Sorbillo Pizzeria

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While preparing for our trip to Italy, I read in Matt Goulding's Pasta Pane Vino about Sorbillo Pizzeria in Naples. Goulding spent time with Gino Sorbillo where they make 1500 pizzas every day.
During further research, I found that there is a Sorbillo Pizzeria right here in New York City, so we made a pilgrimage to the Bowery to check it out before we try it in Naples.

The bar area of Sorbillo

The restaurant is small, like most New York City restaurants. My husband was a liitle bit hesitant, he didn't feel like pizza for dinner. When we got there, he and my son started with a Peroni beer, and then we asked the waitress for a red wine suggestion. They have an extensive wine list, and we chose a Brunello from Montalcino which was very smooth. We can't wait for our wine tour there!

We ordered a Proscuitto di Parma e Mozzarella di Bufala appetizer, which was big enough for all four of us to share to go with our drinks. I regret not also ordering the ricotta stuffed zucchini flowers- next time I will.

Three of us ordered pizzas- the classic Margherita con Bufala, Funghi (mushroom) and Bologna (Parma ham, Parmegiano Reggiano, Mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and olive oil) and they were all delicious. Thin crust, hand-formed, and even though when they brought them you thought, I can't eat it all, yeah, well I did. (OK, I did share a piece, so technically I only ate 3/4 of a pie.) I like that on the menu it list the region of Italy where that particular pizza flavor originated.

Margherita Pizza- a classic

My husband had the Gnocci Alla Sorrentina, potato gnocci with fresh mozzarella in a tomato sauce, and he had the Polpette Napolitana, two huge beef meatballs in a tomato ragu. He pronounced both dishes the best he had and then stated that we would be returning here frequently.

Meatballs

When the dessert menu came, my daughter-in-law and I both pounced on the fried dough with Nutella drizzled on top. Thank goodness we only ordered one for the table because it was huge and it was fabulous. (Yes, we pretty much finished that off too.)

Nutella-topped fried pizza dough

We really enjoyed our meal there, the waitress was very friendly and helpful, and we met a lovely couple at the table next to us. If you find yourself in the Bowery section of New York, I highly recommend a stop at Sorbillo- I'd suggest making a reservation too, as it did get pretty busy there.

Stars in the Alley

On May 20th, Shubert Alley in Times Square was the place to be as stars from thirty Broadway shows performed songs from their shows in a free concert as a warmup for the 2014 Tony Awards, which will take place on June 8th.

Norm Lewis, the first African-American man to play the phantom in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway hosted the show, and he was coerced by his costar Sierra Boggess into giving the appreciative crowd a taste of the iconic "Music of the Night" song before joking that if we wanted to hear the entire song, we'd have to come see the show.

Norm Lewis, the host

The show opened with Andy Karl, the star of Rocky, singing "Fight From the Heart." I haven't seen this show, and his performance made me put it on my must-see list. Karl is nominated for Best Actor in a Musical.

Andy Karl from Rocky

Another new show I haven't seen, Bullets Over Broadway, based on the Woody Allen movie, was represented by Brooks Ashmanskas and Helene York doing a humorous dance routine while singing "Let's Misbehave." The crowd got a kick out them. 

Bullets Over Broadway

Tony nominated Adriane Lenox from After Midnight had the crowd eating out of her hand as she performed "Don't Advertise Your Man." I saw her perform this in the show, and it is a audience-pleaser. 

Adriane Lenox

From the multi-nominated A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder, Tony nominated for Best Actor in a Musical Bryce Pinkham sang "Foolish to Think."

Bryce Pinkham

Joshua Henry is nominated as Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his role in the revival of Violet, and he amazed the crowd with his rendition of "Let It Sing." He is fantastic in the show.

Joshua Henry

Another Best Revival of a Musical is Les Miserables, and Nikki M. James, a Tony winner for The Book Of Mormon, sang "On My Own".

Nikki M. James

Lena Hall is nominated for Best Featured Performance by an Actress in a Musical for her role in the revival of Hedwig and The Angry Inch. She tore the roof off of the place with "Tear Me Down."

Lena Hall

Kelli O'Hara is Tony nominated for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Francesca in the now closed The Bridges of Madison County. I still don't understand that- it has the best score I have heard in years (Norm Lewis agrees) and the performances are all wonderful. I wish it had had more time to grow, it is one of my favorites. O'Hara sang "To Build A Home" and the crowd loved it. Sigh.

Some of the other performances that were fan favorites include Teshi Thomas, who belted "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King.

Teshi Thomas

The guys from Newsies have a big fan base of young ladies as they sang "Seize The Day."

Newsies

And Judy McClane crushed it with "The Winner Takes It All" from Mamma Mia.

Mamma Mia

The show that I send everyone to see, Once, brought their entire cast to sing "When Your Mind's Made Up."

Once

Stars in the Alley was two hours of the best performers giving their all; it really put us all in the mood for the Tony Awards and it was free. That is why I love New York.