for all you pizza lovers...

The Pie at Salvatore's in Bay Shore can only be summed up in one word: decadent. I can honestly say that they have the best thin-crust pizza the South Shore has ever seen.

You know that they take it seriously - upon entering, you see a sign that reads "No slices", so be sure to bring your appetite or your best friends!

Mike took me to The Pie for the first time on Saturday night, and the restaurant was pretty busy. It's a very cozy space where you can watch the pizza chefs make your pizza pie at the counter. We sampled the Caesar salad to start, and we added fresh mozzarella - absolutely rich and delicious! The mozzarella melted in my mouth, and the salad wasn't doused in dressing, which made me happy.

We chose a pie - half white, and half neapolitan style. Let me tell you, it was fantastic! The white pizza didn't have ricotta on it, which was great cos I hate ricotta.

The pies are baked in a traditional coal stoked oven, which really enhanced the flavor. The ingredients were super-fresh, and Mike and I ate nearly the whole pie.

Overall, our experience was fantastic - the service was friendly, the owner spoke to us briefly, and the food was great.

The Pie is located at 125 East Main Street in Bay Shore - it's a great place to grab dinner before heading out to TJ Finley's or the Nutty Irishman with your friends.

dear cosi,

you have had my heart for the past 5 years.

tonight, you didn't disappoint.

xoxo

jessie

cosi = greatness. and as of tonight i can officially say that i've gone to the only two cosi's on long island! woo hoo! this time around i had the signature salad and chai latte...12.25 well spent. :) cosi is the ONLY SSF approved chain cafe restaurant, and it's worth the trek!

there are two cosi's on long island:

one in great neck

and one in plainview (right near red mango!)

for more info, go to www.getcosi.com.

thanksgiving (give thanks).

appetizer: toasts with roasted red pepper and eggplant spread from trader joe's.

(with a drizzle of olive oil)

my special vegetarian whole wheat pasta mix!

whole wheat penne + shrimp + asparagus + mushrooms =

deliciousness!

a table set for three ladies

 dinner!

mashed potatoes

and stuffing.

(my fave!)

and my favorite part of dinner,

a colorful salad with pomegranate seeds

tomato

peppers

spinach

and lettuce!

i take pride in my salads.

thanksgiving was fantastic and relaxing!

i hope you all enjoyed yours,

and remembered to give thanks for all you have

and remember the people who don't have a lot.

<3

-jb

...all about my weekend!

This weekend was highly anticipated. Why? Because I got to go back to Porter's On The Lane in Bellport Village and write another review! Mandi and I headed over to Porter's on Saturday night and we sat on the deck overlooking Bellport Lane. It was a cool night and it was absolutely gorgeous! We sampled the raw bar and dessert was EPIC. Curious? Read more about it HERE, or support your local newspaper and pick up a copy of this week's issue of the Long Island Advance!

After dinner Saturday night, I headed over to East Islip, picked up my dear friend Bill. It was one of those nights where we wanted to see where the night took us, and the night took us to Babylon Village and Mary Carroll's pub. It was my first time checking out Mary Carroll's, and I wasn't disappointed. Bill and I grabbed our Blue Point Blueberry Ales and Blue Moon and watched the Yankees game on a plasma TV. We stayed there for a while and then we headed back to Bay Shore and to the Playhouse Pub for martinis! The Playhouse is located next to the historic Boulton Center theater, where we saw Vienna Teng perform two years ago. I sampled the Chai Berry martini, and DAYUM it was strong, but oh, so good. We stayed there the rest of the night and had a great time.

Sunday! Went to the gym, parked myself on the couch with a pumpkin spice latte and wrote my review of Porter's for the Advance, and headed out to Painters' in Brookhaven Hamlet with Gerry. I had never eaten dinner at Painters' before - it's my go-to spot for strong appletinis and great dancing when I want to stay local. Gerry and I tried the sushi tuna on crispy wonton skins with Asian slaw and wasabi aioli, and it was delicious! Our salads were also fantastic - Gerry got the blackened steak salad and raved about it. I had the apple walnut salad with grilled shrimp and gorgonzola, and it was a perfect late summer salad.

After dinner, we headed over to the Gateway Playhouse in Bellport and caught a performance of A Chorus Line. It was mind-blowing!!! For those of you who haven't seen A Chorus Line, it's a musical about actors auditioning for a Broadway chorus line. The musical is set in 1975, and some of the themes (growing up, performance anxiety, sexuality, familial relationships) remain current. The actors and actresses did a great job with this performance, and I definitely recommend checking it out if you're in the area!