I live in the part of Winnipeg known as Little Italy but these days you’ll find more sushi shops than Mom and Pop Pizzerias.  But in cities like New York and Chicago there are Italian restaurants everywhere not just in their vibrant Italian neighbourhoods. We ate a lot of Italian on our recent trip to New York, even having two Italian meals in Chicago on our stopover on the way.

We had time for a quick lunch at the food court at O’Hare on our way through Chicago and I was lucky to find Reggio’s Pizza.  They serve traditional Chicago deep dish pizza with what they call their “butter crust” and I must say it was buttery.  I was happy that D was willing to share this with me because even though it was a personal pizza size, it’s depth meant it was full of rich tomato sauce, Italian sausage, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Our first night in New York brought the storm serge from a tropical storm. (Thankfully we were not there when Hurricane Sandy hit as this rain was fierce enough for me).  As a result, we chose not to wander too far from home and ended up at a cute little restaurant at the corner of our street called Finestra on the corner of E 73^rd and York. Its a real neighbourhood place with an extensive menu.  The service was good and the food was just what we were looking for on this damp, late fall day.

D had the capresse salad and bruschetta al Pomodori, while B and I were more indulgent with

Spaghetti Carbonara and

Penne Alla Vodka.

One evening we wandered to the Time Square area to enjoy dinner at Carmine’s for family-style Italian.  This restaurant is huge and there was a line up out the door.  Thankfully D had made a reservation weeks before.  If you plan to dine at Carmine’s be sure to bring your appetite.  All the dishes are served family style, so regardless if there are ten in your party or 3, as in our case, you still get the same gigantic platter of what ever dish you select.  Your entrée is served with a big basket of assorted bread and rolls as well as an equally huge platter of salad.  We had left over of both salad and pasta and could have feed ourselves an entire meal the next day had we not been leaving for the airport first thing in the morning.  The menu is simple – you choose a pasta, a sauce and a meat if you would like.  A tough thing to do if there are a number of you with different tastes all planning to share.

We were having a hard time making a selection when our server told us about that night’s feature; Farfalle with mushrooms, chicken, asparagus, roasted red peppers and black olives in olive oil and broth. It was delicious and the perfect choice for us.

On our way back from New York we had a bit longer to spend in O’Hare and decide to sit down for a meal at Tuscany Restaurant. The dishes featured fresh herbs and you could taste the quality of the ingredients.  We enjoyed the caprese salad, margherita pizza and fetucinni alfredo with chicken.

Comfort food for weary travelers.

Kath’s quote: “Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power, has that ability to comfort.” –Norman Kolpas

Love-that is all.

When planning this recent trip to New York, I not only thought about what shows to see, what museums to visit, what tours to take, what stores to shop, but what restaurants to visit.  I was so happy when I was able to knock off two on my wish list in the same afternoon.

We took a tour of Rockefeller Centre including at trip to the Top of the Rock-seventy stories in the air with a 360° view of Manhattan.

We were at standing in front of the NBC Today show set when I looked behind me and noticed Bouchon Bakery. I had planned to go to the one at Columbus Circle and had no idea that this location existed. I don’t think it was there a few years ago when my sisters and I were at NBC at the crack of dawn to see a taping of the Today show.  It was the perfect location to stop for lunch at the end of our tour. Bouchon is the invention of Chef Thomas Keller. Over the years I have discovered a few of his desert recipes that have become my all time favourites including his lemon tart and molten chocolate tart.  You can find them both easily via Google.  It is my dream to one day dine at his famous restaurant “The French Laundry” in California’s Napa Valley.

D and I ordered the grilled cheese sandwich, melted fontina and Gruyere cheeses on buttery bread served with San Marzano tomato soup.

B had the French ham and Emmenthaler cheese sandwich on baguette with the house salad.  Simple food but made with the very finest ingredients.

Another icon NYC bakery that I was lucky enough to come upon that day was Magnolia Bakery.  Again I had planned to visit their other location on Bleeker Street so was surprised to come across this location. This bakery became famous for its cupcakes when featured on Sex and the City.

I stopped in to scope out the place, thinking I would come away with one of their famous cupcakes but instead I was drawn to the tiny red velvet cheese cake. There are no seats in this bakery so you need to take everything to go.  My cheesecake and I then proceeded to walk to Macy’s for a “one day sale”, take the subway back uptown to the Upper East-side and walk the 10 blocks back to our apartment.  I then shared it with B in celebration of our birthdays.

It was a bit bumped around, but lovely none the less.

Kath’s quote:  “Food should be fun.” –Thomas Keller

Love-that is all.

I can honestly say that I didn’t have a bad meal the whole time we were in New York.  Here are a couple of highlights of new discoveries made this time around.

Matt’s Grill W55th Street at 8^th Avenue

After an early morning to participant in the live audience of the Anderson Cooper show, we were three hungry travelers looking for some sustenance.  We found it just a short jaunt away at Matt’s.  What you would expect from a neighbourhood place, the bar takes up a good chunk of the room and locals greet the waitresses like old friends as they pull up a bar stool for a quick lunch.  We all selected sandwiches and fries.

D had the egg salad which was topped with ham and a slice of cheddar, I had the chicken wrap with bacon, avocado and tomato and

B had the grilled Portobello mushroom topped with fresh mozzarella, tomato and roasted onions.

Now a days there are so many Food Network shows about food trucks, and so many of them happen to be in Manhattan, I knew I had to visit at least one of these roadside vendors on this visit.  B and I took a day to ourselves to shop and found ourselves in Union Square Park at lunch time.

There were plenty of trucks to choose from but we decided on Patty’s Tacos for our lunch.

We skipped the famous cow’s tongue tostados and ordered corn tamales stuffed with chicken mole

and the cheese sincronizada (much like a quesadilla but made with two flour tortilla like a grilled sandwich.  This was served with a refreshing tossed salad.  We found a park bench to enjoy our food and watch the passers by.

On the night that we were headed to the East Village to see Stomp we decided to go to the Ukranian East Village Restaurant for dinner, as it was located next door to the Orpheum Theatre. It was nice to have something a little different, which at the same time reminded me of home.

I enjoyed the wiener schnitzel that was crisp and tasty, topped with a fried egg and served with mashed potatoes and vegetables,

B tried the varenyky (AKA perogies) and D enjoyed the beef brisket with potato pancakes.  Our entrees came with salad and delicious bread so there was way too much food all around.  But what else would you expect from a Ukrainian kitchen.

The last little gem we discovered was Uskudar Turkish restaurant at E 73^rd and 2^nd.  Unfortunately we were all so tired that night that we cancelled our reservation and I instead ran down to the restaurant and ordered our dinners to go.  When the food arrived I was so hungry that I forgot to take out the camera and snap my photos.  As a result I can’t even remember what exactly we had.  I know there was a Sheppard’s salad, humus, lamb kabob, cheese pie, but the details are blurry.  One thing for sure, it was yummy and one of my favorite meals of the trip. That may have something to do with my affinity for Turkish food. I guess I just have to go back and do a better job of keeping track of this meal next time.

Kath’s quote: “We are a family who start discussing our next meal before the one in front of us is fully consumed.” -Sister #3

Love-that is all.

There was a little pizza joint that I would notice on the way to visit my Mom in EK.  She reported that the pizza from there was wonderful and I always intended to give it a try.  But unfortunately, by the time I was ready, it had closed its doors.  My big brother reported that they had re-opened on Academy Road.  In the mean time, I had spied a place that boasted freshly made pasta as well as pizza on one of my many neighbourhood walks with our big old dog.  Could the place I spotted, be one and the same?  Sure enough, big brother confirmed that it was.

This is one of our fellow Jets’ fans.  I tried 4 times to get the top of his head in my picture but as soon as I would position him for the photo, he would start walking towards me, so that he could see the results on my camera. 

With the NHL schedule having started up again, I am often looking for a quick supper idea to eat while watching the game, especially if it is scheduled to begin at 6 pm as many often are.  So I placed an order to pick up and headed out the door a half hour later to explore Pizza 21^st Century on Academy and Centennial Ave. I came home with two steaming hot pies but my husband was detained at the office so I let my daughter dig in and quizzed her on what she thought.

She tried a piece of both the Meatlover Madness and the Mediterranean and her personal favourite was the latter.  She appreciated that the crust was nice and crispy (I learned that there is no oil used in the making) and that the sauce had an intense tomato flavour but was light enough that it did not over-power the distinctive toppings.  In her mind the best pizzas are constructed with the toppings on top of the cheese layer with just another sprinkling of cheese over all.  She thought that Pizza 21^st Century really understood this concept and loved the topping to cheese ratio.  She added that there was every kind of meat represented in each and every bite of the Meatlovers.

There are no tables to eat your supper in the restaurant but there is plenty of parking in the back and so you can zip in and out in no time.

I was pleased to meet Vlado and his wife Duubravka, who proudly indicate that they are from Croatia.  When you look at a map of the Mediterranean, it is no wonder that Vlado knows his stuff as his former country is one of Italy’s closest neighbours (geographically speaking at least).  I came home with a variety of his fresh pastas that I am going to cook up this evening.  Next time we will order one of the Premium Pizzas-either the Supreme with fresh arugula or the Margarita featuring fresh mozzarella di buffalo cheese.  Hmmm, when do the Jets next play an early start game?

Kath’s quote: “If it weren’t for Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of television, we’d still be eating frozen radio dinners.”-Johnny Carson

Love-that is all.

On a recent trip to NYC I just had to revisit a couple of places I fell in love with on my last trip….that’s right, the food so nice, I ate it twice!

Ess-a-bagel 359 – 1^st Avenue corner of E 21^st Street

What could be more New York City than a bagel with cream cheese!  There are bagel shops everywhere you go in this city.  I picked up a bagel for breakfast from the shop right outside the subway station we frequented on this stay in the upper Eastside.  The bagel was good but I kept thinking about Ess-a-bagel– the perfect bagel!  Then, about five days into my trip I found myself back in the Gramercy Park area exploring vintage shops with my travel companion when it struck me….I was walking down 1^st avenue, not far from where I stayed last time…that could only mean one thing, as soon as I saw the corner of 1^st and E 21^st I was thrilled to see it….the bagel mother load. 

I had to stop, bought two plain bagels with a side of lox cream cheese, which fed me for two breakfasts and a lunch.  So glad I found them again!

The Redhead 349 E. 13th Street (between 1^st and 2^nd Ave)

The purpose of this NYC trip was for my friend, whose birthday is the day before mine, and I to celebrate in a very memorable way.  When it came time to pick the location for my birthday dinner I knew automatically that I had to return to the Redhead for the best southern fried chicken I ever ate. This cozy little neighbourhood bistro was such an amazing surprise on our first trip.  It has since been featured on Food Networks – Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, where everyone raved about their shrimp and grits and homemade soft pretzels, but I think they missed the boat by  not featuring the fried chicken.

 The first time I had it, it was served with corn bread and a salad and this time came with a waffle and sausage.  While I prefer the first option it was all irrelevant when I tasted that chicken again. Marinated in butter milk and fried in the most amazing batter, nothing can compare. 

The Stage Door Deli 26 Vesey Street (between Broadway and Park Row)

When we planned our visit to the newly opened 9/11 memorial I knew that we had to seek out the Stage Door Deli. Last trip it was shopping at Century 21 that brought us to the financial district as the World Trade site was still in a state of disarray at the time. Right next to the Stage Door there was a small memorial museum that we visited first time around.  It is always fun to visit an authentic delicatessen and hear shouting and feel the energy of the city. We all had sandwiches;

pastrami Panini,

beef brisket,

BLT

all delicious, served on fresh bread and featuring the best cured meats.

Kath’s quote:  “the first printed mention of bagels…is to be found in the Community Regulations of Kracow, Poland, for the year 1610 which stated that bagels would be given as a gift to any woman in childbirth.” -‘The Joys of Yiddish’ by Leo Rosten

Love-that is all.