Posts from the ‘Restauranting’ Category

Jul 1

Perro Caliente

Don't be scared of the South American hot dog. My overstuffed wiener and bun induced stomach trauma from a few weeks ago is now far enough in the past that I can share some photos from my culinary experimenting. The actual article will likely appear in the New York Post in a Wednesday or two so I won't get wordy here. Ok, they ended up using my "Dog Days" piece in a larger summer food round-up.

Update 5/07: It looks like Mazorca has shuttered. I never go down Northern Blvd. so it's also news to me that Xtasis, across the street, has expanded into a pink neon palace.

Perro Mixto: ham, bacon, mayo, tomatoes, avocado, crushed potato chips

Hawaiiana: mayo, avocado, pineapple, potato chips, ham

Mazorca * 83-17 Northern Blvd. Jackson Heights, NY

Iraqui: mayo, hard boiled eggs, pineapple sauce, cheese

Mexicana: avocado, cheese, chiles, mayo

La Perrada de Chalo * 83-12 Northern Blvd., Jackson Heights, NY

El Completo: avocado, mayo, tomatoes, sauerkraut

JC & Family * 68-14 Roosevelt Ave. Woodside, NY

I forgot to take photos of the completo at my favorite place, San Antonio Bakery, but I did capture the beef empanada and dulce de leche layer cake.

San Antonio #2 * 36-20 Astoria Blvd. Astoria, NY

May 25

New, not Necessarily Improved

As anti-blog as I've been, I must come to terms with the fact that the '00s are already more than half over and that there's no going back web-wise. I love making and reading little rickety pages from scratch, but I suspect that I'm in the minority. I've just started seeing the charm in posting pointless photos and pics and now that's passé. It's all about video, apparently. Or is there some brand new medium that's so now that like a hologram appears in your physical space and provides you with content…or maybe the post somehow just beams straight into your mind. Who needs the internet at all?

Do I want to be like the humans on Invasion who keep futilely fighting the hybrid evolution? (I can't believe I just made a TV reference like that, but I loved it on the finale when Larkin, the world's skinniest pregnant woman, got shot and tossed in the water. And now I hear there are no plans for another season. What the fuck? All three spooky shows that debuted last fall–Threshold, Surface and Invasion-have gotten the boot.)

My point is that I just converted my chatty, not thoroughly insightful dining diary that I can't stop doing (babies are now coming out of the womb texting and reflecting over their last meal, but I still can't stop adding to the noise, it's a weird compulsion), Shovel Time, over to Type Pad. It's not like it's a heavily read website anyway, but it drove me insane that everything I wrote took forever to show up in search engines if it showed up at all. My voice will be heard, dammit. Oh, it's still a work in progress–the formatting is off, images are missing, the search seems to be broken. It's all really just one more distraction to keep me from actually trying to do important potentially scary things with my life.

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May 4

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Asian Persuasion

I'm not sure that I'm loving it. I'm always willing and able to taste test a new fast food salad. And I'm a sucker for anything Asian. But, as I'm sure you know these "Asian" salads (Wendy's has had one for a while, though I've only tried it once) are eerily sweet and crunchy concoctions formerly known as Oriental. I think mandarin oranges means Oriental, right?

I rarely eat at McDonald's, and I find the menu baffling. If you don't want a value meal, you're mildly screwed. I hate soda, so I like to order a cheeseburger and fries a la carte, which is no easy feat but doable. The salads, however, aren't listed anywhere on the menu. I know they have four choices because I've looked online like a freak. The only hint that they sell even salads is the one color ad touting the Asian salad, Dasani water combo with a free exercise DVD. Nowhere can you see how much the salad costs by itself or what other options are available, and that's fundamentally irritating.

The chicken comes glazed with a sweet and sour orange sauce, so you already have a tangy, sugary component. If you use the entire packet of Newman's Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger dressing, you're in for a zingy not-so-pleasant surprise. I could barely slog through the chunks of white iceberg because my tongue was being zapped with citric jolts, and I only used about ? of the packet.

The edamame were a nice touch. I did like the slivered almonds, and prefer them to Wendy's crispy noodles (oh, I just checked-Wendy's has almonds and noodles-no wonder it's higher fat). Wendy's also wins out for using fresher greens and offering a slightly larger portion. Granted, salads aren't necessarily intended as hearty fare, but I don't want to be starving a few hours later, either. I might actually give it another go when I'm feeling particularly cheap and calorie conscious, but I'll by hyper diligent about portioning that damn dressing.

Oh, have you seen McDonald's i-am-asian section? It's not hideous and patronizing like it used to be. Now it's just kind of fun (yes, I find this kind of promotional crap fun) and informational. 365Black and LoMcximo, I'm not so sure about.

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Apr 26

Shoes and Forks

Bigfoot I'm a sucker for cheap, cute flats. Yeah, they're flimsy and slapped together with weird synthetic non-leather. That doesn’t bug me. What does is the weirdo sizing. I can't figure out why shoes of this ilk are generally available in whole and half sizes from 6-9, and then a 10. Of course I wear a 9 1/2. A 9 squeezes my foot and gives me blisters. I often end up buying a 10, but the back won't stay on and I get foot cramps from squeezing my toes to keep the shoes from falling off while walking fast or going up stairs. I'm trying to figure out the logic that would have them make shoes up to a 10 and make half sizes all the way up to 9, then stop and jump up a whole size. Of course, the sensible solution would be to buy higher quality shoes that fit, but why the hell should I have to?

Completely non-related, but I'm not into seperate posts per topic:

Is it PR or just good luck when a new restaurant opens in a relatively isolated (yet rapidly hipifying) corner of the city and instantly get tons of press? I can’t count (well, I could but I’m busy with more serious things at the moment) the number of times I’ve seen The Good Fork mentioned in the past two weeks. Last week it got the New York underground gourmet treatment, today it was $25 and under in The New York Times. I hit it up last week, primarily because it’s near my apt., and was like what’s the big deal? It was certainly likable, but not any more than lots of other likable places. People are just fixated on Red Hook lately.

I will say that I’m quite stoked (yes, I said stoked—that’s how freakin’ stoked I am!) for the mysterious Fairway that was slated for spring 2006. It’s going to be great, a huge real grocery store that’s nearly impossible to reach via the subway. A paradise for the local riffraff and intrepid shoppers.

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Apr 4

April Fooled

I haven’t had the April energy to write anything fresh or spring-like yet (I still can’t believe I didn’t know the clocks went forward this weekend. Losing my hour yesterday really pissed me off–I'm still not convinced that a cruel April fool's joke hasn't been played on me. I’ve never understood why we mess around with daylight in the first place). If you get really bored, you can see where I’ve been eating (maybe you have an opinion or two on some of these places?): Ureña, Despaña, Saigon Banh Mi So 1, Dokebi, Mug's Ale House, Yuva, or witness me getting misty eyed over the Metro Mall in Middle Village.

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Apr 1

I Say Pressata, You Say Frescata

Saladbar Laugh all you want about my Wendy's salads, but my Garden Sensations kick that had started to dwindle has been renewed by their new chicken spinach version. No, it's not the most amazing thing you?ve ever tasted. But I daresay it's the least offensive and most filling salad under five bucks in the E. 50s. Spinach, romaine (no, it's not all spinach–that would freak fast foodies out), cubed chicken, bacon bits, hard boiled egg, grape tomatoes, croutons and sweet and sour bacon dressing, and it's ten points (yes, I'm shamefully admitting to semi-following a Weight Watchers regimen. I would never mention this at work because I can?t stand point-tallying office ladies with their Splenda and microwave popcorn full of hydrogenated fat, even though I'm a points counter who works in an office with lots of women) which isn't bad for a salad with "stuff" in it, and less if you omit the croutons and use half the dressing.

Ha, I see Wendy's has finally jumped on the "gourmet" sandwich bandwagon. Surprisingly, these Frescatas aren?t pressed Panini-style, which I thought was all the rage on lunch menus. I should start a contest to find the best made up faux Italian name for a sandwich. Pax (is Europa Caf the same thing?their menu looks the same) across the street has a Pressata. I'm sure that's just the beginning.

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Mar 10

Trader Victory?

I didn't end up getting to go to the nearest Trader Vic's in Chicago during President's Day weekend like I had wished (though I did have a perfectly charming meal that Sunday at Blue Hill at Stone Barns). Sometimes dreams just don't come true.

Until I saw these magical words Trader Vic's to resume U.S., foreign expansion. Sweet Jesus! Ah, but still no deal. The east coast appears to be left out of this brilliant plan with locations slated for decided hotspots like, er, Bellevue, Washington and Qatar. Neither of which are on my must-visit list.

Those "European-inflected signature creations," like the elusive crab Rangoon, are just going to have to wait until I can make it to the Northwest (likely) or Middle East (not so much).

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Jan 31

TV Time

I'm afraid Jan. is finishing off with a whimper rather than a bang. I've been neglectful because I've been researching/writing a Valentine's article for the NY Post that I think is due today, but isn't quite done because whenever I get tiny bits of free time I squander it on things like watching 24, eating banh mi from the new kind of lame in the scheme of things, but good for what it is Vietnamese sandwich/bubble tea shop that just set up in Cobble Hill (but what would you expect of "ethnic" food in a area like this), accompanying James to the nether reaches of NJ, near Delaware and Pennsylvania to track down one of the only (relatively) nearby in-stock Panasonic TH-42PX50Us at a random Circuit City in Deptford, a weirdo town with lots of pickup trucks (you never see them in NYC), liquor stores, abandoned movie theaters and malls that still have '70s fonts like how the Gap logo used to be. I would be perfectly happy with my old 13" I had shipped from Portland over seven years ago and basic channels, but I don't mind reaping the benefits of another's giant plasma high definition television mania either. I'm thinking there will be an impromptu Super Bowl party this Sunday, not that I follow football, but TV needs to make itself useful. I hope to be a posting powerhouse in Feb. but until then, read about the horrible lunch scene in my new job neighborhood and an Indonesian restaurant in Elmhurst.

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Jan 19

Pizzeria Oh-No

I've never had any particular urge to visit Chicago. Not counting airport layovers, I've never even been in the middle of the country, just the edges (though I did spur-of-the-moment visit a few southern cities in summer '04 just to begin rectifying this extreme east-west exclusivity). But out of nowhere I was struck with the urge to check out the windy city (oh, that's big apple lame). And when I say urge to check out, what I really mean is eat.

I think I've had an aversion to Chicago because I'm less than enthralled by its trademark foodstuffs: deep dish pizza, weirdo hot dogs (no regional pride, I don't care for any city's buns and wieners), Italian beef sandwiches. I don't know, I'm all about hearty everyman food, but none of these tempt me in the least.

But after this recent MLK Monday, I had wished that I'd planned something more substantial for my three-day weekend. Maybe it's because I just started a new job, but I'm feeling nervous and restless and in need of mini-vacation (I still can't believe that my big S.E. Asia excursion was almost half a year ago) despite having no vacation days yet.

My next opportunity for escape will be President's Day and I totally want to try Moto and the nearest Trader Vic's to NYC. I'm thinking I can somehow turn this into a belated Valentine's celebration. How better to say I love you than with crab rangoon and "sweetbreads with real snow that tastes like goat cheese." I shit you not.

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Oct 27

Grilled Cheese Salad Can’t be Far Behind

This was the best McDonald’s salad I’ve had so far, and that’s not just because my head cold has rendered my taste buds numb. None of the lettuce was browning or wilted and I actually received croutons and ranch dressing with my BLT Ranch salad, which has never happened before. I didn’t even know McDonald’s had croutons (though when I get them with my Wendy’s salad–every time, thank you–I stash them in my drawer because I can’t bear to throw food away even when I don’t need or want it. The mini packs came in handy one night when I stayed late at work and was starving). Weird. Aren’t there rules and guidelines for franchise consistency? I mean, this isn’t a case of every order being different because it’s handmade and artisanal. This is characterless, prepackaged fare and I'm not going to stand for deviation.

Mcdblt_2

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Posts from the ‘Restauranting’ Category

Perro Caliente

New, not Necessarily Improved

Asian Persuasion

Shoes and Forks

April Fooled

I Say Pressata, You Say Frescata

Trader Victory?

TV Time

Pizzeria Oh-No

Grilled Cheese Salad Can’t be Far Behind

Featured

Occasional Instagramming

Yes, it’s come to this

My Other Blogs

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The Past Will Haunt You

Pigeonholing 101