Lucali

50. Lucali
575 Henry Street

Having been told that Lucali, a popular pizza joint in Cobble Hill, fills up rather quickly and that tables are hard to come by, I made sure to show up at 6pm, just when they open. What I hadn't realized is that people start to show up at 5pm and when I asked for a table for 5 people, I was told that they could do a table at 8:30. Two and a half hours?! I'll take mine to go, thank you.





A la TONY, we ordered one with pepperoni and hot peppers and after paying an absurd $32 for a pie that barely serves 3, we snagged an area around the corner to sample the famous pizza. Sure, it had fresh basil and a nicely burned crust but I'm not sure what the big deal is and could never imagine waiting so long for their pizza which isn't even in the same league as Artichoke. Patsy's, Grimaldi's, Lombardi's are all better options. Head around the corner to Ferdinando's for some panelle instead.

LaBeleca

La Beleca
200 W 40th Street between 7th and 8th

Feeling particularly gluttonous for lunch, I opted to scan the archives of Midtownlunch to guide me in my mealtime decision. As I jotted down a number of potential contenders on my notepad, I eventually settled on a chicken parm hero. While Midtownlunch has decisively named winners for best street meat, Chinese and Mexican options, it has been challenged to determine a winning chicken parm hero. Subjecting myself to an experiment of this sort was something I was willing to do.

One of the contestants for top honors is La Beleca, a small pizzeria just a few blocks from my office. Finding a willing coworker to join me on this task was a simple exercise and we decided to order one chicken parm hero and one eggplant parm hero, priced at $6.00 each.

It’s not that there was anything particularly wrong with the sandwich, the bread was nicely toasted, the ratio of bread to filling made the sandwich easy to eat, and the eggplant showed no signs of bitterness, but there wasn’t anything remarkably good about it either. I can’t imagine that a mediocre chicken parm is the best that midtown has to offer, and despite the enormous amount of calories that my coworker and I had consumed, we agreed that after eating an entire sandwich, we were still hungry.

Perhaps it was because my expectations were unreasonably high after having such a satisfying experience with the only other parm sandwich recommended by Midtownlunch (the calamari parm sandwich from Lazarra's), but the heros were not up to snub, and if I’m going to splurge on something heavier for lunch, I’ll look to Sophie’s for a sure winner.

Chicken Parm Sandwich:


Eggplant Parm Sandwich:

Ferdinando's Focacceria

47. Ferdinando’s Focacceria
151 Union Street (Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn)

I know that when my friends and I go on food tours, we aren’t exactly what the restaurant owners want since we take up space and only order a couple of items. Knowing that we aren’t going to be the night’s biggest customer makes it all the more appreciated when servers and owners go out of their way to maintain the same level of service as if we just spent a fortune (I’m looking at you Café Katja and JoeDoe). To say that the owner of Ferdinando’s Focacceria was welcoming is an understatement. After explaining that we were there for the panelle (of course), he began telling us about how he moved from Sicily and engaged the group while we waited for our food to be ready.



Ferdinando’s Focacceria is another spot that makes the TONY list worth it. It’s a place I would never have traveled to but what they serve is worth going even further than the 45 minutes or so that it took us to get there. The panelle sandwich ($5) which is no small item, is made using deep-fried pancakes made with chickpea flour (panelle) topped with fresh ricotta cheese and served on a home-made toasted Italian roll. The crispy panelle acts as a perfect balance against the creamy richness of the ricotta while I could think of no better vehicle for transporting food to mouth than the soft, warm homemade bun. As if to show that Ferdinando’s is no one-hit-wonder, the potato croquettes ($5) were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a likening to hash browns done wonderfully. Ferdinando’s offers an inexpensive, filling and delicious meal and I will certainly be coming back soon.

Posting on Slice

Last Friday I saw that Serious Eats blog Slice, which is dedicated to pizza, posted a link to AmuseMyBouche's post about Anthony's!

Anthony's

44. Anthony’s
426A 7th Avenue between 14th and 15th (Park Slope, Brooklyn)



I’ll admit it. I walked in here with my roommate and was incredibly skeptical. It didn’t have the hole-in-the-wall atmosphere you usually get when you have found a hidden gem, and wasn’t an upscale space where you know it is going to be good. Anthony’s felt like any random Southern Italian restaurant serving mediocre food and If it wasn’t on the TONY list, I would have walked right by it. However, after that first bite of the calzone, stuffed with fresh ricotta and anchovies, I was reminded why I had set out on the TONY quest in the first place, the search for amazing food at a great value. Anthony’s, I’m sorry I judged you so quickly.



The large calzone ($13) is definitely big enough to split and with additional ingredients priced at only $2, we opted for anchovies. What made the calzone really special was the crust, crispy with burn marks from the pizza oven, and firm enough to keep the overstuffed serving together, even after bludgeoning it with spoonfuls of tomato sauce. Creamy ricotta and an anchovy taste that permeated throughout make the calzone from Anthony’s a strong candidate for top 5 status as I near the half-century mark on the list. Worth the trip. Worth the money.

Nizza

40. Nizza
630 9th Ave between 44th and 45th



Scrolling through the list of options on Seamlessweb while at work on a Friday night, I noticed that TONY list restaurant Nizza offered deliveries through corporate accounts. Not about to pass up an opportunity to sample an item from the list for free, I placed an order for the sage socca ($8) which the restaurant describes as a “crispy chickpea pancake cooked in the brick oven with sage, onions, and pecorino.” The pancake arrived in a pizza box and was about 10” in diameter, that’s one sizable pancake. While not as crispy as I would have liked (it was delivery after all), the sage and pecorino made for a satisfying appetizer that is big enough to share. The pancake itself was a little dry, and I could have gone for more pecorino and onions but the pancake makes for a pretty good appetizer to nosh on while sitting at the bar.

I also ordered the broccoli bruschetta with avocado and walnuts ($7.25) which I took two bites of and threw out (again, hopefully this is because of the delivery). The ingredients just didn’t work together and it was pretty messy to eat. The mushroom & fontina crochette ($5.50), however, was probably my favorite appetizer that I ordered from Nizza. Small, one-bite fried spheres of cheese, rosemary and mushrooms were flavorful and gooey. The entrée selections are interesting enough with grilled tuna, pork scallopine and lamb shank to make me want to order a whole meal, but if I’m looking for a place to have a glass of wine and an appetizer before a Broadway show, I would definitely keep Nizza in mind.

Sage Socca Part 1:


Sage Socca Part 2:


Mushroom & Fontina Crochette:

Lazarra's Pizza

Lazarra's Pizza
221 West 38th Street between 7th and 8th

My second foray into Midtownlunch.com's sandwich challenge brought me to Lazarra's, a small Italian restaurant famous for their thin-crust pizza topped with prosciutto. After climbing up a flight of stairs to get to the entrance, and sneaking our way past the line for a table, we made our way to the take-out area in the back and ordered the Midtownlunch special, a calamari hero ($10) which tops fried calamari with tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella.

I could eat a lot of fried calamari, and have taken down a full plate from Carmine's in one sitting, so you can imagine my excitement as I brought the sandwich back to my office cube. Though disappointed that the calamari wasn't crispy, and the fried breading had become soggy from the tomato sauce, Lazarra's did not skimp at all on the amount of squid, whose full flavor combined with a garlicky tomato sauce and strings of fresh mozzarella to make this hero worth the $10 price tag. The bread itself was lightly toasted and the sesame seeds were a welcome addition. I split it with a coworker in consideration of the caloric intake and was definitely full after my half. If you're looking to sit, be prepared to wait or come early, and if you're planning on getting the sandwich to go, the faster you can get it to your desk, the better. Make sure to check it out before the Midtownlunch challenge ends.

Elettaria

29. Elettaria
33 W 8th Street at MacDougal St

Just a few doors down from Gray’s Papaya sits Elettaria, a bar/restaurant whose French-American menu (guinea hen, duck, sweetbreads) is influenced by Indian cuisine (samosas, dosa crepe, coconut, turmeric). When we arrived we snagged the last two seats at the bar, and all of the tables were full. The open kitchen adds some welcome theatrics though I imagine it probably gets noisy when sitting too close. Despite the fact that there was only one bartender at the fully seated bar, the staff was welcoming to a couple of people who were only there to order one appetizer, the fried quail ($12). Instead of the usual bread and butter, we were offered some naan and a yogurt dipping sauce, keeping with the Indian inspired menu. The fried quail came soon after. Usually quail is prepared whole, but to maximize surface area for the fried coating, the bird was divided into six pieces, coated in what tasted like beer batter with a tempura-like crispiness and served over some greens. Not too fried or heavy, the moist flavor of the quail was allowed to come through. My dining companion and I agreed that the best piece was the breast meat, more tender than the others. Whether sitting at the bar while waiting for a table or if you're looking for a glass of wine and an appetizer before eating somewhere else, the fried quail is worth a visit.

Falai

21. Falai
68 Clinton Street between Rivington and Stanton

Just across the street from Falai Panetteria is Falai, a small Italian restaurant with a décor that reminded me of an indoor pool; mostly white, small tiles on the floor. If not for the open kitchen and the bar I would have thought to bring swimming trunks. For all of the issues with the décor, I was gracious that the hostess let us sit at a table after we told her we just wanted to try the pappardelle. After being seated, we were offered a selection from the bread basket which included black cabbage rolls, onion rolls, and slices of rosemary-raisin bread. I guess we didn’t have to pick up the whole loaf across the street to get a taste. The black cabbage roll was forgettable but before we received our order, we were given an amuse bouche. Barley with a parmesan crisp with cauliflower soup poured over it. If I’ve learned anything from five seasons of Top Chef, it’s that an amuse bouche is supposed to be one bite. Not only was this more than one spoonful but I had a hard time getting it into the spoon. It tasted like a tater-tot that had been cooked for a third of the time required; falling apart such that not even the crisp could help after being drowned in the cauliflower. I’ll try the pappardelle now.

The waitress had informed us that the tarragon pappardelle from the TONY list was swapped out for a different pappardelle. We went with it. Thyme pappardelle with crimini mushroom ragu, ricotta and fig puree ($16). What’s nice about pappardelle is that it carries sauces well. Just like at Le Cirque, the pappardelle served as a fine transportation vehicle for the ragu placed on top. The mushrooms didn’t overwhelm the dish and the fig puree had an intense fruity flavor that went well with the mushrooms. The amuse bouche, the bread, the décor, eh. The pappardelle was worth the experience, though I’m not convinced the price is justified.

Falai Panetteria

I think that part of what I’m discovering about the list as I try more items is that each is very good when judged against its own category. When I think of the best things I ate this past year, most will probably be very similar things that I really enjoy like sushi or steak. But what kind of list would it be if it was just different sushi and steak places? What the TONY list does is make you look for what’s new that year and, relative to other items in their category, determine the best. Pickle pork soup wouldn’t be in the top 100, but was it a good soup that was different and made we want to go back? Yes.

20. Falai Panetteria
79 Clinton Street at Rivington

Chef Falai used to be the pasty chef at Le Cirque until opening up a couple of spots on the Lower East Side including Falai Panetteria, a café-like corner store with a few tables, waiter service and a pastry counter. Paneterria serves lunch and dinner with menu items using the same flavors Falai across the street (Italian). Rosemary-raisin bread from the list sounded very tempting and for $4.00 I was expecting a small roll or some flat-bread but for $4.00 we got an entire round loaf, probably about 8 or 9 inches in diameter. The bread was light and airy on the inside, while the crust was pretty firm, to the point that tearing the loaf in half became quite a challenge. The rosemary taste wasn’t overbearing at all and the raisins were littered throughout the bread, instead of just lumped on top. If this was sliced or made into individual rolls and served in a bread basket at a restaurant I would be very pleased. I’m sure that serving small pieces with some olive oil or making toast (French toast?) out of it would be wise. At the end of the day, it’s bread and it’s not in sticky bun form from Amy’s. In the realm of bread it’s a winner but I wouldn’t go out of my way to pick up a loaf, even at $4.00