Joe's Shanghai

Soup dumplings? Cold sesame noodles? Beef and broccoli?

Joe's Shanghai has it all (unless you want authentic Chinese, that is). Joe's is the perfect place to go if you do not want to see chicken feet on the menu but want food to knock your socks off. I didn't have high hopes when I went in because our friend told us the General Gau's chicken isn't that good. Oh boy, was I wrong. 

There was a bit of a wait, but most places that are awesome will have one. Between 4 people we spent about $60 and were completely stuffed.

What We Had:

• Cold Sesame Noodles (thing of noodles with peanut butter and salt)
• Crab and Pork Soup Dumplings
• Shrimp Fried Rice
• Beef and Broccoli
• Shanghai Noodles
• Twice Cooked Pork

Things Tony Liked:

• The pork and crab soup dumplings were amazing. 
• I generally do not like beef and broccoli- most places tend to make the beef to soggy. Not Joe's. The beef actually has the texture of beef. How novel. . . 
• The shrimp fried rice was delicious. I generally do not like fried rice- Joe's has completely changed my mind. 

Things Katie Liked: 

• I agree with Tony: the pork and crab soup dumplings were amazing! They were sort of like grown up Gushers. You bit a little hole in the dumpling and sip all the soup out of it, then munch the rest. 
• Joe's had a huge menu. There had to be over a hundred things on it!
• I know it's sort of a standard Chinese restaurant thing, but the service was exceptionally quick! It seemed like as soon as my first cup of tea was cool, I had a steaming plate of delicious food in front of me. 

Joe's Shanghai
136-21 37th Avenue
Flushing, New York 11354 

Artichoke Pizza

Started by two best friends in Staten Island, Artichoke Pizza has expanded into a mini empire with several locations and even a frozen pizza! We headed to the Chelsea location for lunch after a walk through the High Line Park and before a walk through the Chelsea Market.

What We Got: 

• Artichoke Pizza, their specialty, and a meatball roll

What Tony Liked: 

• The pizza was creamy and delicious.It really did taste like spinach and artichoke dip on pizza. I surprisingly tapped out at 2 slices.
• The meatball roll was served with a whole dish of sauce. Take some notes, Olive Garden.
• The place was classy enough to serve PBR.

What Katie Liked: 

• Enormo portions. The meatball roll is the size of a baby. 
• Proximity to the High Line Park. This is a great lunch joint if you have some tourists in town. Check out the park and then head to Artichoke. 
• The artichoke pizza! It's pretty much spinach and artichoke dip on top of a pizza- two of my favorite things, together at last! If there was a Lady Gaga dance party happening while I was eating this pizza, my head would explode. 

Artichoke Pizza
114 10th Avenue
New York, NY 
(212) 792-9200

Financier Pastries

Financier Patisserie wasn't anywhere I could easily convince Tony to go. I mean, just look at the name! The logo even writes "Patisserie" in scrolling cursive. In name alone, I'm sure he suspected tiny plates, snooty waiters, and high prices. So when I suggested it for lunch, I was vetoed. We agreed on a Columbian place instead.

Out we headed into the sweltering Financial District, only to find that the curse of New York City real estate had felled the Columbian place. It was shuttered and locked, gone the way of thousands of other hopeful lunch joints.

By that time, we were starting to edge into Cranky-Hungry. That and the heat weakened Tony's resolve enough to give Financier Pastisserie a shot. Turns out: it was fantastic.

What We Had: 

• Le Parisian- ham, brie, and dijon mustard
• L'Italian- fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, arugula, basil pesto
• Raspberry Macaroons (FYI: they do have some Gluten free options for macaroons and other pastries)

What Tony Liked: 

• Buttery bread can sure make a sandwich. It can also make a heart attack, but that is a completely different story
• Window shopping at the counter is fantastic. Everything in the bakery counter looked amazing

What Katie Liked: 

• The hot pressed sandwiches were delicious! Buttery and warm and gooey- we ended up splitting our meals so we could have a taste of both. 
• The staff was very friendly. Even the bussers said hello and asked how everything was. 
• The cheese. I don't know which I liked better, the mozzarella or the brie, but both were creamy heaven. 
• Great portions. Much to Tony's surprise, the paninis were rich and filling and large. 

Financier Patisserie
62 Stone Street 
(Bet Mill Lane and Hanover Sq)
New York, NY 10004 

Telephone: (212) 344-5600

Additional locations can be seen here. 

Lombardi's

In 1905, Lombardi's was licensed to by the City of New York to become America's first pizzeria*. A century later and Lombardi's is still churning out amazing Neopolitan style pizza to hungry New Yorkers and flocks of tourists. The pizzas are still baked in the same coal oven that they've used since 1905 (though prices have gone up since the first pies used to cost $.05 each back then).

Heads up: Lombardi's is cash only and, for those who care about things like this (re: me), there are no free refills on soda.


Thing's Tony Liked: 

• The meatball pizza toppings
• The pizza itself
• Enjoying the hell out of the fact I didn't order a salad at Lombardi's

Things's Katie Liked:

• The pizza. Smoky-crusted, sweet-sauced, creamy-mozzarella-topped heavenly pizza. 

Lombardi's Pizza
32 Spring Street
New York, NY 10012
(212) 941-7994

* This is debatable. According to Wikipedia, "In 1984 the original Lombardi's closed. In 1994, Lombardi's restaurant was re-opened a block away at 32 Spring Street by pizza makers John Brescio, a childhood friend of Lombardi's grandson, and Gennaro Lombardi III, Gennaro Lombardi's grandson. This change in location combined with the 10 year gap in service has now cast doubt on which pizzeria can claim to be the "oldest". Papa’s Tomato Pies in Trenton, NJ opened in 1912 and has operated without interruption ever since, thus making it 3 years "older" than Lombardi's if the decade long hiatus is taken into account." 

Parm

Alright, that's it. I'm never eating anywhere else, ever again.

Every birthday, every special occasion, every Wednesday "I-don't-want-to-cook.-Where-should-we-go?" night, I'm suggesting we go to Parm. 


Ever since we've been back on the east coast, all I want to do is eat chicken parm (a.k.a. chicky chicky parm parm). When I mentioned that on Facebook, I got about a million Likes and one suggestion from my friend Talia: go to Parm. We went. And then we went again less than a week later.

Parm was fantastic. Easily one of my favorite meals in a long time.

Down in NoLita under a red-and-white striped awning, Parm operates in a tiny room consisting of a hand full of tables and a counter. The kitchen is in the middle of the restaurant, diner-style, so between the cooks frying and sizzling and the waiters navigating in between tiny tables to refill water glasses, Parm is always bustling.

Things Tony Liked: 

• This is a place that makes a mean sandwich without all the pretension. Yes there will be a wait to get in, and yes you will probably see some hipsters, but this is the neighborhood joint you've been looking for.
• Get the deluxe garlic bread. The ricotta makes it. Even though that's the only appetizer I've eaten, all the others look delicious too.
• The sweet sweet sauce. Perfect for a sandwich.

Things Katie Liked: 

• The ice cream cake was delicious, but very expensive. We got the special: s'mores ice cream cake. It was a tall, three-layer slice for $11. There were two layers of marshmallow ice cream, one layer of chocolate, and then a dusting of graham cracker crumbs. Really good and a super treat if your husband is paying (he was). 
•  Fresh basil leaves on the sandwiches- so clean and fresh tasting!
• Sesame seed buns! I've never had a chicken parm cutlet on a sesame seed roll before (they're usually just on Italian bread) but it was great. The nuttiness of the sesame seeds was delicious against the sweetness of the marinara sauce. 
• The chicken to bread ratio was equal and, therefore, perfect. Most chicken parm sandwiches I've had have been one thin cutlet on a poofy roll (bread > chicken), but Parm gives you two thin cutlets! 
• The fabulous neon, roller-skate-wearing octopus that let's diners know whether or not they have fried calamari on any given day. 

Parm 

248 Mulberry Street
New York, NY 10012

Burger Club

The first time in Queens was exactly what we expected it to be: Cargo shorts, backwards Mets hats, more Greeks than my family reunion, and some darn good eating. After seeing some apartments, we were on the hunt for some good eating. Walking down 30th seemed like the best place to spot what may be our next local burger joint. Enter: the Burger Club.

Tony's Burger: slow-cooked pulled pork, pepper jack cheese, and coleslaw

After walking around in the rain following our Magellan-like navigational senses, we were in no mood for some frou-frou, low-fat, half-a-meal plate. We decided on the Burger Club because, hey, if you do only burgers, you probably do them well. Prose has no place in describing the Burger Club, so here's a sweet song I wrote for this:

Our eyes were getting weary
Our backs were getting tight
We're sitting here in... er... the burger club
Enjoying pulled pork on a burger tonight
I don't care 'cuz all we want to do
Is cash our checks and eat some more of you.

Was the burger life changing and the best burger I've ever eaten? No.
Would I eat there probably once a week if I lived near it? Absolutely.

The burger was cooked well, on a great bun, and the hand-cut chili cheese fries really sealed the deal.

Katie's Burger: smoked mozzarella, prosciotto, and basil pesto

Things Tony Liked:

• A full meal. Anytime you walk away from a restaurant hungry, they failed.
• Pulled pork on a burger. I'm now contemplating marketing a 'pulled pork' condiment for the table
• Chili cheese fries on homemade fries. Ur'vry Day!

Things Katie Liked:

• This sounds silly, but I really liked the backwards sign on the front of the building. It piqued my interest and was a bold, cool design choice. 
• My burger. It was delicious! 5 stars! One of the best I've had  ever! It was the Stuffed Burger which meant it was a beef burger with smoked mozzarella, a big crispy piece of proscuitto, basil pesto, lettuce, tomato, and red onions. 
• The reasonable prices. My burger was $10.75 and, after eating in Manhattan a few days, I totally appreciated that it wasn't $20. 
• Cool, cozy interior: bright orange paint, dark wood tables/chairs, and huge windows that open to make the meal al fresco. 
• The milkshakes. We didn't try them, this time, but I felt better knowing they were there (kinda like having a can of shark repellent on your Amity Island vacation). They had standard chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and cookies and cream shakes, but they also had some specials including Froot Loops and Fruity Pebbles. 

All in all, the Burger Club was a solid meal. If you're in the area and are looking for a meal you will be happy with, the Burger Club is it.

Burger Club
32-02 30th Avenue
Asotria, NY 11102
(718) 777-7788

R.U.B. BBQ

It's our third day living on the island Manhattan and our search for cheap eats grows desperate.

I read this post from Time Out New York about the best cheap burgers and got excited. R.U.B. BBQ ("Righteous Urban BBQ, erm, BBQ") was touted as having a delicious, cheap burger. According to Time Out:
Pit master Scott Smith grinds his own beef before smashing it into a skillet, crafting a thin, salty patty, which he places on a buttery bun. Kosher dill pickles, sauteed onions and American cheese balance the meat's steaklike minerality, while chipotle aioli adds an unexpected kick. It's possibly the finest hamburger in the city at any price; that it's available in limited quantities, and only on Mondays from 6 to 9pm, makes it more special.

Super tempting, right? Potentially righteous even.

Well, it wasn't bad. It was a decent burger, but I set my hopes high after reading that dripping-with-praise blurb and the limited edition menu-ness of it. It would have been a fantastic $3 burger. It would have been an impressive $2 burger. It was a decent $7.50 burger.

We did like R.U.B. BBQ on a whole though. While I expected the burger to be the superstar, it was definitely outshone by the other stuff we ordered. All in all, it was very yummy food and our bill came to about $32 (pre-tip) which included:

• Sweet tea
• Hush puppies
• Pulled pork sandwich
•  R.U.B. burger
• Small side of seasoned, hand-cut fries

Things that Katie Liked: 

• Hush puppies! The pile (a literal "pile," they didn't skimp on the portion) were served with honey and butter.
• Sweet tea! My delicate sweet tea palate detected loads of honey and the refills were free!  
• Friendly, attentive wait staff. I even asked for butter and honey to wrap up with our left over hush puppies (I told you it was a pile) and our waitress happily complied. 
• We didn't eat them, but bonus point for having deep fried Oreos on the menu. 

Things that Tony Liked: 

• Again with the hush puppies. They were onion-y which made them taste almost like deep fried stove top stuffing.
• The pepper vinegar at the table went quite well with the fries and the pulled pork. It's a rarity that vinegar outshines the house made BBQ sauces.
• Fries seasoned with BBQ rub? Yes please.

R.U.B. BBQ

203 W 23rd Street

(212) 524-4300