Pizzas and burgers. They photograph well on social media for sure, they make you drool and it’s always what you want to be eating. Most pizza places are not offering a burger option, but why not give the people what they want, right? One of my new favorite pizza spots, Emily, in Clinton Hill is doing both, and so is GG’s in the East Village in case you need to make the rounds. Emily’s pizza is a dream. There are so many creative and craveable pie’s to choose from that it almost seems impossible to make a decision. Definitely order the Colony which is Red Sauce, Mozzarella, Pepperoni, Pickled Chili and Honey. I loved the ratio of sauce to crust. You never want the amount of bread to overwhelm the flavorful items on top. The pizza is crunchy on the outsides and sometimes a little flimsy in the middle, but only in positive ways. It allows for more room and food to be digested without all that intense bread. The moral of the story is that Honey and Chilis should really be present on every kind of pizza. Other pizza options are divided by The Whites, The Pinks (vodka sauce), The Greens (tomatillo sauce). For Truffle fanatics, you don’t even need to look at the whole menu as you’ll dive in for the signature Emily: Mozzarella, Pistachios, Truffle Sottocenere, Honey.The amount of vegetables or meats on top also allow for each piece to be the “good piece” so you are never left with a sad looking one.
Vodka Pie
We also started with the Kale salad to get some greens in there. I love salads that have dried cherries and the sherry-thyme vinaigrette is just light enough to add the right amount of flavor without being too heavy. This portion is also very large and would be great to pick up for dinner or lunch if you are looking for something healthy, you know on those “off days” when you aren’t eating pizza and burgers together.
Now onto the burger. This dry aged beef served on a Tom Cat pretzel bun which makes you giddy just reading about it has a secret sauce, sautéed onions, cheddar and fries. The buttery bun doesn’t taste as much like a pretzel bread as you’d think because the sauce mixed with the juices overpowers it a little. It’s a soft burger, a little delicate and messy at the same time. It’s comforting and powerful and if you are in the mood for meat and saucy, you’ve met your match.
I know we’ve already had pizza and burgers at this point, but you really really can’t miss the Banana Creme Pudding. It comes in a large jar, way better size than a lot of these places that serve pudding in a jar (for the record). It’s little layers of cookie and banana and it’s everything you could ask for and more. Rich, creamy, not too banana-y and all amazing layers. Just get it – you’re full already anyway.
