PIZZA
Ribalta, the “institution of higher pizza,” brings pizza connoisseurs a slice of heaven through their authentic Italian ingredients. Ribalta uses imported Italian-milled flour and 8-year-old yeast generated from an Italian mother dough for each pie. Besides Italian ingredients, Ribalta utilizes their three ovens to create 25 different pizzas, all cooked in their appropriate oven determined by style. Want to learn the science behind the perfect slice? Sign up for a class at the world renowned pizza school, Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli, which calls Ribalta its home away from home. If all of that won’t satisfy head pizzaiolos Max Bruno and Massimiliano Crocetti desire to bring New York diners a pure and complete Neapolitan pizza experience, flying over a master pizzaiolo directly from Naples for four days might do the trick.
The golden mosaic tiles of the pizza oven of Donatella Arpaia’s namesake restaurant, Donatella, acts as a beacon calling to diners, “come inside, you look hungry. I’ll cook something for you” just as countless Neapolitan mothers have done for centuries. Once you’re off the busy streets of Chelsea, sit down at one of Donatella’s marble topped tables, drink a glass of the finest Italian Campanian wines, and snack on a plate of crostinis while you painstakingly decide which of the pizzas you plan to try. Keep in mind though; Donatella’s is not your typical New York City Neapolitan pizza-focused restaurant. Donatella Arpaia, who is a recurring guest judge on the Food Network’s “Iron Chef” series, a contributor to NBC’s “Today Show,” as well as being behind a number of successful restaurants, such as Kefi and Dona, feels that Donatella is her most personal endeavor to date. Her goal for Donatella was to capture the traditional foods she enjoyed while summering in Naples during her childhood and bring them to New York. By using authentic and fresh ingredients (We mean fresh as in picked up from customs that very morning.) Donatella celebrates not only the famed pizza of the region but the pastas, desserts, and wines as well.
Newly opened Ribalta (48 East 12th Street) is what happens when you take two master pizzaiolos (one of which boasts a lifetime achievement award for “stick work”), seating for 90, three different ovens, a world renowned Italian pizza school, and imported Italian ingredients. This ambitious pizzeria is not your average corner pizza place. Pizzaiolos Max Bruno and Massimiliano Crocetti are seriously committed and “dedicated to bringing you the pure and complete Italian pizza experience.”
Numero 28 Pizzeria Napoletana is one of the most popular brick-oven pizza joints in the city and luckily for all you Gossip Girls on the UES, they've just opened their newest location right in your backyard. Enjoy their signature 'za in three different size and two shapes (round and rectangular), and munch on a selection of appetizers and house made pastas, as well. The kitchen is run by veteran chef Ramon Duran (formerly of Gino of Capri) and the restaurant is currently developing a gluten free menu. Behind the move to include gluten free? The Biamonte family, who owns the pizzeria, recently had a family member diagnosed with Celiac Disease and now want to help those who have the condition. This menu will debut in a few weeks, available only at their Upper East Side location.
This week kicked off Eataly’s in-house, upscale Italian pizzeria chain, Rossopomodoro’s “Pizza a Quattro Mani” event. Meaning pizza made by four hands in Italian, this event will entail exactly that, a rotating group of guest Neapolitan-style pizzerias cooking alongside pizza maker, Rosario Granieri. Starting at 5 p.m. for the next five Mondays, guest pizzeria’s will use Rossopomodoro’s two, side-by-side wood-fired pizza ovens some of New York City’s best know pizzerias will create their signature pizza’s for Eataly patrons along with Rossopomodoro’s regular menu.
Ristorante Quartino is big on toppings and delicious crust. Our pizza was covered, literally, with arugula, squash, fresh mushrooms, eggplant, asparagus, and onion. I have had better sauce, (not enough flavor for me), but with so many nutrients and a nice chewy crust, I choose not to complain.
Moving on to the prize-winning salad. My eyes followed an enormous array of leafy greens chock full of crisp, exotic, and vibrantly colored vegetables in a delightfully enormous portion as the dish was placed in front of me. Music to my mouth!
In an effort to clearly induce more obesity, Congress has declared pizza is a vegetable. That's right, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste now counts as a vegetable. But, wait a minute, aren't tomatoes scientifically a FRUIT? We are so confused now...
Earlier this year the Obama administration proposed a bill to make lunches healthier for students. The proposal would require that schools cut back on "unhealthy" sodium-packed foods such as pizza and french fries and integrate more whole grains. Republicans thought otherwise and loved the tomato-paste-as-a-vegetable idea, stating the changes would "prevent overly burdensome and costly regulations and provide greater flexibility for local school districts to improve the nutritional quality of meals."
Despite the closing of Ray's Pizza (the real, original, authentic Ray's) last month, New Yorkers are rarely starving for perfect slice. But regardless of how inundated we might be by seemingly authentic Neapolitan imports, we'd be lying through out (quickly chomping) teeth if we said we wouldn't make space for another quality pizzeria.
Enter, Forcella: the just-opened Bowery outpost of the Williamsburg pizza restaurant. This East Village branch will serve as the pizzerias's 65-seat flagship and offers handmade mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes cooked up in a 1,000 degree wood-burning pizza oven. Oh, and there's also fried pizza. That's dough that's been passed through a deep fryer before being topped with sauce and cheese and cooked for a few minutes more in the pizza oven.
In case you were wondering, it is exactly as good as it sounds. Actually, it may be even better.
While the waitstaff can be cold at times, the drinks are always colder -and the food is sizzling hot. This beautifully polished upscale bar and resturant is located within the United Building on Clark and Wacker, in the Loop. The atmosphere is adult, so naturally, the drink of choice is wine -which they have a wealth of. They are also well-stocked with a wide selection of premium beer and liquor.
The cafe's menu is lavished with authentic Northern Italian cuisine. Dishes such as their unique and delicious pizzas: the Affumicate, Quarto Formaggio and Alexandrina, are all tantalizing additions to the menu, not to mention great entrees like the Chicken Franchese.
The swanky bar also has small mid-city miracles such as their $2 Bar Bites. The bar bite special begins at 3pm, from Monday-Friday, and it includes Blue Cheese Potato Chips, Buffalo Chicken Melts,Toasted Favioli, Burger Sliders and Hummus and Pita. While it is a small portion, it's the perfect opportunity to order a few 'bites' and eat them tapas-style with a friend.
Daily drink specials include $3 Domestic beer on Monday, $2 off Preminum drinks on Tuesday, $4.50 Imported Beer on Wednesday, $4 glasses of house wine on Thursday and $5 house martinis on Friday.
Stefani's offers cafeteria-style food, hor d'oeuvres packages,7AM coffee and pastries, and they feature a live DJ on Friday afternoons.
Check out Stefani's or one of the other Tuscany locations in the Chicagoland area. Learn more about the fine eatery here.
Most New Yorkers claim they know the best pizza joint in town. But tell your fave hub to move on over because recently opened PizzArte will surely give it a run for its money.
Step into this modern Italian resto unlike any other. Forget the red checkered table cloths, forget the dim lighting and noisy children -- this hot new spot is not clinging on to the same ol' Italian restaurant theme. Instead, owners Bruno Cilio and Dario Cipollaro de l'Ero (first time restaraunteurs) opted to decorate with mod tables and lights and walls covered in great Italian artwork (perfect, since it's situated just footsteps away from the MoMA). The artists that are currently being displayed there are Lello Esposito, Luciano Scateni, Giuseppe Falconi and Francesco Manes, all of whom are from Naples. The artwork will rotate every four to six months.
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