Food Truck Friday: Neapolitan Express

I'd seen the Neapolitan Express pizza truck many a time outside my workplace – but as someone who tries to keep simple carbs to a minimum, I managed to resist it for a while.

My coworker, CJ, had raved about how delicious it was. I finally decided to take her at her word and joined her for a quick lunch one day.

If you know me even a little bit, you know I love spicy. So the A Diavolo, with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, hot cherry peppers, and spicy sausage was an easy pick for me. 

CJ's Di Parma (which I tried later--delish!)

I love everything about this pizza – the perfect amount of red sauce, the spiciness of the peppers and the sausage, but above all, the amazing crust.

I'm on of those people who often leaves the crust for others. I'm more interested in the toppings and the sauce, frankly. However, this was one of the most amazing crusts I've ever eaten: light, fluffy kind, chewy, flavorful. It was perfection.

This went above and beyond my expectations. In fact, I went back a few weeks later and ordered the same pizza CJ ordered (di Parma, with chewy strips of prosciutto and fresh basil leaves). Once again, I was not disappointed. If you want fresh, chewy, delicious, flavorful pizza, find the Neapolitan truck, and treat yourself!

Follow them on Twitter @NeaExpress! 

Offshore Ale Company (Martha's Vineyard)

ABF got a lovely present from a colleague this year-- Deb knew of Kevin's & my love for New England and gave him a gift certificate valid at numerous merchants on Martha's Vineyard! We decided to use this at a restaurant we hadn't tried before-- Offshore Ale Company, in Oak Bluffs.

You can help yourself to bunches of raw peanuts while you wait, and the floor is littered with shattered shells. I never really got the appeal of that, personally, but people seem to love it. To each his/her own!

We started with a bowl of chowdah for ABF, and he generously shared with me. This was tangy, creamy, and the perfect start to a meal on a cold winter's night.

I ordered a glass of Malbec, one of my go-to wines when it comes to reds. I wasn't sure yet what I'd order, but I usually enjoy Malbecs.

Offshore Ale Company brews their own beer (and offers tours!), and ABF tried one of their stouts. He really liked his stout, and thought it went perfectly with the chowder. I tried a sip of the stout and liked it okay, but still prefer wine. I'm just not a beer person, remember?

ABF's main was the Italian Sausage Alfredo pizza, with a white sauce base, slightly spicy sausage, caramelized onions, and spinach. I had a bite and this was delicious! Offshore makes their pizzas in a wood-fired brick oven, and this pizza was excellent. Chewy but crisp crust, not the least bit greasy, and everything tasted delightfully fresh.

I felt a little overwhelmed with all of the options, but ended up picking fried chicken. I can count on one hand the times I've eaten fried chicken over the past few years, but I got roped in by the promise of a fluffy biscuit and some mashed potatoes.

The biscuit was fantastic, the mashed potatoes were perfect, and the chicken was crunchy, crispy, and very well-seasoned. There was also a HUGE amount of it. We both took home leftovers, and both dishes got even tastier over time.

We made sure to save room for dessert (which is why we packed up about five pounds' worth of leftovers!) and ABF's brother and his family had raved about the warm chocolate chip cookies that come with ice cream. One serving comes with 3 cookies, each about the size of my head, and a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

These were good, but I would skip these next time. If you have little ones with you, I think they'd love the wow factor of gigantic cookies, though.

Service was excellent, the mood was upbeat and energetic (a bit loud but in a fun way), and they have so many options you'll have a tough time settling on just one thing--what a delicious dilemma! I would definitely return here--and thanks again to ABF's colleague, Deb-- we quite enjoyed your gift!

Offshore Ale Company

30 Kennebec Ave

Oak Bluffs, MA 02557

(508) 693-2626

Follow @Lkpnyc

Food Truck Friday: Valducci's Pizza

Another end of the week, another Food Truck Fridays post! This week I tried out the pizza from Valducci's Pizza truck.

They have many options, and they don't cost a lot of cash. I settled on the Sicilian slice, aka the Big Boy, for a whopping four dollars. Cheap Eats!

This was a gigantic slice, a rectangular bounty of carbs that dangled dangerously over the edge of the paper plate. I shared some with a coworker and still had plenty left for me.

My slice--minus the bit I sliced off for M!

The crust, thicker than regular slices, and my favorite part of the Sicilian, had just enough bite and chew to it without being TOO chewy. The sauce was garlicky and oh-so-scrumptious.
For one truck, Valducci's carries an impressive amount of options. I'll be sure to try something else the next time, but the Big Boy gets two saucy thumbs up from me!

You can usually find the truck on 50th street between 5th and 6th, or somewhere nearby, thought they might also be in the Meatpacking District on certain dates. The best way to track them is via Twitter: @Valduccis-- they often have deals JUST for their Twitter followers, so get on it!
Follow @Lkpnyc

Hopewell Valley Vineyards (New Jersey)

Tucked away off the busy roads in Pennington, New Jersey, is Hopewell Vineyards. It's a gorgeous bit of land with tons of outdoor seating, stunning views, and of course, delicious wine!

Our group was there for a non-bachelorette weekend to celebrate That Sara's impending wedding. We found out that Hopewell had live music on Saturdays, and figured it was a great place to start. It's called Music & Merlot, and it's a great way to spend an evening.

There is a lot of seating at Hopewell, but it fills up fast, so get there early! We were lucky to get a long table for our group, though it was very close to the speakers. Great for listening to music, not so much for hearing your neighbor!

I was a fan of their Barbera- a luscious, rich red wine. I actually liked their Chardonnay, too, but the Barbera by far was my favorite.

We started with some cheese and olives while we waited on our pizza. Nothing too fancy-- cheddar, pepper jack, grapes, crackers, etc.

The pizza was a little chewy and tough to cut, but it was tasty. It had that delicious brick oven flavor, and it went SO well with the wine.

As we made our way out of the building, we had to stop and admire the brilliant sunset settling over the horizon.

We had a great time (for not a lot of money, I might add) and enjoyed our light snacks, wine, and the live music. It's a bit noisy with the music, so if you're with a group, you won't be able to hear anyone sitting more than 2 seats away. If that's the case, make the most of your situation and have some more Merlot (or, if you're like me, more Barbera)!

Hopewell Vineyards
46 Yard Rd
Pennington, NJ 08534
(609) 737-4465

Follow @Lkpnyc

Andolini's Pizza (OK)

I recently traveled to Oklahoma-- one of the 5 states (MA, RI, TX, OK, and now NY) where I have lived my fabulous life, to welcome my Very First Nephew to the world. This week's posts are all about the yumminess I got to eat while there. Hey, a girl's gotta eat, even if it's around the very demanding schedule of a baby in no particular rush to get here!

Towards the end of my trip (Nephewpalooza 2013), I went out for a meal of New York style pizza with my mother and friend of hers, who is a former New Yorker herself. They were excited to bring me to Andolini's, a pizza place started by two brothers from New York. New York style pizza in the middle of "Amurica?" Bring it to my skeptical tastebuds!

We started with the strikingly presented antipasti plate-- which came beautifully arranged prosciutto twirled to look like Roses. Prosciutto rosettes! Rich, thick, sweet balsamic vinegar was drizzled all over the plate of fresh tomatoes and mozzarella.
I happily ate some sweet briny olives and delicious roasted red peppers, but left the mushrooms for the other ladies.

You have plenty of options at Andolini's, but we ended up choosing the Vesuvio: smoked mozzarella and diced chicken breast with, of course, red sauce. I love me some red sauce! (I mean I LUUUURV it-- would happily eat it with a spoon right out of the bowl! Dinner!)

Coming from NYC, where excellent pizza is everywhere (and even the dollar-slice joints are often damn decent), I was a quite skeptical, but this pizza was delicious. The crust was light, airy, toothsome and not greasy AT all. I had two slices and enjoyed every crispy, delicious bite.

Andolini's also has some great outdoor seating on the side street, away from the busier bustle of Cherry Street. It was a bit too chilly for us to sit outside that day, but there were still a lot of people there.

Rufus would love a bite...

But the true test of Andolini's? How it fared as next-day leftovers. I heated up a slice of the Vesuvio pizza in a pan and I swear it was even more delicious. The flavors had marinated marvelously and the crust was still crispy and chewy- I can't believe how good this was. Doubting Thomas= convinced!

I couldn't get over how much the food scene certainly has changed since I lived there (more than a decade ago now), and of course, of course. If you're looking for a family-friendly spot for pizza, or just a great spot with friends or dates I give Andolini's two thumbs up. Save some red sauce for me!

Andolini's Pizza
1552 E 15th St
Tulsa, OK 74120
(918) 728-6111

Follow @Lkpnyc

A Slice Melts in Brooklyn

Pizza Wagon is one of the first places my old roomie & I hit when checking out Bay Ridge. We were living on the Upper East Side at the time, a great neighborhood, but we were broke as heck! Ann knew Kelli has a great apartment in this one building, so Kelli offered to give us a tour and take us around the neighborhood. Her apartment was ridiculously big and ridiculously cheap, so we were off to a hopeful start. Then we hit the pizza place. I took one bite and said 'Okay, we can move here.' As time went on, my roomie became less enamored with the pizza, but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for their squares, aka Sicilian style pizza.

The pizza is always fresh and piping hot, and I love that they have garlic powder shakers on the table. YUM! I can't put enough of this on my pizza (along with a healthy helping of red pepper flakes). The crust is soft but not squishy, with a nice crispy crunch to it. It's 2.25 for each slice, but it's worth it to me! One square is plenty to fill me up and keep me going. One square with a serious layer of garlic powder, of course. Kel gets the plain slices for her 'usual.'

Pizza Wagon also has a walk-up window (in the right-hand side of the first photo) where you can order your slices or pies to go. I stopped by there many a time while dogsitting Fifi (my mom's late, great marvelous moppet). We could walk right up to the window and wait for our slice (no, I never shared--garlic is bad for dogs!) and people-watch.

I've been in this neighborhood for almost seven years (or is it 8? time flies), and this remains one of my few go-to, still as good as it was back when, spots. Mmm..pizza.

Pizza Night

ABF and I were in Trader Joe's 2 weekends ago and their 99 cent pizza dough caught my eye. All you have to do is roll it out, add toppings, and bake! I had everything at home.. I thought..until I discovered I had no cheese. It took me another week or so to get the mozzarella.

I rolled out the dough to form an almost-circle, then placed it into my new Williams-Sonoma pan (the ABF & I each picked up one for 7.50 last weekend at the Outlet!), which I was excited to use. I wasn't completely convinced the dough wouldn't sag through the holes in the pan, but I decided to give it a shot anyway.

I sliced thin pieces of fresh, salted mozzarella, raw sliced white onion, sliced bell peppers (a food I used to hate but which I now love), and then another layer of roughly grated mozzarella.

Popped it into a 425 degree oven for about 8 minutes, and was quite pleased with how it looked so far...but how would it taste? I used my super-duper Shun Santoku knife to cut the pizza, and heard the tell-tale crunch of the veggies when I sliced through them. I had two slices for dinner, and they were quite tasty! The crust wasn't crunchy, but it wasn't soggy, either. I wonder if par-baking the crust would make it crisp up more next time? Or baking at an even higher temp for less time?

I had two more slices for lunch today, and it reheated nicely! The only change I would make would be to pile even MORE veggies on there.