A Gingerbread man walks into a bar with a parrot on his shoulder. Bartender asks “Where did you get that from?” Parrot says “The bakery next door.”

If you’re tired of getting shut out of the Garden City Library’s Gingerbread House making program but visions of sugar plums are still dancing through your head, we’ve got good news for you. Inside Garden City is excited to tell you that there is finally another {local} option. And it’s going to be the most bumpin’, pumpin’ Gingerbread House Party you’ve ever been to!

On Sunday, December 21st,  from 11am-2pm, bring your children to Capo Ristorante on Covert Ave, just one block south from La Bella Bakery and Maddy’s Toys. Capo will be set up with all the fixins’ for some serious Gingerbread House-Making. Children will not only build their own gingerbread house but they’ll also enjoy a pasta dish or one of Capo’s {ultra-delish} panini and a drink. Think candy canes, Christmas music and lots of holiday fun. $15 per child.

And since the adults don’t want to be shut out either, Capo is hosting a Gingerbread House Party for grown-ups! On Tuesday, December 16th from 7:30-10:30pm, enjoy your own Gingerbread House plus wine and tapas. $35 per person. A great idea for a girls night out (think of it as the holiday version of a paint night) or grab your significant other for something different to do this season.

Seating is limited and reservations are required so run, run as fast as you can… (womp womp)… . 

Capo Ristorante is located at 49 Covert Ave in Floral Park, between Salisbury and Marshell Aves. Call 516-216-5177 to make a reservation for either or both events.

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It’s that time again! Long Island Restaurant week is upon us and you don’t have to travel far to enjoy it. Great restaurants right in Garden City are offering awesome deals and specials on dinner! Beginning November 2nd and lasting through November 9th, here’s a run-down of all the participating restaurants in Garden City (plus a few just outside GC) and what they’re offering:



BK Sweeney’s Uptown Grille 516-746-3075. 636 Franklin Ave, GC. 

$27.95 for a three course meal. Their Old Fashioned Sauerbraten and Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream sounds delicious! Click here for the full menu. One exception- on Saturday the price fixed menu is only available from 4-7pm. 



Akbar Restaurant (516) 357-5163. 2 South St, GC

If you haven’t tried Akbar yet, they have delicious options on their menu such as Samosas and Chicken or Lamb Masala. See their full Restaurant Week menu here.



Calogero’s (516) 294-2922. 919 Franklin Ave, GC

Calogero’s has been a longtime GC fave but have you tried their pizza yet? It’s not to be missed… and neither are there Restaurant Week specials. Try their pan roasted fresh mozzarella appetizer with grilled tomatoes, arugula salad and yellow roasted peppers, then move onto the basil crusted salmon with roasted potatoes and fall vegetables for an entree followed up by a gelato ice cream sandwich- a chocolate chip ice cream sandwich made with hazelnut ice cream. Yum! Click here for their website but you’ll have to call for the Restaurant Week menu. 



Novita Wine Bar & Trattoria (516) 739-7660. 860 Franklin Ave, GC

Novita is offering a three course meal for $27.95 with lots of great options, like Lobster Sliders, Frutti di Mare Fra Diavolo, Rogatoni ala Vodka, Nutella Tiramisu, Zeppoli, Cannoli and more! Their special menu for Restaurant Week can be found here.



Polo Steakhouse at the Garden City Hotel (516) 877-9385. 45 Seventh St., GC

Three course prixe-fixe dinner menu for $27.95 per person with yummy choices such as filet mignon with steak fries and the most delicious chocolate ganache cake with warm chocolate sauce ever.  Click here for the menu.

Revel Restaurant & Bar 516-246-9111. 835 Franklin Ave, GC

Revel is offering a three course price fixe menu for $27.95 with lots of choices! Here are a few of their entree options: Ricotta Gnocchi, Seafood Fra Diavolo (+$5), Wild Alaskan King Salmon, Prime Angus Burger. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Find their menu here. 

Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas (516) 228-5400. The Gallery at Westbury, 1002 Old Country Road, GC.

Spuntino is offering five courses for only $27.95 per person! Risotto balls, Braised Wild Boar Bruschetta, Rocotta Cheescake, House-made Doughnuts are just a few of the yummy options! See their menu here.

Waterzooi (516) 877-2177. 850 Franklin Ave, GC.

Another fabulous three course menu for $27.95. Think Baked French Onion Soup, Lobster Bisque, Beer Braised Short Rib Sliders, Mussels prepared in a variety of ways like the more traditional Provencal or the more adventurous Lucifer (Buffalo Style), Filet of Sole, Bistro Burger and many other choices. Click here to see their Restaurant Week menu.

Here’s a few options outside of GC:

Park Place Restaurant & Bar (516) 775-9004. 41 Covert Ave, Floral Park.

Park Place is also offering a three course prix fixe for only $27.95. Some of their more interesting items include Fried Chicken and Waffles, Braised Short Rib Roll, Lobster BLT (+$6), Blackened Chicken Pasta and Funnel Oreos or a Belgian Waffle Sundae for dessert- among other things. Find their full Restaurant Week Menu here.


Eric’s Italian Bistro (516) 280-5675. 70 E. Old Country Rd, Mineola. 

Eric’s tempting menu options include Roasted Corn Chowder, Mussels with White Wine and Garlic, Vitello alla Marsala or Parmigiana, Chicken Scarpariello alla Eric, Roasted LI Duckling (+$7.95) and many more! Their Restaurant Week menu is featured here.

Long Island Restaurant Week is a great chance to try a new restaurant you’ve been thinking about or try a new dish from an old fave. Most importantly, it’s a great opportunity to support our local restaurants and have a fab meal at the same time. Sounds like a win win!

What started as a quest of two people to find the best pizza around town became a true “pizza sensation.” Thirteen pizzerias were invited to attend. Twelve judges were invited to taste. And the preparation was underway.

Pizzerias were notified of their nominations and provided with the contest rules. Judges were given instructions, tasting rules, an explanation of the scoring system and some tasting tips.

Thirteen pizzerias were asked to deliver a pie at 5pm in an unnamed, unmarked box to preserve the integrity of the “blind” tasting. The pie should be cut into 16 slices.

At time of delivery, pizzas were accepted and assigned a random alphabetical letter. Toothpicks with printed letters were then placed into each slice of each pie to prevent confusion of pizza slices once they were removed from the box. Names on the boxes (if visible) were quickly covered.

Before the day of the Pizza Showdown arrived, judges were educated on the scoring system and its categories (crust, sauce, cheese and overall). They were also provided with rules such as- Each pizza must be tasted at least once and labeled toothpicks must not be removed to avoid confusing the pizzas. Lastly, the judges were advised to be decisive and consistent, keep scores private, and most importantly- arrive hungry but not ravenous so as not to confuse really liking something with being overly hungry.

The event went forward with lots of energy and spirit. The judges were dedicated and took their job quite seriously. The pizzerias were equally enthusiactic- some more confident than others (“Just give us the prize; don’t bother having the contest”) but all in good fun. And they wanted to Bring It. The first annual Inside Garden City 2014 Pizza Showdown was ON.

Pizzas began arriving at 4:50 (Plum Tomatoes, Umberto’s GC South, Avellino’s). Some arrived exactly on the nose at 5:00 (Rustica and Louie’s). A few arrived at 5:05 (Grimaldi’s, Gino’s). Calagero’s arrived late (5:30)… or on second thought… could that have been a clever strategy to show up with a hot pie just as the others had gone cold? On the topic of strategy, Garden City Pizza sent appetizers along with their pie. Nice touch but that did not weigh into the competition. 

The delivery men enthusiastically cheered on their own pies (“This is your winner” or “I’ve got the best pizza right here!”). Gotta love the enthusiasm. I was impressed that Rustica cleverly folded their pizza box inside out to successfully hide their name. No one else had thought of that (even us). Big kudos to them for thinking “outside the box”. Womp womp.

There was no dilly-dallying. As soon as the pies were randomly labeled, tasting began quickly in an effort to eat them hot. And taste we did. The room was quiet and the tone was serious. The judges (all local GC residents btw) took their work seriously. There was tasting, palate cleansing (with beer, wine and water), re-tasting, note-taking and very little talking. This was serious business and the judges obviously wanted to do their best.

At the conclusion, scores were privately and carefully tallied, checked and rechecked. The pizzerias and their corresponding random alphabetical letters were then revealed. Until this point, the judges had been completely unaware of the contestants.

RESULTS:

Avellino’s won BEST OVERALL PIZZA. Second place went to Rustica and third place went to Grimaldi’s. Congratulations to all of the winners!

The winners of the subcategories were as follows:
The winner of best crust was Grimaldi’s, just slightly ahead of Avellino’s.
The winner of best sauce was Plum Tomatoes, narrowly beating Rustica.
The winner of best cheese was a tie between Calagero’s and Grimaldi’s.

A number of pizzerias were neck-and-neck in this competition. For instance, it was a tight race for best sauce with Plum Tomatoes, Rustica, Avellino’s and Grimaldi’s (in that order) all vying for the number one spot. And while Grimaldi’s won tops for crust, Avellino’s was a very close second, with Calagero’s, Plum Tomatoes and Gino’s nipping closely at their heels. In fact, Calagero’s, Plum Tomatoes and Gino’s all tied for third place in crust. But when it came to cheese, Calagero’s and Grimaldi’s blew the competition away. However, it was Avellino’s that gave the most solid performance throughout and pulled ahead for good down the stretch.

One could speculate as to why four of the thirteen pizzerias were no-shows on the day of the competition: Giaccone’s of Mineola, Umberto’s of NHP, V.I.Pizza and Gallery Pizza both of GC. Perhaps they didn’t want to accept the challenge because they didn’t think that their pie would win, perhaps they simply forgot, or perhaps they chose to rest on their laurels (ahem, you know who you are). Whatever the reason, they were missed. Hey guys- there’s always next year.

Speaking of, Inside Garden City will be having the second Pizza Showdown next year. We’ll meet again and who knows what may happen. Will Avellino’s defend the title? Will another dedicated pizzeria take what they learned from these results, tweak their pie and steal the red sauce colored belt? Will a dark horse emerge to prominence? Time will tell. Until then, thank you to all of the pizzerias who enthusiastically brought their A game and thank you to the judges who selflessly abandoned their diets and hit the gym double duty.

Please support all of the contestants and remember- even bad pizza is good pizza!

Here’s the contact info for all of the participants:

Avellino’s- 279 Nassau Blvd, GC South. (516) 307-1313
Rustica- 1 Nassau Blvd, GC South. (516) 292-2197
Grimaldi’s- 980 Franklin Ave, GC. (516) 294-6565
Calagero’s- 919 Franklin Ave, GC. (516) 294-2922
Plum Tomatoes- 228 Old Country Rd. Mineola. (516) 248-6390
Gino’s- 1113 Jericho Tpke, New Hyde Park (516) 488-1366
Louie’s- 39 Old Country Rd, Carle Place. (516) 248-2676
Umberto’s GC South- 361 Nassau Blvd, GC (516) 481-1279
Garden City Pizza- 670 Franklin Ave, GC (516) 294-2929

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