Category Archives: Run… Don't Walk

This past Sunday while everyone was sipping margaritas and dipping chips into guacamole for Cinco de Mayo I was eating gluten-free pizza at Wild in the West Village with my friend Jason. I wanted something simple and fresh as I had indulged a little bit over the weekend and Wild  hit the spot.

Previously Slice (a vegan pizza place), Wild has evolved into a restaurant that uses fresh, local, seasonal ingredients and clean toppings in their pizzas, salads and desserts. And everything is made gluten-free! Including the pizzas, which taste like a regular flatbread crust. They have stayed true to their former roots by using mostly vegan ingredients and giving diners the option of vegan cheese on their pizzas (no thank you, I like the real stuff) and the only meat options they offer are bacon and sweet capicola.

The scene is rustic, warm, cute and quite small (roughly 6 two top tables and 2 8 seat communal tables), but they’ve got outdoor seating and so when it’s a little warmer, I’ll be outside eating and people watching on Hudson.

from Wild’s Facebook Page

A note….if you are looking for a quick meal then Wild is not for you…. we ordered two pizzas and it took nearly 45 minutes to get our food in a restaurant half full but it was worth the wait. It had been a long weekend for my friend and I so we didn’t drink (they only have a beer and wine license) but I suggest ordering a glass of wine or one of their NY state beers while you wait.

The menu is small but creative with just eight salads to start, eight pizzas (personal or share size) and three desserts. We ordered two personal sized pizzas (the roasted vegetable and sweet capicola) and figured if we were still hungry we could always order more (we didn’t).

When our pizza finally came out they were a sight to behold….the seasonal vegetable pizza looked like a garden on a plate with asparagus, fennel, cauliflower, peppers, and mushrooms sprinkled over a thick homemade pesto and the sweet capicola was a cheesy dream slathered with thin slices of capicola and peppered with tiny cherry peppers.

The pizza is more of a flatbread than a pizza crust as its very crunchy and much thinner than your average pie. I felt less heavy after I finished eating it but definitely full and loved that it tasted so fresh and was devoid of extra salt (they let the ingredients really shine through). You know you are eating something bad when it’s pizza but at Wild that’s not the case. If this is healthy pizza then I’ll be here a lot…I just wish they delivered to me (I live on Hudson but south of Canal) but I am just shy of their delivery range. Guess I’ll just have to bike up there and back to get my Wild fix.

Wild

535 Hudson Street (between Charles and Perry Streets)

Simply put… you have not lived until you’ve had a sandwich at Alidoro.

Ali Doro is the perfect epitome of the largely only New York idea that one can treat their customers any way one wants, as long as what they are serving is perfect (it is). Alidoro is kinda of like the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld where they kick you out for asking for recommendations, taking too much time when ordering or talking too loud. But they can do whatever they want and tell me however they want me to act as I am at the mercy of them until I get my beloved sandwich!

During the week lines form out the door making your lunch endeavor a long, but well worth it process. I go on Saturday afternoons when you will almost always have someone in front of you, but never wait more than 10 minutes. Consider yourself lucky if you work or live nearby…. while they don’t deliver, they do accept phone orders so you can skip the line!

One should note that the menu is overwhelming; they’ve got over 40 sandwich creations and you can also make your own. So I suggest checking out the menu prior to your visit so you can at least have an idea of what you want. Otherwise you will be left staring at the menu way longer than you should. It is impossible not to find a sandwich to love because everything is wonderful.

The sandwiches aren’t cheap (averaging $11 a pop) but they are not small either (about the size of my forearm) so trust me when I say you won’t need anything else to eat until much, much later that night. My personal favorite is “The Pavarotti” with salami, smoked mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, artichokes and sweet roasted peppers but I also like “The Dino” with prosciutto, arugula, smoked mozzarella and sundried tomatoes and “The Marco Polo” with fresh mozzarella, hot peppers and arugula. It doesn’t matter what sandwich you get because it will be good. With each layer you bite into an explosion of flavors where, even though it’s all packed in there, you get to taste each fresh and delicious ingredient separately.

Alidoro is only open for five hours (from 11:30-4:30) Monday-Saturday and is cash only. Before a trip to Alidoro make sure you’ve got your game face on (i.e. a hungry stomach) and prepare yourself mentally for the best Italian sandwich you’ve ever had, seriously.

Alidoro 

105 Sullivan Street (between Prince & Spring)

This city is full of charming restaurants with great atmospheres, good food, and excellent service that have a devoted following and Malatesta Trattoria in the West Village is the epitome of that statement having lines out the door, consistently delicious food, and a dining room bursting with energy and excitement.

I’ve been to Malatesta a half-dozen times but with months and even years between visits. No more….monthly visits need to happen! The meal I had at Malatesta with some friends a few weeks back was simply unbelievable. Ya we had to wait a bit (45 minutes) but we went to a bar around the corner and were called when our table was ready to seat us.  Soon after our much awaited call, we were sat in one of the best tables in the front corner flanked by their street view windows and a prime view of the entire dining room.

The place was packed and just a few steps out of the front door groups of people stood huddled  awaiting the good news that their tables were ready. You have food envy from every table in your vicinity as it all just looks soo good. My friends and I have all been to Malatesta before and knew that we couldn’t go and NOT get the spinach gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce, and then we also ordered grilled lamb chops, and a skate special with cabbage and fennel to share.

*fresh parmesan served in a coffee cup with spinach gnocchi*

Let me start off by saying that I could eat only the gnocchi here every time and be perfectly content. Don’t go here and not indulge in their homemade gnocchi.  It literally melts in your mouth and the gorgonzola sauce is creamy and not overbearing. The grilled lamb chops were served on a wood platter and held up by a huge mound of sautéed spinach and roasted potatoes. Perfectly cooked and salted just right, we ate them to the bone.

Now what would you think our bill would be for three large entrees, a dessert, and a carafe of wine where we all got 1 1/2 half glasses of wine? At many Italian restaurants in the city you couldn’t get that for under $150-$200 but at Malatesta our bill came to just under $100!!! Who says you can’t get delicious food at affordable prices anymore??

Malatesta is a rare find in this city…. and I don’t mind waiting to experience a  meal here time and time again. The place is cash only but that only adds to its charm (and makes it easier when dining out with a big group). The only drawback to this place I can think of is that the dining room is so packed that you’re basically seated in your neighbor’s laps but who doesn’t like making new friends?

Malatesta Trattoria

649 Washington Street (at Christopher Street)

What can you say about Di Fara Pizza that hasn’t already been said? There are millions of articles, comments and tributes to what Zagat, Time Out New York, New York Mag, the NYTimes and a whole bunch of others deem one of the best pizzas, if not the best pizza in NYC. And yet I had not made it out to Midwood to try a slice for myself.

A 30 minute train ride on the Q from Union Square, Di Fara is one block from the train station and easy to miss as it blends in with the bustling neighborhood. Di Fara was always a place I wanted to visit but the talk of the crazy waits and the fact that I had no clue where it was (where is Midwood I would ask?) deterred me from going. Luckily for me, my friend Jason hosted a private pizza party Tuesday night for the first 30 people to respond to his invitation a few weeks back (I said yes without even knowing who I was going to bring and almost immediately after getting his email in my inbox). And so armed with my girl Kara, $40 and a six-pack of beer (the cost of the party was $30 without tip and the place is BYOB), I prepared for pizza greatness.

*MM & KK*

Di Fara has been making their pizza the same way for decades…seriously. There is one guy, Dom, making every single pizza by hand every single time. A good pizza is one made with a lot of heart and Dom puts everything he has into each pie.

*Di Fara all to ourselves*

*Dom putting the finishing touches on a pie*

What makes these pizzas so great? It’s simplicity. Each slice is perfection and is literally nothing like the one made before it (because Dom made it by hand), other than it’s consistency in tasting out of this world delicious!

It is fascinating to watch Dom work. Before he began making the pizzas I was able to catch a brief moment of him preparing himself for the evening as he rolled up his sleeves and prepared his workstation like a painter ready create a masterpiece.

There are two kinda of pizza’s made, a long rectangular crust and a thin crust pie but the process is still the same…a little bit of sauce is spread out onto the dough, then a cheese grater is brought out and a bunch of fresh mozzarella is sliced onto the pie, then more tomato sauce  is ladled onto the pie, followed by freshly torn mozzarella di bufalo spread all over the pie and then topped off with fresh grated cheese and drizzled olive oil before being shoved into the decades old oven.

I lost count on how many slices I consumed but I think the number is close to six or seven slices! From plain cheese to a white pizza with porcini mushrooms, a pepperoni, and the Di Fara classic …. we were filled to the brim. Of course the ingredients made the pizzas different in taste but each crust was chewy and crunchy, had a balanced sauce to cheese ratio and was swimming in a sea of tomato sauce with chunks of milky melted cheese. My favorite little touch was the way Dom cut fresh basil right onto each pizza and drizzled it with olive oil.

My experience with Di Fara was vastly different to most as I didn’t have to wait in a long line but I’ll wait hours if I have to for this pizza it’s that good. I look forward to singing its praises to everyone I know and taking people for their first Di Fara experience just as Jason did for me!

DiFara Pizza

1424 Avenue J (between East 14th and East 15th Streets) *Brooklyn

Taking my incredibly talented and lovely friend Margarita out for dinner at Ushiwakamaru was the least I could do after she saved me from stress and aggravation in helping me find the perfect tenant to move into my condo in Brooklyn (dear friends of hers who were looking for a bigger place). As a thank you I told her she could pick any place she wanted and yet she offered me the choice! So I gave her a list of places I wanted to try and after Acme gave me the choice of a 6pm or 10pm reservation….we found 7 pm success at Ushiwakamaru!

I’ve had it on my list for nearly a year and after two previous attempts to eat there (1/2 of the couple we were going with doesn’t eat raw fish), I finally got my chance! I am no expert in sushi and I’ve never been to Yasuda (on the list as well) or Japan, but I have been to Sasabune, 15 East, Brushstroke, Morimoto, Azabu, etc and can certainly appreciate spending some benjamins on downright amazing sushi. Well Ushiwakamaru tops many of the above mentioned famed sushi joints in the city and is now in my top 3!

A blink and you’ll miss it type of place on a stretch of Houston Street that doesn’t boast many great dining establishments, Ushiwakamaru is a zen-like den just a few steps down from street level. The only reservation I could get had us saddling up to the sushi counter and to be honest, I feel like that’s the only way you want to dine here as the tables seemed a little tight, a little misplaced, and not as pleasant as watching your meal be prepared in front of your eyes at the counter.

We were treated like royalty from start to finish….our server replaced our plates and chopsticks after every dish, our sake cups were re-filled before we could do it ourselves, and we were never rushed even as we found ourselves deep in conversation and at some times neglecting the artfully crafted dishes in front of us. The sushi is perfectly sized (you don’t have to unhinge your jaw to fit anything in), amazingly fresh with firm flesh, and every piece was buttery, melt in your mouth good.

Two bottles of sake, one sushi/sashimi combination platter, two rolls, raw octopus with wasabi, monkfish liver and grapefruit jelly later….we were done. Sushi like this is expected to be expensive but I would have thought our bill would be much much more than our $160 bill with tax and tip included!

It’s no surprise that Ushiwakamaru is loved. Since eating there a few days ago and singing its praises I’ve had many others express their love for it too! It’s fancy, but unpretentious and serves up high quality, but not overpriced sushi. Their attention to quality and detail from service to presentation to taste is extreme….extremely wonderful.

Ushiwakamaru

136 West Houston (between Sullivan and MacDougal Streets)

For many St. Patrick’s Day last weekend was a drunken day of celebration. And mine too was a celebration albeit a more somber and reflective one. Last year on Saturday, March 17th 2012 my beloved grandpa passed away. And for the first anniversary of his passing, I wanted to celebrate him with a glass of scotch and a good meal. A proud and stoic Danish man, I couldn’t think of a better place to remember him than with brunch at Aamans-Copenhagen.

Billed as an authentic Danish culinary experience in NYC, Aamans-Copenhagen has brought smørrebrød, the Danish national dish, to the NYC dining scene. Also known as the open-face sandwich, this isn’t just any open-face sandwich. No this is a combination of contrasting flavors (salty, sweet, earthy and fresh) and magical textures (crispy, smooth, creamy, bitter, ripe, sweet) that are expertly assembled onto delicious and homemade rye bread and served with creamy sweet butter.

The restaurant is in a weird location, right near the entrance to The Holland Tunnel and sandwiched between a Maserati dealership and the Tribeca Film Fest Theater, but you can’t miss it. The entrance is decorated floor to ceiling with foot high letters of some menu items such as beet, herring and pork. The space is very roomy and VERY bright….I bet they save oodles of money on electric bills as the natural light pours in from the windows as big as the walls and reflects off of the stark white-painted walls.

We wanted to try a little sampler of my grandfather’s culinary heritage and so ordered the herring trio and two smørrebrød to share between the two of us (two of us meaning my boyfriend and myself).

*Trio of Cured Herring*

(from left to right)

• Herring in mustard tarragon cream, with radish and crispy rye bread
• Herring in spicy tomato compote with fresh tomato and endive
• Pickled Herring with juniper berries, black pepper, all spice and bay leaf, with capers, egg, onions and crispy rye bread

*Beef Tartare Smørrebrød with egg emulsion, fresh tarragon, cornichons, capers, shallot rings and crispy potatoes*

*Chicken Salad Smørrebrød with mushroom, celeriac, roasted garlic and crispy rye bread*

The herring trio was marvelous….my boyfriend didn’t know if he would like herring but he ended up loving it! The three different flavor combos were so deliciously different and was wonderful when portioned out and placed onto a piece of rye bread with butter!

You will notice that the portions are small but I suggest ordering a few extra pieces of their homemade rye bread with sweet butter to pair alongside. This isn’t the place to come for a meal and expect to leave overly full….no this is a place to have a new dining experience and taste flavor combinations you might not have tried.

It’s been a long time since I was last in Copenhagen but I’m pretty confident in saying that my grandfather would have loved this place for its authenticity and deliciousness. I look forward to going back for dinner and pairing my meal with a glass of akvavit and toasting him again soon!

Aaamans Copenhagen

13 Laight Street (between Varick St and 6th Avenue)