italian food – Here and There

June 3, 2016June 3, 2016

Beers and Bites in Denver

My trip to Denver didn’t really include any food places that would knock your socks off, but there are a few dishes and some breweries (there are A LOT of breweries in Denver) that are worth checking out if you happen to be in that particular area. However, I wouldn’t go out of your way to find any of these places if aren’t already close by.

La Biblioteca
1610 Little Raven St, #200
Denver, CO 80202

One of the appetizers at this bar pretty much made the night. The Ahi Tuna Taco appetizer is phenomenal. Because the bar is attached to the Zenga restaurant next door, the taco shell they use is made out of wonton. The crunch from that, along with the guacamole, mango, sticky rice, and fresh tuna make this the single favorite dish I had in Denver. Admittedly, it’s a little pricey ($13.50 for three pretty small tacos), but it’s something I had no problem getting over because the dish was that good.

Steuben’s Restaurant
523 E 17th Ave.
Denver, CO 80203

This retro diner had one of the most eclectic crowds I’ve ever seen in a restaurant. Sitting at tables around us were, and this isn’t an exaggeration, a fancy Great Gatsby dressed baby shower (I think?), three Amish looking people, two African American guys dressed like they were extras in Straight Outta Compton, Grandpa and Grandma Joe, and, of course, a slew of plaid wearing hipsters. Wearing just t-shirts and jeans, I’d say we were the “normal” looking group, but I’d suffice to say that each one of those tables also thought that about themselves.

Along with the diverse crowd was a fun, neighborhoody vibe. The music was loud, the food was good, but their beer selection needs work (there are no draft beers). Their cocktail list however was extensive. There’s an outdoor patio for the warmer days in Denver and our waitress was super efficient. If I was going to suggest one thing to get on the menu, it’d be the gravy fries appetizer. It’s essentially their version of poutine. It’s not as good as Duckfat’s, but it’s right up there.

Denver Beer Company
1695 Platte St
Denver, CO 80202

In keeping with my recent tradition of going to local breweries, Denver Beer Company wins the prize for the most dog friendly of the breweries I’ve seen. Beyond being able to play with other customers’ puppies (which truly is awesome), Denver Beer Company is a pretty run-of-the-mill brewery. The place has the same feel as Allagash in Portland, ME and their beers, although very good, aren’t anything spectacular.

Illegal Pete’s
Several locations throughout the Denver area

This Mexican place looks like a group of BMX bikers and skateboarders got a hold of a Chipotle and made it their own. Imagine a Chipotle, but with skateboarder stickers all over the place, tattooed employees, and a bar with 20 local beers on tap. The setup is the same as Chipotle where you make your own burrito, but they do offer fish, and before they roll up your burrito they mix up all the ingredients in a bowl (so that you don’t get that annoying bite of only rice). Outside there are picnic tables and a giant bocce court. It’s open late night as well, so you can get your Mexican fix at 2 AM after a night of drinking.

Wynkoop Brewing Company
1634 18th Street
Denver, CO 80202

My co-workers and I discovered this place because it was the answer to one of the team building scavenger hunts we had earlier that day. Apparently it is Denver’s first craft brewery. Located downtown, the brewery itself is actually pretty large; there’s a giant pool hall on the second floor which they say is Denver’s biggest. We only were able to pop in for a drink and a quick pic with the Wynkoop gorilla (which sadly is on my co-worker’s phone), but the best beer of the trip goes to Wynkoop’s Cowtown Milk Stout — definitely worth a try if you like darker beers.

Panzano
909 17th Street
Denver, CO 80202

Unbeknownst to me before I got there, Panzano is actually the restaurant for the Hotel Monaco Denver downtown. Since my company’s meeting was in that hotel, we had an informal dinner there the night we flew in. I wasn’t really expecting that much thinking it was just the hotel restaurant and I was pleasantly surprised at how good my dish was. The Ragu di Agnello (House made mafaldine pasta, lamb ragú, demi-glace, and Pecorino tartufo) was delicious. Having just been in Italy a few months ago, this dish comes pretty damn close to what I had over there and I would definitely recommend it.

February 8, 2016February 8, 2016

Places to eat in Florence

First of all, I’m going to put this out there and say there probably isn’t a bad place to eat in Florence. My best guess is even the worst place to dine in Florence is probably still better than going to Olive Garden, Macaroni Grill or Carrabba’s. So that being said, here’s a quick list of some good spots to check out:

All’Antico Vinaio da Tommaso/Osteria all’ Antico Vinaio
Via De’Neri 65/74 Firenze 50122

This suggestion came from several different friends, and it’s hard to argue with them that this place has the best cheap eats in the city (or actually in the world in general). Split into two locations, there’s a sit down restaurant and a take-out storefront across the street from one another. My buddy and I opted for the take-out, which around lunch time had a line that was about a 10-15 minute wait. It was worth it despite having to avoid all the pigeons hanging out above shitting on everyone. For 5 euros, you can get an incredibly good sandwich. The great ciabatta bread, delicious meats, and really fresh tasting vegetables and cheese practically had my eyes popping out of my head on the first bite. You can order the sandwich however you want, but for the sake of not being that annoying customer, I opted for one of the Top 5 sandwiches they have on the chalkboard. Stop in here for lunch.

Gusta Pizza
Via Maggio, 46R, 50125 Firenze

Obviously you have to stop into a place for pizza when in Italy, and again, you probably can’t go wrong with most places. We came here at the suggestion of a friend (this will be a common theme), and it was perfectly good. Would I say walk out of your way to find it? I wouldn’t go across the city to do it, but if you’re in the vicinity you should stop in. The pizza was as solid a pie as I’ve gotten anywhere, but didn’t go beyond. The menu is simple, there’s not a whole lot of fancy pizzas to order, but the price is nice and it will definitely hit that pizza craving spot.

Ristorante Mastro Ciliegia
Piazza di San Pier Maggiore, 4R, 50122 Firenze

Another good pizza stop, one that was not suggested by anyone but rather we just stumbled upon because we were hungry (and hungover). Its rather pleasant setting in Piazza di San Pier Maggiore actually made it one of the more relaxing parts of the trip; we got to people watch in a piazza that wasn’t huge so the low noise level was enjoyably peaceful. Try the truffle and prosciutto pizza — it’s excellent there.

Osteria Vini e Vecchi
Via dei Magazzini, 3, Firenze

From the outside you might mistake this place for a tourist trap, especially since it’s super close to the Uffizi. Don’t be fooled. This great mom and pop restaurant had one of THE best Osso Buco’s I’ve ever had. Add a Pappardelle with duck and you’ve got yourself one helluva meal. It’s a perfect spot for a low-key meal after the museums. And if you’re so inclined, we got a tip from a friend to ask the waiter for some of their homemade limoncello that wasn’t on the menu. When we did that, the waiter gave us a little grin, a wink, and brought out a bottle with two shot glasses and a pat on the back that felt like he was saying, “If you know this exists, then you’re in the club”.

Ristorante Osteria Zio Gigi
Via Folco Portinari, 7-r, 50122 Firenze

Here’s another place we just stumbled into, and again it was a big score on our parts. This restaurant had a great local vibe, and boisterous atmosphere. The staff really makes you feel like you’re part of an Italian family, like you’re their kids. The chef, who by my best guess was maybe the father, came out of the kitchen frequently to loudly serenade us with Italian opera, much to the embarrassment of his female wait staff who had the faces of “Dad, stop it!” written all over them. As for the food, it was excellent (like everything on this list), but we did a number on ourselves in this place. Since this was our last dinner of the trip, we decided to go all out, and all out we did. We each ordered a 500 gram florentine steak, which was already more than enough. But on top of that we each had a plate of tortellini. The food was amazing, but you know what they say, “Too much of a good thing…” Even our waitress acknowledged the fat shits we were and gave us complimentary digestifs at the end of the meal with a hearty laugh telling us “This will help with your” while rubbing her belly.

Gelato

Just eat it. Everywhere. It doesn’t matter what place you go to. We went to everyone’s suggestions and they were all amazing. But if you HAVE to be directed somewhere, Gelateria Dei Neri is as famous and popular as gelato places get.

February 19, 2015

Quick Hits – Don’t eat at Lazzara’s Pizza Cafe, NYC

Since I’m on a “Quick Hits” roll, here’s another from NYC. Don’t eat at Lazzara’s Pizza Cafe in Manhattan. Based on looking at Yelp reviews, this place had above average reviews mainly saying that the pizza was good, but the service in some cases was so-so. We never even made it far enough to try the food.

My friends and I stopped there for a late-ish lunch and wanted to take a load off after walking around Times Square for a while (which is down the street). It was around 2, maybe 3 in the afternoon. The group of us sat down and because it was a later in the afternoon, some of us had already eaten, while the others just wanted a couple of slices (this was New York City after all). Keep in mind, this place was absolutely empty — we were the only ones in there other than another couple.

The waitress first took a while to come over to us, which in itself wasn’t that big a deal. But then she proceeded to tell us that we had to order whole pies if we wanted to sit at the table. We explained to her some of us only really wanted to have a few slices, and the others were just looking to have a couple beers. Nope, she said we’d have to order at least a pizza per 2 people if we wanted to stay otherwise it had to be takeout. She didn’t even seem that apologetic or willing to compromise for some business! It seemed more like we were bothering her afternoon session of General Hospital.

Needless to say, we didn’t want to order that much pizza and we left. But on the way out, we said it loudly and clearly, “You just lost your empty restaurant some easy business for no real good reason.” If there was a line out the door for people who wanted to sit, then I might understand that policy. But the place was empty!

So, while the food might have been good, we never found out because it looks like those other reviewers who said the service was poor were spot on.

November 6, 2011May 6, 2012

Graffiato

707 6th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
202-289-3600

Hours
LUNCH
MON-FRI, 11:30am-5pm
SAT, 12pm-5pm

SUN-TUE
5pm–12am
*kitchen closes at 10pm

WED–THU
5pm-1am
*kitchen closes at 11pm

FRI–SAT
5pm–2am
*kitchen closes at midnight

*The bar & pizza oven are open late night after the kitchen closes

Washington, D.C. is not only home to political celebrities, but in recent years has become one of the centers of the celebrity chef universe. Mike Isabella, former contestant on Top Chef and former executive chef of Jose Andres’ Zaytinya, has stepped up his game with the opening of his new restaurant Graffiato.

Conveniently located near the Gallery Place/Chinatown metro stop, Graffiato offers italian food served in the form of small plates. Don’t be misled into thinking that “small plates” means “tapas”. They’re a little bigger than that, but still small enough that you’ll probably want to order two or three to satisfy your hunger. Graffiato also offers a pretty standout wine list with several local wines and beers as well.

I’ll say this right off the bat – the food was very good. It was little pricey for what we got, but the quality of the fare was excellent. Going with a group of friends is definitely a must so that you can try several dishes. The standout for me was the chicken with cabbage in pepperoni sauce. The sauce was meaty and spicy, and the chicken was cooked to a moist perfection with a delicious, crispy skin similar to the way peking duck skin is cooked. Also worth trying is the polenta, which is a grilled goat with pear, the pumpkin risotto and the chocolate tart with a fantastic sea salt ice cream. Don’t bother with the cauliflower soup and risotto balls. Keep in mind, the menu does change, so there’s a chance that there will be different offerings when you go.

As good as the food was, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the atmosphere. The venue was small with a few seats downstairs near the bar and a bigger, brighter dining area upstairs. Both floors had open kitchens (which was cool seeing Mike Isabella working hard in), but the place was way to loud. Specifically, the choice of music was a strange mix of Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine and other hard rock that didn’t really match the food we were eating. It’s not music I necessarily hate, I just don’t want it blasting into my ear while I’m trying to enjoy my meal.

Even with the bar-like atmosphere of Graffiato, the food definitely makes it worth a visit. Grade: B+

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