Entries tagged as ‘pizza’
From the street, Osteria Marco looks more like a tea shop or gourmet food store than a restaurant. Once inside, the hostess leads you down the winding staircase to the cavernous, but not oppressive, dark-panelled basement dining room. Looking at the room, you wouldn’t even know that we’re in the midst of a recession. It was buzzing on a Tuesday night.
Since we were a large group, we were given a prix fixe menu to choose from. I started with a baby arugula salad, smartly dressed with a simple vinaigrette and finished with toasted baby pine nuts and currants. The arugula was delicate and didn’t have its typical bite, and the pine nuts provided a lovely nuttiness and richness to the salad. There were a few too many currants for my liking, but they did provide a sweet contrast to the dish.
The main course was touted as a margherita pizza from their wood-fired oven, but the menu didn’t say that it was going to be 14″ in diameter. I would have liked the crust to be a wee bit crisper, but aside from that it was delicious. The tomatoes were rich and meaty (San Marzano tomatoes, I’m sure), the basil nice and bright, and the mozzarella fresh and gooey. After trying to hock a few pieces of pizza to my dining companions, I ended up taking half of the pizza home with me.
The dessert menu was a little uninspired, but I was also so full of pizza that dessert wasn’t an option.
The kicker: all this food (including next day’s breakfast in leftovers), plus a glass of wine, came in at $20 including tax and a generous tip.
Osteria Marco
1453 Larimer Street
Denver, CO
(303) 534-5855
Categories: Restaurant reviews · Travel
Tagged: arugula, basil, cheese, currants, denver, mozzarella, pine nuts, pizza, tomatoes, wine
John’s Pizzeria
(Greenwich Village)
My second cousin took me to John’s Pizzeria. I had to double-check the address with him, because there are tons of variations on the name in Greenwich Village. He impressed upon me that we weren’t just going for the best pizza in New York; we were going for The Best Pizza in New York.
To be fair, he didn’t give me a chance to try any of the impersonators in the neighbourhood, so I have no idea what the competitors were offering.
But John’s pizza is delicious. The thin crust is simultaneously crispy yet chewy. More amazingly, the crust actually tastes like something: like flour, yeast, and salt. We had a margherita pizza, with brightly fresh tomato sauce and basil. It was perfect. The tomato sauce is rich and full, just salty enough, and complements the crust beautifully.
We also had one with pepperoni and garlic, and another with anchovy and black olives. Both were good, but neither came close to the plain old tomato sauce and basil pizza.
Also, the Murray Cheese Company is just down the street at 254 Bleeker Street. They have a beautiful selection of cheese, meat and other goodies. Like chocolate. Lots of chocolate.
John’s Pizzeria
278 Bleecker Street, between Seventh Avenue and Jones Street
New York, NY
212-243-1680
Categories: Restaurant reviews · Travel
Tagged: anchovies, basil, cheese, chocolate, garlic, new york, olives, pepperoni, pizza, tomatoes
I haven’t seen this much snow, or snowflakes this size, since my first year living in Kingston. And that was Kingston, not Vancouver. Crazy.
Apparently, grocery stores are running out of food. We’re definitely getting creative at my house. With the Christmas party (and turkey) cancelled, this might just be the year to start a new tradition: Christmas pizza.
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Categories: Homemade
Tagged: capers, caramel, carrots, celery, chicken, olives, peppers, pizza, soup, tomatoes
My current obsession is homemade pizza. I made a big batch of pizza dough a few weeks ago and portioned it out for the freezer. It defrosts in about an hour at room temperature, and with some homemade tomato sauce and carefully selected cheeses, it makes for a rather tasty concoction. So far my favourite is broccoli/cauliflower/provolone/gouda, but I also really liked the simple but delicoius combination of roasted tomato/mushroom/baby leek/provolone/gouda. Yum.
Categories: Homemade
Tagged: cheese, pizza
To celebrate my 27th year of existence, I hosted a movie marathon with a “make yer own pizza, bitch” component. The latter featured homemade pizza dough and tomato sauce and whatever toppings I purchased at the market the day before: mushrooms, arugula, asparagus, spicy olives, and three kinds of cheese (brie, bocconcini, and regular mozzarella). It was deliciousness, although there was an almost-incident when an over-greased pan started smoking in the oven for a few minutes, and for a few minutes the kitchen looked like a bad 80’s nightclub with the smoke machine cranked up.
I did end up making my own birthday cake, but since it was a caramel-pear mousse cake I didn’t mind. It was a chance to practice all those techniques I worked so hard to learn in culinary school.
Categories: Homemade
Tagged: arugula, asparagus, cheese, market, olives, pizza
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