at the sign of The Pink Pig

Nibbles In San Juan

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  January 30, 2012]

A few days in San Juan last week, and mustn't grumble at temperatures in the seventies, a grand resort hotel, tumbling surf, sand and all the rest of it.

But it was a business trip, and I had little chance to forage.  So not much cocina auténtico to report.

The Case Of The Mystery Game Bird: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  January 30, 2012]

Ten years ago, I must have gotten quite comfortable posting on eGullet, because I composed a long and playful post - I can't find it any more - about being served a mystery bird at a mystery restaurant.

The mystery was dispensed with once Union Pacific closed its doors, but it was a funny evening.

A 7-Eleven Biscuit Treat

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  January 25, 2012]

Hopefully a final word from me on East Village biscuits at The Local.

I don't usually do rankings, but the editor hankered for one, and you know what?  That biscuit at Peels isn't even as good as the one they serve at 7-Eleven, mass-baked at their Long Island depot.

A Return Match With Northern Spy

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  January 23, 2012]

I reviewed Northern Spy Co, a small restaurant on a quiet block off between Avenues A and B, not long after it opened.  Why did I decide it was time for a re-match?

When I first visited, my patience was already worn thin by a series of restaurants of almost identical mien and menu, bombarding the diner with truisms about sourcing farm-to-table local ingredients and making silly fusses about "breaking down" (i.e. butchering) whole animals.

At Craft And San Domenico: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  January 23, 2012]

Can it really be ten years ago I was reading Francis Ponge for the first time, French-English facing texts?  Can it be ten years ago I ate at Craft for the first time?  Indeed, and the early pages of the eGullet thread on Craft from late 2001/early 2002 are a reminder of what that forum once was.

I also had another return match with San Domenico.

Cebiches And Mash At La Mar

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  January 16, 2012]

La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, or Peruvian Pickled Fishery "The Sea," haunts the old Tabla space, bookending the MetLife North Building at the opposite end to 11 Madison Square Park.

It's part of anextensive  international chain helmed by Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio - and it's not his only chain.  There are also the Astrid & Gastón restaurants in Latin America and Spain, and according to his Wikipedia entry countless more eateries in development.

Remember Cello? Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  January 16, 2012]

Cello.  There's a New York restaurant story.  Hidden behind a heavy wooden door on East 77th Street, it had become in the space of a couple of years a highly respected gastronomic temple of the pescatarian variety, helmed by a respected young chef, Laurent Tourondel.

Not long after I ate there, it abruptly closed, amidst rumors of collapse of financial support.  Tourondel, after a year away, set about establishing himself as the name behind a min-chain of steak, fish and burger restaurants.

The Pink Pig's On The Biscuit Trail

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  January 13, 2012]

How many biscuits can one pig eat?

Find out, if you dare, at The Local East Village.

The Cannibal: Eating Meat Is Right

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  January 13, 2012]

What's in a misnomer?  "Eating people is wrong," is the Flanders-Swann song which springs to mind when I hear of a restaurant called The Cannibal.  But what they really want you to eat are barnyard animals in various forms.

A sibling of Resto, and next door to the mothership (unsigned and I found lost people outside looking for it), The Cannibal is worth a butcher's hook (I'm talking cockney now).

Celebrating At SD26

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  January 9, 2012]

Shortly before the holidays, a festive dinner among friends at SD26.  As I've written often, I was a long time regular at San Domenico, so when I eat at its Madison Square successor I feel like I eat among friends.

Times do change, though, and it's necessary to remember we're now eating the cuisine of Mattero Bergamini, who opened SD26 under now departed chef Odette Fada.  The quality, suffice to say, is maintained.