The recession seems to have instigated lots of restaurants both new and established to serve less expensive fare, namely pizza and sandwiches. Having covered many of the new sandwich spots, I’m now turning my attention to the proliferation of pizza joints. I’m generally a fan of pizza, from the humble New York slice to the thin and crispy crust with fancy toppings.

Tonda serves Neopolitan pizza, baked in a custom-built wood burning oven that reaches 1000 degrees and circulates the pie on a sort of lazy-susan contraption, so that once it makes a full rotation, the pizza is done. The crust is pillowy and a bit doughier than I would have thought. The options for toppings were enticing, and we settled on the mozzarella, spicy sausage and fresh tomato pie. Our first complaint when the pizza arrived was that it’s not cut into slices. Why would you want to leave that task to the diner? It’s frustrating and annoying. Also, we weren’t thrilled with the sausage. It was tough and too spicy and we ended up picking it off and building a pile of it on the side. We did enjoy the tomato and mozzarella, which tasted extremely fresh and authentic.

Last slice and leftover sausage

As for the rest of the menu, we only tried the cauliflower salad and the homemade breadsticks with prosciutto and goat cheese. The salad was crunchy and bright with acid and generally a nice addition. The breadsticks were a bit chewy and didn’t make a ton of sense with the prosciutto and goat cheese, but we ate them anyway. Bottom line: If you’re looking for new Italian to try in the East Village and you want to see a cool wood-burning oven, go to Tonda. It won’t change your life, but it’s pleasant.

Cauliflower salad with arugula, tomatoes and olives.

Breadsticks with prosciutto and goat cheese.

-Lisa

The cupcakes come in this cute brown bag.

Do you ever wonder why the “I don’t know why I didn’t think of this” feeling strikes so often? I do, especially after I finally made it around to Butter Lane on East 7th Street. This cupcake bakery manages to provide the ultimate personalized treat experience, albeit at $2.75 per (small) cupcake, you’d better know what you like. Here, you can choose between three types of cake (vanilla, chocolate and banana) and a rotating selection of ten or more icings (cream cheese, peanut butter, French vanilla buttercream, etc.).

The cake and icing menu.

Once you decide on your custom combination, the girl behind the counter frosts a cupcake just for you (unless your choice is so popular that they have some pre-iced). These aren’t professional-looking cupcakes with heaps of icing and decorations that you might order for a fussy party. They look a lot like the Duncan Hines you might make at home, but they taste a lot better. The banana cake is the big winner—it’s very moist and tastes exactly like you think banana bread cupcakes would. I like it best when paired with the French chocolate frosting, a much lighter more chocolate tasting flavor than the traditional American chocolate buttercream, which tastes more like sugar than anything else. I’ve stopped in for this combo twice already and may need to avoid 7th Street entirely for awhile, unless I plan to spend the summer in sweatpants.

A fairly disappointing chocolate/peanut butter cupcake at left and my favorite banana/chocolate combo on the right.

-Lisa

The brunch crowds are out!

I don’t get to the UWS all that often (though I do love Barney Greengrass), so I eagerly agreed to join a friend for brunch there on what was arguable the nicest day in 2009 thus far. We met at Community Food & Juice on the most brilliantly sunny day, and the wait wasn’t even that long—20 minutes. The scene was pretty hilarious though, with the first really good burst of sun out pour the brunch hordes. If you set up outdoor tables, they will come.

Even better news? The menu is fantastic. There were at least four or five things I wanted to try and had a tough time settling on my order. My friend went with the very healthy veggie scramble and I opted for the much less sensible seven-grain waffle with sour cherry compote and toasted almonds. We also split an order of the house made chicken-apple-rosemary sausage. I’m still thinking about that sausage. We couldn’t have been happier to sit in the warmth of the sun, catching up, brunching and sipping our delicious cappuccinos. Life is good, try Community Food & Juice. 

-Lisa

N

My new favorite sandwich, times two.

According to their website, Num Pang is Cambodian for sandwich. These sandwiches are similar in composition to Vietnamese bahn mi, with fresh cilantro and pickled vegetables, plus meat and mayo-based sauce. The num pang pulled  duroc pork sandwich with spiced honey (pictured here) far outshines the baoguette. Despite being half the size and twice the price of the baoguette, the num pang is about quality over quantity. The perfect bread from Parisi Bakery is toasty on the outside, soft on the inside. The chili mayo is totally addictive. The pork was perfect. The whole combination was a delight, and way more satisfying than the all the other bahn mi. Next time I’m going to try the coconut tiger shrimp version.

The Num Pang assembly line

-Lisa

Sadly, I forgot to photograph the pasta, but here is the pro version from Everyday Food.

In search of a little comfort food last week, I browsed the pasta section in the March issue of Everyday Food. I quickly settled on the baked penne with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes because it reminded me of a dish we used to order in Ann Arbor at the Cottage Inn. The magazine suggests you cook half of the pasta and freeze the other half, but I knew the whole thing would be gone within 24 hours, and that’s exactly what happened.

The recipe was pretty easy to follow, especially after a trip to Trader Joe’s where I bought a bag of pre-shredded Quattro Formaggio (I love a good short cut) cheese, which I believe included asiago, provolone and parmesan. I had whole wheat penne in the cabinet, sun-dried tomatoes in the fridge and chicken breast in the freezer. Hooray for using a few things I already own. I put the pasta on and sauteed the chicken, then dealt with the bechamel/cheese sauce. So without explicitly saying so, this is a modified mac and cheese. I think you’ll feel less guilty about eating it if you just call it baked penne, but it’s pretty darn cheesy and completely delicious on a chilly, rainy night. Also, I tend to feel much better about eating like that when I prepare it myself and know exactly what the ingredients are, and that no high fructose corn syrup or processed sodium laden stuff got in. 

-Lisa

These aren't chicken nuggets!

Who would have thought three cute girls at Sunday brunch would immediately zero in on pork jowel nuggets as the nibble with which to start their day. I also had my eye on the fresh doughnuts (a sensible Sunday brunch choice) but we settled on the swine. Great decision, as it turns out, since the golden “nuggets” were bread-crumb-coated, rich and fatty pork belly cubes served with a complementary sweet and spicy Jalepeno jam and cilantro. 

We continued on with brunch entrees of fried chicken and waffles, house smoked trout  with sweet potato pancakes, creme fraiche, onions and capers, and poached eggs with cheesy grits, spinach, mushrooms and toast.  

An excellent tribute to the south

The fried chicken of the aforementioned dish was near perfect. It was juicy and flavorful and crunchy. It wasn’t dry or greasy, but we did have one minor complaint: why would they serve a wing as part of the meal. It seemed cheap. Oh well, never mind the wing, we loved every bite of the salty/sweet pairing.

The poached eggs, etc. were blah and under-seasoned. 

See how skimpy the trout looks next to the rest of the dish?

The smoked trout dish was lovely, if a bit stingy on the fish portion. We really enjoyed the crunchy little salad of celery, onions and capers, even if it was overdressed. The sweet potato pancakes were yummy on their own, and would be a great solo item on the menu, served with maple syrup (I happily dipped them in the syrup from the waffles).

No pickles:(

Overall, we liked the Back Forty brunch quite a bit, but felt they lost points on two fronts: when one of ordered the bloody mary with pickles, it came without any preserved veg; we waited far too long for our entrees and get pretty antsy and annoyed. I think we’d all return though, for that fried chicken and waffles dish. It’s that good. 

-Lisa

Cosmetic procedures are not the place to scrimp and save!

Sales can be incredibly tempting at times like these, but be careful not to get swept away by this kind of bargain…

Like your mom always said, if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

-Lisa

Image courtesy www.tvscoop.tv.

If your beauty budget has been downsized and quarterly Botox injections are no longer an option, check out my post on AOL stylelist for tips on how to deal.

-Lisa

Get your box of matzo before Food Emporium runs out!

If you celebrate Passover and can’t make it home, or just prefer to relax and enjoy the seder meal at a restaurant, I’ve got a roundup of options for NYC holiday dining. None are kosher, but let’s face it, you probably won’t be eating out on Passover if you’re kosher.

Savoy: This $95 4-course Syrian menu includes wine pairings.

Capsouto Freres: For $150 (proceeds of this Sephardic feast go to the JDC ), join a communal table and enjoy a traditional seder led by a cantor.

Telepan: The $65 4-course menu features wild striped bass and a duo of beef.

Danal: The $60 5-course menu gives you a choice of entrees and desserts (good stuff, no meringues or macaroons).

Payard: For $45 you’ll get a French influenced 3-course meal with amazing petit-fours.

Rosa Mexicano: The restaurant offers an a la carte Mexican Passover dishes all through the week of Passover.

Whole Foods Catered Passover Dinner for 8: For $169.99 you get all the fixins (from soup to tzimmes!) except for dessert.

-Lisa

Image courtesy www.gourmetsleuth.com.

I have to thank my Chicago friends for introducing me to the wonderful, stretchy, flattering world of Lululemon. For those of you who don’t know this brand, I urge you to check it out. They make incredibly forgiving workout/yoga gear, loungewear and outerwear that comes in cool colorways and many different cuts, to fit every body type. What differentiates Lululemon from all the other brands is that these clothes are genuinely cool, comfortable and good looking. I have no problem wearing them outside of the gym or the couch. They don’t pinch or bind or create lumps and bumps. The seams don’t irritate your skin. The fabrics are durable and don’t fade with washing. For me, one of the best benefits of buying pants at their store is the free shortening! Take it from someone who has never NOT had to have something hemmed, this is a real bonus. If you’re in the market for a new pair of workout pants, skip the disposable Old Navies and go to directly to the Lululemon Groove Pant. They’re not cheap, but they will fit and flatter and last. And if you happen to be in the Miami area, you should definitely take a trip to the Lululemon outlet at the Sawgrass Mills Mall—it’s the only U.S. outlet and there are great bargains to be had.

-Lisa