L'asso/Led Zeppole/Thai Me Up/Torrisi

Food Review Time...the following are a bunch of great new spots I discovered recently (some newer then others) that are really good & mid-priced...

L'asso - Really good Italian/thin crust pizza place in Nolita right down the block from Lombardi's. Now I love Lombardi's so go there for great old school NY thin crust pizza & ...tourists. L'asso is good for both basic pasta dishes & round individual pizza's, but more for something different like the jalapeno artichoke dip & the Tartufo pizza...I really liked the Dante as well. The spicy capocollo was of high quality & they put a think slice on each section of the rectangular pie(medium & large). They have a great beer selection as well. Also of note is some pretty cool artwork up on the wall for sale. One thing I can't leave out was I couldn't get over how many very good looking women were in the place. Our hipster waiter informed us that the place is always loaded with model quality ladies. I'll be back...

Led Zeppole - New desert place opened up by the Artichoke Pizza guys. The night I went they had the namesake zeppole's, fried oreo's, home-made ice-cream, & cannoli's. I only had a cannoli...but it was one of the best I've ever had. I'm going to have to get some from here & some from Veniero's for a cannoli-off. Please note barely room to stand inside the door...to go only

Thai Me Up- This place is a Thai take on the Vietnamese sandwich craze & it's great. Along with the sandwiches they have noodle, rice dishes, salads, etc.. I went with White Ginger...chicken in ginger, coconut & fresh herbs on a fresh baguette. Limited seating...more of a take out spot.

Torrisi - Great old school Italian deli that uses only & all local sourced products. Yes you read it right, nothing imported from Italy. I've had the chicken parm on a round roll & the Italian hero both really good. They also have a full selection of marinated veggies. The spicy broccoli rabe is my favorite. Of note...great coffee. Decent amount of seating & geared for eating in as well as out. Mangi bene!

Now remember...while there are plenty of carbs in many of the menu's above...it's all about portion control. Don't eat till you're stuffed & exercise regularly & you can enjoy like foods on a semi-regular basis. Just ask the all the good looking girls eating at L'asso...

Book of Eli/From Paris with Love

Double-Feature movie review time...

Book of Eli - While on the one hand this has a lot of elements, looks(great shout-out to those of you who played Fall-Out) & feel of your typical post-apocalyptic movie...on the other it is very original. Denzel & Oldman as usual give great performances & I just love Mila Kunis. The best part is this movie actually has twists that you don't see coming a million miles away. In a nutshell...Denzel who is one BMF modern-day Samurai is on a quest to bring "a book" to the west coast...Oldman who runs a town full of thugs is looking for "a book" that can give him unlimited power...their paths cross...do the math...if you dig this genre or are a fan of the two leads you will enjoy this different take on the post-apoc flick...

From Paris with Love - I'll make this one real simple...if you're a big Travolta fan go see this...he's totally over the top & hysterical...if you liked Taken & want to see more Americans go to France & wipe out various ethnic bad-guys...go see it...if you're a John Woo fan...you will enjoy this...if you just love mindless action movies & buddy flicks this is for you...if not...then avoid this movie. It is mindless & you can see the plot unfold blindfolded from space. I for the record went in with very low expectations & ended up really enjoying it. In all fairness it's more of a rental...but if you have an unlimited double-feature pass like I do...then paying for a Book of Eli & catching this as part of the DF works...Also of note...the female lead played by KasiaSmutniak is gorgeous...looking forward to seeing more of her...& yes they leave room for a sequel...well with Briggs & Murtha in the insane asylum...a new buddy-buddy team does need to step up...

Un-Dead & Loving it...

I just finished reading the sequel(yes it's taken a while) to the original Dracula by Bram Stoker, Dracula: The Un-Dead. I was skeptical when I saw it was a collaboration between a Stoker who is a direct descendant & a Dracula historian...but what can I say but that they totally nailed it! If you love Vampires, especially the original bad-boy Drac himself, are into history & know about Vlad, Countess Elizabeth Bathory(if not check the link) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countess_Bathory, Jack the Ripper & a bit about Stoker you will really love this book. They did a great job weaving a combination of the original story/characters, history, & the Vampire legend itself to make a great read. One of the more interesting aspects of the book was their take on how the Count views himself. I actually liked it & if again you know Vlad's history it does make sense. Just keep in mind...it's his(Drac's) perception of himself...the author is not necessarily agreeing or not...This would make a great movie & I'm really hoping for a sequel...so if you need a good book to really sink your teeth into...this is it...enjoy!