[Photo: Kathy Chan]
At The Tea and Honey Store inside Grand Central Terminal, it's not about deciding between tea or honey. It's all about the word "and." The staff here are experts on pairing the two classic companions, satisfying your mood or whimsy of the moment.
Editor's note: In honor of Valentine's Day, it's chocolate week on Serious Eats! See all our sweet content here »
[Photos: Kathy YL Chan]
Vosges Haut Chocolate may be known for their trademark bacon bar, but on the shelves of their Soho store wait tons of goodies that you can't find in any other chocolate shop. Always pushing the boundaries of chocolate creativity, they've got a number of concoctions worth trying.
I loved the new Mamajuana truffle ($2.25), which takes its inspiration from a Dominican drink. Vosges's chocolatiers steep herbs in rum and then red wine before infusing them into the ganache, creating a boozy bite with an herbal zing. It's nicely balanced, however—not quite as overwhelming as it might sound.
In the run up to the 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver food blogger Melody Fury (Gourmet Fury) is dropping by to guide travelers to the city's hidden gems in a series of Top 10 Local Recommendations. These locations are easily accessible from Downtown (within walking distance or by public transit). The recommendations boast of the unique, international delights that this beautiful sea-to-sky city offers. —The Mgmt.
[Aphrodite's Muffins - Photograph: Melody Fury]
10 out of 10 moms agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Vancouverites can't agree more.
When travelling, one has no excuse for skipping breakfast. Slow down and savour every sip of your coffee.
Brunch is a vital part of our laid-back Westcoast culture and nothing kicks off the weekend like a chilled glass of Mimosa and a healthy dose of hollandaise sauce.
Here are our Top 10 favourite breakfast and brunch spots
77 Sands Boulevard, Bethlehem PA 18015; map); 877-SANDS77; pasands.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: Burger looks good on paper and in person, but it lacks flavor, and more importantly soul.
Want Fries with That? Sure.
Price: $14, comes with one side.
There is no conversion of an edifice more indicative of the transformation of the American economy than that of the Bethlehem Steel building into a casino. Founded in 1857, Bethlehem Steel was once the virtual epicenter of steel manufacturing (only US Steel in nearby Pittsburgh was larger). For the next century it produced the steel that allowed skyscrapers to thrust further and further heavenwards, the hulls that floated the ships for America's navy and freight lines, and the armor that protected our veterans through two world wars.
But by the 1970s, the company's fortunes declined in concert with the decline of American manufacturing in general, unable to compete with cheaper foreign imports. The company staggered on until 2003, losing billions of dollars along the way before declaring bankruptcy. When the Sands casino company purchased the land with the intention of building a casino, they faced an ironic problem: They had trouble finding enough steel due to a global shortage.
[Photos: Ben Fishner]
On Saturday, at a church on Russell Street in Greenpoint, over 300 people gathered to hang out, drink some beer, and eat a locally sourced meal of homemade tamales while raising money for emerging art and community projects. This was FEAST, a non-profit event that sits at the intersection of foodie culture and arts fundraising, using an interest in food to raise money for a good cause.
FEAST (Funding Emerging Art with Sustainable Tactics) works like this: attendees pay a sliding scale donation to gain admission to dinner, which includes homemade food and beer donated from Brooklyn Brewery. While eating, drinking, and schmoozing, the attendees check out artists' proposals, eventually voting on the project they think should win funding. Proposals range from funding local rooftop farms, to creating "site specific wearable sculptures," to the manufacture of beauty products benefitting the Yucatan peninsula. The door money is awarded to the winning artist in the form of a grant, and the resulting work is presented at the following FEAST. The grant winner at last month's feast was an organization called Green My Bodega, a project that is "inventing the Bodega Supported Agriculture (B.S.A.) Model" by finding ways to get locally sourced produce into the bodegas that already serve huge parts of the communities of New York City.
Serious Eats–Slice overlord Ed Levine here has been on my case about getting to the new Frank Pepe's in Yonkers for a while now. He wanted to see how it stacked up to the original in New Haven, Connecticut.
See, the Frank Pepe family has been on a small tear in the last few years, opening branches of the famed New Haven pizzeria throughout Connecticut—first in Fairfield, then Manchester, then at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville.
Then they opened one in Yonkers, New York. This was sort of a big deal in pizza circles, since there's a fair amount of rivalry between New Haven– and New York–style partisans.
When the New York Times beat us to the punch on blabbing about Yonkers Pepe's, I knew I'd hear it from Ed.
But here's the thing: Nobody has approached this from the correct angle—namely comparing the two head-to-head to see how well Yonkers Pepe's does against the New Haven original. That's where Slice comes in. We're adding some context to this saga. Peep the photo gallery for the comparisons.
Josh and Dorie. [Photos: Robyn Lee]
I stopped into Dorie Greenspan's Cookie Bar pop-up shop at the Mizu Salon on Park Avenue this morning, and all I can say is—man, it's been a while since we've had cookies this good! Dorie's son and business partner, Josh, was there as well, and they make quite a swell team. Cookies are sold individually with prices ranging from $1.75 to $2.50, and the quality is top-notch, as one would expect from Dorie. She made sure to give props to the roster of chefs who helped her make the cookies: Johnny Iuzzini, Bradford Thompson, and Megan Fitzroy, along with volunteers from The French Culinary Institute. We ate our way though the entire selection of cookies, and I haven't a bad word to say about any of them.
The lineup, after the jump.
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
Say hello to the new Mini Cakes ($2.25 each) from DT Works. Pick from among four flavors—or pick them all, as they're really quite small. These cakes meet at the intersection of cupcake, layer cake, and whoopie pie in a swift bite.
[Photographs: Nick Kindelsperger]
1361 North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago IL (map); 773-252-2424
The Short Order: Crisp skinned chicken with impressively tender meat.
Want Fries with That? The boring crinkle cut variety come with every order.
Want Ketchup? Just extra hot sauce, please.
When the words "fried chicken" are uttered in Chicago, it's a fair bet that the name Harold's Chicken Shack will usually follow.
It's the most famous purveyor of chicken in the city with an operation of over 62 outlets, all of which have randomly assigned numbers that don't seem to correspond to anything. (The original is oddly titled #11.) Harold's Chicken Shack is the perfect example of a family-owned business that keeps quality controls high.
When I had the gall a few months ago to point out the very good stand Uncle Remus's Fried Chicken, I was reprimanded by Serious Eaters for ignoring the 800-pound gorilla in the room. Harold's was next.
Brad Japhe has previously contributed a review of Flame Gourmet Burgers in Berkeley, and a recipe for a Father's Office-style burger. Today he brings another Berkeley review of Meridian International Sports Cafe.
[Photographs: Brad Japhe]
2050 University Avenue, Berkeley CA 94704 (map); 510-705-1450; berkeleymeridian.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: Good flavors made possible by original sauces and quality ingredients.
Want Fries with That? Delicious duck fat frites are outstanding.
Prices: 5-ounce cheeseburger, w/ choice of cheddar or bleu with parsley fries, $9.00
Notes: 24 Beers on draft including several noteworthy regional microbrews
If you live in New York or Los Angeles, you may know just how hip and trendy gastropubs have become. People pack themselves behind a crowded bar for the privilege of waiting an hour or two for a $10 beer to wash down a $20 burger.
And yet for all their flashiness, it can't be denied that many of these exclusive destinations back up the hype, offering gourmet hamburgers that have elevated the stature of a dish once regarded as a purely pedestrian meal. There's nothing pedestrian about dry-aged ground ribeye, crumbled Roquefort, onion-molasses compote, and lightly toasted ciabatta, some of the hamburger enhancements made popular by The Spotted Pig, Minetta Tavern, and Father's Office, to name a few of the nation's more notable gastropubs.
But within the significantly toned-down confines of Berkeley, California, there is a palpable resistance to all things flashy and mainstream. Although gastropubs have not proliferated throughout this notoriously countercultural community, there is Meridian International Sports Cafe situated on University Avenue in the heart of downtown. Meridian's non-pretentious vibe, inviting atmosphere, and original menu finally make the gastropub approachable for Berkeleyans by being comforting but not conforming.
[Photo: Kathy Chan]
We brought you a first look at Village Tart in Soho two weeks ago. And now we're back for another sweep through. Baked goods have been tweaked, the savory dishes have been added. And the madeleines—remember those Olive Oil Madeleines? Now there are Olive Madelines with Maldon Salt Spotted with slices of green olives, these are salty, savory treats.
In the run up to the 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver food blogger Melody Fury (Gourmet Fury) is dropping by to guide travelers to the city's hidden gems in a series of Top 10 Local Recommendations. These locations are easily accessible from Downtown (within walking distance or by public transit). The recommendations boast of the unique, international delights that this beautiful sea-to-sky city offers. —The Mgmt.
Pork Belly at Kingyo. [Photograph: Melody Fury]
Vancouver is a proudly multicultural city and we lovingly embrace our diverse culinary scene. Surrounded by a wide spectrum of ethnic cuisines, YVR foodies have distinguishing palettes and can spot imitations from a mile away.
Let me show you how to eat your way around the World this Olympic in our Top 10 Ethnic Specialties.
Our friends and experts weigh in on the best bites wherever you live or travel. New cities added weekly!
In preparation for Chinese New Year's, here is a recipe for fortune cookies from scratch. As opposed to the super sweet, chemical-tasting kind that gets thrown into Chinese takeout orders, these are buttery and walnutty with a finely-textured crumb.
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