The Crust, Naples, Florida

Pizza with tomato sauce, provolone cheese and crumbled italian sausage

I'm a sucker for pizza.  What's not to love about bread and cheese, right?   If you've read my earlier posts, you all know that I'm particularly wedded to a thin crust.  I'm sure my fellow Chicagoans are in disbelief.  After all, my beloved birthplace is the home of the deep dish.  But I just never got used to the gummy crust at the bottom of a Chi-town pie.  Nope.  For me it's crispy cracker crust all the way. That is exactly what The Crust promises.  So, ever on a search for the perfect pizza, the fam and I made our way to the Pavillion shopping center in North Naples during the pizzeria's opening week.  I know I was taking a risk by going on the restaurant's fourth night of operation.  I mean, I hadn't given them a chance yet to work the kinks out.  But curiosity got the best of me ... and I'm glad that it did.

The Crust definitely delivers exactly what it promises.  The Crust serves thin-crusted, midwest style pizza, cut into "party size" squares.  While other pizzerias tout their sauces, the Crust touts ... well, their crust.  The name says it all.  "Crispy on the bottom, fluffy in the middle ..."  The Crust's pizza crust is just as described on their webpage.  And just to prove it, I had to take a pic.

Now that is crisp!  And I'm not the only one that thinks so.  My husband, Italian by heritage and upbringing, is pretty discerning when it comes to pizza crust.  His family is from "just the other side" of the GW Bridge and he's grown up with more than his fair share of New York style pizza.  He doesn't let a  poorly cooked crust past his lips without vocal criticism.  I was nervous bringing him to the Crust without first sampling it myself.  And, to my great relief, it only took one bite for him to succumb to the crust of the Crust.  (Yes, I meant to say that!)

What I loved:  You mean besides that thin and crispy crust?  The options.  While the Crust offers a few gourmet pizza combinations, I was drawn to the Crust for its "make your own pizza" option.  I'm not just talking about the ability to select from a variety of toppings.  I'm talking about the ability to also choose the crust (traditional or gluten free), the sauce and the cheese.  Now that my son is on a mandatory low sodium, low protein diet, the ability to customize our pizza as much as possible is key.  I count this as a big plus for all of you who are on doctor prescribed diets.  The Crust gives you the option of selecting between traditional tomato sauce, pesto or olive oil.  And the latter is ideal for those who are told to keep sodium to a minimum.  So, for my son, we opted for an olive oil coated crust.  I myself stuck with good ol' tomato.  Both were good.

As for the cheese, here the Crust also deviates from the norm.  The Crust's menu pizzas are all topped with provolone cheese instead of the usual mozzarella.  And although you can select a different cheese,  mozzarella is not an option.  I'm not sure why, but I'm not sure I care.  The provolone tasted just as good to me.  I didn't even miss the mozz.  Call it blasphemous if you want, but I call it tasty.

Even better was the service.  For an opening week, I found the staff to be much more than adequate.  Our server, Calesta, was prompt and courteous, frequently checking on us but not so much as to be hovering.   The manager on duty also took a moment to check on us and to converse with neighboring diners.  We sat next to the bar/kitchen but didn't find the activity around us to be intrusive.  And we enjoyed the decor that pairs black and white photos of Old Hollywood with rustic wood tables and industrial elements.  I personally loved the hooks underneath the bar.  Obviously whoever thought up that one thinks just like a woman.  

What I Didn't Love:  Umm ... I'm still thinking on this one.  I've read a few other reviews on Yelp that weren't as sold on the Crust.  Perhaps I just have different taste.  Perhaps I was just as pleased as punch about the customization options.  Perhaps I fared much better going on day four post-opening than those who went to the soft opening.  I certainly mind less than others that this eatery seems to cater to a more "upscale" Mercato kind of crowd.

How much we spent:  ($$)  For our party of four we ordered two custom pizzas, one with provolone and olive oil and one with provolone, tomato sauce and crumbled italian sausage.  We also ordered four sodas.  Our total bill was $48, which included a generous 20% tip.

My rating:  (4 spoons)  I haven't had a pizza I liked this much since my visit to The Blue Moose in Colorado.  The fact that my better half likes it too must mean that there is promise in this pizza.

Before you go, don't forget to check out Anna's Mini Review.  She's got a good pic of our olive oil pizza.  :-)

Food & Thought, Naples, Florida

If you've been following along with my blog, you know that I have a penchant for farm to table restaurants.  And now that I've made a resolution to cut out processed foods, I'm in greater need to find good all natural/organic purveyors.  This Presidents' Day, the kids and I took a trip to the Naples Botanical Garden to enjoy the installation of the Lego sculpture exhibit.  But before we could take in the sights, lunch was definitely on the agenda.  In a world dominated by fast food options, finding a fresh and healthy lunch option pleasing to younger palates is a daunting challenge.  I think I could count on one hand the available options in our town.  But lucky for me today, our local Panera Bread is in the same shopping plaza as a local gem, Food & Thought.  I was introduced to this organic market and eatery by a friend but had not been back in quite a long time.  I had intended to bring the kids to the well-known chain restaurant but was pleasantly reminded of Food & Thought as soon as I drove into the plaza.  So, today was the day for a return trip.

Fronted by a full organic market, Food & Thought serves breakfast, lunch and dinner from a kitchen counter in the back.  There are some seating options indoors but the best spot to dine is outdoors, especially in pleasantly cool and sunny weather.   Outdoor seating is plentiful and includes wooden tables and benches built around grown trees that provide plenty of shade on a hot day.  Fruits and vegetables in carts along the windows and trees and plants for sale provide natural decoration.

Food & Thought offers various healthy sandwich options, including chicken salad, egg salad and tuna salad.  Hummus is also available for those looking for a vegetarian/vegan option.  Salads and soups are also available.  Those looking for more substance can order entrees such as rotisserie chicken and salmon, each for $6.95.  Entree sides, like red potatoes, brown rice and baked plantains, are also available for $1.95 each.  Today, the kids and I split a rotisserie chicken quarter, red potatoes and a "cup" of vegetable soup.  The chicken was generously seasoned and moist.  My clear favorite, the red potatoes, were slightly mashed and properly salted.  The vegetable soup, although more mildly spiced, was generously stocked with green beans, corn, carrots, onions and potatoes.   The kids and I finished every bite, providing that healthy and flavorful can exist in the same realm.

How much I spent:  $  Our lunch, along with three bottled teas, cost $18 with tax included.  Not bad!

My rating:  3 1/2 spoons.  If you are looking for a good healthy lunch that you can eat without guilt, Food & Thought definitely meets the grade.  Certainly a good post-New Year option if you are sticking to your resolutions!

Doughnut Plant, New York, New York

Cashew and orange blossom doughseed with ginger peach tea

Cake or yeast?  Doughnut afficianados have long debated which type of doughnut reigns supreme.  Years ago I decided that yeast doughnuts are the only doughnuts that I love.  I don't know what it is about cake doughnuts that just doesn't appeal to me.  Okay, I do know.  All the cake doughnuts I've ever had are typically dense and dry.  Now how can that hold up against the light and fluffy yeast doughnut?  It just can't!  Well, that was until I went to Doughnut Plant.  I admit that I never thought I could ever love a cake doughnut but Doughnut Plant changed that forever.  They prove that a cake doughnut can taste just as a light and fluffy as any yeast doughnut.  That dense, hard as a rock cake doughnut just doesn't exist at Doughnut Plant.  At this popular NYC sweet shop, they are exactly what they are supposed to be:  yummy cakes shaped into round treats with that ubiquitous hole in the center.

Making my ginger peach tea!

And Doughnut Plant's doughnuts are more than just treats, they are epicurean art.  The menu offers a unique array of flavors, some seasonal and some year-long favorites, some fruity, some nutty and some very chocolately.  Alongside the traditional orbital shape, Doughnut Plant also offers square-shaped doughnuts and doughseeds (larger than your traditional doughnut hole) filled with delicious jams and creams.  For my tasting plate, I chose a "safe" tres leches cake doughnut, a vanilla bean and blackberry jam filled square doughnut and a cashew and orange blossom doughseed.   Each and every one of these were delicious.  All were sweet in that not-so-overwhelming way.  Yes, even that cake doughnut that I frankly saved for last and didn't even bite into until TWO days later.  (Okay, I shouldn't have waited so long to sink my teeth into this one.  I took it to go and admit I was setting up that cake doughnut for certain failure.  But these doughnuts keep amazingly well!  I now wonder how much better - if that is possible - it would have been had I bit into it upon order.  Oh cake doughnut I will never do you wrong again.)  And the ginger peach tea was just the right kind of palate cleanser.

Right to left:  tres leches cake doughnut, cashew and orange blossom doughseed
and vanilla bean & blackberry jam filled square doughnut

Those yummy doughnuts aside, Doughnut Plant is a fun eclectic little shop with a wall of brightly colored doughnut shaped pillows.  The staff are friendly and were more than willing to be the subject of my blog photos.  The other patrons were just like me, curious sweet treat lovers in search of the popular doughy goodness, some from nearby Westchester and the others from father away Myrtle Beach, SC.  We had a great time comparing notes and telling each other how much we loved these goodies.  When I come back, I won't be surprised if I find those ladies there again.  Doughnut Plant made a lot of new fans that day!

How much I spent:  My three doughnuts and ginger peach tea cost me $12.  Not bad.  Although next time I suspect I'll be walking out with a whole dozen!

My overall rating:  Heck, I'm giving this 5 spoons.  I love doughnuts and I can guarantee that I will be coming back to Doughnut Plant each and every time I go to NYC.  And with two locations (one near the East Village near Grand and Essex) and the other in Chelsea (on 23rd Street near 7th Ave.), I suspect I'll be able to make two stops in one day!


Check out Doughnut Plant on Urbanspoon!

Eataly, New York, New York

Recently, I took a trip to New York City.  While I really wanted to eat my way through the city, I'm a petite gal and I can only pack away so much food.  It's just a shame because there is so much good food in the City.  But, things are what they are and if I wanted to appreciate all of the good food planned for my day, I needed to take some breaks between bites.  On the suggestion of a good friend and fellow foodie, I scheduled some "food wanderings" in between dining venues.  On the advice of my good friend, I wandered my way from the Doughnut Plant (review to come soon) in the direction of Eataly, an Italian food and dining venue right in the Flatiron District in Midtown Manhattan.  This was the perfect spot for a respite between doughnuts and British gastropub fare.  And a great spot to pick up Italian imported arabica coffee beans for my Sicilian husband and European chocolates for my two kids.  Situated on famous Fifth Avenue, near the corner at 23rd Street, this upscale food market has everything one would need to satisfy an Italian food craving:  plump ripe vegetables and fruits, house made pasta, olives and oils, fresh baked bread, chocolates, coffee, salumi and other cured meats, hard and soft cheeses, Italian sweets and more.  And if you are an out of towner like me, unable to fill up on those perishable goods that won't survive the flight home, you can partake at eleven different cafes and restaurants for big or small bites, whatever your pleasure, all in the midst of this bustling market.  I had only thirty minutes to take it all in before heading to lunch at the Spotted Pig, but it was thirty minutes very well spent.  But don't think that Eataly is a place you can or should just quickly cruise through.  There is so much here to see and enjoy and a half hour is definitely not enough to completely appreciate all that this upscale Italian market has to offer.  It's too bad I didn't have more time.  I'm definitely going to allocate a couple of hours to this amazing marketplace the next time I have a chance to visit the Big Apple.  For now, I'm just going to have to enjoy these pics.  Hope you do too!

Cheese, cheese and more cheese!

Fresh fruit and veggies, good enough to eat right off the cart

They had me a prosciutto

Making the pasta ....

and baking the bread.  

World Bakery & Cafeteria, Naples, Florida

The World Bakery & Cafeteria in Naples, Florida is located in a small strip mall on Pine Ridge Road, just west of the corner at CR 951.  The "cafeteria" moniker is definitely appropriate.  This eatery isn't glamorous.  The service takes some getting used to.  The food presentation isn't pretty.    But if you can look - or rather taste - past all of that, the World Bakery & Cafeteria offers a good "bang for your buck" Cuban-style lunch that is worth trying.  The traditional Cuban fare will appeal to any city transplant longing for a taste of their own little Havana.

When you first walk into World Bakery, you can't help but notice the bakery and deli style food cases.  This is no sit down eatery with menus.  In this place, customers walk right up to the food cases to order what they want.  Now, don't be surprised if you have to wait a bit.  Sometimes, it takes a few minutes for someone to get around to you, not necessarily because its busy in there but just because the people behind the counter work at their own pace.  But fortunately you won't have to wait too long.  Savory and sweet items are all available for order although you may have to resort to pointing and broken Spanish to place your order.  Not everyone who works here speaks fluent English.  But thankfully my Filipino makes me proficient enough in conversational Spanish to get by.  And, if you don't know Spanish, don't worry.  The servers there will eventually figure out exactly what you want or a regular might jump in and help you out.  Once your order is filled, they pack it all up in a plastic grocery bag and hand it to you with a slip of paper.  My first day there I had no idea what to do with that slip of paper.  All I knew is that I wanted to pay for my meal.  I literally waited to observe and mimic someone who appeared to be a regular.  Thanks to him, I now know that you are supposed to bring your little slip to a register at the far end of the pastry counter, although you may need to let them know you're ready to check out.  And there is a digital read out on the register just in case you are rusty with your Spanish numbers.

Ordering at World Bakery may not be the easiest experience (at least initially) but the eating goes much better.  Even though there are a limited number of tables for in-restaurant dining, I suspect most of World Bakery's patrons take their orders to go.  I opted to do the same since my home is less than a mile down the road.  For lunch today, I ordered a roasted leg of chicken and ox tails, along with generous sides of yellow rice and sweet fried plantains, all to go.  Because World Bakery has a large selection of sweets, I also ordered several of those to go:  two types of flan, a slice of vanilla cake with blue frosting (specifically requested by my Anna), a puff pastry ("pastel") filled with guava paste and a Cuban cake soaked in simple syrup.

What I loved:  The ox tails were really great.  Although still a little gelatinous and fatty in places, the ox tail was braised all the way and so fork tender.  The braising liquid flavored with Spanish olives gave a great savory taste to the meat.  I appreciated that the server spooned some of that flavorful braising liquid over my yellow rice and took care to include a few Spanish olives to my box.  The plantains were nicely fried and well caramelized.  Sweet but still a bit firm, just the way I like them.  And because the serving of rice is so ample, my lunch was also very filing.

Of all the desserts, the flans were the winners.  If you love egg custards, World Bakery can oblige.  They have several types of flan although its not readily apparent how they are all different.  Thankfully being Filipino means I know a little something about flan.  I ordered two types.  The first was firm, cut into a slice that could be hand held.  Lightly sweet and thick and creamy in texture, it's clear that this flan is made with a lot of egg yolk.  The other, tocinillo flan, has thin layers of caramel on the top and the bottom and is thus a little sweeter than its cousin.  This flan though is lighter in texture and is very reminiscent of the Filipino flan I grew up with.  Next time I'll bring my parents and order the tocinillo.  I'm sure my dad will thank me for it.

What I didn't love:  Unfortunately, not all of those desserts hit the spot.  I did not love the simple syrup infused cake.  It looked really good in the case, but it just didn't taste so good in my mouth.  The syrup was nice and light, subtlety sweet, but the cake otherwise had no flavor.  In fact, but for all the moisture from the syrup, I would have thought the cake was dry.  Maybe it's supposed to be that way.  I have no idea.  I just know it's not to my liking.

As an Asian, I'm pretty discerning when it comes to rice.  The yellow rice at World Bakery is nicely seasoned and contains bits of vegetable making the rice a nice stand-alone dish if you so desire.  But this rice is little dry to the taste.  Maybe because I didn't pick up my lunch order until 1 p.m. and the tray may have been in the case for an hour.  Maybe because I just prefer a very sticky rice.  It's not bad.  Just not my favorite.

Ox tails with yellow rice and sweet plantains

How much I spent:  ($)  For lunch for me and my two kids, I spent $15.   The sides are very generous so I ordered two meals for the three of us to share.   Since we ordered our meals to go, I didn't purchase any drinks.  I spent $6 for all of the sweets, although normally I would have not bought so many.  In fact, I probably would not have bought any since we were only purchasing lunch.  I bought a selection of five only for the purpose of this review.  Of course, next time I will have to take home some tocinillo.

My overall rating:  3 spoons.  World Bakery & Cafeteria serves up a good lunch for a good price, especially if you are looking to pick up something relatively quick to go.  For those living nearby, this eatery could come in handy as a weekend or dinner solution when you're not up for cooking.  Or when you need to satisfy your sweet tooth.