Agata & Valentina: Fine Food and Good Ideas

 
Last week I discovered so many awesome eats! The one I'm going to tell you about today is called Agata & Valentina. My friend Vanh introduced me to it and now I absolutely love this place.

Agata & Valentina says their "business was born of a passion for fine foods from Sicily, Italy, and around the globe, which drives our desire to share the absolute highest quality products and authentic hand-made prepared foods and pastries with our customers." Their original location was established in 1993 on the Upper East Side and their second location in 2012 in Greenwich Village. 

We shopped at the Upper East Side location which has over 5,500 items... so, their was no time to waste! When you walk in the entrance the walls are filled with freshly baked  breads. As you continue around the store there are so many fresh fruits and veggies laid out so precisely that it looks like art work.

Keep walking through the garden of  veggies and you will come to the huge cheese selection. Our as Agata & Valentina like to call it "a cheese lover's mecca." They have over 350 types of cheeses including "local, domestic, and international artisanal cheeses." They also have handmade fresh mozzarella, that you can watch them make every half-hour right behind the counter.

Next I discovered the coffee section. As you can probably tell, this place just keeps getting better and better. Some of their coffee selections include Hawaii Coconut Coffee, Vienniese Roast, Jamaican Blue Mountain and Mocha Java. Check out their full coffee selection here.

The wall of Olive Oil was crazy! I have never seen so many types of Olive Oil in one place. Next to that was a fully stocked wall of pasta. And later, I found another selection of refrigerated pasta which included a large variety of ravioli. YUM!

Do you love a good olive bar? Look no further. There are olives are far as the eye can see. You mix and match or grab one of the pre-made containers to take home.

Like fresh seafood? This is the place for you. Agata & Valentina calls this one of the most "vibrant parts of the store." They say the "market buzzes with activity all day as our fishmongers hand-cut and display a colorful array of pristine whole fish such as Red Snapper, Brook Trout, Branzino, Sea Bass, Arctic Char, and other seasonal selections fresh from the market that morning." They offer the freshest lobster, crab, clams, scallops, shrimp and fish just for you!

Are you more into Italian meats? They've also got you covered with their Italian inspired deli. Thinking an Italian feast for dinner? This should be your number one destination before heading to your kitchen.

Now let's talk sweets. Agata & Valentina offers a huge selection of pastries, cakes and cookies. When I was perusing through this section I also discovered what looked like cobbler. Check it out for yourself!

Agata & Valentina is located on the corner of 79th and 1st on the Upper East side and 64 University Place in Greenwich Village. So tonight for dinner, think Italian!

We love Agata & Valentina!

One image from: Timeout.com

Amaing Rice Ball's at Faicco's Italian Specialties

 

     I discovered Faicco's Italian Specialties while on a Greenwich Village Foods of NY Tour. If you haven't heard of this thing called a "food tour" you need to sign up for one the next time you go to a major city. Food tours have become one of my favorite hobbies over the last few years and every time I go somewhere new I look for one. For more information on the New York Foods of NY Tours click here (The Chelsea Market Tour is awesome as well!).

If you are looking for the perfect old school butcher for all of your Italian needs you will be sure to find it at Faicco's Italian Specialties. They have an assortment of  Italian meats as well as a wall full of tomato sauces, olive oils, bruschettes, pastas and much more. Anything you need to cook an Italian feast, you can find right here in this tiny shop. 

My favorite part of the shop are the Rice Balls. Its a small round ball of creamy rice dipped in bread crumbs and lightly fried and served warm. So, so delicious. Its the perfect little Italian snack and they only cost a dollar!

Faicco's Italian Specialties is located in the West Village at 260 Bleeker street NY, NY 10014. You can also reach them at (212) 243-1974. Now... go have a snack!

Pizza Roma

   
"To most New Yorkers, square pizza is a Sicilian slice with a heavy crust. But now, from Pizza Roma, comes a different kind of slice: the first, authentic artisanal Roman style pizza in New York, also known as “Pizza al taglio” (literally “Pizza by the cut”). Made from a unique pizza flour imported from Rome, the dough is allowed to develop over the course of 96 hours, thus resulting in a lighter crust that is easier to digest" That statement right there straight from the Pizza Roma website sums up exactly what kind of delicious pizza is made.

Throughout this blog you will learn all about the things in life that make me smile and Food Tours are one of them. I discovered Pizza Roma while on the Food of NY Food Tour of Greenwich Village. The pizza is so unique and the toppings paired together are amazing. The pies are made with local and organic indigence and in the shape of a rectangle. Oh and they slice it with scissors just like in Italy! My favorite is the zucchini mozzarella pizza.

The food here not cheap by any means but it is well worth it. A pie for two people ranges from $30-$35.  Pizza Roma is located at 9 Barrow St  New York, NY 10014. For more information check out their website here.