Yes, it was time for lunch. I had it all perfectly planned. I was working on 45^th Street and 6^th Avenue. I was going to get something from the Daisy May BBQ cart. If Daisy May wasn’t around, I’d get a falafel from Moishe’s on the corner. As I made my way out of the building, I saw the Rickshaw Dumpling truck and the treats truck. Okay, fuck the treats truck. I wasn’t eating cookies for lunch. I had to stay focused; Daisy May, Moishe’s or bust. So after walking down 6^th Avenue and arguing with myself on the way to 46^th Street, I made a quick U-turn and headed back over to the Rickshaw Dumpling truck. Even though I had read that Anita Lo was no longer affiliated with them, I had to check things out for myself. I think in my past life I was a dumpling and that’s why my love for them goes so deep. 

There was a he & she dude-bro in the truck. Awesome, nothing says authentic like two hipsters serving you dumplings out of a truck in midtown Manhattan, welcome to the NEW New York. The female dude-bro quickly, and bubbly, asked me what I’d like. Looking at the blackboard I quickly yelled out “the pork & Chinese chive dumpling". Six dumplings for $6, what a bargain. I was handed a small Chinese food container, sealed with the Rickshaw Dumpling logo.  I grabbed a pair of chopsticks, some napkins and I was off.

As I got back upstairs to tear into the dumplings, I realized I lost a chopstick in transit, great. I should of went stereotypical whiteboy and just used a fork, like my brother does. I went straight gutter on these dumplings and ate them by hand. Unfortunately, it tasted like they came from a gutter; one that held run off from a melted dirty, yellow mountain of snow. Soggy, with a heavy taste of chives, these dumplings sucked! The skin on them was awful and mushy. I thought the dipping sauce would make them a little better but they actually made them a lot worse. I’ve had dumplings in the hood and when I say hood I don't mean the gentrified section of buschwick, that were better than these pieces of crap. 

It just goes to show, when you have a plan for lunch, stick to it; or you’ll be eating the equivalent of white dog shit.


RickShaw Dumpling truck  
New York City 
www.rickshawdumplings.com

 For me, there are two types of pizza places: there’s what I like to call the “new age pizza”. People who study under master pizzaiola's, who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on brick ovens built by master oven builders from Italy and then open a pizza place just because it's "trendy". I must of been in the bathroom when pizza became a trend in new york city. I consider the makers of new age pizza as the hype beast's of the culinary world (definition of a hype beast).

And then there are the local pizza joints, where I don’t have to wait hours or weeks for a reservation, where I don’t have to wait on line with smelly hipsters and stupid tourists for a $5 slice of regular pizza because the assholes picked up the latest edition of frommers or even worse read it on Yelp. The local pizza joint is a place where I can walk to and get a slice with no hassle, where the pizza is always on point and when I walk into the place, the guy behind the counter knows exactly what I want. La Casa Bella is one of those places.

La Casa Bella is located on the corner of 26^th and Cropsey Avenues in Bensonhurst. Established in the early 90’s, it’s the perfect mom and pop pizza joint. The owner mans the counter while his wife is one of the waitress. My brother and I decided to pop in for dinner one night. Luckily it was a Tuesday because any given Friday, Saturday and Sunday you will be waiting a good hour or so for a table. 

 

As you walk into La Casa Bella you notice the old school charm: dim lighting with copper plated ceilings, wooden tables and chairs, and a long counter with all the pizza. In addition to pizza, La Casa Bella also serves a full menu of Italian food. My brother and I ordered two vodka slices ($3.95 each, I think), one order of fried calamari ($10.95) and we both decided to get the chicken Parmesan ($12.95).

Whenever I go to La Casa Bella, I start off my meal with a vodka slice which, honestly, I believe is the best vodka slice in Brooklyn. If it was humanly and socially acceptable to have sex and marry this slice of pizza, I would. And yes, there are about five other pizza shops that make vodka slices, but none can come near the one at La Casa Bella. A thin, crunchy, chewy dough, topped with a creamy, garlicky, tomato vodka sauce, which is then topped off with fresh mozzarella and a mix of basil and parsley with a sesame seed crust can honestly be the key factor in bringing world peace.

Next up was the fried calamari; perfectly tender pieces of calamari, fried to perfection and served with a hot or a sweet sauce. 

I FUCKING LOVE chicken Parmesan!  This is one of the very few dishes I could eat every day and La Casa Bella makes one of, if not the best, plates of chicken parmesan I’ve ever had. Thinly sliced pieces of chicken, deep fried, extra crispy, placed on a bed of La Casa Bella’s great tomato sauce, and topped with fresh mozzarella. The portion is huge. I usually eat half of it, but this time it was so good I kept eating until it hurt. 

The bill came to $50.

If you were confused with what I meant by local pizza joints, I’m sure after reading this you’ll understand and if you don’t, well, then you’re an asshole. In south Brooklyn, pizza has taken a nose dive in the taste category, with the new ownership of the pizza section at L&B by people who have no business making pizza, even though it’s the same recipe and because of Totonno’s, which is over rated, overpriced and over the hill. I’m happy to say La Casa Bella has kept its consistency over the past 18 years and if anything has gotten better over time. That's why this will always be my favorite local pizza joint. 

La Casa Bella 
2579 Cropsey Avenue Brooklyn NY 
(718) 449-0200
www.LaCasaBellaMenu.com