Sciortino's

I like going places when they are new.  We pulled this move with Capital City Gastropub most recently.  Sciortino's opened in the Miss Albany Diner space this past Wednesday. 

Off the bat, I'll mention that I'm a fan of most things Baumgartner.  Yes, he's easy on the eyes, but the food at his restaurants is actually good.  Some of my favorite meals in Albany involve the fish and chips at Olde English (and the beer), the fish tacos at Bombers (made better by being post-Boilermaker 15k), and although I'm not a huge fan of the food at Wolff's, I love love love the space it's in (and the beer).  I like when his blog has pictures of dogs, which is most of the time.

Anyway, tonight was the perfect night to head to Sciortino's.  Because I'm approximately 75 years old (see, hobbies: knitting, baking, being obsessed with my pet), we went for the early bird.

You can read all about it here. And here, here, here.

We had a Peroni and a Brooklyn Brown Ale, then ordered entirely too much food.  It was on purpose, but it was still alarming.  One thing to note is that when on display, the square pieces of pizza are on an angle, and it makes them look shorter than they are.  Don't be fooled.  One slice is enough. 

BBQ Chicken pizza (one slice, cut up)

Sausage, peppers, and mushrooms (it's UNDERNEATH) 

White pizza with vegetables.

Chicken riggies

At one point this was a brownie sundae.  Totally unnecessary.  Really gooey and delicious.  

I really liked the pizza and I'd have all of them again.  The BBQ chicken might be my favorite. Service was really friendly, and Matt was hanging out at and behind the counter. It wasn't crowded, but if it had been, we'd just have a drink at Wolff's while waiting.  I had never tried chicken riggies but heard good things, and while it was good, it's not for me.  I'm a spice wimp and it was a little hot (which I expected).  I also thought it might be more baked like a ziti, but it wasn't.  Cash only, as per yuzh.

Sciortino's (pronounced like shore-tinos)
893 Broadway
Albany, NY

What's Making Me Happy

If you listen to the NPR podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour then you might enjoy the last segment, called "What's Making Me Happy This Week."  Well, here's what's making me happy this weekend.

On Friday we were low on dining ideas, so we ordered two pizzas from Bellini's.  We've never been to a Bellini's or ordered before, but I've heard about the deals they do for takeout from some parents in my office.  With pizza we figure we'll try almost anything once--very open-minded.   We ordered the meatball and ricotta pizza and the Da Nico (spinach, prosciutto, & goat cheese), and yes, I was also wondering why some had names and some were merely the name of the key ingredients.  The smaller size of each (12 inches) brought us to $31.  This becomes important later. 

We had plenty left over, which brings me to my favorite part about the pizza:  eating a slice of Da Nico from the toaster oven with over easy eggs on top for brunch after a long run, with a side of sliced pear and Nutella of course.  YUM.  

Saturday night we wanted to go out, and once we got soup dumplings in our mind there was no doubt we were off to Latham and Ala Shanghai.  When we were there last on Christmas Eve with family, some of our XLB were deflated and desoupified--the place was jamming, and we ate them anyway.  Last night each one was soupy and super hot.   But the star of the show was the eggplant in our eggplant and chicken dish.  I'm not sure why the eggplant tasted like magic, but it did.  I'm surprised we had any left over--when we were both admittedly full we continued to nab pieces of eggplant until it was getting ridiculous and we HAD to stop eating.  Soup dumplings and two large entrees brought us to $25, AND we had leftovers and complimentary tea.  Quality, value, and a truly delightful atmosphere are what keep me schlepping to Latham from south of the border.

Lastly, what's making me happy this weekend is a new-to-me hamantaschen dough recipe from Not Derby Pie that yielded 21 cookies, none of which flapped open.  NONE.  J says they are the best-looking hammies I've ever made.  I liked that they were really fast to make--no refrigerating for hours or overnight, a quick 30 minutes did the trick (I recommend cleaning in between....or making another batch of hammies).   I'm still making a batch of these from smitten kitchen (with the cream cheese) because I do really like the taste of that cookie, but I've had varying success with the shaping.

Lastly, but certainly not least, we watched most of Cool Runnings this weekend.  It had been way too long since we saw that movie, and we couldn't tear ourselves away.  Really brought us back to '93.

While I Was Away...

We had a great time in DC.  I saw more than 20 different friends, including 3 relatives.  We ate lunches, dinners (out and homemade), snacks, drank coffee, and even went for a walk. 

Here is Tiki Barber and my hand, in a picture that I've definitely taken about 4 years ago, watch on wrist and all.But this time he has a little gray under his chin.

Back to Pete's but this time in Clarendon.  Edge of the Woods was a little different - instead of the big eggplant slices seen below back at Ten-Frien, there were smaller slivers.  I prefer the larger slices because you feel like it's more eggplant, less fried batter.  Take note!  Below is an old EOTW photo.  It doesn't look like "pizza with fried whatever on top," it looks like eggplant.

Next, Palena.  They've changed with the expansion.  The fry plate is no longer; now there's a "fritto misto" that has fried lots of things (including things I don't want, like shrimp and cauliflower).  I wish it was still basically dauphine potato, french fries, and fried lemons were the bomb.  The roasted chicken is still a delight, but the first time I had it was the best time ever.  The server said they'd just give us a plate of fried lemons, which they did, and that was nice.  Only $3. 

Hey, who is reaching for that lemon!

At Bistro Bis I enjoyed French onion soup and mustard seed crusted bacon fat salmon with lentils.  Because it's healthy to order the fish, you know.  This was my favorite weekday meal at a restaurant.

Friday night potluck with the ladies included butternut squash vegetarian chili, lots of cheese, and CCs' rendition of the red wine chocolate cake (spoiler alert: it's delicious. More toward brownie than cake, which is why I requested it).

Saturday morning I had a kale and goat cheese frittatta made by my Sisterfriend (not to be confused with my Seester or Sister), with a side of mini apple cider doughnuts from the Fenton Street Market.

This is Ella, my first and eldest dog niece.  She's the sweetest puppy.

SF also made delicious pumpkin waffles, but I didn't know how yummy they were until Sunday morning.

Saturday afternoon J and I shared some post-Fotoweek steak banh mi from ShopHouse.  The steak was really good, the slaw was a little spicy, and man is that a lot of bread.  If you're very hungry, this one is a good choice.  I'm not obsessed though.  Then I had a decadent concrete from Shake Shack with vanilla custard, peanut butter, marshmallow, chocolate, caramel, and pure joy.

Next we visited the new MLK Memorial - I really enjoyed it, particularly the awesome (great and literally large) quotes on the low surrounding walls.  There was a big crowd, which was really heartwarming and inspiring.  Thanks for finally shaking up all the crusty old white guy memorials.

Dinner gets a separate post of its own - Graffiato!  I had a terrific time and a delicious meal.

Sunday I had that pumpkin waffle (and a half?) that we talked about earlier, then we headed out to wine country.  In Baltimore County.  Both Boordy and DeJon are in just north of the city of Baltimore, and we stopped by both.  Boordy was CRAZY hopping, and the tasting was pretty informal.  We didn't learn much about the wines, but they were mostly ok.  My favorite was the Shiraz, followed by the Petit Cabernet.  DeJon is fairly new, and the wines were better.  The owner (Jon, not to be confused with Denise) poured us each one, chatted a little about his former life as a software company owner (the winery = "retirement"), but it was just us and one large group of rowdy, drunk 50 somethings, so we tasted and ran.  It was just cool enough where you didn't really want to just sit and play Bananagrams.

That night we had a gathering of 13 people we love--some were experienced in the task at hand, while others were novices.  Some asked for direction, instructions, and were timid.  It does seem like everyone enjoyed themselves, though.

Ethiopic!  One or two too many platters, but no one complained.  We could have all been full with less, and our wallets slightly fuller.

We still love DC.  We want to try all the new restaurants that we (still) read about on local blogs.  We marvel that certain corners and blocks have completely changed in one year.  We're interested in the new monuments and updated exhibits at the galleries.  But mostly, we love our friends and family that make the District home.  And that's why we'll be back.

Little Anthony's

We were going to a not-too-late movie on a weeknight and needed a quick bite.  Suggestions from the Twitterati included Ralph's and Chipotle.  I couldn't stop myself from a little Yelping, and ended up curious about Little Anthony's. People had some nice things to say about their pizza and hot sandwiches, and I was intrigued about the vegan options.  I didn't want to have anything vegan, necessarily, but I liked that the option was there.  If one of my vegan or quasi-kosher friends comes to visit, they may enjoy a vegan option from LA.  But it'll probably be takeout.

We walked in and saw one guy waiting for his takeout order.  We stood at the counter for about 5 whole minutes until someone came to take our order. There were a couple guys back there, and two guys rushed hurriedly one way and then the other, passing us, DEFINITELY seeing us, but not acknowledging anything at all.  It was awkward.  I don't want to be like "hi, can we order?" because it is so clear that they see us and they know that we haven't ordered. They just don't seem to care.  Maybe I'm in too much of a hurry.

It was a toasty day, and that translated inside Little Anthony's.  I don't think they have A/C.  It was dark, and it smelled a little bit like a locker room.  Not strongly, but faintly. 

My food was delicious. It took a while, but when I got it, I really liked it.  I had eggplant parm, and it wasn't too soggy (which happens sometimes), the bread stood up to it.  VERY filling.  I recommend takeout not only because of the lack of ambiance at LA's, but then you can quickly put the remainder in the fridge (probably 1/4) for a post work out OMGIneedfoodnow snack.

J was a champ.  He ate all of this gigantic calzone.  I really liked the texture of the dough.  This thing wasn't stuffed--it's not the ripieno basilico.  But it was tasty and gigantic.  I kind of want it right now.

Other funny note: we were undercharged, unbeknownst to us.  During what seemed like our epic wait for food, the guy who took our order came by and told us he didn't charge us the right amount. Again, awkwardness.  The difference was about $7, and it wasn't like we gave them the wrong amount--they asked us for the wrong amount to start with.  A little weird, but it's not like it was an expensive meal.  I didn't mind paying what it actually cost, it was just a funny situation.  If I were him I probably wouldn't have said anything--after all, it would be my mistake.

I could see us getting takeout from here if it's on the way home.  Reasonable prices for solid eats and great portion sizes.

PS This is probably my last post in August. How cray cray is that?  That means I've lived in Albany for 9 whole months.  An entire human being grew in someone's womb and could be born in the amount of time I've lived in Albany.  Actually, one did!  Mazel tov to my cousin and her brand new bundle of squish. ::retreats to finish knitting blanket::

Little Anthony's
1095 Central Ave
Albany, NY

Jersey Shore, Not The Snooki Kind

Let's escape the negative degrees here and jump over to summer.  Jersey shore, waves crashing, sun beating down on your reddish, freckled shoulders...

Now that I've got your attention, can we discuss those signs, above?  Over 200 Omelettes is definitely something I can support!

I have a lot of love to give.  Obviously to my mom, husband, siblings original & in-law...but also to the Jersey diner, and the egg products that inhabit them.  Poach 'em, scramble 'em, whatever.  Just bring them my way with another cup of coffee k thanks.

Check out the corned beef omelet I got from Breakfast at Mariner's Cove in Brielle, NJ:

And LC got a big veggie egg white shenanigans.  There were so many omelets to choose from, what could a girl do?  We had a lovely time at this joint, and despite crowds, we weren't rushed at all.

Jersey shore staple part II: pizza.  We heard from reputable sources that Pete & Elda's has some of the best pies in NJ.  We had to check it out. 

First of all, we waited a while for a seat.  It had been a long day--I drove straight from DC to Brielle for superomelette up top, then hung at the beach all day reading The Help.  Eventually we were seated.  Our pies took fooooorever, but eventually we got them--mushroom/broccoli, sausage, and pepperoni. 

These pies were tasty, but very different from NY style.  The crust wasn't thick and chewy--it was thin and crispy, almost like a cracker.  Look--it doesn't really have an end crust, or as my mom calls it, "the bones."  But it was piping hot, super fresh, and much needed on a breezy summer evening.

Summer, are you here yet?

Baba Louie's - Hudson, NY

Now for us Hudson isn't as much a weekend escape as an afternoon/evening escape, but I'll tag it that way nonetheless.  Our NYC/Jersey friends will appreciate the clarity.

J and I had no idea how much time to budget for Hudson.  Is it like Middleburg--adorable, but one little street until nothin'?  Or more like Frederick?  Hampden?  The answer is basically none of the above.

First, head over the Rip Van Winkle bridge.  Cue the adorable toll plaza.

Although everything is along the main drag, that main drag is long.  We arrived at 3:45 hoping to fill the space before an appropriate dinner time, and we only made it down one side of the street.  Granted, things started to close at 5-6 and when the sun was completely down it got cold, so we were happy to retire for dinner at 6.  There's lots of browsing to do---galleries, antique shops, furniture, books, crafts and jewelry, some clothing (including amazing toasty/fashionable brown boots in my size on sale for $130 that I didn't try on in an unlikely display of self-restraint).  Fear not, though, because I got two great necklaces.  While some of the shops had items great to look at but impossible (for me) to buy ($800 vase anyone? $7000 chair?), there were a few with reasonable pieces that I could see us buying, particularly if we were outfitting a home.

We've heard a bit of buzz around some Hudson restaurants, including Swoon Kitchenbar, DA/BA, and more.  Swoon was closed for renovations, DA/BA was feeling too fancy and pricy for our tastes on that particular day, and we needed some cozy comfort food.

A chatty gallery owner suggested Baba Louie's, his local favorite.  Thin crust pizza with anything and everything on it, straight from the brick oven, and HUGE salads, he promised. 

The salads come in unmentioned, so "regular," and "family size."  The regular could easily be for 2-4 people; we finished ours together, but had 3 small slices of the large pizza leftover as a result.  We had toasted pepitas on our salad.  YAY.

The pizza was great.  All the options sounded delicious, but we opted for spinach, figs, prosciutto. The sweetness of the figs played well with the rest of the ingredients, and you could tell by the taste that the spinach was fresh.

Mmmm lentil soup.  That's what you need on a flippin' freezing night.

Leftovers for lunch.

They have a spelt crust available for my less wheat-tolerant friends, and plenty of vegan options.

Baba Louie's
517 Warren Street
Hudson, NY
(Also locations in Barrington and Pittsfield, MA)

Pete's New Haven Style Apizza - Ten-Frien

Ten-Frien!  That's Tenleytown-Friendship Heights for the uninitiated.  The newest Pete's outpost is in between the two red line stops, not quite part of the shopping fiasco that is FHeights, but also not the Big Box hubbub at the AU stop.  There appears to be a cute newish coffee shop and pet shop nearby, and an unfortunate Italian/pizza joint across the way. 

Pete's has become our latest "why not?" on nights we don't feel like cooking or we have guests who want some local flavor.  We can walk there, which is convenient, and although there isn't any outside seating yet--likely due to a permit delay--the walk to and from gets enough of that muggy, summer air for this gal.  The food is great, mixing up my own Boylan's soda is fun (because I'm 5), and the pies are huge.  HUGE.  We always have leftover, and it makes my workday lunch that much more interesting. 

New Haven-style apizza (a-BEATS, rhymes with a-TWEETS--not Pete's Apizza = Pizza Pizza) has a super thin crust.  Now, I'm no NH expert.  I only drive through/fly over Connecticut, for the most part.  But the apizza has a nice chewy/doughy end (or as my mom calls it, the bones), and the bottom is impossibly thin and crisp without being burned.  HOW DO THEY DO IT!?  It must be magic.  You can't even really fold this pizza if you try, because it's that crispy.  Nosh nosh.

Shall we look at some dishes?  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it, and luckily I just baked 2 lbs of banana bread. 

Fried goat cheese.  Can you go wrong?  (Answer: no.)

Mmmm fried eggplant (named Edge of the Woods)--we've gotten this pizza TWICE.  And the 2009 World Series Champions!!!

Arugula!  So fresh and tasty, like having a salad (with dough underneath).

Deeeelightful antipasti plate with housemade pickles (so crunchy and fresh and light), roasted corn and tomato salad (I loved this the most), fried risotto balls (dec.a.dent.). 

Solid salad. 

Halfsies--eggplant from earlier (this is a separate occasion, you see) and meatballs on the Boola Boola!

We really like Pete's.  These people are series about their apizza.  Just check out this ride:

Yes, I got permission (in writing...sort of) to use this image.  Because you know, it's shady to take pictures of people's license plates (I'm talking to you, Facebook friends who think those mobile uploads are an Olympic sport).


Pete's New Haven Style Apizza
4940 Wisconsin Ave NW
Metro: Red Line to AU/Tenleytown or Friendship Heights--it's really in between.  Maybe a little closer to FH if you take the Jenifer St exit.