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