at the sign of The Pink Pig

Thanksgiving: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  November 29, 2010]

As I set myself the task of re-tracing my steps of ten years ago, I realized there would be some quiet stretches.  It hasn't been nothing but champagne, foie gras and dancing girls.  And so we enter now on a period of new parenthood.

Good digestion to all my readers.

Quick Bites: Pig Face At Roberta's

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  November 22, 2010]

Roberta's, which still has http://www.robertaspizza.com as the URL for its website, is going through one of those phrases where it's the only restaurant to be seen at.

And the pizza is scarcely the reason any more, although they still serve it, and it still has nice, chewy, blistered crust.

Eating the Apple 2011 will be the perfect holiday stocking filler, assuming I finish it before the holidays. In the meantime, I've decided to run some of the articles from the 2010 edition - just in case you missed it.

http://www.pinkpignyc.com/eating_the_apple_a_new_ki/2010/11/the-state-of-offal.html

Quick Bites: Manna's Again

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  November 22, 2010]

Unbeatable soul food buffet.  That's what Manna's is to me, reliable through its ever-shifting locations in Harlem and Brooklyn.

I hadn't been to this one before - that I remember, anyway.  South side of 125th Street near Fifth Avenue.

A Calm Run-Up To Parenthood: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid: November 22, 2010]

So there we were, mid-November 2000, unwittingly waiting for the Supreme Court to choose a President for the country, and making plans for Thanksgiving.  For myself I had a quiet week leading up to the holiday.  There was a quiet tension in the air, however, with a baby due any moment.

Caution advised at Lina Frey.  I enjoyed several meals there after it opened, but a recent Monday evening visit made me anxious.   Maybe it's the chef's night off, but I didn't see him in the kitchen, didn't see the owner, didn't recognize the servers.  We were steered away from the beer because of a "refrigeration problem," and from the duck confit because of an "oven problem."  There was no hanger steak either - it had just sold out (to whom? The place was empty).  The burger is still pretty good.

I hope these aren't signs it's faltering.

Through the eyes of the Pig

For anyone interested in the NYU expansion plan, the man behind the Pig does proper reporting here:

http://eastvillage.thelocal.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/n-y-u-expansion-plan-changes-course/

Quick Bites: Baohaus Finally

[Pigging by Wilfrid:  November 19, 2010]

No, I hadn't been.  I've walked past a thousand times, and I've nothing against savory buns, it was never the right moment for a snack.  Until recently.

Actually, it was Sifton's recent takedown of chef Eddie Huang's new joint, Xiao Ye, which put it back on my itinerary.

Jamie Oliver: A Man Of Substance

[New York Peasant by Wilfrid:  November 19, 2010]

My memory does Jamie Oliver a disservice.  The Naked Chef debuted more than ten years ago, but I still recall him cooking a beef roast for Jamiroquai while muttering "wicked" in mockney.

I have followed his subsequent, rather more impressive career, from a distance.  Watching a screening of an episode of Jamie's American Road-Trip at the Crosby Hotel this week, I had to admit he had quietly become a man of substance.

Jamie speaks after the jump.