Sometimes Pizza Will Do

We are officially in the holiday season. Restaurant was busy all weekend long, an indicator of the weeks to come. I really shouldn't be surprised since I used to be a server long ago. Holidays are the money makers. Totally different situation in the kitchen, and one I would rather deal with than with customers.

It may be starting to take its toll... working seven days a week. After work I ran some errands. Pulled into a parking lot and closed my eyes for just one second as I was listening to the radio.

I swear it was just a second.

Fell asleep in the parking lot. Not too long, but it was one of those sudden wake up deals. Good thing it was dark.

Dinner tonight was a take and bake pizza. Nothing fancy, three cheese so M could partake. For store bought, it was decent. Wonder how it'll be tomorrow. I'm sure it'll be hard as a rock. Most thin crust ones are.

Slushies and 99 cent Pizza

For some reason I cannot rotate this picture. The problem with stealthily writing at work. Anyways, the plan yesterday was to grab some sushi with my cousin after a gym session. As with most plans with her go, they fell through and I was left with the option of eating solo.

I tend to do that a lot. Don't really mind it, but sometimes conversations while eating are nice.

I was going to get sushi. Really was. But then I had to fill up the car and it just so happens there is a Cumberland Farms by the gym. So here I am, post-workout... exhausted and gym messy. The water I had been guzzling was not cutting it.

Screw it. Slushies all around! And while I was there, I spied their 99 cent cheese pizza slices. How could I possibly pass it up?

I quickly ate that slice in my car so no one knew what I just did. Meh. Tastes like gas station pizza. I suppose I should try the Stewarts pizza and see how they compare.

Notty Pine

Dinner with M at The Notty Pine Tavern. The last time we ate here was for the Yelp Tavern Time. I remember liking the pizza and wanting to come back. Kept it simple and ordered a COB style. How many other places make the COB style? I don't really look for it on the pizza menu, but I suppose I should since it's a local thing. Pretty good.

Their pasta menu is limited. Very limited. Angel hair, rigatoni, ziti. Not that I need anything fancy, but I was in the mood for spaghetti and meatballs, or in this case, angel hair and meatballs. Meatballs on the side in case M wanted some, but the sauce was a meat sauce, not marinara. Oh well. More for me. Meatballs tasted like they made them, but I don't eat meatballs all that often so I could have been tricked. Still, I would order it again.

Bacchus (Troy,NY)

I am pretty sure this was the first time I’ve been to Bacchus. Yes, it’s one of those Troy places you have to go to, but eh… I have love/hate feelings for downtown Troy. May have to do with being priced out of the area. Or not feeling like driving. Or not liking the people down there. Or it could just be my very frequent anti-social tendencies. Yeah... it must be that.

Well, we had just left the beer fest at the Joe, and needed to eat. I didn't want to be too far from home, but I also didn't want to go to the same places we always do. And it was getting late, so the choices whittled down even more. Definitely wanted pizza, so Bacchus it was. I didn't really take a look at their beer selection, but I'm sure it's decent. Had a salad to tide my hunger over while we waited for our pizza.

 

Ordered a classic Margherita pizza - tomato, mozzarella, basil. Simple... and if you botch that, well, I don't want to know you. We sat by the wood fired pizza oven, but I didn't really get a good look at it. Ginormous face on the outside of it. The pizza looked exactly how you would expect cooked in a wood fire should look like. Lovely charred bits. Love it. While the thin crust really isn't my thing, it was pretty darn good. And I hear they do a pizza lunch buffet during the week.

I may have to call in sick one of these days. 



Thank You For Your Suggestions

We ended up going to DeFazio's. 

Not saying we had forgot all about their wonderful pizza, I just wanted to make sure we didn't overlook anything else. Kay's was also tossed around, but the weather (and our time crunch) nixed that.

M's brother and fam ordered two pies - I think one had sausage and peppers, the other just pepperoni. M and I split a pesto pizza, which was excellent. I rarely have more than two slices, but I polished off four easily. I want to say my heading over there right after a workout may have been a factor...

Tomorrow they head down to NYC to conclude their vacation. I am sadly on call tomorrow... and besides, someone needs to watch the pup. If I can get Friday off, I might take the drive and join them. The Chinatown street food is calling my name... also there is a place down in Soho that supposedly has "one of the best banh mi in town" (Banh Mi Saigon). That wasn't my declaration, but that of Nicole Ponseca, of Jeepney and Maharlika fame.

DeFazio’s Pizza Class

I was able to attend DeFazio’s last schedule cooking class Sunday afternoon. This isn’t to say that they are stopping it – they’ll start it up again later. Perhaps in the fall. You might be able to schedule a private class… they mentioned they had done a class with a Girl Scout troop earlier in the day. And Siena College seniors have a class scheduled for next week. Talk about busy!

 

I entered the shop to find that only a handful of people were there (yes! I wasn’t late!). On one of the tables was a platter with food for us to nibble on – two types of salami; I think some provolone; and marinated olives. There was also a jug of sangria made by Rocco’s wife. People asked for the recipe, but both Rocco and his daughter kept saying they didn’t know it. By the time everyone had arrived, two types of focaccia (whole wheat and multi grain, both organic) came out of the oven and ready for everyone to try. I had the multigrain with some herbed olive oil. Really good… much better than other focaccias I’ve tried in the past.

To start the class Rocco talked a little about the pizzeria and what makes them stand out from other places. The fact they make several types of dough sets them apart from the rest. They will be adding a new dough to their lineup – a rye that they’ve used in their ruben stromboli.

Focacia was the first topic he covered, and how to make it. He strongly suggested you use a deep dish pan and non-stick cooking spray (they use Pam). I’m guessing it was an 8 x 2 inch round pan that he used. Add a 1 1/4 pound portion of dough into the pan (here my notes might be a little wonky), cover,and let it rise in a warm spot for 45-60 minutes. After rising, use your fingers to poke holes in the dough and brush with olive oil before baking in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

 

Next was the deep dish tomato pie. It’s not on the menu, but it’s something he grew up eating. He quickly went over the tomatoes and olive oil ( they use, both American made. Unlike the sauce they use on their pizzas, the sauce for tomato pie is uncooked. The sauce is incredibly simple – a mix of two types of tomatoes (diced and crushed?), spices (basil, oregano, parsley, and garlic powder), and olive oil. The same amount of dough used in the focaccia is also used in this pie. Same sized pan as well, but the dough is pressed into the bottom of the pan and worked up along the sides of the pan to the top. The addition of the other ingredients are as follows:

• Cheese - a mix of provolone and mozzarella slices and a generous sprinkling of pecorino (it’s added to everything pretty much)
• Meat – in this pie he used raw sausage, roughly chopped up
• Vegetables – for the vegetarian pie he used sautéed spinach (boiled & strained before cooked in a pan with same herbs used in the sauce, minus the oregano) and raw mushrooms
• Sauce – no skimping here! Not all the way to the top, but close

Bake 25 minutes in a 425 degree oven. The pies were brought over to the import shop to cook while we moved on to stromboli.

 

According to Rocco, strombolis are the the easiest to make, but also the easiest to screw up. To prevent them from “exploding,” you just have to cut back on the filling. For 1 1/4 pound portion of dough, you should no more than a pound of filling. Roll the dough out into a long rectangle, 1/4 inch thick. Don’t put the filling all the way to the edges of the dough, there should be a border (1/4 inch? 1/2 inch?). Layers:  Meat/Veggie – Cheese – Meat/Veggie staggered on the dough. I don’t remember the ratios he used, but hey… you’re making it, so your call. A vegetable option he mentioned was cooking blanched broccoli with garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes in a frying pan and mashing into a paste. The cheese mix they use is provolone and American (he swears by Land O’ Lakes). And of course pecorino.

 

Two other reasons for the explosion of filling is a) the stromboli is rolled too many times or b) rolled too tight. All you need is to fold it over three times and seal the ends. If you can tri-fold a piece of paper, you can roll a stromboli. Brush the top with olive oil and cut three holes on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes.

 

Finally we had some hands on instruction. Here I am writing about everything we did and for some of you that’s fine. But I can’t just read about it… I need to do it myself – which is why a class like this makes it easier to understand. While he didn’t give out an actual recipe for the dough, he did mention what goes into it and the tricks that he uses.

After all the dough was portioned out, we were given a dough ball to shape and prepare for our take home box. Basically, you take the dough into your hands and pinch it in; place on the table and with the palm of your hand roll it around into a nice round shape before your smack it. Definitely see myself using this for releasing some aggravation! Brush on some oil and wrap in cling. For a better tasting crust, you have to wait at least a day before you use the dough. Also, dough should be at room temperature.

 

While we still had two more topics to go over, we ran out of time and finished the day off with pizza. Before we started the class, a couple had asked me what my favorite pizza was from DeFazio’s. Without really thinking about it, I said “buffalo chicken pizza.” And it’s true – that is a really good pizza. It’s what finally won them the AOA Pizza Tournament.
 

We (and by we I really mean Rocco and the rest of us were around the perimeter) made four different pizzas:

• Roasted Red Pepper Pesto w/ Four Cheeses - roasted red pepper pesto (made in house) is the base, and topped with four cheeses which I'm not too sure about. I'm guessing provolone, mozzarella, pecorino, and... gorgonzola? Tasty, but the texture was unusal. Maybe too much cheese for me.
• Buffalo Chicken - a generous dousing of Frank's on the dough, followed by shredded mozzarella, and then topped with diced chicken tossed in more hot sauce and gorgonzola. All the aspects of the chicken wing without the bone.

• Margherita - while the buffalo chicken is my favorite at DeFazio's, this is my favorite pizza style. It's simple and classic... reminds me of what I ate when I visited Italy. The pizza goes into the oven with just the sauce and slices of fresh mozzarella. It is only after it's done when the pizza is topped with whole fresh basil leaves. Wish I could have had a larger slice!
• Apple Butter w/ Banana & Honey - apple butter topped with sliced ripe bananas, cinnamon sugar, and a generous drizzle of honey. While the pizza was in the oven Rocco mixed together ricotta cheese, powdered sugar, and regular sugar. Creamy and surprisingly not overly sweet, this was dolloped on each pizza slice. To be honest, I was going to skip out on this one - with all the food before it, I just didn't have the space. But went up anyways and I am glad that I did. Before I knew it, the slice on my plate was gone and I was seriously considering grabbing that last slice. Definitely going to try this at home.

If you get the chance, sign up for one of these classes. And if it's a pasta class, I'll see you there!

Kay’s Pizza (Burden Lake, NY)

Now it may be a bit presumptuous, but I have had the unofficial official best pizza of the summer. If there was a tournament for seasonal pizza, this would take the cake. If it were running for office, I would sign up and volunteer… you get my point. I like their pizza.

And all it took was a holiday to finally get me to try it.

If you grew up around here, then surely you heard about Kay’s. Heck, you may have even gone there for dinner after a long day at the lake! I only learned of it’s existence when a former co-worker had mentioned they were open for the season. I added that to my “places to check out” list and promptly forgot about it. Until one of M’s co-workers had brought up Kay’s with him, and insisted we try their pizza. We had to stay local for the 4th, all the more reason to make a trip out to Burden Lake.

And when I say trip, it is a trip. Driving out there seemed to take forever, and the hills and bends in the road were making the car ride not pleasant. You’ll want to keep a sharp eye out for the signs – there were a few that were hidden behind branches. Going back, the ride seemed like nothing… so who knows? Maybe or next trip back will be quicker.

Kay’s has been around since the late 1950’s, and before that was a hotel. Control of the restaurant has changed hands over the years, and in 2004 the building underwent a renovation. There’s the main dining area where we were seated, and in the next room is the bar with a dining area, and a very small game area. All the take out was done at the bar, and it was a pretty regular scene of seeing people walk out the screen doors with a stack of pizza boxes. The main dining area has plenty of windows, which were all open to allow the breezes off the lake to come in and help circulate the air. Unfortunately, the humidity on the 4th was oppressive and no amount of winds off the lake was helping correct that.

We ordered a pitcher of Sierra Nevada IPA. I am slowly working my way back to liking IPAs. You can order full and half-pitchers, which we found out only after our pitcher was brought to the table. And it’s not like we could send it back and ask for the half. Where would that beer go? Beer abuse!

Maybe it’s just me, but whenever I’m near a body of water I am so inclined to have seafood. Even if that said body of water most likely does not contain the seafood I consume. It must be something about the presence of a shoreline; the breezes that come off the water, that pulls at my seafood-y heart strings. Also, I noticed a few tables had ordered the steam clams and I got suckered in.

A dozen Rhode Island Little Necks cost about eight dollars and comes with melted butter. Melted salted butter. The clams didn’t seem too overcooked, and were delicious. Did not receive a full dozen clams, as you can see the one on the right was just filled with broken shells and sand and dirt. Boo.
 

Ordered some breadsticks, but forgot to ask for extra sauce. They just don’t give you enough, especially  if you’re one who likes an even distribution of sauce to bread. M and I quickly scarfed these down.

Finally, the main reason why we made the drive there – pizza. There are two sizes, a twelve inch medium (8 cut) and a fourteen inch large (12 cut). The dough is made in house and is rolled out by hand. Their sauce, which according to their menu they are famous for, has some substance to it and seasoned perfectly. No cheese blends here, just straight up mozzarella. And they don’t skimp out on the cheese, you get a very generous portion. 

Here’s what I liked the best – my first bite had crunch. Even with all that sauce and cheese, the center of the pie wasn’t soggy. I wonder if the trays they serve their pizzas on have anything to do with keeping the center crispy. I’d like to think they do.
  

Kay’s was voted best pizza in this year’s Times Union Best of the Capital Region poll. And I see why – I loved that pizza. So much so that I kept telling people about my pizza for a few days after. Mind you we just ordered a regular cheese, so I can’t vouch for their toppings or specialty pies… not to mention the rest of their menu. But it gives me an excuse to go back and try them out. 

Kay’s Pizza
10 Walsh Lane
Averill Park, NY 12018
(518) 674-5413

Open Monday – Thursday 4:00-10:00
Friday – Saturday 4:00-11:00
Sunday 3:00-9:00

Credit cards accepted

A Case of Mistaken Identity: Villa Valenti Pub (Troy, NY)

M recently bought a deal from Living Social for Villa Valenti and we decided to use it tonight. We weren't really sure how to get there, but we headed in the general direction. About halfway there I finally turned on the GPS and kept my eye out for the restaurant.

We saw the sign for Villa Valenti and pulled right in. Went inside and when the server came over M showed her the Living Social deal.

"Um... that's not ours. That's for Villa Valenti. It's a fancy place way out there."

Who knew that there were two Villa Valenti's?

We ended up just having dinner there. Ordered at 10 cut Villa Valenti pizza (13.99) and a large order or curly fries.

The Villa Valenti pizza has mozzarella and provolone cheese and topped with red onions and roasted red peppers. I didn't really expect much from the place, but this pizza was pretty good! Because of all the cheese and sauce, it's more of a knife and fork kind of pizza, which is fine by me. If I could have changed anything on it, it would have been more red peppers, they were pretty stingy with them.

Definitely will have to go back. And when we do, it will have to be no where near the side door - people were smoking right outside and the smoke kept drifting in... yuck.

Overpriced NYC

Had an unexpected trip into Manhattan today. While I was waiting I decided to grab a bite to eat. Got a sicilian slice, cherry coke. Came out to five-ish, which isn't bad for Manhattan. Then I got to thinking I may be waiting a while so I should probably get something else to eat. There were chips by the register so I grabbed a bag and proceeded to get my card out.

The chips brought my total to nine-ish.

What?!?

Four bucks for those chips? Are you serious? Of course, I should have asked how much they were before buying them, but I wasn't in the logical mindset. Lesson learned.

How Papa John's Does Square

Before I go any further, let me say my involvement with this pizza was picking it up and having a slice or two while making my own dinner. Any exasperated reactions please direct to M.

So last weekend Papa John's had a contest to pick which side won on the coin toss. If you guessed correctly, you won a free pizza. At M's urging, I went and voted. Once. M voted much more than that... and won't tell me how many exactly. Anyways, he guessed right on a bunch of them... so free pizza for us.

yay...

M called me after volunteering and asked me to help him order our free pizza. Which topping? Mushroom. Regular or crispy crust? Regular. Extra sauce or no sauce? Are you kidding? Regular cut or square? Hmmm... square I guess.

Picked up the pizza and endured an extremely warm ride back home (gotta keep that pizza warm). Opened up the box and that is what we saw - a round pizza cut into a bunch of small slices. Square slices. Not what I expected... I thought it would be a square pie, something new PPJs was trying out. A nod to the local pizza style if you will. 

That is what I get for expecting too much out of them. Dreams dashed, a hard cold reality slap in the face.

And the garlic dipping sauce didn't melt. Boo.

Never Say Never

Especially when you have a coupon. 

Thanksgiving Leftovers

If there's one thing I love about Thanksgiving, it's all the leftovers you need to consume for the next week or so. My sister and brother-in-law came out for the holiday weekend to spend some time enjoying the finer things the east coast has to offer -- namely, lots of beer.

Joe’s Grill (Albany, NY)

Photo by Pete Dzintars (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31451603@N02/5787152791/)


The saying goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” And while this may not always hold true for eating establishments, it does apply to Joe’s.

Sunday Night Fooding

The Steelers-Jets game had me in the mood for pizza and wings. And while I would have liked to have ordered from somewhere else, M and I called up Papa John’s for our game foodage.

Smith’s Tavern/Smitty’s Pizza (Voorheesville, NY)

It was a very long week for me, and I needed some fun time. For my first weekend upstate, M and I decided to go estate sale shopping. In the winter. Yeah, there’s a whole lot of wrong with that, but what else is there to do? And we need a table for that microwave. We attempted to hit up one in Rotterdam (which we think didn’t really happen) and one somewhere out in Schenectady (never made it due to an almost empty fuel tank and a dead GPS battery).

Pizza Hut Dinner

Didn’t feel like cooking dinner the other night, so I got pizza instead. It’s been a while since I ate anything from Pizza Hut, and my sister and I were talking about breadsticks.

Chocolate Pizza

My mom had dinner in the city one night and decided to pick me up something sweet. Would you like to know where she got it from?

Max Brenner’s! Before this summer, I never noticed it. But now that I’m spending a lot more time in the Union Square area, I keep running into it. Still haven’t checked it out, but I will eventually.

As for the pizza, the chocolate was good. Milk chocolate, possibly some white chocolate… graham cracker crumbs for sure. The crust would have been better if it was eaten the night it was bought. I didn’t get it until the next day, and by then the crust was tough.

I’ll get you next time, chocolate pizza… next time.

(meoooooooowrrrrrrr)

CiCi’s Pizza – Free Meal Month #1

We stood on line long enough for the card, might as well use it… right? We didn’t have to wait on line to get in like last time, but the place was packed. People were still stacking their plates sky high with food, even though it is a buffet.

I had one slice of cheese pizza and a whole lot of dessert. I got some salad, only to find out there were no more forks. Luckily I grabbed a spoon before they were gone.

CiCi’s Pizza (Colonie, NY)

Today was the official opening of Cici’s Pizza in Colonie. I wouldn’t have known about it had I not looked at Steve Barnes’ Table Hopping blog and his brief mention of it.

One free pizza buffet a month for a whole year to the first hundred people to show up at their grand opening? Okay, I’m game. M too.



We made it over to Wolf Road just after 10:30, thinking that half an hour before opening wouldn’t be too early, and hopefully the line wouldn’t be impossible (the line we saw the day before  wasn’t too bad… and that was the pre-opening opening). And we were right- no crazy crowds, just order and what could only be some very tired people. By the time we joined, the line had reached the entrance to Outback Steakhouse.



I’m not sure when the first person on line got there, but it was pretty early. A woman ahead of us told M and I that her daughter got there at six in the morning so she could be one of the first to get in. Sounds crazy, but eh… it’s summer Gives you something to do, and a story to tell when you’re older.

People at the front of the line made their wait as comfortable as possible by bringing folding chairs and blankets. Many of the groups waiting to enter were families with young children (from the looks of it, the demographic CiCi’s may be aiming for).



If you were one of the first hundred, you were given a “token” as seen on the left. As you walked in, you handed your “token” to the owner, who in return handed over the free meal card.

Inside was bright, cheery, and very chain-like. After entering you are steered straight to the register where they do their hellos and explain how the buffet works. The $4.99 covers just the food, and it’s another $1.6(5/9) for a regular sized drink. Throw in another .75 cents and you get a large take out cup (which has some tab thing where you can win more free stuff).



I figured I’d whip up a layout of the place so you get a better idea of what’s going on. This could be their generic layout for all I know, but it’s very different from most buffets.



Salad Bar – There were two options available, although they looked exactly alike. Both were iceberg mixes, one just looked shinier than the other (pre-dressed salad I guess). There were some chopped vegetables you could add to your salad, and a few different types of dressing. I especially liked the large slices of mushrooms. No skimping out there.



Soup/Pasta/Garlic Bread – Both the soup and pasta tasted like they came from a can. I didn’t try the pasta, but M said it reminded him of Chef Boyardee. Funny, because the soup almost instantly made me think of Campbell’s soup. Little salty, little sweet, but good enough. Did not necessarily like the bits of “chicken.” As for the garlic bread… I might be rushing judgment here, but don’t eat it. I tried to look up the ingredients for what they put on it, but it’s nowhere to be found on their website. The garlic bread is one of their zero trans fat items, so I’m pretty sure it’s chock full of artificial ingredients. A good thing to know is that the marinara sauce they will offer you to accompany the garlic bread will absolutely cover that chemical taste.

 

Pizza – The customers at the opening today seemed to like the pasta topped pizzas. I didn’t have any, but I saw quite a few people going for the macaroni & cheese pizza. And for a second I swore I saw a Hamburger Helper topped pizza, but it was probably the Italian style sausage or beef pizzas. I helped myself to the Pepperoni flip, regular pepperoni, and thin crust Italiano. The pepperoni pizza was okay, but the dough was a little chewy. The thin crust was not as crisp as I thought it would be, and it was a tad too salty (but corrected with a dip in that tomato sauce). The flip I did not like at all- it was salty and oddly runny. I don’t know if that was from the oil that cooked out of the pepperoni or the cheese they used. But like the Italiano, a dunk in that tomato sauce made it much more tolerable.



Dessert – The apple pizza and the cinnamon rolls were pretty good. I’d actually consider ordering a whole apple pizza pie.

Lunch for two was just under 15 bucks. Not too bad, considering what I ate wasn’t the greatest stuff. Will I be going here often? No, but I will stop by at least once a month. And the prices on their take out pizzas (I think I saw $4.99 for a medium and $5.99 for a large 1-topping) are very budget friendly. We’ll see if M and I ever check it out.

CiCi's Pizza
145 Wolf Road
Colonie, NY 12205
518-482-2424

Su - Th 11:00A - 10:00P
Fri - Sa 11:00A - 11:00P