[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid: August 9, 2016]
Looks like I did a lot of eating at the height of summer ten years ago, despite the city temperature hitting the big three.
On the art side, I was looking at Rudy Burckhardt's paintings at Tibor Nagy, described as "celebrating the democratic possibilities of shared urban space. " I also saw the remarkable documentary program ranging from the South Bronx to Detroit, Urbanspaces, at Two Boots Pioneer. Oh, and there were a bunch of snakes, lizards, and skinks even, at the American Museum of Natural History. Which brings me to food.
No snakes were eaten. But for lunch after the AMNH, we tried Sol y Sombra, finding not for the first time that straightforward, classic tapas were more enjoyable than some of the more tortuous modernist versions appearing downtown: tortilla, croqueta de pollo, papas fritas, albóndigas, salmone ahumado, soft-shell crabs.
Below Houston, life was continuing to stir (it's amazing how little there was to do down there ten years ago). An Aussie bar-restaurant of all things, Bondi Road; super-casual and not especially comfortable (wobbly high-tops), but with some good, fresh food in its early days. Oyster shooters, prawn cocktail, crab and mango summer wrap, crimson snapper, New Zealand grouper, the rarely seen mulloway (it's a fish), followed by that sweet, fluffy dessert cake known as a Lamington, and a pavlova to top things off.
A Tavern on Jane cheeseburger was comparatively restrained the next day. And just as well, because there was a grand shared tasting at Hearth coming up:
Fava salad with grated pecorino,
Red mullet
Peekytoe crab and lobster salads
Spring pea risotto
Gnocchi
Ravioli with eggplant
Papardelle with shrimp and mushrooms
Wild Alaskan salmon
Cod stuffed with brandade, sweet peppers
Veal cheeks, sweetbreads, veal-stuffed morels
Lamb breast, loin and sausage, desserts
Not to be daunted, I ended up the next evening at the popular and very smoky Japanese grill-boîte Yakitori Totto. Many chicken skewers were eaten, but also pork, bacon and beef tongue. Pickles, salads, and silky tofu with bonita flakes surrounded the meat. Green tea ice cream, panna cotta, and tapioca to finish, and much sake.
What did the week need to finish it off? A trip to Peter Luger, of course. Tomato and onion salad, the slab bacon, porterhouse steaks for two, German potatoes, spinach, cheesecake. It was obvious what was coming next.
Saturday at Red Hook ballfields. A pupusa or two.
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