7.28.2004
Snack Food + Probe = Trouble
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7.18.2004
Alex: Sausage Alert
Rosamunde -- achtung baby. There's a new sausage in town.
Across from the Safeway on Market, the World Sausage Grill recently opened with a silly yellow awning but some serious franks inside. Like the blessed Rosamunde, there are lamb, beef, pork, chicken, yes, even vegetarian sausage, some spicy, some mild, some with fruit, some with other things. I had the hot beer sausage Friday night, others in my party had the mild Polish (apparently underwhelming), and the chicken-feta-spinach (apparently excellent). All come with two free accoutrements, which are different than condiments. Accoutrements are sauerkraut, grilled onion, relish, etc; condiments are mustard, ketchup, aioli, etc. Both accoutrements and condiments are wide-ranging and delectable. To accoutrify and condimize my hot beer sausage I chose sauerkraut and mango chutney with spicy brown mustard and, on the side, the chipotle ketchup, which stayed on the side.
The ordering system is a bit anal. You actually fill out a chit of paper with your chosen link and boxes checked and hand it to the grillmaster, a genial fellow -- to some extent -- with a mildly Continental accent. I took him to be German, given the attention to process. Vun must do it zis vay, ur elze not att all!
His mask of Teutonic geniality slipped, however, when I asked if he were affiliated with Rosamunde. He made a sour face and scoffed just slightly. Minus points for that, pal. And minus points for not letting customers put on their own condiments. My hot beer sausage with sauerkraut, mango chutney (a sublime combo, I must report) on an undersized bun also came with an austere amount of mustard, not even a dollop or a squeeze, more like a 1947 post-war food ration. I got news for you, Herr Sausage Mann: This is America, and the people can choose their own mustard portions.
But plus points for having two kinds of potato salad, macaroni salad, and little green salads on the side, if you want 'em. Fanch and I split the German potato salad, ie, made with vinegar not mayo. Yum.
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Across from the Safeway on Market, the World Sausage Grill recently opened with a silly yellow awning but some serious franks inside. Like the blessed Rosamunde, there are lamb, beef, pork, chicken, yes, even vegetarian sausage, some spicy, some mild, some with fruit, some with other things. I had the hot beer sausage Friday night, others in my party had the mild Polish (apparently underwhelming), and the chicken-feta-spinach (apparently excellent). All come with two free accoutrements, which are different than condiments. Accoutrements are sauerkraut, grilled onion, relish, etc; condiments are mustard, ketchup, aioli, etc. Both accoutrements and condiments are wide-ranging and delectable. To accoutrify and condimize my hot beer sausage I chose sauerkraut and mango chutney with spicy brown mustard and, on the side, the chipotle ketchup, which stayed on the side.
The ordering system is a bit anal. You actually fill out a chit of paper with your chosen link and boxes checked and hand it to the grillmaster, a genial fellow -- to some extent -- with a mildly Continental accent. I took him to be German, given the attention to process. Vun must do it zis vay, ur elze not att all!
His mask of Teutonic geniality slipped, however, when I asked if he were affiliated with Rosamunde. He made a sour face and scoffed just slightly. Minus points for that, pal. And minus points for not letting customers put on their own condiments. My hot beer sausage with sauerkraut, mango chutney (a sublime combo, I must report) on an undersized bun also came with an austere amount of mustard, not even a dollop or a squeeze, more like a 1947 post-war food ration. I got news for you, Herr Sausage Mann: This is America, and the people can choose their own mustard portions.
But plus points for having two kinds of potato salad, macaroni salad, and little green salads on the side, if you want 'em. Fanch and I split the German potato salad, ie, made with vinegar not mayo. Yum.
7.16.2004
Alex: Big Apple Bites
First of all: where is everyone? Come on, you slackers!
Da Fanch and I just returned from five days in New York, which of course meant five days of culinary adventure. A roundup:
* Day one: Queens.
I got into Manhattan early morning, took a short nap, and ventured across the East River on the N train to meet Ilan, who for some reason is known all over Astoria as "Nick the Greek." We wandered about his new adopted neighborhood and settled into a sidewalk cafe called the Marathon or Omonia or Plaka or Perineum, something like that. I had a $4 Greek coffee, Ilan had a $3 Greek Diet Coke. We looked at the food offerings and decided to move on to the Mini Star diner. After a red-eye flight and very little sleep, I had a craving for eggs, bacon and more coffee served by a crabby 50-year-old woman in a blue apron. In a perfunctory nod to our neighborhood, I ordered the Greek omelet with feta (the rubbery, cow's milk kind, of course) and spinach. The bacon hit the spot. Ilan had a French dip and cheese fries. We parted ways after a brief inspection of his luxurious -- nay, how shall I put it? -- Astorian accomodations on 33rd St. Or 33rd Ave. Or perhaps 33rd Road. (Queens, if you haven't been there, is a fucked-up place to navigate.) Ilan went to the airport; I went to the MOMA Qns and the Sculpture Center in Long Island City, where I didn't eat anything and so have nothing further to report.
* Night One: Lower East Side
Da Fanch and I met friends and went for a late dinner, warm-NYC-summer night style, to Cafecito, a hopping, unpretentious place on Avenue C. Huge plates of food, very low prices, with lots of style and flavor. Lots of pork, beef, garlic, chimmichurri, mojitos, beans and plantain. I asked if they had mofongo -- no dice. But with the entrees one could order tostones or sweet plantain. I went with the sweet; an excellent choice. (Especially because I could eat all the tostones I wanted from the plates of other people, who were all full mid-way through their meals.) Dinner for 5, with apps and wine: $70. Highly recommended.
* Day two: Westchester County
A friend of Fanch (FOF) got married at her parents' house near Bedford, NY, up in them rich parts north of the city. The wedding was fun; the food was even better. Three tables were set up, buffet style. Table one was the raw bar: oysters, shrimp and a few other things I ignored in favor of the oysters. Table two was salads: spinach with shrimp, an excellent green salad, etc. Table three was meat.
* Day three: Manhattan
The only thing I remember was dinner at Cafe Asean, a tiny place in Greenwich Village on a side street between 6th and 7th Aves. We sat in a crowded back garden and wondered how the people in the apartments just above us could stand the noise. Fanch and I sat down expecting to be underwhelmed. After all, we live in the Inner Sunset pan-Asian restaurant hub. To our surprise, the food was excellent. A few strange bits of plant matter fell from the trees above into my hair during the meal, but I didn't care: my Indonesian-spiced chicken -- two huge breasts pounded flat, rubbed with a dry spice mix and barbequed -- was delicious. Several others ordered the coconut seafood curry, which arrived creamy and bubbling in a substantial clay pot. Spicy and colorful. We ordered a passel of appetizers, most of which were dumplings or rolls that were light, crispy, and fresh. Lots of veg-only options, too.
* Days four and five: Manhattan
I worked Monday and Tuesday at the Deal office on Madison and 30th. My new editor and a couple other colleagues took me to lunch at a Japanese-Thai place called Wild Ginger. Nothing remarkable about the food, but I was impressed that my editor didn't hesitate to order a bottle of sake. My kind of work ethic!
I did not eat at Gray's Papaya. I am kicking myself. But I bought a suit!
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Da Fanch and I just returned from five days in New York, which of course meant five days of culinary adventure. A roundup:
* Day one: Queens.
I got into Manhattan early morning, took a short nap, and ventured across the East River on the N train to meet Ilan, who for some reason is known all over Astoria as "Nick the Greek." We wandered about his new adopted neighborhood and settled into a sidewalk cafe called the Marathon or Omonia or Plaka or Perineum, something like that. I had a $4 Greek coffee, Ilan had a $3 Greek Diet Coke. We looked at the food offerings and decided to move on to the Mini Star diner. After a red-eye flight and very little sleep, I had a craving for eggs, bacon and more coffee served by a crabby 50-year-old woman in a blue apron. In a perfunctory nod to our neighborhood, I ordered the Greek omelet with feta (the rubbery, cow's milk kind, of course) and spinach. The bacon hit the spot. Ilan had a French dip and cheese fries. We parted ways after a brief inspection of his luxurious -- nay, how shall I put it? -- Astorian accomodations on 33rd St. Or 33rd Ave. Or perhaps 33rd Road. (Queens, if you haven't been there, is a fucked-up place to navigate.) Ilan went to the airport; I went to the MOMA Qns and the Sculpture Center in Long Island City, where I didn't eat anything and so have nothing further to report.
* Night One: Lower East Side
Da Fanch and I met friends and went for a late dinner, warm-NYC-summer night style, to Cafecito, a hopping, unpretentious place on Avenue C. Huge plates of food, very low prices, with lots of style and flavor. Lots of pork, beef, garlic, chimmichurri, mojitos, beans and plantain. I asked if they had mofongo -- no dice. But with the entrees one could order tostones or sweet plantain. I went with the sweet; an excellent choice. (Especially because I could eat all the tostones I wanted from the plates of other people, who were all full mid-way through their meals.) Dinner for 5, with apps and wine: $70. Highly recommended.
* Day two: Westchester County
A friend of Fanch (FOF) got married at her parents' house near Bedford, NY, up in them rich parts north of the city. The wedding was fun; the food was even better. Three tables were set up, buffet style. Table one was the raw bar: oysters, shrimp and a few other things I ignored in favor of the oysters. Table two was salads: spinach with shrimp, an excellent green salad, etc. Table three was meat.
* Day three: Manhattan
The only thing I remember was dinner at Cafe Asean, a tiny place in Greenwich Village on a side street between 6th and 7th Aves. We sat in a crowded back garden and wondered how the people in the apartments just above us could stand the noise. Fanch and I sat down expecting to be underwhelmed. After all, we live in the Inner Sunset pan-Asian restaurant hub. To our surprise, the food was excellent. A few strange bits of plant matter fell from the trees above into my hair during the meal, but I didn't care: my Indonesian-spiced chicken -- two huge breasts pounded flat, rubbed with a dry spice mix and barbequed -- was delicious. Several others ordered the coconut seafood curry, which arrived creamy and bubbling in a substantial clay pot. Spicy and colorful. We ordered a passel of appetizers, most of which were dumplings or rolls that were light, crispy, and fresh. Lots of veg-only options, too.
* Days four and five: Manhattan
I worked Monday and Tuesday at the Deal office on Madison and 30th. My new editor and a couple other colleagues took me to lunch at a Japanese-Thai place called Wild Ginger. Nothing remarkable about the food, but I was impressed that my editor didn't hesitate to order a bottle of sake. My kind of work ethic!
I did not eat at Gray's Papaya. I am kicking myself. But I bought a suit!
7.08.2004
Alex: Fat Rats
or, if you like, Pour Some Sweetener On Me.
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7.07.2004
Alex: Dear Leaderburgers
Kim Jong Il to International Atomic Energy Agency: Supersize me!
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7.06.2004
Alex: New Side Dishes
As you can see on the right, I've 86'ed the wine list and added links to our collective recipes and restaurant reviews. No doubt I've missed a few, as I scrolled through the archives quickly. (Also nota bene that recipes include only real recipes, ie, with measurements, etc. Restaurant reviews don't include brief mentions or city roundups.)
Comments? Thoughts? Suggestions?
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Comments? Thoughts? Suggestions?
