Jersey Shore, Not The Snooki Kind

Let's escape the negative degrees here and jump over to summer.  Jersey shore, waves crashing, sun beating down on your reddish, freckled shoulders...

Now that I've got your attention, can we discuss those signs, above?  Over 200 Omelettes is definitely something I can support!

I have a lot of love to give.  Obviously to my mom, husband, siblings original & in-law...but also to the Jersey diner, and the egg products that inhabit them.  Poach 'em, scramble 'em, whatever.  Just bring them my way with another cup of coffee k thanks.

Check out the corned beef omelet I got from Breakfast at Mariner's Cove in Brielle, NJ:

And LC got a big veggie egg white shenanigans.  There were so many omelets to choose from, what could a girl do?  We had a lovely time at this joint, and despite crowds, we weren't rushed at all.

Jersey shore staple part II: pizza.  We heard from reputable sources that Pete & Elda's has some of the best pies in NJ.  We had to check it out. 

First of all, we waited a while for a seat.  It had been a long day--I drove straight from DC to Brielle for superomelette up top, then hung at the beach all day reading The Help.  Eventually we were seated.  Our pies took fooooorever, but eventually we got them--mushroom/broccoli, sausage, and pepperoni. 

These pies were tasty, but very different from NY style.  The crust wasn't thick and chewy--it was thin and crispy, almost like a cracker.  Look--it doesn't really have an end crust, or as my mom calls it, "the bones."  But it was piping hot, super fresh, and much needed on a breezy summer evening.

Summer, are you here yet?

Baba Louie's - Hudson, NY

Now for us Hudson isn't as much a weekend escape as an afternoon/evening escape, but I'll tag it that way nonetheless.  Our NYC/Jersey friends will appreciate the clarity.

J and I had no idea how much time to budget for Hudson.  Is it like Middleburg--adorable, but one little street until nothin'?  Or more like Frederick?  Hampden?  The answer is basically none of the above.

First, head over the Rip Van Winkle bridge.  Cue the adorable toll plaza.

Although everything is along the main drag, that main drag is long.  We arrived at 3:45 hoping to fill the space before an appropriate dinner time, and we only made it down one side of the street.  Granted, things started to close at 5-6 and when the sun was completely down it got cold, so we were happy to retire for dinner at 6.  There's lots of browsing to do---galleries, antique shops, furniture, books, crafts and jewelry, some clothing (including amazing toasty/fashionable brown boots in my size on sale for $130 that I didn't try on in an unlikely display of self-restraint).  Fear not, though, because I got two great necklaces.  While some of the shops had items great to look at but impossible (for me) to buy ($800 vase anyone? $7000 chair?), there were a few with reasonable pieces that I could see us buying, particularly if we were outfitting a home.

We've heard a bit of buzz around some Hudson restaurants, including Swoon Kitchenbar, DA/BA, and more.  Swoon was closed for renovations, DA/BA was feeling too fancy and pricy for our tastes on that particular day, and we needed some cozy comfort food.

A chatty gallery owner suggested Baba Louie's, his local favorite.  Thin crust pizza with anything and everything on it, straight from the brick oven, and HUGE salads, he promised. 

The salads come in unmentioned, so "regular," and "family size."  The regular could easily be for 2-4 people; we finished ours together, but had 3 small slices of the large pizza leftover as a result.  We had toasted pepitas on our salad.  YAY.

The pizza was great.  All the options sounded delicious, but we opted for spinach, figs, prosciutto. The sweetness of the figs played well with the rest of the ingredients, and you could tell by the taste that the spinach was fresh.

Mmmm lentil soup.  That's what you need on a flippin' freezing night.

Leftovers for lunch.

They have a spelt crust available for my less wheat-tolerant friends, and plenty of vegan options.

Baba Louie's
517 Warren Street
Hudson, NY
(Also locations in Barrington and Pittsfield, MA)

Pete's New Haven Style Apizza - Ten-Frien

Ten-Frien!  That's Tenleytown-Friendship Heights for the uninitiated.  The newest Pete's outpost is in between the two red line stops, not quite part of the shopping fiasco that is FHeights, but also not the Big Box hubbub at the AU stop.  There appears to be a cute newish coffee shop and pet shop nearby, and an unfortunate Italian/pizza joint across the way. 

Pete's has become our latest "why not?" on nights we don't feel like cooking or we have guests who want some local flavor.  We can walk there, which is convenient, and although there isn't any outside seating yet--likely due to a permit delay--the walk to and from gets enough of that muggy, summer air for this gal.  The food is great, mixing up my own Boylan's soda is fun (because I'm 5), and the pies are huge.  HUGE.  We always have leftover, and it makes my workday lunch that much more interesting. 

New Haven-style apizza (a-BEATS, rhymes with a-TWEETS--not Pete's Apizza = Pizza Pizza) has a super thin crust.  Now, I'm no NH expert.  I only drive through/fly over Connecticut, for the most part.  But the apizza has a nice chewy/doughy end (or as my mom calls it, the bones), and the bottom is impossibly thin and crisp without being burned.  HOW DO THEY DO IT!?  It must be magic.  You can't even really fold this pizza if you try, because it's that crispy.  Nosh nosh.

Shall we look at some dishes?  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it, and luckily I just baked 2 lbs of banana bread. 

Fried goat cheese.  Can you go wrong?  (Answer: no.)

Mmmm fried eggplant (named Edge of the Woods)--we've gotten this pizza TWICE.  And the 2009 World Series Champions!!!

Arugula!  So fresh and tasty, like having a salad (with dough underneath).

Deeeelightful antipasti plate with housemade pickles (so crunchy and fresh and light), roasted corn and tomato salad (I loved this the most), fried risotto balls (dec.a.dent.). 

Solid salad. 

Halfsies--eggplant from earlier (this is a separate occasion, you see) and meatballs on the Boola Boola!

We really like Pete's.  These people are series about their apizza.  Just check out this ride:

Yes, I got permission (in writing...sort of) to use this image.  Because you know, it's shady to take pictures of people's license plates (I'm talking to you, Facebook friends who think those mobile uploads are an Olympic sport).


Pete's New Haven Style Apizza
4940 Wisconsin Ave NW
Metro: Red Line to AU/Tenleytown or Friendship Heights--it's really in between.  Maybe a little closer to FH if you take the Jenifer St exit.

Pizzeria Orso

Pizzeria Orso!  The myth, the legend.  Or really, just the yummy new joint in NoVa. 

To cut to the chase, I liked Pizzeria Orso, but I wasn't obsessed.  We waited way too long for a table, and while waiting we saw a child upchuck his meal the second his family was 10 feet from the door.  Not that it's Orso's fault, but it does something to your appetite that can't be undone. 

As a sidenote, I'd prob be even more into Orso if I didn't live pretty darn close to 2 Amys.  And in the end, I prefer 2A.  If I had never left Arlington, who knows, maybe I'd tell you that it's SO MUCH BETTER, etc etc. Convenience is a factor, and it's all a bit psychological anyway, I think.

I really enjoyed the bruschetta--ours had a tomato olive tapenade kind of thing, and that sourdough was perfect--crispy and chewy, not like the countless crappy bruschetta dishes I've had where you it's dry with the crumbs and the oily-ness.  LOVED.  We also had the arrosticini (skewered lamb)--tasty. 

It only made sense to order my fave 2A dish, for comparison's sake.  The Orso edition of my beloved Ripieno Basilico just didn't stack up.  The insides of it didn't ooze out--it wasn't particularly stuffed, and the filling was barely room temperature.  It still tasted good--c'mon people, it's dough, cheese, sauce, and pesto.  But I didn't want to marry it. 

Ripieno I want to marry:

Ripieno that I just liked okay (sorry, the lighting wasn't great):

J dug his crudo pizze with tomato, mozzarella, basil, grana, arugula, and a thin prosciutto (is there any other kind?) across the top.  I liked that it sort of glimmered.  He found it to be fresh-tasting; he enjoyed the dough, and was surprised that the arugula wasn't too bitter.  He's not one to jump on arugula salads and things of that nature.

Our pals K & P had a pie with mushrooms and one with lots of meat--perhaps the Giamette (sausage, pepperoni, ham, and salami), is that right K? 

Check out the oven:

Dolcezza gelato is offered for dessert; I'm turned off by how expensive it is---even Orso can't mark it up more than the store itself.  At Boccato a small was about $3.50 but it was a very generous small.  At Dolcezza it's about a dollar more for a small but I swear you get half as much (at least in Bethesda).  Very very sad.  I've gone off on a tangent.  Anyway, Dolcezza gelato is good and you can find it at Orso.  At 2A, for those keeping score at home, they make their own ice cream in house, and it is divine. 

Orso means bear.  J thought you might want to know!

Pizzeria Orso
400 South Maple Ave
Falls Church, VA
Metro: Bus from East Falls Church Metro, on the Orange Line.  You can prob take a few ART buses or Metrobus.

Dinner & Snack in NYC

Let's backtrack a bit, shall we?  Because I am the kind of person that sometimes starts a blog post and continues it two months later.  I bring you, lovely readers, a day in late spring 2010, a time before the storms, before the heat, and even before Top Chef DC. 

Fornino in Park Slope:  Mentioned in the Attack on Children's Menus as a place that was pressured into conforming, Fornino Pizza is a pleaser for adults and children alike. It's reasonably priced, has a pleasant interior, and we walked right in (on the late-ish side) on a Friday night.  We enjoyed the Monzese, a pizza with fennel sausage, mozzarella, and parmesan.  We went to Fornino shortly after it opened, which I don't mind...hey, if it's good in the beginning, then you KNOW it's good, right?  Sorry about the iPhone photo...

Now let's bounce outta Brooklyn and head back to the island of Manhattan for some nosh.  If you were wondering, in between Fornino and the Hester Street Fair came Dizzy's. 

Mmmmm piles of pretzels.  Sigmund's does it right.  Chewy, with a crisp on the outside, a bit of salt but not too much, a choice of dipping sauces, and general overall deliciosity.  WANT.  I'd been meaning to go to the Shop itself, but instead it came to us (sort of, not really) at the Hester Street Market. Get your shop on while you get your snack on. 

Sigmund's Pretzel Shop

Lists Galore! Most Recommended, Favorite Dishes, and To-Eat

Sometimes I make lists.  Personalized Google Maps, library wishlists, and all of that jazz.  Below are some lists that may make it easier to narrow down your dining options.  I'll intersperse the pictures relevant to the list IN BETWEEN as not to disrupt the sanctity of the list.  The first rule of listmaking is that we don't talk about listmaking.  Wait, no, wrong movie.


Let me know what you would add!  I somehow ended up with 9 for the first two.  And also, because I love you, all of the To Do list restaurants have links to the web sites.


9 Frequently Frequented (and Recommended)
2 Amys
Cafe Atlantico
Corduroy
Palena (if you don't get the fry plate and roasted chicken, lie to me and tell me that you did)
Poste
Ray's Hell-Burger
Ray's the Steaks
Vermilion
Zola

 Ravioli at Cafe Atlantico

 
9 Favorite Dishes of the Past Year
These are my favorites from this past year, where I look back and say WOW.  That was interesting, and delicious, and I want to do it again. I'll break it down by meal.

Brunch
Smoked brisket hash at South Congress Cafe - Austin, TX

Starters
Shiitake veloute at Volt 
Pea and parmesan soup at J&G Steakhouse
Conch fritters at Cafe Atlantico
Lamb meatball sliders from Zola

Lunch 
Turkey salad sandwich at Jetties

Dinner
PIZZA at DiFara's Pizza - Brooklyn, NY
Cavatelli with rabbit ragu and fava beans at B&B Ristorante (ok, barely a year ago!) in Las Vegas
Ripieno basilico from 2 Amys  (most recently consumed in March.  Before that, December.)

Brisket hash at South Congress Cafe

Turkey salad sandwich at Jetties

On My To-Do List (excluding places where we have pending  reservations):
Againn
Black Market Bistro
Café Green (their web site makes weird things happen to my computer, I don't like it)
Café India
Cava
CommonWealth Gastropub
CityZen
Eatonville
Eola
Ethopic
Granville Moore’s
Kushi
La Ferme Restaurant
Los Cuates
Masa 14
minibar
Obelisk
Oyamel (for brunch - been for dinner, want the migas)
Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza (Ten-Frien, I'm looking at you!)
Potenza
Spices
Surfside (J has been THREE TIMES. WTH)
Sweetgreen (what?! I’ve never had a salad from Sweetgreen. Only fro yo. I want it!)
Tabard Inn
Taylor Gourmet
The Inn at Little Washington (special occasion, where are you?)
Vinoteca
Westend Bistro

Finally Friday

Ya'll it is FINALLY Friday.  I don't know about you, but let me guess--this week slogged on for what seemed like an eternity?  And it was warm and sometimes sunny but now it's set to rain all weekend and you're sad about it?  Me too!

And no, the picture from GTC on the left of your screen has nothing to do with anything.  I'm just trying to make you want a cupcake.  ::reaches for Clif bar in cabinet, aka closest thing to cupcake::

Anyway, back to this week in most important somewhat food-related stories:

Un-DC related, I watched Sandwich Paradise on the Food Network---it made me really hungry but also was a good way to keep track of my future travels.  Primanti Brothers, I'm coming to get you! (After breakfast at Pamela's of course, WCP!)  And when my Google Reader says that Smitten Kitchen is new it really bums me out because I know I'm about to get super hungry, no matter the time of day.  Look at this breakfast pizza.  SERIOUSLY. 

Top Chef in DC?  For real?  Metrocurean brings us the story from the NY Post.  I'd like to think that this decision has something to do with the Capital Spice contest a while back--commenters tried to win stuff by shouting out ideas for DCTC in an effort to convince Bravo to bring it to the District.  For archiving sake, here were my thoughts (which did not win, for the record):

-Outdoor catering function at Mount Vernon or Monticello (or even Montpelier). -Michel Richard as guest judge/Chief Intimidator of the challenge.
-Involve the Kennedy Center.
-Chili quickfire whipped up in the kitchen at Ben’s.
-VA winetasting/pairing quickfire.
-Hill visits to talk about sustainable eating/cooking/growing with offices from contestants’ states/districts, followed by reception in the new Capitol visitor’s center.
-I’d like to see them in a dining hall with the director of dining/food services as a judge–GW doesn’t have one, so maybe Georgetown?


Aaaand after that sunny conversation, onto the gross.  Health inspection issues aren't pretty--The Examiner got the these reports from the Bureau of Community Hygiene.  Of course, even DiFara has been closed for health code violations, and it won't stop me from returning.  And if you don't want to worry about health codes and rules and compliance, just go to an underground dining establishment! The Post's mysterious article on exclusive invite-only supper clubs has been buzzing all week long.  Sounds fun.  I'm not upset about not being invited.  Honest...   sniff      sniff

In other news, I'm going to San Diego SOON!  I'll be carless, so I ask you: what is downtown and can't be missed?  I noted your recs from here.

Have a great weekend!  Don't let the rain bring you down.  In like a lion, out like a lamb.

P.S.  This is my 200th post.  A little slim for more than 2.5 years according to some people's rules, but I was..ahem...a serious student!  And poor!  And just doing this for fun.  Anyway, thanks for reading.  I'm having fun, and I hope you are too.