EPISODE 002: KOSHER MEAT MARKET
Episode two is finally here: Brian is forced to choose between the affections of two girls during his search for the best corned beef/pastrami in NYC.
#69 – DEVILED EGG at FORT DEFIANCE
SADLY, FORT DEFIANCE IS NOW CLOSED. My second trip to Red Hook brought me back to Fort Defiance. I was here just a few days earlier for another Time Out list item, the Iced Coffee. But this time, it was time for dinner, so the deviled eggs were now available. There’s a very funny moment on …
#68 – BREWER’S BLONDIE at BAKED
Some folks like to get away, take a holiday from the neighborhood. When Billy Joel sings those lyrics, he’s implying that no vacation is as satisfying or comfortable as being in his home state. But New York State of Mind was written long before the gentrification of Red Hook. In the last few years, this …
HONORABLE MENSCHION (Sarge’s)
Ask anybody who knows anything about New York food to name the 3 most popular Jewish delis in the city and you’ll probably get the same answers: Katz’s, Carnegie, and 2nd Avenue Deli. They’re like the kosher triumvirate. Over the years though, one spot has been trying to sneak its way into that coveted group. …
#67 – ICED COFFEE at FORT DEFIANCE
SADLY, FORT DEFIANCE IS NOW CLOSED. I might be the only person out there who doesn’t drink coffee. Seriously. If there are any other caffeine-free folks out there, let me know and we should start a support group. People look at me funny when I tell them I don’t drink the stuff. I just never got …
#66 – FRIED CHICKEN at GEORGIA’S EASTSIDE BBQ
It used to be a tradition every year to go to a different BBQ restaurant for my birthday. For the first 5 or 6 years I lived in New York, I’d chow down on baby back ribs. I think the tradition started when I was growing up in Florida but I made sure to explore …
THAT’S ALL, FOLKS! (Katz’s Delicatessen)
Before I began this crazy caloric search for the best corned beef and pastrami in the city, there was only one place I thought deserved that title. How could you not go to Katz’s Delicatessen? It’s the oldest delicatessen in the city (dating from 1888) and it just reeks of New York history (and cured …
#65 – FOIE GRAS TERRINE at RECIPE
SADLY, RECIPE IS NOW CLOSED. I know I read an article a few months ago in New York Magazine where they listed a handful of tiresome food trends. But now I can’t seem to find the article in my back issues or online. Did I imagine it? One of the items I remember them listing (or …
#64 – BEAUJOLAISE SAUSAGE at DBGB
SADLY, DBGB IS NOW CLOSED. It seemed to me that the name DBGB refers to the restaurant’s East Village location. It’s just down the street from where the Ramones and the Misfits cemented punk rock into the New York consciousness. Of course, that happened at CBGB, which unfortunately no longer exists on Bowery. But if you …
OH (YES!), CANADA! (Mile End)
When I decided to do corned beef and pastrami, I set some ground rules for myself. First and foremost, I couldn’t get one without the other. Well, rules are meant to be broken. Especially when they’re broken with such unique style and deliciousness as at Mile End. If you read any New York publications or food …
#63 – COOKIES at DOWNTOWN COOKIE COMPANY
My mission, should I choose to accept it is to hunt down the strangely marked building on West 48th Street close to 11th Avenue (practically in New Jersey!), call the phone number I was given by a certain hour, and wait for somebody to emerge. If I do all these things correctly, I will be …
TRENDY PIZZA CLUB (Pulino’s)
SADLY, PULINO’S IS NOW CLOSED. I was invited once again by Jason Feirman (I Dream of Pizza) to Pizza Club. I first joined the group a few months back at the classic coal oven joint Arturo’s. This month, we headed down Houston Street a bit to the other side of the pizza spectrum to sample the …
#62 – CHICKEN YAKITORI LUNCH at YAKITORI TOTTO
My favorite issues of Time Out each year are the 100 Best Food and Drink issue and the Cheap Issue. It’s clear that I’m both a foodie and a Jew (a Jew-die?) So when they write articles about cheap food in the city, I am in heaven. The lunch special at Yakitori Totto, the semi-hidden (it’s …
#61 – CAPOCOLLO PIZZA at SARAGHINA
Saraghina is one of those well-respected new pizza restaurants that I just didn’t get to during my intense pizza search. So I’m very thankful that it happened to find its way onto TONY’s list. Partly because it helped make my pizza search more comprehensive, but also because it was quite delicious. Michele Iuliano, the chef …
ONLY IN BROOKLYN (Adelman’s Kosher Deli)
SADLY, ADELMAN’S KOSHER DELI IS NOW CLOSED. Corned beef, pastrami, knishes, chopped liver, and Jewish guilt, among other things were brought to New York by Eastern European Jews. And they were the first chefs, owners, waiters, and customers at the delicatessens. But times have changed and New York has become the melting pot of the …
#60 – SPICY BEEF SALAD at MADAM GENEVA
Of all the gin joints in this city, Time Out sent me to this one. The strange thing about that comment is not that Time Out sent me to a gin joint, but more so that there aren’t many gin joints in this town at all. In fact, besides Madam Geneva, I can’t think of …
KOSHER LEFTOVERS (Fine & Schapiro)
SADLY, FINE & SCHAPIRO IS NOW CLOSED. At the turn of the century and during World War II, the Upper West Side became a very popular neighborhood with the Jewish community. And even today, you can’t walk a few blocks without passing a synagogue. These were Eastern European Jews. You know, the ones who brought corned …
#59 – BRAISED BEEF BANH MI at NHA TOI
For a long time, whenever I thought of Vietnamese food I thought of very clean, healthy and light flavors – summer rolls and pho. In the last few years, I (and most of NY) discovered the banh mi. A Vietnamese sandwich traditionally made with cucumbers, cilantro, pickled carrots, and all sorts of pork: paté, roasted, …
PIZZA WITH YOUR BEER
What to do on a Sunday afternoon? I’m tired of going to the movies, I’m never up early enough for brunch, and there’s only so long I can sit at home and write blog entries. So last weekend, I ventured into Williamsburg for a different sort of Sunday afternoon. Instead of doing any of the …
#58 – PALMITOS FRIES at YERBA BUENA
SADLY, YERBA BUENA IS NOW CLOSED. Since there were two items on our list from Yerba Buena, we decided to make a full dinner of it. I usually end up doing this at all the restaurants, but it does get expensive and I keep trying to train myself to come in specifically for the one dish and …