St. Joseph and Pizza

Who's the patron saint of pizza? I want to know!

It's not St. Joseph but it was St. Joseph's cakes and pizza from Delfinos that took us to Hoboken last weekend.

Let's keep the St. Joseph's part of this story short. It was a bust. Matt wanted to get St. Joseph's cakes from City Hall Bakery, aka The Cake Boss Bakery. St. Joseph's Day had been on Friday. What we didn't realize was what a scene the bakery has become because of the TLC show. When Matt lived in Hoboken it was just the neighborhood bakery. The line to even get in the front door stretched down the block and was moving slower than a multi-tiered wedding cake being transfered from the bakery to the reception hall. We tried to wait but when we realized that the free Rita's Water Ice line was actually moving, we ditched Carlo for Rita.

Thankfully our latest food mission had two parts, the second of which was a visit to Delfino's pizza for what I was promised would be some of the best Sicilian pizza ev-ah! I'm partial to round pies (unless it Buddy's) but Delfino's does do a mean Sicilian slice. What makes it do good? The crust is super light...almost like foccacia. The owner brought over our slices (complete with a sprinkling of Italian seasoning and garlic powder) as soon as they came out of the oven, which really helped with the overall flavor too. The restaurant itself is a riot. It's deep in the heart of Italian Hoboken. The Italian-American club is just down the street, as is St. Ann's church where we went for zeppole last summer. And Frank Sinatra and gangster movie pictures cover the walls.


p.s. Matt was still determined to have his St. Joseph's cakes and found them at Court Pastry Shop. OMG so good-- a piped puff pastry with custard inside. WOW!

St. Patty's Day Bagel

Okay, almost a week late, but here's how I celebrated St. Patrick's Day in New York. Oh yeah!! Erin Go Bragh!

Fabulous Women and Wine

So I refuse to walk about work on my blog (too bad I know) but I will say that I went to an AWESOME networking and social event this week, hosted by a great gal I met through work. Each month 10-15 "fabulous women" get together at a wine bar. Tuesday night the topic dejour was Rielle Hunter. What was she thinking taking those photos? Some gave her props that at least she seems to be happy and owns her delusion.

This is the second time I've been able to attend and the April gathering is already on my calendar. I left both nights with the same feeling-- this is why I love New York and would be sad to leave. Fun successful women having a great night in an exciting city.

My only complaint...Tuesday night isn't super because Lost is on (I am COMPLETELY addicted. I'm like Rainman, I have to be home to watch LOST.) But since everyone else in the entire city has DVR, I guess I'm the only one with an issue;-)

Motorino and Previti

So much talk about Motorino pizza lately. The NYT reviewed it as the best pizza in the city and gave it one star. Earlier this year, Rachel Ray published Adam Kuban (Slice Blog) and Ed Levine's pizza chart that lists Motorino as the best in the country. She said she visits the Lower East Side location "more often than I should."

Of course Matt and I were there before the NYT and Rachel Ray article. What did we think?

I think pizza rating needs to become more refined. Because is Motorino generally better than DiFara? No.

But is Motorino one of the more high quality wood-fired, artisinal pizza I've had in the city? Absolutely! Matt loved the crust, which was just charred enough and thin on the bottom and slightly puffy on the edges. If you savored each bit, you realized the cheese had a complex, almost nutty flavor. If you just downed the slice I felt the slice fell a bit flat.

Matt and I both agreed that the pizzas with toppings looked better. We'll be trying those this weekend at the Williamsburg locale.

To continue proving my point that pizza ratings need to be more nuanced, we also loved the Previti Pizza artichoke slice. A white slice with a creamy artichoke and spinach mixture on top, it is rich but not overly heavy and greasy. The artichoke pieces are substantial and delic! Frankly, I also liked that the owner was working at the counter and was super friendly. If you are midtown, near Grand Central, DEFINITELY give it a try.

Balthazar Breakfast

I've had some awesome dinners in the last three years. But to mark year #3 of dating, Matt surprised me with breakfast at Balthazar last Monday. (One of us is not a morning person, which made this an even more notable treat;-))

Located in SOHO, Balthazar is known for excellent French bistro food all times of the day. But breakfast was something especially special!

Shortly before 8am, there was hardly anyone else there other than a staff of friendly and attentive servers. But within 15 minutes, the parade had begun. It started with a middle-aged woman wearing a Davy Crockett hat. She sat in the corner, ordered an espresso and dove into a number of newspapers. She was clearly a regular.

The food was phenomenal! I had a Gruyere, herb and tomato omlette. It was fluffy and one of the most flavorful dishes I've ever had. The fresh herbs made it. And as if it couldn't get any better, potatoes and caramelized onion loaded with butter (ala Julia Child, not greasy) accompanied the meal. WOW! Matt had eggs benedict, with some of the richest and creamiest hollandaise sauce, with just the right amount of tang I've ever tried.

Another fun touch were the playing cards stuck to the ceiling. I asked the waiter about this and he said that a magician was hired to perform at the opening of the restaurant many years ago. Stars who attended the opening signed their names to different cards, which then found their way to the ceiling as part of the trick.

I went to work a very happy camper:-)