carciofo

While I do love me a plain slice of pizza, I too love when pizza comes with some pizazz on top. A little pepperoni here, some pancetta there. I do have to say, however, I've never ever seen anything like this before, but I'm really liking it! Stuffed Artichoke Pizza? What is not to like about that? It can come off a little bit busy, but just deconstruct that shit. It's a white pizza (yum!) with creamed spinach (yum!) and  a ricotta stuffed artichoke on top (double-yum!). It's a three-for-one deal, so it's perfect! I'm definitely down to give this baby a try.

Nonna's LES Pizzeria

105 Clinton Street New York, NY 10002
212-477-2708; nonnaslespizza.com

Eater Boulder Hot Map!

New York Eater is one of my go to blogs for like everything food, so it would only make sense for me to become a Denver Eater follower due to the fact that I'm an honorary Colorado-ian. Luckily for me, Denver Eater also covers Boulder food news and they have just released their Boulder Hot Map. Basically it is the   essential guide of where to eat right now in Boulder and it is pretty dead on.

Still need to try Cured, Snooze, and PastaVino, but I fully intend on doing so with the 14 days I have left until graduation...so no worries

Good news! All the restaurants are down the street from one another, so if you can't get into one, just keep on walking down to the next. 

VAN LEEUWEN

I cannot even count the amount of times I've passed this truck and never gone up to get a sampling of their ice cream. Van Leeuwen prides itself on only using the freshest ingredients for their ice cream and you can certainly taste it when licking away at your cone. Their final product has no stabilizers, no preservatives, and no unnatural emulsifiers. No, it's not healthier, but it is all natural!

I hate to admit it, with three trucks around New York, I've still never been to one. However, I have been to their store front in the East Village a couple times now and have never left disappointed. I can really be a sucker for some ice cream and what I love about Van Leeuwen is that you never, well, I've never left feeling gross and fat afterwards, so it is totally the guiltiest free ice cream out there! 

As you can see, in addition to ice cream, Van Leeuwen also has a pretty good looking drink menu. My little brother ordered a chocolate milkshake and as you can see from the picture, thoroughly enjoyed it! 

With three locations, three trucks and 31 days until Memorial Day... you really do not have any excuse to not try Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream this summer. 

Happy April 20th!

The most popular question I get asked when I tell someone I go to CU Boulder is, "do you smoke alot of weed?" Boulder, CO has really taken action in becoming a fun, loving, weed-embracing kind of town. I'm pretty positive that you cannot walk two blocks without passing at least one dispensary. I'm pro-having-a-good-time so I don't see anything wrong with this. However, the University decided (MY SENIOR YEAR!) to do something about it? People come to Boulder from all over the world to get a piece of our 4/20 fun, so why did the school feel a need to drench our campus in fish fertilizer and strategically place cops everywhere? Because they suck! Regardless of campus smelling like the streets of Chinatown, everyone still tried to make the best of their 4/20. For those of you who were stuck back in New York for this lovely holiday, Eater posted NY's best stoner foods. I'm pretty sure I would eat every single thing on there not stoned, but I could imagine how good those Momofuku rice cakes would be high. 

Eatocracy tried getting involved in the 4/20 festivities by posting this interview they did asking celebrity chefs about their favorite munchie foods. The first 28 seconds can be quite frustrating when every chef awkwardly laughs at the question, but just wait it out. They eventually loosen up and talk alot about mostly cheese and popcorn. I just would like to take the time right now to give a shout out to Sang Yoon and the Taco Bell - this guy knows what they're talking about by "munchies." Oh and really Daniel Boulud? Nuts? If you must know, I'm so chilling with Gail.

Ramps be Rampin'

Say bye-bye to kale and let me introduce to you the ramp...the new trend setting vegetable. Believe me, I get the whole seasonal approach restaurants like to take and April is the coming out of ramps, but damn ramps...You guys are popping up all over town. NYMag & Bill Telepan teamed up to introduce New York's best ramps dishes. Personally, I love ramps and mostly all green veggies, so I'm bias, but for those who have never had ramps, I recommend getting out there and getting your ramp on. 

Telepan

Porsena

Rucola

ABC Kitchen

Back Forty West

Marlow & Sons

And here are 9 recipes that Huffington Post claims will make you fall in love with ramps:

 I <3 Ramps

Immaculate Infatuation x New York Pizza

One of my favorite food blogs, Immaculate Infatuation teamed up with Vh1 to present New York's best pizzas. I kind of felt entitled to share this not only because of how cute Chris and Andrew are and not only to prove NY really does have the best pizza and being in Colorado is pure pizza torture, but also because this was totally filmed on the floor I worked on when interning at Vh1 back in 2010! It was a sign.

Get More: Big Morning Buzz Live

I've tasted a few of these pizzas and these boys definitely know what they are talking about, but I must say the guy who doesn't eat seafood and doesn't like the brussel sprout & pancetta Motorino pie is a fucking creep. Seafood and Motorino's pizza are two of the best things you can put in your mouth! Joe's, however, I've never tried, but you can count that as one of my first stops after I'm back home from school. A celebratory pizza party for my graduation does sound like a great time!


ps: this girl is kind of annoying, eat meat betch! 

Savory Saigon

Boulder's Farmers Market is one of my favorite things about this town. For some reason, even with the same vendors every time, it never gets old. Dumplings, tamales, pizza, salads, Vietnamese, pupusas, BBQ, Greek... so many tasty options to choose from! My most recent visit to the market, I went going in with a gyro on my mind, but as soon as I saw all the stands, I could not resist Savory Saigon. Craving the fresh flavors of Vietnamese food, I decided to get their noodle bowl. It's a great balance of noodles and lettuce, making it more of a salad with noodles more then a noodle bowl (in my opinion), but regardless of it's name, the dish itself is refreshing and delicious. The sweet and acidic vinaigrette brings everything together and is personally the reason why I love this dish so much. 

 Noodle Bowl w/ Pork

Noodle Bowl w/ Chicken

Oak Part Duex

Another meal at Oak, another delightful dinner to blog about. Oak's food never disappoints and that's why I can't stay away. You can see my first post about them here: Oak at Fourteenth. Personally, I love when restaurants change their menu around and create new items to fit the season. However, although we did try some of the new items Oak is now offering, we all had to have our fix of their kale salad (an item that should never ever leave the menu). I said it once, I'll say it again - it's the best kale dish I've ever had! Kale salad aside, below are some of the new items that we ordered and awfully enjoyed...

Duxbury, Mass Island Creek Oyster & Ahi Tuna Tartare

Wood Fired Shishito Peppers, Tender Belly Farm Sausage, Harissa Sauce

Shaved Napa Cabbage Salad, Bacon, Dates, Mustard Vinaigrette

Chilled English Pea Soup & Maine Lobster, Creme Fraiche, Candied Ginger

Taleggio Cheese & Sweet Pea Ravioli w/ Charred Onion Butter

Pan Roasted Mediterranean Sea Bass, PEI Mussels, Saffron & Spring Onion, Fingerling Potatoes

Only 24 more days until graduation dinner with the family @ Oak...Not that I'm counting down or anything...

Blaze, Sweat, Eat

This video might have been the most entertaining 11 minutes of my entire day. Eddie Huang kills it with the one liners and teaches all those assholes out there how to actually eat a soup dumpling....

Cuba Cuba

Ever since Cuba Cuba Sandwicheria opened up I've been dying to give it a try. I've always loved everything about a Cuban sandwich, so I really did not have any doubts about a restaurant that dedicated itself to sharing the Cuban sandwich love. Surprisingly, I know many people who have never had themselves a Cuban sandwich before, so for those who are missing out, a Cuban sandwich is almost like a ham and cheese sandwich, but on acid. I personally would never go out of my way for ham. I'm not a huge fan of it at all, so for those who are shitting on the ham part right now, just wait until you've had yourself a Cuban. In addition to the ham, this sandwich also has roasted pork, swiss cheese, pickles and mustard all on toasted Cuban bread.

Having a little trouble deciding what to order because everything looked so good on the menu, I finally decided to go the classic route and get Cuba Cuba's Cubano. As I said above, this sandwich was the traditional pressed sandwich with roasted pork, ham, swiss, mustard and pickles on Cuban bread and it was pretty fucking amazing! Great flavors, perfectly toasted and a satisfying size, this Cubano was just what I was looking for. 

My friend Sara ordered their Pan Con Lechon a.k.a Roasted Pork Sandwich. This not only came with roasted pork, but it also had onions, mojo aioli and cabbage slaw on, you guessed it, toasted Cuban bread. I did not taste it, but I could tell that Sara was really enjoying herself. I think I might just need to get this one next time. In addition to these two sandwiches, Cuba Cuba offers a variety of other ones that sound unbelievable. They also have Cuban bowls, plantains, Cuban sodas and beer. Not to mention the interior of this place takes you straight to a beach in Cuba! With out a doubt, I will be going back very soon. 

NOT A JOKE!

I repeat... this is not a joke! It is entirely real and can be found at any Pizza Hut in the United Kingdom. You're eyes have not fooled you, this is indeed a hot dog stuffed-crust pizza! Repulsive yet so intriguing at the same time. Oh and the free side of mustard drizzle? I'm so in...............NOT! EWWW! When will this uprising of crazy fast food inventions end?! I'm like kind of scared...

ps: check it out here on their website! Be sure not to miss the cheesy bites crust. That's on another level right there.

Yankees vs. Mets

No, it's not what you're thinking... I'm not here to blog about sports, like are you kidding? Obviously there is something food related here, why else would the words Yankees and Mets takeover the title? Rather I'm here to fill you in on the stadiums themselves. Citi Field or Yankee Stadium - whose got the better grub? Both stadiums have really stepped up their games. They realized people don't just want wieners and peanuts anymore, us Tri State Area-ers now have matured palates and we want only the best food when watching our baseball teams kick some ass.

Yankee Stadium: the new home of Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi's Parm. Yes - PARM! I think I might just attend a game this summer so I can snack on a meatball sub while watching hot men throw a ball around. 

For those of you with a serious sweet tooth or with a child in desperate need of some dessert can make your way over to Dylan's Candy Bar. Parm & Dylan's not too shabby Yankees. Me likey!

Although I do support the Yankees over the Mets, I must admit that Citi Field is not lacking in their food department either. They are home to Danny Meyer's ever so delicious Shake Shack! That's a big deal right there. 

Danny Meyer must be a Mets fan because Shake Shack isn't the only DM outpost at Citi Field. Blue Smoke, the go to for bbq, is there offering Mets fans stick-to-your-bones pulled pork sandwiches and Kansas City spare ribs. 

The delicious food offerings don't stop there...Citi Field also has El Verano Taco. Created by the talented Floyd Cardoz. This taqueria sells the best of Mexican street food: tacos, carnitas, and quesadillas. 

The last of the amazing offerings Citi Field has is Catch of the Day, which might be my go to IF I was ever to attend a Mets game. Shrimp po'boys, corn and clam chowder and fried flounder sandwiches! I kind of have a major obsession with seafood, so this is sort of major.

I hate to admit, Citi Field has really outnumbered Yankee Stadium here. You Yankee fans can't even deny it. Parm scores a ton of points for Yankee Stadium, but seafood, Mexican, burgers, and bbq ?! That's a miniature food haven in one. In this rare case, my vote here goes to the Mets. EEEEK! 

Fusion Jew Food

It's like super cute how so many restaurants are embracing Passover this year and offering so many options for those Jews who can't cook. While some restaurants are offering more traditional dishes, restaurants like Tolache are taking a different route. Matzo Brei Tres Leches for dessert? Fucking genius! Not to mention all the kosher liquor they're offering... Time to get matzah wasted! For me, I'm all about the homemade meal by my mama for Passover, so going out for a Passover dinner is like something I would probably never ever do. I need my mom's homemade gefilte fish and brisket to keep my mind off of bread, BUT if I had to choose - Tolache looks great if you're craving a little jew-fusion action for the holiday. 

The New Trendy Veggie

I'm not sure if you guys have noticed, but kale has become like maaaddd trendy. Every menu, especially here in Boulder, will have some kale option available. No complaints here, I'm a huge fan of team kale. First it was all about the brussel sprout, now it's all about the kale. Wonder what's next on veggie trend bandwagon. If you're at all interested in becoming a trendy eater here are NYC's 10 most loved kale dishes from Serious Eats: 

Kale Salad @ Northern Spy Food Co.

Kale Salad @ Chuko

Black Kale @ Buvette

Braised Tuscan Kale @ Craft

Sayur Daun Singkong @ Upi Jaya

Kale Salad @ Fatty 'Cue

Tuscan Kale Salad @ 606 R

Kale Chips @ Maimonide of Brooklyn

Kale & CLementine Salad @ Radish

Kale Salad @ Birdbath Tribeca