Saturday, March 14, 2009
Secret Supper Club
The menu, and a view from above. Secret supper clubs are a buzztopic that have been making the rounds for some time now (see here, here, and here), but I always assumed the trend would pass me by, partly because I've never sought them out. Well, assuming makes an ass out of you and me, because after months of ambivalence toward these little gatherings, I was invited to one. What's it like to be in with the in crowd? I'd tell you, but I'd have to kill you...kind of. While the details can and should remain hazy, let these photos give you some clues as to what the scene was like:
The handwritten menu this week had a loose Southern theme, in celebration of visitors from Atlanta. Gritz-Carltons (see photo below), buttermilk biscuits with pulled short ribs and pickles, a Dirty South salad with buttermilk dressing and bacon, and classic chicken'n'waffles all made appearances. Without giving too much away, the dinner was in a private home, prepared and served by an incredibly gracious and talented couple who actually find the time to entertain weekly. It's not a publicity stunt in any way-- more like a classy (but not stuffy) dinner party, with seriously home-style dishes (and plenty of wine).
Buttermilk biscuits with pulled short ribs and pickles--way better than trendy sliders. 
Chicken'n'waffles'n'mashed potatoes'n'gravy. The thumbs-up pretty much says it all. Amazingly, this chicken was fried in a skillet, not a deep-fryer, but it still came out crispy and tender in all the right places. 
Dumplings in a spicy tomato sauce .
The Gritz-Carlton in all its glory-- grits in a spoon, with spicy merguez sausage .
Caramel apple cake, which was later topped with homemade lemon-thyme ice cream.
It was quite a spread, quite a crowd, and quite the night. I hope that I passed the initial testing period and will be invited back. Because what's better than going in to eat?
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Monday, March 2, 2009
On Bubbies and Babka
The epic smoked meat counter. Take a number, or else.
Overall, a worthwhile adventure. As an added bonus, Zabar's in conveniently located next to H & H Bagels, which may very well be the finest bagel producer in the city. I concluded my visit by sloppily arranging a half pound of sable on a fresh onion bagel on the streetcorner. It wasn't the prettiest scene, and I reeked for the whole subway ride downtown, but there's nothing I love more than getting in touch with my cultural roots...by jostling with 50 other crotchety grandparents for a slice of smoked fish.
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Sunday, November 30, 2008
Treasure Trove: Jackon Heights Edition
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Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Fall Market Report
Alex at Maxwell's Farmstand displays a fine gooseneck gourd
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Sunday, October 5, 2008
Tales of Southeast Asia
The wreckage of our table at Skyway 
One word of warning should you make the trek to Woodside for SriPraPhai: prepare to wait. Seriously. We went on a Saturday night around 8, and weren't seated until after 9. They close the kitchen by 10, and there were definitely people who didn't make the cut. This is no hidden gem, friends.
Skyway, on the other hand, may be. On a not-so-scenic stretch of Allen Street, it's got a goofy tiki decor and a not many patrons (or at least not when I was there, on a Friday for lunch. Though the fact that it was a Friday afternoon in the outskirts of Chinatown may explain the lack of diners. Anyhow.). I'm not that familiar with Malaysian cuisine, but given Malaysia's proximity to Thailand and my intense love of Thai sour-sweet flavor combinations, I wasn't anticipating problems finding something delicious. Indeed, my problems at Skyway stemmed more from needing to limit my ordering than trying to find something I wanted.
Malaysian food seems pretty cosmopolitan, borrowing ingredients and techniques from India, China, and Singapore. We got Ron Telur, a traditional Indian pancake filled with egg and onion, served with a chicken curry dipping sauce, a huge baby oyster-and-chive omelette, and Singapore-style fried rice noodles with shrimp, onion, bean sprout, egg and lop cheong (Chinese sausage). The omelette, for those who love oysters, is a ridiculous bargain at $7. The noodles were good, but a bit sweet.
We did not even begin to do justice to the menu at Skyway, which is enormous. I straight up do not know what half of the foods on there are. But I have every intention of going back to find out.
SriPraPhai Thai
64-13 39th Ave 11
Woodside, Queens 11377
718 899-9599
Skyway Malaysian
11 Allen St (at Canal)
New York, NY 10002
212 625-1163
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Thursday, September 11, 2008
On Gluttony
Those who know me know I love pork. Those who love pork know that bacon is the crown jewel of pigs.
It is with this introduction that I present chocolate-covered bacon, the penultimate sweet/savory snack. It is sold at Roni-Sue's Candy Shoppe in lower Manhattan's Essex Market. Roni starts by taking 6 lbs of raw bacon, renders it down to about 1 lb, and then dips each strip into milk or dark chocolate.
Roni is a twisted genius.
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Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The Moon & Me
So here's this thing that I didn't write for my blog, but is still about food and worth reading.
Trawling the Urban Food Wastelands--Tumbleweed Slim's Bushwick Bodega Rice & Beans, which I was asked to write for The New York Moon, a smart, subversive online magazine matched to the lunar cycle. I highly encourage you to take a look at other articles in past issues, because I think The Moon is pretty damn neat.
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Sunday, July 27, 2008
Market Report
Offering my two cents on the locavore/ Slow Food/ sustainable agriculture trend and its consequences seems, to be frank, a bit tired to me. It's not that I don't care--these topics are certainly pertinent to my personal and professional life--I simply don't feel the need to embroil myself in an already much-publicized, highly complicated batch of issues. I do, however, offer the following as food for thought, if you are so inclined:
Epicurious Seasonal Ingredient Map
(One of my personal, thought-provoking favorites): A Locally Grown Diet With Fuss but No Muss
NY Times Opinion: Do We Really Need a Few Billion Locavores?
Now.
Moving along.
The point here is to share with you the delicious wealth of fruits and veggies (and meats and cheeses and breads) arriving with the warm temperatures. Above, we have gorgeous stone fruits, a colorful trifecta of beans; below, an assortment of cabbages and scallions, plus carrots, radishes and a strange creature ("famous," according to its signage) known as the Avocado Squash.
Sometimes shopping at the Greenmarket can be intimidating. There are too many booths, too many people, and way too much to choose from. Sometimes I panic when foods with a limited season arrive, because I think I need to buy those garlic scapes/ artichokes/ sour cherries/ one billion other potential things RIGHT NOW BEFORE THEY GO AWAY FOREVER. These feelings are natural. It is important to breathe deeply and soldier on when the panic sets in, lest it become too overwhelming and you miss out on [whatever food] entirely.
Anyhow, this is just a small sampling of what's on display now. Check the Council on the Environment of NYC's Greenmarket Guide for a complete list of market locations, seasonal updates, volunteer information and more. (Also, if anyone has actually done some work at any of the city's Greenmarket, let me know! I want some firsthand perspective.)
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Monday, July 21, 2008
Turning Japanese
I have always had a strange obsession with grocery shopping. I find the practice highly therapeutic--grocery stores provide me with anonymity, alone time, and plenty of eye candy. In New York, sometimes the process is grueling: larger stores are jam-packed at rush hour, thus destroying the relaxing quality I miss from my suburban supermarket youth. But the city has something my childhood strip malls (mostly) didn't: ethnic grocery stores.
One of my favorite things about living here are these kinds of speciality shops, which usually cater to homesick expats and immigrants, not curious little white girls like me. Perhaps it's some subconscious fascination with The Other, or maybe it's just that I like looking at weird foodstuffs. Although I won't pick favorites, I do have a tendency to go for Asian in particular, a habit that started even before I spent time in Thailand and China. While some ethnic enclaves require epic subway rides to depths of Brooklyn or Queens, there are a few more centrally located. Of the various options (Manhattan's Chinatown, K-Town, etc.), there is a small(ish) but highly visible Japanese contingent in the East Village, centered near the shitshow of St. Mark's but radiating several blocks out from there. In this zone, there are several grocery stores catering to Japanese clientele, stores that go deep beyond the typical sushi-and-ramen noodles stuff. This weekend I took a mini-field trip to Sunrise Mart, a store on the second floor above the St. Mark's Bookshop, to see what I could find.
Shiitakes #1 & #2, respectively. Note the price difference.
The problem with many of my adventures is that I don't go with a plan: I don't usually need (or sometimes even want) to buy anything, and most of the time I wouldn't know what to do with the stuff even if I did. But I can't be stopped. I am a machine. 
Jumbo sardines (does that count as an oxymoron?).
I always feel slightly awkward wandering around, food-stoned and happy, while other shoppers go about their business with no concern for the novelty around them. 
Endless condiment choices!
Despite my occasional confusion and the potential annoyance of shoppers around me, my little culinary jaunts are usually worth it. Case in point: I got a bag of dried shiitakes, three rice balls, a tub of pickled vegetables and imported yam-flavored soba noodles for about $7.
Sunrise Mart
4 Stuyvesant St., 2nd Fl. (near 3rd Ave.)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 598-3040
Map
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Thursday, July 17, 2008
This Week's Diet
Some things I have eaten recently:
Cotton candy at Brighton Beach. I forgot what a strange and lovely sensation it is to have pure sugar disintegrate in your mouth.
Additionally, Brighton Beach is one of my favorite places in the world. I'm not entirely sure why. It's gaudy and tacky and utterly delightful. I always come home smelling of poppy-seed pastries and smoked fish and sunscreen.
Deep-fried tortillas at home, as part of D's authentic Mexican tostadas. 
Sautéed dandelion greens from Philoxenia, in Astoria, Queens. Bitter and pungent, not altogether that pleasant. This was my first trek to Astoria in search of Greek food. Sadly, entering Queens is not the same as entering the Greek Isles. I was hoping for more of an overwhelming cultural explosion, the way I feel when I venture to Chinatown or even the aforementioned Brighton Beach. Clearly, not all ethnic enclaves share (or want to share) the same aesthetic character. 
Tiny and perfect marinated taro at Soba-Ya in the East Village. I have a disproportionately high tendency to crave Japanese food, perhaps because the intricate attention to detail appeals to the OCD-infected side of me. This was a precursor to my bowl of hot duck-and-scallion soba noodles, 85-degree heat totally irrelevant.
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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Pork Emporium
Bib Bim Bap I: Unmixed, still pretty.
Last week I had the pleasure of doing business over lunch at Momofuku Ssam Bar. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision based mostly on the fact that the business at hand revolved around an impending conference on Chinese cuisine. No, Momofuku isn't really Chinese food, but when you're in the neighborhood discussing the merits of various bao fillings, it's only natural that someone should bring up David Chang's super-hyped pork-belly buns.
But those buns lost their appeal to me (well, not really "lost," more like "were overshadowed by") when I saw bib bim bap on the menu, which is definitely not Chinese (try Korea)—but whatever—I am not one to deny my tongue or arteries the pleasure of shredded Berkshire pork (usually beef in more traditional versions) and a poached egg (usually fried) over rice, especially when the bowl also included pickled shiitake mushrooms, red kimchee puree, pickled baby cucumbers, caramelized shallots and seasonally-appropriate broad beans. Any bowl of bib bim bap is essentially an assortment of toppings (the word literally means "stirred or mixed meal"), and this one only differs in its toppings of choice.
Pickled Vegetables & Chap Chae: Meh.
As with most Momofuku fare, this is probably the richest, heaviest version of bib bim bap in the city. It's not really an indicator of what you would get in any Korean restaurant, but that's kind of the point. The poached egg (which, surprisingly, must be requested as a $1 add-on) was really the kicker—while I find that noodles with poached eggs (i.e., Momo ramen) can get a bit slimy, rice actually seems to absorb some of the yolk, making a lovely, sticky stew. The pork was, as it is always in a Chang production, generous, tender and fatty. The mess of pickled vegetables on top were a smart addition: their vinegary bite helped cut some of the egg/pork richness, though I did find it slightly disconcerting that the rice, egg and pork were all served warm while the vegetables were room-temperature or colder. (Note: once everything was stirred up into a big swampy mess in the bowl, the temperature evened out.) My side of chap chae, Korean-style vermicelli noodles with vinegar-kissed carrots, shiitake and scallions, was underwhelming and probably unnecessary, as the bib bim bap is easily 2,000 calories and awful filling by itself. 
Bib Bim Bap II: Let the oozing destruction begin!
For all the hype surrounding the Momofuku mini-empire, it's nice to know that they still turn out a good product. The bib bim bap is only available during lunch, and is a (relative) bargain at $14. And while the Chang-sanctioned version of this Korean standby is by no means traditional, it still maintains the basic values of the dish: simple, hearty and delicious.
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Friday, June 27, 2008
Scape Session
I come from a smelly, smelly family. We love garlic. We love it a lot. My mom used to roast entire heads and we’d pop the cloves straight. I always thought we were somehow unique, until someone (Melissa Clark) with a much larger readership than me wrote in last week’s New York Times about her family’s garlic worship. Turns out I’m not the only smelly kid. Anyhow, Clark details her trials and tribulations with the beautiful and elusive garlic scape, the early-budding flower shoots of the subterranean garlic bulb. I was immediately on a mission (admittedly, a short one, since the Union Square Greenmarket is blocks away from the office). Here are the fruits of my labor:
In her article, Clark recommends making scape pesto, but I didn’t have enough and felt strangely opposed to chopping the shit and shape out of the gorgeous green tendrils. So I decided to make an almost disgustingly healthy and simple stir fry with some fresh sugar-snap peas (also from the USQ market) and leftover cremini mushrooms. Yeah, that’s it. No rice. No noodles. No chicken, no shrimp, no real protein of any kind. Whatever, I try to keep it light one meal a week to offset the bacon/burger/dairy overload I usually clog my insides with. So basically it’s all that vegetable goodness, plus soy sauce (liquid salt—nom nom), sesame oil, a splash of red wine vin, and a wee little bit of fresh ginger.
It was good. The scapes, snacked on raw by a few brave/stupid people (me), lost some of their sinus-clogging bite after they’d been cooked for a few, though I kind of wish they’d kept more…garlicy flavor? It was a bit too mellow for me. The mushrooms absorbed most of the soy sauce and became tender little salt-bombs, and the sugar snap peas remained snappy (side note: does anyone else feel like they’re eating Gushers when the little pods explode while you chew?)
Summertime = vegetables = happy stomach.
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