Restaurants & Pizza

When my lovely friend Lees came to town, I was spoiled with way too much food (thanks Sharon)! Lees and her mother Sharon were staying in Time Square so we go to explore the area a little bit. The first stop was Carmines which is an Italian restaurant. The food is served "family style" which means an appetizer and two dishes between three ladies was too much for us to bear. Who had to bear the rest of our burden? My hard working husband. I am quite a calamari fan, and this had to be the second best calamari I've ever had (first was of course on the Disney Cruise), but it was hands down the LARGEST plate of calamari I'd ever seen! I definitely recommend the hot spot on a Monday night when Broadways doesn't have any shows playing. You can be seated immediately!
Zagat rating: 19
Ciara rating: 21

Next stop was dessert that night (no worries, we walked around for a solid hour before even thinking about food). We stopped at a diner next. I forget the name. They are known for their cheesecakes. We warmed up from the FREEZING temperatures outside to a sweet cup of hot cocoa, followed by carrot cake cheesecake, strawberry shortcut cheesecake, and a brownie shared by all. I don't even think we can honestly say we put a dent in all three desserts. Our eyes were much bigger than our tummies. It was a great experience and apparently a hoppin place. We left about 10:30pm and the place really started to get full. That's life in Time Square in the big City I guess (on a Monday night)?

The last stop with the lovely ladies was Stage Deli. This time Lyle was able to join us. Stage Deli is known as a pretty authentic deli which means the service is bad and the servers are mad at you the entire time (even though all you did was walk in the door). Authentic also means you need a crowbar to keep your mouth open enough to take a real bite out of the sandwhich. They are HUGE. Oh, and authentic ALSO means you don't let all the fixins like lettuce, tomatoe, mustard, etc. I didn't DARE ask for those once our sandwhich was served. It was a great New York experience and as always the conversation and company was what was most important to us. We can't even express how much we love the Hong Family - especially Leeser. She was the reason we met and we have already promised her our first child (at least until we move out of the City). We were so grateful for Lees and Sharons kindness and love. We already miss them and can't wait for them to return and visit!
Zagat rating: 20
Ciara rating: 18

New York Pizza

Well there is definitely something to be said of New York Pizza!

Whole foods is probably our favorite place for brick oven pizza, but when we can't get there, we have tried others. At work on my lunch break, I have found Bravo Pizza which is my personal favorite. After I have a deep dish slice there, I am feeling GOOD. Last night we tried Hot & Crusty with the Larsons. It was pretty decent, albeit EXPENSIVE. Oh wait, we live in New York, EVERYTHING'S expensive (ha). They had fresh mozzerella and basil as a standard on every pizza. We may keep exploring until we find the perfect pizza delivery. We'll keep you posted!

Hi Lees! This is a special request ON THE BLOG to invite you to send me all those pictures (from BOTH the states we lived in)! love you leeser! Lyle says love ya LEEZ.