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Di Fara Pizza Our Brooklyn Adventure continued to Avenue J,
We heard Di Fara made such great pizza we couldn’t stay away.

We passed the Vietnamese and Hassidic neighborhoods,
I told Matt to drive as fast as he coulds.

Di Fara is the highest rated pizza in Zagat,
Made in a pizzeria that time has forgot.

Dom the owner, makes EVERY pie on his own,
Sometimes the line is long, but people don’t moan.

He spreads the sauce from San Marzano, and sprinkles on hand-shredded mozzarella,
All the while smiling, he seems like such a warm fella.

He then cuts open a package of real buffalo mozz,
And strategically places pieces in all the right spots.

From oven to box the pizza goes with Dom’s bare hands,
He sprinkles Romano and clips fresh basil both with methodical plans.

Simply put, the pizza was phenomenal; the best I’ve had in NYC,
When I go back next time for a square pie, I guarantee I’ll yell yippee!

Check out the Bridge and Tunnel Club website for pictures of Di Fara and Dom’s pizza art. (A certain someone didn’t want me taking picture;-P)

I should also point out that one of the toppings options is green olives, aka the most wonderful and underrated pizza toping ever. YEAH DI FARA!

posted by Erin at 4:23 PM 1 comments Down Flatbush Ave (also a wild, blogworthy experience) to Christoforo Colombo Avenue, Matt and I went searching for you know who. We heard we’d find him in Dyker Heights,
An Italian part of Brooklyn with lots of Christmas sights. Indeed we found him, the man dressed in red,
Plus lighting displays still dancing in our head. We were fascinated and horrified by the number of white pillars and cement animals on and around many of the houses. Maybe my landlady would like it if I put a couple lions on my balcony;-)

Check out the Brooklyn Paper's article on the light display, complete with the paper's favorite houses-- The Spatas, The Polizzottos, The Rizzutos and The Lambrones (told you this was an Italian community!)

posted by Erin at 11:47 AM 0 comments 
Matzo Ball

Not going to church on Christmas Eve night? Try the Matzo Ball. No, I'm not kidding, for the last 21 years there has been a Matzo Ball for Jewish singles on Christmas Eve.

This definitely gets my vote for the best party title and the coolest Christmas alternative.

Check out the official website.


Once again the Society of Young Jewish Professionals is coming to town with Matzo Ball. Now in its 21st year, the concept and its clever name were developed by Andy Rudnick to fill the need of Jewish singles to have something to do on a Christmas night when everything else is closed.

The Matzo Ball is held in 5 cities, all at the same time. It is now part and parcel of America’s party folklore. Over 1,000 marriages and countless friendships have developed at this annual extravaganza. But, says Rudnick, Matzo Ball is open to everyone. “You don’t have to be Jewish, straight or single to attend, and if you don’t want to stay home, alone, and watch ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ for the 100th time, Matzo Ball is the place to be on Christmas Eve.” Last year’s event attracted some 10,500 revelers nationwide.Matzo Ball appeals to all young professionals who are looking for a fun and different event to attend.

posted by Erin at 7:04 AM 0 comments 

Matt and I went to a wild party on Friday night, complete with 007 theme, drag queens and gambling (albeit with fake money.) Where was this? I can't say where we were, but because I can't say, you can probably guess:-) Matt with Peppermint. "I'm about 80% comfortable with what's going on here." there were roulette wheels and black jack tables. We lost all our "money." Guess we won't be at Atlantic City any tiime soon.

posted by Erin at 10:34 PM 3 comments 
A true Brooklyn adventure

After an afternoon spent at the Bryant Park Christmas market and the Clinique counter at Lord & Taylor, I convinced Rachel that it was a good idea to do something a bit more adventuresome for dinner on Saturday night. That adventure was dinner with Matt and Daniel in the Bushwick part of Brooklyn. For those not from the area, Bushwick is an up-and-coming, still kinda scary by Erin's standards, area. The reason for this adventure was mac & cheese, raclette and gruyere mac & cheese from North East Kingdom to be exact.

We popped out of the Jefferson street subway on the L train and were greeted with nothing but warehouses and twinkle lights in the distance. We hoped the lights were the restaurant because otherwise I had lead everyone on a total boondoggle. Indeed they were and we were shocked to find a 45 minute wait to get a table. We were able to wait the fantastic lower level lounge area--looked like a mix between a ski hut and a 1970's basement.

The downside was that dinner took a painfully long to arrive; it almost became a joke. But most of the food was great when it did finally arrive! The mac & cheese did not disappoint! Matt liked his organic chicken pot pie (signature dish) and Daniel liked the duck. The bummer was Rachel's vegetarian reuben sandwich with gruyere, kraut, Russian dressing and chunks of seitan. The flavor was good, but we both agreed that the texture of the seitan, served in chunks not slices was off-putting. The 4 of us also shared some potato wedges and olives; both were good, especially the olives. It was fun to introduce Matt to some more of my college crew. Everyone behaved (minus rumor of some inappropriate texting when I went to the bathroom;-))

p.s. Our trip to the Clinique counter was a riot. The woman who helped us told one of us that her pores are a mess and told the other one to get some t-zone control so she wasn't "slip sliding away." Gotta love brutally honest New Yorkers! Actually, the woman was super friendly and kept us entertained and beautified for over an hour.
 
Lookin Good Flowers boxes in Brooklyn Heights are lookin' Good!

posted by Erin at 7:42 AM 2 comments 
Bryant Park Christmas Market It was great to have Rachel in town for the weekend! We got a late start on Saturday morning but then knew where we were heading...the Bryant Park Christmas Market.

The market was less crowded than the Grand Central Terminal Xmas Market and there were lots of treasures to be found. Rachel boughts some stocking stuffers, a gift or two and a hat for herself. In between strolling among the many booths, we checked out the giant tree and the ice skaters. The line to skate was a good 100 people long! We also made a quick stop in the Alberta tent. You could stop in for free hot chocolate, a ride on a ski simulator or just a warm-up in a comfy chair.

There seemed to be similar booths at Grand Central, but we both loved the charm of Bryant Park. The Park is a sanctuary among the skyscrapers.

More on Rachel's visit tomorrow.

posted by Erin at 8:15 PM 1 comments 
Puffy Coat Sandwich After a weeks break from the blog, the Christmas season is now in full swing in NYC. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree has been lighted, Christmas trees are starting to appear on street corners and yesterday we had our first real snowfall of the year.

The cold weather also means the return of puffy coats to the subway. Simply put, the subway is not large enough to accommodate puffy coats and I feel they should be banned. On the downtown 4/5 last week, I felt a bit like a puffy coat sandwich. A Jewish lady with short hair sat on one side of me reading a magazine while wearing a short black puffy coat. To my left sat a Korean guy, sleeping, wearing a baseball hat as well as a hooded sweatshirt and black puffy coat. In front of me stood a black lady, bopping along to her Ipod in a long puffy coat. Is all of this puffiness really necessary?

Related to the holiday season, Matt and I were on the hunt for Christmas trees last weekend 2 weekends ago. Apparently we were jumping the gun just a bit because the only place we found trees was at a nursery in Red Hook that wanted $75 for a 5-6 foot tall tree. Fortunately, we were heading to Newtown last weekend and found a couple great (and inexpensive) trees at Shady Brook Farm!

posted by Erin at 9:46 PM 5 comments