Cork & Slice — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

I’ll be honest, I had eaten here once before, back when I was dating, and had gotten something that I thought was alright, but nothing to write home about. Well I’m writing home about this experience, because MY GOSH, everything was absolutely DELICIOUS!

First of all, we were told it would be a 25 minute wait to be seated, so we went back to the car to chill for a bit. No sooner did I pull the car into a spot a bit closer to the restaurant, than I got a call that our table was ready. It must’ve been 7 minutes, max.

So we go back to the restaurant, sit down and are greeted, not too long afterwards, by a very friendly and cheerful waitress. I was on the fence about what to get. On the one hand, Margherita pizza is always a safe bet for me. On the other hand, my taste buds were daring me to go for the Funghi. (Initially my wife was going to get that, and we were going to share, so I’d have the best of both worlds, but then the waitress told her about the gnocchi special, and there went that safety net.) After some agonizing over it, I decided to play it safe, and went with the Margherita, while my wife got the gnocchi, and we got sweet potato fries to share. I just wasn’t sure I could handle a whole pie of Funghi. But I had this nagging feeling I was missing out, especially after smelling a delicious, pungent sort of smell around me, that I was sure must’ve been the Funghi (though the only pizza I saw on a nearby table was a Margherita).

Well it turns out, I made the best decision. Fast forward a bit, and our food arrives. It looked and smelled fantastic, and the taste more than matched the smell. Turns out, the deliciously pungent smell I described above, that made me think I was smelling a Funghi pie and missing out, was very likely the Margherita. Idk what they do to that dough, but this stuff was different and in the best way! It had a kick to it– not too intense, but enough of a tang to make it super unique, and easily the best pizza I’ve ever had. Generally, I put artisan pizza and regular pizza store pizza into two separate categories, and– while I appreciate both– I would never think of replacing the classics with the artisan stuff. But I’d forgo regular pizza any day for this stuff! It was so unique and 💯% exceeded my expectations.

Now, on to my wife’s gnocchi. She absolutely loved it and was super happy! She particularly loved the sauce. I had a few pieces, and similarly found it to be delicious, even though the initial flavor of the sauce was not exactly my style (but not bad at all, as evidenced by the fact that I kept periodically taking pieces).

Then there were the sweet potato fries. They were positively delectable, and, again, easily the best sweet potato fries I’ve ever had! They, too, were different, and in such a good way! We pondered over the interesting flavor, and my wife theorized that, perhaps, they were rubbed with truffle oil, or something. Very possible. But whatever it was gave them such a perfect flavor, especially when dipped in the spicy mayo dressing that came with them, that we could not stop eating them.

Finally, I got a chocolate soufflé for dessert (my wife was full). It was really good, but was no different than what you’ll get at basically any other restaurant, except for the fact that the whipped cream was dairy, giving it the upper hand over fleishig restaurants.

All in all, the experience was phenomenal! There was a nice ambience, the service was great and the food was unbelievable! Normally there’s either not enough food, or so much that we take the leftovers to go (which you’ll never hear me complain about). In this case, there was the perfect amount that we finished every last morsel, without feeling like there wasn’t enough, but also without feeling like we stuffed ourselves. Neither of us could’ve eaten much, if any, more, and both of us felt extremely satisfied. I cannot possibly recommend...

As a restaurant that desires to be 'fine dining, ' not a roaring success. Of course, C&S is not anybody's pizzeria. Definitely 2 or 4 cuts above. But as an Italian restaurant (as listed by Google), not so much. We (wife & me) had: Dinner salad (spinach sub for arugula): 3*'s, fresh, dressing on side (only okay, not too sweet); salad's goat cheese: skimpy quantity. Nothing interesting about it, unless you swoon over craisins, pomegranate seeds and nuts. Pizza: a firm 3*'s. crust; great; cheese: not top-of-the-line; sauce: boring. Broccolini: roasted. 4*'s. Chocolate explosion. Warm Choco mousse in brownie casket + primium (commercial produced) ice cream, and real whipped cream. Delicious. But still not a gourmet product. 3*'s. In this place, Mac & cheese and eggplant Parm rule. There is no artichoke found on the menu. Garlic bread (with butter!)? Minestrone soup? Home-made pasta, please! (...simply with plain butter and minced parsley) And what ever happened to cheese platter? Cheese and fruit? Simple house-baked biscotti? Not to mention sweet nut loaf (putizza di noci). Our server was good: young and enthusiastic, but totally untrained (🥺). We ate upstairs (4 steps), where it was more quiet. Handicapped access ♿? You'll need to struggle, with 3 steep steps to enter. 😢 ~ $100 We live close by, so...

Ate here a few weeks ago during the 9 days, busy night. Food was good, portions were average size, tasty but not served hot. Pizza was actually cold, pasta dishes were all warm, fish was barely warm. Pasta was excellent. Dessert was awful, the cakes were terrible, gelato tasted like water, creme brulee was great flavor, texture was more pudding than custard, but still good. Drinks were meh, overall the creativity in the menu left plenty to be desired. Service was sub par and that is being generous. Incredibly slow, rude wait staff, seated and told 10 minutes. 45 minutes later we asked if there was someone to take our order. The response? It's a busy night, if you don't want to wait you can order somewhere else. Ok... BTW, wasn't terribly busy even, few open tables on both sides of the restaurant and outdoors want jammed either Obviously this was reflected in the tip. She's right, we could have ordered elsewhere, and we might have if they would have said it was a 45 minute wait when we asked. But they said 10. I guess we know for next time... Ambiance is nice, nice decor. Overall, there are better places, both local and outside the area, but if you end up here it's good as long as you...