We’ve been a bit absent lately – we hosted Thanksgiving at our apartment and cooked up a storm, and we’ll be putting some of those recipes here soon. But in the mean time, we wanted to share a quick post of two great places we’ve enjoyed recently! These spots are both in Brooklyn and both serve up pizza, but they’re two pretty different atmospheres where you can enjoy pies and slices. We had a fun time going to both places, so read ahead to see where exactly we went!

First up, right near the Brooklyn Bridge in Dumbo is Juliana’s. This place has a pretty storied history: while it’s only been around for about 30 years, it was started by a chef whose family played a part in two other famous pizza spots in New York, Grimaldi’s and Lombardi’s. With those bona fides, this is some seriously legit pizza that lots of people are eager to try, so if you go be prepared to wait in line outside for 30 minutes or more to get a table. With all that being said, we really enjoyed the pie we got there – just this simple margherita.

And if you want to travel a little bit, you can head deep into Brooklyn to Pizza Wagon in Bay Ridge. This spot is an old-school slice joint, where you order at the counter and then squeeze into a both to eat. We shared two different slices there – this plain cheese one …

… and this cheese Sicilian slice.

These were two fun spots to go to while exploring around Brooklyn – Juliana’s is a very popular place where you can enjoy some pizza history and sit down for some pies. Pizza Wagon, meanwhile, is definitely off the beaten path, but it’s a nice neighborhood spot that does some simple and classic slices, and despite its location and small size it’s been recognized for serving up some of the best pizza in the country. It’s a nice contrast to get to both spots, and they both go to show you that in New York you can find a nice diversity of food, even from the same cuisine, and eat great things from all different kinds of places.

Where We Ate: Refried Beans & Seis Vecinos

As we approach the holiday season and you may have some visitors coming into town, we wanted to highlight some more of our restaurant recommendations around New York. Today we’re featuring two places that are a bit off the beaten path – meaning you’ll probably have to do some traveling to get to them – but we think they’re hidden gems within each of their neighborhoods. What ties these places together is that they both serve up Central American cuisine and let you explore lots of different dishes from that part of the world. So read on if you’re curious, but be aware that we feature some images of meat here.

First up, at the top of a hill in Washington Heights is Refried Beans, a small neighborhood spot with a menu of classic Mexican dishes. We’ve found that there’s really not a whole lot of sit-down authentic Mexican restaurants in New York, so this was nice to find. There’s also plenty of vegetarian options, so Miriam got a chile relleno stuffed with vegetables, plus rice and beans on the side.

And Cyril had one of their specials, which Refried Beans was cooking up because it was the weekend of Mexican Independence Day: this burrito birria, stuffed with skirt steak, veggies, rice, chiles and beans, topped with with red and green salsa and served with a side of birria sauce.

And if you head over to the South Bronx, you’ll find Seis Vecinos. The name – which translates to “six neighbors” in English – comes from the fact that they offer a wide array of dishes from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Of course we had to try a bunch of different things while we were there, starting with some pupusas – we got one stuffed with jalapeños and cheese and one with beans and cheese.

We also shared some flautas de queso, topped with tomatoes, lettuce, beans and sour cream.

Then for entrees, Miriam got this fat burrito vegetariano, which has vegetables, rice, beans and cheese inside.

And Cyril had the very impressive pescado frito, made from a whole fish that’s fried and then served on top of tajadas – fried plantain slices.

These two places might not be in centrally located areas of New York, but we’re glad we found them and we think they’re both worth the trip to get to. Refried Beans is a nice, friendly spot serving up Mexican comfort food, if that’s what you’re craving – and if you want to be a little more adventurous and try some new things, Seis Vecinos has a pretty expansive menu that lets you sample Mexican food alongside lesser-known dishes from several different Central American countries. We had fun going to both spots, and we hope you take the opportunity to get out to new neighborhoods and try some local places with delicious things to eat!

Where We Ate: Five Acres & Alligator Pear

If you’re looking for some good restaurant recommendations here in New York, you’re in the right spot because we love sharing our local favorites! Every week we get out and try some new places, and this week we want to share two restaurants we went to recently that we thought were really cool! Both of these are new spots, and they’re both in Midtown Manhattan, and they serve up some pretty interesting and unexpected menus. Best of all, we were able to eat entirely vegetarian at each place, so check them out here.

First up was Five Acres, which is inside Rockefeller Center near the skating rink. Everything here is elevated comfort food – you can get burgers, wings, spinach and artichoke dip, but we decided to start with a bowl of their roasted autumn squash soup, topped with brown butter, sage, and chestnut cream.

Plus we also shared the kale spinach salad, made with avocado, almonds and a lime vinaigrette dressing.

Then we split two entrees – first, this baked rigatoni, made with ricotta and a spicy vodka sauce.

And then the wild mushroom risotto, cooked with herbs, butter and hazelnuts.

If you want to head about a mile south from Rockefeller Center, you’ll find Alligator Pear, which is also very new. It serves up New Orleans-style food, so the menu mixes a lot of Cajun and Creole flavors into their dishes. We decided to split a few different things there – first, a loaf of their cornbread, served with sweet brown butter.

Also these charred carrots, glazed with a sweet pepper sauce and served with pecans and a seasoned cream cheese dip.

And finally, the gnocchi in a cheese, basil and cherry tomato sauce.

We’re glad we discovered both of these places, because they’re really standouts in the area. Midtown Manhattan restaurants have a bit of a reputation for being mediocre and boring, but these two spots definitely get creative. Louisiana food isn’t all that common here, so finding an entire restaurant dedicated to that cuisine is really a fun treat – while Five Acres does classic American dishes very well and lets you try a small variety of different things. These two spots are in pretty convenient locations, so they’re great options if you want some good food and don’t want to travel to far afield in the city.

Where We Ate: Caffe Corretto & Piccolo Angolo

After a bit of a busy time for us, we’re back and we want to share with you two new spots we recently enjoyed!  The restaurants we’re featuring today have a lot in common:  they’re both in cozy and tucked away spaces, they both serve up Italian food, and they’re also just a mile and a half from each other in Manhattan.  And best of all, we were able to enjoy some great, vegetarian-friendly dishes at both spots.  We’ll let you know here where we visited and what we enjoyed at each restaurant – but take note that there are some images of meat here.

The first place we went was Piccolo Angolo, in the West Village.  Unlike many of the other restaurants in the area, this isn’t a trendy or buzzy spot – it’s just a family-run old school place serving up some excellent pastas and other dishes.  We started our meal there with the asparagus parmigiana – it’s baked asparagus stalks topped with red sauce and Parmesan cheese.

For pastas, Miriam got the fiocchi de pere, stuffed with four cheeses and candied pears, all in a brown butter and sage sauce.

While Cyril had the gnocchi bolognese, with a sauce made from tomatoes, beef and Parmesan.

And we also split an order of the eggplant parm.

Now if you want to head directly across the island and over to the East Village, you’ll find Caffe Corretto – it’s actually closed temporarily right now, but we were able to go a few months ago and really liked it, so be sure to check it out when it reopens.  We started there with what turned out to be one of the best appetizers we’ve ever had:  this burrata, which is stuffed with pesto and comes served on a piece of focaccia topped with tomato sauce.

Then Miriam got the pappardelle, in a vodka sauce …

… and Cyril once again had some gnocchi, this time in an amatriciana sauce made with tomatoes, onions and bacon.

As you may have noticed, Italian is one of our favorite cuisines, so we’re always happy to find some more good Italian restaurants in New York.  Piccolo Angolo was a fun place to get some hearty and classic dishes, while Caffe Corretto let us try two fun pasta dishes and an amazing treat of burrata and pesto.  There’s so many Italian restaurants in the city, and these two spots are gems spread across Greenwich Village – you can go to Piccolo Angolo now and Caffe Corretto when it opens again, and we’re sure you’ll enjoy whatever you get at each place.

Where We Ate: The Best Pizza in Chicago

Another one of the trips we did this summer was to Chicago, and we had a lot of fun in the area:  we visited Lake Michigan to see the dunes in Indiana and do a tour of a few local wineries, and we also took one of the famous architecture tours on a boat floating down the Chicago River.  But of course while we were there we also tried a bunch of food – namely pizza, as Chicago is famous for having it’s own home-grown version.  Here we’ll show you all the pizzerias we had a chance to visit, and what we got at each spot – and as it happens, all of this delicious food is vegetarian!

The very first place we visited was Pizano’s, which has four locations around Chicago.  All of them are open for carryout and delivery until 1am or later, which was perfect after our flight into the city wgot  delayed.  They serve up a classic deep dish, so we got one with green peppers and garlic.

Also near our hotel was the original Pizzeria Uno, so of course we had to go to the place that claims to have invented deep dish, and which spawned a whole nationwide chain of pizzerias.  There we got their spinoccoli, made with spinach and broccoli.

We also headed out to Burt’s Place in Morton Grove – which is really a subrub of Chicago, but it’s close to the city limits so we’ll still count it.  Burt’s Place is just a few blocks from a Metra station, so it was easy to hop on a train and visit.  Our pizza there was this one, with mixed bell peppers and garlic.

Our favorite deep dish pizza came from Gino’s East, which has three locations in Illinois plus two in other states and one in Singapore.  We went with a plain cheese topped with garlic, and we loved this one best because the crust was just the right amount of crispy and buttery and the tomato sauce was the perfect flavor – slightly sweet and a little chunky.

But deep dish isn’t the only good pizza in town:  there are several places that serve up other excellent styles of pie.  For example, Coalfire (which has two locations in the city), makes a good Neapolitan pizza – this is their margherita, with Calabrian chiles added on top.

We also tried some Neopolitan style at Spacca Napoli – this is their cinque formaggi, made with fior di latte, gorgonzola, fontina, caciocavallo and pecorino.

Later we hit up two spots that serve up thin tavern pies:  first Falco’s, which has one location in the city and two in the Chicago suburbs.  This is their cheese pizza with jalapeño on top.

Then Vito & Nick’s, where the pizzas are super thin, so we got two.  Here’s their plain cheese pie …

… and here is a cheese topped with giardiniera, which is a pretty common topping in Chicago – it’s made from pickled vegetables marinated in olive oil.

And finally, one place that really surprised us was Piece Brewery, which offers not just beer but also New Haven-style pizzas.  We decided to go all in on that theme and got a red pizza with hot cherry peppers on top.

That was definitely a lot of pizza – to be fair, we were in Chicago for four days so we were able to spread it all out.  We were very strategic in planning routes to hit up all these pizza places, so we really got a lot in and had the chance to sample a ton of different pizzas.  Of course we were looking forward to deep dish, and Gino’s really stood out to us there – but we were pleasantly surprised by the tavern pies we got, and enjoyed the Neopolitan pizzas, and we honestly never thought we’d encounter New Haven-style pizza outside of Connecticut.  It was fun traveling all around for these pies, and combined with the other activities that we did this was a fun way to spend a long summer weekend.