Wednesday: Pizza By Candlelight and The Best Folk Singer in NYC
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pizza making at lucali
STOP 1: LUCALI
The key to enjoying dinner at Lucali is managing expectations: not about the pizza, which is some of the very best you will eat in all of New York, but about how long your wait will be before you can actually try some. Lucali is a dining destination not only for the pizza and calzone, the only two items on the menu, but also because of its BYOB policy, which means everyone from your part time clerk to your big time celebrity is vying for a spot in the dimly lit, rustic dining room.
lucali plain pie with basil
In true #SaveNYC fashion, Carroll Gardens native Mark Iacono opened Lucali in a former candy shop from his youth to save it, the story goes, from an "uncertain and generic fate." Because Lucali does not accept reservations, an uncertain fate is what customers can expect when approaching the hostess stand to inquire about a table. The place opens at 6:00pm, and if you don't cue up by 5:45pm (sometimes earlier), you will most certainly wait. A table could be 20 minutes, 2 hours or not in the cards at all, but this is one of the only spots in the city that is truly worth the wait.
lucali dining room
STOP 2: JALOPY THEATER AND SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Equal parts performance space, instrument repair shop, music school and local watering hole, the Jalopy Theater is truly a magical place. At the mouth of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel on the northern border of Red Hook, the Jalopy Theater functions as a community center where old-time music enthusiasts and musicians come together to hone their craft through workshops and performances held in two neighboring buildings.
feral foster at the jalopy theater
For the uninitiated, the Roots & Ruckus show on Wednesday evenings is the best night to check out what this place is all about. Hosted by Feral Foster, who is perhaps the most sublime solo musician in the city, and who regularly performs in the 9:30pm slot of this weekly revue, Roots & Ruckus consistently features the best gathering of old-time guitar, banjo, ukulele, harmonica and washboard players in the 5 boroughs.
There is no cover for the show, but bring some cash for donations. Then, grab a pint of beer or glass of wine and settle into one of the theater's church pews for an evening of incredible music.
RECAP:
- Lucali: Outstanding destination pizza restaurant with BYOB and no reservations. Expect a wait.
- Jalopy Theater and School of Music: A slice of true bohemia and home of the weekly Roots & Ruckus show, featuring the magnificent Feral Foster.
ESSENTIAL INFO:
-Lucali is located at 575 Henry Street. The Jalopy Theater is located at 315 Columbia Street.
-Total Cost: About $50 per person for pizza & calzone at Lucali, a bottle of nice wine, drinks at Jalopy and donations for the bands. Tax and tip included.
-While a $24 large pie at Lucali might seem a bit expensive, the price includes tax and you are saving with the BYOB policy. A large pie and a small calzone is plenty of food for two. Cash only.
-Get your wine for dinner up the street at Henry Street Wines & Liquors between Degraw and Sackett.
-If the wait proves too long at Lucali, head to Ferdinando's Foccacerria for an old school vibe and Sicilian fare, or to Petite Crevette for seafood and a BYOB policy (both on Union Street). If it's nice out, check out Alma for Mexican food and incredible views on the roof deck. Bar Bruno, two blocks north on Henry, is a good spot to have a drink or two if you do stick it out for a table.
-Roots & Ruckus begins at 9:00pm every Wednesday. Enter the Jalopy Theater on the store side (not the tavern on the right, which also has some great musical programming and inexpensive drinks). Once you get a drink, the theater is past the ukes, banjos and guitars lining the wall on your left.
