Hunting for the very best

Tropical ice cream from the Philippines

November 3, 2009 · Leave a Comment

I discovered Magnolia brand Tropical ice creams at the Asian market today.  They are from the Philippines.  I tried two flavors, macapuno ube (taro/sweet purple yam with coconut)

taro ice cream

and mais queso (corn and cheese).

corn ice cream

Both were very good.  I’ve had taro before and liked it.  I would’ve preferred the corn ice cream without the cheese, but it is still good.  They are very creamy with a slightly different consistency than typical American ice creams. 

corn taro ice cream

I’d like to try the avocado, lychee, halo halo, and langka (jackfruit).  A friend from the Philippines told me about jackfruit, and I’ve never had the fruit.  All of the ice creams look delicious.

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Asian · Ice Cream

Chocolate and Zucchini

November 2, 2009 · Leave a Comment

I’m a big fan of the blog Chocolate & Zucchini and look forward to the new desktop calendar each month.

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Blog

Halloween Treats

November 2, 2009 · Leave a Comment

I went to a Halloween party and took a pic of these creative treats!

food spread

Eyeballs

eyeballs

Mummy dogs

mummy dogs

Pumpkin cheese balls

cheese

Witch’s finger cookies

cookies

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Holiday · Party

Payard is back with a Chocolate Bar

October 30, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Francois Payard opens a new chocolate-themed shop on Nov. 4 on Madison and 63rd.

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Chocolate · New York

Best pizza in New York?

October 21, 2009 · Leave a Comment

I read an article on Bloomberg today about Motorino, a pizza place that, according to the author, outranks Grimaldi’s.  It’s been a while since I ate Grimaldi’s pizza in Brooklyn.  Things do change and things have changed in NY, so I can’t say if it’s the same.  However, I remember that Grimaldi’s had a thin, blackened-bottom crust that is reminiscent of traditional Italian pies.  It was, hands down, the best pizza in the city.  I think of pizza as really two different types of pie in the U.S.  One is the type Grimaldi’s serves, which is the traditional-type pie that most Italian Americans would choose.  The second type of pie is the more modern version, something like a Ray’s or Joe’s pizza in NY, which can still be excellent but definitely different; this is what most Americans would think of when they think of pizza.  (I don’t even consider fast-food pizza pizza at all.)  I prefer the Grimaldi’s type, which really only gets that way because of the coal oven.  To most people, I say I don’t like pizza but that is because most of what the U.S. considers pizza is not pizza to me.  In addition, I come from a line of family who owned pizzerias, so I know an inferior product when I taste one.  In my experience, most pizza is mediocre at best. 

I haven’t tried the pizza from the new place, but if it is produced in Manhattan, it is not produced in a coal oven, as they are no longer allowed.  So I am guessing it may be good but not great.  And it’s hard for me to trust a guy named Ryan Sutton on what is good pizza.  However, I repeat, I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know how it tastes.  I am just suspect.  He describes the dough as having “bubbly fluffiness,” which doesn’t sound like good dough to me.  Fluffy pizza dough?  A good pizza crust should be crisp.

Here’s a pic of a Grimaldi’s pizza from the Hoboken location, which I thought was always inferior to the Brooklyn location but still a delicious pie.

 2008_1123theresawedding0028

→ Leave a CommentCategories: New York · Pizza

North Carolina State Fair

October 19, 2009 · 1 Comment

bacon

I didn’t try the chocolate bacon at the state fair, but it is appropriate that the state known for its pork would have something like this. 

biscuit

A made-from-scratch ham biscuit from the ladies at the Apex Lions Club.

mozz

I did have fried mozzarella sticks, which were delicious.

cheese curds

Continuing with the fried cheese, cheddar curds.  Good too.

ear

More fried–this time dough.  Wish the fair had some zeppoles, but an elephant ear was the closest I could find.  Yum!

oreo

Fried Oreos.  Nothing special even though they look great.

veggies

Fried veggies were yummy, especially with ranch dip.

pecan pie

Fried pecan pie, very good, something any pecan pie lover would love.

frying pie

This pic is of the pie being fried.

ice cream

A fair favorite of mine, R&R’s homemade vanilla ice cream.  Much better than NC State’s, which is fairly mediocre.

ice cream maker

Ice cream being churned using vintage John Deere engines.

apple2

More of the pig theme–a Miss Debbie’s Specialty apple with chocolate and bacon. 

apple1

Here’s another named after Homer Simpson with a little doughnut on top.

lime

A key lime pie one that I actually bought.

cake

A first-prize winning lovely cake shaped like a Valentine’s Day heart.

→ 1 CommentCategories: Fair · Fried · North Carolina

Sunny Italy in the Village

October 12, 2009 · 1 Comment

I usually shake my head no and ignore people who smile enthusiastically and try to stop me on the street with questions like “Do you have a minute for Greenpeace?” or “Where’d you get your hair done?”  But one question fired my passion.

I was walking home from work along a side street near Washington Square Park.  A tall, thin man wearing a backpack, shorts and sandals, asked me, “Do you know a good restaurant in Greenwich Village?”

I couldn’t detect his accent.  My best guess was that he was Scandinavian.  Anyway, I knew he was from out-of-town because he called the Village “Greenwich Village.”

His partner, a fair-haired woman wearing a sundress and carrying a small bag on her wrist, listened intently with a quizzical look on her face.  I guessed she didn’t know English very well or maybe not at all.

Since I lived in the Village for a few years and fell in love with restaurants and food culture, (I religiously visited every place in Ed Levine’s New York Eats and tried many a recipe from Molly O’Neill’s New York Cookbook), I was ecstatic that I was hand-picked from the myriad of people in the streets as the most obvious cuisine connoisseur.

Now, in the few seconds that I had in which to answer this question, I wracked my brain, sifting through books I’d read and my own personal experiences filed in memory.  In the end, I sent the foreign foodies to my favorite Village place.

Massimo al Ponte Vecchio is a hidden a gem in the Village.  When I lived on Bleecker Street, I’d often slip away to the inconspicuous place behind the Red Lion on the corner of Bleecker and Thompson streets.  The place has warm, sunny walls and colorful paintings of famous Italian entertainers.  It is never too crowded.  It is the perfect place for consistently good food and a quiet atmosphere.  I took my parents here, out-of-town guests, local friends after work, a significant other, vegetarians, and business associates.

pasta

Pasta here is the way it should be, al dente.  A friend from Italy agreed that it was one of the best places to get pasta in the city.  The appetizers are a delight.  I loved the soft, baby artichokes in olive oil and tomatoes and creamy mozzarella.  But as I said, pasta here is the star.  Usually when I see gnocchi in a restaurant, it is cooked in tomato sauce.  That is why I love Massimo’s, as I call it, because the gnocchi are bathed in a rich gorgonzola cream.  The penne with vodka sauce is made to order–the way it should be.  When penne with vodka sauce is not made to order, it winds up tasting like a tomato cream sauce.  At Massimo’s, I can tell the difference.

My first trip here was a rainy night: dark, gray and pouring.  At 4 p.m., a date was supposed to pick me up at my apartment.  Five o’clock came.  Six o’clock.  At seven o’clock, he called.  He was sorry he was late.  He had to drop something off somewhere.  He was very close.  He’d meet me in an hour.  Eight o’clock.  Nine.

I was mad.  I’d been stood up, so I changed out of my dress.  I put on jeans and pulled on a sweater, grabbing my umbrella and heading out the door.  I saw a place with a few older couples and a table of four.  It looked quiet.  The waiters were very hospitable as I sulked out the window, seeing my sour mug in the glass reflection.  I had an appetizer, entree, dessert, the whole nine yards.  Then, when the waiter brought my check, he said the owner would like me to have a cordial.  I ordered cognac.  I turned to look at the owner in order to thank him.  A short, gray-haired man who looked Italian smiled and nodded.  Being Italian myself, I know it is true what is said about Italians and emotion.  I think the owner read the disappointment on my face and thought his kind gesture would make me see the world is not so bad.

Since that day, I have taken everyone to Massimo’s.  I go there myself when I need to be reminded there is comfort and beauty in the world.  Especially when Massimo’s porcini ravioli exists in it. 

ravioli

I hope I passed this same feeling on to the Scandinavians who were on vacation.

→ 1 CommentCategories: Italian · Levine · New York · Olive Oil · Pasta · Restaurant

Gourmet gone

October 5, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Conde Nast will no longer publish Gourmet.  Upsetting news.  I so loved what Reichl had done with Gourmet.

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Gourmet · Reichl

Birthday dinner

October 5, 2009 · Leave a Comment

We had a birthday dinner for my sister.

Lasagna:

lasagna

Eggplant parmesan:

eggplant

Birthday cake from NY Bagel and Deli in Raleigh, NC (for the Northerner who misses whipped cream birthday cakes down South):

nan bday 023

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Cake

Can Can Brasserie

October 1, 2009 · Leave a Comment

On a trip to Richmond, my friend Ben took me to lunch at Can Can Brasserie in Carytown because he thought I would like it.  (He knows how picky I am.)  Smart guy!  I had the Crab Salad with tomato coulis, seasonal melons, crispy avocado, sweet corn and lime vinaigrette.  A refreshing salad, and just what I had wanted.  The breaded avocado were delicious and light. 

crab salad

He had the Braised Lamb Sandwich with spicy hummus, roasted onions and red peppers, spinach and black sesame seeds. 

lamb

I also had a Tortue de Mer–hot chocolate flavored with salted caramel.  Mmm…

hot chocolate salted caramel

→ Leave a CommentCategories: French · Restaurant