One of the two baby red pandas born on June 22, named Ying and Yang, stands in an enclosure at the Cerza Zoo in Hermival-les-Vaux. By Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images.

From Slice

Motorino Lunch Special [Photograph: Adam Kuban]

My dudes and dudettes—it's officially Pizza Month here in the good ol' U.S.A (and in Canada too!), so let's get it on. Except, first, lets take a quick look back at the stellar response to last week's poll!

We had an outstanding turnout last time—1,054 votes! Clearly people are passionate about their soda choice. Nearly 52% went classic and voted for Coke (or Pepsi), while ginger beer/root beer/ginger ale took runner up with 19%. I foolishly left out birch beer from that second option (which is ridiculous, I love it), but it was a popular mention in the comments, along with Dr. Pepper.

But now! It's October—October signals the onset of plenty of awesome...the beginning of pumpkin flavored anything, leaves starting to turn, sweaters, Halloween. Perhaps most significantly, it's also PIZZA MONTH. Not that we need any excuse to celebrate pizza, but if you were looking for a way to rationalize some exceptional splurges? Your response to naysayers is now "Whatever man, it's pizza month".

The nature of those splurges is more or less my question this week: How do you plan to let your crazy out for Pizza Month?

How Do You Plan to Celebrate Pizza Month 2013?

About the author: Kate Andersen is a Contributing Editor for Slice.

For three weeks, the New York Botanical Garden is showcasing the stunning displays of chrysanthemums in its new show, Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Garden. [ more › ]

The Nugget Spot has its official grand opening at 230 E. 14th St. tonight at 6...

Here's a description of their food via Facebook:

It's not just chicken and it's not just breadcrumbs. We make signature nuggets from different meats and vegetables, coated with innovative breading.

[Via Facebook]

Let us know if you try them...

I discovered Michael Wolf’s work some time ago and have been a silent admirer ever since. Just recently, however, I stumbled once again on this particular collection, and once again, I was completely captivated. The density of each cityscape poses an optical illusion from which I can’t quite pull my eyes. It’s as if there is some incontrollable mind-eye tendency to find what might be hidden. I just keep searching, despite any indication something is even there at all.

Really, Michael Wolf captures the mundane, but magnificent – a bird’s eye view of the real world in Hong Kong. I am the person always envisioning the lives and stories of complete strangers (this happens frequently, but mostly while killing time in airport terminals). I am curious, with an imagination willing and able to run wild. Gazing into these myriad windows ajar, sealed, I wonder who lies hidden within those confounds. Who wears the garments hang drying? What is this person’s story?

All photo credit to the artist, Michael Wolf. Please take a moment today to venture through his collections here. 

Mighty Quinn's opened in late December over on Second Avenue and East Sixth Street ... And Ryan Sutton at Bloomberg reports this afternoon that the barbecue spot run by a former hedge funder was named New York's best new restaurant by the Zagat survey. (The survey is based on the responses of 48,114 participants.)

Never been here ourselves. Perhaps you have?

In this weekly feature, East Village-based photographer James Maher provides us with a quick snapshot of someone who lives and/or works in the East Village. James is traveling this week. East Village writer and photographer Joann Jovinelly compiled today's post.



By Joann Jovinelly

Name: Sally Young
Occupation: Mixed-Media Artist, Political Activist and Preservationist, Photographer
Location: Sixth Street and Avenue B Community Garden
Time: 10:30 AM on Friday, 9/27

I’ve been in the East Village since 1980. Although I’ve lived in different apartments, it has always been in this neighborhood. I first came to New York in the 1970s to visit from my home in Detroit. A lot of artists were coming to New York at that time, a period in which you could actually come and buy lofts for 30 to 40K.

I came here to simply be an artist and I fell in love with this city. I had had a solo show in Detroit, but when I arrived in New York, I started designing costumes for theatre and dance troupes, which I did successfully throughout the 1980s.

I first ended up on the Bowery and First Street in 1980. The Bowery was pretty crazy at that time. People [living on the street] were burning wood in barrels to stay warm, and there were a lot of bums. I had no heat or hot water in my apartment, nothing but a wood-burning stove. I collected firewood at night with my daughter who was then 3-years old. I remember walking down Bowery … also right at the corner of Houston Street and the Bowery was a place that sold live chickens.

New York was really, really edgy and very exciting at that time. There was a lot of crime. You really couldn’t turn your back on anything because it would be taken. But the bums along the Bowery never bothered you; they were just hanging out. You know, they’d set up ‘living rooms’ with couches, end tables, and table lamps even though they had no electricity … just these random living rooms on the sidewalk made from stuff that was pulled from the garbage.

In 1981, I moved to Fourth Street and Avenue B, and though a real slumlord owned the building, I sometimes had heat and hot water. My rent was higher than others who had lived there longer, but those people were getting harassed. There was one woman, Carmen, who used to go around the building slamming a baseball bat in the hallways and in the stairwells all the time, saying, ‘Mother-fucking landlord.’ People were writing graffiti all over the building’s interior walls that said, ‘Lynch the landlord; Fuck his wife.’ [One of the reasons renters were so upset was because] the owners were placing junkies in the building in order to harass the renters.

Tenants started organizing. And even though I had moved to a new apartment, I still had friends in the building, so I helped out. There were a lot of artists and older folks there at that time. I was photographing the building and keeping a record of the violations because we were going back and forth in court.

We got together one day to try to get rid of the junkies. All the tenants gathered together out front. [At that time] there were marches all over the place. Everybody was getting involved. It wasn’t the way that it is now — where people move into the building and they are paying very high rent, and there’s a very big difference between them and you.

At that time, even though we were paying more rent (maybe $300 a month) other people were paying much less, like $100. We were trying to help our neighbors who were very afraid. They were getting eviction notices and some didn’t speak English. They were being harassed. Many times I went to court to help explain things and make sure that they didn’t get ousted from their apartments. We were all trying to take care of each other.

To be continued... next week...

Joann Jovinelly is a freelance writer and photographer who still calls the East Village home.

From the EVG inbox... in case you are interested in Oktoberfesty things... starts tomorrow at Zum Schneider on Avenue C and East Seventh Street ...

NYC's most authentic Oktoberfest party is now in its 13th year.
Sing and dance the Polka with Mösl Franzi and the JaJaJa's
Drown yourself in a Mass (Stein) of original Oktoberfest beer, including Andechs Festbier and HB Traunstein Festbier
Get your loved one an original Oktoberfest Lebkuchenherz (gingerbread heart)
Enjoy our special Riesen-Wiesn-Brezn (giant pretzls) and Wiesn Hendl (whole broiled chicken)

Free Admission
Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit!
Dates with live music and DJ:
Saturday, Sep. 28, 11 am - Tapping of first keg at noon!
Sunday, Sep. 29, 1 pm
Monday, Sep. 30, 5 pm
Tuesday, Oct. 1, 5 pm

Saturday, Oct 5, 1 pm
Sunday, Oct 6, 1 pm
Monday, Oct 7, 5 pm
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 5 pm

Saturday, Oct 12, 1 pm
Sunday, Oct 13, 1 pm

[Aug. 21]

Since fall 2011, the building that houses 7A on the corner of East Seventh Street and Avenue A has been undergoing renovations... including converting some existing commercial/studio space to residential use and reconstructing the existing penthouses.

Workers started removing the construction gear from the building on Aug. 21.

And now, two of the penthouse units up there hit the rental market yesterday.

Brace.







Per the Corcoran listing:

Enter from your own private landing into this sunfilled corner loft with direct Empire State and Thompkins [sic] Square Park views from every room. This boutique Pre-War elevator building has been masterfully transformed into 1,850 square foot full-floor 3 bedroom 2.5 baths homes offering condo level finishes, 11 Floor-to-Ceiling windows, and exposed brick throughout. Open kitchen with Viking range, Bosch dishwasher, and poured concrete coutertops. Individual climate control in every room. Gracious 12' x 25' master suite with walk-in closet, marble baths with radiant floor heating, separate laundry room.

And here's a floor plan for you:



The two listed units are going for $16,995 and, for poorer people, $14,995.

The view you'll get for the $$$$....



Public records show that the University of the Streets sold the building to Park Corner Development, LLC in September 2011 for $5 million.

The appearance of a "Russ & Daughters Cafe" on the CB3/SLA's September docket stirred up plenty of interest ... though it was seemingly short-lived after the item was scratched from the agenda.

But!

At the Times today, Florence Fabricant reports that R&D plan to open a 65-seat restaurant in February at 127 Orchard St. "It will serve all their specialties, including items like blintzes and gefilte fish," per the Times.

A scene today in Tompkins Square Park via EVG contributor Derek Berg ... a resident humanely caught a rat in her apartment... and released it into the wilds of Tompkins Square Park...

For our September collaboration, Lauren and Rachel (my dear friends & the lovely ladies of Sweet Root Village) and I decided to dabble in terrariums. I'd been wanting to plant a terrarium for months, and when Lauren visited Philly for the weekend and picked up these terrariums, it kinda sealed the deal. How beautiful are those ceramic bases? I need to figure out a way to DIY them!













Planting a terrarium was easier than I'd imagined. First we decided which plants we wanted in each container. Then we layered small stones and dirt, and buried the plants in their new home. Gave them a little water, and covered them with their glass roof. Now, the only challenge will be keeping them alive and thriving...somehow, I manage to kill even succulents.

Editor's note: Each Saturday morning we bring you a Sunday Brunch recipe. Why on Saturday? So you have time to shop and prepare for tomorrow.

[Photograph: Sydney Oland]

I love ratatouille. It's soft on the palate and easy on the stomach; served with a fried egg and some crusty bread, it makes for a simply, hearty brunch that could easily work as a light supper, as well. Ratatouille gets better the longer it sits, so if you know company is coming, I'd recommend making it the day before—just reheat it in the morning while you're cooking your eggs.

When preparing the vegetables it's important that you cut them all into equally sized pieces, especially the peppers and summer squash, so that they cook evenly. That said, if you end up cutting the eggplant a little bigger, that's just fine—it tends to break down during the cooking process regardless, giving the ratatouille extra body and thickness.

About the author: Sydney Oland lives in Somerville, Mass. Find more information at sydneyoland.com (or read eatingnosetotail.com)

Get the Recipe!

I suppose now is as a good a time as any to let you know I am working on a second cookbook (!!!!). A number of the details are still to be worked out as far as official dates, tentative title, how it will all be laid out, etc. but it's in motion. I am excited to be working with Ten Speed Press again as well as Hugh, my trusted, however easy to argue with, photographer. It should be due out sometime in 2015. I think it's such a privledged that I am able to call this my job. This is so huge! We are proud of our first book, but also feel there was a learning curve that was only possible by being in it. With both feet in, we learned, and we know a few things on the other side that we will do differently this time around. One of those things, for myself, is to try to create food that is personal to me, to us, and not struggle in trying to please every readers taste preferences and dietary or health principles. My hope is that people will tinker around as they prefer. Sometimes there will be pasta with a bit of cream and other times there will be dairy free, gluten free items. Sometimes dietetic recipes and other dishes food for company. This is how my real life works - all real foods, a majority of the time very healthful and especially produce focused, with room for ice cream and a little indulgence in between. The book will be a collection of bowlfoods - dishes that are served in a single vessle, which speaks comfort, ease and community in the way I see cooking and food. There will be green salads, whole grain salads, rice and noodle bowls, a chapter with a few of my favorite sauces for said bowls and treats (ice cream!) of course. I have an inclination that if you relate to the way I cook and eat here, foods in a bowl make complete sense to you. I wanted a narrower focus, something authentic, and when I think about how food applies to my favorite parts of the everyday - it is family-style eating with friends and family, picnics, having sturdy salads that last a few days for Hugh and I to snack on in the fridge or take for work, salads of any and all sorts, really - I kept coming back to the humbleness of the bowl. The best creative work is the kind that is most meaningful to the artist. Cooking is no exception. Sure, it limits me in some ways, and the critic could argue one could eat a salad or berry trifle just as easily on a plate as they could in a bowl, but they'd be missing the intention. The bowl is a point of inspiration, not a rule and I am excited to work on this project. I am back in the throws of some ideas working out as planned and others still far from the mark after 3 or 4 tries. It is not a process for the weak of heart, but I've found myself here again, willing, excited and anxious, and I am grateful to have your support. Life, how I ended up here, it's still kind of crazy to me.

This recipe is from UK based chef Hugh Fearnley. He has a series of books and this is my favorite yet. Unlike American cookbooks, the recipes are more loosely written, leaving some responsibility to the cook and I love that. They don't give amounts for salt and pepper or an estimated time for each step. It's refreshing. We're not huge pasta people over here, but when I do make it, I only have success in small batches. The recipe is printed for two and it worked out great as such. I suppose it could be easily doubled if you're feeding more. Or maybe a side dish with a good piece of salmon. Lastly, against my sprouted nature, I have to say completely whole grain noodles are intense, almost two distracting here in their sturdiness. I like a good brown rice spaghetti or maybe a thinner one than the sort I have in the photos if you're going to use the grainy stuff. Anyway, I'd bet you know what you like as far as noodles go.

So, a book! Here we go, party people. Thanks for being great.

PASTA WITH FENNEL, ARUGULA + LEMON // Serves 2

Adapted from River Cottage VEG

It's simple and lovely as written, I only changed a couple things as mine was looking a tad dry (likely because of my uber sturdy noodles). Nothing is particularly fussy here, just be prepared to move quick, everything comes together in a snap.

• 1 large fennel bulb, fronds reserved
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 6 ounces pasta (papparadelle, linguine, spaghetti etc.)
• 1/4 cup creme fraiche, to taste
• zest of one large lemon, juice reserved
• 3-4 good handfuls of arugula
• 1/4 cup reserved pasta water
• sea salt and pepper
• parmesan or hard goats cheese, to finish

Bring a large pot of liberally salted water to a boil. 

Cut the fennel in half lengthwise. Remove the tough core and slice it into 1/4'' wedges. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Add the fennel, give it a stir and let it cook, undistrubed (that's how you get the nice brown bits) for 5 minutes. Give it a stir, turn the heat down to medium, add the garlic, a pinch of salt and another splash of oil if the pan looks dry. Start cooking the pasta.

To the fennel, add the creme fraiche, lemon zest and stir to coat. Add the arugula and give it another toss.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4-1/2 cup of the pasta water. Add the noodles to the creamy fennel pan and toss to coat, adding a pinch or two of salt, pepper, squeeze of lemon juice and pasta water as needed.

Serve each portion with a generous grate of the parmesan and a few fennel fronds.

Nearly 4,000 people clad all in white descended on Bryant Park last night for the third NYC installation of Diner En Blanc. Like an elegantly dressed band of refugees, diners carted in tables, chairs and baskets of food to set up a giant communal dinner party on the lawn of the park, filling the entire space. [ more › ]

Diner en Blanc has begun! The annual dress-all-in-white picnic is underway and thousands of folks with chairs, tables and picnics strapped to their backs are now making their way to this year's secret location: Bryant Park. Attendees have only 30 minutes to drop what they're doing, give they bosses an excuse to leave early and hightail it to 42nd Street. [ more › ]

From Serious Eats: New York

Nearly three years ago, we surveyed the ramen scene in New York, finding great bowls in Midtown, the East Village, and more. In the time since, our ramen options have only grown, particularly in Brooklyn, where a miniature revolution of nouveau ramen shops is afoot (see: Yebisu, Chuko, Ganso, etc). And so we've doggedly slurped along, seeking out new bowls par excellence.

Of course, with the good comes the not-so-good. Some of the restaurants we included in our first go-around have fallen off the list this time, replaced by other, better options (goodbye, Menchanko Tei; hello, Jin!); while a handful of buzzy new spots unfortunately don't meet the high bar set by their forebearers (not saying, just saying...Jinya). This is not, you'll notice, a ranked list of the best ramen—it's a field guide to the myriad ramen across the city. We used roughly the same criteria for judging each ramen as we did for our competition back in 2010—quality of noodles, broth, toppings, and overall satisfaction—but instead of picking a winner, well, we'll let you draw your own conclusions.

It's a golden age of ramen in New York, and you should slurp widely and deeply, using this guide for reference. Almost all of the restaurants mentioned use bespoke noodles from Sun Noodle, and while old-school, calorie-intensive styles like tonkotsu remain extremely popular, a second wave of lesser-known versions are gaining traction, like the brothless mazeman at Yuji and Chuko, and the nontraditional fusion-y broths at Bassanova and Ganso. It's an interesting time in the ramen world, and with several ramen restaurants slated to open before the year is out, it's only getting more and more exciting.

Yuji Ramen at Whole Foods

Salmon cheese mazemen. [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Yuji Haraguchi's small counter on the second floor of the Bowery Whole Foods is one of the most strikingly original ramen experiences you'll have anywhere. His bread and butter is a unique style of ramen he calls mazemen: "mixed noodles."

The ramen ($8 to $9) is rolled out in the style of fettucini, giving them the characteristic elastic bounce of an alkaline ramen noodle, but with the wide, sauce-clinging texture of Italian pasta. The toppings—meant to be stirred into the brothless bowls of noodles—vary seasonally from soft-poached egg with bacon to house-cured salmon with Sichuan pepper and lemon in a creamy sauce.

For the most intense experience, sign up for their five- or seven-course omakase menus ($65) where you'll be served everything from ramen dough orecchiette with a squid bolognese to sea urchin ravioli.

Ramen Yebisu

Abura soba. [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

This Sapporo-style Williamsburg ramen shop helmed by a former Totto Ramen Chef specializes in Abura Soba ($8). The fat and springy noodles come with an intensely flavored bright orange lobster oil with a drizzle of aged soy sauce. Poke your chopsticks into the soft poached egg nestled on top and stir the liquid golden yolk around with the slices of chasu pork, bamboo, and scallions to create an intensely flavored, noodle-coating sauce. Japanese carbonara, if you will.

Also worth a taste: their Miso Ramen ($12) made with an ultra-rich pork broth flavored with salty miso paste and served with charred onions, ground pork, and bean sprouts. Stir in a dollop of their homemade spicy oil ($2) and you've got one of the tastiest spicy ramen bowls in the city.

Jin

[Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Great ramen in Harlem? Who would have thunk it? Believe it or not, Jin, a mid-sized shop nestled under the 125th street 1/2/3 train overpass, serves up some of the best noodle bowls and Japanese-style fried chicken in the city.

All of the bowls start with homemade noodles that are rolled out wider and thicker than most of its competitors. The Spicy Tonkotsu Broth ($13) is lighter than others in the city, with a great balance of pork and aromatics. We could slurp up the broth alone by the bowlful. The spicy version comes with a slick of hot sesame oil flavored with roasted garlic paste.

The Shio Ramen ($10) is the sleeper hit. Made with a light chicken and vegetable broth, it gets flavor from yuzu-kosho, a Japanese pepper-citrus blend.

Bassanova

Green curry soup. [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

The new kid on the block, Bassanova is the New York offshoot of a Tokyo ramen shop that became famous for its signature Green Curry Soup ($15). Made when a Thai chef briefly consulted with the Tokyo shop several years ago, it starts with a creamy tonkotsu-style base to which is added a house-made Thai-style green curry paste flavored with galangal, chilies, makrud lime leaf, and a slew of other aromatics. The broth gets finished with a touch of coconut milk and is served with wide, curly noodles made by Sun Noodle.

Their standard tonkotsu broth is admirable as well, while their Tondaku Wadashi Ramen ($13) is a bit more divisive. If you're crazy about the intense umami flavors of dried or smoked fish, go ahead and order it. They don't mess around with subtlety.

Totto

Paitan ramen. [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

If you've ever thought that chicken is the boring option—the one to order when you can't set your heart on anything else—a trip to Totto Ramen will set you straight. Their house specialty is an uncommon style of ramen made with an opaque chicken stock known as Paitan Ramen ($9.75). Boiled for hours just like the more common tonkotsu-style pork broth, the resulting stock comes out milky white from copious amounts of emulsified stock, protein, and minerals extracted from the chicken. Creamy and intensely rich in texture, it's nevertheless light and clean, each bite packing in several chickens' worth of flavor.

Don't worry, porkophiles can still get their fix with Totto's Niku Ramen ($15)—ramen topped with a massive pile of mixed pork meats, including their great torch-charred chasu.

Ippudo

Karakamen. [Photograph: Jamie Feldmar]

Momofuku might have broken the gates and started the round of ramen infatuation that we're still arguably in the middle of, but it was Ippudo—an import from Japan—that showed New Yorkers exactly what traditional Japanese-style tonkotsu pork broth should taste like. It remains one of the tastiest, richest, most intense bowls in the city.

We're particularly big fans of their spicy bowl served with a slick of chili oil ($17), which clings beautifully to every slurpful of their thin, delicately bouncy, straight noodles, which are made in-house.

Getting into Ippudo and dealing with the noise levels can be a bit trying, and the rest of the menu is decidedly mediocre in comparison to their excellent ramen, though a newly opened Midtown location may help ease some of the crowding. We recommend heading in during their quieter lunch hours for the same great food without the hassle.

Hide-Chan

Hakata kuro ramen. [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

The winner of our 2010 "Best Ramen in NYC"award, Midtown East's Hide-Chan is still a very solid contender for ramen traditionalists. The Hakata Kuro Ramen ($10) is the star, with an earthy, salty, and ever-so-slightly grainy broth stained with squid ink and from a mellow roasted garlic oil, and very white, very thin straight noodles from Sun Noodle. Shredded cabbage, scallion, and an add-it-yourself tub of pickled ginger provide a welcome crunch, though the chashu was a little dry. Skip the Hakata Spicy Black Ramen ($10), which is overwhelmed by a nose-itchingly peppery broth.

If you're not in a mayu-y mood, the very rich Kogashi Shoyu Tonkotsu Ramen ($13.50) goes down smooth, with a milky broth and medium-weight wavy noodles. You can specify doneness of your noodles and richness of your broth—the full-on Hakata version arrives a glimmering sheen of fat on top, while the slightly leaner "NY style" still packs a wallop of deep flavor compared to some of the lesser ramen shops in town.

Chuko

[Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

This perpetually crowded Prospect Heights joint from two Morimoto alums serves slightly newfangled ramen with an eye for craftsmanship in the details. The Soy Ramen ($13) has a delicate, clean-tasting broth made from pork and chicken, plus thin straight noodles from Sun, and scallion, egg (slightly overcooked for my tastes), and delicious bamboo shoots sautéed in mirin, sake, and sugar. All ramen come with your choice of meat topping—rich roast pork, tender steamed chicken, or ground pork, and a little bowl of chunky roasted garlic and chiles in oil for spooning at will.

The Miso Ramen ($13), in contrast, was heavier and than the soy, with thick wavy noodles buried beneath mounts of corn, ground pork, scallion, egg, and chili. There's too much going on, and it overwhelms the broth, but it's still hearty and flavorful—ideal for chilly fall nights. Sides like Crispy Brussels Sprouts ($8) seared with fish sauce and peanuts are extremely addictive.

Ganso

Stamina ramen. [Photograph: Paul Yee]

A low-key Downtown Brooklyn newcomer (as of last winter), Ganso has some creatively conceived bowls, but the execution isn't always on point. The eponymous Ganso Ramen ($13) is similar to a shoyu broth, albeit overly salty and slightly wan (throw some more pork bones into the stockpot!), with lots of black pepper floating around in there. It comes with two kinds of pork, thinly sliced shoulder, and a richer belly cut. Local broccoli rabe on top adds an unusual bitter bite, though and the medium-boiled egg was cold in the bowl.

Stamina Ramen ($14) has thin, curly noodles cooked al dente, with a slightly limpid, though interestingly flavored chicken broth laced with soy sauce, chili, shrimp paste, and lots and lots of garlic chives. The chicken chasu is about as meaty as chicken chasu can get, though the skin has unfortunate tendency to separate from the meat in the hot broth, making a mess in the bowl. It hits the spot in a pinch, though isn't necessarily worth traveling for.

Tabata

Tabata ramen. [Photograph: Robyn Lee]

Another strong case for chicken broth-based ramen, Tabata serves some respectable bowls in a neighborhood without too many ramen options (Totto is nearby, but comes with a wait). Most successful and unique is the eponymous Tabata Ramen ($9), the cheapest in the guide. The thin but intensely chicken-y broth is enriched with sweet, nutty coconut milk and thickened with nutty roasted soybean powder. The chicken is white meat and a little bland, but bouncy noodles and a very slurpable broth make up for it.

Their Tan Tan Men is also worth considering, with its topping of sesame seeds and ground pork that deliver intense sweet and salty flavors. The bowl is less balanced than the Tabata ramen, but a solid one all the same.

Tabata won't win awards for the most complex or deeply flavored ramen, but its rich chicken broth delivers on comfort, and we happily visit if we're in the neighborhood.

—Jamie Feldmar and J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

AdWeek has details on this year's CBGB Music and Film Festival. Among the reported acts slated for CBGB Fest's centerpiece event in Times Square on Oct. 12: My Morning Jacket, Grizzly Bear, Divine Fits and The Wallflowers ... while James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem will DJ at the show. There will be three stages in total.

Also, cutting and pasting: "Overall, the 2013 CBGB Festival will feature more than 500 artists playing at 125 venues in Brooklyn and Manhattan between Oct. 9 and Oct. 13. The schedule also features more than 125 panel speakers from the music and film industries, and 100 screenings of music-related films and documentaries."

Find more festival info at the CBGB site.

EVG reader and East Village resident ilyse kazar recently shared a few photos from 1978... Shot on East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.





I asked ilyse if she had any memories to share with the photos. Here's what she said:

In 1978 I took a long walk with my camera, heading eastward from my apartment on 2nd Avenue. As I strayed farther and farther into the burnt out and rubble-lot blocks of Alphabet City, I was simultaneously shocked by the desolation and desecration and urban neglect and conditions people had to live in, and awed by the subcultures and the bright and energetic spirit of the people.

Here and there the community was beginning to claim this land and these buildings that had been redlined by banks, burned down by owners, and ignored by government. Some lots had been cleared, some little gardens started. Amidst the drug dealing and desolation were murals and interesting stores and kids playing stickball.

Spray-painted on the side of one building alongside a rubble-filled lot was "Milagro de Loisaida," with a big flower springing up from the destruction.

I was in love. I stayed. I raised my kids here. I'm growing old here. I cling to the little scraps of evidence that the renegade, tenacious, creative spirit still lives amidst the alarming suburbanization of my neighborhood.

Looking forward to seeing more of ilyse's photos from this time...

[Photos © by ilyse kazar. Reposted with permission]

ICYMI: Earlier today the skies over Manhattan turned as black as a dark steer's tuckus on a moonless prairie night, and certain doom hung in the air. The weather was about to turn against us. [ more › ]

Maru’s family adopted Hana last month, and they are kitten along just fine!

Maru and Hana already pal around together like they're old friends.

sisinmaru.blog17.fc2.com

Look! Maru even shares his box space with Hana!

sisinmaru.blog17.fc2.com

Hana is already an excellent jumper too.

sisinmaru.blog17.fc2.com

Maybe she can teach Maru a few tricks?

sisinmaru.blog17.fc2.com

---

View Entire List ›

Last night, many of us took a moment out to observe the Tribute in Light, the stunning light installation that marks the 9/11 attacks in a simple yet incredibly moving way way. [ more › ]

[Photograph: Oliver Parini]

The first person I knew who ate kale on a regular basis was a Vermonter. This was back in 2005, long before kale was a required ingredient on hop restaurant menus. I tried the green for the first time that year, sautéd briefly with garlic, and frankly wasn't impressed. It took another few years and a little more time at the stove before I turned, like much of the country, into a kale addict. I eat it with pasta all of the time, but rarely varied in my garlic-chiles-greens recipe.

This pasta dish from Tracey Medeiros's Vermont Farm Table Cookbook introduced a new element to my standard mix: caramelized turnips. At first, I was turned off by the idea of pairing bitter greens with a bitter root vegetable, but then I remembered how turnips mellow and sweeten once cooked. Add in some serious maillard action to the turnips, and I realized this was a really clever way to make use of a New England staple crop.

Why I picked this recipe: Pasta plus kale is a staple recipe in my house, but I'd never thought to add sautéed turnips to the mix. Plus, orecchiette is seriously the best pasta shape out there.

What worked: The turnips mellowed nicely once browned and mixed with plenty of fat. I especially liked how they slipped into the pockets of the pasta for hidden bursts of vegetal sweetness.

What didn't: As written, this dish is super rich. (With 1/4 cup oil, 1 stick of butter, and almost a cup of cheese, how could it not be?) It's not exactly weeknight food. You can cut back on the oil and butter by half if you'd like for a meal that is still satisfying without being a gut-buster.

Suggested tweaks: As you can tell from the picture, this pasta recipe will also work with broccoli rabe in place of the kale. You could also add some Italian sausage or pancetta if you want to incorporate meat.

As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook to give away this week.

About the author: Kate Williams is a freelance writer and personal chef living in Berkeley, CA. She is a contributor to The Oxford American, KQED's Bay Area Bites, and Berkeleyside NOSH. Follow her @KateHWiliams.

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The New Yorker Festival is returning to—suprise!— New York City on the first weekend of October (4th-6th). The always popular three-day gathering of famous people and artists across film, television, fashion, food, and literature soared new heights two years ago by the Arrested Development cast reunion. [ more › ]

Thank you to esquared™ for pointing out these photos of Tompkins Square Park from the Museum of the City of New York... these photos date to 1904, and are from an "Arbor Day" celebration in the Park ...











Can we get that overhead seesaw thing back?

And head on over to the Museum's website for more photos... they are available for purchase as well as gawking...

Guys, I am in the weeds this month. After a summer of lazy, a summer of two vacations and a husband (eh, unpaid assistant) always around, making life fun and easy, a mess of busy (new job, work travel for him, book touring for me, a spate of solo parenting of each of us, new preschool, new babysitter, and very important birthday party allatonce) has descended on our recently idyllic lifestyle and, no, I am not handling it with the effortless grace you’ve come to expect from me. Quit laughing. Stop it. I could be effortless or graceful! I mean, there was that one time… Okay, fine. I’m handling it as predicted: with equal measures of bourbon and complaining on the internet. I never claimed to be a model human.

Once in a while, though, once in a sweet savior of a blue moon, I plan ahead and this time, it’s saving this page from flatlining, at least until I get my head back in the game. This dish is, in fact, one of my favorite new dinner recipes this year; we loved it so much that I found it agonizing to wait so long to tell you about it. But it didn’t feel like the right season to post it when I made it (late this past spring). I wanted to save it for what I considered a more chaotic and comfort-demanding time of year, like September (even if the 92 degree weather today mocks my best laid plans).

... Read the rest of baked pasta with broccoli rabe and sausage on smittenkitchen.com

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© smitten kitchen 2006-2012. | permalink to baked pasta with broccoli rabe and sausage | 239 comments to date | see more: Broccoli Rabe, Fall, Meat, Pasta, Photo

The latest in the "Should we bomb Syria?" mess is certainly unexpected: John Kerry's off-the-cuff suggestion that Assad just give up all of his chemical weapons continues to gain actual momentum, while the White House remains very cautious and somewhat optimistic. Syria's foreign minister said today that his government "agreed ... More »

Tomatoes are packed with seasonal produce like yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, and bell pepper, for a ratatouille-like melange of summer flavors. [Photograph: Oliver Parini]

Tomatoes are still abundant this time of year in California. They're mostly big meaty specimens, taut with sweet juice. The fruit is wonderful on its own, but sometimes I want to eat something other than a tomato salad or mayonnaise-laden sandwich. Tracey Medeiros offers an easy stuffed tomato recipe in her new book, The Vermont Table Cookbook. Instead of stuffing the tomatoes with a meat or bread-based stuffing, this recipe from Your Farm suggests filling them with other seasonal produce like yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, and bell pepper. The vegetables all mingle together inside fat Brandywines to make a ratatouille-like melange of summer flavors.

Why I picked this recipe: How could I resist tasting the great vegetables of summer, all packaged together in a neat tomato bowl.

What worked: The combination of vegetables, garlic, basil, and cheese can't be beat, no matter how they're combined.

What didn't: I ended up carving out more of the tomato flesh than written in the recipe so that I'd have room to stuff all the vegetables.

Suggested tweaks: You could go crazy here with the vegetable filling and use whatever you've got, but be sure to sauté the filling until the vegetables have just softened. The tomatoes don't spend much time baking, so don't rely on the oven to cook the filling. You can also use tomatoes other than Brandywine; if they're on the smaller side, you'll want to use more than four in order to use up the filling.

As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook to give away this week.

About the author: Kate Williams is a freelance writer and personal chef living in Berkeley, CA. She is a contributor to The Oxford American, KQED's Bay Area Bites, and Berkeleyside NOSH. Follow her @KateHWiliams.

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Most of the leading candidates to replace Michael Bloomberg are not particularly keen to talk about surveillance of Muslim New Yorkers by the NYPD, a program that includes labeling entire mosques as terrorist organizations and mapping where these residents work, socialize, and pray in the name of preventing another 9/11-style ... More »

Photo: Courtesy of Peripitus. Does the sight of honeycomb repulse you? Are you unable to touch pumice without feeling seriously creeped out? If looking at holes — irregular, gaping, crater-like holes — makes you sick, relax, because science is here to diagnose your fears. The bad news: You're a trypophobic, and you are terrified of holes because, from an evolutionary standpoint, they represent biological danger. Think disease (as in pustules) and poison (as in, ever notice how the dart frog sports an eerie circular pattern?).

The good news: You're not alone, and you're not crazy. Up to 16 percent of people experience this fear, with slightly more females (18 percent to males' 11 percent) admitting a fear of "clustered" holes. According to a new study published in Psychological Science there may be an ancient evolutionary part of the brain telling people that they are looking at a poisonous animal when they see circular patches or spots, says researcher, Geoff Cole. In general, "clusters" are a trypophobe's worst nightmare.

To prove this, Cole and researcher Arnold Wilkins showed different types of images to patients, and established a connection between a fear of "holes" and a fear of poisonous animals. When a sufferer noticed that the image of a poisonous blue-ringed octopus upset them in the same way that a trypophobic image did, the researchers confirmed their suspicion: The dangerous animals all had similar "clusters" and freaked out the patients accordingly — as well as non-patients.

"We found that people who don’t have the phobia still rate trypophobic images as less comfortable to look at than other images," concludes Cole, adding that even those not aware of it probably are at least slightly afraid of holes, sometimes.

So, there you have it. Thanks, science, for ruining crumpets for everyone. (Business Insider)

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