Coupla Guys Who Eat In Brooklyn

CHICKEN BURGER USB HUB!

2010-04-27T09:33:00.002-04:00

From Brando comes the 4 port USB chicken burger hub, MMmmmm ports...

BBQ Song!

2010-04-17T16:10:00.001-04:00

BACON CAMP!!!!

2010-01-11T21:10:00.000-05:00

You know you want it!

Bacon Popcorn!

2009-12-23T17:40:00.002-05:00

Holiday Food Porn

2009-11-30T20:45:00.006-05:00

7 Fishes Feast:

Potato Leek Soup with Beet Puree and Tarragon

Clementine Glazed Duck Breast

Baked Whole Red Snapper

Bacon, Mushroom, Cheddar n' Swiss Sammich

Beer for Kids

2009-10-12T14:23:00.000-04:00

Via CrunchGear

BACON VISION

2009-08-26T11:36:00.002-04:00

Ah, the combination of Meat Love and 80' Style!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

via CrunchGear

There's No Such Thing As Too Much Butt!

2009-07-13T17:32:00.002-04:00

Our Friend Mike H. sent me this image of a T-shirt from Pappy's Smokehouse in St. Louis. Though the chances are slim, I really hope he bough me one. If not I'll have to try and mail order one, or wait till I find myself down there again. In any case it's a classic. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll write us a guest review of the meal...

Gatling Taters

2009-06-26T11:13:00.001-04:00

Growing up in FLorida we made a few potato guns, but never anything quite like this. Jup to the last 20 sec or so of the vid fro the only real action shots...

Muncie Round Up

2009-06-26T10:52:00.002-04:00

Thai Smile, one of the best meals there.

Flatbread pizza, possibly the best thing I ate while there, and surprisingly from Fugly Mugglies which produced a mediocre burger and possibly the coldest fries Ive ever been served in a restaurant. They were spiced though.

A brutal callzone from Greek's. This was half. The breadsticks at the table were swimming in about a 1/2 cup of liquid butter at the bottom of the basket. I could feel my veins clogging after eating this meal. Apparently this place will still provide takeout orders if you have no shirt or shoes and is super friendly. Also check out the warning the have on all the tables...

Over all I would call Muncie, IN a non-foodie type town. Lots of super filling, not all that nutritional, heavy meals. Then again I was on a budget and stayed pretty close to the Ball State University campus, so maybe there are some jewels out there...

ATTN: TRAVEL SPECIAL - MUNCIE, IN

2009-06-13T13:04:00.002-04:00

So Ive been in Muncie, IN since Thursday evening. To be truthful the food has been pretty damn poor all around, no pics of anything yet. Hopefully it will get better, but I don't see that coming. I will tell you that its a setup from the grub we ate on election night in Chicago. So far its been some mediocre pulled pork from a chain type place where you throw the peanut shells on the floor. It was aight because it was drenched in bbq sauce, I cant imagine it wouldve held up otherwise. Some Chinese buffet, i dont think i need to elaborate here, and a subway 6". So far I'l give props to the staff here for providing some good fresh fruit in the mornin. More later...

That's The Rub

2009-06-06T16:44:00.003-04:00

So I finally I found a basic recipe for a rub. After scouring my cookbooks and the web for way too long, and not having that southern upbringing to fall back on, all it took a DVR’d Alton Brown ribs show. The Food network does nothing but erk me most of the time, with overproduced shows and Giada De Laurentiis fucking smiling every two seconds, but Mr. Brown does, usually come through with helpful tidbits. It was, at last, the simple beginning I needed. U used the show’s recipe of 8-3-1+1, 8 parts brown sugar, 3 parts salt, and one part chili powder, plus one part of the rest. It’s the rest part that makes it fun....and all yours. What is great about it, is you can use anything to measure it all. I used my son’s liquid medicine measuring cup, for the antibiotics he is taking. I’ll be sure I clean it out good before the next dose.

I know your not suppose to give out your rub recipe, but I honestly don’t know how the rub, and the ribs I have put it on, will end up. For the rest part I used, sweet paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper, ground dry mustard, pulverized dry tarragon, garlic powder and turmeric. How much of each, well you got me. Enough of each to fill up the medicine thingy one more time.

Pizz-Amore

2009-05-26T11:51:00.004-04:00

So my family and I went to check out the aforementioned food vendor event at The Yard in Brooklyn. It was kind of a bust, as when we got here there were only 3 vendors, and one of them made fruit drinks. (The fourth, a fancy ice cream truck showed up late.) The buzz was they had invited a lot more, but not many accepted, as they thought the crowd wouldn’t be large enough. Well, they missed it. The lines were huge for the two food vendors. Like 30 minute wait huge. I would have skipped the whole thing and just gone down to the Empanada Lady on Sackett, but the Pizza Moto guy was there. And I’ve been wanting try his pizza. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/dining/05pizza.html?_r=1&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

So I waited the 30 mins to order…and then the 40 mins to actually get the pizza, once they got down the list, written on a piece of paper, in long rows. There had to be 30 people, names and orders, before me on that list. And the women right in front of me ordered like 8 pies. But I, a New Yorker, for some reason, was thoroughly patient. And my son, 10-years of pure genetic and learned environmental impatience, was totally alright with hanging around an ungodly long time to get a nine-inch ring of dough with sauce and stuff on top. It was an amazing day, nice breeze, people were a little too hipster, but nice. So I stood around Pizza Moto mobile wood burning oven, because even thought there was a million people in front of me , my neurosis prevented me from leaving the ring of people who were also waiting. I didn’t want to miss my pie when my names was called. What it did afford me was being able to watch the three person team systematically, artfully and precisely make some of the best pie I’ve ever had. I had ordered a Ramp pie, that came with the spring time fetishized wild leek, incredibility delicious thick cut pieces of bacon, Grana Padano cheese and tomato sauce. I also got a taste if the artichoke and oil pie from a guy eating some in next to me. That I was staring at. Until he offered me a piece. Yeah at eleven buck for a nine-inch pie seems a little much, but all that was on it was just really good and fresh, was cooked in a wood fired oven on wheels and made with great care. Ya know…it’s just f&#$ing pizza. But when it’s done well, with honesty, of all things “integrity”, and no pretence, (which these days in short supply,) well hell, one would probably have to work pretty hard to screw it up. (I put “integrity” in quotes, because when they screwed up and forgot to put cheese on a pie and set it aside, I offered to take it and just have them cross my name off the list. At first the woman said no, them she said “well…how about you just take the pie and when yours is ready, you can have that too.” And after a pause “It’s an integrity thing.” She explained.)

The pie was just good, hands down. I ended up getting the “Last ramp pie on earth.” When they ran out of the topping and she “took” the last one from the 8 pie person in front of me. The boy was happy, my wife was happy and yes, patience still intact, I too was in infected with a glorious pizza happiness.

Eurotrip, and no I don't mean the bad movie with Michelle Trachtenberg...

2009-05-24T17:01:00.002-04:00

I'll go ahead and be honest, my review here is going to be a little biased as my friend works here, that being said, Eurotrip on 5th ave and 20th St in South Slope Brooklyn is a solid spot.

The food definitely falls on the heavier side of things, I've had are the Spicy Hungarian Goulash and the Langoš, Hungarian fried bread, Pub style (home-made tomato sauce, Edam cheese, medium-hot German sausage, fresh mushrooms). I also have had a taste of a couple excellent specials including a very good spicy shrimp bisque. I remember the goulash being really good, pretty spicy without being overwhelming (for me) and a perfect meal to have the afternoon after a long night out. Going with the same idea, I ate the Langoš before a night out. I have only had Langoš here, so I don't really have a point of reference, but this was way heavy on the grease, even for fried bread in my opinion. This aside it was quite tasty and once again pretty spicy, I kindof wonder if this applies to their entire menu. Prices are in the $10-$20 range for entrees, but expect to drink a few beers or alot of water to keep the heat under control.

The atmosphere is nice, huge glass front for easy people watching, a solid bar, and a more intimate backroom with a good display of local art work. I like Eurotrip overall, as long as my friend works there I'll continue going. Although a completely different genre, the pizza place across the way, Toby's Public House (review to come) would probably steal my business if I lived closer...

Food Truck Party

2009-05-22T12:49:00.002-04:00

The Yard in Brooklyn is hosting a "Food Truck and Vender" extravaganza on Sat. http://bklynyard.com/sat-may-23rd-bklyn-yard-opening-event-parked/ looks good an we get to support local food making folks. While your in the neighborhood, make a trip to Sackett St. and Smith for some the best empanadas in the five boroughs. ""Cookie" sets up her show every Saturday and cooks some the best street food ever!

Bonnie's Grill

2009-05-22T09:52:00.002-04:00

Last night I went out to Bonnie's Grill on 5th Avenue and 1st street in Park Slope. The burger poorly pictured above is their veggie patty topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickled jalapeno and chipolte mayo. I know what you're thinking, what the hell am I doing ordering a veggie burger, I'm not quite sure, I did have a couple beers before heading to dinner, and I did get bacon on it...

I have eaten at Bonnie's many times, I started going there a little more than three years ago when apartment hunting in the winter. My brother and I would get their hot wings made extra hot and then stand outside sweating with no jacket. The wings are great here, and they will make them as hot as you want them, easily. If I plan on having more than a few I usually stick to the medium ones, hot is pretty warm. I have seen them use the Endorphin Rush hot sauce before, but I'm not sure what kind of combination of sauces they use for the wings on a regular basis. You will most likely need extra blue cheese, I would recommend ordering it when you order the wings, especially if you are there when its packed. Side note: Bonnie's gets slammed on the weekends, and though pretty damn good, I don't really think its worth waiting in a huge line for. On the other hand their burger stomps that of Corner Burger down the way. The chicken sandwich is ok, as is the pulled pork, but nothing really that special, I usually stick to the burgers, fries and wings. Note: Chipolte mayo for the fries and well everything else too rocks.

Overall for the money I think Bonnie's is a pretty good place. I wouldn't travel from another borough (see: Sripraphai) to go there, but when its not too crowded to get a table right away and I'm in the hood its at the top of my list for burgers and wings, for now...

Peppinos Pizza

2009-05-19T17:24:00.001-04:00

I went around the corner to peppinos on 5th ave btwn 10th and 11th street the other day to try and find the pizza joint I will be frequenting in the new hood. Based on good reviews on yelp I had fairly high expectations. I just hot a slice of plain (2.50). The slice was good, it's not exactly Tonys or carmines from the old neighborhood, it's brick oven and has a slightly thinner crust. I liked the sauce alot, the crust was pretty good too. I'm not sure I'm in love with the quality of the cheese, but will have to return for further research. Peppinos isn't a walkup kindof place, definately more of a sit down and order a whole pie joint. The guy working the counter was pretty cool and the setup is pretty nice for a casual pizza spot. The recession special looks like the most bang for your eating solo buck with 2 plain slices and a drink for 5 bucks. I'm interested to see what the toppings pies are like and how peppinos stacks up against the other spots around there. For the meantime it looks like a reliable place for a quick slice.

Hanco's, The one on 7th ave & 10th st

2009-05-15T14:13:00.002-04:00

So I've only been to this location of Hanco's, I hear the other original one is better, but this one is only a few blocks from me. This was my third time or so. I really want to love the place, but I'm pretty sure I just like it. The service is okay, nothing special, order from the nice counter people wait with your number and then go pick up your tray. I am not a big fan of their beverage selection, I really wish their ice green tea was better, I don't believe it is regular green tea, something else is in it. The banh mi-ish sandwiches are damn good, especially the pork one. I wasn't a huge fan of the chicken sandwich (pictured), I think the pork is the way to go. The bread is a bit softer than what you get at Banh Mi Saigon (I think they are a pretty decent reference point) in soho, and I love the fact that there is butter in the sandwiches, but the prices are pretty steep for the amount of food. For a drink and a sandwich plus a buck or two for tip you will cross the $10 mark. I feel like you can feed 2 off one of the banh mi from Saigon and it only costs 4 bucks. But alas being that it is only a few blocks from my house and is the only banh mi option I am aware of in the neighborhood I will definitely continue going.

Corner Burger in Park Slope

2009-05-13T13:37:00.008-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, when I was moving my first round of things down to my current space Preston and I took a post traffic and box moving trip to Corner Burger. It was the second time i've been through there. Not a favorite for me when it comes to burgers, but pretty decent. Pictured above is the beef burger with muenster cheese, bacon, sauteed onions, chipolte mayo, pickles, lettuce and tomato. The good: Tons of options for toppings including a good chipolte mayo sauce, several cheeses, avocado, jalapenos. The bad: you are not asked what temperature you would liked your burger cooked, which my speak to the quality of the meat. The guys that work there are very nice but the service seems rough, like it should be counter service but they do table service anyway.

Will it be my last time in there, probably not, but i wont be having craving for it either. Overall the burgers stay juicy even though they have a tendency to be overcooked and the toppings make up most of the flavors in the burger. They will definitely fall apart on you if you're not careful, so set them down gently and dont squeese to hard when trying to crush all those toppings into a biteable size. Orders of fries are plenty big enough to split and pretty good, I would stick to the regular ones and not the curly fries though, the curlies just arnt crisp enough for me. So if its the middle of the day, and bonnies hasnt opened yet, you could make a worse choice than Corner Burger, they do have beer...

Got To Love People

2009-05-12T19:23:00.000-04:00

http://theminifoodblog.blogspot.com/

I don't know...but kinda alright I say....

Its been a while... But you gotta check this out!

2009-05-06T18:29:00.003-04:00

First off These business cards are freaking sweet!

Second, I'm moving to a new hood, so hopefully the explorations there will lead to numerous new posts!

Short, Yet Oh So Long

2009-01-14T20:18:00.008-05:00

I needed to cook some short ribs. No really. I’ve looking at the damn things at my butchers, Los Paisanos in Brooklyn, for months, just waiting for a point in my life when I had the time. I looked up recipes, which in the end, I ignored. (Including a video of Mark Bittman, NY Times food columnist, practically having a orgasm after cooking them.) I had a jones I needed to get over.

So the initial idea was to braise in beer, dark beer. But I just never got around to getting any. Since our most gracious friends let us use their house while they are in Ireland for a year and are between renters, I made the most of a real kitchen. Ya know, counter tops, a stove that throws real heat, and an oven that you can set to a temperature and it stays at said temperature. I brought over my magic pot and since I had a bottle of wine hanging around the apartment, I figured I would just use that. Not that I really, really wanted to. I had my heart set on beer. I wanted that deep malty flavor along with the beef. But, it was all I had and I was too lazy to stop at the store, and actually too cheap to spring for it.

I separated the ribs at home into their individual meat laden selves, and headed over to our friends place. God Bless them and their kitchen. I got the magic pot nice and hot, added a little oil and set to giving them a nice browning on all sides. I was still unsure of how I wanted to braise them, and went to raid their cupboards. I needed a drink first though. Upon opening there liquor cabinet there it was. Hell, if I couldn’t have beer, I’d have Bourbon as a braising liquid. Ah just so damn perfect. I just couldn’t use it straight. I had to cut it with something and it was back to the cupboards. Bless the house owners little vegetarian heart. She had one of those little 4 packs of vegetable stock, ya know in those annoying cardboard containers. Ok, so it was a little out of date, those things really don’t go bad though right? I finished browning the ribs, took them out, and caramelized some onions and celery. Poured in the two little containers of veg. stock, I smelled it first of course, and poured in about three glugs bourbon and let it come to a hard simmer to boil some of the alcohol off. It had a very strong bourbon smell that worried me a bit. But, I couldn’t do much about it now. So in went the short ribs, put the cover on and set my baby in the oven at 300 degrees.

It simmered a little too hard, so I dropped the oven to 250, then 200. For about 4 hours they hung out there, braising away, disturbed only a few times for a turn. I roasted some potatoes along side the last hour and a half. I let the ribs rest while a skimmed the braising liquid of most of the fat, and boiled it down a bit. To my amazement, the strong bourbon scent that it had when it went in was almost gone, with just a hint of the bourbon sweetness, and ended up with a very rich and mellow pan sauce.

And the short ribs, holy crap, man I can’t believe it took my 43 years to have these beautiful pieces of heaven. What an ass.

Oh, there will be a new bottle of bourbon waiting for you when you get home.

Heart Attack Grill

2009-01-13T22:05:00.003-05:00

Watch CBS Videos Online

Remember The Turkey?

2009-01-13T20:49:00.006-05:00

So you might think I would need to have my head examined. After cooking a full bird on Thanksgiving a few months ago, half-assidly I might add, I decided I needed to cook some turkey in a different way. Well, I had two extra legs in the freezer that I didn’t take out to cook with the big bird. So I decided I would try out, on a small scale, what I planned to do next Thanksgiving. Yep, going to jettison roasting the whole bird and braise the damn thing. In parts of course. Taken apart. So I can get the dark and the white meat cooked correctly without doing the back flips it takes to roast the damn abnormally bred fowl we use for that oh so thankful holiday. It was far enough away from the actual holiday, so the memory of that crappy turkey was far enough back in the rear-view mirror

I browned the legs quickly in a hot pan with oil, took the legs out, and then added some vegetables, some brussel sprouts, carrots and potatoes, to give them a little browning. I put it all in a roasting pan, and threw in a halved apple for good measure. Little white wine (it was a bit too fruity, but it was what was open), a bit of turkey stock I had made with the carcass just after the Thanksgiving meal, and the drippings from the pan used for the browning. I set it in the oven for a slow roast, about 225, for a few hours. The liquid was about half way up the meat and was plenty to last the whole braising in an uncovered roasting pan.

After it looked right, I swear I’m not using a thermometer any more and just learning to do it by feel. I pulled it of the oven, pulled the legs out to rest on a board for a bit, put the vegetables on a platter and cooked down the pan sauce after skimming off some of the fat.

Eh, sauce wasn’t so bad.,.would have been better with a drier white wine. Turkey was perfect though, moist, flavorful with a nice crisp skin on top. Vegetables had a real nice flavor after swimming in the braising liquid and roasting a bit. The apple was killer. ( I had one slice cut side down and one up to see the difference, keep it up, falls aprt too much if you don’t.) My roasting turkey days may be over. No more wrestling with a 20 pound bird at eight in the morning and worrying all day about it. Just braising my fowl to make it right.

2009-01-05T22:06:00.000-05:00

HATS OF MEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Mara!

Bacon Cheese Roll

2008-12-31T14:13:00.003-05:00

An updated and improved version, which as bad as it sounded when described, looks amazingly better, i might just make this one tomorrow!

I don't know if I would actually want to eat this solo, but add some eggs and carbs and I think you might have some tasty greasy fun going!

via foodproof

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2008-12-13T16:43:00.001-05:00

A Bacon Blog Everyone Should Read

2008-11-06T11:06:00.001-05:00

Bacon Unwrapped

Meat Art Follow Up...

2008-10-18T10:52:00.002-04:00

Here's a highlight from Meat after Meat Joy exhibit... Enjoi

MORE MEAT ART!

2008-10-16T12:38:00.002-04:00

Meat After Meat Joy

Daneyal Mahmood Gallery
Chelsea

511 West 25th Street, 3rd Floor, 212-675-2966
October 16 - November 15, 2008
Opening: Thursday, October 16, 5:30 - 8:30PM

Sheffy Bleier, Lauren Bockow, Adam Brandejs, Tania Bruguera, Nezaket Ekici, Anthony Fisher, Betty Hirst, Zhang Huan, Tamara Kostianovsky, Simone Racheli, David Raymond, Dieter Roth, Carolee Schneemann, Stephen j Shanabrook, Jana Sterbak, Jenny Walton, Pinar Yolacan

If the flesh disturbs you, then the reality behind the issue would disturb you far more if we opened our eyes long enough to see it. We live in a culture disconnected from what it is doing to itself and others, we choose to ignore rather than deal with the reality we have created for ourselves.
- Adam Brandejs

Meat After Meat Joy brings together the work of contemporary artists who use meat in their work (raw meat, the concept of meat, its symbolism and viscera) in order to investigate the paradoxical relationship meat has to the body. Meat combines flesh, skin, muscle, organs, blood - each with its own relationship to the body, yet meat's only reference to the body is as a once-upon-a-time living biological thing. By putting these artists together, the exhibition seeks to investigate the uncanny effect meat as a medium is for artist and viewer. This is not a show about meat as spectacle but about meat as signification, precisely because meat does not signify (a body) but its very annihilation...read more
- Heide Hatry

I've always loved the pic of this dude in his meat suit, and meat and food in general so I'm definitely going, and so is my bro Reid of www.Iluvpork.com. So in a big thanks to sherri for hooking me up with another link in one week, I'll Meat you guys there...

BACON!!!!

2008-10-14T14:41:00.002-04:00

I don't know if the writer of this article is married or wants to be, but she wouldn't even have to change her name for me or my brother. Anyway she wrote "10 Ways to Eat More Bacon" on chowhound. read it. do it.

-Thanks Sherri

Bis'cuts n' gravy

2008-10-07T14:12:00.005-04:00

I'm not a breakfast guy. I'm lucky if I can eat a piece of toast in the morning. Usually a cup of coffee will keep me going till lunch. Every once in a while however I can go for a greasy, carb heavy breakfast and one dish that I'm always drawn to is biscuits with sausage gravy.
This is my first time making this dish, it's pretty simple but can be messed up easily if not done right.

Biscuits (think Cliff originally gave me this recipe)
2 c. unbleached flour, plus more for dusting
3 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
(or just using self-rising flour)
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
1 tbsp. sugar

Mix all ingredients in bowl until forms a ball. Turn dough out and knead. Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness and using a 3 inch biscuit cutter, cut out dough. Line one inch apart on a greased baking tray. Cook 10-13 minutes in preheated 500 degree oven or until golden brown

Sausage Gravy
3/4 lbs. of sausage (the fattier the better. Don't use Italian sausage, it's too lean)
4 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 c. milk
Fresh ground pepper
Cook sausage in large skillet until browned. Remove from pan leaving fat rendering. Add flour one tbsp. at a time whisking constantly until well mixed. Add milk and bring gravy to boil. Lower heat and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir back in the sausage and add pepper.
Pour gravy over biscuits.

I worked with a couple of recipes to get this one. I still don't have the flour to milk ratio down right but just add milk if it gets too thick.

He might have choked Artie! But he ain't gunna choke me!

2008-10-07T13:54:00.003-04:00

Haven't had this dish in a long long time. Real simple to prepare and a mess to eat. Makes a great appetizer or quick snack too. I was able to get a few fresh artichokes as there just about out of season... gotta love global warming.

4 large artichokes
1/2 c Romano cheese
1-2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
2 c. unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c. chopped parsley
salt/pepper to taste

Cut the stems off the bottom of the artichokes to give them a platform to stand upright. Cut down from the 2nd set of leaves (just below the prickly ones) giving you a flat surface up top. Rinse out and begin to spread apart the leaves.
Combine all other ingredients. Stuff mixture into top of artichokes pushing it down in between all the leaves. Drizzle with more olive oil.
Fill a roasting pan with water up to the first leaf of the artichoke and cover the whole thing in foil.
Cook for 1 1/2 hours at 400 degrees. Fill water back up as neeeded

FAT Darrel

2008-10-07T11:31:00.002-04:00

So every fall the family goes to New Brunswick, New Jersey so the kid can go to a mass transit model train show. This was the first year my boy brought his own “layout” to display and he was rather excited.

So what does that have to do with a sandwich, and a large guy named Darrel? Well, the train show is set up inside an old gym at Rutgers University. Which happens to down the street from a greasy food stand called RU Hungry. It is at that stand for which you can get the sandwich called the Fat Darrel. And what wrong headed goodness the Fat Darrel is. Now, apparently, the Fat Darrel was “invented” by a Rutgers student who was trying to find an economical way to eat all the foods he loved, craved perhaps, in one package. Thus was born the Fat Darrel. I’m sure you have noticed that what is actually in the Fat Darrel has yet to be described. That is because the ingredients are somewhat embarrassing, if only because I have actually eaten this thing. Twice. And yes lived to tell about it. Although I’m sure in some way it has taken at least some time off my life, I’m hoping in some Karmic way, because of what could be described a spiritual eating experience, the damage has elevated by some degree. I suppose it could be described that way, if only for my mental well being, for as you are eating this thing, the Fat Darrel, you are assuming some risk to heart and body and I’m sure I sent shivers of worry through my wife, as I have just, not weeks before, spent hours in the ER complaining of heart related symptoms. I’m not talking the Karmic or spiritual high I’ve gotten from a really great plate of ribs in Memphis (Cozy Corner), or just a great meal prepared by a friend or a dumbly expensive dinner at a first rate restaurant. No not that. Maybe more of the feeling you get when you score the winning touchdown during a game in your backyard when you were 14. In the bigger scheme of things, not such a big deal, but still damn important.

It really shouldn’t taste this good. It is honestly just crap in a roll. But you know, crap hasn’t ever tasted so good together.

A roll, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, french fries and tomato sauce. Some kind of heaven I say, although it’s probably the part that is pretty close to hell.

How Much For That Yoke

2008-09-27T22:50:00.002-04:00

I had asked my wife to get some eggs at the farmers market while she was there. I usually get these really nice, fresh eggs from one of the stands for $3.50. A little expensive, but they are super fresh, put in the carton that morning from chickens that get to hang out in a pen eating their feeds and whatever bugs and stuff they can get their beaks on.

My wife gets back, and I must admit I wasn’t too specific when I had asked her, but she had a quizzical look son her face. She asked something like “You buy THESE eggs?” and I looked at the carton she was showing me. Nope, they weren’t. But hey, eggs at the farmers market were probably all pretty good, right? Then she told me what they cost and I almost fell over. Six dollars for a carton of eggs? Was she nuts? Well, she didn’t want to disappoint me, but there was no way in hell I would have bought six dollar eggs. And I’m not sure who the hell would, but apparently the person who had ordered the carton hadn’t picked them up and it was the end of the day, so my lucky wife got to buy them.

I opened the carton to find rows a very different size eggs, real small, real large and everything in between.

Then…then I cracked one open to make my son a couple of eggs. The yoke was bright yellow, I mean YELLOW. The albumen was wonderfully clear and held itself together in a way I had never quite seen. These were beautiful eggs. I scrambled them really soft, fried ever so lightly and made a frittata for the boy. The yokes were so flavorful with a real intense yokey(?) taste, and hell they looked oh so good on the plate. The simple egg, breakfast food for the many, and I had really amazing specimens. I carefully cooked each one, not wanting to waste them, not just because of the price, but because they were special. I wondered if this is how eggs should be, or what they had been, before the onset of the factory laying facilities. Worth six bucks? They were probably the best eggs I ever had, but not sure if I would fork over that much on a weekly basis. But maybe when I want, perhaps need, a nice plate of eggs…

2008-09-22T01:46:00.003-04:00

Check out Photographer Carl Warner, his work is sick!

and one for the people that are not obsessed with pork...

http://www.carlwarner.com/

A MId-Street Dinner

2008-09-13T16:05:00.003-04:00

We have managed to get an invitation the past three years or so, even though we don’t live on the block. The yearly Sackett St. “International Dinner”, held every September on the block between Smith and Hoyt Sts, in Brooklyn. The whole block gets shut down, tables are dragged out into the middle of the street and food placed on a large communal table set up in the middle of the block. The ribs went quick, there was some wonderful Chinese noodles, our friend Liz, who always invites us, made a killer eggplant dish. I’m always amazed at which the ease, or at least the what looks to me like ease, that Liz can whip up, put together, or in any another sense create something from ingredients that are in her kitchen and recipes that seem to just flow out of her mind.

The light was fading, the wine was flowing and bellies were being filled, all to the cacophony of music, kids riding various wheeled objects, a baby crying and talk from the half dozen tables of people, well, neighbors actually, sitting at the half dozen tables along the block. Honestly, the food is never bad, and often skews to very, very good.

My dish was a simple pasta with a sauce made from three different kinds of tomatoes I had gathered out local farmers market. Some Plum, beefsteak and red and yellow cherry tomatoes. I used a little more olive oil than usual, hoping to make it a little lighter than a sauce that is cooked way down, and tossed three cloves of crushed garlic in the pan to slightly brown before putting in the tomatoes and softened some small yellow onions. I wanted to try and keep the freshness of the tomatoes, that with the coming of mid-September, will soon be gone, gone, gone. So I resisted cooking down the tomatoes to long and left the cherry tomatoes to put in last, about half way through the cooking. I threw some fresh basil on top, put it in a big bowl, and walked up to the next block to see what Liz was making. With-in twenty minutes we were eating al-fresco, in the middle of the street, a soft breeze, and with friends and just met neighbors. There is a reason I live in Brooklyn.

Bacon Flow Chart

2008-09-10T16:41:00.003-04:00

Yes you probably have this posted on your fridge, but just incase you missed it...

Mickey's Ok

2008-09-07T21:12:00.005-04:00

Sometimes all it takes is the most humblest of foods. After hanging out at the Xcel Center during he RNC in St. Paul waiting for something to happen, Mike B. and I decided to actually leave and go outside the security perimeter and get some lunch instead of eating the God awful arena food. My boss told us about a diner that was not far away, and after half listening to his directions to get there, off we went. Of course we got lost, and after too many wrong turns navigating the cordoned off perimeter, and one Secret Serviceman telling us with a gleam in his eye and a half, no maybe a quarter, joking tone in his voice that the dog with his ears up was going to eat us, we found Mickey’s Diner.

Now Mickey’s, a real honest to goodness Art Deco diner car, looks like it hasn’t changed since it opened before WWII. Really, there is a picture on the cover of the menu, and the place looks eerily the same. And the cooks are very, VERY, good. Nothing really beats a short order cook that knows what the hell they are doing. The grill is maybe three, three and a half feet wide and it’s all cooked there. Burgers, eggs, omelets in a small pan right on the grill, bacon and most importantly, and most beautify, hash browns.

“Yeah, Yeah hash browns.” You say, big deal maybe. But these things are the most amazing pile of potatoes you will ever eat. Mike and I, without expressing it to each other were a little worried. We ordered from the cook, she slapped on a pile of potatoes on the grill and preceded to cook all kinds of other stuff, just sort of leaving the potatoes sitting there. Burgers, fries, omelets and the potatoes just sat there. I was getting kind of nervous for her. Sweat dripping from her brow and lip. Expressing her desire to leave in 15 minutes or so when her shift was done. I all but assumed the hash browns were toast, burnt, and not tasting so good. Well, what a jackass I was, (and later found out so was Mike). Because they were absolutely perfect. Perfectly brown on the grill side, and perfectly steamed on top. The nutty taste of the browned crust, the silky, mellow taste of the rest of the potatoes had me so wanting more of them. I was able to squeeze in one more trip to Mickey’s, a late night meal after day three of the convention. Again they were perfect. I just didn’t, or do , want them again, but crave them. I swear it would be reason enough to go back to that fair and self described friendly city

Get Your Twink On

2008-09-03T12:14:00.005-04:00

What’s better than fried food you ask? Well fried food at the fair of course! While in Minnesota for the RNC, for work, trust me, not anything Republican related, a bunch of co-workers took advantage of the hurricane reduced workload to hit the famous Minnesota State fair. Famous for what? Well I’m sure for many things, but fried junk on a stick seems to be right up there. I had the pleasure of indulging in something I had always heard about, always imagined I would never partake in, but ultimately was inclined to indulged in. Much to the chagrin of my stomach and arteries. Yes, the infamous deep fried Twinkie, and yes on a stick. To sounds of “Get your Twink on!” from the vender I ordered my delicacy, with powered sugar and choice of a topping no less. Now, I grew up in the late 70s when a trip to the corner store on my bike to get a pack of Twinkies and a Dr. Pepper, (when Dr. Pepper was owned by Canadian Club and was much better), was a highlight of my day. So I have consumed many a golden sponge cake, filled with white stuff that they call cream, a mouth full of heaven. (Although not so much in the past 20 years or so and I’d kill my kid if he ate one, which he wouldn’t because he’s grown up on chocolate croissants and wouldn’t lower himself to packaged junk food.)

I stood gazing at my fried wonder, attached somewhat mournfully to a stick through its innards, powdered and chocolate drizzled, wondering what the hell I was doing. Ah, but one bit and I realized what all the fuss was about. A warm, crunchy outer coating, the white stuff reduced to a near liquid, infusing itself into the golden outer cake. Just amazing. Was it food? Yeah, I guess. Was it a culinary highlight? I guess that depends on your definition. Would I eat one again? I’m not sure my body would be able to take another hit like that, but I sure the hell would be tempted.

And btw, thanks to Justin for being so obsessed with finding Famous Dave’s place, next time you’re at the fair, look for it and get yourself some chocolate dipped bacon.

Eata Vita

2008-08-24T15:39:00.014-04:00

Last week I visited Dolce Vita in Manhattan’s Little Italy. It's not often you get a new restaurant opening in that area. This place has gotten a bit of press lately because of their neighbors aren't playing very nice and trying to force out the new kid on the block. So much for Italian hospitality.

Little Italy isn’t my first choice for Italian food. Getting solicited by a hostesses begging me to come in is normally not the way I like to start my meal. Most of the restaurants are usually no better than the Olive Garden, vegetables and pasta are overcooked and nothing is typically fresh. On top of that it's the same boring food, I don't even need to see a menu to know that I can get some fill-in the-blank parmigiana.

But I put all that aside because I thought I’d support my Italian brethren by checking out what they had to offer, plus my dad missed my birthday and promised to pay.

The setting is small but comfortable. Simple table settings with not a lot of frills made it feel very contemporary. The John Legend album playing was better than some Italian opera but not much better. Lacking a liquor license is hurting this place but they’ve made up the difference by offering to go out and buy wine or beer for us.

After reading Preston’s post about mussels I had a hankering for seafood. For an appetizer we split orders of sage fried calamari with a balsamic and orange juice reduction and mussels sautéed in a white wine butter sauce and served with toast points.

All the fish was quite fresh and cooked well. The mussels could have been a bit larger in size, especially for this time of summer but they packed a nice taste.
Calamari was fried well but the reduction on top was too understated and didn’t stand out well.

Both dishes seemed like they sat for a bit and judging that we were the only ones in the place I’m wondering what the chef was doing back there that we couldn’t get a hot plate of mussels.

The place bragged about having homemade pasta using organic ingredients so of course we had to taste some. My dad went right for the homemade pasta ala puttanesca, he’s such the classic. Besides the usual olives, capers, and sauce they spin-it up and add mussels, clams, and shrimp to the dish. I always chuckle when I see this dish on a menu because the name literally translates to "pasta the way a whore would make it", generally it's believed that in Roman times, prostitutes would serve this dish to entice customers, plus it was easy to prepare.

I tried the homemade ravioli. Two large sheets barely contained filling. Cooked nearly to al dente but might have needed another few minutes in the water. Definitely not enough filling to get a satisfying taste of much of anything.

One very redeeming quality of this place was the dessert. They only had one to offer and that a tirimissu. I figured if that's all they were offering it had better be good. Oh my it was! it was made from scratch by the owner's wife when we ordered it.
Very light, creamy and not too much liquor. It's by far some of the best I've ever had.

In the end, I probably won't go back to this place. Just wasn't all that psyched in the end about my meal. But I grabbed a delivery menu just in case anyone at work wants a try!

Summer Salad Simplicity

2008-08-24T15:29:00.010-04:00

I was fortunate enough to score a fresh tomato from my dad's garden. This thing was as big as a baby's head. It needed a day or two on the windowsill to redden but it was worth the wait. My dad was thoughtful enough to also include some of his greek basil and a large chunk of dried cornbread that he baked.

This is definitely some of my summer comfort food. I'll usually eat some variation of this dish a few times a week. It makes for a great side to a steak or alone with a large hunk of bread!

Kept this one real simple. Sliced the tomato and rough chopped the basil. Couple of pinches of kosher salt and a light coating of extra virgin olive oil. Crumbled up the cornbread after it soaked briefly in some water. Had some good calamata olives leftover and in those went as well.

The biggest trick to this dish is to let it sit for 15-20 minutes and let the salt start to break down the tomato juices which will get absorbed into the cornbread.

Meat's Meat & Man's Gotta Eat.

2008-08-22T14:55:00.002-04:00

Click here for some nice meat on skin action!

Harlem Invader

2008-08-21T13:12:00.004-04:00

Ok, ok, I know I don't live in Brooklyn but after meeting me you'd swear I invented the place. I grew up in south Brooklyn where I wear the shiny badge of knowing how to appreciate what it means to visit a butcher or haggle at a fruit market. I know good Italian food when I see it, and cooking the traditional classics is always my go-to. I can proudly say my education comes from tugging at my Nonna's apron and usually getting the splatter of hot sauce on my face.

Now I hold court in Harlem, where I've been for around two years. This is a place whose culinary cuisine has at times been stereotyped but after a little searching and digging there are some real gems in the community.
So now I got to get to shopping so I can share some of my uptown flavor mixed with a bit of old school charm.

The Squid and the Kid

2008-08-19T22:19:00.003-04:00

“Dad, can we get some calamari? And can you make the way you do with the stuffing?” Are the wonderful words that fell out of my son’s mouth while we were at our small, local Carroll Gardens farmers market. I mean, how good is that?

“You want some mussels too?”

“Yeah!”

It is with great pleasure I am able to feed my son. From an early age he has been rather adventurous with food. Loves fried oysters. Although it was quite a hoot watching him try a raw one, that didn’t go over so well. Everyone sitting at the Oyster Bar counter seats in Grand Central got quite a kick out if too. Sushi, he’s more than good with it, and will badger us for days to get some. As long as it is not a green leaf or peanut butter and jelly, we can usually get him to try it. And the kid is picky. He knows what is good and won’t take anything less.

Of course, this does bite us in the ass. He has refused to eat pasta at his friend’s house, his friend’s mother being a very good cook, but she just happened to overcook it. Even after the fatherly talk about why you politely eat something at someone else’s house without an attitude. He just refused to eat the overcooked pasta. The mom ended up making him a breaded chicken cutlet that he deemed superb. He will only consume the mozzarella from Caputo’s on Court St. Granted it is the best in the neighborhood. Olives have to come from there too. When I cook something that is not quite up to par, he has no qualms telling so. And why…

So I made him the stuffed calamari. Just a simple bread crumb, oil, garlic and parsley stuffing. Broil it for 10 minutes, turning to brown on each side. Although my broiler sucks and I’ll pan fry it next time. We got an extra big bag of the mussels from the fish guy, something about the captain of the boat not having it together that morning after a late night at a wedding and “did I just want the rest of them?” I steamed them in water, sherry, garlic, green scallion tops and butter. Steamed a few ears of that nice bi-color corn I got on my trip to the Union Square market.

The kid was happy dunking the mussels in the pot liquor and butter. He inhaled two of the stuffed calamari and his mom made him eat a half an ear of corn so after he only took a few bites and said he was full. Moms do that.

I always ask him how the meal was. “Pretty good dad.” I guess I’ll settle for that and try better next time.

Baaaaacon

2008-08-17T21:20:00.006-04:00

Had some real nice ol' bacon. Getting time I had to use after defrosting. Thick cut. If you know where to look in the Fairway in Brooklyn, it is really extremely cheap. Like $3.00 a pound. It's left over from the whole smoked, cured, pork belly they sell. It's back in the packaged meat section, near the expensive bacon, far right hand side. It's not bad, (although after having some from a butcher in Allentown, PA, from the farmer's market at the fairgrounds, it don't reeeeealy compare. Hard to beat the PA Dutch for good smoked, cured meat.) Real thick, almost like a slab of real meat compared to the thin crap one usually has to cook with.

My Boy wanted eggs, a frittata to be exact. I'm blessed with a kid who likes food. Bacon, scallions. nice fresh eggs from my local farmer Market in Carroll Gardens. I added some Heirloom Tomatoes to mine, he is not real keen on cooked tomatoes unless it's sauce. Yeah, yeah how many times can we mention those damn tomatoes on this blog. Well hell, it's August, they're here and mostly rather great! A nice breakfast with my little man while the wife away. Big chunks bacon, didn't cook the scallion, just chucked in with the egg. The heat on the Toms on mine just really rounded it out, got to work on that kid. The whole meal just searching to for that perfect bite, with all of it coming together. Can't have it every-time I guess. But once you find it......

2008-08-17T16:18:00.003-04:00

So this was a strange combo lunch of soppresatta, Sweet Emotion cheese, heirloom tomatoes, basil, sweet corn and scallops.

It was all from the Union Square market except the soppresatta from Emily's on Graham and cheese from Saxelby's in Essex st. Market. Ann there kicks ass. Oh, and new fave cheese, Trefoil. follow the link for Saxelby's writeup of it... personally if it were reasonable i would roll around in it for a day.

http://saxelbycheese.blogspot.com/2008/07/t-is-for-cheese-thats-good-enough-for.html

So the lunch was a total throw together, but since I was eating alone I went for it all on one plate. Everythign worked well with eachother so no flavor issues, just a bit crowded. but next time i'd def do it for dinner, and split it into a couple courses...

2008-08-16T12:24:00.005-04:00

Well, well well…nothing like a rather overwhelming trip to the Union Square Farmer’s Market to start a day. Defiantly need to be caffeinated next time. As you can imagine it is ALL in season and the booths are more than chock full delectables. All that fruit and veggies, it’s all there. I bought apricots because they looked and smelled so damn good. I don’t think I’ve ever bought apricots that weren’t part of a spreadable in a jar. My partner in crime on this blog, Cliff, and I got to float on through looking, touching and smelling. (Which Cliff usually reserves for the lady folk, but he of was making an exception on this morning.) Our mission was Tomatoes, heirloom Tomatoes. We scoped out them all, found a great price, $3.50 a pound, and did our damage. A baguette later purchased and we had lunch. Good bread, the toms and a little salt. Done, done, done…

We were good, didn’t go crazy. Didn’t over buy what we couldn’t reasonably use. My family sponged a neighbors CSA box when they told us we should take their share, because they were away. I had plenty at home already, just needed to round it all out. Some real, real nice small skinny little eggplants to go with the white eggplants I had at home. A nice big bunch of insanely nice parsley, scallions with looooong greens attached. Some this and that and just a little bit of the other thing.

Last night I got to make a real nice sauce with corn, the eggplants, squash and some real ripe plum tomatoes. I pulled out my magic pot, (a 7 ¼ quart Le Creuset dutch oven I had to beg my mother to get me for Christmas, and what remains the most expensive thing that I get to cook with,) and browned the corn just a bit with a little crushed garlic, added the squash, a little wine to steam it in a bit, the eggplant and let that cook down a few minutes. I made a little hot spot and chucked in some minced garlic and shallots and let it move over to translucent before mixing in and then adding the five seeded, peeled tomatoes. Put the pasta in the water, when that was done within an inch of its life, that hit the magic pot with a little pasta water.

Just fresh, fresh. My kid wasn’t too enthralled, not a big eggplant fan. He “doesn’t like the texture.” Damn NYC kid. But the wife liked it. And that is enough for me…

Number One

2008-08-16T10:53:00.002-04:00

Hey, hey Cliff. What do ya think this here blog should be? I got the first post btw!! What do you think, should it be a eat'in, cook'in, drink'in and maybe a little restaurant'in sort of extravaganza?

Ok first real food type post coming in a bit...