HudsonValleyGoodStuff

Pizza lovers devour the 1st Hudson Valley Pizza Fest at Arbor Ridge Catering in Hopewell Junction!

 

I was very excited when I heard that Angelo Notaro was organizing the first HV Pizza Fest at Arbor Ridge Catering in Hopewell Junction. I was downright breathless when Angelo invited me to be one of the Pizza Judges!

"Come hungry!" he warned me.  After tasting all the pizza I could taste, I would fill out a ballot for best cheese, best specialty, and best Sicilian (1st, 2nd, 3rd prize), and best decorated booth.  When I arrived around 2:45pm the lines weren't long but the main hall was already very crowded with pizza lovers. The place smelled delicious! There was lots of excitement and garlic in the air, and all 16 vendors were very pumped to be there serving  pizza, and describing each one. Each vendor had at least 3 pies--Sicilian, specialty, and cheese. As a judge, my mission was to taste all of them. 

It was a bit overwhelming, but I did my best.I scribbled quick comments down on a piece of paper so I would remember each pizza I was tasting. All the pizzas looked so good. Of course, there were a few that stood out just for their originality. (Breakfast pizza with maple syrup from Mc Ritchies of Pleasant Valley, the smores pizza from Nico's Italian Grill in Middletown, nutella strawberry and banana pizza from De Cicco's) De Cicco's Pizza won for best over all pizza, by the way.

It was my first time as a pizza judge, and my main regret was that I didn't take each menu home for research. It was definitely one of those times I kind of got wrapped up in the moment of eating, feasting, and trying to take photos with my iPhone using my greasy pizza fingers. It was all good fun though. I think next year, I will get there earlier, allow more time for tasting, and bring a jug of water with me so I don't have to wait on line at the bar if it gets too crowded.  I will also stay longer as I missed more live music from 15-year-old Annalise Azadian. I heard she wowed the crowd with her acoustic performance.

I love being a media food judge! I always have this fantasy that I will actually be sitting down really civilized savoring each bite, and thinking about my decision, just like they do on those Food Network shows, but in reality at festivals it is never like that. I'm always standing up like a savage trying a zillion different types of a particular food.  That's part of the fun though!  As I schlepped over to the bar looking for any surface to put my heavy plate on, a young woman smiled at me as I tasted the smores pizza.  "That looks good, but I don't know if I can eat that!" she laughed.  Well, it was my job to taste it at least, and it was very good!  It would have been great with a cup of coffee.

With all the great pizzas though, I think the one that really stood out was Danny's Sicilian pizza from Danny's Pizzeria in Stormville. (They came in 2nd for best Sicilian). It was simple, but just one of the best Silician slices I've ever had. It was the one pizza I could have had a second slice for!

Congratulations to Angelo Natoro on a successful first HV Pizza Fest, and to the winners of the pizza contests. The winners are listed on the HV Pizza Fest Facebook Page. My next judging gig will be at the Gardiner Cupcake Festival on May 18th for the Amateur Cupcake Contest. I'm looking forward to 2nd Annual HV Pizza Fest in 2014!

Results from Pizza Fest

Best overall Pizza - Deccico's of Brewster

Best Classic Pie - 1 Hometown of Fishkill 2 Uncle Vinny's Fishkill 3 Giacomo's

Best Sicilian -1- Madison's 2- Danny's pizza 3- Robs Pizza

Best Specialty- 1- Nicos Italian Grill of Middletown 2- Deccico's Of Brewster 3- Pizza Shop Fishkill

Best Decorated Booth 1- Gappy's of Carmel 2- McRitchies of Pleasant valley 3-Pizza Shop

Best Sauce-1- Gappy's of Carmel 2- Deccico's of Brewster 3- Robs of Walkill

Best Crust - 1- Madisons of Pleasant Valley 2- Nico's Italian Grill of Middletown 3- Pizza Shop

Angelo Notaro, HV Pizza Fest Organizer

 

The New Mirabella's in Saugerties: Yummy stuffed burgers, pizza, dinner specials & fun vibe!

Last Friday I was in Saugerties for First Friday so I went to check out the new Mirabella's restaurant. (The former Mirabella's was just down the street in a very small bar and restaurant space). It was packed at 7pm, but we were seated in a roomy wooden booth.  The side dining area is very spacious and inviting. The bar area is darker, and the bar scene was very lively with people watching sports on TV. You can see that a lot of work went into making this new place, and from what I could tell, the locals and weekenders are happy to have another new place to hang out at. (I'm sorry I forgot to take a place of the interior. Next time!)

We ordered a ceasar salad and cordon blue bits to start. The salad was huge, and the cordon blue bits turned out to be fried balls, that tasted like cordon blue, but had the consistency of mashed potatoes. The honey mustard dressing was really good though, and we ended up enjoying them even though we were expecting something a little meatier.

I decided to go for one of the dinner specials, sauteed scallops with sweet potato risotto and spinach, which came with a small cup of soup. (My daughter swiped my soup! If I remember correctly it was potato leek, and the first spoonful was creamy and good). Tom had the mozzarella stuffed cheeseburger with garlic. It was really tasty and juicy, and I made him cut it open so you could see the cheese-inside.  The dinner special was delicious. I've never had sweet potato risotto, and it was very flavorful. I liked the scallops, and the spinach was also good.  I would have loved a little more spinach.  My daughter really enjoyed her 2 slices of pizza too. We were way too full for dessert!

The food came out very quickly, and our server was very sweet. It's a noisy place to eat, but I do like the fun friendly Saugerties vibe here! I would definitely return. If you like Bloody Marys, go there on Sundays when they have a Bloody Mary Bar Buffet for $5.50. Mirabella's, 117 Partition Street, Saugerties, NY (845) 246-7417

Brio's Pizzeria Restaurant in Phoenicia: Great salad, pizza, sweet potato fries & comfort desserts!

We had a very yummy casual dinner at Brio's Pizzeria in Phoenicia recently. I can't believe the last time I blogged about Brio's was in April 2009. I really love the gourmet pizzas here, but I wasn't really in a pizza mood so I ordered the veggie burger with sweet potato fries, and macaroni salad. It was delicious! My husband had the warm chicken spinach salad with Mexican rice, which came with very fluffy pita bread. He ordered the baked clams as an appetizer, but they were a bit too bready for my taste. I'm not a real baked clam fan though. The kid devoured 2 slices of pizza, and picked out a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting for dessert. The service was fast and friendly. It was hard to say no to dessert, but sometimes I have to be strong! Brio's Pizzeria, 68 Main Street, Phoenicia, NY (845) 688-5370