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

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Gigi's Cupcakes (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!

After our lunch at Rib Crib (that post here), Holly and I wanted something sweet. She said she suggested Gigi's Cupcakes, a store that just happened to be on the way to her house. Easy peasy! We walked in and the smell of fresh vanilla and baked goods surrounded us in the most delectable way.

PEEPS!

There were lots of Spring & Easter-themed cupcakes-- they have a lot of fun keeping up with the seasons/holidays! Peeps cupcakes!

We ordered four of the cupcakes, which tower high and tantalizingly with delicious buttercream frosting. I was taken in by the beauty of the wedding cupcake, a miniature version of a wedding cake with more frosting frankly than cupcake.

Holly's favorite is the margarita cupcake, and I was delighted to learn she would share some with me! It has lime frosting and sugar crystals on top. We also picked up a banana pudding and a S'Mores.
The wedding cake was good, and I love frosting, but that was too much frosting even for me. However that's an easy problem to solve: just don't eat it all! The cupcake was delicious; light and moist with rich vanilla frosting.
I didn't try the S'mores cupcake, but I did try the banana pudding one the very next day. It was good, but my favorite part actually was the banana pudding inside. Holy tastesplosion-- that was so delicious, they should sell it separately on its own. Oh my goodness I wish there were more of that delicious pudding filling.

The margarita cupcake, however, stole the show. This is super moist with the perfect sweet and sour flavor combination. Not too sour, balanced with a sweet tartness, and the frosting was just perfect. It had just the right amount of sweetness and the dusting of sugar crystals gave it a nice crunch. Once again, Holly picks a winner. I'd go back and get this one!

Overall Gigi's cupcakes are delicious, are beautifully presented and yes, I love the extra frosting. I realize some people might not like that so much -you can always scrape off the frosting that you don't want. What a lovely problem to have!

Gigi's Cupcakes
14101 N. May Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK
(405) 286-6200

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Rib Crib (OK)

I recently traveled to OK (one of the 5 states 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!

Rib Crib is a chain that actually started in Tulsa, I believe in the 90s, and yet I had never been there until I went with my friend Holly. I squeezed in a quick visit with her in Edmond (a suburb of Oklahoma City) the week my new nephew arrived!

I started with their spiked cherry limeade which, to my surprise, is blue. It has Blue Curaçao in it. Why not? It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was sweet, delicious, and went down way too quickly.

Holly says she doesn't normally have a "usual" dish at most places, but at Rib Crib she does: the chicken nachos. They're actually an appetizer, but they're big enough for person has an entrée. These have a smattering of banana peppers on top, and I am a sucker for banana peppers. So yeah, I had two bites of this. If I were a regular at Rib Crib, this would be my usual, too.

This menu is huge, and it took me a good 10 minutes to mull over my dizzying options. I ended up getting the club sandwich: smoked chicken and pulled pork on three slices of bread. This sammich was huge, and I ended up taking out some of the bread just to make it easier to actually eat.

The pulled pork was delicious but the smoked chicken was by far my favorite part of that sandwich.

I'm not really a fries person, either, but their seasoned fries were delightfully crispy & flavorful and I ate way more than I planned on eating, so that's three thumbs up for them!




The service was excellent, the food was delicious, and the prices are affordable. Get some chicken nachos and thank me later!

Seriously-- chicken nachos, y'all.
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Rib Crib
2601 S Broadway
Edmond, OK 73013
(405) 513-5883

Brgr

I met up with a friend for a quick mid-day lunch at burger one of the few burger places I actually HAVEN'T tried yet in New York City: Brgr (for people too busy to spell out the whole word?)

Brgr's menu features grass-fed meats and an almost dizzying array of options for your burger toppings and even the type of bread (or just a lettuce leaf) you want.

I went with the Ranch Burger: grass-fed beef wrapped in a lettuce leaf instead of the bun. It's topped with bacon and jack cheese (one of my favorite foods on EARTH).

I also decided to splurge and get a good old-fashioned root beer float--it was hot that day!

My coworker went with the veggie burger, which she swears is delicious. She also shared her small order of fries, which were thinly-sliced, salty, and pretty good.

My burger was so tender and delicious-- the salty, crispy bacon, creamy avocado and pepperjack cheese were the perfect additions. I don't know if it's psychosomatic but I swear you really can taste the difference in grass-fed beef. You could cut through this burger like it was hot butter on a summer day.

The service was quick and friendly, the burgers were delicious and tender, and it's always good time for a root beer float!

Brgr

287 7th Ave

NY, NY

(212) 488-7500

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Norma's

Catchy name, n'est-ce pas? 

Norma's is one of my all-time, can't fail, kinda-splurgey-but-worth-it spots. It's in the lobby of Le Parker Meridien Hotel, just a short walk from Central Park. I met up with M, one of my college roommates, for a weekday breakfast there. I only go here on special occasions, and this was definitely one!
Every visitor to Norma's gets a complimentary mini-smoothie. This day's was kiwi, pineapple, strawberry & banana (I may be forgetting something). Delicious and just enough of a sweet kick to start!

I HIGHLY recommend making a reservation here (which I did). Then you can breezily saunter (smiling, of course) past the tourists who didn't know such insider info. The wait can be long at Norma's. Trust me-- OpenTable this business!

M is a pancake fan, so I recommended the banana-macadamia nut pancakes. I had a bite of these from a friend's leftovers and knew I had to get to this place. That's how good these are. That drizzle on top? Oh, just some banana brown sugar butter. You won't need syrup with these babies.

Pancake Apology

M gave me a generous bite of her pancakes, and I can tell you these are damn good. I can also tell you they are better the next day, but M was going to be on the move all weekend and couldn't take the leftovers. I snapped a funny picture of her "apologizing" to the pancakes for being unable to take them. Kind of an 'It's not you, it's me' moment for food. I dig her sense of humor... cuz we're funny like that. :)

I have tried a few different dishes at Norma's, but the past few times I've gone I've stuck to my favorite: huevos rancheros. These are a bit different--a light fluffy cooked omelette on top a thin smear of refried beans, tiny quesadilla triangles tucked in around it, and a fabulous topping of pico de gallo and guacamole. This is savory breakfast nirvana for me. Can I get a YUM up in here???

Coffee at Norma's comes in a French press, and we did some considerable damage to both of ours. Did I mention I got up pretty early? This coffee is strong and powerful, and I was so grateful for it. I might have been feeling a bit buzzy the rest of the day, too--worth it!

Entrées at Norma's start around 20 bucks, so it's definitely not a Cheap Eats place, but it is worth every delicious bite. Tourists, locals, and everyone in between will find something to savor here!

Norma's
119 West 56th Street (inside Le Parker Meridien Hotel)
New York, NY 10019
212-245-5000

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Blue Plate Diner (Middletown, RI)

ABF & I took an impromptu weekend trip up to Newport, Rhode Island. Any New England getaway is fine with me! We stayed just down the road from Blue Plate Diner, which is fairly new but already popular with the locals. It's in Middletown, just a 5-minute drive from downtown Newport.

We stopped in there between the lunch & dinner rush, and I spotted the FourSquare sticker on the door. I checked in and they offered 5 dollars off our tab of 25 or more (we were apparently the first ones to use this deal, but it went through just fine)--you know I love saving money!

I wanted something marginally healthy, so I opted for a Cobb salad (one of my dishes I love to compare from place to place). This was so good. I don't know what they do with their hard-boiled eggs, but these were the best I've ever had: soft, flavorful, I even ate the yolks! Winner.

I also had a nice, piping hot mug of coffee with cream. It was freeeeeezing out that weekend!

ABF ordered the burger, and of course he offered me a bite! This was fresh, scrumptious, and juicy.
Our food came quickly, the staff were friendly, and every bite was so, so good.

Blue Plate Diner

665 W Main Rd

Middletown, RI 02842

(401) 848-9500

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Lexington Brass: Happy Hour

I enjoyed a lovely brunch the Lexington brass just a few months ago (post here!), and I said I'd happily return. Not long ago, a friend I happened to be nearby right around happy hour. We exchanged the 'shall we?' look and popped inside. We found 2 seats at the gorgeous marble bar and had the same server (Mishaya-- I am sure I'm spelling that improperly--sorry) as Brad & I did last time. She's friendly, helpful, and mixes a mean drink.

Our drinks were not only beautiful to look at, they were absolutely delicious. The Anjou was light, sweet without being overly so and absolutely refreshing.
The Anjou ($13) for me: with pear vodka, spiced pear, lemon & ginger fizz.

The Sweet Savannah ($12) for my gal pal: Absolut wild tea vodka, white peach, crushed mint. Aren't they lovely?

The cheese plate was delicious with a chewy raisin bread, rich fig chutney and a sensational thick, delicious honey to go with the blue cheese and other harder cheeses.

This is not a cheap eats, per se, but it's definitely a bargain. Perfectly mixed drinks with refreshingly welcome service and a great atmosphere where we could actually hear each other talk -what a nice change!

Fig chutney, bleu cheese, manchego drizzled w/honey

There's a good after work crowd, and of course visitors staying at the attached hotel. It's a sorely-needed spot in that bit of Midtown East.

Lexington Brass
517 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10017
(212) 392-5976

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