Posts for category ‘Good’

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Farm Friday to bring you this public service announcement. Fried pickles at Bronx Ale House are the most delicious fried thing I’ve put in my mouth since the cheese curds at last year’s Minnesota State Fair. And hey…cucumbers are in season, right? Oh, and the chef was a sous chef at Eleven Madison Park for 5 years. This is some haute pub food.

I was advised by Joanne, one of my favorite dog run buddies, that the Bronx Ale House had a great menu. Indeed, she was right and I enjoyed several World Cup games there where I tasted nachos with pulled pork, buffalo wings in Bronx is Burning hot sauce, and jalapeños stuffed with homemade sausage, cheddar and jack cheese. They also have a handcrafted burger that should soon be a serious contender for best burger in the city. Hand cut fries by its side aren’t too shabby either. (Clearly, I should start taking the stairs more regularly in preparation for World Series watching.)

I reported back to Joanne and thanked her for letting me know about this little gem. She replied, “Did you try the fried pickles? They’re really stinkin’ good.” Dutifully, I returned.

>> So what didja think of the fried pickles, Danielle? Read on. >>

Gotta admit that I’m a little nervous today, folks. I’m about to talk about Primanti’s, my favorite sandwich of all time. This sandwich, this divine towering paragon of all that a meal should be, is the one foodstuff I crave more than any other and the one thing I make a beeline for every time I visit the old Pittsburgh homestead.

Though less famous than Heinz ketchup or Klondike bars, Primanti Bros. (although no one says the “brothers” bit and just calls it “Primanny’s,” if you want to get your ‘Burgh accent going) is just as influential to Pittsburgh’s culinary history.

Based in the Strip District—home to the city’s wholesale food warehouses—since the 1930s, Primanti’s now has outposts throughout the greater Pittsburgh area and (somewhat inexplicably) Fort Lauderdale, FL.

The legend goes that the Primanti brothers got into business feeding the truckers who dropped goods off in the Strip during the wee hours of the night leading into morning. The truckers were starving, so the bros packed the sandwich to the gills to give the guys a full meal that they could also hold in their hands while driving. (Although how one person could eat a Primanti’s samwidge and drive is beyond me—it takes me two hands just to get through one half—and the official bio skims past those details.)

However it went down, the Primanti siblings had lightning in a pan—er, on a griddle—and now everyone in Pittsburgh eats at Primanti’s. I remember stopping in before a They Might Be Giants show around the corner at Metropol to see Sally Wiggin, the Katie Couric of the Pittsburgh news anchor scene, wolfing one down with the common folk.

So with all of this background, aren’t you dying to know what makes up a Primanti’s sandwich and why it’s so killer?

>> Come on, don’t you want to know why a Primanti’s sandwich is the best? >>

I have two more years left in New York City before and want you to help me put together my NYC bucket list. What are the essential dining experiences in the city—that is, where/what should I make SURE I’ve had before I leave town?

It’s almost an impossible task to categorize and then tackle every quintessential New York experience—but that hasn’t stopped me from trying. (I did this when I was prepping to leave Chicago after grad school ten years ago, too. Restrict yourself to a student budget for an extra challenge!)

What follows is a highly subjective, ever-evolving list of moments and meals that remain indelibly classic from my incessant trawling over the past decade. It’s a mix of high and low and more than enough to get you started for the next two years.

The rundown is tres Manhattan-centric because that’s been the bulk of my experience, but each venue tries to recapture the exhilarating soaring wash of realization that makes you want to stand on a street corner and yell, “New York is the greatest city in the world!”
>> What are the can’t-miss New York restaurants? Read on. >>

Every year my good friend Stevie plans an extravaganza around his birthday. He makes it clear that he doesn’t want gifts or cards, only the participation of his wide group of wonderful friends. Years ago, we rented out part of a club and danced till dawn. Last year it was karaoke and bowling. Two years ago, we had a simple, cheap dinner in Chinatown which ended around 11pm. But the party didn’t really begin until we were escorted to a plumber’s van which drove us to a roller rink on the southern tip of Staten Island.

This year, Stevie rented a house near Hudson, New York for a week of reading, swimming, singing, throwing the ball around the yard, hammock sleeping, star-gazing, and of course, eating. I love Stevie. He cultivates pleasure and then shares it generously.
>> Click here to read about zucchini that looked like bacon!>>

Today’s Neighbourhood Guide (yes, that extra U is important here) takes us to London’s East End, where American transplant Meredith Brown walks us through a bustling Saturday market that’s been providing the Brits with global delicacies and some veddy, veddy traditional (but tasty) foods for the past century. Jellied eel, anyone?

Oh, the East End of London—home to the original Cockney, successive waves of immigrant communities, the YBAs (Damian Hirst and his ilk), that scandalous soap East Enders, the Museum of Childhood, the 2012 Olympics, and yours truly.

Since the 17th century, when the French Hugeunots set up camp just to the east of the medieval City of London, the East End has served as London’s working-class, immigrant community. In the 18th century, the Irish weavers moved in, followed by Ashkenazi Jews in the 19th century; the Bangladeshi community arrived in the 20th century and more recently, drawn by the cheap rents and bicycle-friendly streets, artists and their hipster cousins have joined the ‘hood. Each of these groups brought their own vibrant customs and cuisines, and the resulting mix offers anyone willing to venture outside the comforts of Central London a plethora of interesting things to do, see, buy, and eat.

Brick Lane, home to more curry houses than you can shake a stick at, is probably the best-known culinary street in the East End, but there are plenty of other avenues for the dedicated foodie to explore. Take, for example, the cornucopia that is Broadway Market. (If the street looks familiar, especially the barbershop, it may be because it was featured in David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises.)

Running between London Fields park and Regent’s Canal, Broadway Market (along with my flat) sits at the northernmost bit of the East End. The pedestrian-filled thoroughfare has hosted a weekly food market since the 1890s, and today’s version has more than 80 stalls of fresh produce, organic meat, locally grown flowers, ethically sourced coffee, artisanal food, vintage clothing, handmade crafts, etc.

The stalls officially open each Saturday at 9:00 am, and by noon the street is thronging with local residents buying their weekly groceries, hipsters nursing hangovers with Thai green curry or Caribbean rice cooked on the spot, little kids weaving through the crowds as their parents sample Stilton, Comté, and Emmenthaler from one of several cheesemongers, and tourists snapping pictures of the accordionist busker and his tap-dancing ladyfriend.
>> Get a flat white, a Thai Scotch egg, and a pint in London’s Broadway Market. >>