Remember the days of Chinese Restaurants bearing this sign alone?

We've certainly come a long long way from the highlight of a chinese meal consisting of Chow Mein.

I took this picture on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn at an old Chinese take out joint, just yesterday. 

Dim sum anyone? me... me.. me...

Chinese Breakfast, dim sum cart.

                       

Very busy prep of chinese delicacies in Chinatown, Brooklyn, New York.

Cucina Fresca, a hidden gem in a local strip mall

BYOB, a real treat on Staten Island. Yeah, bring your own. 

On the table, as soon as you come in, Mussels Marinara and little pizza triangles with homemade "pizza dough-ish" bread, grated cheese & olive oil. I am liking this already.

I don't usually enjoy mussels, but the smell was so intoxicating and inviting that I had to eat these. I soaked the sauce up after eating a few, with the bread. It was just fantastic. Probably the best mussels in red sauce I've ever had, aside from my Dad's.

Mixed greens with goat cheese, craisins and walnuts. Balsamic vinaigrette over the top.

Not just baked clams here. Perfectly seasoned breadcrumb, just enough olive oil, and the clams themselves were tender and delicious.

             
Frutti Di Mare. Exceptionally tender calamari, fresh & delicious clams, mussels and              shrimp in an excellent spicy sauce over spaghetti, naturally. Loved it!

Homemade Pappardelle with mixed seafood, including seared scallops, in a red sauce.

                     

Veal Chop Milanese with roasted potatoes and onions.

DESSERT

                    Tartufo with raspberry sauce. Can't go wrong with this.. EVER.

Lightly toasted Angel Food Cake with chocolate syrup, a drizzling of Kahlua, fresh mixed berries, toasted nuts and fresh whipped cream.

A great meal in a small but quaint location. The owners, A husband and wife team, are wonderful, as is the entire staff. Extremely professional and accommodating. 

Be sure to make a reservation. 

   Cucina Fresca         

2110 Richmond Road 

Staten Island, NY 10306

(718) 667-5151

KRISPY PIZZA, now that's a great slice

KRISPY & DELICIOUS

Remember when you lived in Brooklyn and you just wanted a regular slice? Well, I found it here on Staten Island. Krispy Pizza of Brooklyn, 13th Avenue, has a spot off Manor Road. It is exactly as it is on 13th Avenue.  There are no flairs, no fusses, no extra thin crust, no extra thick. It's their regular, old fashioned cheese pie that is the STAR here.. The crust, the sauce, the cheese, perfection...

Now, if I can only get them to deliver to my house.. But honestly, it's not that far and this pizza is totally worth the trip.
I find it very ,very difficult to have a great pie delivered to my house or in close proximity.

YIPPEE, I found Krispy and it's a true winner..

THE PIZZA POSE

Krispy Pizzeria

11 Holden Boulevard  Staten Island, NY 10314

(718) 983-5900

CHILI LOVERS, CHECK THIS OUT

The New York City Chili Cookoff

Saturday, Apr 21 12:00p to 4:00p

at Historic Richmond Town, Staten Island, NY

One Hot Weekend at Historic Richmond Town in Staten Island, NY! Come to Eat or Compete!

LOCATION:
441 Clarke Avenue
Staten Island, NY, 10306
718-351-1611 x241

The New York City Chili Cookoff
Saturday, April 21, 2012 12pm – 4pm

The New York City BBQ Cookoff
Sunday, April 22, 2pm – 6pm

Over $10,000 in prizes! 

Admission: $10 for adult, $5 for child
Admission price includes a tasting kit for sampling any or all of the People's Choice foods!

There will performances by The Wahoo Skiffle Crazies each day.

 Event Website

Categories: Fairs & Festivals, Charity & Volunteer

Creator:  HistoricRichmondTown

Luzzo's Pizza, now, that's what I'm talking about

Luzzo's at 211 1st Ave . in NYC, with it's old time Italian style restaurant, wowed me the first time I went there, in every way. The pizza was perfection made in their coal oven as we watched from our table nearby. The also serve food, and each appetizer we tried was better than  the next.  The wine, also a nice selection of Chianti to compliment the meal. Pizza & Wine, a great combo.. That's not to say that Pizza & Beer take second place, but the Wine is a very strong runner for 1st.  We had the Carciofi Gratinati appetizer which is artichokes in breadcrumb with a lemon & garlic dressing.. Outstanding. The Eggplant Parm was cooked perfectly and their sauce is made with imported San Marzano tomatoes, the best there is.  And you have to taste the Mozzarella Imbottita which is fried bufala mozz stuffed with mushrooms & ham. It was insane. The homemade Pappardelle with mushrooms & sausage was deliciously amazing as well.

But the real shining star here is the pizza. I have gone back on numerous occasions and it has always been, for me and my group, the best, most delicious consistently excellent pie. The pizza is thin style coal oven. So if you want to take it home, don't..

 This pizza is best eaten as it comes out of the oven. And it doesn't stay hot for long, so eat it quickly and save the conversation for later. The pizza is made with fresh ingredients shipped from Naples, Italy. The crust is light yet crispy, the sauce, savory & tasty, the Bufala mozzarella is perfect. It's got the right consistency, meltability (new word?) and flavor. Notice the bottom, perfectly cooked. 

All together, this is one of, if not THE best, PIZZA in NYC.

Luzzo's

 First Ave. (bet. 12th & 13th Sts.)Manhattan, NY 10003

PIZZA, PIZZA. NO PIZZA at CIRO'S FOR ME

I am on a forever search for pizza. Normally I go basic, just a plain regular pie, or Margherita.
So, I take recommendations from others and find my way to THAT pizza place.
This trip I go to Ciro's on Staten Island, way on the other side of my island. This place came highly recommended by my hairdresser Nikki, and my favorite Foodie friend, another hairdresser, Kristin.

They both love Lucali's, so I had to trust them. But no one is perfect.. They messed up this time.
The sauce was sweet, and I like sweet, but this may have been a drop too much. The crust, while crispy as I like it, lost it in flavor. It was nowhere, as was the fresh mozzarella.The mozz was so bland, it literally had no taste.  I added grated cheese to give me that lift that I was looking for. I almost added salt, came to my senses, and just opted for a bit more cheese.

You should never, ever have to add anything to a great pie. By the third bite, I was sad, for this wasn't gonna be a great pizza find.
But, the salad was great, all three that we tried; Arugula with shaved parmesan, Arugula with mozzarella and grape tomatoes, and the Mixed Salad. All orders were plentiful and a great value.
My glass of cabernet at $5 was great, as was the pitcher of beer for $8.75.
The waitstaff was fantastic. Thanks girls..
But sadly, I will never make that trip again. It just ain't worth it.

Onto the next place I go.....

This review is about
Ciro's Pizza Cafe
862 Huguenot Avenue  Staten Island, NY 10312
(718) 605-0620

PRIMANTI BROTHERS, ONE OF THE WORST SLICES EVER...

I have seen Primanti Brothers on almost every foodie show there is. Their big thing is their sandwiches which are, you pick your meat, they grill it, then they add french fries and cole slaw on top of what they call, Italian Bread. Their main place is in Pittsburgh. They have other locations and we decided to try the Oakland Park, Florida location in my search for great pizza in Florida. The minute I walked in I knew we were in trouble. The pie just didn't have the right eye appeal.

Low & behold, here's the pie. We were 6 people, we ordered one pie to try. This is what was left after we "tried" it.. Half the pie remains. I'll leave the rest of the story for you to figure out.

As for the sandwich, it was way better than the pizza, but nothing remarkable. It was pastrami. Not NY pastrami, but pastrami.  It's very hard to eat NY style foods in other states that try to make it NY.. It just doesn't happen.

Another great meal that I had to sneak in, at Angelina's Ristorante

I have to post these oysters that were ordered at Angelina's Ristorante the other night. I have never seen a presentation like this before, ever. Notice that each oyster is placed on its own ice cylinder which is about 2 inches in height and has a circular cut out on top to fit each of these fresh delicious Japanese oysters . They tasted as if they were just pulled out of the ocean. Really fabulous.
And that was just the beginning..

Filleted table side, fresh & delicious Branzino..

Need a restaurant recommendation?

   
Quite often I get phone calls from friends, and friends of friends, asking for a restaurant recommendation. Being that I spend half my life in them,  am obsessed with all things food, I have a good knowledge base for lots of restaurants, wine bars, dessert shops and food stores.

If anyone is in need of a restaurant recommendation, whether inexpensive, celebrity chef, certain location, best of in NYC specific, I've made it real easy for you. Send me a request via email, allow a 3 hour window,  and I will recommend a minimum of 3 places for you to choose from. If you are not computer savvy or are just really busy, I can make the reservation for you as well, providing the restaurant allows reservations. Same day reservations are not always available, so keep that in mind..

Contact me at freshpeetza@aol.com or freshpeetza2@gmail.com

Baby lamb chop lollipops at
Angelina's Ristorante

Angelina's Ristorante 399 Ellis Street  Staten Island, NY 10307 (718) 227-2900

A different take on the "normal" Easter Sunday dinner

Being Italian, every Easter Sunday dinner had all its key elements such as Antipasto, some sort of a pasta dish, ravioli or stuffed shells. Then the lamb, the standing rib roast, stuffed artichokes, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, salad, etc. This year we went a different route, combining Easter with Ariel's 21st Birthday dinner. Her choice, it became a Puerto Rican Easter Sunday Dinner.

before cooking

Puerto Rican Easter Sunday Dinner

First dish was homemade meat empanadas using a packaged dough, making the job much easier. This dough though is not your ordinary Goya disc dough used. It has a pastry like consistency (thanks Ana) and therefore these empanadas are to be baked, not fried. You can see I almost burned the ones on  the right.. A little burn taste didn't ruin these babies. They were just fantastic.

ready to eat

Then for the next course, the dishes came flowing. It was the traditional Puerto Rican Pernil which was prepped, smothered in garlic and a few other light spices to marinade for 2 days. Then it is slow cooked for 4 hours til the pork almost falls off on its own.

in the oven

sliced Pernil which is actually pork shoulder

We also had a chicken dish, which again, I thought I would not like once I found out how it was prepared. But  to my surprise, pleasant surprise, this chicken dish was excellent. It is marinaded in Onion Soup Mix, Light French Dressing and  Duck Sauce.  Sounds freaky to me, but  I can't wait to eat the leftovers on that one.

Then we had white rice with black beans. The beans have small pieces of ham, potatoes and green olives in them too. Avocado, tomato and red onion salad mixed with white vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper adds just the right taste to lighten up a heavy meal. 

Then we had this potato salad that is served warm. It contains hard boiled eggs and corn. The first time I saw this I thought it was really odd, mainly cause of the corn. But it is a dish I like to introduce to people, who try it with hesitancy, but then ultimately love it too. 

I had to have a green vegetable, so I snuck in one Italian dish, Broccoli Rabe with garlic & oil..  

hey, it's only a vegetable, it's not like I ruined the meal..

And for dessert, a request by the birthday girl, her mom's 2 day process, Flan. This is not your ordinary slimy Flan. This is made with cream cheese added to the original recipe, which makes it extremely creamy, heavier texture and much more delicious.

And, of course , the Birthday Cake.

Red Velvet by Cake Chef on Staten Island. And a fresh fruit platter. 

Great day, great meal..

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY ARIEL!

On a side note, these pictures aren't exactly as I would have liked them to be, but it's hard to keep 2 tables full of people waiting for me to arrange the food so the pics come out the way I want.  Just sayin'... But thanks to those that indulge me. xo

MONA LISA PIZZA, EXCELLENT PIE, GREAT FOOD

PIZZA...

Perfect crust, a little crispy, not doughy. The sauce was as it should be,

 not over spiced or cooked down; imported tomatoes. Simple & delicious. 

The mozzarella was perfect, not bland, not salty, just right. This pie, named the Partanna pie, 

specially made by Lenny, was just fantastic.

GOLD MEDAL WINNER 2011...

This sicilian 1/2 slice was one of the best pieces of pizza I have ever eaten. I am a conventional Margherita pie eater, or old fashioned slice, but I had to try this at the request of Lenny. 

It is made with fresh cremini mushrooms sauteed in butter, sundried tomatoes, fresh imported truffles shaved on top and a sprinkle of truffle oil , and mozz... It was fantastic. No wonder they won the 

Gold Medal for this pizza.

Escarole & Beans....

A very large bowl of homemade 'Scarole & Beans, just like your momma makes. 

Don't forget the imported Reggiano Parmigiano on top. Magnifco!

sampling the goods... 

Mona Lisa Pizzeria     839 Annadale Road  Staten Island, NY 10312

The Salty Pimp...

Well, Ice Cream season is in full gear and the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, which is now the store, has got lines out the door and down the block. Even if you hate lines, like me, this one is worth it. At $5 a pop, still worth it. It disappears in less than 5 minutes, still worth it.

It's a cone that has dulce de leche inside the cone, then he fills the cone with vanilla ice cream, then Doug squeezes more dulce de leche into the sides of and around the ice cream, then he applies sea salt and dips it in a hot chocolate bonnet, from the tradition of Mr. Softee. And there it is.

The flavor combinations work extremely well together and create an explosion of deliciousness in your mouth. I live in Staten Island, NY and drive to NYC just to get a cone.. So that's $5 for the cone, $13 for the bridge, gas back and forth at $4 something a gallon. STILL WORTH IT!
And if you want some more, like I did on one visit, I had the Bea Arthur as well.. Yep, two.. so delish.

The address is : 125 E. 7th Street, between 1st Ave & Ave A, NYC

Could this be something to try?

I've heard of crazy concoctions of foods and at times I am presently surprised at how a few totally unrelated ingredients can come together and make an unbelievably delicious meal. But this concoction invented by Phillip? I am not so sure. Well, here it is.. It's a cheeseburger topped off with a Sicilian Rice ball, all on one bun, or bottomed off rather.  The rice ball has meat, peas and sauce in the middle, therefore, no ketchup.

Anyone daring enough to try it? I wouldn't, cause I would never ever waste the deliciousness of a Sicilian Rice Ball from Staten Island's own best Italian gourmet store, Little Italy Gourmet, by combining it with anything other than, perhaps, ricotta cheese, marinara sauce, freshly grated parmigiano making it a "Rice Ball Special".