Restaurant -- Zero Otto Nove

When I heard we were going to dinner in Little Italy, my first thought was, wow, I haven't been there since I was in high school, when my debate coach—who was awesome about ensuring that a bunch of Floridians (South at least, but still) got some culture—made sure we had cannoli and walked around the historic streets.  My second thought was, hmm, does Little Italy still even exist? Maybe it amounts to two-and-a-half blocks?

Then I learned we were in fact headed to Little Italy in Da Bronx, which is a whole 'nother, and apparently thriving, animal I had never been acquainted with (though I did go to the Fordham college debate tournament multiple times; if only we'd had a life coach on retainer).

Zero Otto Nove is the sort of place that seems like it might be too "authentic" for its own good—the main dining area is a huge high-ceilinged room with stone arches and painted walls that seems like it was taken out of an Italian version of The Cloisters. I've never been to Italy, but it definitely screams "Old World Experience."

Fortunately, we had a coach of sorts to guide our experience, J's friend's friend, who professed to being an authentic Long Island Italian who has been coming to this place with his family since he was a kid. He said to get the pizza, so we got a pizza. We also got the branzino to balance things out.

I quite liked the pizza. It's Neapolitan but with a more robust crust than is often the case. You can see the massive imported Italian oven near the center of the dining hall. The charred flavor was more pronounced than in a lot of others I've had. J said the cheese was on the heavier side, and I can see why one would get that impression, because the dollops were large and concentrated as opposed to smaller and more spread out. But I feel like the thickness/heaviness of the dough balanced things out. 

We opted for the Diavola but though I enjoyed it, it wasn't the right call. I failed to abide by a lesson I seem to be repeatedly relearning, which is always get the Margherita if it's your first time. For one, it's the best way to get a sense of what a place's basic deal is, without the confounding factor of, say, doing something weird with the soppressata (which in this case was sort of thickly julienned, for lack of a better term, as opposed to the usual pepperoni style). Two, the marg is often just better; it's classic for a reason. When the pie is good, toppings are overrated.

Crap, time's up. The branzino was aite; J's was better.

Restaurant -- Geido

Take

I said there'd be restaurant reviews, so let's do a restaurant review! I figure I'll start close to home with Geido, my favorite neighborhood Japanese place, which happens to be casual, affordable, high-quality, and full of options, and also right across the street.

Geido has been around since 1985, which is pretty wild when you think about it—it's almost 40! And I know NYC is way more progressive/cosmopolitan than most of America when it comes to food, but I have to imagine sushi/Japanese food was still pretty weird that long ago.

Anyway, let me just get into it. Big picture, what I like about this place is they have a wide range of sensibly priced—often the same or even cheaper than the standard 3-roll-lunch-special sushi joints—options that are basically all executed a little better than at one of the standard joints. A good example is a spicy roll: you can get a spicy salmon roll for $5.80, and the mayo and spice profile is just tastier and more interesting than the generic alternative.

Here are some of my go-tos:

• the broiled salmon collar or yellowtail collar, whenever they are on the menu, which is often -- this is the fatty part of the fish around the neck/gills, and it's melt-in-your mouth good, served with a generous hunk of lemon and some fluffy umami garnish that I should know the name of
• the noodle soups, which are highly customizable and an excellent bang for your buck -- you can get, say, a big serving of soba with mixed greens (seaweed, spinach, etc.) or mixed mushrooms and for a few more bucks throw in tofu, carrots, and spicy powder, which isn't that hot but adds a nice flavor
• the regular sushi rolls -- the special ones are overpriced and often not that much larger, and I also find the whole mixing 4 types of fish and 3 types of sauces thing gimmicky and over-the-top, but the classics like spicy fish and eel avocado are great, as is one of my personal favorites, the mackerel ginger roll (mackerel is underrated)
• the sushi pieces a la carte -- sensibly priced (mackerel is $2.80 a pop, most of the classic fish are $3.20 or $3.40), better than ordering a tray where you get stuck with shrimp, crabstick, and other weak options
• many of the little kitchen bites, including the seaweed salad, the broiled mackerel, and the Japanese veggies such as lotus and burdock roots
• the tempura is solid
• if you want something hefty, the kaisen nabe soup is what sumo wrestlers eat, with mixed seafood, vegetables, and tofu, and the option of adding noodles

Afterthoughts

I should note I'm basically a pescatarian (I'm a "social carnivore"—I'll occasionally get in on a communal meat dish), so don't expect these reviews to be all that fleshed-out.