When The Moon Hits Your Eye, Like A Big Pizza Pie ....

That’s Grimaldi’s - For those of you not in the know – Grimaldi’s Pizzeria just happens to be one of the best, if not the best pizza joint in town. It has been rated #1 by Zagats for seven years in a row. " "Mama Mia", this Brooklyn mecca venue is pizza paradise. It’s world-class coal-oven pies, are "done right" with a "light", crisp crust, the freshest ingredients and the long wait only makes you want it more. " And yes let me tell you was there a line – there was maybe oh say a gazillion – oh okay maybe 30-40 people ahead of us. But let me tell you my fellow readers that it was definitely worth the wait – even though it was raining and what felt like mid 40’s temperature. As we were standing outside freezing our butts off, we welcomed every time the door opened - not so much for the customers leaving – but to get a whiff of that sweet, delicious aroma of crusty dough, melted cheese and the succulent smell of sausage and pepperoni that would escape each time the door opened. Mmmm..Mmmm…making my mouth water for just a little slice of pizza heaven.

Alright enough about the pizza, earlier this week a friend from IN came to visit and so we hung out and ate a whole lot. One night we went to one of his favorite areas in NYC – C Town. Another roommate of mine joined us and we decided to do our own “Taste of China Town” event. First we went to The Dumpling House where me and my roomie got 2 orders of the five fried pieces of delight for $1. The friend from IN got the steamed veggie dumplings. Then we headed to a place where I’ve walked by several times but never went in. It also got good reviews in the Time Out magazine – so we decided to just get a bunch of appetizers there. We got a bowl of cold noodles in a sesame sauce, a stack of fried scallion pancakes, some fried spring rolls, and an order of veggie shu mai(steamed dumplings – for those of you who are not culinary aficionados like myself – you guys should try some grey poupon once in a while too, while you are at it). Our plan was to go to another place for our main entrees but we were stuffed. But not stuffed enough for dessert! As luck would have it, the China Town Ice Cream Factory was right across the street. So we had some ice cream and my roomie got dessert at a nearby bakery.

Then on Saturday – my IN friend and I went to Central Park for a little four mile run. Should have been farther just to burn off all the calories from C-Town. But it was a nice run and the weather was great. After that we got breakfast at a local dinner and headed off for the Circle Line Cruise. This is a three hour tour around the whole island of Manhattan. By the time we got to the boat, the weather had turned kinda gloomy, windy and cold. As we departed, with the bad weather – I couldn’t help but think of the Gilligan’s Island theme song. “A three hour tour, a three hour tour…..” And we all know what happened to them right? But we made it back safely and headed off for where the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie …that’s right folks – you guessed it Grimaldi’s Pizzeria. Until the next time my friends. Be safe and have a good one – oh heck - or two, why not….