ForkAndPen

A few pics from Laos

Courtesy of Brian

Where ya been forky!

The posting has been pretty sparse here in the past few weeks. Sorry folks. Damn work has been getting in my way of dispensing the good food that I consume on a daily basis. But alas - work is winding down and food stuff will come back flying out at you soon.

I might not have been posting but I was definitly eating - two notable meals in the past two weeks:

Barbuto - Jonathan Waxman's converted garage proved to be a great meal. I had my first taste of both Baccala and Boar (braised and soft as can be). It was the night of the B's! And the open kitchen rocks - literaly. They were blasting Zeppelin at the beginning of the meal. And drinking. Now this is my kinda place.

Pomaire - I know eating in the theater district is pretty nuts and usualy proves to not be that good (and overpriced) but last week a few friends and I had pretty damn good meal at Pomaire which bills itself as "The only chilean restarurant in N.Y.C" . The food was great but more then that the decor, the staff, the feel of the place was perfect. We had a 3 hour meal and it was paced very well (ok a bit slow but really it didn't matter).

Kosher food that doesn't suck department

I guess I missed this one:

"Singular Sensation
Restaurateur Joey Allaham isn’t lacking for confidence: He hopes to parlay his success at the Prime Grill kosher steakhouse into Solo, his new and—wouldn’t you know it—solo venture in a notoriously unlucky Sony Building space. (Remember Berkeley Bar & Grill? Or Shallots?) Here, though, the menu is kosher Mediterranean with a dash of Asian, an unusual fusion concocted by chef Hok Chin and evident in dishes like tamari-miso-glazed Chilean sea bass with truffle essence and Dover sole with litchis and champagne beurre noisette. The culinary crossover continues outside in the atrium, where the Kosher Kiosk dispenses approved Danish and cinnamon buns baked by Swedish pastry chef Morgan Larsson.
550 Madison Avenue, at 55th Street
212-833-7800" (via New York Metro)

And the menu (..no prices..hmmm)

The Griddler

Cuisinart Griddler (via Manhatten User's Guide - go sign up for the MUG daily - it's great)

I am soooo buying one!

Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America

Celebrating the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, a symposium and reception to launch the publication of this new reference work on food and wine, presented by the Culinary Historians of New York, at the Institute of Culinary Education, 50 West 23rd Street, 2:45 to 6:00 p.m. symposium, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. reception. Free admission, RSVP required for both the symposium and the reception by October 15 (212.847.0797, ext. 255). (via thefoodsection.com)

Morning coffee

Every day for the past week or so, I wake up early and go to work. Sharing the same building with my office is a French cafe. They serve breads and croissants and stuff like that. And of course they have coffee. There regular cup of coffee for $ 1.67 is all I ever get. Is that too much for a cup of coffee? All I can say is the stuff is ruining me. It does so much more then just wake me up. Walking into my office I take the first sip and POW my eyes light up. I can taste the roasting that the poor little beans went through. Oddly enough today I tried another places coffee. It was only $1. But now I am left with a sinking feeling. You all should know that the cup of coffee I am drinking right now is not your every day 7-11 bottom of the coffee maker stuff. Its good but its nothing compared to my usual cup.

I guess tomorrow its back to my usual.

Eat then yell

Greens in Black and White - NY Times

The Southern Foodways symposium in Oxford will try to balance serious academic discourse with good eating. The conference will begin with a whole pig roast, and over three days — and meals of fried catfish, Coca-Cola brisket, grillades and deviled eggs — attendees will hear lectures with titles like "Possum 'n' Taters — Where Have You Gone?" and "Methods and Ethnographics of Watermelon Pickles."

In the past talk in these sessions has inevitably turned to race, whether that was the primary aim or not, and frequently the conversations resulted in hurt feelings. A speaker who claimed that fried chicken had European origins, for instance, caused "a collective hissy fit," Mr. Edge said.

Peter Luger vs The Jews

A few hours after my oh-my-I-have-tasted-steak lunch (my first) at Peter Luger, an odd thought came to me.

I think I have come up with the ultimate one-day-break-from-being-kosher meal*. The idea is not to go so crazy that you feel such guilt that you run away from being kosher, at the same time though you need to have something special. Here is the menu:

1. Peter Luger Steak For 2

2. Creamed Spinach

3. Fried Hashbrowns

4. Ice cold Brooklyn Lager

5. Optional: Tomato + Onion salad (not really un-kosher enough)

*This post is dedicated to my friend David B.**

**This post in no way recommends said David B. break from being kosher (well maybe a little).