You know what? Lunch is awesome. Lunch is a lot more calmer and quieter than dinner and brunch. A lot of times, you can seated right away for lunch AND some times restaurants will have great lunch deals. Like at Motorino with their $12 lunch prix fixe menu.

For $12, you get a pretty darn good mixed salad and your choice of pizzas (margherita, Brussels sprout, soppressata picante and marinara). I have heard much great things about their Brussels sprout pizza (it was also topped with fior di latte, garlic, pecorino, smoked pancetta and olive oil) so I got that also cause I love Brussels sprouts on pizza. The crust was great, the fior di latte was creamy and you can’t beat the combo of Brussels sprouts and bacon. Add a few dashes of chili flakes and you’re good to go.

Motorino 349 East 12th St, East Village

While everyone was away during the holidays, me, Howard and our friend Corrine took a trip to Krescendo, the newly opened restaurant by Elizabeth Falkner. With getting 1st prize in the 2012 World Pizza Championships in Naples, Italy we definitely had a higher than normal expectation for the pizzas. While I enjoyed my meal, Howard wasn’t too thrilled (he had the margherita).

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I just came back from a 2 week time off in LA and it was FREAKING wonderful. Though it wasn’t all play. The first week I spent it with these guys (yes I was doing work) and the second week was a total tv on the couch time.

Besides eating burgers from In-N-Out and mom’s cooking, most of the meals I had were from places I have never been before. Luckily everything I ate during my 2 weeks in LA was mighty delicious.

Check out what I ate after the jump…
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Tomorrow is the 8th annual Vendy Awards (3rd year at Governors Island). The Vendy Awards may just be one of my favorite events to attend. I missed out last year but I’m pretty damn excited for this year since many of my favorite trucks/vendors are nominated for an award this year (Uncle Gussy’s, Torta Neza, The Cinnamon Snail, Piaztlan Authentic Mexican Food, Melt Bakery).

Another person that I know is a big fan/supporter of street food is my friend, Brian Hoffman aka Eat This NY. He’s such a big supporter of street food, he even gives food cart tours in the Financial District and Midtown (along with his fellow tour guides from Turnstile Tours). I thought it would be the best time to take one of their tours before the Vendy Awards. I have heard many good things and Blondie from Blondie and Brownie went on his tour last Wednesday and had a blast.

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My sister was in town recently, and she wanted to check out the Carsten Holler exhibit at the New Museum. It occurred to me that the new Forcella on Bowery was only a few blocks away from the new museum, so we had lunch there before hitting up the museum. Since it was my sister’s first visit, she got the montanara (Forcella’s justifiably popular fried pizza), but I wanted something different. I settled on the fuorigrotta — a baked pie topped with mozzarella, fresh arugula, thin slices of lemon, and a dusting of pecorino cheese. I’ve eaten similar pies at other pizzerias, and I think that Forcella has the best one. The lemons are sliced so thin that they almost melt in your mouth while lending the perfect amount of acidity to the dish. After lunch we popped across the street to Peels for some monkey bread, which Donny had recommended to me. We forced our way through the crowds waiting for a brunch table and ordered a slice to go. It’s probably better when it’s warm, but it was still pretty good; the mascarpone frosting was remarkably rich and savory. We didn’t really enjoy the Carsten Holler Experience — it was fun riding down the slide but everything else was just kind of… meh. The best part of the New Museum was the view from the seventh floor’s Sky Room, looking out over the rooftops of the Lower East Side.

Forcella (Bowery) — 334 Bowery
Peels — 325 Bowery

Last week I attended a grand opening party for the Manhattan branch of Forcella. There were tons of people there, and not quite enough pizza to go around. Since I’ve already eaten the fried pizza that they’re famous for, I left those for others and I managed to snag a slice of the margherita. It was wonderful in its simplicity — light, thin crust, good sauce, great cheese. I also sampled a tasty tiny arancini, a salad with gorgonzola and pear, and fried dough drizzled with Nutella. The highlight of the evening was running into my friend Paulie Gee, and I managed to snag this photo op of Giulio Adriani (Forcella), Rosario Procino (Keste), and Paul Giannone (Paulie Gee’s).

Forcella — 334 Bowery

Continuing with the pizza theme, many months ago Paulie Gee’s decided to start brunch service and lucky Howard got a sneak taste of the menu. Of course being me I kept saying that I would eventually go try the brunch menu until one day I heard that brunch service will be on hiatus.

Then on my most recent trip to Paulie Gee’s, I noticed a brunch pizza made it to the dinner menu, the Monte Cristo (mild gouda, Canadian bacon and a drizzle of pure maple syrup). It was definitely one of the heavier pies on the menu. I’m currently in a salty and sweet sort of moode so this pie totally hit the spot…though I have always felt guilty pouring maple syrup onto things. Maybe because it’s a lot sweeter than honey. Ohh but I may just start putting maple syrup on everything I eat now.

Paulie Gee’s 60 Greenpoint Ave, Greenpoint