A ton of reviews said it was one of the best places to eat pizza in NYC. It was awarded Best of City Search 2007, but I have to disagree. I apologize for saying this but I wonder if they gave this place an award because Grimaldi's, DiFara's, Lombardi's (the most over-rated of the list), John's on Bleecker and other famous NYC pizza places have just been over-reviewed. It wasn't gross, but it just seemed like it was lacking the "oh my goodness, this is soooooo good" feeling I normally get when I have pizza (even some local places are just plain good when the cheese is chewy and the bread is perfectly thin and crusty).
We ordered the 16" "4 Stagioni"...thin-crust pizza with olives, ham, artichokes, buffalo mozzarella, and mushrooms. While the ingredients tasted fresh and the cheese was melted, it was disappointing that the center of the pie had a very mushy crust. In other words, the pizza was uneven...the center was soaking in all the water from either the tomato sauce, cheese oil and toppings. At the same time, it wasn't as if the ingredient combination was out of this world, but perhaps the goopy parts threw me off? So this made me sad because I had been craving pizza for weeks but this didn't do it for me. The only thing I could do was eat from the outer crust inwards so as to avoid the mush as long as possible. Even then, it wasn't pizza I wanted to inhale like I normally do when the pizza is that delicious.
My top pizza places that have not let me down: John's on Bleecker, Grimaldi's in Brooklyn, Patsy's on 3rd Ave. and 99 Cents Fresh Pizza in Midtown East. Why? The crusts are ALWAYS CHEWY, CRUSTY, but SUPER THIN...AND the ingredients (don't know about the 99 Cent place since I only had plain cheese) are fresh, generous and have their own vibrant personalities.
As sad as I was about the crust, I did manage to eat my 4 slices...in fact, we both finished the entire pie. I do believe Hy said: "It's really growing on me." I think after 3 slices, she started to believe it was really good pizza. She isn't wrong. I haven't had all the best pizzas in the world or even in NYC, but I do know what I like and don't like. And now you do too.
SKIP FORWARD TO TONIGHT
I've temporarily put my "anxiety" over Luzzo's pizza crust on hold. Perhaps it was just a one-time incident. Anyhow, tonight I went to Marco Polo Noodle Shop in Chinatown with Rebecca because she said she saw a sign on their awning that said they had "dao xiao mein"..."They do!?!" I remember shrieking. The literal translation is "knife-shaved noodles," which are my favorite and something I haven't had since I've left California. In fact, it has been a mission for me to find the best beef knife-shaved noodle soup in New York. The kind with chunks of tender beef swimming in an aromatic, dark-colored, hearty beef broth accompanied by long, wide, hand-shaved noodles that are perfectly cooked. The last time I've had such a delicious bowl? A&J in Irvine, California...a small shop with very good "jiao yen pai gu" ("salt pepper pork") with "suan tsai" ("sour vegetables") and rice.
The place most likely to rival A&J's beef noodle soup is the $4.50 bowl at Super Taste, a VERY much hole-in-the-wall shop where you can see the chefs yanking on the noodles by hand. You can practically taste the labor-intensive work in those thick, chewy noodles that somehow have the ability to soak in the meat broth and the savory spices. Maybe I should just stop writing now because I really could use a bowl right now. Well, the point of this "short" entry is to mention that we had a different beef noodle soup tonight that was quite delicious. The same kind I dream about from A&J? No, but still a place I'd hit up when in need of a steaming bowl of noodle soup.
"Oh, this wasn't what I was imagining. The broth is so....um, clear," Rebecca said. I laughed because she summed up the very thought I had been thinking when the bowls were set on the table. She ordered the thin noodles, which are also hand-pulled and I asked for the knife-shaved one. The broth was "qing dan"...a phrase I always remembered because I was careful not to order this version which pretty much means "clear broth" or something along the lines of "lighter" or "mild." But we sipped the soup and were pleasantly surprised: Even without the usual dark-brown colored broth, the soup was flavorful, meaty and full-bo
died. In fact, it was nice to know that maybe even fewer ingredients were put in but still yielded a soup so tasty.Rebecca's noodles were al dente...the kind of noodles you want: "que que"..."chewy" and far from mushy but still soft enough without it being dough-y. Mine however were slightly over-cooked. Why I didn't freak out, especially since I did at Luzzo's crust? Because Rebecca had an ideal bowl of noodles so it was safe to say this time, my noodles had been sitting in broth for too long. But I still enjoyed it because the noodles were thin, and well-flavored in the broth it was bathed in. I just thought of them as open wonton skins.
Normally, I hate the beef in the noodle soups because they are tough, having been cooked in the soup for much too long. But the large, fragrant pieces that came with our bowls were super tender, and if there were bones, which there were not, the meat would have gladly slid off. I'd say that if you could think about the ideal way the beef should taste in noodle soups, this really hit the mark. Best part: Nothing was overly salty and we weren't dying to chug a gallon of water after eating. Yay! No MSG detected at the time! It was such a "comfort" meal in the sense that I've always had a soft spot for noodle soup since I used to have it/crave it all the time when I was at home. We chatted for a good 3 hours...well, long enough where all the cooks were having their dinner and we were the only customers. But not once did they try to kick us out. They waited until we finished and asked for the check. How nice! And so unusual for a Chinese restaurant!
As for tomorrow, the much-talked-about Grom gelato or a Strawberry Shortcake from Anneliese. (And maybe another trip back to F&B for beignets or another pumpkin muffin from Le Pain Quotidien. AHHH! So much to eat, so little time and money!)
Lesson of the day: Keep trying new things!
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