Today I’d like to pay homage to good pizza.   There is a lot of history behind pizza which I won’t bore you with but there is a type of pizza that is somewhat a dying breed.  It is the brick oven or coal oven pizza, not to be confused with wood oven pizza.   The lore of New Yorkers tells of a great pizza made in a small corner pizza shop in downtown Manhattan named Lombardi’s. 

Lombardi’s is a nice story too.  Located in Little Italy at 32nd and Spring Streets.  I first visited it back in 2005 when my son and I dropped in on the recommendation of my ex-wife.  She had eaten their prior and who knows how she came about the place. But in the end, she told me how great it was and I wanted to know if she was right.  I mean, I had to know if a Ukrainian woman really knew pizza! LOL  Turns out she did.   What she didn’t know to tell me was that I was going to what is rumored to be the oldest Pizza parlor in New York, and more specifically that I would be dining on “coal oven” pizza. 

Although Gennaro Lombardi wasn’t the actual maker (pizziolas) of the pizza at first (an employee at his grocery was selling it and it became popular) he did open Lombardi’s Pizza in 1905.  His employee later opened his own pizzeria on Coney Island.  Thus Anthoney Tontonno stepped out from under the shadow of Gennaro Lombardi to open his own Totonno’s.   While the Totonno’s location is still the original location opened in 1924, the Lombardi’s of today is not at its original location (not that either matters).  The original Lombardi’s was a block off of 32nd and Spring Street.  Totonno’s now has multiple ...   more »

Healthy goes far beyond reading the label

I eat smart. And while I do have a sweet tooth I make up for it by exercising anytime I eat foods high in calories.   I do make sure to never overdue it and I have some rules for myself.  The opinions in my article are my opinions and while I use facts to stand on, I'm not insisting I know all about the subject or that I am an authority.  I'm just a guy taking care of himself with less than 2 percent body fat.  

YOU must be acutely aware of the size ongoing.  If it takes reinvesting in smaller dinner plates, do it.  Here is one straight from my home, we have a creed, "We are Hindsley's not heathens."  We don't eat out of the bag or box.  This serves two purposes in my home.  It indoctrinates a level of class with my children and it starts them on portion control.  How many times have you eaten your way through a whole bag of chips or some other snack?  What woman doesn't eat straight out of the ice-cream bucket?  Oh!

Do not let someone serve you large portions, your human nature will overdrive your common sense.  You will eat more.  As an aside, eating slower will also give you a feeling of fullness faster. No one will listen to me on this, but in my day I've learned it to be true. 

Here is a tip to you men.  Want to impress a lady with your cultured personality?  Yes, this means you may need to develop a cultured personality.   To do this it means you are open to new and different things.  Sometimes it means subtle changes to the norm which show you are not like the average Joe. 

Take the sandwich for instance.  Do you really think something so simple can’t take on a bit of culture?  And what is more, a subtle change to the sandwich may introduce you to a whole new world of taste. 

Have you heard of open faced sandwiches?  On a recent trip (not very recent) I learned of them. To sum them up succinctly, an open face sandwich has one, not two slices of bread, and they allow you to taste what is generally tucked inside.   Your taste buds are prohibited from enjoying all they can!

Open faced sandwiches are common north western Europe in countries such as Norway and Holland.   You can expect to find them in Paris to Vienna (Hot Antipasto, yum!).  Some regional open faced sandwiches such as Mediterranean Open Faced Sandwich are hard to beat.   There is also the one time Russian favorite, Butterbrot, featuring a grey rye bread.

Speaking of Rye bread, some are toasted and if you use a rye bread, but sure to heat it by toasting it a bit.  This triggers the flavor of the seeded rye bread.   Broiled open faced versions are delicious.

Another staple ingredient is the tomato.   Gentlemen if you have not developed an appreciation for the tomato, you will come off as a “picky” eater to women.  You DO NOT WANT this.  Unless your ...   more »