If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may or may not have noticed a slow moving shift. A shift in the type of establishments I frequent, and write about. Gone are the days of the almost weekly expensive meals. Hooray fast-casual! There was a time when I would enthusiastically read the power rankings and hot lists on a regular basis, but these days it feels more like a monthly chore. Among my other usual sources, I now concentrate on random openings instead. Places that open with or without any buzz, offering something that gets my attention, in convenient areas.
The shift began a few years ago when I finally understood what “buzz” and “hot” means. I started to talk to owners and chefs about artificial hype, and the various techniques to achieve it. The shift continued when we started to experience disappointing meals by some of the buzz elite, some of which I’ve never written about. But the turning point may have been when a well respected hot list I follow included a restaurant that belonged to someone I know. That restaurant was most definitely not hot, and most definitely shut three months later. What made it hot? Around 3k to a marketing firm.
Enter tiny Cremini in Carroll Gardens. The type of mom/pop that wouldnt normally make much social media noise, and is more of a neighborhood hangout. Although Eater’s Robert Sietsema did discover its Crescia flatbread (more on that soon). Cremini’s opened a few months ago by a young couple offering specialties of their home region, Le Marche, the lost region of Italy. While we dont have any other Le Marche dining options as far as I know, Cremini’s is also the type of place every neighborhood needs.
Owners Riccardo and Elena live upstairs, and the only thing missing in their little place on Court Street is a bell. “Like eating in someones house” is a cliche these days, but there’s no better way to describe this one. Perhaps one day they’ll get busy enough to hire more staff and function more like a regular restaurant. But for the time being, its like walking into your neighbor’s house, grabbing a newspaper, pretending you can read Italian. And after chatting about politics, and 80’s Eurotrash with the owners, about an hour later, maybe eat something.
The menu is unconventional but not too foreign. There’s even a burger, and its a good one. But its important to keep an open mind and not expect a full menu as so many restaurants all over Italy. Although Cremini’s may refer to Elena’s fried cream custards, you get the sense that its the stuffed Ascolana olives that are closer to a specialty here. There are six varieties, from classic, spicy, veggie and more. Best plan of attack is mix and match the 9 pieces, 3 x 3.
Not too far from Cremini’s, people wait one hour for the “hottest” pizza at the moment, F&F Pizzeria (its good!). And a bit further out some wait three hours for a red hot burger at Red Hook Tavern. Meanwhile there’s zero wait at the moment for Elena’s steakhouse quality burger where she mixes three meats, and counters with Provolone, sweet caramelized onions, and.. bacon. The only other main is Le March style “meatballs” of fried pasta with ragu. You’ll enjoy them as long as you can convince the inner New Yorker in you not to expect, well, meatballs.
The Crescia is like a cross between a Piadina and Laffa flatbread where you can mix and match various meats and cheeses. The Mortadella and Gorgonzola settle nicely once the taste buds get over the initial Gorgonzola funkiness. One thing about the new Italian immigrants is they dont mess around with the raw materials. No need to bastardize much these days like the old Sicilian immigrants did. Another such example here is the excellent Tiramisu.
Cremini’s is not the type you expect perfection. Its the type you want to root for. When you talk to restaurant owners these days you get the sense that its a brutal, survival of the fittest market. A real estate market that erased virtually all such places in some neighborhoods across the river. One just needs to step inside Cremini’s to remind ourselves why they are still needed.
Cremini’s
521 Court St, Carroll Garden
Rating: 2 Z’s (out of 4)
Stars range from Good to Exceptional. Simple as that
Recommended Dishes: Fried Olives, Burger, Crescia, Meatballs, Tiramisu
When you visit Montefalco, a medieval stunner, smack in the middle of landlocked Umbria, it wont take you long to see which is the star restaurant. About 5 minutes in fact after you enter the main gate. 30 minutes if you get distracted by more truffle sauces and hanging grandpa’s balls (Palle di Nonno). Its the one in the main square with all the happy people occupying every inch of the space. Some of the happiest ones are munching on pigeon done five different ways. And while the star restaurant does not always deliver the results you’d expect, this one shines.
But the undisputed shining star, and a dish of the trip nominee is the pigeon. Just like Onion Parmigiana, pigeon just never jumps out at you when you read a menu as such. But then we recall the tasty pigeons of nearby Tuscany, especially the one made by another female magician 
Its been 8 months since the last update. 5 in, 5 out this time. The Z-List is essentially my favorite 50 restaurants in NYC today. I try to conduct surprise inspections as frequently as I can. I show up wearing a hat and fake mustache. Even though they dont know what I look like, you can never be too careful these days. Rumors out there that I look like Tom Branson from Downton Abbey are unfounded. I know because I founded them. Anyway here are the changes…
EV Bites is a [whenever I feel like it] feature that showcases five places in or around East Village you should know about. I will occasionally extend the border to surrounding hoods and maybe even mention a name more than once. The neighborhood of East Village in case you are not aware is an incubator for top industry talent, and a goldmine of world cuisine.
886 – Sometimes new places “expire” in my head, and I forget all about them, before they resurface somehow out of their hiding. This Taiwanese was hiding in plain sight right on the busy, glitzy side of St Marks. 886 offers one of the better lunch specials in the area where you can choose dishes like the visually pleasing sweet Taiwanese Sausage and Fried Rice, and the absolute best Popcorn Chicken I’ve ever had.
Village Square Pizza – Pizza joints in all shapes and sizes come and go in that part of the island. The intense competition in the area created a survival of the fittest environment, except that its almost impossible to determine the fittest. Sometimes I try new pizza and can pretty much pinpoint the month they’ll close (Rolio Pizza), but then there’s the curious case of Martina. Village Square is run by former employees of the famed Prince Street pizza in Soho. This is where you can get the famous Pepperoni Sicilian (square) without the hoopla (meaning tourists), and their signature white (fresh ricotta, garlic, mozzarella, honey).
Foxface – I 
When was the last time you did the chicken dance? They still do them in weddings and events all over the continent as far as I know. Legend has it, the first chicken dance was in Florence in the 13th century when Florence seized control of much of Chianti from rival Siena (more on that later). So in order to give the proper homage to this famous wine region, and unless you’ve been to a Bar Mitzvah lately, start practicing that ancient dance. You will see that famous black rooster all over Chianti, sometimes proudly presented as larger than life statues. Wish to visit Chianti on a day trip from wherever (I recommend basing 
Head to Osteria Le Panzanelle, 5 km south of Panzano, with reservations in hand of course. Its an institution, popular with locals and visitors alike. Start with the luscious eggplant Involtini and/or green bean flan. Move on to the fresh, eggy Papardelle with a wild boar ragu that carries some serious depth. Then your choices are an excellent fried rabbit and chicken, or the very fine, and surprisingly affordable 
After lunch, your options are to head to the nearby hamlet of Volpaia, and/or perhaps skipping the next destination, but I suggest not. Castello di Brolio is yet another stunner. You can participate in more activities and tours, a la Castello di Verrazzano. But for the purpose of this post, we’ll just pay the entrance fee, walk around the castle, enjoy the views, and read about the history. This one feels more subdued and isolated, adding about an hour of travel time overall. You are entitled to a glass of red on your way out, but then you have more driving to do and its getting late. Safety 6th is the motto of Eating With Ziggy Tours.
Chuck’s steakhouse – Best meal of the trip as expected. Superb quality especially from the striploin/New York cuts surprisingly over the Wagyu and Rib Eye. Very clever sides (cauliflower!) and even better desserts. I would skip appetizers here altogether and just concentrate on the prize. If you are more than three, share some cuts that add to about 8-10 ounces per person, a few sides, and you are golden. This is NYC quality stuff.
Indian Curry House – We know Indian. We love Indian. This is good Indian. By the last day we were craving something spicy and tall buildings. ICH took care of one part, while Calgary took care of the other. Not everything was super authentic like the too tomatoey Chana and the surprisingly mild beef (yes, beef is allowed here) Vindaloo (get it still), but really excellent Chettinad among other dishes
Bear Street Tavern – We know pizza. We love Pizza. This was not good pizza. But its popular pub fare, with a solid beer lineup. Skip the mooshy wings
For breakfast head to Wild Flour Bakery and get the Frittata sandwich. One morning we picked up their fine baguettes and just bought butter elsewhere for a Parisian breakfasts in the hotel room. Best full breakfast was at 
Social Media is a wonderful, powerful thing. Until its not. I dont recall how I first learned about Casa Vieja in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Perhaps I read about it on Chowhound or the excellent 
To say that Cappun Magru offers the best Cappun Magru in Cinque Terre is a fair assessment. Its the only one making it. This old Ligurian specialty is slowly disappearing from Ligurian menus, even in Genoa where its most associated. Cappun Magru is an elaborate seafood and veggie salad to put in the simplest of forms. Its most common spelling is Cappon Magro, but here at the headquarters of EWZ, with the tagline “Eating Well, Spelling Pourly” we dont care about spelling all that much. My guess is that Cappun Magru is the more ancient spelling. Sort of like Giovanni da Verrazzano ancient spelling had only one Z. If only NYC would have known about it before spending millions to change the name.
Eating With Ziggy 