Hungry, stressed.

It's been a while, I know. I've been in the midst of moving for the last month, and now that I finally have moved to my amazing new SpaHa residence, all of my jobs have started to give me all the hours I've wanted at once. And now my diet, and the Gourmetro, suffers. Does it ever.

For the last week, my intake has consisted of kickin' Peanut Butter & Jelly Co. White Chocolate (and Cinnamon Raisin Swirl) peanut butter with Whole Foods 7-Grain bread (which sucks), expired Barilla tortellini, and Patsy's tomato and basil sauce. And lots of bad Chinese food. How could I forget. I'm not starving by any means, but I'm looking forward to having all of my cooking tools back (which should happen this Sunday)

This morning I decided to break my good food fast by hitting up the Union Square Farmer's Market, and with only $15 in my pocket, I knew I would have to work to get everything I needed without getting distracted by the colorful tomatoes.

A few pats of butter, salt and pepper, and some olive oil turned a pound of organic fingerling potatoes, crisp lemony French Sorrel, a bone-in wing of Skate, some yellow pear-shaped grape tomatoes, and a bag of summer squash into a pretty sweet dinner. The potatoes broiled until fork tender while I sauteed the skate and the then-sliced summer squash. From beginning to end it took about 45 minutes and tasted great. I wish I'd had some of my spices, but they're still on Long Island with the rest of my stuff. Salt, pepper and lemon were the only seasonings I had to work with, and they worked quite well.

It was nice to eat something real. Oh, and I sauteed the just-shy-of-a-pound skate (after rinsing and rubbing down with olive oil and salt and pepper) over medium-high heat for about six minutes. It probably could have used one or two more.

I'll have to learn how to debone the skate, because while the cartilage wasn't too off-putting, it would be better removed.

Technorati Tags: Food, Skate, Squash, Cooking

Buns of Steam

Ever since I first partook of the steamed pork buns at Momofuku—light, doughy and stuffed with perfectly tender Berkshire pork—they’ve been on my short craving list. After sampling similar wares at a few other Asian spots, I could safely say no one else could touch those buns.

Then, lo and behold, New York magazine raved about Tribeca newcomer Province, even going so far as to compare its mantou bread sandwiches to the steamy excellence at Momofuku. New York hasn’t steered me wrong yet, so we headed down to Tribeca for a “cheap date night” with high expectations.

Province (305 Church St., 212-925-1205) is easy to miss among the trendy cafes populating this stretch of Church, but while seated at the window we noticed plenty of intrigued looks on the faces of worker bees passing by. The sparse design is a bit IKEA meets diner, with unadorned cement floors and blond wood benches with odd, Swiss cheese-looking “privacy” walls. It was pretty empty on the Wednesday evening we visited, but the staff was friendly and efficient.

Not knowing how large the sandwiches would be, my friend ordered two—spicy pork ($3.75) and braised pork shoulder ($3.75)—and I chose the pork shoulder and side salad with ginger dressing. In short order, the buns arrived wrapped in wax paper and still steaming. Unlike Momofuku, Province’s buns are sprinkled with black sesame seeds and the mantou isn’t quite as light and doughy, but it is still slightly chewy and with one “déjà vu” bite I knew I’d found another craving. The pork shoulder, seasoned with just the right amount of sauce to avoid a mess, was a tender affair layered with thinly sliced pickled cucumbers. The spicy pork was a little perkier in taste with a dash of hoisin, but I preferred the sliced texture of the shoulder over the traditional pulled pork. One sandwich left me wanting a little more, so next time I will probably split a second or just indulge in two all to myself. At these prices, it’s not the worst thing I could do.

Oh yeah, and plan to head over to Province early--it closes at 7:30 pm.

Technorati Tags: Food, Asian Cuisine, NYC

I'll take my fried chicken dirty, thankyouverymuch.

I've been thinking of a title for this post for about a week and couldn't come up with anything that would be even remotely acceptable for the connotations inspired by The Dirty Bird To-Go, the NYC's newest take-out free-range authentic double-dipped buttermilk-fried chicken shack.

The Bird has gotten an incredible amount of press since its opening earlier this year (some of the most hype/square foot I've seen; pretty much on par with the Shake Shack). Perhaps the best recommendation for it came while I was speaking with some Southern Living editors; I mentioned New York soul food and they immediately started prolificating about DBT-G. And the best part was that none of them had even been there (for all you non-Southern Living readers, the mag is based in Birmingham, Alabama). Anyway, so hearing Southerners completely rapt about fried chicken, fried chicken from the godless North no less, they hadn't even tasted, I knew I needed to head down to 14th St. and partake.

Two weeks ago a Southern friend of mine and I gave it a shot and DAMN it was mighty fine. After some chicken fingers v. 2-pc fried debate, my friend decided on the latter, with a side of mac 'n cheese, and I myself went for the 4-pc fried with two sides - mac 'n cheese and the napa cabbage cole slaw.

Each basic element of fried chicken was not only having a party in my mouth, they were all examples of how fried chicken is done. Every bite had the perfect crunch and aroma of buttermilk dipped batter, the salty juiciness of brine, and a most tender chicken-y texture. The scallion cornbread was good, the mac 'n cheese fine, and the napa slaw got an unenthusiastic 'yeah whatever'.

Four pieces was way too much, but if I'd only gotten two I never would have picked any white meat Typically dusty, dry and tasteless, I was not about to spend my 14 hard-earned dollars on a longshot. To say that it was incredibly moist and tender would be an understatement, so I'll just say that I may only get white meat there in the future.

There's no feeling in the world quite like being stuffed with fried chicken. Mmmm fat.

And here are some synopses of what some other people have said Bird:
We love it, we hate it - New York Magazine
Greatness in the making - Eater
And of course, everyone else at eGullet.

Technorati Tags: Food, Restaurant, NYC, Fried Chicken

Can you ever eat too much Asian food?

Like the jet-setter I am, I've been wandering the north for the last two weekends in Boston and Toronto (my first Canadian expedition!),interviewing for jobs in Japan. Yes, Japan. I can still blog there, what?

Travel, of course, means eating in the world of Anharchy, because who the hell can possibly miss out on the opportunity to try new foooooooods?? While most of my experiences in consumption weren't terribly impressive (alas, disappointment!), there were a few stand-out things:

In Boston:

Given my love for all things fresh-market, imagine my joy at discovering the Copley Square Market right outside my interview stop! Aaron and I didn't really get a chance to fully explore it, but it looked terrrrribly promising. And there was a kiosk with fresh pastries. I looooooooove pastries.

Also, I don't think I've seen many markets that beat the Haymarket for cheap and fresh, greens-wise. I was seriously badgered by a tiny Italian man into buying a POUND of jalapenos. Granted, that pound only cost me a dollar, but still! A full pound! I wasn't even in Boston for four days...what the hell does one do with a pound of jalapenos? Very noisy and great deals on produce. Eight ears of sweet corn for a dollar? I'm so there.

The Copley Square Market can be accessed from the Copley Square T Stop. Likewise, you can find Haymarket at the eponymous T stop there as well.

And, in the vein of "I loooooooooooooooooove pastry," Aaron and I took a long walk up Beacon Street to Finale, where I promptly spent thirty dollars on cake. Purchased: one 8-inch Mocha Espresso Cake (which Aaron consumed half of in about ten minutes), and individually-sized tiramisu, Whoopie Pie, raspberry chocolate tart, and uh, something else. I can say that I firmly approve of a restaurant centered around dessert.

Other than that, Aaron and I dined at a rather middling Korean/Japanese restaurant for lunch, a very good Thai hole-in-the-wall on Boston U's campus (right by BU Central Streetcar Stop), and cooked dinner as a thank-you to our hostess.

The other thing I discovered is that in NO CITY is Pizzeria Uno "good eats." Not at all. Just don't do it. I only tried under duress, as in flight was on the day of the terror plot round-up, didn't get in 'til late, and I was BEYOND STARVING. It boggles me that any large city (especially in University areas!!!!!) would not have more restaurants open at 11...


In Toronto:

Side-note: Our interviewer looked like a slimmer, tan-er, glasses-less Alton Brown. It was very distracting.

Instead of staying with a friend in Toronto (we have none...), Aaron and I booked a private room at The Planet Traveler's Hostel, which ran us about $60 CAD per night. If you enjoy hosteling, I'd definitely recommend it. It's super-close to the middle of Kensington Market (what, more markets???), right off Spadina Avenue, so very convenient. And (major bonus), it's SMACK DAB in the middle of Toronto's Chinatown, which is one of the very biggest Chinatowns in North America. Dumplings and duck, I'm so there!

Suffice it to say, Aaron and I ate at a few hole-in-the-wall Chinese joints whose names we couldn't understand, got excellent Vietnamese sandwiches at the Dundas Street West location of Banh Mi Ba Le, tasty Pho on Spadina, and enjoyed ourselves a great deal. Unfortunately, over the course of both the Boston and Toronto trips, we overdosed on bubble tea. It's too easy. But to make up for that, joy of joys, on the layover on our way back to Dulles the Cincinnati airport Auntie Anne's Pretzels was handing out Cinnamon Sugar pretzels for free. So, I consider that a suitable ending to the travels (as the Cincinnati Airport Qdoba was not. Not that all Qdobas are bad - most of them are quite good. But that one was not tasty, albeit full of character.)

That's about it. I'll be back with more tales of foodery soon!


Special thanks to Automania over at Flickr for the fortune cookie.

Technorati Tags: Asian Cuisine, Bubble Tea, Toronto, Boston

Caffeine, however tasty, devistates my fine motor skills.

All right, so it was about 9pm. I had an hour before work, had just eaten some salty delicious Dumpling Man fare, and my stomach wasn't taking it well. My night job, disassembling computers and extracting various bits and pieces, certainly takes a toll on my daytime comfort.

Anyway, in my dumpling-induced haze, I figured a nice cappuccino would set me along a happy path for the evening. Since I was already down on the Lower East Side, I set out looking for a cool crepe place that Meg, Joanie and I found earlier this spring but instead found MUD.

The Arcade Fire was on the radio and a very drunk FOB (friend of the Barrista) was lobbying for a switch to Abbey Road (She's so Fine, in specific.). It felt more like a campus coffee shop than a hip New York one and that fit me just fine. Back to the coffee. A few months ago, I read somewhere that there are a number of things you should look for when you're evaluating well-made espresso and cappuccino. It would be awesome if I could remember where, but my mind is more like a blender than a tabbed file system. But I digress.

When the milk is getting steamed, it should hardly make any noise at all. The writer likened screaming Starbucks steamers to the milk getting noisily killed. Ceramic cups are a must. Crema, the delicate coffee foam on top of an espresso. And, finally, milk art. The ability to make neat designs in the steamed milk and the attention to detail that it imparts is the final touch.

Mud had all of this. I drank it without sugar (unheard of for me).

Unfortunately, since I drink caffeine so infrequently it kicked the crap out of me. I was incredibly jittery for hours. My stomach did feel better though.

[Earlier that day I had an entertaining lunch at the Nice Matin with the current executive editor of The Flat Hat (you knew I had to link that one) and then visited some ex-coworkers.

I felt some serious pressure to get the Five Napkin Burger (complete with sauteed onions, comte cheese, and aioli), while my colleague got the croque madame. While I needed only one napkin to complete the burger, it was nonetheless quite impressive. Not stellar, but far above standard.]


Special thanks to mcmrbt over at flickr for the photo.
Technorati Tags: Food, Coffee, Restaurant, New York