After getting some pie, Donny and I went to check out the relatively new bar Mission Dolores. We had the same problems with it that many others do: it was way too crowded and WAY too loud. After our friends Matt and Phaedra joined us for a drink, we moved next door to the beautiful and quiet Rock Shop, where we could actually relax. After a while we got hungry, so a couple of us ran across the street to Oaxaca Taqueria to get some takeout.

Click to continue…

As the New York Times pointed out yesterday, “New York’s pizza moment is stretching into a pizza era.” Case in point: Olio, a new Neapolitan-style pizzeria in the West Village, which barely got any press when it opened. What press there has been has been mixed — my friend Jess (of We Heart New York) said there major flaws with the pizza, and yet she couldn’t wait to go back. We met for lunch there last week, and they must have been having a good day because my margherita was excellent.

Click to continue…

Way back when I did my tasting of pizza along the L train, I had a really good Neapolitan-style pizza at Fornino in Williamsburg. I was excited to hear that there was a Fornino opening near me, in Park Slope, a few months ago, and on a recent Friday night I met up with my friends Jeff & Eva to check it out.

Click to continue…

A couple of weeks ago my friends Jess & Garrett, of We Heart New York, invited me along to a lecture at Proteus Gowanus. When they suggested that we meet someplace beforehand for dinner, I thought of Sheep Station, which bills itself as “an Australian ‘local’ in Brooklyn”.

I went for the veggie burger (for a dollar extra, topped with Aussie cheddar). The patty itself was pretty standard fare (that is, it fell apart pretty quickly), but the toppings were interesting: beets, a slice of grilled pineapple, and a fried egg. There’s no reason that all of those things should work together, but somehow they combined to make something pretty good. The side salad left something to be desired, and the veggie burger wasn’t good enough to warrant a second trip, but if you find yourself down 4th Avenue you might want to give it a try.

Sheep Station — 149 4th Avenue, Brooklyn

I know it’s not really fair to judge a restaurant on the second day it’s open, but since I work a block away from the new Park Slope Eatery I figured I’d have lunch there. I walked into what was one step removed from chaos, aka the lunchtime rush. When I ordered the falafel, the guy behind the counter looked confused and ended up consulting the menu board behind him. I asked about stuffed grape leaves, and he said, “Grape what?” before directing me to ask someone else. I didn’t bother. My falafel was fine, though not quite hot or crispy enough. The best part about it was that it was topped with tzatziki, a yogurt sauce flecked with dill, rather than the standard sesame tahini.

When my friend Jess, from We Heart NY suggested we meet for lunch, one of her suggestions was Devi. I was excited about it, because I had been craving Indian food for a few weeks. I saw that Frank Bruni gave it two stars, which made the anticipation only greater. After eating there, however, both Jess and I had one thought: we were confused.

Click to continue…