The Lowdown

Gin Rickeys, Deviled Crab, Strawberry Pretzel Salad Ice Cream, Vintage Zucca, Bomboloni, Calabrian Beer...

Jul 01, 2025

Welcome to The Lowdown, a regular Paid Subscriber exclusive featuring what (and where) I’ve recently been eating and drinking. In the spirit of Independence Day, today’s dispatch is free to all readers.

Housekeeping:

Speaking of the upcoming holiday weekend, LAST CALL will take a brief hiatus (to balance a looming writing deadline with a Hoffman’s hot dog or two), returning on Friday, July 11 for our 3rd Anniversary Special.
Grazie mille to all the LAST CALL readers who have taken the time to take my first ever survey. The feedback has been very enlightening and will help me tremendously as we move into Year 4. I’ll be sharing the results in the 7/11 3rd Anniversary Special. If you’re a reader or subscriber, please take the survey—it means a lot!
Shout-out to my friends at LUCA in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who are celebrating their 9th anniversary this week! I’m already looking forward to being there in person next summer for the Big 10.
And you know him, you love him, you can’t live without him… Happy Birthday to the talented photographer and designer and my partner in travel and crime, Ed Anderson. Slide into his DMs and wish him the best day ever. Tanti Auguri, buddy!

Drinking

Amalfi Limonata (Dante West Village)

551 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

Last Monday, as summer’s first heat wave took hold, I had an afternoon meeting at Dante West Village with the Dante team and Nima Ansari, the Spirits Buyer and Manager at Astor Wines & Spirits, to discuss a collaborative vintage amaro event we have in the works. As soon as I slid into the air-conditioned comfort of a corner banquette I ordered an Amalfi Limonta, my first of what will surely be many this summer. It’s an extremely refreshing blend of MALFY Lemon gin, limoncello, simple syrup, lemon juice, and lemon curd, topped with San Pellegrino Limonta over a mountain of pebble ice and garnished with an aromatic mint sprig.

Never one to arrive empty handed, Nima pulled an unopened bottle of Zucca from the 1960s for us to taste after lunch. It was so good—earthy, a little chocolatey, still hanging on to a distinctive bitterness—that we each had two glasses.

Gin Rickey (The Long Island Bar)

110 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11201

When that first unbearably hot day of summer hits, I walk up the block to The Long Island Bar and order my first Gin Rickey of the season. If I ask Phil every nicely, he’ll even make it in a 20-ounce water glass for an extra-refreshing, sessionable affair.

Birra Cala (Speciality Food Association Summer Fancy Food Show)

Javits Center 429 11th Avenue, New York, New York 10001

I spent around three hours in the Italian Pavilion at the Fancy Food Show yesterday. Among the many discoveries was Birra Cala, an award-winning craft brewer from Scalea whose tasty beers take inspiration from the spirit of Calabria. Their line-up includes a lager (Passione), gluten-free lager (Gubilo), bock (Delirio), session IPA (La Prima Cotta), American IPA (Euforia), and weizen (Nirvana).

I tasted through their Muse expressions, featuring the Citrusina (sour and citrus forward with cedro, coriander, and Sichuan pepper), Daivolicchia (fruity, slightly bitter), and Aquila Negra (toasty with bitter chocolate and coffee). These would be at home on the menu at any modern pizzeria, like my friends at Pizzeria LUCA, but the brand is still seeking a U.S. distributor.

Emilio Magia Da Aperitivo (Speciality Food Association Summer Fancy Food Show)

Javits Center 429 11th Avenue, New York, New York 10001

Yesterday I was also happy to once again meet with the team from Emilia-Romagna’s Terra del Tuono, whose Emilio Magia Da Aperitivo won me over last year. Their unique non-alcoholic, all-natural sparkling soft drink has no added sugar and is made from concentrated red grape musts and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI. It packs a full-bodied red-fruit flavor with a pleasingly bitter vinegar tang and a dry finish. This would be great over ice and would make for a fun cocktail mixer. Sadly, it’s still not yet available stateside but keeping my fingers crossed.

Eating

Sausage & Pepperoni Tavern Pie (Emmett’s On Grove)

39 Grove Street, New York, New York 10014

I went to see the F1 picture Saturday afternoon and before I switched off my phone for three hours, I texted Emmett’s On Grove to see if I could slip into a bar seat afterwards for a beer and snack. When I fired up my phone the good news was, yes, we’d love to see you, with a bad news caveat that the had a wedding buy-out at 7:00PM so it would have to be a quick visit. It was odd to be in there in wind down mode on a Saturday evening when it would usually be alive and bustling, but I was grateful that they kindly offered me a bar stool and took great care of me. I ordered a sausage and pepperoni thin-crust tavern pie to go, but they insisted I at least get to experience a few pieces hot from the oven before heading out. Thank you, Emmett’s fam! I had plenty of leftovers but ended up sharing them with the kids at The Long Island Bar, who were very happy.

Chicken Caesar Salad (Dante West Village)

551 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

At that Monday meeting mentioned up top, I had the delicious Dante WV Chicken Caesar Salad for the first time. It was a generous mix of chopped little gem lettuce and kale tossed in a creamy Caesar dressing with flecks of clothbound cheddar along with thick slices of organic chicken breast and an oversized slice of crispy sourdough for DIY croutons. I ended up bringing half of it back home which made for a nice, light summer dinner. In fact, I had a Xerox of the whole experience yesterday when I stopped by after the Fancy Food Show on my way back to Brooklyn.

Deviled Crab Toast (The Long Island Bar)

110 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11201

The Long Island Bar’s Chef Kevin Walker Garrett recently dropped two new dishes on the menu. There’s a Roasted Beets Salad with Hazelnut Dukkah, Brandied Cherries, and Ricotta Salata in a Creamy Herbed Vinaigrette, but I’ve been wild about the new Deviled Crab Toast. It’s a spicy, light, perfect handheld summertime bite of rich Deviled Crab, Roasted Corn, Black Garlic, and Herbs served on toasted sourdough.

Chinese Delivery (Sal Tang’s)

521 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, New York 11231

After watching the recent feature on Sal Lamboglia and Wilson Tang’s neighborhood Cantonese-American spot Sal Tang’s on CBS Saturday Morning (Fun Fact: I’m featured in some blink and you’ll miss it B-roll with my cheek packed with a bite of Hot Honey Shrimp like a deranged chipmunk), I was craving dinner from there but ordered in delivery to remain in the air-conditioned comfort of home. The trade-off in delivery costs was soothed when I tucked into my favorite House-Made Wonton Chips with Plum Sauce and Chinese Mustard, Pork Fried Rice, and Hot Honey Shrimp with Broccoli.

Bomboloni (Ciao, Gloria)

550 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11238

I usually swing by Ciao, Gloria on Saturday mornings for a coffee and something sweet before running errands and on Saturdays only they feature delicious fresh Bombolini, Italy’s take on doughnuts. I usually get the classic, filled with Raspberry Jam, but the team there also offers a rotating flavor of the day. A recent offering of a Strawberry Cheesecake cream-filled Bombolini had my full attention and I was able to snag a seat to enjoy it with an iced cortado.

All the Stone Fruit (Faccia Brutto Spirits)

1236 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11216

On a recent summer Friday, Brooklyn’s own Faccia Brutto Spirits hosted a party at their Crown Heights distillery to celebrate their 5th Anniversary. They always know how to throw a great event so I wasn’t going to miss it. While saying hello to co-owner Patrick Miller, his colleague Rhys Williams spirited me away for a surprise, revealing a handmade “Reserved for BTP” in place at the B1 corner of their vintage bar. I was thrilled beyond belief and didn’t move much from my perch except for repeat visits to the abundant seasonal spread from the good people from Natoora.

I double-teamed a Sbagliato and an ice-cold Peroni and loaded my plate up with fresh peaches and nectarines and creamy hunks of burrata along with a handful of chilled black cherries with jagged shards of aged Gouda. And a shout-out to Chef Daniel Eddy for dropping off a tub of chicken liver mousse and loaves of Winner sourdough. I’m embarrassed to tell you how much of that I took down. I was also obsessed with a seemingly simple bowl of vibrant orange melon wedges which I took be cantaloupe but instead experienced my first taste ever of Italian Zerbinati Melon. And boom goes the dynamite! I’m now obsessed but, as things like this often go, these prized melons are apparently impossible to find. (Can anyone break me off with a source in NYC?) I thought I learned my lesson never to leave a Faccia Brutto Spirits party early but I did and missed out on the speeches, a gift bag, and a gigantic cannoli that was cracked open Alien chest-buster style to reveal dozens of bambini cannoli inside.

All the Ice Cream

You could say I have a bit of a sweet tooth and my weakness for ice cream knows no bounds when summer rolls around. As evidence, I submit the following…

Buttermilk Berry Cornbread / Peanut Butter Brownie Honeycomb (Van Leeuwen Ice Cream)

81 Bergen Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201

Marasca / Nocciola (Eataly)

200 5th Avenue, New York, New York 10010

Stracciatella / Nocciola (Gelateria Gentile)

43 8th Avenue, New York, New York 10014

Oishii Strawberry Pretzel Salad (Salt & Straw)

540 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

Don’t sleep on Salt & Straw’s limited-edition Huckleberry Cornbread Pudding from the current Berry Series. I had a sample taste of this vibrant ice cream combo made with foraged Idaho huckleberries, crumbles of buttermilk cornbread, and layers of smooth cornbread pudding but wish I had left with a pint or two.

LAST CALL