By
Greer Wylder| Pizza pie at Al’s that’s amore |
| New York City-style comfort food at Al's |
By
Greer Wylder
Daily Pilot
What:
AI's New York Cafe
Where: 1673
Irvine Ave., Costa
Mesa
When: 11 a.m.
to 9 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m. to 10
p.m. weekends
How
much:
Inexpensive
Contact:
(949)
722-1212 or
http://www.alsnewyorkcafe.com/
When
Al Amiri, 30, took over his brother’s pizza shop in Costa Mesa 10 years
ago, it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“At 21, I had the choice to continue with college, or try to make this work,” Amiri said, referring to his namesake business, Al’s New York Café. “I honestly don’t think I could have learned more about running a business if I did finish college.”
By the age of 13, Amiri knew he was destined to cook. He grew up in Irvine and , as a self-described latchkey kid; he was always messing around in the kitchen. He subsequently learned how to cook on his own, and when his parents came home from work, he had dinner ready for them. He also worked part time in pizza shops.
Amiri’s grateful for his loyal customers who frequent his tiny café, just 750 square feet, next to 7-Eleven on Irvine Avenue in Costa Mesa. “I’m so appreciative of my customers,” Amiri said. “They’re the reason my business is what it is today.”
Despite the shop’s proximity to Newport Harbor High School and the center’s popularity as an after school hangout, Amiri’s regular customer’s aren’t necessarily students. Many customers come as far as the other side of the bay, near Newport Center.
“There just isn’t a place like this in that area. They come to my place to enjoy the food and they appreciate the value. Lunch cost less than $5,” Amiri said. “It’s not fast food; it takes a little more time. We don’t prep food and let it lay around all day. It’s freshly cooked to order.”
Value and quality is a big draw for Amiri’s customers. A family of four can eat there for less than $30, and mailer coupons are available for an extra large pizza with salad and garlic bread for just $16.99. “We make fresh pizza sauce daily or every other day, as well as five different suaces,” Amiri said, referring to the shop’s offerings of marinara, meat sauce, a rich garlic cream and pink sauce.” (The pink sauce is) a perfect blend of cream and marinara, for those who want good flavor, not too much red and not too much white.
“I think my pizza speaks for itself,” Amiri said. It’s a nice thin, New-York-style crust. And we make fresh dough daily. Amiri’s attention to high quality food extends to his bakery items. He only uses fresh baguettes from C’est Si Bon for his sandwiches.
Although Al’s New York Café is popular for its pizza, Amiri also serves pastas ($5.50 to $7.25) calzones ($6.50 to $8.50); salads ($3 to $7.75); hot and cold sandwiches ($4.25 to $6.50) and specialty dishes, such as chicken cacciatore ($7.85) and eggplant parmesan ($7.85). A lesser-known fact is that Amiri’s catering capabilities are more than just serving café foods.
“At catering events, I can
deliver everything and anything a client wants,” Amiri said. “We
do breakfasts. At fine-dining events, I can set up beautiful displays. And we
plan parties for groups of 30 to 500 people.”
Among the popular items on the menu are the Caesar salad ($3.75 from small and
$5.25 for large); the NYC special pizza, with pepperoni, sausage, onion, grlic
and cheese (small $11.50, large $14.50 and extra large $18.50); the garlic cheese
bread ($2.50); and the chicken supreme sandwich with sauteed bell peppers, onions
and baked mozzarella (small $4.75 and large $6.25).
Al’s offers free local delivery from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and 5 p.m. to closing daily.
By Kathy Mader
FYI
What:
AI's New York Cafe
Where: 1673
Irvine Ave., Costa
Mesa
When: 11 a.m.
to 9 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m. to 10
p.m. weekends
How
much:
Inexpensive
Contact:
(949)
722-1212 or
http://www.alsnewyorkcafe.com/
Everybody is a little
nostalgic for New York
right now, and everyone
wants to help the Big Apple.
The God's honest truth
be known, every
one things
the
way they used to
be, but if the best we can do is help New York, we'll do it.
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani says the best way we can help New York is to go there and spend money. But maybe some of us just aren't quite ready for that. However, we have a little slice of New York here in Costa Mesa at Al's New York Cafe, right next to 7Eleven on the comer of 17th Street and Irvine Avenue.
Please know that I in no way mean to trivialize or make light of a single tragic thing that happened on that most devastating of days, Sept. 11. But I do want people to know that not only can we share in a little of what makes New York such a great place - the food - but we can also help New York by giving a donation right at Al's. Almost the best of both worlds.
Al's New York Cafe is a classic New York deli, replete with yelling from the kitchen to the front of the store and a little of the grime of New York's best. However, neither of those things affect the food whatsoever.
Al's has a loyal following and will have more, as soon as you eat there. My friends Karen and Kelly told me about Al's as a terrific option for when you want everyone to think you whipped up a killer lasagna in the time it took you to get home from work. My husband, Brian, swore to me that their pastrami sandwich was the best he's ever eaten. With these kinds of accolades, especially people thinking I made a great lasagna, I had to go.
And, boy, am I glad I did. The high school students have been in on this place from the get-go, but then again they know everything. You can always tell when it is Newport Harbor's lunch hour.
One of my standards for an authentic New York Italian deli is, of course, the Italian submarine sandwich (a small is $4), which must include all of the mortadella, capacolla, provolone and salami of the East. This one does, on a big, soft and chewy roll. The sandwich comes in two sizes, and I reluctantly admit that the notso-small small is big enough. If capacolla wasn't Italian for "cardiac arrest," I could eat one of these every day.
So in the interest of health, on to the meatball sandwich ($4.50 for a large), another standard that Al's lives up to just fine-like every Thursday night fine. Obviously the key ingredient in this, and in so many other dishes, is the marinara sauce. It always surprises me when an "authentic" Italian restaurant makes a lousy marinara. You can't build an empire like that! But that is not the case at Al's.
The marinara is tangy and rich, and you are pretty happy it comes on just about everything. I even asked for an extra ladle on my tortellini ($7.25).
And ya gotta talk about the pizza ($7.50 for a 12-inch, add 75 cents per topping). Having spent a year in New York City eating pizza from one end of the island to the other, with a few stops in Jersey for good measure, I know what I like. It may not be what you like, as Californians tend to like the thicker, chewier crusts originating from Chicago better. But this is a thin, crisp crust with a lot of cheese and just the right amount of sauce. This is the kind of pizza that you can eat four slices instead of two and still try the thamisu.
Al of course will top it with anything you want, including that California barbecue chicken and artichoke hearts. But when in New York (or almost New York), go for the specialty of the house. Try the "white pizza" with olive oil, fresh tomato, garlic, basil, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. This sauce-less pizza shocks the purists but is darn good eating. And for the information of you purists, this style of pizza is found all over New York.
Everything Al's makes is available for catering and delivery, and always check the specials board, you can get a great deal.
The menu is not news; it has all that you would expect an Italian cafe-deli to have -from calzone and special pizzas to antipasto salads, all traditional pastas and specialty sandwiches. What is news is that this little remote slice of New York City is right here (and I am embarrassed to say has been for seven years) in Costa Mesa.
Come in and reminisce about
the pictures on the wall, give big and order big. Comfort food at its best,
in every sense of the word.