Rosticeria Da Gigi in Hoboken, NJ

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Rosticeria Da Gigi, located uptown Hoboken, is the kind of small joint where you would go to grab a quick bite: nothing fancy, but comforting.

It is a small place that probably sits 16 people.

So we sat at one of the tables and went through the menu. It consists of standard breakfast dishes like eggs, pancakes...as well as panini, sandwiches or items from their rotisserie.

Jodi decided to try their croque-monsieur:

When the plate arrived, we were a bit surprised as it did not look like a croque-monsieur, but more like a panini.

There was for sure a decent amount of ham and cheese, but the brioche bread was too thick and unbalanced the proportion of bread / ham / cheese. It was also a bit dry.

On my side, I went for half roasted chicken:

It was definitely a nice piece of chicken and I really liked it: the chicken was moist and the skin crispy.

With it, I could pick two sides and decided to go for the meatballs with tomato sauce and the rice balls with tomato sauce.

It came in one plate as the tomato sauce was the same for both sides. The meatballs were good, but I really did not like the rice balls that were missing flavors. Even with the tomato sauce, the only thing I could taste was some overcooked rice.

Besides the chicken, the meal was ok. I would probably go back to try some other dishes, their menu being so diverse. Although maybe it is the issue: too many things on the menu. I am still unsure about that place...

Enjoy (...)!



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Lazzara's Pizza and Café in the Garment District, NYC, New York

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I love pizza and with a city like New York, you can find so many different ones, each restaurant having its own way to make the crust, the sauce, to cook it...This time, we went to Lazzara's in the Garment District. You really need to know that it is there, as it is located off the beaten path and you may miss it walking on 38th street.

Opened in 1985 by the Lazzara's brother, Sebastian and Tony, the restaurant is located on the second floor of a townhouse.

The dining room has a warmth and reminded me some restaurants we ate at in Italy, especially in Venice that is in fact representing in a painting hanged on the wall.

When we sat, they brought us the menu as well as the special of the day written on a little chalk board.

There, they serve an all Italian cuisine: pizza, pasta, heroes...We decided to go for the pizza. What I like about Lazzara's is that they propose their specialty pizza in half portions. Of course, you can always add toppings on half a pie in most of the restaurants, but here, I am not talking about toppings, but the pizza itself.

As you can see on the photo above, the pizza is square; but it is not like a Sicilian pizza: the crust is thin. So, the top half of the pizza was the lasagna pizza:

It was made of ground beef, ricotta, mozzarella and some seasoning.

The second half was the margherita pizza:

It was composed of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil.

I have to say that I love both: the tomato sauce was delicious and seemed to be made with fresh ingredients. There were in fact some slices of tomatoes and fortunately, it did not make the pizza soggy as it is sometimes the case. 

The lasagna pie was also very good, rendering perfectly what lasagna would be, replacing the pasta with the crust: it was very flavorful and they were generous in the quantity of meat and ricotta. I definitely recommend it.

The thin crust was on the chewy side, being crispy on the outside.

I was ready to get some dessert, but they brought us the check, making me feel dirty...I then asked if they had some homemade desserts, being interested by a tiramisu, but they do not and the waitress did not seem to be interested to tell me where they buy them. So I decided to pass...

The pizza at Lazzara's was good. It is a good spot if you want more than just a slice, although I prefer Capizzi located few block away.

Enjoy (I did)!

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Restaurant Information

tabelog.us

	* Restaurant Name
	Lazzara's Pizza
	* Overall
	★★☆☆☆
	* Neighborhood / Cuisine
	Garment District / Italian / Pizza
	* Street Address
	221 West 38th St. (Between 7th Ave. & 8th Ave.), New York, NY 10018
	* Phone
	(212) 944-7792

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Little Pie Company in NYC, New York

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The Little Pie Company was on my radar for a while and I confess that I lured Jodi to that place, making sure we would pass in front of it when going to the Gotham West Market. 

Little Pie Company is small, but don't be fooled by its name: the kitchen next to it is of a good size.

I was looking around to see what to get, not realizing that they had a banana and coconut cream pie. But trust me, Jodi immediately saw it and ordered it right away as it was the last one and she did not want to see it go to somebody else, leaving me with just couple of minutes to take a decision. 

I was surely not going for one of the cookies that looked a little sad compared to what you can get at City Bakery or Macchiato. I desperately looked for a cherry pie and then saw a cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. That was my choice.

It was pretty good, creamy with the same density as the cheesecake at Junior's. I loved the crust that added another layer of deliciousness and a slight sweetness.

Of course I could not let Jodi eat alone the banana and coconut cream pie. Originally, I thought it was only a coconut cream pie and Jodi kept telling me it was with banana, I was so desperate to find something that I did not hear. When she told me, I was so happy: I love banana cream pie! 

And this one is a little piece of heaven! I loved it, even with the toasted coconut on top, although I would have preferred without. Not only did I finish the cheesecake, but had a nice piece of pie.

So, do not be surprised to see me going back soon!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Murray's Cheese Bar in the West Village, NYC, New York

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Being French, I was raised eating cheese, any kind of cheese, although, as a kid, I hated the stinky ones. I have no favorite and in fact, with close to 400 different cheeses in France, it is tough to choose. I remember that the first time we went to France Jodi and I to visit my family, I brought her to a supermarket to see the different cheeses proposed, but also how cheap it is compared to the US. I would say that it is 2 to 3 times the price. So sad, as cheese is so good! The best places to buy cheese in New York City are for me Fairway, Zabar's and Whole Food, where they offer a wide variety of cheeses from all over the world. But there is also Murray's on Bleecker.

So, as were were walking down the street on a Saturday, we decided to see if their restaurant, located few steps from it had seats available.

When we arrived, the place was not that crowded, but when we left, it was packed!  They sat us at the bar that was very comfortable considering that it is fairly large and we were not too close from our neighbors.

They menu offers well known specialties with cheese such as Mac & Cheese, grilled cheese or cheese fondue. But we decided to go directly for cheese a la carte and picked few of them.

The cheese took a while to come: this was surprising as you would figure that they just need to cut few pieces and put that on a plate. But when it came, it looked spectacular, the cheeses arranged on a slate and paired with a something sweet.

This is what we picked:

Vendéen Bichonné from France:

This is a creamy cow’s milk cheese that is salty and nutty with a hint sweet cinnamon-clove spice. It was paired with pickled raisins.

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar from Vermont:

Made with cow's milk, it is sweet, savory, nutty and tangy. It was paired with an apple butter.

Vacherin Fribourgeois from Switzerland:

Made with raw cow milk, it has a slightly acidic and resiny flavor. I admit that I forgot what the chutney was...

Époisses from France:

Produced in the village of Époisses in Bourgogne, this cheese an unpasteurized cow's milk cheese with a pungent taste. It was paired with a carrot chipotle that had cumin in it.

Blu di Bufala from Italy:

This blue cheese made with buffalo milk had a nice buttery texture and was both sweet and tangy. It was served with a salted caramel.

This was a perfect dinner and it will for sure not be the last time I will be there! Definitely the place for cheese lovers!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Restaurant Information

tabelog.us

	* Restaurant Name
	Murray's Cheese Bar
	* Overall
	★★★☆☆
	* Neighborhood / Cuisine
	West Village / American New
	* Street Address
	264 Bleecker St. (Between Cornelia St. & Morton St.), New York, NY 10014
	* Phone
	(646) 476-8882

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