Soap Box: What does it all mean… the food hug

Soap Box: What does it all mean… the food hug

Ted Allen once said, “New Yorkers need comfort food more than anyone else on the planet! If a restaurant could sell fried chicken, mac and cheese, Xanax and marijuana, they'd stay in business forever."

He also mentioned another time this is the reason cupcakes are so popular in New York City, because New Yorkers just need a hug. The cupcake…comfort food…it’s a hug. I think this is even true beyond the borders of the center of the universe (New York City), I believe this is what most people want in the end.

Generally speaking there are three types of people in the world, those that can count, and those who can’t, in the culinary world, there are only two, the ‘eats to live’ and the ‘lives to eat”. Us live to eats often get caught up in the discovery of new things, the never ending culinary voyage, but you know something, when it comes right down to it, something simple is going to make you happy. Ask any of the top chefs in the world, food writers, food personalities, if they could eat one last thing before they died, it’s going to be fundamentally simple. That’s right “foodies”, look away, because they are going to say things like, “A baked potato with butter…a fried egg… not some exotic plate, where the sauce had to be reduced over three days, and involved some rare ingredient found in an ancient roman wall, preserved down through the centuries, now unattainable, with foams, and things exposed to nitrogen!

Speaking for myself, the sandwich is most often my food hug. That’s right, something delicious, hugged between two pieces of bread, not last meal hug, but it’s up there. How about Bourdain’s Pho comments on No Reservations, about in the end just wanting a bowl of something good. Pho is a great hug. Other comforts for me, the most simple pasta dishes possible, Aglio e Olio, Cacio e Pepe, when I need recharge I will make one of these, they are so simple, in fact I don’t think it could get simpler, but they are special.

Another case in point is roast chicken. All the refined dishes in the world and not much can really be more enjoyable than a high quality, well prepared and roasted chicken…that’s right, chicken. Anyone who denies it is lying, and we know what happens to liars. And I will be the first to tell you when I’m at a restaurant it’s probably the last thing I will order, however that fact is that if I get over myself and actually order it, I am going to enjoy it very much.

My friend and New York City chef Carlos, said something profound yet simple to me one night, you need two things to cook good food, a reason (someone), and that thing the beetles said is the only thing you need, love. This may be why so many of our favorite dishes were something our moms made for us. They could not have gone wrong (unless your mom didn’t love YOU, which is entirely possible). They had a reason and love, and we enjoyed it.

The reason I have gotten on this soap box is because I believe that all the other things in the food world are important, yes, the foams, reductions, nitrogen, blah blah blah, I love it, but I don’t think you can really appreciate those things unless you can acknowledge certain fundamental truths. Then it’s the frosting on the cake (or cupcake) so to speak. You can then approach those things less pretentiously and enjoy them for what they are.

Ok, now someone knock me off the soapbox please...

Thanks Federal Government!

Alex and I always seem to find ourselves being yelled at by authority figures with badges and guns. Why is that? Or do they just treat everyone that way? Well I digress. To make a long story short, Al and I found ourselves in Norwalk Connecticut to renew Al’s passport, it’s a long story. I have never actually gone to a Federal building to get a passport, the experience… was special.

During a break from being yelled at by passport lady, (12:30-3:30, what seems to be a federal lunch break of sorts), we had some time to kill in the small town of Norwalk. At a first drive though, it seemed like we had some good choices of places to eat, I admit that I did not expect such a thing this deep into “nutmegger” territory.

Al and I settled on the Burger Bar and Bistro. Tiffany was a great sport letting us sit there for 3 or so hours and kept us in ice tea the whole time. The food here was excellent. There is nothing I like more than a restaurant that is anal enough to be this consistent. In other words, whatever you order is going to be awesome. It appears there are no dead spots in the menu as it were. I had the best New England clam chowder I have had on the east coast to date. This was a surprise to me as well. Also the tea glasses (mason jars) and brown and tan soup bowls harkened me back to eating at my grandma’s house, no joke.

The burgers were excellent, not to heavy, perfect really. And the cheese and gravy fries were also amazing. We did turn down a fry dish that involved brie, and black truffle oil, in favor of living another few years without suffering a massive coronary episode. It haunts me though; I must return someday and try it.

So if you find yourself stuck, trying to get a passport in Norwalk Connecticut, please check this place out, it was even worth sitting amongst the best hipsters Connecticut has to offer, while they sip on their Pabst Blue Ribbon like and 1811 Château d'Yquem. If I can take off my food hat and put on my Hipster Anthropologist Stocking Cap, I did notice that the Connecticut hipsters opt for the khaki pants as opposed to the skinny jeans of the Williamsburg heard of TryHardicusPointyShoesis, interesting, and (here I will do them a favor) also…ironic.

http://www.burgerbarandbistro.com/

Don't Be a Square

It just occurred to me the other day, the whole summer has passed and I have not had one, single Sicilian slice of L&B’s pizza. Fail. Now in my personal opinion, the restaurant side of L&B Spumoni Gardens is not going to change your life, and the spumoni is good, and the square slice will not being making our bucket list.

All that being said, the slice is delicious, and L&B is a NYC institution and  landmark. There are many people (a majority of whom have since moved to Staten Island and New Jersey) who just might put this slice at the top of their personal bucket lists. It’s very good, but sorry folks, L&B’s square slice will not make our list, but get a very honorable mention.

I can’t believe so much time has passed since last having a slice, there is much controversy in my home as to the tastiness of this pizza. We will not delve into that discussion as it may lead to offending many, many people. So, If you’re in Brooklyn, it’s worth seeing this place and having a famous square slice. L&B is still very vibrant, with cars (even cop cars) double (sometimes even triple parked) out onto 86^th St.

Although it doesn’t make our list, it is still a New York institution. Perhaps I should grab a slice today while there is still a little summer left.

2011

I think the time is getting close to begin unvailing ..."the list" for 2011.

The Godfather

Lunch today was in Williamsburg, the place in Brooklyn where the Hipsters mingle with the Hasidic. Usually if Al and I find ourselves in the hipster haven of Williamsburg, we make our way to Gottlieb's, one of our most favorite sandwich spots anywhere, it is an unbelievably true to form Jewish deli, and the it has all the elements we look for, authentic food, unique atmosphere, and consistently delicious food.

But, sorry, Gottlieb’s is another story for another time, today we found ourselves on Graham Ave. What would seem to be the “Mulberry Street” or “Arthur Ave” of Williamsburg, in fact, as we were making our way to Graham Ave Meats and Deli (the subject of today’s food diatribe) we had to go around an Italian street fair. The presence of Italian culture still existing in this small strip of Williamsburg is still real and tangible.

Stepping into Graham Ave Meats and Deli is that perfect gateway into a true neighborhood experience, a true NFT (that means not for tourists kids) experience, the kind most SAD (this one is standard American diet) types would never appreciate. Basically this is the real deal.

So, what did we order? The Godfather of course, with everything, and the spicy peppers, not the sweet, common’! I don’t need to put pictures up, just google it and you will find volumes of pictures of this sandwich-don. This sandwich is very good, and is actually inexpensive considering the quality and construction. $7.00! When you’re sitting outside on the rickety bench eating your hero masterpiece, as the oil and vinegar drip out onto the sidewalk, you notice on the ground evidence of many like sandwiches having had dripped in that very spot, like a motor oil stain in a driveway (wow that doesn’t sound appetizing, sorry). Is this our favorite hero in BK? No, Jimmy’s is still our #1, but this is very good. The atmosphere of the neighborhood is very conducive to sitting outside, taking a few extra minutes, and enjoying your lunch.

If you find yourself in this section of Williamsburg, it’s worth swinging by for some lunch. And to the FBI, please leave Mike “The Butcher” Virtuoso alone, let the man make sandwiches please, thank you!

Anthony P

The Bake City Bagel...Flagel

Meat sweats

Had something new today at RUB (Righteous Urban BBQ). Upon Gelman's suggestion I had my first "Frito Pie", and it is almost exactly what it sounds like, there are Frito's involved, and melty orange cheese, and chili. I would love to say this dish that seems conceived by some college student is too low brow for me, however, it was tasty. It’s so bad, and so good at the same time. We faced many obstacles just to make our way to 23rd street, including sea's of yellow cabs, police, and roving herds of Hipsters. Once inside though, we got to sit and eat in the open air side of RUB, since Al and I were late due to the many perils we faced, Gelman was forced to take our orders via texting while we were shaken down by some Times Square foot cop who pulled us over by tapping on the window of our vehicle. Officer McMillan, some sort of blue-tooth expert it seems presumed our driver, Al to be on the phone, just as the gates of traffic were opening up to us like two golden gates to the promised land, we got the tap on the window. So thank you Miss officer McMillan, at the risk of breaking a multitude of political correct ethical invisible boundaries, I was forced to tell Al, “even the African American (and female) cops in this town are Irish (McMillan)!”. And in true Gelman form we were ostracized via texted message for our lateness, “What do you mean traffic? There is no traffic over here?”, “Pulled over and about to get a full body cavity search from a Times Square cop? Don’t you have blue tooth?”.  In the end as we showed up so did the food! Chili fries, the Frito mess, duck, smoked brisket, the smokiest baked beans on earth and of course, a lot of Iced Tea.

First time for Frito pie, and first time being pulled over by a cop without so much as a bicycle to jump on for hot pursuit, we should have just waved and drove away through the open gates of no traffic.

RUB

Had RUB today with Gelman. that is all

grrrr

I am starving! Should I hit up the happy hour at the Schnitzel Hause??? Das Boot of beer? Copious amounts of sausaged meats...mmmm.

I need a hero!

Tuna sandwich… *yawn*. But wait, Jimmy’s Famous Hero’s Tuna Sandwich!!! SCHWING! That’s right, there exists a tuna sandwich good enough to possibly make our list of places to eat at before you die, unbelievable? Well believe it, this is no ordinary sandwich, much less no ordinary tuna sandwich. I have said in the past what sort of suckers we are for a great or even good sandwich, this is no exception.

The bread is amazing; to the best of my knowledge Jimmy’s sources its carby sandwich-handles from four different local bakeries. The tuna in of its self is probably nothing special, but on the already awesome bread, the tuna salad shines, there is tomato, MUSTARD (yes, on a tuna sandwich), trivial lettuce and onion that somehow add something, mayo, oil, vinegar and… jalapeño peppers. This is one of what I am convinced, is the most critical components of this mythical hero (not to be confused with Mythological Hero’s such as Perseus or Homer).

From the minute you walk in, you know Jimmy’s is special. Sparse walls, metal folding chairs, a cloth map of Sicily graces the wall near counter.  The few chips, drinks, and tomato’s for sale only seem to be there out of formality. Jimmy’s is first and foremost a church of the sandwich. We love to take a short drive down to Sheepshead Bay (between Emmons Ave & S Shore Pky) to have this glorious neighborhood sandwich. Another friend of ours also frequents Jimmy’s, fellow food aficionado, TV personality, and globe trotter Dr. Andrew Klapper (oh yea, he is also a great Plastic Surgeon). If Jimmy’s makes it to our “Bucket List” we will have to get some of Dr Klapper’s thoughts for the write up.  

Super Hero's of New York

OY VEY! WHO RAN OVER MY BAGEL!!

In south Brooklyn, way down, what most New York City hipsters, and yuppies would most likely consider the apex of the universe, as a matter of fact even the location exudes the image of being on the outer limits of the outer borough s,  avenue X and east 1st, like a plot point on some sort of graph of what people really know about New York City... Wow that was a mouth full; let's start this again.

In south Brooklyn... There is the flagel, the Bake City Bagel Flagel. I am going to make some very blasphemous remarks right now so brace yourself, my favorite bagel in New York City, it’s not a bagel, it’s a flagel! It gets worse, the blasphemy continues, this epic bagel is not made by a man named "Moishe", that’s right, a goy, an Italian owns Bake City Bagels, Gasp!! As Alex says a goyish guy making Jewish bagels, keep in mind though that there are also Jewish bagel joints that make “goyish” bagels, so it can work both ways. 

I guess what I am getting at is that one of the best breakfasts known to man, has to be a toasted everything flagel with vegetable cream cheese from Bake City Bagels, and an espresso (from wherever you can get your hands on a good one!). Now Alex gets the same, except with a tomato, and for all of my love of things tomato, I feel it is unnecessary. This is my favorite bagel, Bake City Bagels flagel. Alex’s favorite bagel comes from Long Island, and it is a traditional, Moishesque (not goyish), bagel, but that is another story for another time. And if your not sure what a "flagel" is and you haven't figured it out by now, it's a flat-bagel.

Here you can see two great things, Bake City Bagels & A&S Pork Store, another great neighborhood spot. Try their "Guido Balls"

I would like to invite my cousin Natalie to be one of our foreign correspondence

Mo Pho! (yes I know its actually pronounced 'fuh' and not 'fo')

Help us out people, we LOVE Pho, BUT, and thats a big but, I don't think we have had the best Pho in New York, yes we have our regular neighborhood spot, and I do feel they do a good job, but we must know where the best is outside of Vietnam. Please help!

sammich...

Ok, we are suckers for a good sandwich, one of my favorite culinary scenes in a movie ever was Adam Sandler making his personal sandwich creation paired with a beer in Spanglish, that being said, right now, we can't get enough of Num Pang's hand held gastric happy pills. The Coconut Tiger Shrimp sandwich...epic, the Five-Spice Glazed Pork Belly sandwich with Asian pear...life changing. And one of my favorite things about Num Pang is their heavy discouragement of "modifying" their creations. The nerve! I mean seriously have you ever eaten with someone who says “I want that, just take all the things you intentionally put on there for the flavor experience off”. Places like Num Pang are not Subways idiots! Hats off to #Num Pang, keep up the good work.

Rice Ball Nirvana

Any restaurant that makes, or claims to make a "Rice Ball", should take a trip to Joe's of Ave U in south brooklyn and order the rice ball special, just to be sure those restaurants actually know how a rice ball should taste, then adjust theirs as needed.

The Ultimate Food Bucket List

1.bucket list

A list of things to do before you die. Comes from the term "kicked the bucket".

I need to remember to add skydiving to my bucket list.

Nope, this isn’t that type of list. This is a food “bucket list”, all the places you should eat before you kick the proverbial bucket. This is not a list of good or even great places to eat, there are just so many of those. These are places that are life changers (before the end), food to die for, or eat before you die...anyway. This list is made by myself (Anthony) and Alex, we are self proclaimed food experts of New York city and the world. We love to eat...The beginnings of this list will be New York City, hopefully it continues to grow.

This list is also not some rating system for a foods décor, customer service, blah blah blah. This is about the food. I think you do eat to some degree with your eyes too, but last time I check your not eating the wallpaper. So some of these places may be less than pleasing to the eye, and the person serving you may throw a paper plate at you, or yell at you to stop eating their fried egg plant because “it’s bad for you.” We may give ratings to certain things, such as “Fluff” factor, some restaurants put on a good show, then the food is a one big (insert sad trombone effect here!, wah wah wah wahhhhh). However, some restaurants area able to pull off both the Fluff and the follow through. So decor, pleasantness of the staff , and other factors only add excitement to the expereince, but not the food itself.

We may include the view of some of our colorful eating companions, they may or may not be the foodie types, and may actually be very narrow minded when it comes to culinary excellence, and not share our enthusiasm for food, they may be their solely for our amusement and yours. They may not be as…adventurous as Alex and I, however their input may provide some level of comedy, mostly for myself, and Alex. Some are experts in specific areas, such as our friend Gellman, he provides much insight on things such as “Dipping Sauces”, and “Soupy Buns”, and he provides hours of cynical, sarcasm and humor.

I’m sure our choices and maybe even some of our comments will offend many, nevertheless, this is an honest list, real people enjoying the realest and bestest neighborhood eats around. This Ultimate Food Bucket List will start out as a blog, our hope is it will shortly evolve into webisodes featuring us at the listed restaurants and eateries, possibly someday turning into a bonified show making us wealthy beyond our wildest dreams! Or at the very least, maybe we will just get some good recommendations of places to eat. Eat on!

How it will work

Annually we will publish our "Bucket List", breaking it down eatery by eatery. In the meantime, we will post stories about places we are eating at. We will make fun sub-lists. Eventually we hope to add more cities to our "Bucket Society". Some of the restaurants, dives, food carts, and holes in the walls on the annual list may change yearly, so you must stay tuned for the release of "The List"! We expect our choices will invoke some controversy, well… whatever. If you feel there is some place that Al and I have not eaten at that warrants our consideration and exploration, by all means lets us know. Submit your own bucket list. Eventually we want to list to evolve into a Web series, with video and audio of our shenanigans.  

Tweet Tweet

http://twitter.com/#!/bkbucket.
And the twitter page is born! Follow our adventures and shinanigans in real time.
We promise the only Weiners we are going to tweet about, will come in a hot dog bun!

More to come...

Our first installment is going to be The Ultimate NYC Food Bucket list, places you have to eat at before you die! We'll also be featuring a section of negative Yelp reviews, making a complete mockery of those who posted such dribble. To follow will be other 'Bucket Lists', different cities, different countries, then TV show, fame, fortune, & a behind the music special (Do they still make those?).

Coming Soon

This madness is about to kick off, stay tuned!