After a recent trip to the Socrates sculpture garden, Girlfriend and I struck out for Arepas Cafe on the south side of Astoria. While we were there to enjoy the restaurant’s tasty Venezuelan arepas, Latin American drink menus are always eye-catching, and we couldn’t slip away without ordering cold glasses of chica and toddy ($4.75 [...]
Plenty of people move to New York with the full intent of conquering the big city. Whatever they believe happens next, conquest is not it. Agreement on this sentiment is a bond I share with Mike, the daytime cook at Kuti’s Place. As he carves slices of fatty lamb from the glistening, heavily stacked spit [...]
Rice is rarely this audacious. Jinro is rarely the right choice. At a modest Korean restaurant in the far reaches of Queens, the rare thrill dormant in both staples springs to life in one sizzling sitting. Containing white rice soaked in a spicy marinade, a portentous mixing bowl greets the happy diners at Flushing’s Tong [...]
It is possible to eat too much pork. One might not believe it, given the state of popular food today – especially in New York, where “pork belly” has become its own dining demographic. Enunciating one’s love for the pig was hardly a declarative act twenty years ago, when the very qualities of pork had [...]
If you’ve wondering where exactly I’ve been over the past few weeks, the answer isn’t “Chicago” – all of these Chicago meals (the last of which will be on Serious Eats national in the near future) took place at the end of July. For the past few weeks, the answer has actually been, “chained to [...]
Do Japanese kids ever beg their parents for a six-piece takoyaki meal? I suppose this question begs another: How often do Japanese kids beg their parents? McChildhood culture aside, Otafuku‘s takoyaki beckon the cravings center of my brain anytime I’m within a few blocks from E. 9th St. At this Japanese take-out counter, these fluffy, [...]
He went from zero to vermicelli in 60 seconds. With two small white cords buoyantly stretched between his hands, a quick turn of the wrist swung one end towards the other. Fingers silently grappled the dough, producing strands that swept over the table below. Strands became noodles, noodles became strings, and for a brief moment [...]
There’s an entire world of restaurants within the borders of New York City. Frankly, I find it hard to give a shit about the newest opening, ambitious concept, or chef’s achievement when virtually the entire world also exists within the borders of New York City. It exists in the form of a bowl of Xi’an [...]
Long Island City’s M. Wells, the Quebec-American diner that stole the heartbeats of pretty much every food enthusiast in New York when it opened in 2010, did so by offering a playful, gourmet spin on diner fare that’s as accessible as it is intrepid. This is especially true for M. Wells’ brunch menu: dishes tend [...]
I spent two hours writing a post about the value of food blogging and what I’ve learned over four years of trying to improve my writing by being a food blogger. Most of that was rubbish, so I’ve extracted the following announcement: Lately, I’ve come to care more than ever about creating value. It’s a [...]
