Veniero's (Italian pasticceria e caffe, East Village)

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NY Sidewalk Review
Menu Pages Review

Location
342 E. 11th St.
south side of the street, between 1st and 2nd Aves.

Cuisine:
Italian pasticceria e caffe

Tonight I had the distinguished honor of taking two Italians to two different Italian restaurants. One was for southern Italian cuisine, the second was for dessert.

Dessert, of course, was at Veniero's. Ducati was in search of an afogato, and failed miserably. Well, they did serve affogati at the restaurant, but the line was too long.

Instead, Colomba insisted on getting dessert. He asked for one sfogliatella (layered phyllo layers encasing a (traditionally ricotta-based) cream. The server (lovely Asian woman that she was) corrected him. He asked for uno cannolo. She corrected him again. "No, it's 'cannoli.'" I started giggling. So he acquiesced. Clearly the woman was right and he was wrong. He asked if she could cut both the sfogliatella ("no, 'sfogliatelle'") into three pieces, and the cannolo ("no, 'cannoli'") in half. She complied. He apologized for butchering Italian.

She liked him so much, she gave him a bunch of cookies for free.

Too bad we were way too full to truly enjoy the dessert. Because the 112 year-old institution is a pretty darn good institution.

Casimir (French bistro, East Village)

NY Sidewalk Review
Menupages Review

Location:
103 Avenue B
east side of the street, between 6th and 7th Streets

Cuisine:
French bistro

The last time I went to a French bistro of note, it was Rue 57. I'm sure there are plenty of great French bistros in NYC, and Casimir certainly lives up to it.

The menu items are on the pricey side for what you would consider for bistro food, the entrees range from $16.00 up. But who (outside of vegetarians, non-meat eaters, etc.) doesn't like steak frites?

I of course, carnivore that I am, went for the steak tartare. Just the right amount of seasonings laid out in palette form for you to choose, including ketchup, mustard, garlic, parsley, capers, anchovies, and onions. Pre-mixed with the raw egg, and minced well.

Do I recommend this place? The food was good, there was a wide variety of seafood, meat, and non-meat dishes, and a garden in the back.

Sure. If you're in the area.

Moustache (Middle Eastern, East Village)

NY Sidewalk Review
Menu Pages Review

Location
265 E. 10th St.
North side of the street, between Avenue A and 1st Aveunue

Cuisine:
Middle Eastern

Looks are deceptive. The kitchen is tiny, similar in size to Jeeb. Oh wait, no one's posted a review for Jeeb. We'll get around to it.

The front of the restaurant holds indoor seating, but it's the massive patio in the back which we love. The walls are painted with murals, and although they no longer have hookahs, the ambiance is still very relaxing.

As for the food. The felafels are bright green and just the right amount of crunchiness and soft. The lamb (leg of lamb sandwich or rack of lamb) is moist, served either cold or hot. But the pitzas are fantastic too. In fact, most of the stuff you eat there is pretty darn good. And not too expensive.

Hear Hear for all places that have garden seating. Havens from the daily grind of the city sidewalks.

Luzzo's (Italian, East Village)

NY Sidewalk Review
Menu Pages Review

Location
211-13 First Avenue
West side of the street, between 12th and 13th Streets

Cuisine:
Italian

Kudos from another Napoletano, my boss's husband. They travel to this restaurant all the time, because the pizza margherita is worth it. Pizza and Napoletani, 'nuff said.

The pizza is stellar. Just like home, Naples.

But what I wanted to talk about was the melanzane. Try the stuffed eggplant. They prepare it in a way that is To Die For. Now, I know I say this a lot about food, but you have to trust me on this one. I am a bit wary of eggplant, but I had seconds for this baby. Just the right amount of flavor, chew, and a perfect ratio of fried eggplant (NOT breaded) to parmigiano reggiano. And topping. And it held together. Layers and layers of ultrathin eggplant slices, and a sea of sauce. Gorgeous.

As YumYum said, Pizza is all I know. But now I know eggplant.

John's Pizzeria Eastside (Pizza, Upper East Side)

NY Sidewalk Review

Location:
408 E. 64th St.
north side of street, between 1st and York Aves.

Cuisine:
Pizza

I was first introduced to John's Pizzeria years ago, when it was on the Upper West Side and sanctioned by the Neapolitan herself, Stronza. That pie was also the first time I tried Pizza Romana, which is a traditional Margherita (tomato sauce, mozzarella di bufala, and anchovies). It's hard to get a stamp of approval from a Neapolitan for New York pizza, but this one seemed to pass the grade.

It was marvelous. Not as marvelous as pizza is in Italy, but it's comparable to finding a decent New York-style bagel in another city. Doesn't happen very often, because not only are the ingredients tantamount, but also there's something about the indigenous water that gives local food that local flavor.

John's Pizzeria on the West Side closed down. I was sad. I'd never tried their downtown location, but it was too far for me. Much to my surprise, I happened upon the East Side location. Woo hoo!

So the first time I tried the place the pizza was perfect! Sausage and olives. The second time, not so good. The traditional Margherita was a bit on the salty side. So, I'll give this place an "eh." I guess third time's a charm?

Bonus factors for the location are a garden out back and dessert catered by some bakery which I can't remember the name. But definitely try the sour cream apple and walnut pie. To die.