rice grab: The term my roommate uses for when he eats my cold leftover rice straight from the rice cooker. (Doug says I have to specify that it can only be called a rice grab if the rice has been sitting in the rice cooker for at least 12 hours.)
"I did a rice grab today and there was a really crunchy kernel in there. How old was it, like five days old?"
Name: Robert Smith
Occupation: reluctant slave to the restaurant and catering industry
Relationship status: no complaints
Borough: Bushwick
What did you eat today?
I ate breakfast at Bonbonierre. I had two scrambled eggs, lovingly referred to as "large eggs" to compensate for the fact that I'm paying 4 bucks for them just because it's in the West Village, whole wheat toast, home fries, and an iced coffee. I also ate some ginger cookies intermittently in my sleep this morning. I'm a sleep-eater.
What do you never eat?
I just recently quit eating meat again, although I've been known to sneak a bite. I will always turn down angel food cake and jell-o. Too desperate.
Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:
I have two roommates. One of them is consistent about having left over grilled meat products, the other enjoys the fresh produce. I will sometimes contribute an avocado, a vine ripened tomato, and cream cheese. Hummus and tortilla chips are also a staple of mine.
What is your favorite kitchen item?
Tool: this is so anti foodie, but i have to say the microwave. Although I've never owned one and would never buy one, whenever I have access to a microwave I feel drunk with possibilities.
Foodish Item: E.V.O.O. [I can't believe you're using that acronym on my blog. -- Ed.]
Where do you eat out most frequently?
Shift meals at Diner in Williamsburg. Amazing! Black beans, yellow rice and fried plantains at La Conquita on Lafayette.
World ends tomorrow: What would you like for your last meal?
Cheddar cheese flavored Combos and a Snickers ice cream candy bar.
He's not kidding about the Combos. Visit Robert at New York Squared.
Sometimes, in the line of food writing duty, you gotta take one for the team. Such was the case with Meatopia II: Decklefest! Meat, beer, more meat, and more beer and some scary looking "bluetinis". And meat. Did I mention there was meat? Josh Ozersky's gruntworthy birthday bash at Harry's Water Taxi Beach on August 22 probably took off a few days of my life.
Glorious fatty deckles, barbecued chicken, bacon hunks, beautiful burgers, spicy pork tacos, brisket, ribs, links, and something called Porky Pork with Pork Sauce were cooked up by championship 'cue man Robbie Richter, 5 Ninth & Fatty Crab's Zak Pelaccio, Scott Smith, Mr. Cutlets himself and others, all in front of the heartstrings-tugging New York night skyline.
Also, not to be a total starfucker, but Jeffrey Steingarten wuz there, and I was too chicken to kiss his ass. It was an evening of beefy bacchanalia my arteries won't soon forget. You'll probably pack on a few pounds just from looking through my Flickr pics.
New phrase I coined this weekend:
Living with the numbers -- Becoming accustomed to increased weight.
"When I got on the scale at the beginning of the summer, I was disgusted by how much weight I'd gained. But now that I've been living with the numbers for a few months, it doesn't seem so bad."
"I saw Pepper Dennis on the street today. Remember how skinny she was in X-Men? She's totally living with the numbers now."
"He's going to need a lot of plastic surgery to sew up all the loose skin now that he's gone all Karl Lagerfeld. He looked so much better when he was living with the numbers."
Circulate at will.
well, the subject pretty much sums it all up.
i’m flying back into the states to do bridesmaid duty at a wedding in TN, but first, i’m stopping through nyc to hang out with friends on my old stomping grounds and the bride and those of us bridesmaids that are in the metro area will be doing a pre-wedding dinner with friends somewhere. the questions is: where?
bride suggests daisy may’s pig throwdown or congee village. i’d ordinarily be down for the former, but we’re doing bbq at the wedding and i’ll also be bbq-roadtripping down to the wedding from saint louis (yes, this is a rather long preamble, i know). the latter i’m possibly into, especially if we get one of the rooms and some karaoke action going, but just want to investigate other options.
the group will be probably number about 10-15. bride and i are picky about our food only in the sense that it has to be really, really frickin good. she and i don’t have problems schlepping all over the five boroughs (and into jersey) if the ultimate goal is ridiculously tasty. the others that will be joining us, however, are probably not likely to leave the confines of manhattan. and more to the point, lower-ish manhattan. ethnic doesn’t hurt — cheap either. especially for this occasion.
any suggestions would be much appreciated.
winnie y.
Italy
I'm going to assume you are eating mad delicious Italian food so I'm going to suggest Asian places. One place I only recently discovered is Chinese Mirch, a Chinese-Indian restaurant. Don't be afraid of the fusion. It's not nouveau. It's not a huge restaurant, so you'd definitely need reservations, but it's interesting-in-a-good-way food. Flash-fried crispy okra dusted with cumin and chili powder, double fried Szechuan lamb shreds with funky Indian spices, garlicky chili noodles, super delicious. That's on Lexington in Gramercy. The place has sort of Cost Plus decor with bamboo wallpaper but it's pretty cheap and it's great for sharing. Mostly Indian yuppie clientele.
Next is Nyonya on Grand St. Malaysian, funky, no-nonsense (read: brusque) service who have no patience for lingering tables, awesome roti canai (I always order one for myself and one for the rest of the table so I don't have to share), delicious Hainanese chicken, shrimp paste with okra, deep fried Malaysian spareribs, coconut rice. Yum. Almost ate there tonight. My only warning: they ain't afraid of the MSG. I also don't think they take resys, and the place is surprisingly popular so if you have a big group, there may be a wait. But they also turn tables over there so efficiently that it's usually not a ridiculous wait.
And my third suggestion is Woo Chon on 35th St., my fave K-town place. Every place in K-town uses gas grills now (damn the fire department!). At this place, they give you different grill plates for each meat -- I can't really tell if it helps but I like the idea. They also give you an insane amount of panchan, including my favorite kimchee ever, hand made with a secret recipe by the matron proprietor -- it's slightly oily and only mildly fermented. I could eat it every day forever. But the big reason I'm recommending it is that you can reserve a private room if you want to. In fact, I called for you and was told that a group of 15 can reserve the private room -- there's no additional charge. A friend of mine had a big birthday party there and they actually hired a stripper who did his thing in the private room. I'm not saying you should hire a stripper, but it's been done, so there you go.
I haven't done the Daisy May carcass mauling yet, though my roommate was threatening to do it for his birthday. I'll have to check it out. And Congee Village always works for big groups. If you were willing to hit Queens, I would have suggested Sripraphai too. And for drinks, you should go to (before you click on the next link, turn your volume down) Pegu Club. I think they only accept reservations for groups of 8 or more, so make a reservation and you'll get the really sexy, huge round chocolate velvet booth. Cocktails are a ridiculous $12 but they're ridiculously well made. And get the deviled eggs with smoked trout. Yum.
Good luck and let me know where you decide to go, even if you don't take my advice. I can always use tips.
Yours,
Ganda
Name: Joe Kopcha
Occupation: Magazine Editor
Borough: Brooklyn
Relationship status: Married seven years on Monday (happy anniversary Allison) [Happy Anniversary! --Ed.]
What did you eat today?
This is pretty sad. I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. Call it the “Rain Man diet.”
Breakfast: Oatmeal with brown sugar and skim milk
Lunch: Turkey and provolone on an everything bagel with mustard, a plum, a banana, and some peanuts and raisins
Dinner: Spinach salad, grilled pork tenderloin (marinated in soy sauce, Sriracha, sesame oil, and garlic), brown rice, string beans, and rainbow sherbet
What do you never eat?
Canned tuna fish makes the baby Jesus cry
Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:
leftovers, scallions, Sriracha, and Budweiser (I grew up in St. Louis, sue me)
What is your favorite kitchen item?
My Henckels 10” chef’s knife
Where do you eat out most frequently?
Tacos Nuevo Mexico on 5th Ave. in Park Slope. When they bring my check, I say “barriga llena, corazon contento,” which means “full stomach happy heart” in Spanish. The waitresses think I’m crazy. Also Damascus Gate in Bay Ridge. I don’t know any Syrian phrases yet, but I’m working on it.
World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?
If the world is ending, I’m not cooking. Strap me in at Sripraphai and bring me one of everything.
Me me me me me. Cooking With Amy shouts out EDOW for Blog Day! Did you know there was a Blog Day?
I'm off to Columbia, Missouri for a wedding this weekend. The meals are generally accounted for, but I'm looking forward to a mini-break.
