great brunch @eggshopnyc this morning! poached eggs, black forest bacon, english muffin croutons & meyer lemon citronette 🍳 + iced coffee is obviously a must ☕️ (at Egg Shop NYC)
Today is pay day which means I was already in a good mood. Of course, I also got to spend the whole day looking forward to a complimentary pizza dinner, so even the muggy grey weather couldn’t totally kill my spirit. I realized I had never invited Christina to come to an event with me, so I asked if she and Rob wanted to come. Dre was coming too. We got to SRO (Single Room Occupancy, named for the small 24 seat space I’m guessing) around 6:45 and got to sit down right away. It is really whimsical that this place is a “speakeasy”--AKA you have to walk through Gia Trattoria to get there. As in, you have to know it’s there. I love secrets and restaurants-within-restaurants and back rooms and hidden doors so I’m into this. However, it probably makes it hard and confusing for tourists or first-timers. Luckily for us, Flora was at the door so that made it easy to tell. After we walked in I snagged a glass of Pinot Gris but it was pretty sweet, so later I switched to the Chardonnay. Almost immediately some pizza came!
Look at this beauty:
This is the Avenue B: Brussel sprouts, pancetta, garlic and bufala mozarella. This was Christina’s favorite one, and I liked it because it was the only one we ate that really had vegetables. The Brussels added a nice crunch and some much-needed levity. One other note about all the pizzas is that they are built upon a perfect crush. It’s a thin crust but think enough to not dissolve under the weight of the rich and buttery cheeses most come drenched in. That’s so important! The pliability of the crust made these bite sized slices easy and nice to hold, instead of falling apart in your hand.
Next we got our appetizer, which may have been slightly out of order but we didn’t care! I am always happy to see a burrata. This is another dish I never had until I moved to New York. My first was at Fort Defiance, I think back when Adam Baumgart who is now at Houseman worked there. Adam has pretty much never made a dish I don’t love, but this burrata came mid-summer and felt like a masterpiece. The main components of this decadent cheese appetizer are mozarella and cream, though you can add other things. The one SRO served came courtesy of Caseificio Cioffi, and was served with sungold tomatoes and basil infused olive oil. I got it into four very fair pieces and we inhaled it in seconds.
It may look a little weird, but trust me on this one. It’s heavenly.
Other favorites were SRO’s signature “deep fried pizza” and the Uptown pizza which the menu identified as a (secret pizza). It had black truffle cream, bufala mozzarella and sliced summer truffle. I already said I love secrets so that’s probably why this one was a highlight. I also love truffles, but I’d never had them served sliced like this, almost like a pepperoni or something. I think I prefer truffle oil actually, because the truffle texture is a little mealy. These truffles are from the URBANI collection. I imagined what it must be like to know enough about truffles to discern what collection they were in or what varietal they were. I feel gleeful when I get to have truffles at all, let alone know their source. Here’s the Uptown:
Notice how the edges of the truffle slice are dark? That’s the dark exterior.
The Montanara “fried pizza” might have been my favorite simply because it feels so playful. Basically, the dough is flash-fried first, then they put the simple toppings of tomato sauce, mozarella and basil, and put it in the oven. This crust is already great, and it tastes even better fried. I think if the toppings weren’t so simple, it wouldn’t work, but they are and it does. The SRO pizzaiolo (read: pizza chef) Giulio Adriani came by to see how we were enjoying the summer menu. If his name sounds familiar, it should, he used to helm Forcella before opening this place and is a world champion of pizza. WORLD CHAMPION. I don’t know how you earn that, but I would love to be one of the judges who helps decide. I asked him how he got the idea to deep fry the dough first. He said it was already a practice in Napoli, and that all good ideas about pizza originated there. I asked if he was from Napoli and he said yes, so that settled that. I have been to Florence, Milan, Rome and Tuscany, but now, I must go back to Italy to visit the real home of pizza. Forcella used to serve the Montanara but he’s continued the tradition since opening SRO in January.
Here’s the Montanara:
@sropizza's monumental Montanara pizza. Flash-fried dough baked with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil. Bellissima! 🍕
A photo posted by nyc chomp (@nycchomp) on Jun 15, 2015 at 4:57pm PDT
We also tried the Prince St: Bufala mozzarella, gorgonozola, fontina and truffle honey. This one was almost too cheesy but the truffle honey next to the salty gorgonzola was my favorite flavor pairing. I love sweet and salty mixed together. Overall, I absolutely would come back. The vibe was awesome inside with lots of old New York decor and gorgeous wood. Even though it was spacious, the place also had an intimate, communal feel. We got to sit in a huge booth meant for six people and it was incredibly comfortable. If there had been six of us instead of four, I think it still would have been. One drawback, I didn’t like my Pinot Gris and when I tasted Christina’s Montepulciano it was not the greatest either. I didn’t see a Chardonnay or a MP on the actual menu though, so I’m guessing they used bottom shelf for the event since it was all comped. But if you do come back and want wine, go for a higher price point or you might be disappointed. The menu can also change daily, so be prepared for variety. Based on the several I tried, you really can’t go wrong here. You’re in the hands of a champion. Oh, and do get the burrata.
I hadn’t been to Church Street Tavern before this event, but I’d certainly heard of it. It’s in Tribeca, and consequently, next to the La Colombe coffee shop I used to go to when I was a daydreamy intern at SPIN Magazine (2012 edition). Even then, I was too afraid to own my desire to be a writer, and interned in their Marketing department. But it was by denying myself the Editorial track that I realized how much I really wanted it, and I remember getting off the subway stop at Canal in the morning and hurrying to the old office on Broadway, repeating to myself over and over that I would be a music writer. One day, I would. That was a funny little memory to come upon as I walked into the event on Wednesday, even if it’s peripheral to the food.
I was meeting Andriana (Gluttony Eats), her friend Iliza and Todd, along with my friend Flora who reps the restaurant. The Church Street Tavern burger has quickly become one of those highly-blogged about dishes. The event on Wednesday dubbed it “New York’s Most Important Burger” which is a stretch, but dabbles in the kind of hubris that appeals to me, so I didn’t mind. I got there a little after the tasting had already started, but quickly snagged a slider from one of the waiters walking around with plates. It wasn’t the full burger, but enough to give me a taste of how succulent and decadent the complete sandwich must be. (I do consider burgers sandwiches, though I’m sure that’s up for debate, somewhere). The slider came with cheese and the bacon-onion relish that CST’s somewhat-storied Chef Ryan Skeen concocted. I like how this dude has been at countless places and taken risks, because that’s definitely the way I handle my own career. He’s created a superb burger here: dry-aged beef, strip and rib-eye trimmings along with beef heart, meaning it’s far more buttery and flavorful than a typical patty. The relish, Vermont white cheddar and a sturdy, fluffy bun finish it off. Now, as for the relish, my burger stand-by at Fort Defiance has come with a similar condiment as an option for over a year now (maybe more?), and I personally don’t care much for it. It renders the whole sandwich greasier than it needs to be without the crunch that I want from bacon or an onion. However, it’s certainly not bad, and to serve this burger without lettuce or tomato -- as the slider was -- means it needs some other flavor, which the relish adds. Overall, I was sad that the waiters were stingy with the rest of their portioning, and I only got one solitary slider. I wanted two. That means it was good. The burger runs $19 with fries, pretty standard Tribeca pricing, but still a little expensive once you factor in drinks etc. Maybe a good spot for when parents are in town.
The other dish I sampled at the event was their Wild Mushroom Spaetzle, which I liked just as much as the burger, if not more. Spaetzle is the coolest noodle because it has this airy magic about it. It seems like an easy noodle to make, but getting it the right texture is actually difficult. Whether or not they were, the noodles tasted freshly made and were right between soft and firm with the tiniest amount of spring. I’m a sucker for wild mushrooms and buttery, herbed pastas so this thing won me over right away. It comes in at $16 on the menu and didn’t feel as heavy as the burger. And I was so intent on eating it that I forgot to get a picture, but here’s what it looks like:
A photo posted by Church Street Tavern NYC (@churchstreettavern) on May 26, 2015 at 11:59am PDT
The only other thing I had at the event was cocktails. The list was great! Typical Tribeca prices again, most of the drinks were closer to $20 than $10. I lean toward $10 drinks whenever possible, but these were certainly done in style. Also worth noting is that their daily happy hour from 5-7 PM features all these cocktails at $8! Go then. Anyway, I originally got a Rye & Ginger because I tend to drink whiskey whenever possible, and I thought the spicy and sweet ginger would help cut through the burger’s fatty flavors. I was right. I tend to take advantage of open bars (I’m a writer, after all) so even though Dre, Todd and Iliza left, I stayed and chatted with Flora’s other friend Jocelyn for two more drinks. This time, I ordered The Elvis, a bourbon-based drink with agave, lemon juice and muddled berries (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries). In the picture on that blog I linked to it’s served up, but on Wednesday it was over the rocks and completely perfect for conversation on a humid weeknight.
Overall, I had a great time at Church Street. It did seem like the place drastically emptied out after their event was over. Tribeca isn’t a convenient place for me to get to usually, but when I’m around there I would definitely come back. Oh also shout out to the hostess. She was extraordinarily nice when I wandered in, and as a former hostess myself (RIP DuMont), I appreciate when they are actually nice to you when you first arrive. Most important burger in NYC? Probably not, but definitely one that deserves your attention.
I've been trying to eat less white flour but this Mexican egg dish is an old childhood favorite. So I made an egg frittata to serve as the “tortilla” and piled black beans, a few tortilla strips, tomato, scallion + cheddar on top. Just as delicious and far less carb-heavy than the original.
Close up from Governors Ball last weekend. This burger was divine, got it twice! The vendor also had incredibly succulent, expensive thick cut bacon that I opted for once and packed onto the burger. As for the cider, I’m not normally in favor of alcoholic apple juice, but given the heat and the crowds and the limitless supply, Redd’s hit the spot.
baratheonpilled
discoholicmusic
tangentwithtanner
kaledo-art
prguitarman
snowghoul
andulkaphoto