Posts Tagged pizza
In Praise of Antonio’s
Posted by Jonathan Tilley in Buying Food, Restaurants, Travel, Wine on August 20th, 2010
It would take something special to post again on this oft-neglected piece of cyberspace. Justin and I have been busy, after all. In my case, working and new fathering have kept me from sampling DC’s finest or reflecting more on the absolute perfection of Hefeweizen (at least in written form).
But I am on vacation at my parents’ house in Orlando. Last night, my folks took care of our little one, while my wife and I found a new corner of restaurant heaven.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Orlando? The land of Disney and plastic culture? Isn’t Orlando the headquarters of all those big restaurant chains that push a bland uniformity into U.S. food culture? Isn’t Orlando cuisine nothing but overpriced tourist trap food?
Well, in part. But step away from International Drive. Go from the corporates to the foodies. Put down that expensive Disney Turkey leg. Next time you take the kids to Disney World and Universal Studios, be sure to drive over to Antonio’s Cafe & Deli in Maitland on 17-92. We did so, on my parents’ recommendation, and we tasted the best Italian food I’ve had in a long time.
Our romantic table in the liquor section.
Now, here is the charm. The Cafe & Deli, as you can see, is nestled within a mini Italian grocery and wine shop. We had a romantic little table in the liquor section. It may sound strange, but experience it, and you’ll find it creates a natural ambiance that most restaurants attempt to produce with funky decorations and weird lighting. We sat at our table and had two servers: A nice waitress who took our order, and their resident wine expert. The wine expert helped us select a bottle of wine from around the store (“we have an excellent wine list, and it’s all around us,” he joked), and was kind enough to open it and give us the “sniffy sniff sniff.” To go with our food, he selected a Dogajolo – 80% Chianti and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon (“which gives it more complexity,” he said). Yum.
For an appetizer, we had the Topped Ciabatta – fresh Ciabatta bread, blanketed with Mozzarella and tomato sauce – fresh, delicious, opposite of canned. It was a generous appetizer to say the least – on another more budgeted night we may have gone with just appetizers and wine. But this was a rare date night for new parents. We were going the distance. (I should also mention that this was alongside some fantastic bread, fresh butter and olive oil that could have stood alone)
My wife ordered the pizza. Delightful, authentic crust, generous portions of prosciutto, red onions, sauce and spices that blend and flavor delightfully without dominating. As a real European, she has authority to say what she said afterwards. “Here in America, all the Italian food is Chicago-Italian or New York-Italian. It’s fine and everything, but it is hard to find Italian-Italian.” Antonio’s fit the bill. Yes, she’s from Germany. But as Texas has top-notch Mexican food, southern Germany is peppered with fantastic Italian restaurants. She knows what she’s talking about.
I had a hankering for some pasta and went with the Linguini Calabrese. Wonderful sausage, onion and that perfect tomato sauce, tossed lovingly into linguini noodles. The garlic was present but not overwhelming, and as far as I could tell, the ingredients were fresh. Excellence.
The portions were generous, and though good taste spurred us on, we couldn’t quite clear our plates. But our server corked our wine bottle and gave us boxes, and our movable feast would continue the next day.
We walked away from the restaurant with a sense of satisfaction I don’t often feel. We did not feel like we had a lake of grease cratered in our stomachs. We did not feel as if we couldn’t look at another garlic clove again. We strolled through the the shop, admiring the wine selection, fresh meats, cheeses and gelato. All the while, the full feeling in our bellies didn’t make us groan. It made us smile.
Bene.
Boston’s Pizzeria Regina Is So Good I Dream About It
Posted by Justin Thorp in Restaurants, Travel on February 2nd, 2010
Not this weekend but last weekend, I was in Boston for work. The conference was on Saturday so I had some time on Sunday to explore and have fun before I came back to Washington, DC.
I decided to walk through Boston’s North End or what looked like ”Little Italy.” It was a lot of narrow and bumpy brick paved streets. Every corner had some type of shop, cafe or restaurant on it, most of which had some type of amazing smell emanating from it.
Now, I remember 2-3 years ago I was in Boston for a different conference and going to this pizzeria up on the North End but I didn’t remember what its name or where it was exactly. I just remembered that it was good, that it was in kind of back alley and that it was on the North End of the city.
And, like wise men getting guided to the stable by the star, I was led just out of muscle memory back to Pizzeria Regina. It’s at an intersection where three or 4 streets come together. None of them are particularly busy streets. You kind of felt like you were wondering through a series of back allies but you knew what was in there was going to be amazing because it was 11am on a Sunday and people were already lining up for it outside.
I decided that I’d come back a little bit later, get a spot at the bar, and enjoy some pizza for lunch. When I came back, it was just like I remembered it. The staff was doing everything that they could to stuff as many patrons into the restaurant as possible. They patrons knew what they were about get was going to be worth it. It was a delicious brick-oven pizza.
I ordered the white pizza. (I have an obsession with white pizza. I’m not sure why.) I got the small, which was PLENTY of food for one person. The mix of all the cheeses together with the very good crust in your mouth is just a magical combination. Really, how can you go wrong with anything with goat cheese on it? Hah!
All in all it was like $9 and another $4 for a beer. It was the perfect way to end a great trip.
The next time you’re in Boston, you need to seek out Pizzeria Regina. You won’t regret it.
Cheeky Tastings: “Papa Burgundy”
Posted by Mark Drapeau in Wine on November 9th, 2009
Editor’s Note: Welcome my friend Mark Drapeau to Justin Loves Food. He is a retired fruit fly brain surgeon currently hiding in sleepy Washington, DC. He spends his leisure time writing and eating. Here, he combines both skills.
I was recently turned on to Burgundy wine by a friend. It’s generally lighter than what I usually order, but it was wonderful at a meal in New York with a vegetarian pasta appetizer followed by a light scallops dish and bread pudding. So when I returned to Washington, I thought I’d try a couple more bottles at reasonable prices (these were both about 20 bones).
I had them with the new Papa Johns “Perfect Pan” pizza with six cheeses. Yup, pizza. Seriously, it’s okay to pair wine with things like pizza, hot dogs, and McDonald’s, just as it’s okay to pair a beer with a steak – you just have to do it right. Anyway, the first wine was a 2006 Jacqueson Rully Chaponnieres, and the second was a 2005 Martin Michel Chorey Le Beaune.
First, the Jacqueson Rully. This was a lovely, fruity wine that was light to the lips. It smelled light as well, and was somewhat like what I had expected from New York. It paired really well with the cheap pizza – just enough to break through the oil and fruity enough to overpower my senses briefly. The Martin Michel, on the other hand, tasted nice but had a more earthy flavor. It was light like a Burgundy of course but was too deep for the pizza.
Burgundy can work with pizza. If you’re feeling adventurous, try the 2006 Jacqueson Rully Chaponnieres.
- Mark Drapeau
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