April 30th, 2010
by jenny
To fete Mother’s Day, six chefs dish about their favorite recipes from Mom.
It’s not often we’re shown the softer side of celebrity chefs. More frequently, they seem to be releasing profane cookbooks or abandoning brides at the altar—makes for better tabloid fodder, we suppose. Yet there’s nothing like Mother’s Day to bring out the biggest softie in anyone—especially us.
To that end, we’ve handpicked six top New York chefs and quizzed them about their favorite dishes from Mom, and the inspiration gained at Mom’s apron strings.
Read on to learn about Harrison chef Amanda Freitag’s third-generation meatballs; the chicken-wing dish that Kuma Inn’s King Phojanakong named after his mother; the Bromberg brothers’ mom, who was a locavore before her time; and other important culinary mommas. It’s Mother’s Day after all, so don’t forget to call yours. And maybe treat her to a bite to eat: All of the dishes featured in this story are available at the chefs’ respective restaurants …
Read the rest of the story on Metromix.com.
Photo by Jori Klein Jacobs.
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April 28th, 2010
by jenny
This story originally appeared on Tasting Table.
When the partners behind MilkMade–a new ice cream delivery service–set out to make ice cream using local ingredients, they were thinking about milk and eggs sourced from the Union Square Greenmarket.
But soon it became apparent that they could take the notion further. When co-founder Diana Hardeman was dreaming up a “Coffee and Donuts” flavor, inspiration struck: She took Crop to Cup’s Uganda Bugisu coffee and combined it with Doughnut Plant doughnuts.
This mash-up of morning flavors beget more creative combinations.Tuthilltown Spirits’ bourbon spiced up a frozen hot-toddy flavor, andSugar Sweet Sunshine bakery supplied cupcakes for red-velvet ice cream. This month, subscribers can opt for “Twist & Stout,” made with Sixpointbrewery’s Otis Oatmeal Stout.
Hardeman and her business partner, Michelle Truong, have met more small purveyors at the Greenpoint Food Market, where they’ve been selling their ice cream. At the moment, they’re dreaming up a way to usePumpkin & Honey Bunny soda and are set to link up with Sigmund Pretzelshop. “We look at it as an opportunity to collaborate,” Hardeman says. “We focus on companies that we think are doing something great.”
Read the original story on Tasting Table.
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April 27th, 2010
by jenny
This story originally appeared on Fork in the Road.
Eddie Huang has returned from a recent jaunt to Taiwan and is busily making plans for Xiao Ye (formerly Crackhaus), his 50-seat Orchard Street restaurant slated to open in mid-June. Huang gave Fork in the Road the exclusive on the menu of small bites and shareable plates, revealed below. The chef explains that Xiao Ye will be his chance to explore Taiwanese classics like red-cooked meats and fried chicken. “I really want to put in my time and tackle some of these dishes before I go do the more modern, crazy stuff,” he says.
Like at Baohaus, where buns are stuffed with Niman Ranch pork and Angus beef, Huang plans to emphasize quality ingredients. He hopes to use sustainably sourced meats, especially chicken–”free-range chicken is always used in Taiwan,” Huang says (a topic he also blogged passionately about while abroad).
On the small-plates menu, he’s in talks with several meat purveyors about getting his own blends of pork and beef for the dumplings, and can’t resist a boast: “We’re going to take dumplings to a level you’re not seeing elsewhere.” House-made master stocks will go into everything from soups to sauces, and spice powders will be ground in-house from Chinese medicinal herbs.
Yet despite these ministrations, Huang wants to keep prices “30 percent lower” than at other Asian drinking-and-eating spots. A full liquor license and hours till 2 a.m. on weekends should also help draw a crowd. “I wanted to have a cool place with really good food that doesn’t kill young people with the price–it’s really for me and my friends,” he tells us, which is a more subdued version of what he expressed on his blog today: “It sucks that by the time you can afford the dope shit in life, you’re old, ugly, and probably have diabetes. So, I don’t want to perpetuate that.” Sounds good, as long as the LES customer base doesn’t end up being like the dessert: drunken fruits. Check out the full menu below.
See the rest of the story on Fork in the Road.
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April 23rd, 2010
by jenny
This story originally appeared on Fork in the Road.
East Village scenester spot the Smith unrolled a new weekday breakfast menu yesterday.
A few new items have been introduced, along with existing weekend-brunch dishes, and the offerings are served from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. during the week. Since, let’s face it, “power breakfast” and “East Village” don’t really go together, we have an inkling that another part of the menu will appeal most to neighborhood residents: the half-price Bloody Marys, mimosas, and Bellinis, which ring in at $6, rather than the usual $12. If three hours of Tuesday-morning happy hour is your cup of booze, then you can check out the menu here.
Read the original story on Fork in the Road.
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April 22nd, 2010
by jenny
This story originally appeared on Grub Street.
Baohaus chef Eddie Huang has been in Taiwan for a few weeks now, gathering inspiration for his new restaurant (and, as you can see in a local news video, making buns at a culinary school). The chef tells us that when the restaurant opens in mid-June, it won’t be called Crackhaus as previously planned, since that name was struck down when he tried to form an LLC. “I’ve been really inspired by my trip in Taiwan, and especially the night food scene where the stalls don’t open until late night,” he e-mails. “In America, brunch is real popular, but there’s like reverse brunch in Taiwan where people come out around 11pm/12am till 4am especially to eat night market food, its called Xiao Ye. That’s the name of the new restaurant: Xiao Ye.” Hey, it’s not the easiest to remember, but then again, Huang has already said he’s going for an “abrasive” vibe.
Read the original story on Grub Street.
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April 19th, 2010
by jenny
This story originally appeared on Grub Street.
A new location of crêperie Le Gamin debuted for a “super soft opening” Saturday, according to a hand-lettered sign in the window. The dining room was ready, but not the kitchen. “We brought our food truck,” explained owner Cathy Palm. That’s just a temporary fix: The kitchen will be functional by Wednesday. The “full bistro menu,” with items like steak-frites and moules-frites, differs slightly from Le Gamin’s Prospect Heights location. Palm is pursuing a full liquor license, but it’s BYOB in the meantime. An employee and several former customers from Prospect Heights encouraged Palm to open in Greenpoint. “I guess there are a lot of bars but not that many eateries,” she said. “Greenpoint is really cool, and every cool neighborhood has nice cafés.”
Le Gamin, 108 Franklin St., nr. Noble St., Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Read the original story on Grub Street.
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April 15th, 2010
by jenny
This story originally appeared on Metromix.com.
.The Chelsea Market butcher has a terrific new lunch menu. Don’t tell your cardiologist.
Take note, avowed carnivores: Dickson’s Farmstand Meats might seem like an unassuming storefront at the Chelsea Market, but this butcher pushes 5,000 pounds of artisanal meat each week. We’re talking three-and-a-half steers, plus up to 10 pigs and 10 lambs—all all butchered in-house.
“Because we butcher the whole animal, you’ll see a lot of things you don’t see in other [meat] cases,” explains owner Jake Dickson. “We push people to experiment.” The approach makes charcuterie “integral,” he adds, and it’s easy to chomp down on the mystery parts in a rich sausage or terrine knowing the animal was raised on a small farm with a vegetarian diet free of hormones or antibiotics.
Dickson’s recently introduced a grab-and-go lunch service whose menu changes daily—another way they make sure everything gets gobbled up. Pork shoulder might become pulled pork sandwiches, and if spare ribs aren’t selling briskly, they could appear with a mound of coleslaw on your lunch plate, to delicious effect. We sank our teeth into some of the goodies.
Read the rest of the story on Metromix.com
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April 13th, 2010
by jenny
This story originally appeared on Tasting Table.
The city’s meat mania has spawned a carb-based cohort: The chewy pretzel. Ingredients, accompaniments and condiments vary, but there’s no contesting that the ballpark staple has moved into fancier digs.
Read the rest of the story on Tasting Table.
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April 13th, 2010
by jenny
This story originally appeared on Fork in the Road.
John Melngailis, an engineering professor at the University of Maryland (and the father of Sarma Melngailis of Pure Food & Wine), missed the dense, dark, sourdough rye bread he ate growing up in Latvia.
When he discovered he could order loaves online directly from the Latvian capital of Riga, he reconnected with the bread of his childhood. Four years ago, he began importing loaves and selling them to his local Whole Foods, yet when grain costs spiked and the dollar slumped, this became cost-prohibitive. Melngailis knew he needed to find a baker who could undertake the arduous, 36-hour baking process Stateside. A search led him to Brooklyn, where he located a small baker (whose identity Melngailis would rather not reveal) willing to learn the authentic method, which involves leavening the dough in wooden troughs and baking the loaves in a wood-fired oven.
Read the rest of the story on Fork in the Road.
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April 12th, 2010
by jenny
This story originally appeared on Tasting Table.
Given the supper club mania in the city, it was only a matter of time before one-off gatherings with an alternative focus flooded the scene.
For the rogue wine lover, that gathering is the Noble Rot, “a traveling wine saloon,” founded by musician Brian Quinn and actor Jonny Cristaldi; they drew inspiration from Whisk & Ladle, an underground operation run by friends.
The duo launched the wine-centered meet-up last July with a party that featured great bottles under $10. Since then, Quinn and Cristaldi have hosted frequent events that are equal parts education and entertainment, including an October harvest party in Brooklyn ($40) and an ode to Chardonnay in Tribeca ($35) …
Read the rest of the story on Tasting Table.
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