Some interesting links

These are some links that I have been holding on to for just an occasion such as this.

Review of Miller's Deli from the Chronicle

Supposedly this is a good New York Deli in San Francisco. I have not yet been, but based on the review, I would like to try the bagels. Interesting that they are indeed shipped from New York rather than trying to create them on "foreign soil." I will hope to add more f my own experiences after actually visiting the place myself.

http://www.sliceny.com/

This is unofficially the best pizza website there is, with an obviously dedicated readership and several years of traffic built up. More than I could ever even read, but what I like is the references to pizzarias outside NYC, especially our new favorite Gioia in Berkeley.

Article from Wired Magazine

This is a very interesting article about the lengths that people will go to get some of their favorite "tastes from home" and the companies that are popping up to help them do just that (and to turn a profit of course)

Two Words on Mail Order and a Book Recommendation

In this fast paced, crazy, wacky, get-it-done-yesterday world, there is really never anything we can't get. Fast. But for a price. I previously spoke of getting the ultimate long-distance pizza delivery, a special Fedex pack from Cornwall, New York containing a fresh, authentic Prima Pizza. Today, another New York favorite plus a thought about lobster-- Maine lobster, that is.

My brother is a way more thoughtful gift giver than I am. Here's proof. The first Christmas we lived in California after having moved from New York, my genius brother sent us a care package from Zabar's. My wife used to live on the Upper West Side (83rd and Columbus) and we used to walk over to Zabar's and H&H Bagels, as well as Citarella and Fairway Market. We would buy the freshest ingredients every Saturday late afternoon for the best Sunday brunch possible (we're talking bagels and lox with tomato and onion) and eat it every week, while reading the paper. (I don't have to explain what "the Paper" means, just like there's no question when I say "The City." It's not SF.) Truly as good as it gets. (Here's a question to discuss among yourselves, which makes for a better shopping experience: Going up and down upper Broadway from Zabar's at the north down to Fairway, or.....Berkeley Bowl? Discuss.)

The care package from Zabar's included bagels, (of course), smoked salmon, pastrami and some shmear. Everything was really great and it was shipped in an insulated bag with some frozen stuff to keep it all cold. Bagels fresh as you can get, crunchy and chewy. Smoked salmon sweet and salty and like buttah. I can highly recommend Zabars for any of your core basic East Coast Homesick essentials. Truly a great sample of everything that Zabar's does so well and that we long for from afar. And with the exception of some of their fancy-shmancy corporate gift baskets, you can get decent value (unless a friend happens to be visting NY some time in the future....)

Zabar's, 2245 Broadway at 80th Street, NY, www.zabars.com , 800-697-6301

Speaking of mail order (but not of New York for a change), have you ever craved a nice, sweet live Maine lobster like we used to always have for the Fourth of July? As we got older, we started having lobster any time we wanted to feel like celebrating, though it is officially a July Fourth tradition in the Parker House.

When we go to Maine every year after Labor Day, we always find occasion to patronize Bayley's Lobster Pound in Scarborough, Maine (say "Scarbrowe"). We always, always get our lobsters there ever since my mom's friend Claudie told us that what the locals do. So I think they are the real deal as far as Maine lobsters go. Small enough to be folksy, but large enough to have their own website. Go to www.bayleys.com . It's all there. I'm kind of sad that they are out here on the net but if it helps spread the word that thay are the rulers of all crustaceans, then so be it. We'll pretend we don't know when we head back there at the end of this summer. They ship live lobsters anywhere in the country with three days notice.
Bayley's Lobster Pound, Jones Creek Drive and Avenue 6, Scarborough, ME 800-WE-BOIL-M


OK, here's the book reco. The New York Cook Book by Molly O'Neill. If you cook at all and read the New York Times for any period of time, you know who she is. East Coast Homesick is a big fan of Molly's. This book covers the entire city and gives such color to the different pockets of people who dot this great, vast place. My parents (who are also extremely good gift givers), gave this book to my wife in the year following our move West. Not only are the recipes well chosen but Molly's intros and sidebars within the book are almost like touring the city from the comfort of your own home. (God, I sound like the flack I used to be. ) Bottom line is: this is a great book and it will make you hungry just flipping the pages. Buy it soon and give it to friends.

Check this link: New York Cookbook

Honorable Mention

This is the kind of thing I am talking about. While killing time before class one day in Pleasant Hill, I stumbled across a pizza joint in a strip mall on Contra Costa Boulevard called, ambitiously enough, "New York Pizza." Their boastful claim drove me into the parking lot, anxious as I was to rub their faces into their lame ass pizza. However, I was forced to eat crow (and good pizza as it tuned out.) This place serves thin crust pizza, topped with the right kind of cheese and cooked in a super-hot oven for the desired crispy crust effect. Altogether a pleasant surprise.

But several caveats to those willing to put this place to the test. First, don't buy a whole pie. I tried it once and somehow the crust does not get nice and crisp. My theory is that cooking the pizza once, then heating the slice itself later is the secret. Second caveat, don't be afraid to hit the condiments HARD. I'm a bit of a purist and generally don't add much, but this stuff really benefits from garlic powder, grated cheese, oregano and especially, plain old salt. So just trust me on this. It will bring out the flavor.

Another really funny quirk about this place is you can get all kinds of other stuff there like ribs, chicken, all kinds of seafood and other non-traditional things like fries with pizza. Weird.

The other point worth mentioning has to do with the guys that work at New York Pizza. They are nice enough, seem perenially bored, and always have some foreign soccer game on the TV. This is my question. What is their native tongue? Their ethnicity is unclear (not that it matters, but I want to know if they are from New York and if they are Italian).

You will be hard pressed to find a pizza place in New York these days where the staff is Italian. The melting pot continues to melt.

New York Pizza, 1649 Contra Costa Boulevard, Pleasant Hill, CA
925-687-5882

Out For My First Day - Here's Why I'm Here

Hi There-

My name is Jon and I live in Oakland, California. I moved here from New York over four years ago. Since then, I have been desparately trying to find adequate "tastes of home," just basic foods that I never really completely appreciated when I was back home, but now seem so elusive. There are tons of transplanted New Yorkers/East Coasters out here so I decided to try to get a grass roots forum kind of thing going so that we can all help each other find those hidden jewels that can help remind us of growing up on the East Coast. Of course, on a sunny day like today, knowing that the snow still has months on the ground Back East, I am very glad to be where I am. But of course, New York is greatest city on the planet. It's truly the center of the universe.

There are two things I want to mention as the major factors for my wanting to get this from inside my head to out on the web. The first is the discovery of a fantastic New York pizza place in Berekely called Gioia. See link here. It is truly the real deal and something I would never have heard of had it not been for bemoaning the lack of good pizza around here and having our house painter Luke tell me about it. Will Gioia is the propriator. Everyone who works there seems to be required to wear Yankee hats (already a good sign). Will is from Park Slope, Brooklyn, the capital of pizza. He also went to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York (cool people call it the CIA and know the difference). Will has created a small cozy hole in the wall which is a shrine to the thin crust pizza we have all been looking for. The ovens are really hot so the crust comes out nearly burned but nice and crispy. He uses all organic ingredients (it is Berkeley after all) and so the tomato sauce tastes like tomatoes and the blend of cheeses gives you the satisfying texture without pools of grease. Classic toppings: pepperoni, mushroom, plus some anchovy and even meatball (nobody really does meatball out here.) Only complaints: too far from my house (OK, my problem). And it's a tad pricey at two bucks plus per slice. You know what, I don't care. It's so worth it. It's located at 1586 Hopkins Street in Berk. 510-528-4692.

The other thing that finally led me to action was that on our first wedding anniversary (May 20, 2001), my parents sent my wife and me a pizza from my local pizza shop in the small town where I grew up, Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, about 50 miles straight North of Manhattan. It is Prima Pizza (please excuse the lame, slow loading site). When we recieved this pizza in Oakland, it came via Fedex and was vacuum sealed and almost completely cooked. This allows you to finish it off in your own oven. Is it the best pizza in the world? No. But does it remind me of when we used to ride our bikes up after little league games to get a slice and play pinball? Without a doubt. We have bought pies since then and it's a nice treat. If your local pizza shop back home does not ship, try Prima's. It's the same pizza you remember from your childhood.

So here we go. I will add the names of restaurants I discover and share them with you. I will also report on any good mail order places I have had personal experiences with. And by all means, if you want to share, please do. I'm still looking for a good place to get Italian cold cut sandwiches (I know, Genova deli is pretty good and so is Molinari). You can get black and white cookies at a deli in San Francisco, though I have not been there yet. And let's not get started on Noah's bagels. New York Bagels my ass.

By the way , we are not limited to New York area foods. Anything on the East Coast is fair game. And it doesn't have to be in the Bay Area. Know a great place to get Boston Baked Beans in San Diego? Maryland Blue Crab in Seattle? Let me know.

Thanks and welcome to my blog.

Jon