Penney's Pizza: The Radiation Must Be Messing With People's Taste Buds

Penney's Pizza, run out of a house on Ridge Pike in Royersford. I have heard massive amounts of great reviews, and since I was finally back in my home town, I decided it was a good idea to order it when I got the chance. 

Small White Pizza

Plain

Well as you can tell, these look a little funny...
Plain:
Cheese first, then a slather of sauce. The sauce was overly sweet and there was way too much of it. Like tomato soup with a nice douse of sugar. The cheese was rubbery and flavorless. Maybe they put the sauce on top to hide the sad excuse they would call "cheese". The crust was also tasteless, neither crunchy nor doughy or chewy. It had the consistency of a microwaved pretzel.
They used corn meal to dust the bottom of the dough which neither helped nor hurt the texture, my taste buds were annoyed.
Price: $12.00 for a large

White:
 This was a little more successful. They put ricotta cheese on first then mozzarella with a sprinkle of herbs. Perhaps a bit too much ricotta, after 1 slice I felt a sort of heaviness only a packet of laxatives and some prune juice could get rid of.
Price: $8.00 for a small

Corn Meal up Skirt

Verdict: One thing that struck me as odd was the fact the the pizzas fell apart.This could only happen from under cooking. I don't really understand why people of Limerick PA go crazy over this stuff, perhaps its the nuclear radiation? The place is always packed with cars picking up pizzas, I just don't get it. Maybe New York has spoiled me, but no way in hell would I ever get these again

Penney's Pizza

68 W Ridge Pike

Limerick PA 19468

Ciao for Now: Yum in My Tum!

A couple of weekends ago, Buddy and I headed over to Ciao for Now, a little cafe in the East Village. I actually got a Groupon for them for 30 dollars worth of food, so I was ready to pig out! When we got there is was pretty busy and surprisingly crowded...

 Aww, they have my favorite flowers ever! I love love love orchids.

 Almond Brioche French Toast

We got the brunch specials which comes with orange juice and fruit. Buddy got the french toast, they were HUGE. However, they were not as toasted as I would have liked them to be.A little too soft, but still satisfying.

Price: $9.50

Extreme Green Omelette

The omelette was made with spinach, leeks, asparagus, and broccoli. The eggs were  over cooked but the flavors in the vegetables really came threw. I guess I can't complain since I ended up eating every last bite. (But then again, I hadn't eaten since the night before at 6 and it was going on 2pm the next day).... anyway, it was good, but I wouldn't get it again.

Price: $9.50

Verdict: Well, before I forget, the winner of this place are definitely the banana muffins! I didn't get a chance to take a picture of them (since I devoured it the moment I took the first bite)... soo.. here's a picture of a muffin?

well, it was delicious.

Ciao For Now

 523 E 12th St

New York NY 10009

(also various locations)

http://www.ciaofornow.net/

Paris Baguette: Asian Pastries Are Freaking Awesome

Paris Baguette. They aren't French, and they definitely do not sell the best baguettes, but they are conveniently located 1 block from my office and filled with tasty pastry treats.

 Cheese Croissant

Flaky chewy croissant with a slice of American cheese in the center. Basically, a fat kids grilled cheese. I suggest if you do get this one, throw it in the toaster to melt the cheese more. The cheese was a bit rubbery, but still tasty.

Price: $1.70

 Red Bean Squares

Basically mini croissants sandwiching red bean paste. Tasty, and sounds like exactly what is in it. Nothing special, I probably wouldn't get this again.

Price: $ 1.70

Cream Cheese Stuffed Bread

Holy Shit. 

Get this.

 Warm fluffy bagel shaped bread topped with toasted almond slices. Inside? Sweet creamy cream cheese. Freaking awesome.

Price: $2.00

Matcha Green Tea Bread with Sweet Potato Filling

The sweet potato was a little too sweet, but still pretty good. Nothing I would hunt down again.

Price: $1.80

Strawberry Spongecake

No, this isn't all for me! I got the awesome job of picking out a co-workers birthday cake.

It came with a super cute cake slicer and matches!

Pineapple slices stuffed inside. Light and spongy, almost guilt free cake! The perfect portion for 8 people (or 2?)

Price: $22.00

Verdict:  Trial and error hear, but go for your gut feeling (aka, what pastries make you salivate at first glance) and you won't be disappointed!

Paris Baguette

various locations

Pasticceria Rocco: Honey I Blew up the Cookies!!

Walking around the West Village again, I spotted a crap load of tourists outside a pastry store listening to some tour guide. As she rambled on about the store, my gaze turned toward the giant cookies on display at the window. I shoved past the crowd of people to investigate.

I would eat every last crumb of eat cake and lick my fingers with delight afterwards. Which makes me wonder...how many cakes does one eat in a life time? I think I'm already up to 70, possibly even 100....

Somebody was going cookie crazy in front of me at the counter, they were the size of a boob, maybe a 34B?

Rocky Road Cookie

Holy moley did they get the ratio of chocolate chips to cookie down right! Folded in between were pieces of melted marshmallows lending a chewy bite. Chocolatey and even a bit of a coffee aftertaste. A solid rocky road cookie.

Almond Lover Cookie

This was not for lovers, it was for crazy almond stalkers who carry viles of almond oil around their necks! Literally all almonds, the only thing holding the cookie together was the minimal amount of cookie dough. The healthy drizzle of dark chocolate was a perfect topper. Amazing.

Price: $3.00 per cookie

Verdict: Satisfying cookies, and an endless array of other sweets. They have seating too if you want to relax and get coffee or espresso.

John's of Bleeker Street: Meh....at Least You Can Profess Your Love

  

John's of Bleeker, the last stop at Scott's Pizza Tour that I attended last year. Being so stuffed from eating all the pizza before I got a chance to eat this one, I forgot what this pizza tasted like. So what is a girl to do? Go back to get some more of course!

 Kind of stuffy inside, not enough windows and random flies attacking everywhere!

 I went with Buddy,  when I went to the bathroom, I came back to find this new "art" on the table...(insert "AWWWW" here)

 We decided to get a 16 inch half a plain and half a white.. are you drooling now? Well you should!

 Plain

This was a sturdy slice, not too thin, not too thick, the bottom had a great crispy crunch to it. The sauce was slightly sweet and a little too much on the light side. It was "the standard" slice. It actually tasted better once it got cool and after a nice drizzle of garlic powder, and red pepper flakes.

White Pizza

Again, the standard white pizza, it would have been nice to see a couple of dollops of ricotta cheese and basil, but after the shower of garlic and more pepper flakes, it was a-okay. 

The upskirt

Price: $15.00

Verdict: Would I go traveling over half an hour for this pizza? Hell no. Did it satisfy the craving for pizza? Yep. The service was a bit rocky however, I had to stalk a waiter down in order to get service, though it wasn't even busy. Joe's or John's, the West Village is full of good places to eat!

John's of Bleeker Street

278 Bleeker St

New York, NY 10014

http://www.johnsbrickovenpizza.com/

The Rabbithole: A Dinner Experiment

Rabbithole, conveniently located 1 block from my apartment, and yet I have never been there for dinner. The brunchs have always been delicious, and I am hoping the same for dinner...

Grilled Vegetables

This was made with goat cheese and fig vincotto. F.Y.I- vincotto means to be cooked down with wine. DELICIOUS, flavorful, softly cooked and a fairly large portion. Sweet, sour, creamy, perfect. A nice appetizer or even a light dinner if you are not too hungry.

Price: $11.00

Fries with Aoili Dip

Nice quality fries, the kind you wonder why you are still eating them when you are full. They are crisp and came out hot as hell. The sauce tasted like sour cream with a bit of garlic. It was tasty, but could have used another herb, like rosemary to liven it up a bit.

Price: $4.00

Angel Hair Pasta

This was made with tomato, garlic, basil, a splash of olive oil and shaved Parmesan.  My roomate ordered this, and it was finished before I could even ask for a bite! She said it was super garlicy (but that is a good thing).

Price: $11.00

Grilled Salmon

This was made with roasted sweet potato, beets, parsnip and string beans in a dill horseradish sauce. Dana ordered this one. I had a bite, the salmon was cooked perfectly and flaked off effortlessly with a gentle push of the fork. 

Price: $16.00

Skirt Steak Salad

This was made with oranges, and blue cheese. Nick got this one, however, he ordered it medium rare and it came out medium well. It was still flavorful, if not a bit chewy.

Price: $15.00

Fish and Chips

This was stout beer battered cod with hand cut fries ain a remoulade sauce and side of vinegar. I ordered this one. The  batter was like the texture of the outside of a corndog. A little soggy since they didn't bring it to me right away. The cod was extremely moist and fell apart after each bite. I ended up having to use a fork to finish this dish. It was okay, but I would not order this again.

Price: $11.00

Verdict: Very slow service, we even had to wait for our menus! There are definite hits and misses for dinner. The grilled vegetables were superb. I would order that again and again!

The Rabbithole

352 Bedford Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11211

http://www.rabbitholerestaurant.com/

Grom: Well, I'm Satisfied

MMmm... gelato. My one weakness. Walking around the West Village and window shopping at stores you can't afford can make you depressed and hungry. So how does one drown out their sorrows you might ask? By indulging in a little gelato of course!

Waiting in line, the most antsy part... give me my gelato gosh darn it!!

Pesca i Crema di Menta

Peach and Mint Creme. The peach sorbet was tart, fresh and left a lingering bite of tang on my tongue. Not my favorite peach sorbet, but it definitely hits the spot when it is 20000 degrees out. The mint creme was also refreshing, no toothpaste analogy here. The mint hits you more so after the smooth creme dissolves on the tongue. Perfection on a humid day. Only dislike? They didn't fill the cone all the way down, so I ended up throwing it away, bummer.

Price: $4.75

Verdict: Satisfying, high quality ingredients, but pricey. Hey, what else do you expect? You are in the West Village after all!

Grom Gelato

233 Bleeker Street

New York, NY 10022

www.grom.it/eng