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[Free Stuff by Wilfrid: September 21, 2012]
I was very pleased to accept an invitation from South African Tourism to find out more about how they're promoting the country to overseas visitors, and dip into some cuisine, art, and music.
Over several of Yusef Austin's "Spotted Plum" cocktails -- with fresh, crushed plum -- I learned that about plans to attract visitors to South Africa precisely through culture, including culinary culture. The Amaridian Gallery in SoHo was the right place to hear about it.
[Pigging by Wilfrid: September 17, 2012]
One question which seems to be on everyone's lips about this new venture from Food Network's Guy Fieri: "Will it be any better than the countless other tourist options in the Times Square neighborhood?"
Damned if I can tell you. You think I spend time eating at Bubba Gump and Planet Hollywood? Despite a lame lunch at Brooklyn Diner last year, I really have no basis for comparison. But I can tell you this.
[Pigging by Wilfrid: September 14, 2012]
Finishing up this week of odds and ends, here's a bite I never intended to mention here. In fact, I didn't even pull my camera out until I'd eaten about a good chunk of it.
The lobster burger at Dalton's Seaside Grill, Rockaway Beach -- ordered, I confess, in a spirit of adventure.
Dalton's -- formerly Gallagher's Snug Harbor -- is a substantial building off the boardwalk. Gallagher's was open some forty years, but the place looks older; looks like a shore hotel. There's a large dining room, outdoor dining, and a long bar which proved a quiet respite after a hot day of pacing around. The Guinness is recommended.
In addition to expected fish and chips, shrimps, scallops, bar snacks, chowders, and salads, Dalton's will serve you anything from a Reuben's egg roll to a pork chop. I didn't truly expect a lobster burger to be good, but I order in a contrary way sometimes. It was. Structured like a loose crab cake, it had visible, taste-able lobster chunks in it. I am not going to tell you thre creature was freshly hauled from the roiling ocean. Not at all. But this was nicely seasoned, appropriately garnished will coleslaw, and cost $16 de luxe.
My dining companions liked their panini too. Believe me, choices are limited around Rockaway Beach, unless you have a craving for tacos, or the same arepas you can get in the East Village. Keep this in your back pocket.
[Pigging by Wilfrid: September 13, 2012]
This was a trip which might have turned into a review, but didn't turn into much of anything at all. Earl's Beer & Cheese has garnered much positive press over the last year: the Times spoke of "serious ambition."
It's attractions certainly seem unmatched by anything else in the immediate neighborhood -- that steep stretch of Park Avenue where Metro-North rears above the tarmac and heads into the upstate distance.
I'm not there much. You'll find me on East 79th, or on East 110th and up, but between the two? For me, Earl's was a destination. I was led there by prospects of the "Earl's Eggo" -- a fabled mess of Cabot Cheddar, foie gras, and syrup on a waffle. Didn't get one.
Earl's opening hours vary, but it closes at midnight (2am at weekends). Arriving for what I'd call a late lunch -- certainly in daylight hours -- I was told they were all out of the "Eggo." Place was empty, by the way. Maybe there was no "Eggo" that day to begin with. Maybe they gather the ingredients after the sun goes down. Whatever.
There's not much else except beer, cheese, and grilled cheese. From a choice of Cheddar, Brie, and Mozzarella, I chose Brie. Not just Brie, though. Brie with blackberry mostarda (yes, a bit like jelly) on brioche toast. The white sheet, unmentioned on the menu, unexplained, and flavorless, seems to have been rice paper (why?).
It wasn't expensive at six bucks, but -- for me, at least -- this was a long trip for a grilled cheese sandwich. Especially one where I wished I'd asked them to hold the jam, hold the rice paper, and substitute rye for the brioche. The cheese was okay, though.
[Pigging by Wilfrid: September 12, 2012]
I should emphasize that this isn't a review. Calliope is the bistro which replaced Belcourt on the corner of East 4th and Second Avenue.
Although you could be forgiven for not noticing. Belcourt's decor, always a strength, remains in place. The style of service is similar. Belcourt chef Matt Hamilton worked at Prune; so did Ginevra Iverson. So far, at least, Calliope seems no more or less busy than Belcourt. Like Belcourt, it has a rather tricksier menu than you'd expect from a bistro (but it doesn't serve a burger).
I didn't eat enough from the menu to "review" the place. Just dropped in for a quick bite.
Beef tongue with a jungle of mache lettuce, and sauce gribiche, was pleasant enough, but had been sliced sufficiently thinly that the distinctive spongy texture -- one of the best things about it -- wasn't noticeable. The texture was more like ham.
The dinner menu offers meat eaters limited options. There's roast chicken of course; there's steak, but I am never certain about $32 strip steaks; by all means, serve me hanger at that price. There's rabbit in a pasta dish.
By default, I chose hot and sour lamb neck. I like the cut; was less certain about the style. And indeed it may be a question of palates: I found the thin broth in which the lamb was served harsh and vinegary; some might say, "Yes. Hot and sour." Raw scallions on top didn't help, neither did canned/jarred unstuffed green olives, and what I'm quite sure didn't work was the introduction of little pasta parcels of sweet mascarpone. Clash.
And the lamb (of which there wasn't much, and it was neck after all), floated apart into strands in the soup.
Not good. But there may be better things on the menu I didn't try.
[Pigging by Wilfrid: September 11, 2012]
South African-Israeli-Jewish, says New York magazine, while telling you how this place got its name.
It's just a bright, white dining room on Lafayette, near Ed's Lobster, and when I stopped by for lunch it was busily serving a diverse crowd from the light lunch menu. At dinner there are $20+ fish and steak entrées, but the general theme is grazing: salads, sandwiches, pasta $11-15, shareable snacks like salt & pepper eggplant, $6.
I was in search of the giblets peri-peri I'd heard about. They had sweetbreads peri-peri instead. Fine by me.
The sweetbreads were nicely executed, firm and trimmed, and had a little crunch to the surface (dipped in something like cornflour?). The sauce was chili-warm but not aggressive or harsh. With some bread, it was the light snack I wanted. $11. If peckish, you might add a side of cous-cous to drink up the sauce for another five bucks.
[Pigging by Wilfrid: September 10, 2012]
A scorching hot day, after being quoted thirty minutes wait for Birerria, I stopped by the Calexico cart which is still at the Madison Square Eats location from earlier this summer.
After ordering, there was still a fifteen minute wait, but I was doing better than at Birreria, let alone Shake Shack. One positive: superior quality of meat, especially in the chipotle pork taco. Another positive: the prices -- you can get a good taco in Queens for $2.50, so I'm fine with paying $3 in the Flatiron. They come garnished, so this wasn't my choice of toppings.
The pork taco with slightly too much crema and red onions, the pollo asado with the avocado salse. Quesadillas, burritos, also available.
