Luigi’s Gourmet

December 5, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I ordered a pie from here for delivery once and we were happy with it. Not overjoyed, but happy. It was a good, fair price ($12), and the shit was crispy instead of runny and floppy, DESPITE being stuck in a pizza box and stuffed in a padded bag where the shit can get steamier than a night in the jungle with the Penthouse Pets. So I made it a point to come back and try a proper slice from under the glass, reheated.

Here’s the verdict: I liked it very much. The sauce was robust, a little spicy kick to it. The crust was crispy and durable, yet soft to bite down. The cheese was properly layered and just the right amount. I also tried a fresh mozz slice (I am a sucker for these). This one had basil and fresh sliced tomatoes on it as well. However, I thought that this lacked flavor when eaten side-by-side with the regular slice. I found myself wanting to add salt or something. Oh well. At least we know the regular slice is legit.

Oh and check out these garlic knots. They look delicious. Next time I will try:

LUIGI’S GOURMET
936 8th Ave
New York, NY 10019

Midtown West, Pizza

99¢ Fresh Pizza

December 5, 2014 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

This little hole-in-the-wall is on Broadway and 55th Street.

I love the idea of a cheap slice of pizza, so I made it my mission to try a bunch of these places to find the best one. This category-3 pizza shop is actually okay.

They are a little bit shy on the cheese and sauce, but if you’re in a rush and want to save a few bucks on your food, this joint will suffice once in a while.

The crust is usually crispy, though a little dry due to lack of enough sauce. You can always throw on a little hot sauce if you need that wetness:

Sometimes the crust can be softer if you get a more fresh pie. There’s not too much grease fall-off when you fold the slice to eat it, which is good on the waist, and nothing will drip down your face as you go to bit it. Sauce is basic – nothing nuanced or great about it. Cheese is just your basic shredded medley, if not all mozz. Standing room only inside, so get comfortable at a ledge on the side of the shop, or eat while you walk down the streets of midtown.

99¢ FRESH PIZZA
1723 Broadway
New York, NY 10019

American, East Village, Flash Deals, Restaurant Reviews

Duane Park

December 5, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

As usual, my wife got a sweet deal for this place; dinner and a show for two for $60. I wasn’t expecting to like either the food or the entertainment, but I was surprised at how good the food was, and how fun the entertainment was.

We started at the bar, which is really elegant and fancy. It’s set up like a 1920’s sort of art deco social club. They have a nice cocktail menu ($14 each). I had the Bowery Honey Bee, and my wife had a “That’s Gold, Darling.”

The table bread came out in a stainless steel cone, and was served warm and toasty, with a dish of white bean puree that resembled hummus, but with less aggressive spices.

Our deal entitled us to a limited menu three course tasting. I started with the roasted shrimp and grits. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the grits were creamy. I just wish there was more!

My wife had the mushroom veloute, which was creamy, earthy and rich.

For my entree, I had the ale-braised pork shoulder, which came with mashed potatoes and sliced, roasted carrots. This was really nice. The meat was tender, soft and juicy.

My wife had the salmon, which was perfectly cooked and came with cannellini beans and tomatoes. I typically don’t like cooked salmon, but this was really tasty.

For dessert, I chose the sticky toffee pudding. It was mor elite a bread pudding than a proper pudding, so I was taken back a bit when it came to the table. It was delicious though, and warm. The ice cream scoop on top was the perfect balance.

My wife had the cheesecake of the day, which was apple. Very unique. And good timing for around the Thanksgiving holiday: a mash up of New York (cheesecake) and Americana (apple pie). Great flavors.

The entertainment was a blast. The band was playing classic soul and motown hits, and the singer was excellent!

He even did a few duets with a female vocalist – serious hips on her!

The funny thing about the show was that in-between songs, a pair of burlesque ladies would come out and jiggle their shit on stage. It was basically a classy strip joint in period-piece attire (or lack thereof).

The best part was watching the band as THEY watched the dancers, laughing, crack jokes to one another as they played, etc. The guitarist was getting dresses and bras thrown at him from across the room. He dangled this red sparkly one from his guitar:

DUANE PARK
308 Bowery
New York, NY 10012

Banh Mi, East Village, Restaurant Reviews, Vietnamese

Sao Mai

December 3, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I stopped in here for some banh mi sandwiches after eating some pizza at Motorino around the corner. We tried a classic sandwich, and a pho sandwich (sliced beef and the toppings you usually get with pho, like bean sprouts, etc). Both were pretty good, but I think I liked the pho sandwich better. Both were pretty spicy without having to ask for it, which I like. Check out the pics:

SAO MAI
203 1st Ave.
New York, NY 10003

East Village, Flash Deals, Pizza

Motorino

December 3, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Motorino is one of those over-hyped pizza joints that non-native New Yorker’s think is a great New York pizza. Let me preface this review with this though: I did enjoy the food – ate every last scrap of it (I was starving). However, I felt that the crust was a little too soft. Th router edges were crispy and burnt, which was nice, but ultimately it was a floppy pizza. The sauce was weak (needed herbs or salt or something), and the cheese was sparse. My wife tried a no sauce-based pizza, with mushrooms, cheese, garlic, olives and soppressata. I found myself liking that better than my margherita pie. That’s a bad sign. When you are eating a pizza for the toppings and not for the basics of the pizza pie, then you are in the territory of “go somewhere else.”

Here’s the margherita pie. It’s mostly bread – very sparse on sauce, herbs and cheese. That may be fine for some people, but we needed to order a side of sauce just to dip the bread into. Despite generally liking the flavor of the bread/crust, I though the center of the crust (under the toppings) was way too wet and soggy. Perhaps they should pop this in the oven atop a grill so that the heat can get underneath the crust a bit, and make for a more solid foundation. When I make my pizza, I use a perforated pizza pan that allows for heat to directly hit the bottom of the pie, and I elevate the pizza off the surface of the heat.

Here’s the other pie – much better, but only because it had interesting toppings:

The highlight of the meal was the appetizer, an octopus salad with capers, potatoes, red onion, lemon and parsley. The octopus was really tender and flavorful.

Luckily our deal came with a bottle of wine – we picked this one from the Montepulciano region of Italy. It was great.

MOTORINO
349 E 12th St
New York, NY 10003

Burgers, Recipes

Thanksgiving Leftovers: The Stuffing Burger

December 2, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

A number of variations on this gem can be concocted depending on what’s left in your fridge after the annual gorge-fest known as Thanksgiving. I had an abundance of leftover stuffing and ham, so that’s the route I went this time. Check it out, assholes.

STEP 1: Sculpt your stuffing into burger sized patties. My patties were pretty sweet since my stuffing also had sausage meat already incorporated into it (Momma’s recipe is amazing).