A Break For Italian At Girasole Pizza In Chiang Mai, Thailand

During a recent three-week trip to Eastern Asia, I made it my mission to try at least one pizza place in each of the three countries I visited: Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The key was trying to strike a good balance. On one hand, I love pizza and could eat it for nearly every meal. But there is so much great local cuisine where I was traveling and every meal I sat down for pizza meant one less dish of khao soi, pad thai, fish amok, pho ga, bun bo, or dozens of other dishes I fell in love with over there.

My first pizza experience was on the fifth day of my trip in Chiang Mai, which is located in Northern Thailand. A few friends and I visited Girasole (71 Rachadamnoen Road) which is located just inside the eastern wall of the city and boasts 16 pies, each of which cost between $5.00 and $7.00 -- not necessarily cheap by Thailand's standards. There is also a list of 32 additional toppings you can put on your pie, the most expensive being gorgonzola cheese and a seafood mix at just over $3.00 each. This was going to be my first experience with any type of cheese or dairy product on the trip and I was a little nervous about how it was going to taste because... well... Thailand isn't exactly known for that.

We ordered three pies and, truth be told, I was pleasantly surprised. Nothing blew my mind, but I found the pizza to be tasty and enjoyable. The highlight for me was the Popeye which contained ricotta cheese and spinach. Even judging it by New York standards, I'd say it was great. The ricotta was creamy and delicious and mixed well with the fresh spinach on the pie. This is not usually one of my favorite combinations, but at Girasole it worked. The highlight of the Margherita pie was the fresh Thai basil. That's not to say the rest of the pie wasn't tasty. But the basil in Thailand is incredible and I was glad there were six leave on our pie. My advice? Throw a few more on. Finally, we got a Medditerranea pie which featured tomatoes, mozzarella, olives, sundried tomatoes, ricotta and oregano. It was decent, but didn't live up to the other two in my opinion.

Girasole might very well be the best pizza in Chiang Mai. But if you only have two nights there like I did, I recommend sticking to more traditional food (like those that I recommend in my massive guide to eating in Eastern Asia: Where To Eat In Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. But, if you're spending more time in this culinary heaven, and want a break from more traditional food, Girasole is your spot. The restaurant was nearly full on the Friday night I was there, and if the weather is nice, you can grab a table outside and enjoy some pizza in this historic Thai city.

 

Margherita

Popeye

Medditerranea

First Look: Joe's Pizza Is Back!

It's hard to believe it's been close to nine years since the original Joe's Pizza closed it's doors on the corner of Bleecker Street and Carmine Street in the West Village (now home to a Grom gelato shop and previously inhabited by a pizza chain named Abierto's). That seems like an eternity ago.

Joe's has always held a special place in my heart. My earliest memory of Joe's took place in the spring of 2000 and, believe it or not, was actually documented. I was up in New York on a class field from Maryland and stopped by Joe's for two slices before heading to the bus to leave town. While I was there, I ran into Matt Cameron (pictured below) and Mike McCready -- the drummer and guitarist from Pearl Jam.

I recall speaking with them about their performance on David Letterman the previous night, and due to the wonders of the internet, I know the exact date of our encounter: April 13th, 2000.

I frequented Joe's once I moved to New York City in 2002 and was disappointed when the slice joint shuttered in 2004. There was a sit down version of Joe's down the block that's remained open since then, but traditionalists claim the pizza was never the same.

Flash forward to early 2013, when an outpost of a chain called Naked Pizza shuttered in a space on 14th Street and 3rd Avenue which it had occupied for less than a year. Although deep down, I was hoping a decent pizza place would replace it -- on a block that also boasts a Bravo location and an Amore's -- my expectations were low. But last week that all changed, when a neon sign featuring the original Joe's Pizza logo was unveiled. They opened their doors today and you can be sure I was there to rekindle some memories.

I ordered four slices -- a plain, margherita, white, and sicilian. They were all tasty, but the plain definitely brought back memories and the margherita was surprisingly stellar (I would have never splurged for the marghertia back in college). A plain slice is just $2.75. I use the word "just" not because I believe that's cheap. But give the prime location on a heavily trafficked corner near Union Square, I'm guessing rent isn't exactly what is was ten years ago. Nevertheless, I hope we don't see the price of a slice creep up.

The pizza landscape in the Village has changed drastically since the original Joe's closed. Within a 10 minute walk is Artichoke, Motorino, Luzzo's, South Brooklyn Pizza, and dozens of other shops vying for competition in a way that didn't seem possible a decade ago. Price wars have ensued. And now there are two places -- Krust and Joey Pepperoni's -- just around the corner selling slices for $1.00. Joe's is actually attached to an NYU dorm. And is across the street from another. I just hope people give them enough business to stick around.

Here are some sights from night one at the new Joe's Pizza on 14th Street.