The Philly Vendys Rocked (Part 1)

This past weekend Lawman, Little B and I headed down to Philly to attend the 2nd Annual Vendy Awards. There was some sun. There was some rain. There was a rainbow. But most importantly there was a TON of AWESOME food...

I think I'm still in a food coma. I'm going to break down the winners and give you guys a bite-by-bite later this week. I have to say as a family I'm feeling pretty good about the fact that we totally called the winners. Starting with the People's Choice. 

 

When the people spoke they shouted VERNALICIOUS. Why? Because owners Verna Swerdlow and David Jurkofsky rocked the house with their insanely, flavorful, tender, juicy, smokey, pulled pork grilled cheese sandwich.

Pork and cheese also found its way into the winner's circle via this year's Vendy Cup winners, THE SMOKE TRUCK. Their pulled pork topped mac & cheese paired with a homemade pickle, was a comfort food smash hit with the judges (and Little B who kept saying "moar, pasta!")

For dessert it was impossible to resist the Dessert Vendy award winner, LIL' POP SHOP pops. How many did I have? A lady would never tell...but let's just say I worked my way through a fair portion of the seven flavors they had on dry ice (shoot...how did I miss one?!). Each pop from the Vietnamese Iced Coffee to the Goat Cheesecake with Wine Baked Figs was more delicious than the next. I'm an avowed, radical, militant cantaloupe hater and their Cantaloupe Rose pop may have briefly brought me over to the dark side.

Even rain couldn't soak the mega good vibes happening at the 2nd Annual Philly Vendy Awards. After all I ate and ate and ate, I am definitely looking forward to making a return trip to Philly soon to check out more of their mobile food scene.

More tastes of the event to come on Thursday!
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Travels with Blondie: There's Really Great Pizza in Omaha

For the past week and a half, I've been hanging out in Nebraska, working at Branched Oak Farm, learning all sorts of things like how to milk a cow and then turn the milk into mozzarella. I'm going to be so useful after the zombie take over. But the most surprising thing I learned was that there's good pizza to be had in Omaha! For reals.

Dante's was my first bite to eat once I touched down and, coming from the land of pizza, I was blown away by how good it was. The chef, Nick Strawhecker, hails from Omaha, but has spent time all over the world cooking including in Italy. The restaurant sources many of it ingredients from local farms including Branched Oak and La Quercia over in Iowa. Everything we had that first day was phenomenal and on my way out of town a week later, my friend and I decided to stop there again for dinner. We got the light and creamy housemade ricotta--something on par with a few of the more famous ricotta dishes in New York. And for our pizza we went with oxtail. Yes, tender oxtail pieces on a slightly spicy pizza straight from the wood-fired oven. Perfect for dinner and still good early the next morning for a quick breakfast.

Another completely unexpected restaurant in town was The Grey Plume. It's one of the more upscale places and also creates its menu from locally available seasonal items. Krista Dittman and I stopped by after working the Wednesday farmers market to have a fancy drink and bite to eat. The drinks were great on the 100° day--it had components from celery, lime, mint, and gin, let's all pretend I can remember what it was--and then there was the charcuterie plate! About 10 different meats and cheeses, each absolutely delicious. Oddly, this was the second charcuterie plate to come across me recently--there was one the night before leaving at Trestle on Tenth and it was freaking awesome too.

Moral of this story: Omaha, not just steaks.

Dante's Pizzeria
168th and Center
Omaha, NE
(402) 932-3078
www.dantepizzeria.com

The Grey Plume
220 South 31st Avenue
Omaha, NE
(402) 763-4447
www.thegreyplume.com
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Summer Fridays: Cookie Monster's Share it Maybe

If you're not one of the 7 million people who've seen Cookie Monster's Call My Maybe parody, here's your chance to catch up. And for true Cookie lovers, can we discuss. David Rudman's Cookie Monster voice vs. Frank Oz...thoughts?

Here's a little voice comparison. There are times when the voices seem very similar, but I think on songs like the Call Me Maybe parody that stretch Cookie's range where you can really tell that it's not Frank Oz. Agree? Disagree? Talk amongst yourself. jump

Carrot Cake from Fauzia's Heavenly Delights

You know who makes awesome carrot cake? Vendy finalist Fauzia Abdur-Rahman at her Bronx-based cart Fauzia's Heavenly Delights...

I first had Fauzia's cooking at the 2008 Vendy's her eclectic menu includes jerk and curry chicken alongside tons of vegetarian options. I fell in love with the food and we're excited to feature her in our upcoming best of NY street food book.

Fauzia's heavenly delights extend beyond savory fare. Regulars know to save room for dessert like Fauzia's super moist, spiced carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. You know how much that big a hunk of cake would go for in Manhattan? Probably $5 to $6. At Fauzia's it's just $3. As someone with a nut-allergy who also loves carrot cake, I was excited to discover that Fauzia's didn't have any nuts at all (or any raisins for that matter!).

While her location outside the Bronx DA's office may be off the beaten path, if you find yourself at a Yankee game during the weekday lunch rush, definitely pay her a visit for lunch AND dessert.

Fauzia's Heavenly Delights 161st Street and Concourse Village West Bronx, NY 11218 jump

Help! Brownie Needs Pickled Mustard Greens

Still chugging away with recipe tweaking and I need your help! I'm on the hunt for pickled mustard greens...

I first fell in love with pickled mustard greens at the Myanmar Baptist Church Food and Fun Fair. The ones in the picture above were homemade by a nice church lady. I always planned to hunt down pickled mustard greens to make some homemade Shan Noodles, but never did. Now I need some to retest Bian Dang's Pork Sauce for our book and I haven't been able to find them. Lawman tried 4 stores south of Canal yesterday with no success. Any leads appreciated! jump

Martha was Right! Coffee Ice Cubes are Awesome.

 

Once long ago, I read in Martha Stewart Living--yes, I'm a subscriber, don't judge--about the merits of coffee ice cubes. Take extra coffee, freeze it up as ice cubes and you'll never have to worry about watering down your ice coffee. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but then I figured my ice try would get perpetual coffee funk so I'd need a dedicated coffee ice cube tray and in a city apartment I have about as much room for an exclusive coffee ice tray as I have for a gift wrapping room. Not going to happen. The other day as I was running some errands by Union Square I passed as sign promising coffee ice cubes. I hadn't had my coffee yet, so naturally I was game to try it out...

The shop was the little Alice's Teacup outpost inside Books of Wonder, a children's bookstore right near Union Square that's one of the best bookstores in the city and easily among the best children's bookstores I've seen in the country. If you have kids or know people with kids, this is the place to shop. The staff is knowledgeable and passionate about children's books and they'll steer you in the right direction. The high ceilings, whimsical art and gallery in the back make it such a pleasant shopping experience. Annnnnnnd, I think I mentioned that they have an Alice's Teacup in the front of the store, so you can get your scone fix then do some shopping, which is exactly what I did.

 

The banana chocolate chip scone was awesome. Not too dense, plenty of chocolate bits and some serious banana flavor. Regular iced coffee's cost $2, so it's an extra $1 for the ice coffee cubes, but if you drink as much iced coffee as I do (read: you think small is an awfully stupid size for iced coffee), then you'll appreciate being able to enjoy that much more actual coffee in your cup. It was good to the very last drop. I still have misgivings about dedicating the space to an extra ice cube tray at home, but at least I know where I can get my fix when the hot weather hits.

Books of Wonder
18 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
(212) 989-3475 jump

Raspberry Peach Crumble

 

Sometimes (ok, all the time) I want a pie of pie. With the summer heat here in full force, I face the possibility of excommunication by my family for turning on the oven. So I have to daydream about pie. And when I daydream about pie. I'm dreaming out pie from Four & Twenty Blackbirds. On Friday, I made that day dream a reality and treated myself to a slice of their Raspberry Peach Crumble. Smart move, very smart move...

Blondie tried their Raspberry Peach Pie last summer and was a huge fan. Four & Twenty's crust is exceptional--it's tender and buttery and flaky and every a good pie crust should be. But as a kid, I was all about the crumble, so if you offer me crumb topping, chances are I'm going to go for it.

As with all of Four & Twenty's pies, the filling is pitch perfect. Not to sweet, not too soupy. And their crumb topping has a hint of spices. Their pie menu is seasonal and they use fresh produce from a local orchard, so if you want some of this, get on it. Stat.
 
Four & Twenty Blackbirds
439 Third Avenue at 8th Street
Gowanus
(718) 499-2917
birdsblack.com jump

OMG, cows!

As you're reading this, I'm probably already 1,303 miles away, doing stuff on this dairy farm. Cows! See ya in a week and a half New York! jump

It's Vendy's Time! It's Vendy's Time!

It's no secret that Blondie and I love the Vendy Awards, where the top street food chefs compete for the Vendy Cup and bragging rights of being the best of the best in New York City street food. How much do we love the Vendys?  Let's just say we schedule our September around them. And this were there was tons of exciting news from VendyWorld, namely the nominees for the Philly Vendys and the opening of nominations for the big show, the Vendys on September 15th on Governor's Island. Who will be competing? It's up to you!

Early bird discounted tickets have sold out. SOLD OUT, people. There are still general admission and sponsorship tickets available, but you'd better move fast because the Vendy's always sell out. ALWAYS. Want to see you favorite vendor compete for the title? Put in a good word for them! Nominations close Wednesday, July 25th, so get a move on it.

Near term, I'm super excited to head to Philly at the end of the month for the 2nd Annual Philadelphia Vendys. Tickets are still available (though early bird tix have already sold out) and the tickets to the Philly Vendys are only $55 (as opposed to $95 for the NY Vendys), even with bus fare to Philly, it's still less. So what are you waiting for? Plan that day trip! jump

Travels with Blondie: Scenes From Reston Farmers' Market

My sister-in-law has been raving about Reston's Saturday farmers market to me, so while I was originally scheduled to leave on a Friday, we quickly changed that to Saturday so I can see this market. As her and I did our first lap, I noticed cinnamon bun cookies. It became breakfast, and was amazing. Like a snickerdoodle with extra doodle. And now for other scenes from the market:

(Sorry for the late post today. No one parties like an i-banker party because an i-banker party means free drinks for everyone) (going back to sleep now) jump

Lassi Pops from Monsieur Singh

 

When I was in college Union Square visits were all about the farmer’s market. These days with the gourmet food truck explosion, Union Square has become a hot spot for finding street food of all stripes.  Last week I noticed a taco truck, a grilled cheese truck, a raw food truck and several others. But what captured (and held) my attention was not a truck at all, but a simple little cart attached to a bicycle that was selling lassi bars…

Operating under the name Monsieur Singh, it turns out this was the lassi bar cart’s first day out in Union Square. The cart is an offshoot of Little Spice Bazaar in Mount Kisco which in turn is an offshoot of Little Kabab Station, also in Mount Kisco which counts former President Bill Clinton and Martha Stewart among their many fans. Martha said in a recent blog post, “On a recent visit to the Little Spice Bazaar, I was able to sample several flavors of this amazing lassi and I have to say that I was very impressed with each and every one. The tastes are so pleasing and unexpected.”

I’ll admit that it was the clever signage that lured me in. They’re playful assertion that “the lassi” is endorsed daily by a billion Indians is fun and funny. And I love their clean design and gorgeous use of type. If it was the aesthetics that drew me in, it was the lassi pop itself that will bring me back.

When I visited the cart they had just two flavors, Moussan Mango and Strawberry Blonde. I’m a huge mango lassi fan so naturally I had to give it a try. The lassi bar was nicely spiced and it wasn’t too sweet. For $2 I would definitely get it again. I shared mine with Little B and he proclaimed it to be both “tasty” and “yummy.” Word.

The gentleman who sold me the pop said that they would be debuting new bars soon. It seems like they are trying out new spots and neighborhoods, so it’s best to keep tabs on them via Twitter @monsieursingh or on Facebook. jump

Get Milkmade *Without* The Subscription!

Some of you might know about Milkmade Ice Cream, a subscription-based ice cream delivery. You pay $50 for a pint of ice cream delivered to your door once a month for three months. Yes, it's expensive! But it's so good, like so soooooooo good. Apparently no one got the message that I would like this as a birthday gift, but luckily for me (and us!) for a limited time only, us regular peoples can get Milkmade on the regular.

If you haven't been to Story on 10th Avenue, I highly suggest stopping by. It's a boutique retail space with a regularly rotating theme, like a magazine. Each theme lasts for around two months; it was Love, then Color, and is currently New York. It's filled with little New York-related things, but not in a touristy way. The co-curator is Cool Hunting, so you know it's filled with cool stuff like travel goods from Flight 001, great jewelry pieces, and food including pints of Milkmade!

When I went last week, they had Rockaway Road and Rumble in Brighton. I sampled both, checked out Story (I might have bought these), and decided on which flavor to indulge with. Rumble in Brighton involves rum ice cream with chocolate babka pieces. #win It's $10 a pint, which is still really expensive, but cheaper than the regular service, plus it's gourmet, high-quality (limited edition) ice cream! This Story ends August 19th, so if you want to try a pint yourself, you better head on down there. I won't tell if you eat a whole pint by yourself in the middle of a hot afternoon, people-watching in the park.

Story
144 10th Avenue
(212) 242-4853
thisisstory.com jump

Revisiting a Childhood Favorite: Smurf Ice Cream

 

Confession. I've never watched the Smurfs. My mom didn't allow it. Same with He-man/She-ra. Ditto for Carebears. My exposure to Smurfs comes via a blue ice cream with marshmallow pieces that was my hands down favorite flavor at Sweet Claude's Ice Cream Parlor in Cheshire, Connecticut. A flavor that I recreated at home this week...

As part of my American Classics recipe column over at Serious Eats, I've been seeking out regional ice cream recipes in honor of National Ice Cream month. Last week I made Grape-Nuts ice cream and in my recipe research I stumbled across Blue Moon Ice Cream, a brilliant blue ice cream that tastes something like blue raspberry/bubble gum/cotton candy goodness. Hmmm...sounds like Smurf base to me. I couldn't resist. I took half of the batch of Blue Moon that I made and I folded in some mini-marshmallow pieces. Ooooh, yeah...tastes like the real deal. Smurf ice cream success. Now that's something that my seven-year-old self would have been seriously impressed by.

Do you have a favorite regional ice cream flavor? Or a treasured favorite flavor from childhood? jump

Travels with Blondie: Hitting up DC & Baltimore

I don't know about you guys, but I get excited when someone I know moves because it means visits! And a couch to sleep on. But mostly visits! Like when Big Bobo and my Scrabble-playin', bourbon-lovin' sister-in-law moved just south of DC last year, I thought it would mean dozens of weekend trips on my part visiting. But then, you know, life, in way. So I made up for it by visiting them extra long last week which included adventures to Baltimore and DC!

(yes, that's my bobo making the crab wave hello)

For the Fourth, the group of us headed up to Charm City for the day--I highly recommend heading there for this holiday, wasn't crowded at all--and once we got to the Inner Harbor, we were star-ving. Like any good tourist area, there are numerous chain restaurants, but since you're supposed to eat crab in Baltimore, we headed to the Phillips. There's an outside (non-fancy pants) deck perfect for crab-smashing and enjoying a few pitchers of Natty Boh. We *highly* enjoyed the crabs and shrimps here, as well as the sides though they were a bit too small for real assessment.

On my actual birthday, the trio of us lucked out with some choice seats at the Nationals game (thanks Bobo's friend with season tickets!) I made a beeline for Shake Shack to try The National Pasttime: vanilla custard swirled with chocolate toffee, chocolate sprinkles and malt. I loved every bit of it especially the chunks of toffee. They got the two hot dogs available and were not impressed, though the Frisky Fries (cheese fries with sauce-simmered onions; is this available at Citifield?!) were a winner.

If you were paying any attention on Twitter, you would have seen me go "Gah! Pie truck in DC?!" only to realize it's a truck filled with pies from Dangerously Delicious Pies. Like the fan-freaking-tastic brother he is, Bobo and I headed into DC a little early to stop by the shop before catching my train. When I saw a wall full of flavors, my eyes got so big I ordered one to eat there and two for the road.

This is the Chocolate Peanut Butter Chess--a slice each of Pancake Batter and the Baltimore Bomb were for later. They were just okay. The fillings were great, the crust left a lot to be desired--yes, even on the fresh warmed slice I had in the store. But what hurt most of all was the $6.50 per slice cost! !! ! That's like three subway rides. That's like a slice and a half with free fresh whipped cream from Four & Twenty! That's more than a mini pie from First Prize! Folks, that's a rip-off. At $6.50, I better want to have crazy monkey sex with your pie. Hours of crazy monkey swinging from chandeliers sexy times. I need to go have a slice of great pie to wash these three out of my system and cleanse my pie karma. jump

Lured by the 99 Cent Ice Cream Truck

I'll admit that I'm a sucker for food trucks. I love mobile food. I love the surprise of encountering a truck that you weren't expecting. I love the hunt--tracking down my favorites and playing the "what should I eat" game. Heck, Blondie and I are even writing a book about food trucks! So it should surprise absolutely no one that the other night, laden as I was with recipe testing groceries, I had to stop to check out the 99 cent ice cream truck. It was bright. It was colorful. And best yet, it was offering ice cream cones for 99 cents. Sounds great, right? Well, sort of...

 

Though the truck is wrapped with alluring illustrations of rainbow sprinkle bedecked ice cream cones, the 99 cent cones are served up plain. Want sprinkles? Prepare to fork over $1.50. And the guy on the truck mentioned that the 99 cent cones were "really small and if you upgrade to a $2 cone you get free toppings. (I do believe I overheard him say toppings not just topping). Additionally they serve sundaes and shakes which are also not 99 cents and like many of their soft serve brethren they don't post prices. My policy with ice cream trucks is to always inquire about the price before I order. I've definitely seen preferential pricing in action at other soft serve trucks before. If they think you're a tourist schnook, you can expect to empty your wallet for that cone. But I digress. I only had $1 on me so I ordered up the 99 cent cone which was petite as promised. I can't complain that my expectations weren't properly managed at point of purchase. That said, the whole truck screams cheap ice cream. It says "The Dollar Truck" on the side for goodness sake and maybe I should be ashamed to admit it, but the 7 year old inside of me was lured in by the sprinkles that aren't included in the 99 cent experience. It's a decent size ice cream for a little snack or for a kid, but if you're craving a real ice cream cone, I'm not sure this really gives you the bang for your buck. I've heard that some fast food joints like McDonalds have dollar soft serve cones. Not sure what size they are, but they couldn't be smaller than this cone. Got any $1 ice cream tips? Leave 'em for us in the comments! jump

You Need to Eat at Talde

For the past six months, I've heard everyone and their mother rave about eating at Dale Talde's new restaurant in Park Slope, Talde. One glance at the menu and you know why--it's not typical Asian-American fusion cuisine. Pad thai with bacon? Check. Pork dumplings that are "pretzeled"? Check. Best part is though everyone's raving about it, most nights you can sit right down when you get there, not endure a maddening two hour wait while your stomach tries to eat itself. And you *need* to go there.

The reason why it took me so long to eat at Talde is I incorrectly assumed that since it was the restaurant du jour, that meant dinner there would cost me dollar, dollar bills. Not entirely true! The plate of Korean Fried Chicken, $23, is easily split between two people, and is one of the best plates of fried chicken I've had in New York. The saltiness from the beautifully crisp skin and juicy chicken paired well with the sweet cherries scattered on the plate. The pork dumplings come at $2 a pop, but they're delicious. The hard outer pretzel shell cracks open to salty chive-laced pork filling. It's like the best pan-fried dumpling ever, one that gets a finishing crust from a quick pop in an oven.

Also shared on this table was the Crispy Oyster & Bacon Pad Thai. It wasn't your typical American bacon hiding in the sprouts and noodles, it's chunks of delicious Benton's Bacon. And it'll make you laugh off  puny fried oysters again after tasting these plump decadent specimens. The four shared plates of food--we got the #369 too--equaled one of the best meals of my year so far.

Talde
369 7th Avenue
Park Slope
(347) 916-0031
taldebrooklyn.com jump

Ditmas Disbatches: News from Mimi's Hummus

 

It’s no secret that Mimi’s Hummus in Ditmas Park is a family fav at Casa Brownie. We’ve been there for brunch more times than I can count. We even celebrated Little B’s 1st birthday there. As much as we love Mimi’s we don’t get there much for dinner, so it was a treat to stop by on Friday night and we were nicely rewarded for our visit…

First the mega-news…Mimi’s is now serving breakfast Monday through Friday from 9am until 12pm. Brunch fans will be glad to see the Shakshuka on the breakfast menu and or Mimi's fans like me, there are new dishes to try like the "Mimi's Breakfast," 2 sunny side eggs, Merguez sausage, Bulgarian feta cheese, toasted pita and Israeli salad or $8. Hells to the yes. I can't wait for a weekday day off to go give this a try.

While we were at dinner we had a chance to sample a new Eggplant and Lamb special--it was the very first night they offered it on the menu. They take half a roasted eggplant and re-stuff it with eggplant, crispy lamb bits, topped with Bulgarian feta cheese and tomato. The smokey roasted eggplant made an excellent partner for the lamb. I would definitely get this again and for a family, Mimi's makes for a nice night out that won't break the bank. As the weather gets hot and I feel less like cooking, you'd better believe an occasional evening out at Mimi's is going into the rotation. In the meantime, I'll be dreaming of a breakfast trip...

Mimi's Hummus
1209 Cortelyou Road
Brooklyn, NY 11218 jump

Google "Fireworks Shotgun Beer"

Typical Friday, typical weekday. If you're at work, quit your job. Or read this until quitting time. jump

CSA Haul: What the Heck Should I Do with Garlic Scapes?

My mom's Italian so you can be sure my childhood was garlic-infused, but garlic scapes? Never even heard of them until I joined a CSA, and three years later, I still have no idea what to do with them. So enlighten me...what do you do with garlic scapes?

For starters, scapes are the young green garlic stalks that get the chop so the garlic bulb can grow nice and big without diverting its energy. Scapes are like garlicky long bean tendril thingys. I love the look of scapes even if I have no idea what I should do with them. If you don't belong to a CSA and haven't spotted them atyour local farmer's market, I can confirm that I did see them at the Union Square Whole Foods this week. If you use scapes, please share any and all suggestions! And on a totally non-scapes related note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BLONDIE! jump

Happy Fourth of July!

It's America's birthday! Eat hot dogs, burgers, fries, potato chips, ice cream, ice cream cake, and beer! Lots of Budweiser American cans should be shotgunned! And at the end, scream out "Fuck yeah, America!" Also, fireworks! Happy Fourth of July, everyone! jump

Go 4th and Eat Cake!

It's almost the 4th of July. Some of you lucky duckies are already on your vacays. I hope you're sitting by the beach with a drink in hand. In honor of the 4th and the fact that my new laptop's screen is on the fritz, here's a fun 7-layer stars and stripes red velvet cake from the B&B baking adventure files. Anyone who has had a successful ASUS customer service experience* please feel free to lend your sympathy in the comments...
If you're not in the mood for baking (and who could blame you in this heat!), I highly recommend my Red, White and Blueberry icebox cake from my American Classics column over at Serious Eats.

*By successful customer service experience, I mean one that's outside the stories I've read of about them putting refurb parts in new machines and taking forever to return your computer. Eeep and wahhhhh. We have a book to work on. I can't be laptopless for two weeks. *SOB* jump

Ample Hill's Daddy's Sundae, Also For The Childless

I knew it was bad news when I realized the easy bike ride I have to Ample Hills Creamery. It's just long and hilly enough for me to fully rationalize that I'll be burning most of the calories on the ride itself therefore the trip is completely in-line with my post-recipe testing, summer bikini season diet. Plus, they have ice cream with my close friend, bourbon.

When I stopped by last week, they still had batches of Daddy's Sundae, a flavor only made for Father's Day. The base is Maker's Mark bourbon vanilla ice cream, brownie pieces and salted fudge caramel is swirled throughout. I could only lightly taste the bourbon, yet another customer exclaimed "Wow! You can really taste the bourbon in this!" Then again, bourbon and I have been super close lately; we stay up at night discussing boys and Farm Bills, so take my assessment for what you will. I felt it added more of a smoky quality to the vanilla ice cream than an alcohol taste. The chunks of fudge brownie were delicious little welcome breaks from the ice cream, while the fudge caramel added more chocolatey sweetness. If you're also bourbon's friend, I would recommend seeking this flavor out next June.

Ample Hills Creamery
623 Vanderbilt Avenue
Prospect Heights
(347) 240-3926
www.amplehills.com jump