Two weeks after Artichoke opened, I went there with Chris to check it out. There was no line (which is unheard of now) and we were really looking forward to trying their supposedly awesome pizza. The owners are cousins and were really nice and talked to me about how they started Artichoke while they were preparing our pizza (more below).

Artichoke pizzeria:

So the place opened a while ago and I’m sure you’ve read a lot about it, but it was started by these guys from Staten Island and New Jersey. One of the owners’ mom’s has a restaurant on Staten Island, and he got his start by making breads at her restaurant. People really liked it, so he kept experimenting and made the Artichoke pizza (a spinach and artichoke pie). Here is one of the owners making our pie:

The guys found the 14th location by luck - they were walking by it one day and saw the for lease sign and decided to try it out. When Chris and I first went there, they were still commuting from Staten Island everyday (I know they were looking for a place to live and don’t know if they found somewhere closer to Manhattan), but they worked really hard trying to get the restaurant together and told me it’s pretty normal for them to stay until 4AM before they head back to Staten Island. It got rave reviews (hence them staying until 4AM to please everyone) and even David Chang from Momofuku bought a couple pies for his employees during the first couple of weeks. They also serve cauliflower fritters and other things, but their pizzas are the main attraction.

After about 20 minutes, our pie came out of the oven:

Initially, Chris and I were in shock - the pizza looks so….heavenly and delicious! We took the pizza back on the L and couldn’t wait to get home so we had our initial slice while waiting for the subway:

We were so excited that I burned the roof of my mouth trying to scarf down the slice. It was salty and creamy from the Parmesan cheese, and the crust was pretty crunchy (a little stiff, actually). After one slice, I felt a little…bloated (to be perfectly honest). In reality, it tasted like an appetizer from TGI Friday’s (the spinach and artichoke dip that comes with slices of pita). The sauce is too heavy and you really can’t have more than one slice (otherwise your arteries will hate you in the morning). Chris and I went back to try the regular pizza (marinara and cheese) but weren’t impressed by it, either. The crust was too stiff and there wasn’t enough sauce OR cheese. They just introduced another slice, the crab pizza, which I heard is selling well. It sounds too similar to a crab dip - I didn’t try it, but I read that it’s disgusting.

How to get to Artichoke Basille Pizzeria:

Artichoke Basille Pizzeria
328 East 14th Street
New York, NY 10003
212-228-2004

On the weekends, my usual ritual is to sleep in until noon (or later), drag myself out of bed, and head out for brunch. I love brunch because it’s casual but the food is usually really awesome (especially anything that has to do with eggs). Cookshop had been on my list of places-to-check-out-but-it’s-too-far-from-transportation, but I finally dragged myself to 10th Avenue (unheard of!) to sample their brunch. Chris and I headed in without a reservation (they can be made on opentable.com), but we only waited a couple minutes before being seated. When the waiter showed us to our seats, we looked around at the other tables and noticed that a lot of people ordered the burgers, so we decided to order a burger and something else. I noticed the huevos rancheros and decided to order it (did I mention that I’m a big fan of eggs?!).

My order of huevos rancheros:

The Cookshop version of huevos rancheros came with black beans, bacon, Monterey jack cheese, lime creme fraiche & red onion-jalapeño salsa. It was absolutely amazing, especially the lime creme fraiche. The eggs are baked (so the cheese and all of the flavors can melt together). Chris wasn’t as impressed, but I seriously couldn’t get over the fresh taste (the red onion-jalapeño salsa is also really good). I actually make a similar dish for breakfast, but instead of creme fraiche, I’ll put a little goat cheese in with my eggs (which is also awesome).

Chris ordered the Grass-fed burger with bacon:

The burger came with Vermont cheddar, twice smoked bacon, pickled red onion, chipotle ketchup, and fries. Vermont just makes the absolute best butter and cheddar cheese (fact, not opinion). Chris really liked his burger because it was really juicy, but I thought it was a tad on the salty side. Overall, I thought brunch was absolutely awesome (actually, much better than Five Points’ brunch, which is owned by the same person that owns Cookshop). It’s so good that I’d even say it’s worth walking to from Chris’ house (which is two avenues away!).

How to get to Cookshop Restaurant:

Cookshop Restaurant
156 10th Avenue
New York, NY 10011

A lot of people randomly e-mail me about how much crap I eat. Some people think it’s awesome, but most people are telling me that I should be eating more vegetables instead of cheeseburgers, mac and cheese, and eggs. Well, to tell you the truth, I’m not the HEALTHIEST eater, but I get by because I only eat like crap one day a week (three meals on Saturday or Sunday of ANYTHING I WANT). On the other days (when I’m in New York), I usually end up ordering food from SeamlessWeb. There are a lot of great restaurants on the website and you don’t have to have to talk to anyone on the phone about taking your order (you just click on buttons and then if you have any special requests, type it into a nice little box before checking out). Some of my favorite places are Eva’s, The Pump, and 99 miles to Philly (Eva’s and The Pump have a lot of healthy options, 99 miles to Philly has CHEESESTEAKS). It’s online shopping with instant gratification!

A while back, I watched an episode of “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” where Bobby challenges the owners of A Salt and Battery to a “fish and chips Throwdown”. The concept behind Throwdown is that Bobby Flay travels the country to challenge experts in a certain dish, but they don’t know they’re being challenged until halfway through the cooking process (Bobby Flay usually pops up and asks if they want to compete). Bobby usually has some sort of flare to add to the dish or he uses really great ingredients (lobster in the clam chowder Throwdown that he won!). Anyway, I watched the A Salt and Battery throwdown and was immediately in the mood for fish and chips from the small West Village restaurant. Since I watched around 11 at night, I was out of luck (nighttime is really the worst time to watch food shows because it always seems to make me hungry). In the morning, I headed to A Salt and Battery for a late breakfast to satisfy my craving.

On the episode of Throwdown, the cooks at A Salt and Battery prepare cod, but when I got to A Salt and Battery, they were out (so I settled for haddock):

The fish is freshly fried with a light batter right when you order it and comes with a little side of tartar sauce. I’m not a big fan of tartar sauce (sometimes it’s too chunky), but the tartar sauce that came with the fish completed the dish. The fish was crispy, flakey, and amazing.

I also ordered chips, which I were a little too fried and greasy, so I wasn’t a huge fan, but I did end up eating a big chunk of them because I was still a tad hungry after my fish.

A Salt and Battery also has a bunch of interesting drinks:

The place is very small and only has a couple of bar stools, but it’s definitely worth checking out. My friend, Justin, went there recently and loved it as well.

How to get to A Salt and Battery:

A Salt and Battery
112 Greenwich Avenue
New York, NY 10011
212-691-2713

One sunny afternoon, I walked to Elephant and Castle by myself for a big, juicy burger (by the way, the Elephant and Castle in New York isn’t the same as the one I went to in Chicago). I’ve heard Elephant and Castle has a lot of great food, so I decided to try it myself before bringing Chris along. I ordered the elephant burger with bacon, cheese, and curry sour cream:

The combination of curry sour cream, bacon, and cheese may sound a little off-putting, but in reality, the burger is absolutely AMAZING. It also comes with red union and tomatoes (no ketchup or mustard). The sour cream curry also has chopped scallions and really gives the burger a wonderful kick. Also, I’m usually not a fan of bacon in my cheeseburgers (something about having TOO much fat in a burger), but I ate absolutely everything. A close-up shot of the burger:

The burgers at Elephant and Castle are pretty amazing (I’ve tried a couple others since this review and my favorite is still the Elephant burger). I tried ordering fries, but there was something wrong with their fryer (it had to do with Con Edison), and it was still broken when I took Chris there two weeks later. Elephant and Castle is a great place to eat by yourself (they don’t bother you that much) and their burgers AND desserts are amazing!

How to get to Elephant and Castle:

Elephant and Castle
68 Greenwich Avenue
New York, NY 10011
212-243-1400