photo credit: ExtraMSG (retouched by me)

There’s a new restaurant in town named Lovely’s Fifty Fifty. They’re a wood fired pizza joint located on Mississippi, right next to what used to be Lovely Hula Hands. And despite the downpour on Friday, K and I trudged over to get our taste buds dirty. 

As you may have guessed, it takes the place of Lovely Hula Hands, which closed due to family complications (Read more here.). Although the family has changed directions in the dishes they offer, they haven’t changed their values. They’re still serving seasonally inspired menus and sourcing their ingredients from local farms.  

We arrived around seven, and it was packed. Upon entrance, we were greeted by a hostess who looked like she’d been run ragged. It’s not uncommon for new restaurants to be short staffed in their opening months—but LFF brought over their existing staff. So they should be set, right? Because we’d driven to this place specifically, we decided to stick around and give it a shot. To fortify ourselves for the wait, we ordered a bottle of the 2007 Cuvée A Pinot from Anne Amie Vineyards. After a twenty minute wait, we received our delicious wine. And with still a half bottle left, we were seated.

It didn’t take us long to find something great. The menu contains an array of great vegetarian options. To start, we ordered the roasted brussels sprouts. And to save room for dessert, we decided to just split one of the twelve inch bellwether ricotta and black olive pizzas. The sprouts arrived shortly after ordering, which was a relief because we were starving. They were sprinkled with parmesan and contained a delightful punch of lemon. And the portion size was enough to satisfy.

Our pizza was delicious. If you don’t like spicy, this pizza’s not for you though. It had a sting that Muhammad Ali would appreciate. The ingredients worked gracefully together and the combination went perfectly with our Pinot.

After scarfing down the pizza, we had dessert. The selection of homemade gelato was too hard to turn down. K had the a coffee flavored version and I had the peanut butter and jelly. They were both satisfying and a perfect ending to our fresh and spicy meal.

If you’re patient, give this place a shot.

caro:

I used to live five blocks north of the East Village’s “Curry Corner.”  One of these restaurants is the one in which Kate Hudson and Jay Mohr have the date from hell in 200 Cigarettes, but I can’t recall which one it is because “the one with the hot peppers in the window” is not specific enough.

(via Cityfile, Flickr user pamela.wang)

The last time K and I went to NYC we visited Panna II. Those men on the stairs are most likely, if it’s anything like I remember it, requesting the business of anyone that gets near. Because the restaurants are so close and they serve basically the same dishes, they have to wheel and deal with you, offering free dessert or cheese naan to get you in the door. I remember the spot being popular for birthdays too. There were like three or four in the hour that we were there.