Elliot Boblitt

From Serious Eats: New York

[Photographs: Niko Triantafillou]

One of the dessert trends of the last few years has been to put pretzels inside all kinds of different sweets. Successful examples of this phenomenon include Big Gay Ice Cream's burnt pretzel bits with sea salt and a dark chocolate-dipped cone) and Chikalicious Dessert Club 's salted pretzels with toffee popcorn and chocolate chips. Now it's time to add one more to the list.

The "American Globs" cone from Big Gay Ice Cream.

Sigmund's Pretzel Shop's Wancko Cookie ($3) has been around for some time, but it's one of the best examples of pretzels used to improve a dessert. The Wancko is a dense, monster-sized cookie that contains peanut butter, large pretzel bits, and chocolate chunks. Imagine a big chocolate chip cookie with a few tablespoons of peanut butter and a half a bag of Pennsylvania Dutch pretzels thrown in.

The texture is more crispy than chewy but those pretzels make it dense. Peanut butter adds a nice sweet and saltiness as well to the generously sized cookie.

About the author: Native New Yorker Niko Triantafillou is the founder of DessertBuzz.com and an unabashed foodie nerdling. You can follow him on Twitter at @DessertBuzz.

Word came down last month that the nearly 100-year-old smoked fish and herring store on East Houston was going to open a 65-seat café space around the corner at 127 Orchard St.

Today, The Daily Meal published a Q-and-A with fourth-generation co-owner Niki Russ Federman about the new space. Federman offered up several details, such as if the new space will have that counter culture of the mothership:

That is so critical in how we’re designing the space, trying to bring that counter experience and that human interaction to the new café. So there will be an open slicing area where you can watch the slicing happen, and actually you’ll be able to see it better than you can in the store. Right now you have to peek down poke around, There, we’ll have a slicing counter [and] an old-school soda fountain making our egg creams. There’s going to be almost like a luncheonette counter where you can sit down as you’re watching all the food come together, and you still have that over-the-counter interaction.

The Russ & Daughters Café is aiming for a mid-February opening.

Meanwhile, in other news about LES institutions, BoweryBoogie has a recap of the gallery opening at the The Space At Katz’s.

Whether you're a weekend Eggs Benedict fanatic or someone who'd rather starve than wait 45 minutes for a $20 breakfast, there's no question that brunch is a fact of life in NYC, a fate to which we all succumb sooner or later. Hell, there was even a riveting year-long turf war over it in Williamsburg! #Neverforget. The options here run the gamut from all-you-can-drink Bloody Mary bingefests to fancy French petit de'jeuners, with every type of chicken-fried-waffle situation in between. Here are our favorites; we know you'll leave yours in the comments. [ more › ]

Ibragim Todashev told authorities that his friend Tamerlan Tsarnaev was involved in a triple murder in Waltham, Mass. in Sept. 2011, according to a motion filed by federal prosecutors in the case of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Law enforcement sources said in May that Todashev was about to ... More »

A quick dinner of orecchiette pasta tossed in a clingy sauce made with mushrooms, shallots, thyme, and brussels sprouts leaves. [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Some folks see marriage and relationships as some sort of magical game of acceptance of differences; loving the other person for exactly who they are, no changes required. I see it as a gradual wearing-down process. A long, determined badgering that slowly breaks down your mate and rebuilds them into something you love even more. (I love you honey, but don't you want me to love you even more?).

The biggest surprise my wife had for me after we got married was a doozy. "You know how you like to cook pasta? Well, I don't really like pasta," she said to me. I'm glad she waited until after we'd been joined under the eyes of the law or we might never been able to work past this statement. I mean, who doesn't like pasta?

Excellent, I thought to myself, a new project to work on, my fingers slowly tapping together as I did my best Mr. Burns impression while hatching my plan to win her back from the dark side.

We've made progress since then. These days it's only long, skinny, noodle-shaped pasta that she takes real issue with. She still doesn't make special requests for pasta, but when I made this particular dish of mushrooms, brussels sprouts, and orecchiette, she not only finished her plate, but actually ate the leftovers for the next two meals in a row. (This, of course, had nothing to do with the fact that they were the only leftovers in the fridge).

There are two requirements for sauces that work well with orecchiette, those thick little ear-shaped nubs:

A) The sauce must be relatively rich and emulsified with fat and liquid in order to coat the ridges that have been painstakingly imparted onto each piece of pasta.

B) The sauce must have little bits and pieces of powerfully flavorful stuff that gets caught in those little cups.

Normally, this is accomplished with crumbled sausage and broccoli rabe. In this case, though, thinly sliced mushrooms cooked down in olive oil until well-browned take on the role of flavor-provider for the sauce. As they brown, a gorgeous fond builds up in the bottom of the pan, which forms the base for a pan sauce made with a little butter, lemon juice, and vegetable or chicken stock. Plenty of minced shallots, garlic, and picked fresh thyme leaves pack the aromatic punch that gets scooped into the little ears, while some grated Parmesan and a splash of pasta cooking water helps everything stay thick, saucy, and emulsified.

Brussels sprouts are a natural pair for orecchiette—when separated into individual leaves, they have the exact same shallow cup shape and ridged exterior that the pasta does, making them perfect vehicles for the mushroom sauce. I sear mine in a bit of olive oil to enhance their nutty sweetness, set them aside, then toss them into the pasta and mushrooms at the last moment to retain their bright green color and crunch.

The real key to this dish is in the final moments, and here's the trick. It's not a new trick, but I can't stress its importance enough: undercook your pasta slightly and finish it in your sauce, along with a good amount of its cooking water. The pasta will absorb a bit of the sauce as it finishes cooking, but more importantly, that pasta cooking water will help to emulsify the butter and chicken stock together, transforming something that was watery and greasy into something that evenly coats your pasta and vegetables in a thin layer of flavor.

Want to know how to improve the sauce-enhancing effects of pasta water even more? Use less of it. Forget the old advice to boil your pasta in a giant pot of boiling water—the need to do that is a myth that has been debunked many times now. Use just enough salted water to cover it. By doing this, not only do you save energy (no need to heat up a giant pot), but you also end up with water that is more highly concentrated in starch—just like the water in a pasta machine at a big restaurant.

Eat up, dear! And, by the way, if anyone needs relationship advice, I offer free consultations.

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.

Get the Recipe!

Justin Ginsburg, the NYC Bike Share project director behind Citi Bike, said last month that the service, hailed as a great success so far, mostly caters to white men in households making six figures — "This is great if you're a marketing person" — and new data obtained by DNA Info backs him ... More »

From Serious Eats: New York

"I didn't know about the future, I just wanted to try."

[Photographs: Brent Herrig]

Ratchanee Sumpatboon's Larb Ubol is one of those restaurants we just can't truly have enough of in New York. Tucked away on an unattractive part of Ninth Avenue by 37th street, it looks like many other Thai restaurants we'd be fine to walk straight past—the mismatched chairs, nondescript tiled floors and paneled walls were well described by our editor as "adorably tacky." The food, however, is being taken very seriously by local devotees of Isan Thai cuisine, who flock to such spots for its fiery complexity and bright flavors.

Sumpatboon is a worthy contender in the kitchen—she ran a restaurant with her husband in Ubon Ratchathani, which sits near Thailand's borders with Laos and Cambodia. When she moved to New York in 2005, she worked at a Thai restaurant in Queens before opening up Poodam in Astoria. She shuttered that space and went to consult at Zaab Elee in Manhattan, before trying her hand again at her current spot. We sat with Sumpatboon and her manager / assistant / helpful translator Phumin Srisuphansiri (who goes by Kao) to find out how she ended up here and what she's excited to bring to us.

When did you start cooking in New York? 2005, in November. I was working for somebody in a Thai restaurant in Queens, but I've known how to cook for a long time back. I had a restaurant in Thailand for a long time with my ex-husband, and when he died I came to New York.

Did you come specifically because you wanted to cook here? When I came I had no plan, nothing. And my English was so bad and I didn't know what job I would find, so I went to go work in the kitchen of a Thai restaurant. I did everything the same as I did in Thailand, things I can cook by myself. Because I'm from the northeast I don't like things sweet, like most Thai restaurants here. They wanted the full-on American style, but I didn't like it, so I just told Americans if they cannot eat spicy food, to just say it and I could cook for them without chili. I wanted to do everything standard to what I was cooking at home.

Fish filet with hot phet sauce.

What didn't you like about the style you saw here? I didn't like it, but I understand why Americans like it—Americans like things sweeter, and in the northeast we don't eat sweet. We use a lot of herbs, roasted rice, galangal, lemongrass, lime leaf...many things are different than what you'd get in Bangkok—we don't use lemons, we use limes instead, things like that. We do everything fresh. It's bright food. And everyone has the same opportunity to taste, so I wanted to translate what my tastes are like. Other Thai restaurants do a lot of fusion Thai, but I was confident people would like mine, too.

How did you learn to cook? I learned from my ex-husband. He was a very good cook from a family of cooks. We met in Ubon Ratchathani, my home city in Thailand, which was also the name of the restaurant. I only cooked a little bit before—a fried egg omelet or something like that. But I loved to eat, so I loved to try cooking with him! He already had the restaurant when we were married, and at that time I was so young that I just wanted to be together and learn a little bit for fun. I didn't care about it being hard or not. I loved to eat, so I loved to try cooking too.

Papaya salad.

When did you discover you were talented at it? We were open for five years and by the second year I knew I could do it alone. But then my husband passed away and I needed to move on.

What did you expect to happen when you opened Poodam? Did you think we'd understand your style of food and that you'd be as successful as you were? I didn't know about the future, I just wanted to try. When I opened Poodam on Broadway many American customers came in and knew Isan food! So I thought to myself that not only did people know Thai food, they knew Isan food too, and we would do well. When I put "Isan" on the sign, many, many people came in to say they had been there and talk about it. So I realized how many people know Isan food, and I was right to try it.

Duck larb.

What was particularly hard about opening your restaurant here? In Thailand, it's easy to open a business because you have your space and you can just put in a window or anything and open and sell food. Here, when I came, I thought it would be easy, too, and that's why I opened Poodam. I knew I could cook well but I didn't know how to build a business in this city—I didn't know how to shop, about the health department, about many things!

Sometimes the city would come to inspect something and because I don't really know English, I would have to pay somebody to come and help and fix things with me, so it cost me a lot of money. I just pay, pay, pay! So that time I made a loss but now I know how to handle the financials, so I don't lose a lot. I order from Thai sellers and we speak Thai, so that helps now.

Has it been easy enough to get the ingredients you need? Sometimes in the winter it's very hard, but now I know which groceries will last a long time and I order a lot and freeze them. Before in Thailand it was very easy to go the market and always get what I needed, so now I know how to stock up.

Why open in this area specifically, versus trying again in Astoria or someplace more central? There are already a lot of Thai restaurants in this neighborhood. The space was here and affordable, so I figured I'd try it. And there are a lot of Thai restaurants in the area, but our style is completely different than others up in Hell's Kitchen. People are happy that we're here, because most customers had been to Zabb Elee, and now we're one of the only Isan restaurants in the city. Some people know larb, and so they want to know more. That's good—I hope they like it!

About the author: Jacqueline Raposo writes about people who make food and cooks a lot of stuff. Read more at www.WordsFoodArt.com or tweet her out at @WordsFoodArt.

On East Sixth Street via Bobby Williams

Photos by Bobby Williams

Updated 10-22
Goggla has some more photos here.

[Photograph: Nick Kindelsperger]

I have something of an aversion to blended soups, mostly because the homogeneous texture gets boring after a while. Instead, I love brothy soups—ones with all kinds of things floating in the bowl for me to scoop out. But who says you can't add things into a blended soup to get the best of both worlds?

I decided to tackle that fall staple, butternut squash soup. Most recipes begin by peeling, cubing, and then simmering the gourd in a liquid until tender. But I wanted something a bit more assertive, so I hit upon the idea of roasting the cubed pieces until they were nicely browned and tender. And since I already had the oven on, why not cook everything in there?

To add a bit of color, I added red bell peppers and kale to the pan. The leaves don't get quite as crispy as full-on kale chips, but that's okay since they're tossed in the soup anyway. I also added some lemon wedges on top, which lent the kale a much-needed shot of acidity. Those same lemons are then squeezed into the soup, freshening up every spoonful.

Though this might sound a bit finicky, because it's all tossed in a couple pans and roasted, it's actually pretty easy. Plus, every bite is has a savory, roasted character that I found really appealing.

About the author: Nick Kindelsperger is the editor of Serious Eats: Chicago. He loves tacos and spicy food. You can follow him as @nickdk on Twitter.

The flip side to having so much information at our fingertips is that sometimes we have too much information at our fingertips. This planter meets technology hub, created by a group called the Consortium for Slower Internet, reminds us to put down our phone and remember that some of the best things in life come to us slowly and steadily (much like growing plants). It's a nice visual reminder, as well as a handy and attractive piece for the home.

READ MORE »

Banksy who? ... More »

From Drinks

Proudly brewed in VT. [Photographs: Mike Reis]

If there's one thing I've learned in two months of living in Vermont, it's that this state loves its craft beer—especially if it's made by Vermonters. Case in point: Last weekend I drove to the little town of Waterbury to check out Prohibition Pig, the beer 'n' BBQ spot occupying the space that housed the Alchemist Pub and Brewery prior to 2011's Hurricane Irene. I walked down a single block of Main Street from my parked car and looked in some windows. The Blackback Pub: 25 taps of craft beer, many from Vermont. The Reservoir: 38 taps. Arvad's: I see at least 8. Looking down Stowe Street: there's two signs advertising cans of Vermont's own Heady Topper. All that rubbernecking made me thirsty, but Prohibition Pig's 22 taps and 90+ bottles handled that with ease.

If this block of Waterbury isn't precisely representative of the whole state, it is at least symbolic of Vermonters passion for all things barley, hops, yeast, and water. The people are passionate for good reason: the area's been producing some great beer lately.

Headed up for a Vermont visit? We've written before about where to go if you're seeking out good beer. Once you arrive, here's what to drink.

Hill Farmstead Brewery
If you're on the hunt, Hill Farmstead's excellent offerings aren't hard to find. Most Vermont spots that specialize in beer will have something on tap from Shaun Hill's farmstead brewery. The pale ale, Edward, is most common, but you really can't go wrong with anything from these guys. If you're especially lucky, you'll run into Everett, Susan or Abner—ah, who am I kidding—they're all good. Don't miss the beers from Grassroots Brewing, either. It's an offshoot of Hill Farmstead and is every bit as good as its more-famous sister company. Legitimacy IPA was the first beer I had upon arrival in Vermont, and it should be yours, too.

Lawson's Finest Liquids
Lawson's Finest Liquids' beers are a bit tougher to come across, but worth seeking out. I haven't yet encountered cult-classics Maple Tripple or Double Sunshine IPA, but was recently wow'ed by their Vermont Local Hop Harvest Ale and Chinooker'd IPA. Anything brewed by Lawson's is a safe bet.

The Alchemist
I'm constantly being asked: "Is Heady Topper as good as they say?" It is. "Is it better than P—" Stop it. It's great. You're in Vermont, go drink some. The beer is almost exclusively available in cans (I've heard you can find it on draft at Prohibition Pig from time to time) and its the only beer currently being produced by the Alchemist. It's usually around $7 for a 16 ounce can in bars/restaurants or $4 a can in shops. Don't miss it.

Lost Nation Brewing
I first heard of Lost Nation as "that brewery that makes salty beer." That's right, there's a Vermont brewery that's known for its gose. And it's everything a gose should be. Fruity, tart, and refreshing with a restrained saltiness on the finish that keeps you reaching for another sip. The brewery's other offerings, like their Vermont Pilsner, are good as well, but keep an eye out for "that salty beer."

Zero Gravity Craft Brewery
Based out of the American Flatbread restaurant in Burlington, I've had mixed experiences with this brewery. That said, their rauchbier, Smokey the Beer, and their Conehead Wheat IPA are super delicious and more than worthy of your attention.

Backacre Beermakers
Rather than brewing their own beer, Backacre Beermakers purchase wort (unfermented beer) from local breweries and ferment, barrel-age, and blend it themselves. This time-intensive process yields one beer: their Sour Golden Ale. It's exclusively bottled and a bit pricey at around $17 retail for 750 mL, but it's worth it. Light, sour and refreshing, their blending and mixed-fermentation practices produce a final product that is earthy, fruity, dry and endlessly interesting. Look for it at the Hunger Mountain Co-Op and Three Penny Taproom in Montpelier, or at any of the locations listed on their website.

Drop-In Brewing Company
A fairly new brewery based out of Middlebury, Drop-In's beers are quickly making their way across Vermont. Red Dwarf, their Amber Ale, is a rock-solid representation of more "modern" interpretations of the style (read: it's pretty damn hoppy).

Fiddlehead Brewing Company
Another newcomer to the scene here is Fiddlehead Brewing Company out of Shelburne. Brewer Matt Cohen started the company toward the end of 2011, and his tasty, drinkable flagship IPA can be found all over northern Vermont.

Long Trail Brewing Company
Long Trail's beer is everywhere in Vermont. Their flagship Long Trail Ale (an altbier) is the best-selling craft beer in the state and they're the parent company of similarly-ubiquitous Otter Creek, Wolavers, and the Shed. Some of their stuff is better than others, but the beers rarely offend. While altbier isn't exactly the sexiest style, Long Trail Ale is well-made and underappreciated. Double Bag Ale offers a bolder version of their flagship style and their Brewmaster's Series is a little flashier still.

Otter Creek/Wolaver's
Around since '91, Otter Creek makes a wide range of styles under their own name and as Wolaver's, their organic label. Snubbed by the scene's more recent craft beer converts, there are some gems to be found in their lineup. Otter Creek's Russian Imperial Stout is better than you might expect, Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout is easy to find and not bad, and Otter Creek's recent collaboration with Lawson's Finest Liquids, called the Double Dose IPA, is absurdly good.

The Shed Brewery
The Shed was founded in 1965, which makes it ancient by the craft beer world's standards. Now owned by Long Trail and brewed at Otter Creek, the label produces just two beers: Mountain Ale, a malty strong ale, and (yes,) an IPA. Both are easily-accessible gas station staples that, while not necessarily worth seeking out, are a solid value.

Rock Art Brewery
Rock Art is another brewery that's been around a while in Vermont. Founded in 1997, the brewery is now best known for its Ridge Runner and Vermonster barleywines. I prefer the latter—it's big and malty but not overly sweet with a strong, drying hop bitterness for balance.

Switchback Brewing Company
Switchback brews a small portfolio of simple, balanced ales. They aren't thrilling beers, but their flagship Switchback Ale is loved across Vermont and is inexpensive enough to try at least once (around $4 for a 22 ounce bottle).

Trout River Brewing Company
With a long-standing loyal Vermonter fan-base, Trout River is best known for their Rainbow Red Ale, which is malty with a lot of fruity yeast character. Not worth going out of your way for, but not worth snubbing either.

Magic Hat Brewing Company
Magic Hat has been in Vermont since its establishment in 1994 and have built quite a following for themselves and their apricot-flavored pale ale, #9. The company is now owned by Cervecería Costa Rica—the beers aren't great and your dollars won't stay in the Green Mountain State. Try something else.

What Vermont beers do you love to drink? Chime in in the comments!

About the author: Mike Reis is a Certified Cicerone. Follow him on Twitter @beerspeaks or find him behind a pint near you.

More from Mike Reis

5 Brewing Terms Every Beer Drinker Should Know
Behind the Scenes at the Pilsner Urquell Brewery in the Czech Republic
How to Identify Bad Flavors in Your Beer
How to Identify Yeast Flavors in Beer: Esters, Phenols, and Alcohols
How to Identify Oats, Rye, Wheat, Corn, and Rice in Your Beer
How to Identify Hops in Your Beer: The Three C's
The Flux Capacitor: A Tool for Better Beer on Tap
Aging Beer: 6 Tips to Get You Started
20 Foreign Words Every Beer Lover Should Know

Alan Cumming stopped by today's "No 7-Eleven" rally on Avenue A and East 11th Street.

[Photo via @No7ElevenNYC]

Updated 10-21



Here's a group photo via Grant Shaffer...

From Sweets

[Photograph: Robyn Lee]

Ed. Note: When's the last time you tried a new candy—just because? For the SE staff, that time is now. Each day for the two weeks leading up to Halloween, we will try a candy we haven't had before, and tell the tale.

Growing up, I was fortunate to be one of those kids whose parents had the good sense to buy Cadbury chocolate over Hershey's. From an early age, I knew how much smoother and creamier Dairy Milk was than its competition, and how a proper Jewish Easter always involves eating lots of Cadbury Creme, Caramel, and Mini Eggs. On a family trip to London when I was eight years old, I was introduced to the Flake, Cadbury's unusual (at least for an American third grader) bar of airy, flaky, crumbly, thin folded milk chocolate that's wonderful on its own or served with ice cream, and was absolutely revolutionary for me at the time. It's not made in the United States, but is readily available as an import, and I still seek it out whenever possible. Likewise, I recoiled in horror when I learned that several friends who were in the UK more recently had never even heard of a Flake, much less tried one.

A few weeks ago, some of the New York staff and interns took a trip to Economy Candy, the Lower East Side's sugar mecca, to stock up for a few editorial projects and have lots of fun buying a ton of candy at a super-awesome-chocolately-fudgecoated-mega-super candy store (mostly the second one.) One candy bar that caught my attention, sitting in the foreign rack at the front of the store, was Time Out.

According to Wikipedia, Time Out is manufactured by Cadbury Ireland, debuted in Ireland and the United Kingdom in 1992, and arrived three years later in Australia and New Zealand. One package usually includes two narrow bars consisting of a milk chocolate ripple sandwiched between two wafers, all covered in Dairy Milk chocolate, or as its original slogan states, "the wafer break with a layer of Flake." Basically, it's one of Cadbury's best products covered in another. What's not to love?

I eventually sat down and actually ate the thing, and as you might expect, it was pretty good. The two bars are very narrow, and each bite is somewhat airy. The wafer itself was only okay, and wasn't tremendously crispy, but it certainly did its job. However, the Flake absolutely provided its characteristic flaky lightness, and the chocolate coating was every bit as smooth and creamy as Dairy Milk.

Time Out is a solid candy bar that I enjoyed quite a bit, and Jamie described it best as a better version of a Kit Kat. For a chocolate bar that's ostensibly supposed to be an indulgence, it was incredibly light, and I could have easily eaten several more (I wonder what it would be like if Cadbury put caramel into it somehow), but it's very satisfying in its simplicity. For the future, I'll probably stick to enjoying Flake and Dairy Milk separately, but Time Out is delightfully unassuming, and I'd happily have it again.

About the author: Ben Jay is an editorial intern at Serious Eats, photographer, carnivore, beer and whisky drinker, and music nerd. He wrote this while listening to Roy Harper, and you should too. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Wow. Here we go.

As we first reported last December, eight parcels consisting of 222 Avenue A and 504 - 530 E. 14th St. (excluding No. 520) were leased for a 99-year period by the respective owner of East Village 14 LLC. City property records showed that Gary Barnett of Extell Development signed a 99-year lease worth $35.14 million to rent eight Sol Goldman-owned properties.

And the businesses have disappeared, including The Blarney Cove and Bargain Express.

What's next?

Here's a look at a conceptual rendering from an RKF retail listing with more details for the all-new 500 E. 14th St. ...

SPACE
Ground Floor* 24,710 SF
Lower Level* 14,600 SF
Total 39,310 SF
*divisible

POSSESSION
First Quarter 2016

TERM
Long term

FRONTAGE
52 feet on Avenue A
257 feet on East 14th Street

NEIGHBORS
Associated Supermarket, CVS/pharmacy, Duane Reade, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, Starbucks, The Vitamin Shoppe, United States Post Office

COMMENTS
• Located at the base of a brand new seven-story residential and retail development
• Rarely available large block of retail space in a prime East Village location
• Directly across from Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village
• Logical divisions considered
• Space can be vented for cooking
• Loading dock located on the East 13th Street side of building

More more more... later later later.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East 14th Street exodus continues

The disappearing storefronts of East 14th Street

[Updated with correction] 8-lot parcel of East 14th Street primed for new development

Bargain Express has closed on East 14th Street

East 14th Street corridor now nearly business-free ahead of new development

[Photograph: Liz Bomze]

The first iteration of Strip-T's, the place Paul Maslow opened in the late '80s, was a lunch spot that served good sandwiches at fair prices. Since his son Tim took over the kitchen in 2011, the food has become sexier and the cost has jumped a bit, but I'd argue that good—actually, great—sandwiches at fair prices is still part of the lunch plan.

There's the Fried Cauliflower ($10) that's filled out with broccoli rabe, pickled peppers, and provolone. That combo sounds like a vegetarian taken on Philly's famous roast pork sandwich, but the flavors and textures are so right on that it almost feels silly to bring up the meat version.

The crusty Iggy's baguette is jam-packed with florets that are crispy at the surface and creamy within; the dramatic color contrast of the cross-section is a true indication of that. Broccoli rabe is perfectly tender and less bitter than it is garlicky—you'll want to order a side dish of it (and you can for $5)—and the sweet-tangy pickled peppers offset the sharper flavors just enough. There's plenty of the cheese, which is the most interesting component. The coarse grated stuff on top hits with lots of sharpness and saltiness like good provolone should, but if you look at the surface of the bread, it's clear that a portion of the cheese melts in the flavorful juices shed by the vegetables and becomes something like a light mornay sauce. Whether or not it's an intentional move, it's a brilliant one, as the rich, savory flavors of the filling carry through every bite of the bread.

Also noteworthy at lunch: The Tossed Salad ($7.50) is easy to overlook but is anything but (excuse the pun) garden variety. The bowl is huge and piled with romaine and baby spinach, ripe cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, shaved fennel, cucumbers, pickled red onions, and spice-rubbed croutons, and a killer balsamic vinaigrette that's sharp and sweet.

About the author: Liz Bomze lives in Brookline, MA, and works as the Senior Features Editor for Cook's Illustrated Magazine. In her free time, she freelances regularly for the Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, the Improper Bostonian, and Martha's Vineyard Magazine; practices bread-baking and canning; takes photos; reads; and watches baseball. Top 5 foods: fresh noodles, gravlax, sour cherry pie, burrata, ma po tofu.

It's no secret that Flushing, Queens boasts an abundance of Chinese restaurants or that folks in Manhattan Beach enjoy a surfeit of Russian establishments. But did you know that the Northern Bronx is home to a cluster of Caribbean joints? Or that if you're craving Indonesian fare, you should head out to Elmhurst? Those are just a few of the interesting facts gleaned from the map below, which charts New York City's cuisine density using records from the Department of Health. [ more › ]

[peter radley]

Banksy unveiled his latest NYC street installation yesterday on East Seventh Street and Cooper Square... And as this photo by @svvalera shows, someone has already defaced his "Concrete Confessional."



This marks the third of his pieces to be defaced during his month-long residency in NYC.

Updated 12:24

More about this via Angus Johnston at Student Activism:

Sometime last night or this morning, the priest in the painting was given a bushy white spray-paint beard which rendered him a dead ringer for Peter Cooper, the founder of the Cooper Union. At the same time, the cross that adorned his neck was replaced with a giant Flavor Flav style clock with a red face and hands set just prior to midnight, the symbol of the Free Cooper Union activist movement.

And there's apparently another confessional showing someone who looks like Cooper Union President Jamshed Baruscha... with a Free Cooper Union tag...


[Photo by @KOKO820]


[Photo by @bobcooley]

Based on the new signage here along East Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue... it appears that the fifth NYC location of Oaxaca Taqueria is coming soon...



Oaxaca Taqueria expanded from Brooklyn into the East Village and Extra Place in December 2010... This space was previously home to the Butter Lane cupcakes classroom.

...and the taco revolution continues in the East Village... with the recent arrivals of Tacos Moreles on East Ninth Street... Sembrado’s Tacos al Pastor on East 13th Street ... Taqueria Diana on Second Avenue ... El Diablito Taqueria on East Third Street... and the incoming Otto's Tacos on Second Avenue...

[At the garden last spring via Bobby Williams]

An EVG Facebook friend shared a WTF story from over at the Ninth Street Community Garden at Avenue C. Last week, someone gathered the garden's turtles ... and dumped them into a hole in the back of the garden. Thankfully, Garden volunteers recovered the turtles. None of the turtles were apparently hurt.

Per our Facebook friend: "So sad that someone would do that ... those turtles are a bit of a main attraction. Hopefully they'll be left alone."

Three of these hours consist of repeats of the shows that aired earlier in the night. ... More »

Both NYC and Citibank are named as defendants in a new lawsuit aiming to have the bike-share racks removed from in front of the iconic hotel. "The bicycle rack is not only an eyesore, stuck squarely in between two of the city's most famous designated landmarks, but it came at ... More »

Banksy completed his NYC residency today with some balloons in Queens. "And that's it," the artist wrote on his website. "Thanks for your patience. It's been fun. Save 5pointz. Bye." This post was originally published on October 16, but now includes the entire month's worth of local Banksy works. It's ... More »

The flesh-ruining homemade heroin alternative known for eating people alive in Russia has turned up in Arizona and Illinois recently, but it may be spreading to exclusive locales quicker than we imagined. The Verge reports that one witness familiar with the drug "saw a man being thrown out of Le ... More »

In cramped urban centers, expanding housing vertically has always been a strategy for accommodating a growing population, but not all high-rises are the luxury, glass-walled condos currently in vogue with sophisticated urbanites. Now, film maker Katerina Cizek focuses on the high-rise and its very long history in a fascinating, interactive Op-Doc, A Short History of the Highrise, for the New York Times.

READ MORE »

From Drinks

[Image: Liz Clayton]

It's well known that New York provides refugee status to thousands of Midwesterners each year. It will thus come as news of great joy that Bell's Brewery of greater Kalamazoo, Michigan, has announced plans to expand its distribution to the Empire State beginning this month.

Beginning the week of October 21, Bell's will introduce Two Hearted Ale, Amber Ale, Bell's Porter, Kalamazoo Stout, Oarsman Ale and the newly renamed Midwestern Pale Ale (formerly just "Pale Ale") to markets in Western and upstate New York. That's right—not New York City. At least, not yet.

"We're starting in Western and upstate," said Laura Bell, Bell's Marketing Director. "For a long time we haven't been able to expand territory because of production," says Bell. "We weren't able to make enough beer. So we're starting with western and upstate to see how that works. New York City is such a large territory, we need to treat it with the care and attention we do for some whole states. It's such a large area."

So while city-dwellers will for now have to wait, those in the likes of Saratoga Springs, Chili, and Troy can begin the party in a few short weeks. Bell points out that the brewery hasn't expanded into a new sales region since Arizona—cleverly determined, along with their Florida market, to be a viable year-round-Oberon territory. But Bell stresses that it's the need to gradually and safely expand production, rather than concerns about issues within the three-tiered distribution system that, nearly a decade ago, saw the brand temporarily exit the state of Illinois.

"From a distribution standpoint, for Bell's, our biggest MO is to make sure that we take the high road and conduct our business in a way that is respectful to our partners, making decisions that are best for the brand, and doing it in a way that is lawful, and just good business," said Bell.

For their upstate and Western New York markets, Bell's will be handled by Tri Valley Beverage, PJ Sheehan, and the Craft Guild of NY. Expect to see heaps of launch events—the company has already scheduled 29 in New York State as the beers appear both on taps and in Wegmans' aisles in two weeks. Bell says that seasonal beers, naturally, will make an appearance in time as well. And just to cement its identity that much more firmly, Bell's Pale Ale, now named Midwestern, can claim better bragging rights: the beer's now made with a portion of Bell's own home-grown midwestern barley from their barley farm in Shepherd, Michigan (right in the center of the mitten).

And even if the brewer doesn't deploy in New York City before springtime, expect schlepping beers back downstate to get a little easier: the company plans to roll out 16 ounce cans in 2014, just in time to enjoy them out of doors.

I had to ask: why again did Arizona get lucky before Gotham?

"The rumor in Arizona is that that's where the Cubs do their spring training, and my dad's the biggest Cubs fan in the world," says Laura Bell of her father Larry. "But that's a RUMOR."

About the author: Liz Clayton drinks, photographs and writes about coffee and tea all over the world, though she pretends to live in Brooklyn, New York. She is the creator of Nice Coffee Time, a book of photographs of the best coffee in the world, published by Presspop.

Life is full of dangers. Baby-snatching birds, texting while driving, thuggish Park Slope cats. One Port Washington middle school is trying to keep its angsty young charges as insulated as possible against the perils of the outside world by hermetically sealing itself off from all forms of fun. [ more › ]

I am always looking for ways to spruce up my space. The trouble is, I never seem to have enough of it to do so. Books, papers and gadgets seem to occupy my shelves consistently. If you are lucky enough to be working with empty, open shelves, I am loving the way these glass bottles mix and match to tell a tonal story. Filling the space, without overcrowding it, it feels like organized chaos on display. A breath of fresh air!

Here are the things I jotted down on my cooking wish-list whilst (!) I was in the UK: baked cauliflower cheese, a “proper” English Sunday roast (with mash fried potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, creamy horseradish sauce), the “full English” breakfast (authentic = every item must be fried, apparently!), cider vinegar + Maldon sea salt crisps with champagne, please, chunky olive oil and mushroom risotto, clotted cream and marmalade scones, Welsh cakes, chocolate-dipped digestives and fall apple-plum crisps thickly drizzled with fresh cream.

And then I came home and made this instead. I am sure you understand. Before one swan dives into a vat of thick cream and baked cheddar and passes out on a Yorkshire pudding pillow only to revive oneself with a deep inhale of horseradish-triple cream sauce, one must reset their system, so to speak. One must prepare. At the very least, one must dust off their gym ID. And so I put all of those notes in the “dead of winter, need comfort” files and returned to the land of fall, where the leaves are beginning to turn, fragrant unblemished apples hang from acres of trees, and Gwyneth Paltrow gently suggests that if you coat the sweet potatoes and broccoli that are on every market stand with a heavenly miso dressing, you will find some gorgeous dinnertime nirvana in a bowl.

... Read the rest of miso sweet potato and broccoli bowl on smittenkitchen.com

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