Pizzeria Giove.. Pizza worth staying on the Island for.

My third trip to Giove sealed the deal.. The pizza is truly fantastic. The plain & simple margherita pie has a very thin, crunchy crust while the fresh mozzarella (made daily on premises) has a soft, creamy & just a tad of salt taste. The sauce is the boss, just the way I like it, a little sweet and a really true tomato flavor. SAN MARZANO, the only way to go.
I don't usually order specialty pies, but they have so many tempting ones that next trip I am gonna try two different ones and get back to you on them.

We ordered mussels marinara and an arugula salad for appetizer. The mussels were cooked perfectly and the sauce tasted like mine.. No bull...

The salad was okay. It needed some more shaved parmigiano and a bit more olive oil. 

White pie with broccoli rabe.. I opted for no sausage tonight.. It was fantastic anyway.

 The crust is impeccable. 

A nice full glass of Chianti and I was in.. for 4 slices that is..  Brick oven pizza like it should be.
I can't say enough about Pizzeria Giove.. well, maybe, I can.. I can't wait to get back there. PRONTO.




Pizzeria Giove 
278 New Dorp Lane 
347-286-0635 
Hours: 
Sunday - Thursday, 
10:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m. 
Friday and Saturday, 
10:30 a.m. until late-night closing. 

Seaside Turkish Mediterranean, Staten Island

I love, love, love Middle Eastern food.  Whether it be Greek, Turkish, Lebanese, it's all good to me.
I have been to Seaside before and thought it just to be okay. Passable. But I was dying for some Middle Eastern food and didn't want to travel, so I figured I'd give it another try.
We get there at 6pm on a Wednesday and the place is packed.. Promising? Maybe.
We receive the menus and the choices are many and sounding delicious. Then I notice a large Italian menu with pizza. Really? I figured at this point, maybe not so promising. Not a good idea to advertise your Turkish restaurant and then feature Italian food and different kinds of pizza.

I much prefer Sahara, Turkish, in Bklyn, or Elia, Greek, also in Bklyn.  But this is five minutes from my house.
We order the Shepherd Salad which I love. Once again, it falls short. Not even the shredded feta could save the salad, nor the freshly baked bread, which to me, was not freshly baked. It was decent, but not hot out of the oven. The salad needed salt and perhaps some lemon. I do not want to add things to my food in a restaurant. If it's good food, you shouldn't have to do anything but eat and enjoy...

Next we had the grilled calamari, at $8 a serving. And after counting the rings, there was 7, 7 rings of calamari. I have never seen such a small portion of calamari in my life.. And again, it was just okay. I didn't think it was worth a photo, so I didn't take it.. But I should have. 

The mixed salad looked great, came with craisins,, walnuts and cheese, but the dressing was bland. It wasn't awful. Just needed something, again.

I will say that the chicken shish kebob was very very good. The chicken was flavorful and moist, the rice pilaf was delicious as well. The accompaniments, the red cabbage slaw with slice red onion and the grilled tomato and pepper also were very tasty and the flavors all complimented one another, especially when adding the tzatziki sauce. 

The beef kabob also was good, but the vegetables on the side were mostly red & green peppers that were sauteed and it really didn't go with the dish.

So, basically, if you are on Staten Island and have a jones for some Turkish food and you don't want to travel, this will suffice. But if you prefer really great Turkish food, head on into Brooklyn. 

Seaside
Turkish Restaurant

124 Ocean Ave., Staten Island, NY 10305 Ph: 718 556 9000

Watermark Asbury Park

What a gorgeous, huge, fun, yet romantic, if you want it to be, place. Watermark is located on the boardwalk in Asbury, actually on the second floor hovering over the boardwalk with floor to ceiling windows all around. Gorgeous views of the ocean as you drink, eat and mingle. The interior is beautiful with lounge areas, large bar and another huge room with dim lighting and two fireplaces.

Polenta Cakes

The menu is small but covers just about any appetizer/small plates of food you might want. We ordered 2 of everything being that we were 8 people.

Spicy seared Ahi Tuna

This spicy seared tuna on a bed of edamame topped with seaweed and basil oil was amazing. The tuna was fresh and melted in our mouths.

Chicken Quesadilla

 These are the baby back ribs that were luscious and fell off the bone.. Tender and delicious.

Waldorf Chicken Sliders with shoestring fries

The drink selections are quite expansive. There's a huge cocktail list, nice wine list, several iced teas (alcohol included), sangrias, seasonal specialites too. 

The service, the food, the drinks, the locale, all told was a great night out and we can't wait to go back. They have outside seating as well, if you prefer, also loungy (couches, large comfy seats), cocktail tables. It's great for groups and you can spend hours there just having a great time.

Watermark

800 Ocean Avenue  Asbury Park, NJ 07712 (732) 455-3447