Grand Street Mozzarella Taste Test

I love walking down the north side of Grand Street between Mulberry and Mott, the only block of Manhattan's Little Italy that seems to retain some authenticity and practical application, vis a vis good food. Alleva Dairy, Piemonte's Ravioli, Di Palo Fine Foods—I love these old shops.

Alleva and Di Palo's (below) are both touted for their mozzarella. I've bought cheese from both places on occasion, but never at the same time, and never really sat down and chose a favorite.

So, last Saturday I stopped by both Alleva and Di Palo's and bought a lump of fresh house-made mozzarella from both stores. (With a side trip to purchase some broccoli rabe ravioli from Piemonte.) It took a minute at tiny Alleva. It took about a half hour at large, crowded, take-a-ticket Di Palo's. Both cheeses were made fresh that day; I asked.

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Ho Ho Florist

Ho Ho Florist is an old school Chinatown business on the corner of Hester and Elizabeth. By the looks of the business—note the green-painted wooden cornice—things haven't changed here in decades.

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Choose

On the Lower East Side.

Suffolk Theatre to Be Restored

Saw this grand old movie theatre on a recent drive through Riverhead, on the North Fork of Long Island.

The Suffolk Theatre was built by R. Thomas Short and opened on December 30, 1933 and closed in 1987. For a time, it was threatened with destruction. But in 1994, the town of Riverhead has spent about $1 million to purchase the Art Deco theatre and in 2001 restored its roof, marquee, and front facade. It still looks in good shape, but it's not in use. The long delayed restoration of the theatre inside apparently began in August 2010. It will be a performing arts stage and a movie theatre. 

It has one of the most splendid marquees I've ever seen. 

Pop-Up Soup In Park Slope

Last summer, a friend of mine suggested, as a way to stave off depression while writing this blog, that I rename is "Found City" and write instead about great new things in New York, rather than the great old things New York was losing.

Well, I'm not changing the name of the blog, or it's mission. But he had a point. Not everything old was good. And not everything new is bad. I never insisted on any notion of the kind, though many have assumed my thoughts went along those lines.

So, here's the Soup Bowl. Something new and good. It's a pop-up store, temporary taking the place of Uncle Louie G's ice cream. It opened this month and will only be around until Louie G's returns in the spring. But I hope they stick around longer. It's a good place, and the owner, Richard Gussoff, is terribly friendly and earnest. He told me he gets up early every morning to go to the City's various greenmarkets to get the ingredients for his soups. Selections change every day, and can include such interesting things as Squash Lobster Bisque and Baby Carrot Asparagus. Prices are much more reasonable than chains like Hale and Hearty.

Soup Bowl is at 321 Seventh Avenue, near the F train stop.

Ray, the King of Beauty

I don't look for authenticity in Times Square much anymore. Maybe that's why I've never gone inside Ray's Beauty Supply on Eighth Avenue, despite it's enticing claim to be "The King of Beauty." My mistake. Turns out it's not a run-of-the-mill drug store, but equipped with one of the most eccentrically complete stocks of beauty and bathrooms supplies in town—more than 10,000 different items—most at good prices. They have your regular shampoos, creams, combs, curling irons and hair dryers, but also the fancy schmancy, serious stuff you see at hair salons. They seem to be fairly renowned for their hairdryer selection, and also do a fair trade in wigs.  They even repair hairdryers, which is odd in this day and age.

The shop itself is a curious in the way old New York shops are. (Ray has been around for 55 years.) There's an old barber chair just inside the door. There's a flashy neon sign inside. The staff are obviously lifers and have that kind of take-it-or-leave-it attitude. And then there's this sign:

Local Wines

Saw this tiny, cement store in Riverhead, Long Island, and like it in so many ways.

A Visit to Souvlaki House

The Souvlaki House has been on Lawrence Street, just off grubby old Fulton Mall, for 40 years. This probably makes it one of the few old restaurants in the area. Eateries don't last long in Darwinian downtown Brooklyn. The only exception for many years was Gage & Tollner. And that finally bit the dust, as we all bitterly know.

Souvlaki House is hardly in the same league as Gage & Tollner. But it does what it does with a certain bygone charm. It's run by a father and son who are always behind the counter. The father, white-haired, mans the spinning cylinder of gyro meat, tenderly carving off slices into his special, dustpan-like utensil as they are ordered.

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Greenpoint Donuts in Carroll Gardens

I don't like donuts in general. But I love Peter Pan Donuts. Unfortunately, I only eat the a couple times a year, whenever I happen to be in Greenpoint during the day and can visit the landmark bakery. So I was happy to find out the Brooklyn Farmacy in Carroll Gardens, near where I live, will start carrying the donuts. It's a stroke of genius. Wonder shy no one thought of it before. (Oh, by the way, Cobble Hill Blog, the Farmacy is in Carroll Gardens. DeGraw is the dividing line between the neighborhoods.)

America's Largest TGI Friday's

They boast about it.

In Times Square.