JamieEats

Lost in Forest Hills

I was in Queens last Friday with my friend, Steve. Steve is a Pizza fanatic and was dying to impress me with a place he has been going to for years called Nick's. Of course, before I went I had to do some due diligence and I found out that Nick's is famous for their pies, house salad, and cappuccino and espresso. I went ready to try all three and see how it stood up to my recent experience at Motorino which I thought was the best I had ever had. Pie that is. Anyway, we got there at about 12:30. The place has an open kitchen and a clean, nice ambiance.
I started with the salad which is Arugula, sun dried tomatoes, and roasted peppers. Generally, I don't like sun dried tomatoes but they worked on this salad. The dressing was a slightly sweet vinaigrette which reminded me of those raspberry vinaigrette you get offered from time to time. While the salad was good I did not think it lived up to the hype. I would not order it again primarily because I prefer a dressing that is simpler. I usually go for a dressing on this type of salad which is just extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper. I think the salad could have used a little cheese as well.

    The next step in the process is the pie. When you order a pie in a new pizza joint I believe you should stick to the basic pie unless told otherwise. At Motorino, I went for the white pie with brussel sprouts and had no regrets. The problem is, when you dine with others, most people I know like more stuff on their pizza. I feel to judge you have to go to the essential crust, sauce, and cheese. If that is outstanding the extras will only detract. Steve and I compromised on half mushroom and half plain after the waiter assured us the mushrooms would not affect my plain half in cooking time or preparation. The pie that emerged was gorgeous in its presentation and simplicity. A thin crust, a thick layer of sauce, slabs of handmade fresh mozzarella, and fresh basic liberally sprinkled on top.
My opinion? A very good pie. At this time, better than anything I have had in Jersey. This statement may not hold for long however since I am going to try two place that were written up recently in NJ. Steve and I devoured the pie in about 2 minutes each consuming 4 slices. Something I never do. I usually stop at two. The last step was the cappuccino.
The cappuccino was good. Not great, but a nice finish to an excellent pizza. So if you find yourself lost in Forest Hills, try Nicks.

Nick's Pizza

 

108-26 Ascan Ave., Queens, NY 11375 
nr. Burns St.  718-263-1126

My Wife would not stop Moaning!

    As you can probably tell by now my house is filled with food obsessed nuts. We all, in our own ways, pursue our passion for the pleasure that food brings to our lives. So it is with this in mind that I usually use my wife as my guide on the quality of the tastes as I proceed to eat my way around. I only have two criteria, a keeper and not a keeper. I started to use a third rating as my guide when I can bring my wife along. It's called a moaner. If she moans when the first taste enters her mouth then I usually consider that to be the criteria to eventually putting the dish on my food tour. A keeper is not sufficient. It must be a moaner.

    The place that elicited the moaning yesterday was Motorino on 12th Street. While I like pizza as much as the next guy I never could blog about it exclusively like some do. I have considered doing a pizza tour but I don't think I could take it eating at 5 places in one day. I don't think it does justice to the high end efforts by the people who focus on the dish. But when a pie comes out of the oven looking like this:                                                             I have to sit up and take notice. Very often we eat with our eyes before we even take the first bite. That visual places a taste in our mind that is either met, exceeded, or disappointing. I experienced both yesterday. I decided to go with the one that exceeded my expectations first. I have to give you a hint first, this pie, as good as it looks, was not the pie that sent my wife into rapture.

    If you are a steady reader here you know about Motorino when I blogged about the places on my Pizza radar. Slowly, but surely, I am eating my way through the list. Motorino is a quaint place in the East Village with a tin ceiling, marble tables, and subway tile going halfway up the walls. I like the vibe a lot. You should plan to go slightly off hours since the place is packed most of the time.        

While nothing came from the wood burning oven that did not look delectable we decided on the Brussels Sprout, Pancetta Pizza. Each pizza is about 14" and about $14-$16. We split one since it was our first stop of the day. We also had to save room for the tiramasu here since it also is rumored to be fantastic. The pie came out steaming and a sight to behold. The leaves of the sprouts were clearly fresh and spread by hand over the pie. The cheese was clearly fresh and high quality. The pancetta gently distributed in bite size pieces. We cut up our first slice and proceeded to try it. WOW! The best slice I ever had. Note: I have yet to make it to other places on my radar which are supposed to be equal or better than this. The crust was like nothing I ever had before. Smokey from the wood oven and chewy right up to the very end. Not dried, crunchy bread here. This was like eating in the Per Se of pizza.
We polished of the pie quickly and lamented the fact we could not order another. We had a day of tasting in front of us. The next item to get was the tiramasu. While it was very good it was not in the same league as the pie. I don't know if tiramasu can rise to that level. I usually operate on the premise that if it is worthy of the tour then the moan has to be there.

 
Motorino East Village
349 East 12th Street
New York, NY 10003

Sunday-Thursday 11AM-12AM
Friday and Saturday 11AM-1AM

212-777-2644

I finally made it!

Remember the blog I wrote a few weeks ago on pizza? Well, I finally got to one of the places to try the pie. Grand Daisy Bakery. I really don't know if this qualifies as pizza since it is flatbread, very tasty, with creative toppings.
Grand Daisy in known for innovative toppings on flatbread. In fact, the one that I wanted was not available because it is a seasonal offering. It is called Schiacciata d'uva. It has grapes on it and I am guessing you have to go in the spring or summer. I will let you know. I did try another recommendation however. The Cavolfiore Pizza.
If you recognize cauliflower you are right. You may not see the gruyere however. The slice was cold by the way. I think a drawback in this case. It was good however. The next slice was cold also but much, much better.
This one was butternut squash, carmelized onions, and breadcrumbs. Not a combination that jumped off the menu at me but I did not pick it. My wife did while I waited in the car for her to come out. She did a good job however. This slice rocked.

Grand Daisy Bakery    They have several locations but this is the one I tried.

73 Sullivan Street
NY, NY 10012
Every day 7am-7pm

I call it carbo loading others call it eating Pizza

There is no way I can make it to every place I want to try. I am sure enjoying the effort however. That being said, I think it would be interesting to discuss places on my radar from time to time and maybe you could help me out by getting there before I. Remember, I am looking only for the best so if the taste is not something special I have to know. Sending my followers to taste something good but not spectacular is not what I am about.

In the foodie world Pizza is kind of overdone. New style Pizza places are popping up quicker than organic offerings at Whole Foods. This is New York however and Pizza must be given it's proper respect. Therefore, I have listed a few places I want to taste. If you're in the neighborhood drop by and let me know whether to make the effort.

1. Sullivan Street Bakery - 533 West 47th Street.

I'm told the mushroom slice here is not to be believed.  It has Cremini mushrooms, onions, thyme, olive oil, and sea salt; thin, crisp crust. Not too bad, huh?

 
2. Grand Daisy Bakery, 73 Sullivan Street

Grand Daisy is known for everything. The one thing I want to try is Pizza con schiacciata d'uva and also the Cauliflower Pizza. Schiacciata (pronounced ski-ah-CHA-ta) con L'Uva is an Etruscan grape bread or pie and is made to celebrate the grape harvest in Tuscany in the fall. Pizza Cavolfiore is the other one.   It's Cauliflowers and Gryuere cheese on top a thin-crispy pizza.  
 

3. Artichoke Basille, 328 East 14th Street

 How does a great Sicilian slice sound? Or a signature artichoke slice? Or the crab slice? I'm told all are somewhere between excellent and fantastic.

 
4. Motorino - 349 East 12th Street

Motorino is all over the internet for having a terrific product. It is my fault I have not gotten there yet. I have a list of two pies to try. First is the basil and oil or Stracciatella. The second is the Sicilian, once again.

 
5. Luzzo's - 211 First Avenue

The last pie I have on my radar is Luzzo's.  The pie to get here is the napoletano. My plan is to try em all but hard to do in one day.

 

Below is a picture from one of the places. When you get to them guess which one this picture is from.