tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148081892024-03-08T04:56:07.470-05:00eating for brooklyncelebrating the glories of eating in brooklyn. from the gut.EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.comBlogger183125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-69697065056361746772007-06-21T18:56:00.000-04:002007-06-21T18:58:33.275-04:00Where to Get Summer Oysters: Time OutFor cheap Summer oysters head to Williamsburg's Spike Hill, according to Time Out:Fridays is for cheap mollusks at Spike Hill (184 Bedford Ave at North 7th St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-218-9737), with Blue Points and littleneck clams going for $1 each 5–8pm. Get there early; the place fills up quickly.EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-26724284048178025972007-06-10T11:42:00.000-04:002007-06-10T12:06:16.755-04:00A Little Progress on the Home FrontI get asked quite often how the house is coming along. Painfully slow is usually how I respond. The best thing I can report on right now is how beautifully the wood is turning out after the stain and varnish has been removed. I really liked the dark stain, but over the years people kept adding more and more stain making it uneven and there was a lot of paint splattered all over. Now that it's EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-85818451819726469922007-06-07T16:25:00.000-04:002007-06-07T16:27:02.802-04:00Promising Malaysian in Sunset Park: Village VoiceFrom the Village Voice:Belachan's massive menu might be described as Sino-Malaysian, since it includes all sorts of regional Chinese fare—not only the adapted dishes brought to the archipelago centuries ago by Chinese immigrants now known as Nonya ("grandma") cuisine, but also ones found in neighborhood Cantonese greasy spoons in America. These are offered, I'm certain, as a palliative for the EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-81938878602455559452007-06-05T15:38:00.000-04:002007-06-05T15:44:11.829-04:00Make Reservations at Zagat.comUsing the Opentable interface, Zagat announced today that you can now book tables via their site. Just click on the table and chair icon on the restaurant's page. One more weapon to fight for a reservation in New York.I realize posting has been light lately. I've been so preoccupied with other stuff lately, but promise to catch up soon.EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-65906221091776968682007-05-09T09:11:00.000-04:002007-05-09T10:15:42.188-04:00Thinking Outside the AvocadoI have no kitchen right now. I'm in the middle of a renovation and my kitchen is gutted. I haven't had a kitchen in quite some time. I long for the day when home cooking doesn't mean nuking a frozen meal and I can brew a pot of coffee. Until then, Whole Foods is my new best friend. So even after stuffing my face at Whole Foods' Indian food bar last night, I couldn't resist trying lacoyo, a EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-34456403377677681562007-04-27T12:18:00.000-04:002007-04-27T12:20:25.284-04:00San Pellegrino's Best Restaurants of 2007Some interesting results in San Pellegrino's survey of the world's best restaurants. New York doesn't really make an impressive showing. These are the top ten:1. El Bulli Spain2. The Fat Duck U.K.3. Pierre Gagnaire France4. The French Laundry U.S.5. Tetsuya's Australia6.EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-69415575253489240272007-04-26T09:59:00.000-04:002007-04-26T10:09:25.071-04:00More on the Brooklyn BBQ FrontRobert Sietsema of the Village Voice gives Williamsburg's Fette Sau a mixed review.The brisket can be spectacular, sliced thick and rimmed with crisp fat. The pork short ribs ($11 half rack, $22 full rack) are tasty, but a bit dry and hammy due to oversmoking. One evening, shredded lamb was a big hit with my crew; it was fragrant with the odor of pasturage. Sometimes—according to the chalkboard EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-35374426066056564592007-04-24T09:19:00.000-04:002007-04-24T14:18:07.081-04:003 Muggings in 3 Years, What Would You Do?Occasionally I feel the need to vent about non-food related issues. What the hell. I guess I've got another existential crisis on my hands, though this one is more tangible than trying to figure out my purpose on this planet.I don't know why, but I've always had a dream to own a brownstone on a tree-lined city block. Maybe I saw it as the antidote to growing up in a suburbia of strip malls and EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-74111849669617449962007-04-23T11:00:00.000-04:002007-04-23T11:06:45.484-04:00Video: Bed Stuy Baker Bakes a Wedding CakeFor Realmeals.tv, Bed-Stuy-based baker Shannon Pridgen of Heavenly Crumbs Bakery and Shelly Everett of The Gourmet Angel Catering demonstrate how to make a wedding cake in this video.Check out the rest of the web site too. Interesting stuff. EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-26963815158637659412007-04-09T17:37:00.000-04:002007-04-10T11:14:04.554-04:00Roebling Tea RoomFor $6.00 I was impressed with the frittata at the Roebling Tea Room. Tasty and light, it was chock full of tomatoes and asparagus. Served with a side of lightly-dressed arugula, it's perfect for breakfast or a lunch with a glass of wine. For $1.50 the toasted pumpernickel from Amy's bakery is another good deal. That bread was delicious.With its general store meets industrial chic atmosphere the EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-66647835458708804812007-04-05T10:12:00.000-04:002007-04-10T10:43:34.736-04:00Grillin' on the Bay: BBQ ContestLast Saturday I had the privilege of being a guest judge at the Grillin' on the Bay barbecue contest in Sheepshead Bay to benefit the St. Mark's Sports Association and sanctioned by the New England Barbecue Society (who knew?).As a lover of barbecue, and really who isn't, I was excited at this opportunity, even missing out on a friend's wedding ceremony. (I did make the reception though.) But, asEFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-68681253851302568082007-03-17T13:19:00.000-04:002007-03-17T13:23:30.844-04:00Williamsburg's Kiosco Piaxtla: Village VoiceRobert Sietsema on Williamsburg Mexican eatery Kiosco Piaxtla: On a recent Wednesday afternoon, my pals and I enjoyed an amazing plate of pipian verde de pollo ($7.50), a pale half-bird dumped like a rubbed-out corpse in a sauce so green, it might be mistaken for a swamp on the warmest day of summer.EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-87322203526359235122007-03-13T14:25:00.000-04:002007-03-13T14:33:35.087-04:00Learn to Bake BreadI just thought I'd pass along information about a bread baking and cheese class at One Girl Cookies whose baked goods are nothing short of excellent. They are hosting a two part class. Part one is how to bake bread and part two is what cheese to serve it with, courtesy of Stinky Brooklyn. Last November, I took the apple pie baking class there which was fun and informative. The cost of this EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-68341611076705234172007-03-05T14:58:00.000-05:002007-03-05T15:18:01.756-05:00Mmm, PupusasWhat more is there to say about melted cheese and pork rind between two corn tortillas than mmmm. The pupusa is a gem of a national dish from El Salvador stuffed with sometimes just soft Salvadorean cheese or cheese and chicharron (pork rind). They can also be stuffed with chicken and/or refried beans or practically any combination of the above ingredients.When I was in El Salvador a couple of EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-85017396732586173232007-02-27T14:57:00.000-05:002007-03-12T10:22:35.636-04:00Rice, It's Simple You might be dubious about a place that has Mexican chicken soup (left) and a Vietnamese chicken salad on its menu -- too diverse to be good at any one thing. But you'd be wrong about Rice, a restaurant whose theme is its namesake. From Latin America to Asia rice is a staple and this establishment offers rice in its many forms, from Thai black to Bhutanese red.On a wintry night before a show at EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-31162224318644003852007-02-05T11:58:00.000-05:002007-02-05T12:04:06.557-05:00New NYC Food Site -- Blog SoopThere's new, well-designed food web site called Blogsoop devoted to New York City. It highlights restaurant reviews by bloggers and includes yours truly among its ranks. The site does a great job cultivating the full range of food blog opinion. There's also a nifty chat function. Will the grassroots efforts of food bloggers take on the bigger guns like Citysearch and TimeOut?EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-38343821919952900102007-02-02T12:37:00.000-05:002007-02-02T13:34:22.142-05:00Kate's Brooklyn Joint, the UnMeateaters ParadiseI finally muster the strength to sit down at the keyboard and give my 2 cents about the vegetarian outpost of East Village favorite Kate's Joint, when Gothamist beats me to the punch. Anyway, here goes...For someone who loves to eat and pretty much eats any type of food from brain to sweatbreads to good old fashioned NY sirloin, I have a lot of vegetarian friends and family. Whenever I book a EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-53433678530991263452007-02-02T11:52:00.000-05:002007-02-02T11:55:33.344-05:00Village Voice's Sietsema on the Burger BonanzaIn addition to visiting 3 Manhattan burger joints, he tries out 67 Burger and Brooklyn Burger Bar in Brooklyn. Take a read to see which one he likes better. You may be surprised.EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-67015958436464646772007-02-02T09:44:00.000-05:002007-02-02T09:57:59.041-05:00An Interview With Arthur Schwartz in ZeekThere is an interesting interview on the Zeek web site with Arthur Schwartz. He talks about the concept of food writing as a profession. Most interesting to me though is his deep knowledge of food history in New York City and his strong opinion on current food trends.You know, after World War II, really from the 1930s through 1950s, mainstream New York menus had Jewish food on them. You could go EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-1170341566948088102007-02-01T09:26:00.000-05:002007-02-01T10:38:32.616-05:00What Am I Here For?I feel like I've been going through a mid-life crisis since I was about 16. The past few years my "self-discovery" has become such a preoccupation that I sometimes feel paralyzed. Finding my calling so to say is a near constant battle inside my brain. Photography retreats, food courses, pottery classes, now guitar lessons. I think I'm much more than the sum of my parts. Do I really want to writeEFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-1169489881515913652007-01-22T13:15:00.000-05:002007-01-22T13:18:01.533-05:00The L Magazine on Williamsburg's ZenkichiWe started with three plates and two sakes: mine, a rich, cloudy nigori; hers, described as marshmallowy on the menu. Our first plate, Monkfish with Foie Gras in Ponzu ($7), was rolled tightly and sliced into disks. This was an eye-opener, as the delicate flavors of fish and foie melded in the exuberant ponzu. Up next was Eel and Cream Cheese Tempura ($8) — what I would imagine great Japanese EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-1169056621057128952007-01-17T12:52:00.000-05:002007-02-03T10:34:05.423-05:00Two Great SandwichesI enjoyed both of these immensely lately.The delicious burger with cheddar cheese ($10.50) from Williamsburg's DuMont Burger at 314 Bedford Avenue.A vegetarian option, the broccoli rabe sandwich ($7.25) with mozzarella, pecorino romano and piquillos, from Tempo Presto at 256 5th Avenue.EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-1168610424788508302007-01-12T08:59:00.000-05:002007-01-12T09:00:24.790-05:00Sietsema Visits the Smoke JointAnd it sounds like he likes it:When it comes to the various styles of barbecue available in Gotham—whether originating in the Carolinas, Memphis, Kansas City, or Texas—I've been an equal-opportunity abuser. Now, finally, a barbecue has appeared that I dig right out of the starting gate.EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-1168447580638351412007-01-10T11:24:00.000-05:002007-01-12T08:52:17.170-05:00Convivium Osteria for the World Weary PalateIt's been slow going trying to get back into the swing of blogging. First there were the holidays and now I've been battling a seemingly interminable cold. Plus, my regular job has been keeping me extra busy lately and we started doing major home renovation and, well, that can be stressful and time consuming to say the least. The Friday before Christmas, my friend, Bernie, flew in from New EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14808189.post-1167764079202683252007-01-02T13:50:00.000-05:002007-01-02T13:54:39.220-05:00New York Mag's Where to Eat 2007Hard to argue with Adam Platt's Brooklyn selections in New York's "Where to Eat 2007" edition. Seems that more and more the food scene in Brooklyn is getting recognition from top critics. Not that we didn't know that already.EFBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05225875561084154880noreply@blogger.com1