices. I chose the chicken biryani and Contessa had the lamb. She suggested getting a side of cucumber raita to mix in with the rice and meat and the yogurty sauce was a nice addition. The biryani was aromatic and as a lover of spices I was quite pleased with this dish. The portions were quite generous and we realized after that sharing one order would have been sufficient.

RRR chose the Chicken Achari Kebab which was a wonderfully seasoned chicken breast fillet and elevated to a new level of taste with some of the cucumber raita. She also ordered the Biangan Bharta; a spicy mix of grilled eggplant, onions, and tomatoes. We also ordered an onion kulcha for the table which was just perfect with RRR's Biangan Bharta.

So while you would not go to Diwan for the scene, you should definitely go there for what I believe to be an authentic Indian fare. And hey, if Diwan could convert me, it's certainly worth a try.

Frankies Spuntino - Now that's Italian!

On the recommendation of Peanut D and WW, two ladies I trust implicitly with my culinary well-being, RRR & I took a long overdue trip to the Lower East Side to visit Frankies Spuntino. This Manhattan offshoot of the popular Carroll Gardens restaurant is just one of the many delightful restaurants you will find on Clinton Street.

The ornate tin ceilings and brick walls of this narrow restaurant are reminiscent of the old Italian style homes - actually it looked a lot like pictures of the house my Dad grew up in! And as I worked my way back to the tiny bar area, the warm greetings I received from the wait staff certainly made me feel like I had just walked into someone's home.

During our wait for our table, Travis, our congenial host and one of the partners in the restaurant, helped us choose two delicious glasses of wine that we enjoyed while we snacked on a fantastic crimini mushroom crostini with truffle oil, a wonderful cheese selection, crusty Italian bread and some nutty olive oil. If my meal ended here, I would have been quite satisfied. You could taste the freshness of the mushrooms and there was just the right amount of seasonings and truffle oil added that it didn't overpower the earthiness of the chopped mushrooms.

We had meatballs on the brain this week (after a Sunday trip to Dad's for baked ziti & meatballs!) so we decided to try Frankie's version and see how it compared. The meatballs were made of beef with some pine nuts and raisins and smothered in a fresh sauce with a generous helping of freshly grated cheese. While the meatballs were quite tasty, we did agree that 100% beef meatballs just don't compare to a beef/pork/veal combo - you need a bit more fat to get the tender juicy consistency in the perfect meatball. Yes, my friends, I've done a lot of soul searching on this subject.

We kept the "Sunday Italian dinner" theme going with an order of Pork Braciola Marinara. The sauce for the pork had a bit more depth and heartiness than the marinara accompanying the meatballs and the pork was so fork tender. Delicious! Now if we only ordered some pasta with this - I could not get the calorie-conscious RRR to budge on this one - darn!

We also ordered a delightful salad of Puntarelle with Lemon, Caper, Anchovy & Pecorino Romano. Puntarelle is a member of the chicory family and the pecorino added just the right amount of creaminess to the dressing without taking away from the crunch of the greens. The anchovy provided a pungent saltiness to the salad perfectly balanced by the lemon and capers. I'd take this over a Caesar salad any day!

What I enjoyed most about our dining experience was the laid back attitude of the staff without compromising great service. The restaurant was quite busy for an early Wednesday dinner, but there was never a sense of urgency to turn over the tables. When you are told how long the wait is, you are offered the option of cozying up to the bar, or receiving a call on your cell when you table is ready. What a nice change of pace from what sometimes can feel like a frenetic assembly line dining experience!

The price is right, the food is fresh, the staff is pleasant and knowledgeable and you feel like you are eating at Grandma's with the only difference being you don't have to do the dishes!

The Great Cupcake Debate (aka The Frosting Files)

For this blog's inaugural blind tasting, we attempted to tackle the question: Do the trendy cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery and Billy's Bakery really taste better than store bought box mix you can make at home?

There is probably a more articulate way to pose the question but we did set a few goals for this semi-scientific experiment. Would you be able to identify where the cupcakes came from? Does one cupcake stand out from the competition? How does each cake compare?

Joining me in this discussion were RRR, Goldie, and The Smunch. Four cupcakes were used in this tasting, all vanilla cake with vanilla frosting. The cupcakes came from Magnolia Bakery in the West Village, Billy's Bakery in Chelsea, Food Emporium in Union Square and a Betty Crocker boxed cake mix.

The tasting was a bit skewed by cupcake #1. While it looked nice, it was painfully obvious this was an inferior product. The cake was angel food not vanilla and to say it was bland is being kind. The frosting was waxy, flavorless and downright gross; I felt like I was eating Play-Doh. And as Goldie eloquently articulated: "Number 1 tastes like Number 2".

Cupcake #2 fared a bit better. The cake was a dense superior vanilla cake and the buttercreme frosting was sweet with a good overall consistency. RRR questioned whether this cupcake was freshly baked (cupcakes were purchased in the evening an hour prior to tasting) or had been sitting around for a day.

Cupcake #3 was met with unanimous kudos from the group. The cake had a more intense, real batter taste (RRR) and the creamy frosting had a different texture from cupcake #2. The frosting was lighter, a bit "wet" (The Smunch) and reminiscent of marshmallow (Ms. Foodie) versus sugary buttercreme.

Finally, cupcake #4 was well-received by the group but did spur a bit of debate. RRR found the cake to be a bit stale, Goldie thought it was denser than the prior ones, The Smunch agreed the density of the cake made it outstanding and Ms. Foodie agreed with The Smunch that this cake seemed to stand out from the competition. The frosting was sugary-sweet; a plus for me but not as much as a plus for RRR.

The Smunch was the only participant to correctly identify all four cupcake entries:
#1 Food Emporium
#2 Billy's Bakery
#3 Betty Crocker
#4 Magnolia Bakery

RRR's summary was that the more expensive cupcakes from Billy's and Magnolia were good but "no big deal" and nothing you can't make from a box. She was pleased how well the box mix did in our little test, perhaps because she helped bake them! The Smunch liked the Magnolia Cupcake the best with the box mix not that far behind. I was surprised how well the box mix fared against the well-marketed bakery cupcakes but if I had to choose a winner I would pick Magnolia with Billy's being a very very close copy of the original (the owner worked at Magnolia).

I believe that the childhood memories spurred by these sugary creamy treats are why they are in fashion with the city crowd and in actuality other baked goods by these quality bakeries are better than their signature cupcakes. Next time you are in Billy's try the banana cake with cream cheese icing and Magnolia's banana pudding! and just grab a bite of your friend's cupcake! Done & done!

Goldie perhaps summed it up best when he said "I think we all learned there is no such thing as a bad cupcake; that is with the exception of #1".

Are you ready for some football?

Dear Foodie-

I'm planning on having some people over for the Super Bowl. Every year I order up a big pile of chicken wings (which I think about for months beforehand) and no one really digs them.

Since some of my friends are vegetarians and/or calorie conscious I'm in search of alternative game foods. Got any suggestions that will satisfy my gluttony as well as their concerns?

Love,
Super Fan

Well Super Fan,

One, I hope you are rooting for the Colts or at least for Ms. Foodie to win one of her three wagers placed on Super Bowl XLI.

Two, there are so many options to give you, I am not sure where to begin! But here are a few ideas:

Depending on your culinary ambition, time and skills you can do a few things. You can make (0r buy) some hummus and serve with pitas, pita crisps (simply toast in oven), crackers and a variety of vegetables like sugar snap peas, carrots, etc (no one seems to eat the celery or califlower in a crudite). Making hummus is super easy if you have a food processor; even a small one like mine works well.

All you have to do is blend: one can of drained chick peas, a few cloves of garlic, chopped fresh parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper to taste. I also add some chicken stock until I get the desired consistency but you can add some vegetable stock to satisfy the vegetarian crowd. Also, feel free to jazz it up a bit with some chopped roasted red pepper or pitted kalmata olives - be creative!

Another simple dip is to roast some garlic and blend in a food processor with white beans, rosemary, good olive oil, thyme and as always salt & pepper to taste.

Even better still, add a platter of (store-bought are fine) roasted veggies with some whole wheat rolls for some simple sandwiches. And hey, they can always use the hummus as a nice change from mustard!

You can also make (or buy) some vegetarian pizzas with low fat fresh ingredients or try and make some mini-Mexican style ones. Just take some tortillas, spread some refried beans (canned are fine), add some salsa, reduced-fat shredded Mexican cheese and bake in a 250 degree oven until the cheese melts. Guilty pleasure without the guilt!

Lots of mindless eating goes on during games (I know whereof I speak) so with these few ideas your guests will feel like they are sharing in the feast without sacrificing their waistlines!

Enjoy!
"Foodie"

P.S. Maybe you can help Ms. Foodie out with some suggestions on how to handle her post-football depression. Sunday's won't be the same after this week!