[Photograph: Robyn Lee]

Whether you're itching to cook out of a new cookbook or are looking to recreate a great meal you just ate in a restaurant, chances are your spice cabinet could use an upgrade. Luckily, in this city of immigrants, there's no shortage of shops to choose from, both general spice purveyors and shops specializing in Indian, Thai, Middle Eastern, or, well, pretty much any set of ingredients you can think of, from amchur to za'atar.

We've done the scouting for you, from spice mega-stores to a tiny, family owned West African shop in Harlem, and everything in between. Happy shopping.

The One-Stop Shop: Kalustyan's

[Photograph: Robyn Lee]

Go for: Pretty much everything you could want.

Murray Hill's venerable Kalustyan's is your go-to for Middle Eastern, South Asian, East and Southeast Asian ingredients of all kinds: the narrow aisles of this bi-level emporium are packed to the brim with almost countless varieties of dried lentils and legumes, rices, grains, pickles, nuts. and of course spices. Looking for cinnamon? They have several kinds to choose from, along with pretty much every spice you could hope for. You'll find fresh Thai basil and lime leaves, chilies of all varieties (here are ghost chilies; there are some buttermilk-coated curd chilies), modernist ingredients like beet and vinegar powder, more than 10 kinds of curry powder in varying levels of heat, and uncommon specialties like dukkah, an Egyptian blend of spices, seeds and nuts.

Long story short? If you want it, Kalustyan's probably has it, though likely at a price premium.

Brooklyn's Middle Eastern Destination: Sahadi's

[Photograph: Robyn Lee]

Go for: A plethora of international spices, from whole and ground cumin and coriander to dried sumac to asafetida and more, all sold in a third-generation, family-owned shop.

A Brooklyn staple since 1948, it's hard to overstate the wonderland that is Sahadi's. Though it opened strictly as a Middle Eastern grocery, over the decades Sahadi's has evolved into a destination for all manner of gourmet foods, from those Middle Eastern treats—think labneh, halvah and Turkish apricots sold by the pound—to imported cheeses, specialty chocolates and much, much more. But we're here to talk spices, right? Sahadi's has you covered: pre-packaged in small airtight plastic containers, the store offers about 80 varieties, both whole and ground, from all over the world.

Indian Spices Downtown: Dual Specialty Store

[Photograph: Clara Inés Schumacher]

Go for: Fresh Indian produce, such as turmeric and galangal; fresh curry leaves; chili-spiced crystallized ginger; dried chiles; a variety of salts; and tons of dried spices.

This Indian grocery just off the East Village's Curry Row has a lot more than two specialties: one of them is spices, for sure, but others include fresh southeast Asian ingredients such as turmeric, galangal, Indian squashes, and green chiles. Family-owned since 1987, the cozy store has seen a lot of changes—including shifting neighborhood demographics and a tragic 2005 fire that razed the shop—but it's here to stay, even catering to trendy locals by offering over 400 varieties of beer, though spices remain the core of the selection.

Sri Lankan Specialties: Lanka Grocery

[Photograph: Clara Inés Schumacher]

Go for: Both roasted (for meats) and unroasted (for vegetables) curry powder blends; powdered, splintered, and whole cinnamon sticks; Ceylon teas; chili pastes; flaked dried fish.

Staten Island is home to a sizable Sri Lankan community, and two outposts of Lanka Grocery supply the borough with all the necessary ingredients for Sri Lankan home cooking: from the requisite varieties of cinnamon to jaggery, or unrefined palm sugar, to a Staten Island special: pungent, spicy roasted Sri Lankan-style curry powder that's totally different from varieties found elsewhere.

West African Spices: Adja Khady Food Distributor

[Photograph: Clara Inés Schumacher]

Go for: Essential West African ingredients such as palm oil; ready-made pepper sauces; sumbala, a nut paste akin to miso; teas and dried fruits.

This tiny West African grocery in Harlem's "Little Senegal" is a family affair: run by a group of sisters of Senegalese origin, it's a must-stop for anyone looking to cook up authentic West African dishes at home. That might mean ready-made couscous topped with stewed fish or meat, or—perhaps on a rainy day—homemade couscous made by hand from the millet Adja Khady sells. To add depth to such meals, do check the store's selection of essential spices and flavorings, from whole and ground peanuts to bright-red palm oil to the grocery's own line of bouillon.

Indian Megastore: Patel Brothers

[Photograph: Brian Yarvin]

Go for: Mustard seeds in every variety; sliced and powdered amchoor, or green mango; jaggery; and tons of spice blends and recipe bases, including those for making malai kofta, palak paneer and daal.

There aren't all too many national food chains that consistently uphold quality at all of their locations, but Patel Brothers, the largest Indian grocery chain in the U.S., is one of them. Its two New York City stores, in Flushing and Jackson Heights (as well as its many New Jersey locations), offer a staggering array of South Asian ingredients, from the standard range of grains, lentils, and flours to more surprising options such as pre-made refrigerated idli and dosa batters, frozen curry dinners that cost only 99 cents, and crunchy snack foods in flavors like Cornflake Mixture and Naughty Tomato. And like any self-respecting Indian grocery, Patel Brothers is a haven when it comes to dried spices, both whole and ground, available in wholesale-sized bags for low, low prices.

Mediterranean Staples: Parrot Coffee Market

[Photograph: Max Falkowitz]

Go for: Paprika in many forms; Mediterranean herbs (dried mint, lovage); Turkish chilies; mastic gum; and Vegeta, the beloved Central European MSG-based seasoning powder.

As befits a borough that is one of the most ethnically diverse locations on the planet, Queens's three Parrot Coffee locations offer a stunning selection of European ingredients, from Greek tarama (fish roe) to Serbian sea salt to Bulgarian dried sausage. Each store has a sizable spice section with quality za'atar, dried Mediterranean herbs (Bulgarian dried mint, Greek oregano, and dried lovage), and rare items like bright and spicy Turkish maras pepper.

Deluxe Spice Blends: La Boîte à Epices

[Photograph: Lauren Rothman]

Go for: Exotic, impeccably sourced spice blends prepared in-house by a chef and master spice blender, often in Asian and African-inspired varieties.

This jewel box of a store, located in Hell's Kitchen, is like an art gallery-cum-spice shop: inside the airy, glassed-in corner location, paintings adorn the white walls, picking up the rainbow of colors found on a center table, which is where chef and spice blender extraordinaire Lior Lev Sercarz displays his masterful spice mixes in 30 proprietary blends. Sercarz's creations, he says, tell a story: "There has to be some idea behind it. What do you want the blend to say?" Many of those stories are exotic, with blends like Penang (sweet chiles, onion and turmeric); Orchidea (orchid root, lime and Sichuan pepper); and Tangier (rose petal, cumin, cardamom and cinnamon). The spice mixes, with their often-little known ingredients, are meant to provoke imagination, Sercarz says; so when you visit, you might need to cast away all you thought you know about spices.

Everything Thai: Bangkok Center Grocery

[Photograph: Clara Inés Schumacher]

Go for: An unbelievably comprehensive—and fairly priced—selection of essential Thai spices and flavorings: fresh Thai basil; pandan leaf; galangal; turmeric; curry leaves; lemongrass and birds-eye chiles, plus multiple varieties of fish sauce, shrimp paste, coconut milks and creams, tamarind pastes and much more.

If you're cooking Thai food, you can either wander around Chinatown's pan-Asian mega-markets, combing through a sea of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean ingredients to find the coconut cream, galangal and tamarind you'll need, or you can save yourself some time and energy and head straight to Mosco Street's tiny Bangkok Center Grocery and find all of these things—and many more—in a flash. Here, the friendly Bangkok-born proprietor Yoottapong (he usually goes by Tom with his customers) will guide you straight to the brand of fish sauce, the type of dried shrimp, the variety of canned rambutans you want. A trip here is indispensable when preparing—or even thinking about preparing—any Thai dish under the sun.

All Things Middle Eastern: Balady Halal Foods

[Photograph: Lauren Rothman]

Go for: An excellent bulk spice selection: be sure to look for house mixes for flavoring falafel, shawarma, kofte kebabs and maclouba, a layered rice dish featuring chicken, eggplant, tomatoes and cauliflower.

One of the many pleasures of strolling through the diverse, low-key neighborhood of Bay Ridge is checking out its plethora of Middle Eastern restaurants and shops. While there, a trip to Balady is a must: this comfortably-sized store is packed with all of the ingredients you'd expect (a wealth of dairy products, such as labneh and fresh cheeses; halvah in every possible iteration; an olive bar) and many you wouldn't (tangerine- and pineapple-flavored Schweppes; mulberry molasses; dried safflower petals, to be used like saffron). Balady's bulk spice selection is truly something special, standing out especially for its careful house blends.

Rare Thai Finds: Inthira Thai Market

[Photograph: Max Falkowitz]

Go for: All the Thai cooking essentials, like fresh Thai basil, lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, curry leaves, and chiles.

This family-owned Thai grocery in Woodside is a favorite of Pok Pok chef andy Ricker, and if it's good enough for Ricker—who creates some of the most scrupulously authentic, totally delicious Thai food in the western hemisphere—then it's good enough for us. At Inthira, you'll find fresh Thai basil, lemongrass, Thai eggplants and cha-om, a legume with edible leaves that are commonly deep fried and served with nam phrik dipping sauce, or eaten raw in salads.

About the author: Lauren Rothman once interned at Serious Eats and recently graduated from journalism school. Try the original recipes on her blog, For the Love of Food, and check out her (many) food photos on Instagram.

[Photos: Kevin Liu]

A few months ago, I wrote about the science of carbonation. In that article, I mentioned it's possible to rig a cheap, powerful, and versatile carbonation system using readily available parts.

Today, I'll show you exactly how to do it and all the benefits as well as a few potential downsides.

Why not just buy a carbonating system?

There are plenty of great commercial options out there, but there are also some pretty good reasons to rig your own custom device.

The popular SodaStream series of carbonators are attractive and easy to use, but they produce seltzer that's a little weaker than store-bought options. Plus, the machines and their proprietary refill cartridges don't come cheap. And if you carbonate anything but water, you'll void the warranty.

The Mastrad Purefizz gets good reviews and lets you carbonate anything you want, but relies on single-use carbon dioxide cartridges that both can get pricey and aren't as eco-friendly as a reusable tank.

If you're in the market for a carbonation tool that uses cartridges, I'd go for the far more versatile ISI Whip. For $30 more than the Mastrad, you get a true kitchen multitasker that can make sodas, whip creams, and even make rapid infusions.

But cartridges are pricey. 100 CO2 chargers cost around $30—so carbonation is 30 cents per liter, assuming a single charge per liter. Using the DIY rig, I was able to carbonate for about 5 cents a liter. Ka-ching!

For me, the true draw of a DIY system boils down to cost, convenience, and customization. I got tired of constantly buying new cartridges, especially since I had no idea when one of them would up and quit on me. Refilling carbon dioxide into a standard tank is ridiculously cheap. And, as I found out, it's really helpful to be able to carefully control carbonation levels.

Parts You'll Need:

• 24-ounce paintball tank (or other CO2 tank), around $35
• Paintball tank adapter, around $17
• Plumber's Tape, around $3
• Pressure Regulator, around $47
• Ball Lock Gas Line Assembly, around $15
• Carbonator Cap, around $13
• 1-Liter plastic soda / seltzer bottles, around $1 at the grocery store

Total = $131

How to Build Your Carbonation Rig

Step 1: Buy and fill a tank of carbon dioxide

I bought a standard 24-ounce paintball tank that cost $35 filled at a paintball place down the street from my house. (More on carbon dioxide sources and safety below)

Many folks prefer larger, more expensive tanks . I went with the paintball ones because they can be filled at any sporting goods store (though this might not be ideal—see the section on safety, below). The larger tanks can be filled at a welding supply store or other stores that supply carbon dioxide.

Step 1.5: Connect the tank to an adapter

If you do end up buying a tank made for paintball, know that you will need a special adapter (another $17) to connect it to the regulator.

I also recommend picking up some teflon plumber's tape from the hardware store to use on the connection points between the tank, adapter, and regulator.

In the above image, you can see the adapter I used in blue and a little plumber's tape sticking out where I made the connection to the regulator.

Step 2: Connect the tank to a pressure regulator

The regulator is what makes the whole carbonation rig awesome. I bought a regulator used for pumping draft beer out of a keg. The knob on the front controls your output pressure. Two gauges show both your output pressure and the remaining pressure left in your tank.

These gauges are great because one lets you control exactly how carbonated your soda is, while the other one warns you before you run out of gas.

You'll notice that the regulator has a pressure relief valve. I accidentally triggered this one time and freaked out as gas started spewing from the device. This valve is designed to release gas if your output level goes above 60 PSI (pounds per square inch). If you do trigger it, quickly turn down the output pressure on the regulator, then gently pop the mechanism back into its housing and the gas should stop.

Step 3: Connect the regulator to a ball lock gas line assembly

To connect the regulator to a plastic soda bottle, you'll want a ball lock assembly with plenty of extra hose. As we'll discuss in a moment, you'll be shaking your carbonated bottle a good bit, so you want enough hose so that you don't run the risk of jerking the regulator around as you shake.

Step 4: Connect the gas line to a carbonator cap

The ball lock attaches to a carbonator cap that can be screwed onto a standard 1 or 2-liter plastic soda bottle. There's also a stainless steel version if you want something more durable.

Step 5: Screw the carbonator cap on the bottle and...

Carbonate! To carbonate water, I set my regulator to 40 PSI. For cocktails, I try to go as high as possible without triggering the release valve, which ends up being just under 60 PSI for me. But first...keep reading.

How to get the best results carbonating water or cocktails

Follow these tips.

Chill the liquid. Carbon dioxide dissolves better in colder liquids.

Leave plenty of headspace. A good rule of thumb is to leave the bottle 1/4 empty. Before charging the bottle, squeeze out as much air from the headspace as possible. Air competes with carbon dioxide for room in water. The bottle will inflate once you turn the gas on and the headspace will give you room to shake the carbon dioxide into the liquid.

Leave room for foam. Some liquids, like wine or beer, will produce a lot of foam during carbonation. For these situations, try filling your bottle just half or a quarter full to leave room for the foam to grow. Also, don't forget to release the pressure from the bottle as slowly as possible.

Shake it like a bartender. Carbon dioxide doesn't just magically dissolve into water: you have to shake the bottle while you're adding gas (don't detach it!) to encourage the gas to get into the liquid and stay there. Pretend like you're shaking a cocktail and give it a good thirty seconds to a minute. You'll hear the regulator slowly release more gas with every shake—a good indicator that you're doing it right.

Carbonate at least twice. Water or cocktails will have some amount of air dissolved in them by default. After your first shake with carbon dioxide, vent the bottle by unscrewing it from the carbonator cap quickly. The rapid release of pressure causes lots of bubbles to form, releasing both CO2 and other dissolved gases from the water. Sure, most of the carbonation will boil off, but so will any other gases dissolved in the liquid. Once the bubbles settle, recharge the bottle and carbonate again. This is another reason why I don't like carbonators that use cartridges: to do it right, you should be using two cartridges every time you carbonate, which can get expensive.

Avoid using cloudy juices. Or really anything that isn't crystal clear, like a homemade syrup. Particles in your liquid act as nucleation points (spots where bubbles are likely to form). This means it's more likely that dissolved carbon dioxide will turn into bubbles and bubble off from the liquid, making your carbonation less strong. If you have to use a cloudy syrup to make a drink, I recommend making seltzer water and mixing it with the syrup just before serving the drink.

Rebottle for storage. Although you'll want to leave plenty of headroom to actually carbonate your water or cocktail, you won't want to store the finished product with that much headspace. Instead, either top off your bottle with a second batch of carbonated drink, or carbonate in a larger container and then store in smaller bottles.

Safety concerns

Let's address the elephant in the room: is rigging your own soda-carbonation system safe?

To look into the issue of whether the carbon dioxide you can buy is safe to consume, I scoured a bunch of homebrew and SodaStream-hacking forums, and most people's arguments fell into two basic camps:

1. There's no such thing as "food-grade carbon dioxide" or...
2. The FDA regulates food-grade carbon-dioxide and it has to be 10 times more pure than industrial grade.

Neither side is entirely correct.

The FDA does not, in fact, regulate the quality of carbon dioxide in foods. Instead, the FDA simply requires that any gas use in food be of "suitable purity" as defined by "good manufacturing practice."¹

But, there is a definition for food-grade carbon dioxide. This PDF from the International Society of Beverage Technologists defines food-grade carbon dioxide as a 99.9% pure gas. It should also be tested for a number of other impurities.

After checking at a few bulk suppliers of carbon dioxide, it appears that "industrial grade" gas is anywhere from 99.5% to 99.8%, "high purity" gas is supplied at 99.9% pure and medical and research gases are even higher purity.

Many of the impurities that could contaminate carbon dioxide gas are harmless—stuff like plain old air or water vapor. But there are a few that could cause real harm.² In fact, this document from the Coca-Cola company specifically warns against using industrial-grade carbon dioxide, such as the carbon dioxide used in welding.

So what can you do?

I got in touch with Dave Arnold, a carbonated-cocktail pioneer, and he told me that although he gets his carbon dioxide from a 'welding supply' place, that same source also supplies carbon dioxide to the food industry and medical industry. As long as you tell the supplier you intend to use the gas for food applications, they should be able to give you the right type.

I tried Dave's tip out by calling my local homebrew shop. I asked them where I could purchase food-grade carbon dioxide. They immediately knew what I was talking about and pointed me toward two carbon dioxide supply options. If your homebrew shop can't help you out, check with a local restaurant and try to find out where they get the tanks for their fountain soda machines filled.

As for the rest of the components in this rig being food-grade, you'll notice that all of the pieces I bought are designed for homebrewers. The tank itself is often used as a hack for refilling SodaStream machines, and I haven't any read any reports of the tank itself corroding or leeching hazardous chemicals, which would be the primary concern.

In summary: before you go in on a tank of gas, check out whether there are good places to get it filled near you. If they don't know what you're talking about, stay away and find a different supplier who understands that you need everything you use to be food-safe. But ultimately, this is a DIY job and you (the DIY-er) need to be ok with assuming the responsibility of ensuring all your components and ingredients are safe for whoever you plan to serve your drinks to. Double-check as you go.

What about exploding bottles?

Standard soda bottles should withstand up to 150 psi without exploding, but you would never want to get anywhere near that at home. The biggest risks come from using bottles that have been left out in the sun, run through the dishwasher, or crumpled so much that creases have formed in the plastic. Aim to use a new-ish bottle. If you don't get a regulator that caps out at 60 PSI, I would recommend staying around 60 PSI anyway to reduce your risk.

And don't forget to clean up afterward. One of the risks of carbonating cocktails at home is that if you do end up foaming sugary liquid all over the place, the mess can get all over your equipment and eventually promote the growth of harmful microbes. Make sure to clean your rig if it gets dirty in any way.

1. I also checked all the other FDA documents I could find on carbon dioxide and food-grade definitions in general, and couldn't find anything more on carbon dioxide. I also referenced Ruth Winter's food additives book, which simply said carbon dioxide was generally recognized as safe.
2. See the second figure in this article. It lists common contaminants and their sources.

As Goggla pointed out, the tabloid-friendly baby hawks of Tompkins Square Park turned 3 weeks old this on Thursday …

AND LOOK HOW BIG THEY ARE GETTING ALREADY. (All that rat and squirrel meat plumps them up.) This GIF is via James and Karla Murray, who have been keeping a watchful on Christo and Dora's three offspring up on the Christodora House on Avenue B and East Ninth Street.

Meanwhile, you can find photos and video from the hawkcam via East Village resident Francois Portmann …

Previously on EV Grieve:
Red-tailed hawks nest on the Christodora House

The hawks of Tompkins Square Park have laid an egg at the Christodora House

More eggsciting hawk news from the Christodora House

Breaking (heh) news: The hawks of Tompkins Square Park are officially parents

OMG baby hawks! (UPDATED WITH VIDEO!)

VIDEO: Watch the baby hawks of Tompkins Square Park dine on some rat

Thanks to Facebook for telling me this is the Sphynx, a breed of cat known for its lack of a coat.

You don't really need a coat in this weather. Haha. (Sorry!)

Photo by Bobby Williams.

Gothamist has long been beguiled by Thong Guy, whose dedication to wearing the least amount of clothing permissible in NYC is only matched by his wanton disregard for other people's eyes. Now finally, someone has written a musical tribute to the man who lets it all hang out: below, listen to Modern Beast's soft rock instant classic, "Brooklyn Thong Guy." [ more › ]

A look at one of the chicks today in the hawk next on the 7th floor of the Christodora House…

Photos by Bobby Williams

Previously on EV Grieve:
Red-tailed hawks nest on the Christodora House

The hawks of Tompkins Square Park have laid an egg at the Christodora House

More eggsciting hawk news from the Christodora House

Breaking (heh) news: The hawks of Tompkins Square Park are officially parents

OMG baby hawks! (UPDATED WITH VIDEO!)

VIDEO: Watch the baby hawks of Tompkins Square Park dine on some rat

[Photograph: Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Mayonnaise is America's most popular condiment. That news may come as a shock to fans of ketchup, or to those who find mayonnaise slick and slimy, but sales of mayo and its imitators stand at a whopping two billion dollars annually in the U.S.

That mayonnaise is such big business is especially surprising when you consider it's essentially just oil, eggs, and vinegar (or another acid such as lemon juice). Of course, it's a little more complicated than it sounds. Mixing oil with acid is challenging because of these acids' high water content. The lecithin in egg yolks serves as an emulsifying agent, binding oil and water particles together to create a smooth liquid.

If you've ever made your own mayonnaise, you may know that it doesn't always go smoothly. Mayonnaise can break—split back into oil and water—if the oil is poured too quickly or if you don't beat it vigorously and constantly. If you're nervous about making your own, we recommend this two-minute mayo method using a hand-blender that's close to foolproof.

If you don't have the time or the confidence and want to pick up some mayo from the store, it's worth knowing that commercial mayonnaise isn't made all that differently, just on a much larger scale. Oil is gradually added to a base of water, eggs, and seasonings, and sheared to a smooth consistency by powerful industrial homogenizers that can outperform the most powerful home blender. Vinegar—usually plain old white vinegar—is added last as a flavor balance, rather than as part of the base.

Commercial mayonnaise is usually around 70-80% oil, and in the U.S. it can't contain less than 65% vegetable oil. Low-fat alternatives are available, but even they tend to be about 50% fat, because flavor and texture from fat is really much of the point of mayonnaise. Miracle Whip, produced in the U.S. during the Depression, and salad cream, produced in the U.K. during wartime rationing, are two examples of mayonnaise-style emulsifications of oil and vinegar with a lower oil content, and often a higher sugar content.

[Photograph: Robyn Lee]

If you want to be sure that what you're buying is real mayonnaise, look for the word "real" on the label. It indicates that the only emulsifying agent used in the product is eggs. If the label doesn't say "real," the mayo may use milk protein or vegetable-based emulsifiers. Thickeners and stabilizers are common additions, and flavorings can include seasonings like paprika and mustard, more flavorful vinegars like cider vinegar, or sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup. Egg-free vegan versions of mayonnaise are also available.

In a blind taste-test of eight major mayonnaise brands, Serious Eats liked Kraft Mayo the best because of its bright, fresh flavor, with onion, garlic, and a touch of paprika. Duke's and Trader Joe's also rated highly, just edging out market leader Hellman's. We also taste-tested vegan mayonnaise and discovered they can be excellent.

Around half of mayo's two billion in annual sales go to Hellman's and Best Food—two brands that are actually the same brand, sold under different names east and west of the Rockies. Yet Hellman's Mayonnaise almost never came to be. Richard Hellman, the German-born deli owner who gave the U.S. its most popular mass-produced mayo, almost traveled on the Titanic's maiden voyage. He chose a cheaper passage instead.

But if Hellman had gone down with the Titanic, the story of mayonnaise in America probably wouldn't have been too different. He was far from the only mayo entrepreneur in those early days of the American century. Amelia Schlorer of Philadelphia was the first deli owner to sell mayo in jars. Eugenia Duke of Greenville, SC, switched from the sandwich business to the mayo business to give the South Duke's Mayonnaise, a tangy, creamy mayo that claims to be the only major brand with no added sugar or sweeteners, and has something of a cult following among many mayo connoisseurs.

Neither Hellman, Schlorer, nor Duke can claim to have invented mayonnaise, but the sauce's true origins are a little hazy. The best-known story is that mayo was invented in 1756 on the Spanish island of Minorca to celebrate the successful French siege of the British garrison at Fort St. Philip during the Seven Years' War. The fort was located near the town of Mahon, giving mayonnaise its name. However, the name has also been attributed to the town of Bayonne, the duke of Mayenne, the Old French word for egg yolk, moyeu, or the French word for "to stir," manier.

Whatever its origin, the sauce didn't actually appear in print until early in the 19th century, and it was the great French chef Antonin Carême who popularized the familiar method of making mayonnaise by stirring oil drip-by-drip into an egg yolk emulsion. Carême was the father of haute cuisine, and the man who codified the "mother sauces" that he regarded as the cornerstones of French cooking. His list didn't include mayonnaise, but later chefs revised the list and added mayonnaise and its sister sauce hollandaise.

Spicy mayo with sushi [Photograph: Josh Bousel]

Mayonnaise is both a sauce in its own right—perfect with meat or fish, or as the binding agent in potato salad, pasta salad, tuna salad, or chicken salad—and a base for other sauces, including tartar sauce, remoulade, ranch, and Thousand Island dressing. It can be mixed with fresh herbs, ground spices, hot sauce, mustard, grated cheese, chipotle, curry powder, soy sauce, or with ketchup to make a basic fry or burger sauce. It's ideal as a dip and, of course, as a sandwich booster.

Spreading mayonnaise over the outside of a grilled cheese instead of butter creates a golden, tangy crust. Some bakers use mayonnaise as a substitute for fat and eggs in a recipe, which makes sense given that mayonnaise is fat and eggs.

In much of Europe, mayo is the preferred fry dip over ketchup (remember what you learned in Pulp Fiction?). In Chile, Brazil, and other parts of Latin America it's generously used to top giant-sized "completo" hot dogs. Some places in the American South make a white barbecue sauce with a mayonnaise base rather than ketchup, and in both Japan and parts of the U.S. it's used as a pizza topping, either as it is or as part of ranch dressing.

Japanese Kewpie-brand mayonnaise is the preferred sauce for okonomiyaki and takoyaki, alongside tonkatsu barbecue sauce. Kewpie mixed with sriracha creates the "dynamite sauce" served on some types of sushi, especially fried sushi. Kewpie is sweeter than most mayos, and one of the few brands to use egg yolks rather than whole eggs. It also contains MSG.

Despite the varieties available, the worldwide popularity, and mayo's versatility, there are some people who still can't stomach the stuff. For those people we suggest a simple and lower fat alternative —mashed avocado with a little lemon juice. For the rest of us, there's two billion dollars' worth of mayonnaise to work our way through.

The flyer above has all the details… the memorial will be at the location where 68-year-old Wen Hui Ruan (previous published reports referred to him as Ruan Wen Hui) was brutally attacked on May 9. He died from the injuries he sustained the next day.

745 E. Sixth St. is between Avenue C and Avenue D, though closer to D…


[Looking west on East Sixth Street]

… a memorial remains in place in front of the building.



Police arrested 20-year-old Jamie Pugh early last Tuesday morning. He has been charged with second-degree murder, robbery and assault.

Ruan, a retired garment worker who lived on Avenue C and East Seventh Street with his wife, had just dropped off his granddaughters when the attack occurred.

To recap what has transpired in this case:

Saturday, May 10

Published reports tell of an attack on East Sixth Street that left a 68-year-old man hospitalized. The NYPD releases a photo of the alleged suspect captured by a surveillance video.


[Photo of suspect via the NYPD]

Sunday, May 11

The NYPD offers $2,000 for any information about the attack.



A tipster sends us the surveillance video that shows the vicious assault and the aftermath … the video shows several people walking by the victim lying injured on the sidewalk without stopping to help.

Monday, May 12

News breaks that the victim, first identified as Ruan Wen Hui, has died from his injuries.


[Photo from 2006 via CBS 2]

His youngest daughter speaks to CBS 2 about her father, who enjoyed playing operas while his wife prepared dinner. "I couldn't believe that this happened to my father because my father is a very good man. He always helps people and he always smiles. Everybody thinks that he’s the best person in this world," she says.

Tuesday, May 13

Police arrest Pugh, who reportedly lives near the scene of the crime, in the early morning on East 14th Street and First Avenue. The arrest is made based on a tip to Crimestoppers. Investigators believe that he sought to rob Ruan, who did not speak English. Pugh leaves the 9th Precinct on East Fifth Street early that evening …


[Photo by Frank Franca]

Wednesday, May 14

Before her son's arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, Charlotte Pugh-Douglas tells reporters that she believes someone slipped the club-drug Molly into his drink last Friday evening while partying. As DNAinfo reports, "Pugh didn’t even know about the attack until one of his friends showed him the chilling surveillance footage over the weekend and said the attacker looked like him."

Judge Bruna DiBiase orders Pugh held without bail.

Thursday, May 15

Ruan's family want his killing treated as a hate crime, the Daily News reports.


[Jefferson Siegel/NY Daily News]

Friday, May 16

City Councilmember Rosie Mendez's office organizes a memorial service for May 19 to "give Hui's family and the community a chance to come together to remember his life and to take a stand against violence in the neighborhood."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: East Village resident dies from injuries sustained in brutal attack

[UPDATED] Reward for info on East 6th Street assault; plus video of the attack

[Updated] Family mourns Ruan Wen Hui as police hunt suspect in deadly assault on E. 6th St.

[Updated] Report: Murder suspect's mother says her son was high on Molly at the time of attack

Report: Family of Ruan Wen Hui wants hate crime charges brought against suspect

[Photo by Francois Portmann]

Here are a few of the latest incredible photos that Francois Portmann has posted from the nest cam up on the Christodora House … where Christo and Dora's chicks hatched this past week.

The red-tailed hawk parents have also assembled quite a feast for the family — there are at least four dead rats stored in the nest. (Shouldn't that be refrigerated?)


[FP]


[FP]

Thank you to Goggla, who has been chronicling the activity here from Day 1. Head over there to find out where exactly the hawks have been discarding the rat carcasses ... as well as other habits of the new parents.

And find more hawk photos at Francois's photography site here.

Also, check out these hawk photos and video from the Christodora at the Urban Hawks website.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Red-tailed hawks nest on the Christodora House

The hawks of Tompkins Square Park have laid an egg at the Christodora House

More eggsciting hawk news from the Christodora House

Breaking (heh) news: The hawks of Tompkins Square Park are officially parents

P.S.

The baby hawks are becoming quite an attraction... here's a fellow Christodora House resident checking out the action...


[Photo Saturday by Bobby Williams]

Updated 11:16 a.m.

Francois has posted this video!

I came down with a Man Cold* and laryngitis** this week and it’s totally cramping my game, or it would be, if I had any. It’s pretty clear what the cold expects of me I’d like to it leave: loads of sleep, little activity and probably some bad reality television. But as I keep interpreting this as: go to a bookstore event, go to another great talk, take laptop to Genius Bar, watch my wind-up bug go… — essentially my rule for this week has been, if it’s a tightly-packed enclosed space a few degrees too warm with zero air circulation, I’ll be right over! — I shouldn’t be surprised that on Day 6 of this mess, I’m still a pill to be around.

The only thing I like less is seeing this site go quiet while I wait for my appetite/creativity/enthusiasm to return, which gives me the perfect excuse to share some egg sandwiches I teased you with in December but have been hoarding since (seriously) 2012, when I created them for a magazine that never ended up running them. They’re short on process photos (though I’ve now experienced the vagaries of freelance life enough times to know: always take photos, lots of them) and lengthy details, but we enjoyed them all quite a bit at the time and will hopefully serve as a springboard for you for your own breakfast sandwich endeavors.

... Read the rest of five egg sandwiches on smittenkitchen.com

---

© smitten kitchen 2006-2012. | permalink to five egg sandwiches | 118 comments to date | see more: Breakfast, Eggs, Photo, Sandwich

Add these cocktails to your summer drink repertoire. [Photographs: Nick Caruana]

We trust you can make Margaritas and you've probably got the Paloma down pat, but there is much more fun to be had with tequila, if you're ready to branch out.

We recommend using 100% agave tequila, but that doesn't mean you have to use top-shelf bottles. Here are 7 great less-expensive options to get you started.

Ready to start mixing? Here are 5 of my favorite tequila drinks right now, all easy to mix up in the comfort of your home bar.

Mojalisco

If you like the flavors of a Dark and Stormy, Moscow Mule, or Mojito, you'll love this refreshing summer drink, which features Crabbie's alcoholic ginger beer (yup, that's right, it's a ginger beer with booze already in it.) There's mint, too, mojito-style, plus fresh lime and tequila. It's sweetened with Velvet Falernum, which contributes layers of sweet almond, ginger, clove, and lime. (You can use the rest of the bottle for making any number of tiki drinks.) A little bit of Cynar adds an intriguing herbal presence that lurks among the bubbly and refreshing flavors.

Get the Mojalisco recipe »

The Charming Foxhole

While in Baltimore for a work meeting, I happened to stumble into Wit and Wisdom. The head bartender, Aaron Joseph, came up with this one when I asked for something with tequila that was a bit bitter and refreshing, just the kind of drink I look for when the weather starts getting warm. Aaron definitely hit the spot with The Charming Foxhole. It's made with tequila and bittersweet Aperol, plus Amaro Nonino, which pretty much makes any drink delicious.

The base is smooth, and agave flavors work nicely with hints of honey, orange, rhubarb, and grapefruit. Just a touch of anise lingers in the background from the Peychaud's. And the scent? Delicious citrus and agave all the way. If you're a Negroni drinker, this might just be your new summer drink.

Get The Charming Foxhole recipe »

Fresa Verde

Warm weather makes us think of a garden full of ripe berries and vegetables, but we wouldn't necessarily think of putting the two together. We trust PDT's Jim Meehan to do it right, though. This riff on a margarita calls for strawberries, pomegranate molasses, and yes, green peppers. When I read about the ingredients in the fantastic PDT Cocktail Book, I knew I needed to try this one.

With a consistency between a frozen and "up" margarita, Fresa Verde has a bit more body than you might expect. It has great sweet-tart berry, pomegranate, and citrus flavors, and a subtle vegetal side from the bell pepper (and the tequila). Just a heads up: if your strawberries aren't the sweetest you may need to add a touch of simple syrup to balance this one out.

Get the Fresa Verde recipe »

The Federation

Now we're getting serious. This delicious spin on a Sazerac calls for añejo tequila instead of rye and uses high-quality creme de cacao (I like Tempus Fugit) rather than sweetening with sugar. This rich and savory drink has a full, rich texture and hints of coffee, cocoa, and clove. It finishes off with a little cocoa and a touch of bitterness, making for a great after-dinner drink.

Get the Federation recipe »

Sun and Shrub

I'm really fond of all five of these tequila cocktails, but this might just be my personal favorite. St. Germain emphasizes the floral side of the tequila, paired with a vividly tart combination of Liber and Co's awesome Rhubarb and Ginger Shrub and fresh lemon juice.

The finishing touch, a little club soda, is essential. The effervescence lightens things up nicely. A little club soda lightens it: with its light kick of ginger at the end, this cocktail will wake up your palate.

Get the Sun and Shrub recipe »

Recipes!

• Mojalisco
• Sun and Shrub
• The Federation
• Jim Meehan's Fresa Verde
• The Charming Foxhole

Today was the first day of the Brimfield Antique Show, and if you've ever been, you know how easy it is to get lost in the fields. Inside Brimfield has launched an iOS and Android app that maps dealers, helps you find a restroom, call a porter, and track where you've left your car and your purchases.

READ MORE »

Remember balloon boy? This is almost like that, but reportedly real and thus terrifying: An inflatable bounce house, a.k.a. a bounce castle, flew 50 feet into the air in upstate New York yesterday, seriously injuring two children. Three kids were inside at the time, the South Glens Falls Post-Star reports, ... More »

The Central Park Conservancy just announced its selections for its annual film festival, which runs Monday, August 18 through Friday, August 22. And this year's theme is "Scenes From Our City," focusing on movies in which NYC plays a prominent role. [ more › ]

A month ago, we tracked a handful of names from fantasy and sci-fi series (Khaleesi and Arya from Game of Thrones, Hermione, Sirius, and Draco from Harry Potter, and Katniss from The Hunger Games); unsurprisingly, the names' popularity tracked that of the series they come from pretty well.

Today, the Social Security Administration released name data from last year, and Khaleesi and Arya are doing as well as ever. There were 241 Khaleesis born in 2013, up from 146 in 2012 (a 65 percent jump). That puts the name above the likes of Stacy, Pamela, Janet, and Joan:

Arya also grew impressively, going from 756 (girls only) in 2012 to 1,135 in 2013, a 50 percent jump. That may not be entirely attributable to Game of Thrones, especially as the Eragon series featured a main character named Arya, but given how much more popular Game of Thrones was last year it seems fair to credit the show (and to some extent the books). Arya tied with Madeleine and bested Amanda, Phoebe, Helen, and Karen:

There was somewhat less action on the Hunger Games and Harry Potter fronts. There were 17 Katnisses in 2013, compared to 12 in 2012; that' s a big jump in percentage terms, but it's from a very low base. There were 47 Hermiones, barely different from the 52 in 2012, while Draco fell from 51 to 27 and Sirius rose from 15 to 22. Still, all of those are well above the numbers before the first Harry Potter book. Draco and Sirius don't show up in the database until the late '90s, while Hermione saw some use in the 1910s and 1920s before mostly disappearing until 2001.

If you want to play with the data yourself, I put together a CSV file of all of the Social Security Administration's national name counts from 1880 to 2013; check out the SSA site for state-level data. Keep in mind that names used less than 5 times in a given year will be omitted for privacy reasons.

[Photo by Francois Portmann]

Goggla broke (sorry!) the news yesterday that Christo and Dora's chicks have hatched in their nest up on the Christodora House on Avenue B.

The top shot, showing the hatching in action, is courtesy of photographer Francois Portmann.

Find more hawk/egg photos at his photography site here. Photos like this…



He'll have photos of the chicks from the nest cam soon.

Meanwhile, please visit Goggla's Gog in NYC site for much more on the hawks.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Red-tailed hawks nest on the Christodora House

The hawks of Tompkins Square Park have laid an egg at the Christodora House

More eggsciting hawk news from the Christodora House

The Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy has announced its slate of free summer movie screenings on the scenic lawn overlooking the East River and Lower Manhattan. After a public vote last summer roundly rejected a screening of Sharknado in favor of Terry Gilliam's adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, SyFy's campy shark disaster flick has been prominently placed in this year's program, no messy "democracy" required. (SyFy, a network of NBCUniversal, is the company that has sponsored the free movie series for the past seven years.) Here's this summer's lineup, which you'll notice is loosely animal-themed: [ more › ]

The Russ & Daughters Cafe opens at 127 Orchard St. this morning at 10.

Niki Russ Federman and her cousin Josh Russ Tupper, part of the fourth generation of the family that founded the store on the LES in 1914, will run the 65-seat full-service restaurant.

You can read Grub Street's detailed preview of the Cafe here. And The Lo-Down has a roundup of the roundups about the Cafe here.

Meanwhile, The New Yorker takes a look at the cafe's new neon signage…



And don't worry — the mothership, currently celebrating its 100 birthday, isn't going anywhere on 179 E. Houston.

Previously on EV Grieve:
More details about the new Russ & Daughters Café coming to Orchard Street

Here is the new sign for Russ & Daughters Cafe on Orchard Street

Dok Suni's, the 21-year-old Korean restaurant at 119 First Ave., will be closing in the coming weeks, staff there confirmed.

A new operator is talking over the space... and is on this month's CB3/SLA committee docket for a new liquor license. There aren't many details about the incoming owners based on a look at the paperwork (PDF) that they filed on the CB3 website ahead of the meeting.

It appears that they will be open for lunch, with a proposed opening time of 11:30 a.m. ... with more Korean-style food... here is the menu that is included with the applicant's information...



Perhaps now would be a good time to pick up co-owner Jenny Kwak's book from 1998, "Dok Suni: Recipes from My Mother's Korean Kitchen."

This year will be my first Mother's Day as a mom! I'm so excited! Around this time last year, I hosted a little Mother's Day brunch at my friend Jennifer's house. It was a brunch full of millennials, most of whom were separated from their mamas on this special day. So, we decided to gather together and celebrate our moms, to talk about them, to brag about them. It was such a lovely time (I might just have to throw another one). We all filled out these cards, designed by Jen, to send to our moms...the cards have thoughtful prompts such as, "Growing up, I wish I had thanked you more for..."), allowing for you to personalize the card for your mama!

I'm not sure yet what I'm going to give to my mom this year, but Uncommon Goods and I have partnered to give you all some ideas on what to get for Mother's Day. They sent me this beautiful moss terrarium. What I love most about this terrarium is it's easy to build yourself, and they’ve already found just the right kind of fleecy mosses (all I have around here is the hard stuff)! My mom always has house plants, and she manages to keep them alive...for a long time. Oh to have a green thumb...a skill I definitely did not inherit from my mom. We'll see how long I can keep my moss terrarium alive (although, apparently, I can't kill it...it just goes "dormant" and then needs to be refreshed with water...so cool!!)

If you’re also looking for flora to give as a mother’s day gift, a couple other ideas might be their succulent wall planter or chemistry terrarium, also at Uncommon Goods. Now I’m going to do some more looking of my own while I wait for my little one to wake up from her nap! Then she and I are going on a walk to enjoy the beautiful day we're having in VA!

This weekend, Joe and I are going to tackle our garden. Owning a home is wonderful, but there's a lot of maintenance...and gardens just don't happen! Here's hoping all the hours of working in my mom's garden pay off! Happy weekend, friends!


*Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting sponsored posts - it helps allow me to continue to produce quality content! 

[UPDATE BELOW] The only downside to Spa Castle—a truly whimsical dreamscape filled with napping chambers, colorful saunas and poolside-mozzarella sticks—is that it's located in the remote (for some of us) land of College Point, Queens. Well, no more. The relaxation empire is coming to Manhattan, under the name Spa Castle Premier. What could possibly be more "premier" than the Sauna Valley? [ more › ]

The crowd-pleasing Sakura Matsuri is once again taking over the entire Brooklyn Botanic Garden this weekend, with performances, music, food, games, and packs of cosplay kids all gathered to celebrate both traditional and contemporary Japanese arts and culture. And if the BBG's cherry blossoms didn't exactly cooperate this year, timing-wise—only about five trees are in bloom (most seem to be in pre-bloom)—the thousands who flocked to the festivities on Saturday didn't really seem to mind. [ more › ]

[Photographs: Shao Z.]

From crispy pan-fried noodles to a bowl of wonton noodle soup, fresh Chinese egg noodles are one of the most common noodles you'll find at Chinese restaurants. Just like Italian pasta or ramen, when cooked properly, they should have a firm bite and springy texture, and the wide variation in thickness and springiness makes Chinese egg noodles some of the most versatile to cook with. All week we'll be talking about the various types of noodles you might find at a good Chinese market and how to cook them. Check out the whole series here.

For me, a dim sum brunch isn't complete without a plate of Supreme Soy Sauce Chow Mein. A simple dish of stir-fried thin noodles cooked with bean sprouts and scallions, it's dry-fried, which means that it's cooked mostly in oil, with just a thin coating of a soy-based sauce added to it at the end and cooked until it coats the noodles in a concentrated layer of flavor,

Just like the other dim sum classic of crispy pan fried noodles in sauce, this dish is made with thin egg noodles, which are very similar in shape and texture to wonton noodles. Also labeled Hong Kong-Style noodles, they usually come par-boiled, carefully drained, and ready to stir-fry. (You could make this dish with wonton noodles, if you were willing to par-cook and very carefully dry them beforehand).

My version of the dim sum classic uses the same noodles, bean sprouts, and scallions, but I also add finely julienned carrots, Chinese chives, and sliced five-spice tofu.

Preparing the vegetables is the most time-consuming part of the dish, but the even cooking and gorgeous presentation in the end are worth it. I even like to pick the ends off the bean sprouts, though you can leave them on if you'd like.

As with all stir-fries, it's important to get your oil very hot and to cook your ingredients in the right order and in batches so that your wok has time to reheat between ingredients. (Read up more about stir-frying basics here.) In this case, that means starting with the tofu and frying it until lightly browned, then adding a splash of soy sauce (which gets absorbed quickly), then the chives, cooked just until barely wilted. The vegetables come out and get set aside.

Next, more oil gets heated, then the noodles are added. Because Hong Kong noodles are already par-cooked and dry, they cook very rapidly and stay loose and separated. When stir-frying noodles, set aside the spatula and stick with tongs or chopstick to help you maneuver the noodles without crushing or breaking them.

I like to let them get a little bit crispy before adding a sauce made with soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, sugar, and white pepper. The sauce is cooked down until it coats the noodles completely, with no liquid left in the bottom of the wok. Make sure to keep the noodles moving constantly once you add the sauce. You don't want them to clump!

We're almost done now. Next, the bean sprouts go in and cook until barely tender...

...followed by the carrots and the scallions...

...and finally the tofu and chives.

Serve it all straight away so the vegetables are still bright and crunchy and the noodles are still firm. I like to serve it with chili oil and hot sauce on the side.

Get the Recipe!

Sure, plenty of people think they can survive New York City on the delicate wings of a dream and a freelance paycheck, but if you're planning to, say, find fancy shelter with four walls and a roof, you may be out of luck. Or so says a dire new housing report out of Comptroller Stringer's office, which notes that skyrocketing rents in all five boroughs have contributed to a serious dearth of affording housing—so much so that households earning under $40K per year "literally may not be able to find an apartment they can afford." This Norwegian uninhabited subantarctic volcanic island sounds nice, though. [ more › ]

Crews were out early this morning setting up shots for NBC's "The Blacklist" ...



... and a little later, there was some fake FBI action as well as star James Spader (seated in hat and glasses)...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

"The Blacklist" shut down part of the Park last Wednesday as well ... followed by the "Law and Order: SVU" shoot in the Park on Friday. (Plus that Richard Gere film has been doing scenes in the Park...)

There was once a time when high school stoners in Philadelphia had easy access to marijuana, but all that ended Monday with the arrest of eight people accused of participating in a pot distribution ring. The bust is getting a bit more media attention than your average "War on Drugs Happytime Victory Theater" because two of the defendants are former lacrosse players who graduated from the fancy suburban Haverford School. Prep school kids doing and selling drugs? Now we've seen everything. [ more › ]

Waiting in the epic line for coveted blueberry pancakes from Clinton Street Baking Company is a New York brunching right of passage—one that may soon become less of an ordeal. Bowery Boogie throws out some expansion rumors for the 13-year-old restaurant, indicating they may take over the newly vacant corner lot that formerly housed the Min's Market bodega. [ more › ]

From Serious Eats: New York

Au Za'atar's vibrant, flavorful Mediterranean mezze are beautifully presented and made with care. [Photographs: Lauren Rothman]

Au Za'atar, a so-called "Arabian French bistro," opened on Avenue A last month to unusually high fanfare for a casual Middle Eastern restaurant. The menu, spanning kebabs and couscous to a whole range of mezze, doesn't tread much new territory, but Au Za'atar is something of a treasure box, turning out reliably more delicious versions of these standards that stand far apart from the pack.

Things get off to a promising start with a generous platter of Au Za'atar's complimentary Za'atar-Dusted Pita: warm, yeasty and chewy, the excellent bread has tons of flavor from its eponymous spice mixture of dried thyme, ground sumac and sesame seeds, and is served with a dollop of cool, smooth, tangy labneh, or thick strained yogurt.

Arnabeet Mekle, or fried marinated cauliflower ($7), is bright and flavorful, the greaseless and nicely browned florets tossed in a piquant dressing heavy on spicy raw garlic, fragrant fresh cilantro, and plenty of lemon juice.

Fassoulia, or Middle Eastern-style beans ($8), varies in preparation from country to country: sometimes it's made with white beans, other times green; it can be dressed with lemon and olive oil or stewed in beef broth. Au Za'atar's take is a hearty lima bean stew, the huge, creamy beans braised in a thick, rich tomato sauce slick with fruity olive oil and flecked with fresh parsley.

Pickled fruits and vegetables are integral to Middle Eastern cuisine, and are well-represented at Au Za'atar. Batin Jan Makdous, or tiny pickled eggplants ($8), are sweet and vinegary at the same time, their creamy flesh stuffed with spicy pickled red pepper and soft walnuts. Excellent crunchy cucumber pickles on the side add one more hit of brine.

Au Za'atar offers not just one but five types of vegetarian Stuffed Vegetables: bell peppers, grape leaves, eggplant, zucchini and cabbage. The latter option ($12) arrives as six tender, almost translucent cabbage leaves wrapped tightly around a light tomato-and-rice filling that sparkles with lemon and fresh dill. A well-seasoned chopped salad served on the side doesn't disappoint either, even when it's made with out-of-season vegetables.

This is the kind of food that has you craving more before your plate is half empty. If there's any better sign of a restaurant's quality, you tell us.

About the author: Lauren Rothman once interned at Serious Eats and recently graduated from journalism school. Try the original recipes on her blog, For the Love of Food, and check out her (many) food photos on Instagram.

It's time for another round of The Food Lab. Got a suggestion for an upcoming topic? Email Kenji here, and he'll do his best to answer your queries in a future post. Become a fan of The Food Lab on Facebook or follow it on Twitter for play-by-plays on future kitchen tests and recipe experiments.

[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

In my line of work, you end up with lots of leftovers, and lots of leftovers means that I make a lot of hash. I mean, a lot of it. What better way is there to recycle that little hunk of bacon, that half onion, and that just-about-to-get-wrinkled pepper than to chop them up, fry them in a skillet with cubes of potatoes, and serve them with runny eggs on a lazy sunday morning? (Hint: there is no better way.)

Now, you could take the willy-nilly approach—throw everything together in a skillet and hope that they somehow tornado themselves into a functional 747—but you're much better off applying just a bit of care, knowledge, and gentle guidance to the situation to help guarantee a safe and sound arrival at a crisper, tastier, and altogether better end-destination.

There are always options with hash (usually defined by what's sitting around in the fridge), but the basic steps are always the same. Let's take a closer look.

Step #1: Choose Your Potatoes Wisely

Yukon Gold potatoes give you a good balance of creaminess and crispness, but will not get as crisp as russets.

The type of potato you use can have a great impact on the final result. Waxy red or new potatoes turn nice and creamy when cooked, but are terrible at developing crisp crusts. Yukon golds will develop a decent crust and end up with a buttery interior. My personal favorite is regular old russets, which develop the crispest, craggiest crusts that stay crunchy even when dragged through golden liquid egg yolk multiple times.

The lesson? Stick with either russet or Yukon gold.

Step #2: Par-Cook Your Potatoes With Vinegar for Maximum Crispness

The potato cube cooked in vinegary water on the left maintains its shape much better while still softening and getting fluffy inside.

Back in my early hash-slinging days, I'd throw raw cubed potatoes into a skillet with oil and let them fry until golden brown. They sure looked like they'd be crisp, but they'd rapidly soften, ending up with a papery, leathery crust.

As anyone who's ever made great french fries knows, you have to double cook them to get them extra-crisp. By par-cooking chunks of potatoes, you help create a thick layer of gelatinized starch around their exterior that, upon frying, subsequently dehydrates and browns. It's this dehydrated layer of gelatinized starch that gives potatoes a lasting crispness (see this article on ultra-crispy roasted potatoes for some more tips).

The issue is that by par-boiling potatoes, you also end up softening them to the point that they fall apart when you try to fry them. There are a couple of solutions to this problem. The first is to par-cook them in the microwave, like I do with this crispy kale, Brussels sprouts, and potato hash. The microwave will par-cook the potatoes without jostling them, which helps keeps the chunks whole.

Another solution is to add some vinegar to the cooking water, about a tablespoon per quart. This vinegar slows the breakdown of pectin, the inter-cellular glue that holds potatoes together. With vinegary water, you can boil potatoes and gelatinize starch without letting them turn soft, making them easy to fry afterwards. Make sure your cooking water is well-salted, too.

Step #3: Add a Meat, Preferably Cured, and GET IT CRISP

Chorizo is a fine choice for hash.

Ok, so not all hashes need meat, and to be 100% honest, most of the ones I make at home don't have it, simply because I don't generally have cured meat hanging around. But I'd also be lying if I told you that crispy chunks of cured pork fat aren't extremely delicious.

Whatever the meat, FRY IT UNTIL CRISP, SON.

If I have it, I'll fry up cured pork (or cured beef like corned beef, or cured duck like confit), let it slowly render out its fat (we'll use that fat to fry the potatoes), and cook until very crisp.

Step #4: Fry the Potatoes in Rendered Fat and Add More Fat Than You Think You Need

The first key to crisp potatoes is more fat than you think you'll need.

Once the meat is crisped, you might be tempted to just throw the potatoes in there. Instead, let me recommend a different tack: take the meat out and set it aside before adding the potatoes. You've already got that meat perfectly cooked. Leave it in while the potatoes cook and you'll only end up overcooking it.

Those par-cooked potatoes need a good amount of fat for two reasons. First, without enough fat, they don't make good contact with the bottom of the skillet, and without good contact, they can't fry evenly.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, fat tastes good. The potatoes absorb it, making each bite more succulent and delicious.

Don't skimp on the cooking! They take a good 20 to 30 minutes to get nice and crisp on all sides.

Perhaps the biggest mistake I see with hash, whether at home or in restaurants, is not cooking the potatoes long enough. There's no two ways about it: frying potatoes in a skillet until crisp is a long process. Even with relatively high heat, it can take 20 minutes or more. Don't rush it; you want every single surface crisped.

Step #5: Add Seasoning to Potatoes

Once the potatoes are nearly cooked, it's a good idea to start thinking about flavoring them. If simple and straightforward is your goal, then just a bit of salt and pepper will do. In this case, I'm adding a touch of cumin and paprika, flavors that go well with the chorizo, poblano peppers, and cilantro I'm adding to them. Adding the spices directly to the skillet with the potatoes as they fry gives them a chance to toast and develop flavor.

Step #6: Cook Potatoes, Meat, and Vegetables in Batches to Optimize

Crisp, fresh vegetables should be cooked hard and fast so they get some nice char without losing freshness, like a stir-fry.

As with the chorizo, now is the time to remove those potatoes from the skillet (you can drop them into the same bowl as the chorizo to minimize cleanup) to make space for the remaining vegetables. I like to treat my vegetables like I do in a good Chinese stir-fry: sear hard and fast so that you get some nice browning while still allowing them to retain some fresh crunch. In this case, I'm using big chunks of scallion whites along with cubed poblano peppers.

Step #7: Combine Ingredients Before Finishing

Cooking the meat, potatoes, and vegetables in batches helps ensure that they all come out optimally before they get re-combined.

Once the vegetables are cooked, I add them to the bowl with the meat and potatoes. Each element here has been perfectly cooked before combining, which means that the whole shebang is going to be all the tastier. You can serve the hash exactly as-is, but what is hash without eggs? You may as well ask me to watch the Holograms without Jem or the Jetsons without George.

Step #8: Drain Eggs in a Strainer for Better Shape

Draining the loose white off of eggs helps them keep a nice shape as they bake.

There are a few ways to incorporate your eggs into hash—poached, fried, or simply baked on top—but no matter your method, if you want them to be the prettiest, you should strain your eggs. Straining is a method I first started using for making perfect poached eggs, but it's equally effective for keeping fried eggs nice and tight or baked eggs from running through all the cracks in your hash.

To do it, just break an egg into a bowl and tip them into a fine mesh strainer. Swirl gently, and the excess whites will drip out, leaving you with only the tight yolk and tight white.

Step #9: Baked, Fried, or Poached? Make Your Choice

Fried eggs are a good alternative if you don't want to heat up the oven.

Now you've got a big decision to make: how do you want to cook your eggs? Fried eggs are probably the fastest. Once your hash is assembled, just fry the eggs in a separate skillet, throw them on top, and you're ready to eat. Poached eggs are the prettiest, but require a bit of finesse (of course, you can always poach your eggs the day before, store them in water in the fridge, then gently reheat them in warm water before serving the next morning).

You can fry eggs, but wells are the easiest and most fun way to do it.

For my money, baking them is the best way to go for hash. To do it, return your hash to the skillet and make a few wells in your potatoes for the eggs to sit in, then break the eggs into them and throw the whole thing into a hot oven until the eggs are barely set.

Step #10: A Little More Oil Keeps the Eggs From Drying Out

A little oil drizzled over the surface keeps them from drying out.

I always drizzle my eggs with just at touch of olive oil, which prevents their top surfaces from developing an unappetizing, plasticky skin.

Step #11: Top it Off Post-Bake!

Some post-bake garnishes add freshness to the mix

The last step to truly great hash is to top it off with some fresh ingredients. Herbs, sliced onions or scallions, or a bright vinegary salsa or hot sauce is good. Avocado makes it even better. I can think of precious few situations that wouldn't be better if an avocado were added to the mix. Can you?

With those basic building blocks, you've got a formula to build up any sort of hash that you'd like, simply by mixing around the flavors and ingredients, which means that whether you're heading to the supermarket with some ideas in mind, or just working out of a half-empty fridge and your basic pantry, you know you're going to end up with some pretty delicious results.

Normally I'd try to wrap this up with some sort of clever last sentence or two that calls back the opening and ties the whole article together like a good rug, but in this case, I've just made myself too darn hungry to concentrate. I'll be right back, gotta throw some potatoes on the stove.

About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook.

Recipes!

• Crispy Potato, Chorizo, and Green Chili Hash With Avocado and Eggs
• Crispy Kale, Brussels Sprouts, and Potato Hash
• Easy Sweet Potato and Pepper Hash with Eggs
• Spicy Potato, Bok Choy, and Shallot Hash