Author Topic: Chau's Coming to New York! Tour Time!!!! (Read 20003 times)

scott123 · « **Reply #80 on:** February 24, 2012, 11:37:09 PM »

Quote from: Bobino414 on February 24, 2012, 10:22:31 PM

If you guys can squeeze in one more body, I would like to join the Chau tour.

Bob

I was kind of trying to cap the number of attendees due to car space and reservations, but, now that I think about it, that's kind of silly. Let's just see who can make it and then work with that number. If we have enough cars, great, if we don't, then it's subways for some, and cars for others.

Jet_deck · « **Reply #81 on:** February 24, 2012, 11:43:55 PM »

Good plan Scotty. Divide and conquer.

scott123 · « **Reply #82 on:** February 25, 2012, 12:35:26 AM »

Quote from: JConk007 on February 24, 2012, 10:42:08 PM

scott, set up a spread sheet so we can all suggest/vote democratically ?

SMF (the software the forum uses) doesn't do multi-selection polls, so, unless someone has a better way, copy and paste the list below into a personal message to me, putting Xes next to the places where you want to go, and I'll calculate the totals. Here's the list:

Brooklyn
Barboncino
Best
DiFara
Fascati
Franny's
L&B
Lucali
New Park Pizza
Paulie Gees
Totonno's
Forcella
Roberta's

Manhattan
Artichoke
Co.
Don Antonio
Donatella
Keste
Motorino
Patsy's
Sacco

New Jersey
Amano
Pizza Town
Vesta

Staten Island
Denino's
Joe & Pat's
Lee's
Salvatore's of Soho

Kelly brought up the Staten Island places, which I think is a good idea, but wanted to run them by the rest of you. It would be nice to add a tavern pie to the mix- time permitting.

Also, bear in mind, you'll be voting for places you want to go on either Friday, Saturday or Sunday. This is just to find out what the most popular places are, not to nail down which day we're going where.

pizzablogger · « **Reply #83 on:** February 25, 2012, 11:38:10 AM »

Of course I forgot that Roberta's is open at 11 as well.

pizzablogger · « **Reply #84 on:** February 25, 2012, 11:53:23 AM »

I told Craig I would keep my mouth shut, but I can't seem to help myself. Some suggested daytime itineraries:

I have been slightly conservative with drive times to account for potential parking issues, traffic, wait times in a joint, etc.

Trip One- More Leisurely with Nathan's Included
11:00am to 11:40am L&B Spumoni Gardens
12:00pm to 12:45pm Totonno's
12:55pm to 1:25pm Nathan's Hot Dogs
2:00pm to 2:40 pm New Park Pizza
3:15pm to 3:50pm Roberta's
4:05pm to 4:45pm Best Pizza

This queue's you guys up nicely for the evening. Adam, you can go to Best pizza any day of the week. I can't....

Trip Two- Focused Pizza Hustle. No Nathan's, Go,Go,Go!
11:00am to 11:40am L&B Spumoni Gardens
12:00pm to 12:40pm Totonno's
1:20pm to 2:00pm Joe & Pat's
2:25pm to 3:05pm either Salvatore's of Soho (coal fired) or Lee's Tavern (bar pizza)
3:15pm to 3:35pm quick stop-and-pop for a slice at Nunzio's
4:15pm to 4:55pm New Park Pizza
5:25pm to 6:00pm Best Pizza or Roberta's

This leg may very well need to end at New Park Pizza (no Roberta's or Best) so you guys can set up the night time portion of your trip and drop me off near a subway line so I can make it back for the bus.

We may be able to cram another stop, like Denino's into the second trip if we only stay about 30 minutes at each place, but that is more conducive to a one-man or small group tour. A larger group is better off with a little more time to be able to talk and enjoy each other's company.

EDIT: Here is a Google Map I made with some of the targeted pizzerias for the daytime segment:

My 2 cents, for whatever its worth. --K

Jet_deck · « **Reply #85 on:** February 25, 2012, 12:33:29 PM »

Where can we start doing the lemoncello shots?

pizzablogger · « **Reply #86 on:** February 25, 2012, 12:46:36 PM »

Quote from: Jet_deck on February 25, 2012, 12:33:29 PM

Where can we start doing the lemoncello shots?

anywhere u want

I'll bring some of mine

Jet_deck · « **Reply #87 on:** February 25, 2012, 01:14:55 PM »

Im going to see if Craig can sneak some past tsa so I can start early.

scott123 · « **Reply #88 on:** February 25, 2012, 01:21:11 PM »

Kelly, great job on those itineraries, and, thanks for taking the time to put everything on a map.

Here are some thoughts:

I think, for the people in the group that haven't had NY area pizza, variety is key. If we go to Staten Island (which I'm all for), but don't want to visit too many places and feel rushed, then my vote is to go with the more unique offerings, like the bar pizza and to avoid the coal place (Salvatore's) since we're already doing Totonno's. Unless Salvatore's puts out a better coal pie than Totonno's- if that's the case, I say we skip Totonno's. Or if you feel strongly we should go to both- I trust your judgement.

I initially thought that Roberta's was a great idea for including something Neapolitan-ish during the day leg, but... then I read Craig's review here:

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,17079.msg166271.html#msg166271

It sounds like, between the Roberta margherita and the Forcella margherita, the Forcella wins. Forcella is also open during the day. Although I hear Don Antonio does a better Montanara, for those of the group that want to try fried pizza, Forcella might be a good introduction. The bottom line is that, as far as I know, Friday Brooklyn Neapolitan daytime offerings are pretty slim- Forcella and Roberta's- that's it- and we have a contingent of our group that might need that Neapolitan fix. We're hitting Neapolitan places that night, but I'd like to squeeze one in during the day.

Craig, what do you think?

pizzablogger · « **Reply #89 on:** February 25, 2012, 01:34:24 PM »

I've been to Roberta's twice, so Forcella, which I have not been to yet, gets my vote. Nice that it is open during the day.

Maybe we go nostalgic and hit Lenny's Pizza ala Saturday Night Fever and double stack slices like Travolta.

Between Salvatore's and Totonno's, I'd personally do Totonno's if I could do one. Lee's would offer good variety...good call Scott. --k

scott123 · « **Reply #90 on:** February 25, 2012, 02:00:21 PM »

One slight potential hitch with Forcella- they open at 12 and they close between 4:30 and 5:30. We're not going to start at L&B, head up to Forcella, then go back to Staten Island, nor can we reasonably do all that we want to do in the South and get to Forcella by 3:30. If we get to Forcella at 5:30, when the doors open, is that going to give you enough time to eat something and make it for your bus?

scott123 · « **Reply #91 on:** February 25, 2012, 03:42:46 PM »

Re; Saturday, because of all the people coming in from various parts of the country, we've already got a decent sized group for Saturday day (6?). My vote is NJ on Saturday (Amano, P-Town and Vesta), but if the majority wants to take a different route, I'll go with that. I was in Manhattan last Saturday on my way to Brooklyn, and, while Brooklyn wasn't congested/had easy parking, Manhattan was a bit of a mess. If everyone really wants to do Manhattan on Sat, maybe I'll think about taking the train in. It's my guesstimation, that, between P-town and Vesta, Chau, Bob, and Gene will get more out of NJ than Manhattan, but, I'm not sure about Craig. John's a Neapolitan fanatic and he loves Vesta, but I met a Neapolitan fan on the Ditmas crawl who wasn't impressed with it, so it's hard to predict. Amano, on the other hand, should be worth the trip for Craig. I prefer Keste and Motorino to Amano, but, considering my NY style fetish, my Neapolitan opinions may not track that well. Craig, if you haven't been to Amano, you definitely should go (on Saturday, with us

).

TXCraig1 · « **Reply #92 on:** February 25, 2012, 11:15:25 PM »

Quote from: scott123 on February 25, 2012, 01:21:11 PM

It sounds like, between the Roberta margherita and the Forcella margherita, the Forcella wins. Forcella is also open during the day. Although I hear Don Antonio does a better Montanara, for those of the group that want to try fried pizza, Forcella might be a good introduction. The bottom line is that, as far as I know, Friday Brooklyn Neapolitan daytime offerings are pretty slim- Forcella and Roberta's- that's it- and we have a contingent of our group that might need that Neapolitan fix. We're hitting Neapolitan places that night, but I'd like to squeeze one in during the day.

Craig, what do you think?

I was going to point out that M. Acunto ovens were not represented in the places you initially listed

I liked Forcella more than Roberta's. I would not mind visiting Don Antonio. I still remember Forcella's Montanara, so would be fun to taste the other - that being said, I was not at all impressed with John's pic of their margherita.

In the end, I'm in this to hang out with all you guys. If we happen on some good or great pies, that's just a bonus for me.

CL

scott123 · « **Reply #93 on:** February 26, 2012, 04:15:05 AM »

Here's my vision

Eating Our Way Through Three Boroughs: Minimal Driving, Maximum Pizza

Everyone (But JohnW) meets at Port Authority at 10:00 AM
We head out to Brooklyn, pick up John, then head over the Verrazano Bridge into Staten Island

11:00 Joe & Pat's
12:00 Lee's Tavern
1:00 Nunzio's
1:30 Totonno's
2:30 Nathans
3:00 L&B
4:00 Lucali's (time permitting)
5:00 Barboncino
6:30 Franny's
8:00 Best
8:45 Artichoke (time permitting/quick slice)
9:15 Either Donatella or Co.
10:30 Don Antonio

As you can see, this is literally almost a perfect loop- no backtracking, no extraneous travel time. This excludes Paulie's favorite slice, New Park, but geographically, I feel it's too much of an outlier. Kelly, I'm sorry, but your best quest has been betrayed by geography. The good news is that Barboncino is right next to the 2/3 subway line, which will take you to the Port Authority in time for your bus. Speaking of the Port Authority, Don Antonio is within walking distance, so ending up there should work out well for Norma and Steve.

I don't see reservations at Barboncino at 5:00 being too much of a problem nor 10:30 at Don Antonio (we should touch base with Roberto, just to see if he might be around). Franny's at 6:30- that could get tricky. Donatella or Co. at 9:15- possibly even trickier.

Adam, are you okay meeting us at Barboncino or would it help if we picked you up from somewhere?

Lastly, in order for us to do this trip by car, we've got to fit 10 people in 2 cars. 3 people in my back seat could get pretty cozy, and, although John might have a slightly larger back seat, it might get cozy there as well- not a lot of elbow room. Most of the trips are less than 10 minutes, with the max trip being 20 minutes, so if it is cramped, it won't be cramped for long.

Here's both journeys on Google Maps:

Port Authority to Staten Island

Pure Pizza Insanity

Thoughts?

pizzablogger · « **Reply #94 on:** February 26, 2012, 09:52:44 AM »

Lucali does not open until 6pm, unless Mark changed his hours recently. And I would recommend being at Lucali no later than 5:30pm on a Friday evening if you want a chance at tables during first seating (which you want given the party size).

My bus drops me off at 7th Ave & 28th Streets at 9:45am. That stop is literally on top of the 1 train, which I will take north to the Times Square stop at 7th & 41st and walk the block over to Port Authority. That should put me there right at 10:00 to 10:05. We'll have to coordinate where the exact pick up from the PO will be via private messaging.

Scott, this schedule seems as good as any.....maybe New Park could fill the hole where Lucali is? Although I did my schedule centered around getting to Totonno's at opening, as it can get crowded on a Friday afternoon. There may likely be a wait time arriving there around 1:30pm with a party our size....although with 10 people that is possible anywhere we go. We'll likely have to take multiple tables at several joints and play musical chairs so everyone gets a chance to chat with each other.

I should probably leave after L&B. The N train is only 2 blocks away and I can walk to catch the subway there and it will take about an hour to get back to Times Square and then walk two blocks to catch the bus home, maybe getting a quick regular slice and a square from NY Pizza Suprema if I make good time as my normal bus trip home parting goodbye.

Good stuff. --K

TXCraig1 · « **Reply #95 on:** February 26, 2012, 02:26:30 PM »

Gene and I will probably catch up with everyone at Nunzio's or Totonno's.

CL

JConk007 · « **Reply #96 on:** February 26, 2012, 09:40:25 PM »

Not to screw up a good plan I would have to meet around 12 noon ish wherever the crowd may be. chau how long are you here for ? The funnest part of the pizza tour we did last time was being in the great city of New York just being in there is very cool ! This excursion hits sateen island and brooklyn but minimal NYC as with Craig it's about being with everybody but I hope chau gets to experience NYC at it's finest .
Tha is for all the efforts !
John

Jackie Tran · « **Reply #97 on:** February 26, 2012, 09:51:20 PM »

John, I'm flying in on Thursday around 5-6pm. I will be having dinner with my wife and in-laws that evening, but am available all day Friday and Saturday. I'll be flying out on Sunday around 11am.

Chau

pizzablogger · « **Reply #98 on:** February 26, 2012, 10:06:46 PM »

Quote from: JConk007 on February 26, 2012, 09:40:25 PM

Not to screw up a good plan I would have to meet around 12 noon ish wherever the crowd may be. chau how long are you here for ? The funnest part of the pizza tour we did last time was being in the great city of New York just being in there is very cool ! This excursion hits sateen island and brooklyn but minimal NYC as with Craig it's about being with everybody but I hope chau gets to experience NYC at it's finest .
Tha is for all the efforts !
John

Brooklyn is the best part of NYC!

Jet_deck · « **Reply #99 on:** February 26, 2012, 10:55:22 PM »

I appreciate the effort that has been put forth to insure the ~~tour~~ expo is filled with pizza without haste or waste. Lemoncello shots for everyone!