Entries tagged with 'Brooklyn'
Posted by Adam Kuban, May 16, 2008 at 3:00 PM
The food-related buzz about the Red Hook Ikea in Brooklyn so far has been that the cafe there will serve "unspecified New York specialties" in addition to the usual meatball fare.
But the real story is this, ladies and gents: The Red Hook vendors will now be easily accessible from Manhattan via the Ikea Ferry.
Take the New York Water Taxi–Ikea Ferry to Red Hook; the soccer taco vendors are an easy couple blocks away.
Continue reading »
Posted by Zach Brooks, May 14, 2008 at 5:15 PM
Basil and chocolate cupcakes get the runner-up prize.
On Monday, the Brooklyn Kitchen held its second annual Cupcake Cookoff at Union Pool in Williamsburg. With the irresistible bait of free homemade cupcakes, the place was packed with competing bakers, their supporters, and cupcake freeloaders (like me). The crowd favorite was probably by no coincidence the cupcake that paired best with beer—the very excellent Rogue Porter Chocolate Cake with Salted-Caramel Icing. Money was raised, cupcakes were judged, photos were taken, and various prizes were given out. Luckily, cupcake obsessed bloggers were out in full effect, making my job much easier. Here are some good links for those of you who can't get enough cupcakes.
Full Official Results [The Brooklyn Kitchen Blog]
Second Annual Cupcake Cookoff Recap [Cupcakes Take the Cake]
Brooklyn Kitchen Cupcake Cookoff [Blondie & Brownie]
Posted by Adam Kuban, May 13, 2008 at 9:00 AM
File under: Ignorance Is Bliss. New York mainstay Nathan's has complied with the Department of Health's mandate that calorie counts be added to the menus of chain restaurants with at least 15 outlets. It's interesting to note that, for about half the menu, the calorie count of a dog corresponds almost to the penny with the price of a wiener—until you get into chili and chili-cheese territory. The new information adds dramatic punctuation to competitive eater Joey Chestnut's 66-dog record in last year's frankfurter frightfest, as Gothamist points out: 19,602 calories in 12 minutes.
And a tip to those heading to Coney this summer: You can avoid some of the long lines at the original Nathan's location by heading up to the boardwalk stand just off Stillwell Avenue.
Posted by Ed Levine, May 12, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Edible Brooklyn is having its second-annual Brooklyn Uncorked tasting party this Wednesday, May 14, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the BAMCafé (30 Lafayette Avenue; Fort Greene, Brooklyn). Tickets are a reasonable $50.
Offering tastes will be 30 Long Island wineries, a half dozen local craft brewers, and a line-up of delectables from favorite Brooklyn restaurants, sorbeteers, cheesemongers, and more. Among the participants: Blue Point Brewery, Brooklyn Brewery, Heartland Brewery, Sixpoint Craft Ales, and Southampton Publick House. Cheese from Stinky Bklyn and Whole Foods Market, Long Island potato chips, palate-coolers from Wine Cellar Sorbets, freshly pressed coffees from Bodum, and natural sodas from Grown-up Soda (GuS). Restaurants attending: Bonita, Flatbush Farm, iCi, La Maison du Couscous, Little D Eatery, Palo Santo, Smoke Joint, and Stonehome Wine Bar
Tickets are available via Brown Paper Tickets, and if you enter the code SERIOUS, you get $10 off the $50 face value.
Win Tickets to Brooklyn Uncorked
But that's not all. Thanks to the generosity of the Edible Brooklyn folks, we're giving away three pairs of tickets. Enter to win by telling us what your favorite Brooklyn foodstuff is in the comments.
Three winners will be chosen at random from among eligible commenters. The standard Serious Eats contest rules apply. Comments will close at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday, May 13.
Posted by Zach Brooks, May 12, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Coming this Sunday to the Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene.
The much-loved Red Hook ballfield vendors are expected to start selling their delicious papusas, ceviche, and huaraches the first weekend in June, but according to Grub Street, they will be at the Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene starting this coming weekend. For the next two Sundays there will only be one stand serving grilled corn and fruit, but if all goes well, the organizers of the Brooklyn Flea hope it may become a "satellite location" for the Red Hook vendors. Seeing as how we're unsure exactly how the new contract with the Parks Department will affect the ballfields this season, huarache diversification sounds like a great idea to us.
Posted by Lucy Baker, May 9, 2008 at 1:45 PM
Last night, Brooklyn Community Board members voted 6 to 2 in favor of a motion to deny Union Hall a liquor license renewal. The bar, opened in 2006, is one of the most popular watering holes in the entire borough. The epitome of hipster-chic (dusty bookshelves, ironic taxidermy, my-grandma-had-that furniture), it is packed most nights from happy hour to the wee hours. I should know: I lived directly across the street for two years.
Opponents of the bar complained mostly about the noise, claiming that drunks, smokers, and loud curbside cell phone conversations were disrupting their sleep. In the summer, they argued, the side garden is open and the racket is even worse, making a good night's rest nearly impossible.
Unless the owners of Union Hall take harsh and drastic steps to cut back on the din—including halting the sale of alcohol at midnight—they will likely have to shutter, which I think would be a shame.
Continue reading »
Posted by Blake Royer, May 5, 2008 at 5:00 PM
I have to admit, reading the Market Scene last week for San Francisco inspired serious amounts of dismay in this New Yorker. Despite their lovely flavor and appealing looks, I am so. Tired. Of. Hearing. About. Ramps. As is, perhaps, that guy above with the blue hair. This past Saturday was overcast and windy, which only added to the despair. Nevertheless, both the Union Square and Fort Greene farmers' markets were full of brave souls.
Of course, it’s not all ramps—though it seems the full harvest has indeed come in, as I saw bunches upon bunches of them in stacked boxes, ready to fulfill the incredible demand. In Fort Greene, a ramp cooking demonstration exhibited these wild leeks with simply olive oil and salt—for those who haven’t heard their gospel already.
Elsewhere in the markets, I spotted asparagus, nettles, rhubarb, young garlic, spinach, and other hardy greens like chard and collards.
Continue reading »
Posted by Gordon Mark, April 30, 2008 at 6:00 PM
For previous real-life GTA IV locations: Food and Restaurant Screenshots in GTA IV
'Johnson's,' aka Nathan's Famous
In the "Borough of Broker," in the "Hove Beach" neighborhood, stands "Johnson's," the "Home of the Wiener":
Continue reading »
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 3, 2008 at 1:00 PM
I was already running late this morning, and the Root Hill Cafe is, technically, out of my way as I make my morning beeline to the subway station. But I had a feeling. A thought slowly started to nag at me—What if they have a Clover machine?
Over the last few months, I've been watching this space on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Carroll Street in Brooklyn transform from a spottily run car service to a hip little coffee house with lots of thoughtful architectural details. And given that it opened just last week—at just the right time to have possibly snagged one of the last non-Starbucks Clover brewers—I didn't mind adding a few minutes to my commute by crossing the street to find out and put that nagging thought to rest.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, March 22, 2008 at 10:30 AM
As I was passing a neighbor yesterday morning on my way to work, she shouted out, "Happy Purim, Ed." And so I say to all of you, Happy Purim. I have no idea what Purim is all about, except that I think that someone named Esther triumphed over a dude named Haman. All I really know about Purim is that you get to eat hamantaschen, sweet triangular cookielike pastries filled in their exposed center with poppyseeds or prune or raspberry jam.
I associate hamantaschen with an anvil-like heaviness and a desert-like dryness. You could break a toe or two with the hamantaschen I grew up with, and those six-ounce heavyweights are what you are most likely to find anywhere hamantaschen are sold. They look like the one above, bought at Fairway Market today. They're tasty enough, but you feel like you get its dense essence two bites in.
Fairway also sells prepackaged Reisman's hamantaschen from a bakery deep in the heart of Brooklyn. These smaller specimens are pretty awful, really. The filling is too sweet and cheap-tasting; the less said about it the better.
Which leaves us with the one store-bought hamantashen that Esther, were she alive today, would be kvelling about, made by Emily Isaac at Trois Pommes Patisserie (doesn't sound very Jewish, does it?).
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Chuck Schumer can rest easy. His Saturday afternoon stop for goat tacos, the collection of Red Hook soccer field food vendors, will continue to be a haven for food lovers for the next six years. The forces of real, honest food won this time.
I hope the good senator tries the huaraches next time he's there. For more info and a great photo taken by my friend Peter Cunningham, click here.
Posted by Ed Levine, February 29, 2008 at 6:15 PM
I know it's winter, so you're probably not thinking about ice cream, gelato, or any other frozen dessert, but listen up. Gino Cammarata, as I wrote in the New York Times in 2002, might be New York City's best artisanal gelato maker, and he is back this week after a prolonged absence from Gotham's food scene.
He's making his transcendent gelati in the front of a popular tanning salon in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
You heard me right. In a tanning salon.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, February 3, 2008 at 11:52 AM
It's just about 1 PM, a little more than five hours before game-time, and even those Brooklynites who hate planning in advance finally have to confront the issue of what they're going to eat tonight as we root the Giants on to victory. So for all of you last-minute Super Bowl feast shoppers, consider these delicious options:
Carroll Gardens:
- Esposito's Pork Store: Hot and cold heroes
- Caputo Fine Foods: Excellent sandwiches and prepared foods
- Frankie's 457: Incredible meatball sandwiches on Sullivan Street pizza bianco
- House of Pizza and Calzones: New owners are still making very good pizza and calzones
- Luna Rossa: New Neapolitan-Style pizza place way down Court Street
- Schnack: Sliders and hot dogs from Harry Hawk, who cares a lot about both
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, January 26, 2008 at 8:47 AM
When my friend Tony DiDio, also known as the Count of Carroll Gardens, tells me about a new pizzeria in his neighborhood I end up listening intently to what he has to say. And when a Serious Eats community member seconds Tony's recommendation (thank you, janerac) then I get seriously motivated to actually write about it.
So when Tony told me about Luna Rossa, I ended up going there on my way to Lucali (it was a little embarrassing to walk into Lucali with a pizza box under my arm, but what the hell).
The pizzaiolo at Luna Rossa makes his Neapolitan-style pizzas in one of those combo wood and gas ovens that seem to be popping up everywhere in New York these days. My margherita had a nice crisp exterior crust and the tender interior crust I crave but rarely find. If you've been to Caserta Vecchia or Savoia, two other pizzerias in Carroll Gardens, you will find the pizza at Luna Rossa to be similar (though the dough is thankfully a little softer). It's not pizza worthy of a long trip, but if you're in the neighborhood you'll be very happy eating pizza here.
Luna Rossa
Address: 552 Court Street, Brooklyn NY 11231
Phone: 718-875-1384
Posted by Ed Levine, January 25, 2008 at 12:16 PM
The future of the Red Hook Ballfields vendors is looking grim, according to the Daily News.
City officials have begun seeking bids for the popular food spot around the area's soccer fields - but the longtime vendors are worried that even if they win, they won't be able to stay. According to the bid proposal, all vendors must now use approved food-preparation carts or trucks, which vendors estimate will cost $15,000 to $30,000 per stand.
Apparently many of the existing stands won't be able to afford the additional cost even if they win the bid to stay on the fields.
Our goat taco-loving senator, Chuck Schumer, is, according to the story, on the case. C'mon, Chuck. It's crunch time. We need you. The permits for the vendors will be awarded in February. That's soon, Mr. Schumer.
Posted by Ed Levine, January 11, 2008 at 9:01 AM
Lucali's, 575 Henry Street, Brooklyn NY 11231 (b/n Carroll Street and First Place; map)
I finally made my way to Carroll Gardens to eat at the pizzeria of the moment, Lucali's. I'm embarrassed that it took this long. I'm officially chagrined, too, now that I've seen the place and eaten Mark Iacono's pizza and calzone. Mark and his brother (Mark makes the pies, his brother takes them in and out of the oven) make what is essentially a Di Fara–style pie in a wood-burning, gas-assisted oven.
That means the cheeses that go on the pie include mozzarella di bufala, a low-moisture full-cream mozzarella, and freshly grated grana padana. That cheese combination produces a spectacular, simultaneously tangy and creamy topping for a pizza.
Toppings include (among others) sausage from the neighborhood's fantastic Esposito's Pork Store (on nearby Court Street) and fresh portobello mushrooms that Mark slices to order. Lucali's crust is just about 100 percent crisp, which means those of us who'd like a little tenderness in our pizza crust interior will have to look elsewhere. Interestingly, Mark's calzone crust was in fact much more tender.
Crisp-tenderness issues aside, eating at Lucali's is a deeply pleasurable experience. It's a totally real, unpretentious, and heartfelt pizzeria. Plus, it's the only pizzeria I know outside Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix that gives off such a singular warm, lovely, and inviting glow.
"Don't be a stranger," Mark called out to me as I was leaving.
I won't.
Lucali's
Address: 575 Henry Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231 (near Carroll, map)
Phone: 718-858-4086
Posted by Ed Levine, January 1, 2008 at 1:04 PM
Bonita, owned by the same folks that own Marlowe & Sons and Diner, had terrific fish tacos, a fine heritage pork burrito, and creamy, well-spiced guacamole. The chicken in the chicken taco was a little dry, and I wish the house-made tortillas were a little flakier, but all I can tell you is that I wish I had a taqueria in my neighborhood this good.
Bonita
Address: 338 Bedford Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
Phone: 718-384-9500
Website: bonitanyc.com
Also at:
Address: 243 DeKalb Ave., Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY
Phone: 718-622-5300
Posted by Ed Levine, December 31, 2007 at 10:54 AM
I loved the Williamsburg food exploration my brother and I went on. Thanks for all the suggestions, which provide me with many more excuses to eat my way through Williamsburg. There was much to eat and talk about that I'm going to limit this post to Marlow & Sons. More to come later.
In general Marlow & Sons had really, really impressive baked goods and pastries. Someone with knowledge and passion, someone who knows what good is, is manning the ovens here. What did we have?
Moist, delicious apple walnut cake even better than my grandmother's
Espresso monkey bread: I'm not sure the monkey bread needed the espresso, but it was damn fine monkey bread, nonetheless. It could have been a touch more moist,
Buttery, flaky, perfect apple galette
Moist, just chewy enough fruit foccaccia that reminded me of the fruit focaccia Paula Oland used to make at the old Ecce Panis back in the day.
Very good but not transcendent chocolate chip cookie.
Less good but still perfectly okay oatmeal raisin cookie.
My brother said the capuccino was first-rate.
Posted by Ed Levine, November 6, 2007 at 12:15 PM
[View larger map]
I often donate food tours to nonprofit groups so that they can auction them at benefits. Yesterday I took the winner of a silent auction for the Classic Stage Company and four of his friends on a food tour of Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens with two stops in adjoining Red Hook for dessert. We had a blast. It was a particularly interesting and felicitous bunch. Included in the group was Jill Donenfeld who runs a private chef company called The Dish's Dish. She also announced early on that she was running in the New York City Marathon without training for it. She had in fact run in the Marine Marathon in Washington, D.C., last year without training and finished in less than four and a half hours. Once she told me of her plans, I decided to load her up with my kind of carbs. This is where we went.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, October 30, 2007 at 10:01 AM
Well, I finally got Serious Eater Adam Kuban to stop at Trois Pommes (it's a block from his house, so I don't think it was an unreasonable request), and I have to say that Emily Isaac's bakery is already a top ten New York bakery, and it's quite possible that it could make it into my top five or even—perish the thought—my top three. And I have seriously high standards for bakeries and a bad jones for good baked goods. Serious Eaters, if you've been, let me know what you've tried.
This is what Adam brought in:
Continue reading »
Posted by Adam Kuban, January 23, 2007 at 4:54 PM
Here is the second episode of what we've taken to calling "Edibles" around Serious Eats world headquarters. In this video, I talk to Adam Kuban, Serious Eats managing editor—and founder of SliceNY.com—about the lines at Di Fara Pizza. My friend Robb Walsh visited Di Fara while in town recently and confirms tales of two-hour waits there. Two hours!
Posted by Ed Levine, November 10, 2006 at 7:07 AM
The election is over, and we have gotten rid of quite a few turkeys. We have a new governor, Eliot Spitzer, and though he is a New Yorker he doesn't seem like he's the type of guy who cares about food. In fact I'd be willing to bet money (if Spitzer wouldn't throw me in jail for illegal gambling) that he's an "eat to live" kind of guy.
So I thought I'd give him a hand by offering him a list of five places to eat that might inject a little pleasure and fun into his life. The man looks like he could use all the help he can get in the fun department...
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, November 3, 2006 at 10:19 AM
Along with pizza, fried chicken, cheeseburgers, and barbecue, I would like to nominate breakfast sandwiches for my personal food hall of fame. How great are breakfast sandwiches? Where else do you find flaky biscuits or some other appropriate breadstuff, cured and smoked meat, tangy melted cheese, and fluffy eggs in one glorious edible package?
Even bad breakfast sandwiches are pretty good. A McDonald's egg, cheese and bacon biscuit is pretty damned satisfying, though I invariably end up removing the loaf-like eggs after a bite or two.
One of the best things about breakfast sandwiches is how ubiquitous they are in most parts of the country. Every deli and coffee shop in New York makes fresh egg sandwiches to order on a flat-top grill. That means you can get a freshly made breakfast sandwich just about anywhere. It can be difficult to find breakfast sandwiches with softly scrambled eggs because eggs made on a griddle are invariably overcooked, but in the larger scheme of things that seems to be a small price to pay.
The ingredients may not be top-quality in a generic breakfast sandwich, but egg sandwiches are good enough to withstand any Alice Waters-like scrutiny.
As long as they are made to order.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, August 21, 2006 at 8:53 AM
Lots coming in from the Serious Eats community on Fried Chicken in NYC:
I myself went to Dirty Bird to Go (204 W. 14th St., 212-620-4836) on Friday and was very happy with my expensive four piece box ($10.99). The skin was crisp and dark, and the chicken itself was moist and meaty. Dirty Bird may now be ready to clean up.
One ELE reader mentioned Blue Ribbon's (97 Sullivan St. 212274-0404) fried chicken. I haven't had it in a long time, so I will try to check it out this week.
Another reader mentioned the fried chicken at the Clinton Street Baking Company (4 Clinton St. 646-602-6263) . Now that one comes out of nowhere, but I can believe it. Neil Kleinberg knows how to cook and he's a souful dude.
Of course I neglected to mention the fried chicken at the M and G Diner, 383 W. 125th St.212-864-7326. The fried chicken there is excellent, and the juke box there even better. My choices to accompany the fried chicken: Tyrone Davis' "(Can I) Change My Mind" and Brook Benton's "Rainy Night in Georgia."
Finally, Robert Sietsema in the Voice went to a trio of Brooklyn fried chicken places a month ago. He liked Ruthie's, 96 DeKalb Ave. (718-246-5189), where the chicken is properly fried to order. I wonder if it's the same Ruthie that owned a great fried chicken in Harlem for many years. He also liked Mitchell's, 617AVanderbilt Ave., 718-789-3212, where the chicken is also made from scratch. Lastly, he spoke very highly of Les', 269 Tompkins Ave. 718-783-8928.
So much fried chicken to eat, so little time.
Posted by Ed Levine, August 4, 2006 at 9:21 AM
These last few days have almost done me in. So I've been treating myself to one scoop of ice cream a day (no more, no less, given my "eat less" diet, which has me down 40 pounds). Here are my NYC favs:
1. Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory: Old-fashioned American, not particularly high in butterfat, ice cream
2. Otto cart in Washington Square Park: cheapest way to sample Meredith Kurtzman's amazing gelato.
3. Shake Shack: I know it's a cliche, but the frozen custard here rocks, and the ice cream and shake only line is consistently short.
4. Il Laboratio de Gelato: Where Ciao Bello (see below) founder Jon Snyder now plies his trade.
5. Ciao Bella: It's still pretty damned fine, even without Snyder, especially the malted milk ball.
6. Cones (Bleecker St. just east of Seventh Ave. South): I love the fruit-based gelati and sorbetti here.
7. Eli's: Eli is a gonef, but the man knows how to make great food.
8. Creme Cremaillere (sold by the scoop at Manhattan Fruitier, 29th St. bet. Park and Lex): Try the Mission Fig
9. Emack and Bolio: I know they're from Boston, but the ice cream is really good.
10. Eddie's (Maspeth): For old time's sake.
Have I missed any?
Haagen Dazs is by far my favorite mass-produced ice cream, a rare example of a formerly boutique brand that's maintained its quality standards after being bought.
Posted by Ed Levine, August 1, 2006 at 3:29 PM
By popular demand, here's a list of my top ten pizza slices in NYC:
1) DiFara (you all know where it is)
2) Adrienne's (Old Stone St., Wall Street)
3) Patsy's (117th and First Avenue)
4) Joe and Pat's (Staten Island)
5) Nunzio's (Staten Island)
6) Sullivan Street Bakery
7) Sal and Carmine's (102nd and Broadway)
8) Joe's (Carmine Street and Park Slope)
9) Grandma Slices at Maffei (22nd and Sixth)
10) Louie and Ernie's (Bronx)
Anybody beg to differ?
Posted by Ed Levine, July 6, 2006 at 10:04 PM
New York is full of hidden culinary and cultural treasures, and I guess that's one of the reasons many of us love the city. Take Long Island City's Water Taxi Beach, a two minute boat ride from the East River at 34th Street.
There the lovably eccentric and civic-minded Harry Hawk, one of the city's true gastronomic originals (he owns Schnack in Carroll Gardens and is a veritable hot dog and hamburger historian), has constructed a beach bar, complete with sand and picnic tables and a fantastic view of the city skyline. The setting alone is worth a trip there, but the fact that Harry is making great food there makes Water Taxi Beach an essential stop on any NYC burger and hot dog tour.
Schnack is making what he is calling a Motz Burger (named after burger auteur George Motz, producer and director of the world's greatest hamburger movie, Hamburger USA. The Motz burger is freshly ground chuck made on a super-hot griddle, so the burgers get that great char we all know and love at the Shake Shack. I actually went with Motz himself to have the burger tonight, and he was mightily offended when I ordered my Motz burger with cheese (Motz is a purist who disdains cheeseburgers). The burgers are just the right size, and though they overcooked my first one (I ordered it rare and it was medium), they immediately cooked another one for me that was perfect. The hot dog was also serious, topped with Coney Sauce (chili for the uninitiated).
Water Taxi Beach is worth a summer evening or weekend excursion any time you get the urge for a burger overlooking the water. Water Taxi Beach doesn't really have a street address. It is closest to 2-03 Borden Ave. Take the number 7 line to Vernon-Jackson. It's about an eight minute walk from there. Or take the two minute water taxi from 34th Street and the East River. The boat runs continuously on weekends, and up to about 8 p.m. on weekdays.
Posted by Ed Levine, July 4, 2006 at 11:15 AM
When it's July 4th weekend and it's this hot, a man's thoughts turn to ice cream.
With the temperature and humidity levels ridiculously high this weekend, I am pleased to report that the Otto ice cream cart is back at the NW corner of Washington Square Park. I ordered a half lemon, half coconut cup last week and got a half lemon, half vanilla instead, but it didn't matter. This is truly great ice cream, made by Meredith Kurtzman at Otto, where the gelati and sorbetti are almost uniformly sublime. Otto is definitely one of the great NY ice cream spots.
Here are my other favorites:
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, May 17, 2006 at 1:30 PM
I started thinking about this last week. Everyone loves the idea of a good, cheap neighborhood Italian restaurant, and we all like to believe we have one in our midst. But most often the neighborhood Italian restaurant we claim as our own really doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Either the ingredients used are sub-standard or the cooking is sloppy or the service is lousy. And just because the owner smiles at you and tries to make you feel at home doesn't make it a good restaurant.
But I do have one on the Upper West Side: Celeste. At Celeste the frying is deftly done, more than creditable Neapolitan pizzas come out of the woodburning oven, pastas are properly al dente and lightly sauced, and salads are made with good ingredients, especially given the modest prices. And they have one of the best Italian cheese courses in the city, thanks to the obsessive cheesemongering of Carmine, one of the owners.
Celeste's executive chef and co-owner Giancarlo Quaddalti also owns another good cheap Italian restaurant, Bianca, in the East Village. There he makes gnocco fritto, impossibly light pieces of fried dough he serves with prosciutto or stracchino cheese, his excellent lasagna, and an assortment of pastas and main courses that more often than not show a high degree of precision and skill.
My third good, cheap Italian restaurant is Franny's in Brooklyn. Husband and wife chef-restaurateur team Andrew Feinberg and Franny Stephens have justifiably become known for the terrific pizzas Feinberg and company turn out from the wood-burning oven, but Feinberg's crostini and salads show a skilled hand and a reverence for quality ingredients you don't often find in restaurants this moderately priced.
What about you? Do you have a good, cheap Italian restaurant in your neighborhood or town or city?
Celeste
Address: 502 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10024 (map)
Phone: 212-874-4559
Bianca
Address: 5 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012 (map)
Phone: 212-260-4666
Franny's
Address: 295 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217 (map)
Phone: 718-230-0221
Website: frannysbrooklyn.com
Posted by Ed Levine, May 15, 2006 at 10:22 PM
THE WEEK IN FOOD IN NEW YORK MAGAZINE AND THE NEW YORKER
- I've already posted about Cafe D'Alsace (_1695 Second Ave., 88th St., 212-722-5133_), which Adam Platt gave one star in this week's New York Magazine. Using his rating system (1-5 Stars, with five being the impossibly perfect restaurant) I would have given CD two stars. Stick to the rib-sticking fare like the housemade sausages, choucroute garni, and the killer hangar steak served with great, just salty enough, french fries, and you'll eat very well indeed.
- Friends' early reports on Sascha have not been positive, so Platt's no star rating is no surprise. The double cheeseburger does sound promising, and I will have one and a couple of the baked goods from the Sascha Bakery in the near future. Based on Gael Greene's typically evocative description the cheeseburger is the only thing I would order at Barmarche (_14 Spring St., nr. Elizabeth, 212-219-2399_).
- Finally, how can you not want to love any restaurant called Pies-N-Thighs (_351 Kent Ave., entrance on S. 5th Street, 347-282-6005_). The savory dishes include all my favorites: pit-smoked pulled pork, fried chicken, mac and cheese and biscuits. For dessert, why pie of course. Double-crusted pie to be exact, something many NY pastry chefs shy away from. Of course the picture of the strawberry rhubarb pie looked pretty soupy. I don't think I'm going to get to Pies-N-Thighs for a couple of weeks, so I need a Serious Eats food explorer to check it out and post about it.
- The New Yorker restaurant reviews have been getting better and better, but this week's review of Momofuku (Momofuku photo courtesy of amateurgourmet), by Lauren Collins, is particularly wonderful. She not only nails the food (she describes it as carbs and animal fat), she describes the energy of the place perfectly. I love Momofuku, and so does Lauren Collins. Go for lunch, when it is a far more relaxed experience than dinner.
Do have the pork buns, a noodle soup, and any vegetable they cook up, because they always seem to put bacon in their vegetables. Here's the Times' review of Momofuku, and New York Magazine's as well. All three are raves, but Lauren Collins seems to articulate the charms of Momofuku most succinctly.
Posted by Ed Levine, May 5, 2006 at 3:37 PM
A burger from Shake Shack
My top five burgers in New York City:
Peter Luger, but only when they can figure out how to serve a burger medium-rare.
Shake Shack: I know it's a cliché, but nobody gets the bun-to-meat ratio right except these guys, and that salty crust is so damn fine.
Telepan: Chef Bill Telepan is now serving that great burger he perfected at the Judson Grill. Bonus: It comes with great sourdough onion rings.
Prime Burger: Tell them to make it from scratch, and don't waste any calories on the french fries. Have a piece of pie, instead. And dig the swiveling school desk tables for one.
The Good Fork: Great burger in Red Hook, but alas, only fair onion rings.
Honorable mentions: The Spotted Pig, Blue Smoke
Peter Luger
Address: 178 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211 (map)
Phone: 718-387-7400
Website: peterluger.com
Shake Shack
Address: 10 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010 (inside Madison Square Park; map)
Phone: 212-889-6600
Website: shakeshacknyc.com
Telepan
Address: 72 West 69th Street, New York, NY 10023 (b/n Columbus and Central Park West; map)
Phone: 212-580-4300
Website: telepan-ny.com
Prime Burger
Address: 5 East 51st Street, New York, NY 10022 (b/n Madison and 5th; map)
Phone: 212-759-4729
Website: primeburger.com
The Good Fork
Address: 391 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231 (map)
Phone: 718-643-6636
Website: goodfork.com
Posted by Ed Levine, May 3, 2006 at 7:27 AM
It was a week of memorable bites:
The prosciutto balls at Joe's Superette on Smith Street in Carroll Gardens. There's still very little else on the shelves in the store, but those creamy, tangy, peppery, crunchy prosciutto balls rock. And the best thing: They're 50 cents each. I buy 'em by the dozen. Photo courtesy of iheartbacon
The Kobe Beef appetizer at Morimoto. It's one of the first preparations of Kobe Beef that makes me understand what all the fuss it about, and why it may actually be worth the money. At Morimoto it's carpaccio thin and every little slice is decadently rich, meaty and fatty at the same time. I also have to say that this was the first time I ate in the main dining room at Morimoto, and it was a lot of fun: fun to look at, fun to eat in, and fun to be able to actually talk to my tablemates without screaming. They have these great fiiberglass sheets between the tables that really do soundproof the place.
The cayenne cheese sticks at Murray's Cheese Shop. I have had a ton of cheese sticks in my time, but the Murray's cheesesticks were buttery, tangy and had just the right amount of kick to them.
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Posted by Ed Levine, April 26, 2006 at 12:48 AM
Last Wednesday I finally made it out to Van Brunt Street, the center of the burgeoning hipster neighborhood Red Hook. There I met A Hamburger Today founder Adam Kuban, his trusty sidekick Matty, Schnack chef/owner Harry Hawk and his aide de burgercharge Juan Carlos , Mr. Cutlets himself, Josh Ozersky, and the hamburger auteur himself, the Truffaut of this burger-loving nation, Mr. George Motz.
Ozersky had convened a meeting of this burger murderer's row to sample the hamburger at The Good Fork, which he claimed to be in the top three in NYC. I had been tipped off to the Good Fork by NY Times Culture Editor and serious food maven Sam Sifton, who true to his Brooklyn roots, now calls Red Hook home.
Everyone but me ordered burgers for their main course. I figured I would get to taste somebody's burger at the table, so I ordered slow cooked Berkshire pork on a bed of polenta. We also ordered almost all the starters: excellent crabcakes, fine pork dumplings, hot but not crazy hot chicken wings, a clean-tasting but dull gumbo, great crispy sweetbreads, and fairly limp scallion pancakes.
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