Priceless

Photo from Gawker

Mayor Bloomberg showed up to the grand opening of Eataly last night.

Heading there now for lunch! (wish me luck)

banana cake with chocolate frosting

I love when Gus's birthday rolls around because it's one of the rare times that I make a two-layer cake.  This year he asked for a chocolate/banana combination - one of my favorite flavor pairings - so I was more than happy to oblige.  

Gus asked for a chocolate banana cake last year as well, but the results were less than stellar.  The layers were dense and deflated; the heavy ganache icing, though delicious, only flattened them further.  This year I consulted various sources for a good recipe, and settled on one I came across on a couple blogs, originally from Southern Cakes cookbook by Nancie McDermott.

It's a banana cake - composed of buttermilk, mashed ripe bananas, and the usual suspects - paired with a buttery chocolate frosting.  Now, before I proceed, I must admit I'm not very well versed in cakes (unless you count all the hours of  "Ace of Cakes" and Food Network Challenge cake editions I've absorbed).  And I have to semi-retract the statement made in my cupcakes post about baking relying almost solely on a recipe, because cakes - even amateur ones - are an art, requiring skill, time, and patience. It's difficult to get them to rise perfectly, to cook evenly, to achieve layers level, to ice properly.

That being said, I think this recipe is pretty uncomplicated - aside from the frosting issue, which I will address in a moment (and which can be avoided). I did the batter in my KitchenAid (Jean I am forever indebted to you for this wonderful machine); and barely folded in the mashed bananas before popping the cake pans into the oven.  They browned in 35 minutes.  It was minimal effort, really.

The frosting was a bit of a different story.  I was initially drawn to the recipe, in fact, for its frosting intrigue.  It calls for

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup evaporated milk or half-an-half

4 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

I liked the idea of using evaporated milk - I can see how it would add a nice consistency - but what I found even more interesting was the fact that the frosting is to be cooked on the stove.  Oh, and I guess this picture had something to do with my wanting to give it a go.

Unfortunately, my frosting did not turn out so well.  One reason may have been the lumpy cocoa powder I brought out of hibernation from my cabinet nook.  If you're going to try this frosting method, I would recommend buying a high quality cocoa powder and/or sifting it to get a fine consistency, because the lumps are really difficult to break up once you add it to the butter.  I would also advise keeping an overly cautious eye on the stove, stirring constantly over medium-low heat.  I thought I was being pretty attentive, but before I knew it I had puddles of liquefied cocoa sloshing around in a pot of simmering butter.

So I discarded it and opted for Plan B, which was to start over and skip the stove-top part altogether.  (One of the bloggers I read did the same thing.)  The result was basically a buttercream frosting, which ended up being the perfect consistency for the moist, springy banana cake.  The light, whipped consistency was also easy to spread. I smushed it around with a butter knife without paying too much attention and it came out pretty nice.

I'm going to go ahead and say it: I think this one was a success.  Despite the minor frosting blip, the cake came together really well. The slices cut perfectly, and four days later, it still tastes great chilled from the fridge.  This is one cake recipe I will likely make again.

Eataly!

Eataly's new location at 200 Fifth Ave (near 23rd st.)

Despite all the fantastic publicity it's been receiving since February, I just realized I didn't dedicate a post yet to Eataly, the "50,000 square-foot Slow Food–inspired Italian-food temple" that's aiming to be New York City's premier culinary mecca.  The mammoth grocery store/restaurant/center of enlightenment will be opening its doors to the public in mere days, on August 31st.  And it's going to be a mad-house.

And while this may sound so only-in-New-York, Eataly in fact, originated in Italy.

The Original, Photo from Eataly.it

The original Eataly- which will have been the largest artisanal Italian food and wine marketplace in the world post 8/31, opened just two years ago in Turin (or Torino), Italy and has since launched locations in Milan, Bologna, and Tokyo, among others.  The unstoppable founder and creator Oscar Farinetti teamed up with Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, and Lidia Matticchio Bastianich of B&B Hospitality Group to open the NYC location in the Flatiron district - which will be nearly twice the size of the original.

B&B, Image from  Babble.com

So what exactly is Eataly? In a nutshell, "an extravaganza that will include a premier retail center for Italian delicacies and wine, a culinary educational center, and a diverse slate of boutique eateries." The philosophy is a democratizing one: Farinetti’s aim (according to his press release) is to make high-quality Italian foods available to everyone, at fair prices and in an environment where people can shop, taste and learn. Slow Food, defender of such things as "food biodiversity" and "taste education," is the strategic consultant.

There is an exhaustive amount of information out there on what undoubtedly will be an exhausting (though exciting!) place to visit; so I've sifted through various articles and blog posts to offer you some highlights:

- There will be seven "restaurants," 14 food stations, and a full "piazza" with a raw bar, fresh-cut prosciutto, and marble-topped tables. (Gothamist)

Integrated dining areas

- The only named restaurant (and the only dining area that will take reservations), is Manzo, a full-scale white-tablecloth Italian steakhouse with 80 (or 60?) seats. Michael Toscano, formerly of Babbo, is the chef. (Times) Mario says it will contain a beef bar, "akin to a sushi bar, that will have five or six different daily-changing preparations of raw Piedmontese beef" (only 5 or 6? pff)

Bread in Eataly.

- While the packaged goods are mostly imported from Italy (and most are at import prices), the meat and produce is all local. Vegetables come straight from rooftop farm Brooklyn Grange in Queens. (Gothamist) 

Hm, I'm not so sure this is a fair price

- Beer will be brewed right on the 300-seat rooftop microbrewery, which will be run by Dogfish Head. (Gothamist) The aim is to pair artisanal rustic, homemade beers with the artisanal, rustic cooking of Chef Mario Batali. (Dogfish Head)

- A wine shop has an entrance on 23rd Street, and access to a counter for takeout pizza will be on 24th Street. (Times)

- Next to the espresso bar is a wall of five iPads, each programmed to display news from Italian newspaper La Stampa. (Gothamist)

- Artist Jennifer Rubell (niece of Studio 54 owner Steve Rubell) is the designated "vegetable butcher" - she will clean and cut any produce you purchase, free of charge. (Post) Scraps will be gathered in a separate plastic baggie to be weighed at the front and of course, composted. (NYMag)

- Alex Pilas, who ran private events at Del Posto, is the executive chef of the entire operation. (Times)

- Eataly will contain a small school headed by dean Lidia Bastianich.  There will be seminars with artisans, chefs, and winemakers that culminate in special dinners, as well as those that focus on nutrition, sociology, and the chemistry of food. (Post)

Mmmm! Pizza will be made by guys from Naples called Rossopomodoro, similar to Keste style.

- Eataly will have an in-house travel agency to organize trips to visit Italian food and wine producers. (Post)

- About 1,000 individuals applied for managerial and salaried (as opposed to hourly wage) positions,  including many career changers and individuals from finance and other fields who have been laid off or just wanted a different job. (WSJ)

- Eataly NY is a $20 million project. (WSJ)

And finally, click here for an amazingly confusing layout from the NY Post.

I'm very excited (and a bit scared) to see what this place is all about, and whether it lives up to its founding principles.  Lucky for me, it's only a few blocks from work. I know where I'll be spending my lunch breaks!

All photos from Gothamist unless otherwise noted.

BREAKING NEWS: DR. CLAW IS SHUT DOWN

This is a sad day for New York.

Great lunch container

The Kitchn posted this super smart, super cute lunch container from the MoMa Store the other day and I want it!

From MoMa Store

From the product description:

This cleverly designed lunch box has a lockable clear lid with integrated dipping well, a sauce pot for salad dressing or condiments, a removable food compartment, and a fork.

A sauce pot for salad dressing? My prayers have finally been answered.  I can't tell you how many times I've had an olive oil/vinegar leak into my lunch bag...and that is not a great smell.

Yes, $22 might seem a little steep, but that's two Manhattan lunches, so really this is a great investment.  Plus people will be really impressed because it's from MoMa. (Or they'll just make fun of you because you're a huge dork like me)

The Pop-up Restaurant

After my Dr. Claw experience, covert food operations are bound to hold special intrigue, so this podcast caught my ear this morning.  It's about a renowned French chef, Ludo Lefebvre, who's created a whirlwind of excitement for Los Angeles foodies with his "guerilla style restaurant" called LudoBites - a temporary establishment that pops up in unassuming locations around LA, serving up high-end fare.

Basically, the restaurant opens in the evenings of a bakery or luncheon, and communicates its changing locations through its website.  It's currently in its fifth iteration, "LudoBites5.0," indicating its 5th location at a place called Gram & Papa's - a favorite LA lunch spot.

Not surprisingly, reservations are nearly impossible to snag. How impossible? Lefebvre's wife remarked to NPR that, "Most restaurants don't announce reservations and have 3,000 people come on at once. I mean, it's really like releasing a concert." Whoa!

And it seems as though this atypical arrangement is mutually beneficial.  NPR explains that, without the overhead costs of a regular restaurant, Lefebvre is able to offer fine cuisine at a much cheaper price; and it goes without saying that such a venture is much less risky for the chef than opening a full-fledged restaurant.  Plus it affords him the freedom to change the menu, location, aura, etc. any time he wants.

Like the underground lobster roll and grilled cheese operations in NYC, the pop-up restaurant has an ephemeral quality that creates a special dining experience: One Ludobites patron told NPR, "It's a great move to make people think that you'll never be able to do this again.  It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Moreover, Lefebvre's website cites an article from LA Weekly saying “you can’t find it in Directory Assistance, and you can’t have dinner there tomorrow night. It has no address. So in a sense, Ludo Bites, the restaurant of Ludovic Lefebvre, doesn’t really exist.”  Amazing.  Listen to the podcast or read the full article from NPR here.

vanilla cupcakes

Yesterday was my good friend Danielle's birthday, so baking was obviously in store.  Normally I default to brownies for friend's birthdays, but this time I wanted to try something different, so I opted for cupcakes.

When it comes to baking, I think the end product is almost entirely reliant upon picking out a good recipe, because the rest is just about following instructions. But choosing a good recipe can be a difficult task.  In this case, I initially set out to recreate Magnolia's cupcakes (we had them a couple weeks ago at work and they were so good I continued to eat the stale ones that were leftover last week).  Surprisingly (or not), Magnolia has three cookbooks sharing the bakery owner's famous recipes, and the second one, More from Magnolia contains the recipe for vanilla cupcakes. But it calls for an alarming amount of sugar and butter; and after reading a lot of the negative reviews on Food Network ("SO OVERATED!!!!!!!"; "EXTREMELY sweet"; "spongy and dried out quickly") I started second-guessing it.

So I turned to JoyofBaking.com, one of my go-to sites for cakes, quick breads, and bars.  It's not the most sophisticated website, and the ads are pretty annoying, but they have consistently good, very manageable recipes and a nice little introduction explaining the history and summary of each offering.

Like many of its recipes, JoyofBaking's vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting requires few ingredients and the steps are simple and straightforward.  (In fact, this recipe is quite similar to the Magnolia recipe, but with less butter and sugar.)

I used a mini muffin pan for the bite-size variety (...and because that's the only size pan I have).  The recipe yielded almost exactly 24 mini cupcakes.

Pre-oven

The cupcakes browned at the edges after about 18 minutes.  (Please excuse the imperfect ones in this batch.)

Baking complete

The cake had a nice flavor and a decent texture: not too dry, not too spongy.  The frosting, on the other hand, turned out to be too sugary, though it had a nice, whipped consistency.  (From all of the cupcake reviews and "best of" lists, I gather it's really difficult to nail down a good vanilla frosting.)

Vanilla buttercream frosting

Though I hope to one day master the art of piping icing, I like the homemade look on cupcakes.  So I stuck to my tried-and-true method of massaging it around into dips and waves with a butter knife.  My mom instilled in me a suspicion towards food coloring, so I left these au natural and decided to accessorize instead.  I love making and buying things for Danielle because she's the girliest person I know, and doing such allows me to unleash my inner girly side.  So I went crazy with the pink sugar sprinkles and rainbow snowflakes (which, mind you, do contain food coloring...but it feels less deliberate this way).

Girlified

Probably not the best vanilla cupcake recipe out there, but it's a good, traditional, homemade one (and anyway they photograph nicely). Click here for the full recipe.  And please, if you have a great vanilla cupcake recipe, please share!

Christopher Walken Makes Chicken with Pears

Why have I not seen this video until now? I have no idea what the back story is, but this is simply amazing.



The parody is pretty spot on too:

Shake Shack

I finally hit up Shake Shack, the "modern day 'roadside' burger stand" that is the cause of a persistent line of people snaking around Madison Square Park. 

Photo from Gothamist

Unlike Danny Meyer's other establishments, Shake Shack is an unassuming venue that celebrates middle-American favorites like burgers, hot dogs, shakes, and fries - but fast food it is not. Customers must wait in a 20 to 30-minute line to order, then wait still until the food is freshly prepared; the burgers are made of "whole-muscle, no-trimmings, fresh-ground, antibiotic-and-hormone-free, source-verified-to-ranch-of-birth, choice-or-higher-grade Black Angus beef";  and meals are consumed in a spacious outdoor setting instead of a plastic booth.  A gourmet, environmentally friendly, health-conscious (sort of) McDonald's if you will.  Meyers told the Times he hopes his nouveau approach brings back the communal, human experience that fast food places have successfully stripped away.

Photo from Gothamist; Click here for the Shack Cam

And sure, waiting in line on a beautiful sunny day in Madison Square Park with my coworkers was a lot nicer than it would have been in a dingy McDonald's. But now, on to the food.  The Shake Shack menu is very small, limited mainly to the four foods aforementioned.  You'll have to bear with me because I don't eat hamburgers or hot dogs, so this really won't be a fair judging.  But Shake Shack does offer two vegetarian options, which happen to lie on complete opposite ends of the spectrum: the 'Shroom burger and the Garden dog.

I dont' think I could come up with a better description for option #1 than The Girl Who Ate Everything:

"...in theory [the 'Shroom burger] is a breaded and deep fried portobello mushroom 'patty' filled with muenster and cheddar cheese, but in reality is a giant slab of cheese wrapped in a barely perceptible layer of portobello mushroom, breaded and deep fried to a molten goo. If they got rid of the mushroom and just make a deep fried cheese slab burger it probably wouldn't taste that different, unless the mushroom provides crucial structural integrity."

The 'Shroom Burger (Doesn't it look like a giant falafel?) Photo from Foodspotting.com

The hot dog on the other hand, which doesn't even make it into their online menu, is literally a bun full of condiments. (um, why bother?)

So the 'Shroom burger it was.  And indeed, a solid bite through the hard, crunchy exterior of the "patty" unleashed a lava flow of hot gooey cheese.  Now, I love cheese. Love it. But the combination of muenster and cheddar was too dense and mild (think of a giant mozzarella stick with a higher cheese-to-breading ratio). About three-quarters of the way-through I felt it coagulating into a hard waxy lump in my stomach. I guess eating in the hot sun didn't help.

Photo from CayDigestNY,com (I should also mention another menu offering called the Shack Stack - a cheeseburger AND 'Shroom burger combo; not for the faint of heart)

I like the idea of having a creative, not-so-healthy vegetarian option for once.  After all, it is a burger stand.  But I think this creation would be more palatable if injected with something lighter and more flavorful, like a blue cheese or goat cheese; or mmm boursin.  And in a smaller quantity.

As for the shakes, Shake Shack only uses custard in their frozen creations (I swear Manhattan has something against ice cream); and try as I might to enjoy it, the hand-spun chocolate shake was much too sweet.  But if you love frozen custard this is the place for you: They also do sundaes, floats, and "concretes" a fitting name for the frozen custard equivalent of a blizzard or McFlurry. 

The whole shebang! (These pictures are just too good) Photo from umami

The fries and cheese fries are of the crinkle cut variety, with a very nice crunch.  All in all, it's a fun experience, and I admire the slow food, "democratizing" approach Danny Meyer has taken (I should mention the prices are very reasonable) And if you find your mouth is now watering for some burgers and fries, you soon may not have to make the trek to NYC to try it out.  In addition to its four locations in NYC (with more to come), S.S. has recently popped up in Miami, Saratoga Springs, and soon: Kuwait of all places.

Best New York Cupcakes from Serious Eats

Serious Eats recently compiled a list of NY's best cupcakes. And I never tire of "Best of" lists, so I just have to share! Click here for the slideshow.

Perfectly iced cupcakes from Tribeca Treats

Although I can't say I tried any of the cupcakes in the Top 12, I'm inclined to trust their judgment, or at least respect the list, because Serious Eats employed various judges, drew from a large indiscriminate pool of bakeries, lists their criteria, and admits to keeping track of everything in an excel sheet.  (This makes New York Magazine's list from last year, judged by the pastry chef of Gramercy Tavern, seem highly subjective in comparison.)

I think I just found my New Year's resolution for 2011 - a cupcake for every month!

New Book: What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets

Need a new coffee table book? Here you go. Photographer Peter Menzel and writer Faith D'Aluisio, a husband-wife duo that's apparently made some really great life decisions, have a new, very interesting-sounding book that debuted yesterday: What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets, a photographic collection featuring portraits of 80 people from 30 countries and the food they eat in one day.

"Courtesy" of Amazon.com

From the product description:

In this fascinating study of people and their diets, 80 profiles are organized by the total number of calories each person puts away in a day. Featuring a Japanese sumo wrestler, a Massai herdswoman, world-renowned Spanish chef Ferran Adria, an American competitive eater, and more, these compulsively readable personal stories also include demographic particulars, including age, activity level, height, and weight. Essays from Harvard primatologist Richard Wrangham, journalist Michael Pollan, and others discuss the implications of our modern diets for our health and for the planet.

Camel broker from Egypt, 3,200 calories/day

Indeed, D'Aluisio tells NPR she hopes the book gets people to compare and contrast their own diets with others around the world; Menzel hopes it helps people to understand their diets better and make better food choices. 

The NPR article offers a taste of some of the books insights. For instance, though a Brazilian fisherman and an American truck driver consume roughly the same number of calories a day (5,200-5,400...in other words, a lot), one is healthy and fit while the other is not (take a wild guess which is which).  Yes, the fisherman leads an active lifestyle and gets lots of fiber through foods like fish and beans, while the truck driver...well...drives all day and eats fast food hamburgers.  Maybe this doesn't seem that surprising on the surface, but it certainly underscores the importance of what constitutes our food, and not necessarily how many calories our food constitutes--something that, in this calorie-obsessive age of Lean Cuisine and mandated calorie-postings, we in the U.S. can easily forget.

Buddhist Monk, 4,900 calories/day

Other interesting tidbits include a Buddhist monk who gets a staggering number of calories through butter tea (that's water, butter, salt...and I suppose a few tea leaves), a woman in India who drinks her own pee as a cleansing ritual, and a woman in the U.K. who binges on 12,300 calories A DAY. (Ok, this is someone who could maybe benefit from some calorie-counting.)

Latvian music teacher, 3,600 calories a day

The couple also covered eating habits in their 2005 book Hungry Planet, in which they photographed 30 families in 24 countries surrounded by their typical week's worth of groceries.  (Also noteworthy is Menzel's Material World, in which he and 16 of the world's leading photographers captured an "average family" from 30 different countries, surrounded by their material goods arranged outside of their dwellings. I remember looking through this book as a kid--when you assume everyone else lives like you--and thinking it was the most eye-opening thing; I'm so happy to be reminded of it now.)

Photos from NPR.com (C) Peter Menzel

Pop-Tarts Overtaking Times Square

Photo from Gothamist

Passed by this dizzying advertising feat this past weekend; which I just found out is cause for the grand opening of "Pop-Tarts World," a 3,000 square foot homage to the processed (dare I say it) breakfast "pastry."

Gothamist tells us that among other things, attractions include "an hourly light show that simulates the look of frosting" (um, what?) "a create-your-own-variety-pack vending machine, and Pop-Tarts Sushi, which consists of three kinds of Pop-Tarts minced and then wrapped in a fruit roll-up."

Pop-Tarts "sushi," (they even look utterly disgusting)

As far as food offerings go, the Times reports that:

The menu includes the Fluffer Butter, marshmallow spread sandwiched between two Pop-Tarts frosted fudge pastries; the Sticky Cinna Munchies, cinnamon rolls topped with cream-cheese icing and chunks of Pop-Tarts cinnamon-roll variety; and Ants on a Log?, which is celery, peanut butter and chunks of the Wild Grape version.

Not to knock on pop-tarts fans or anything, (if you were one of those kids growing up, well, hopefully you've branched out to other breakfast offerings...but I can see how this would be exciting in a nostalgic way); but let's face it, this is targeting kids--one out of every three of which are now overweight or obese in this country.  I can deal with the Hersheys and M&Ms stores in Times Square, but this is where I draw the line.

The Best Dr. appointment I ever had

I did it. After months of speculation, research, and anticipation, I reached what just may be the pinnacle of all gastronomic experiences: I got a lobster roll from Dr. Claw!

I will try to recreate the event here as it unfolded...or, more accurately, as it will be remembered and retold many generations from now.

 The street

Gus and I headed to Brooklyn this past Saturday night.  We had already mapped out the location of the infamous "red wall" where customers are instructed to stand and pass inspection - Dr. Claw wants to make sure you're not a city official (he can apparently see you from this location; but you, of course, can't see him).  After a 15-minute walk we arrive at the wall, centered on a deserted block of sleepy townhouses.  The street was so quiet it felt like it was all a joke, like it would never really happen.  Still, I text our order, "Hi Dr. Claw. Two rolls please."

 The Red Wall

Amidst whispers of doubts, four beeps sound and "New Text Msg! Dr. Claw" pops up on my cell phone screen.  My heart starts thumping.  It was real. It was really happening.  To us!  He gives us our wait time: 20 min.  Like a couple of middle-school-aged girls, Gus and I circle the block in giddy excitement.  "Did he really see us?" "Do you have the money ready?" "Should I walk in front of you so he knows who to hand-off to?"

About 10 minutes pass and we get another text with the second location.  The palpitations really start kicking in.  We start to approach the address and I spot a fedora headed figure sitting on the front steps of the second address behind a gated lawn, head down.  The lamppost overhead creates a spotlight effect on the mysterious form, accentuating his muscled arms and glinting ringed fingers. This must be him. But the throne-like set-up throws a cinch in my expectations.  From the video, I was expecting a quick exchange in the street. But the ball seemed to be in my court, not his. Should I wait at the gate?  Should I enter? Should I form my hand into a claw and wave? 

He looks up and we solidify our customer-dealer relationship with a fleeting glance. I fumble with the gate and Gus comes to the rescue, though not without a clumsy trip.  We probably looked way too nervous for a couple of  lobster rolls.  I approach and he asks "Who's going to be the keeper of the bag?"  This was my cue.  I say "I will" and grab it.  Step one accomplished.  I extend my other hand with the folded bills in between my pointer and middle fingers.  In a desperate attempt to fill the air, I say "So good to see you!" as I go in for the handshake.  So, so awkward.  He smiles and says "yeah...let me know!"  We back away, not sure whether to make chit chat or turn around and run.  As we close the gate he says "Yeah, those should be pretty tasty."

After about two minutes of walking in utter silence, Gus and I break out the hot tin-foiled rolls for a picture:

Obviously, once they were opened, we couldn't wait to eat them, so we dove right in.  The Pepperidge Farm rolls (or something very similar) were stuffed with pieces of lump, juicy, tender lobster meat.  The rolls themselves were so moist with butter they were nearly breaking in our hands.  While I normally like rolls crispy on the outside, the soft texture really complimented the lobster meat.  And let's face it, there's no such thing as too much butter.  (I'd so much prefer a buttery lobster roll than one made with mayo.) The flavors of roll, butter, and lobster all held their own. And every bite was even better than the last.  We finished our meal on a bench in McCarren Park.  And all was right in the world.

I was a little afraid that Dr. Claw was getting too much exposure to retain his underground status.  But I was thankfully wrong.  The whole experience was so fun and exciting, like playing a real-life board game, or participating in a scavenger hunt you actually care about.  There were instructions. The element of surprise.  The pressure to not mess anything up.  And of course, the reward.  When you order a roll from Dr. Claw, you're not just paying $14 for a lobster roll.  You're paying for the experience--one that you really can't get any other way.  That being said, the roll was amazing.  I texted Dr. Claw so and he replied " : ) -Dr. C"  Amazing.

Grilled Gruyère-and-Zucchini Sandwiches with Smoky Pesto Recipe - Marcia Kiesel | Food & Wine

Mmmm, definitely want to try this!

© Kana Okada from FoodandWine.com

Chocolate terminology

 Photo from Babble.com

Fully fledged chocoholic that I am, I loved this post from Serious Eats explaining various chocolate terms and their meanings.  I only wish they went into the details behind semi-sweet, bittersweet, and white chocolate, because I'm still not clear on those.  Further investigation to come!

I'm also intrigued by the "Dark" milk chocolate that's apparently gained popularity in recent years. Why don't I know about this?

When did Little Italy Turn Into Disneyland?

Last weekend Gus and I were wandering around Nolita after a late meal when the glow of lights from Little Italy beckoned, so we decided to check it out.  (As a side note, I'm embarrassed to admit that I only just now learned that "Nolita" stands for "north of Little Italy").  I hadn't been to the area in four years and knew little about it other than what everyone knows  - that Chinatown has driven it to near extinction.  While I expected it to be small, I never expected it to be so...hokey.

It literally felt like we stepped out of Manhattan and onto the cobblestone streets of a Disneyland set.   Everything held an adorable unauthentic quality, from the perfectly draped lighted tinsel zigzagging back and forth overhead to the red-and-white checkered table-clothed tables lining the sidewalk.  Heck, they even had a little food vendor selling zeppole and cotton candy to a line of apple-cheeked children (I didn't really take note of their cheeks, but I'm taking some poetic license here).

Adding to my sense of bewildered displacement was the crowd.  Little Italy may only be about six blocks, but it packs in 38 restaurants - all of them nearly indistinguishable from one another.  And all of them utterly packed - at 11 PM - with tourists.  Eating heaping plates of linguine with bolognese and meatballs.  No one here lives in the city, let alone has any hang-ups about carbs. I suppose the restaurant wait staffs are traditional in the (Italian) sense that they stand on the sidewalk with menus and summon you to eat at their restaurants - but in New York it just feels backwards.  Like, why are you making this so easy for me? Shouldn't I be the one begging you for a table?

As for the food, I didn't examine any menus or sample anything, but I'd be willing to bet these establishments are good in a traditional, grandma-like way; you definitely won't see any new rustic trattorias or artisan pizzerias sprouting up in the area, but that's as it should.  This is, after all, a historic district, a place of preservation.

Mulberry Street, circa 1900, from Wikimedia Commons

What caught me most off guard was the fact that the area is almost completely closed off from traffic: I thought the streets were blocked for a special festival or occasion, but the district is apparently completely contained on Mulberry Street between Canal and Prince, with Grand Street and Mott Street as the only thoroughfares.  This was certainly a plus, but it also added to that surreal feeling, like this was only for display.

I realize I may be coming off as cynical - perhaps even a bit snooty - in my description of Little Italy, but it's only because I was somewhat disheartened at what I found.  But as I'm writing this, I'm realizing maybe it's not Little Italy that betrayed me, but my own expectations. Growing up, I always thought of Little Italy as a glimpse into the Italian immigrant experience - my window into the flashbacks of Godfather Part II.  After having gone to Italy - and after having eaten at so many amazing and authentic Italian restaurants in NYC - the bar was raised.  I don't know what specifically I was expecting to find, but probably: bits of Italian phrases getting caught in my ear, good-looking curly haired men riding bicycles with loaves of bread sticking out of their baskets, wrinkly old ladies huddled together wearing babushkas, flurries of pecorino romano raining from the sky...or something equally, laughably, unrealistic.

 Mulberry Street today 

But what I found was indeed the movie-like scene I envisioned as a kid.  Cobblestone streets. A bustling, happy crowd.  Waiters with open arms.  Huge meatballs.  And perhaps I should appreciate it, if only for the 13-year old in me - still melting over the young Vito Corleone.

Dogfish Head's (new) 9,000 year-old brew

Photo from NPR

Thanks to a biomolecular archaeologist who studies "fermented beverages," Dogfish Head has revived a beer from the Neolithic period: Meet Chateau Jiahu.

Essentially, the archeologist used all sorts of advanced-sounding scientific methods to figure out what used to be inside the ancient pottery he came across at a burial site in China.  Dogfish Head then recreated the ancient brew (named after the burial site) using the same ingredients: Wildflower honey, Muscat grapes, barley malt, hawthorn fruit, and Chrysanthemum flowers.  Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

Interestingly, the archeologist (Dr. Patrick McGovern), points out that booze at this time was not just beer, wine, or mead but a mixture of all three.

This wouldn't be Dogfish Head's first foray into ancient brews.  NPR notes their Midas Touch brew was "teased from pottery found in King Midas' 2,700-year-old tomb."

 If you're intrigued, the next batch of Chateau Jiahu should be hitting the shelves end of August/early September, according to the Dogfish Head site.  It's packaged in wine-sized bottles for $13 a pop, and only 3,000 cases will be brewed this year.

Full story from NPR here.

Dr. Claw Update and Potential Rival

After joining the Brooklyn Urban Anglers Society on Facebook (which, by the way, is an open group) I immediately started getting messages from Dr. Claw with his phone number, ordering instructions, and updates on fresh batches; so you don't even have to go through the Facebook friendship approval process after all.  It's that easy...perhaps, too easy?  I was sort of looking forward to a formal acceptance (even if on Facebook). I wanted that feeling of being part of a (somewhat) exclusive group of lobster roll fans. I wanted to earn that roll, damnit.

Anyway, I guess I got what I was looking for and that's all that matters.

But much more interesting than my pointless complaining is the message I just received from a miffed Claw about a "covert grilled cheese dealership" that recently started up in the East Village.  Urban Daddy reports that the operation, called Bread.Butter.Cheese, uses a similar drug-dealer inspired system--and Claw quickly noted he was not credited where credit was apparently due. Also absent was the credit to drug dealers.

(Click to enlarge)

Dr. Claw quickly retracted this message (sort of), with another message, in which he said:

"Out of respect to my new cheese ball friend...I will be serving cheese on the lobster rolls tonight. That is until he and Urban Daddy pay respect to the Bug-Doctor! I'm just messin' but really where do people get off not giving each other a little credit?"

I can't help it, I find it amusing.

I'm just curious to see whether this trend continues.  Lobster rolls makes sense to me, but grilled cheese? Sure, I love it--and the pictures do look tempting--but it's literally one of the easiest/cheapest sandwiches you can make. 

To be fair, Bread.Butter.Cheese does offer more than the standard Kraft on Wonder Bread (gross).  Recent daily specials include "Muenster on pullman wheat with heirloom tomato slices," "Raclette and honey drizzle on sourdough grilled in chile butter" and "Macaroni and cheese topped with bacon and american cheese" (which pretty much sums up everything that's wrong with America), but I'm not nearly as intrigued by this operation.  When it comes down to it, I can make any of these sandwiches in my own kitchen.  Will I ever attempt to kill and clean a lobster? Not after reading these seriously disturbing instructions.

Dr. Claw continued

Gothamist posted this video yesterday (along with a delectable gallery of NYC's lobster rolls), giving  outsiders a glimpse of what to expect when ordering a lobster roll from Dr. Claw:


Inside Dr. Claw's Lobster Den from Ozersky.TV on Vimeo.

Not sure why Ozersky chose "Heart of Gold" to accompany this piece, but if you're like me you forget it's even playing once you see Dr. Claw's ringed fingers massaging lump pieces of lobster meat in a secretive milky substance, placing each bit like it's a game of Jenga in a hot buttered bun, and brushing the whole thing with garlicky butter before wrapping it up for the drug-like hand-off.  Oh my god, my mouth is watering.

The snippets of Dr. Claw's preparation techniques totally justified the $15 price point in my mind ($26 is pushing it Mermaid Bar!)--that's a lot of freakin' work! But the mystique surrounding Dr. Claw is officially gone.  After the New York Magazine article it all went.  On the upside, an informant (Gus's friend who's actually taken cooking lessons with Dr. Claw himself--yes, he offers them to the public) say he doesn't want to open his own official business, though he is looking for help.

It's now my vow to get a Dr. Claw role roll while he's still semi-underground.  And what this video doesn't show you is how to get his number in the first place.  Even if you're lucky enough to know someone who has the number, you must follow the rules of the Claw.  It's advised to first join the Brooklyn Anglers Society on Facebook, then friend the master himself (Ben Sargent).  IF he accepts your friendship, you'll get his number, instructions for ordering, and updates on fresh batches. I joined the Anglers society yesterday...planning on friending Ben in a week.  I'll keep you posted on my quest!

The (literal) Wine Rack

Perhaps one of the most utilitarian ways to enhance your bust, meet the WineRack flask-bra. 

Photo from SheFinds.com

From the product description:

Turn an A cup in to double Ds AND sport your favorite beverage for yourself and your friends! Better than a Boob Job and Cheaper Too! Not to mention the savings on over priced drinks. And as a bonus, with a simple blow into the tube it's easy to keep that full look even as you drink from your secret stash.

Sexist? Maybe. Offensive? Likely. But I think it's pretty inventive, and it would probably be perfect for an outdoor concert (if a bathroom were nearby).