Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

The Hallaca plate sounds crazy because it is eaten in Venezuela only in Xmas. I guess it's a one time indulgence. As a Venezuelan, I would feel totally weird eating hallacas even in November. It's like having a Thanksgiving meal in July.

The duck egg york bun is a relatively recent invention of chefs in Hong Kong comparing to roast pork bun. In Chinese, they call it ”quicksand bun“.

@wookie, Remander, phatshanghai: DIY pho is the bombdiggity. And a dangerous thing, too! Because it might just ruin you to anything a restaurant could offer.

Thanks for the recipe and tips. I eat pho at my local restaurant at least once a week. It's probably my favorite food.

I cook all the time, yet I've never made pho. I think it is time to try. Recent cool weather makes it the season.

@tatianak: The day after we wrapped production, the weather turned warm. Curses! But pho can be eaten year-round, and in Viet Nam, you'll find people hunkered over humid bowls even on blistering days.

@Eaterlover: Oh man, don't get me tallying opportunity costs :). But I'm a-okay losing the billable hours because (1) a pho of just-oxtail is hard to find; and (2) the flavor and textural differences between a 4-hour stew and an 8-hour stew are startling. Most restaurants can't commit to production of the latter.

@지방kogi: Ah ... the smell of pho does trigger such specific memories.

@chriskobler: Your commitment to excellence is thrilling! You might also dig Shola's interpretation of this rustic meal.

ooOOo pho... the best comfort food for a cool rainy day... remind of my trip to saigon... eating pho on the street while people watching, sitting in plastic chair and huddle over big hot bowl to PHO in the pouring rain... nothing beat that!!!!

Gastro888, those egg yolk buns were bought for a song - I wanna say, maybe 3 dollars or 4 dollars? The glutinous rice balls w/ egg yolk were even cheaper.

Yes, I cannot stress how delicious those duck egg yolk buns are, for those of you who have the opportunity to visit Sea Harbour. I am currently developing a recipe for these very buns, because I cannot bear to be without them on the East Coast!

I love that more articles are being written on Yucatecán cuisine. It is an underrated style that features a blend of Mayan, Spanish and Caribbean, particulary Cuban flavors. Mérida is the food center of Yucatán and the cooks here use either Cochinita Pibil or Pollo Pibil for their Panuchos, although most braised, flavorful third category cut meats with will suffice.

For this recipe, I suggest a few changes:

The Beans: They must be black beans! Patricia Quintana has a great recipe for Yucatecán-Style Sieved Black Beans flavored with white onion, habanero and fresh epazote. Epazote is a great herb that rids the beans of their gaseousness and provides excellent flavor - It should always be used fresh and can be found in big city farmer's markets.

The Tortillas: Probably the most noticable flavor difference that will elevate Panuchos to new heights will be had if you use masa, or fresh corn dough (sold in latin markets, and some popular supermarkets as "Masa Harina"). Patricia Quintana also has a great recipe for corn tortillas. Please avoid the store bought corn tortillas - they taste nothing like the real thing.

The Pickled Red Onions: A few tablespoons of light brown sugar and a few allspice berries will add great flavor. Toast these along with the cumin seeds and make sure the oregano you use is Mexican oregano. There is no need to grind these spices. Simply bring everything except the onions to a boil then pour over the onions and let cool to room temperature before eating. They will keep for at least 2 months.

The Fat: Use pork lard instead of oil to fry the Panuchos - you won't regret it!

Baogette's iced coffee is a disappointing affair---UNBELIEVABLY TASTELESS and WEAK with JUST A HINT OF SWEETNESS due to a STINGY amount of sweetened condensed milk. Was so looking forward to that rich, creamy coffee that is a signature of Vietnamese restaurants from Chinatown to Jackson Heights. The sandwiches are good and filling but the HONEY MUSTARD on the FISH sandwich puts it on par with deli food--not good.

Paris Sandwiches on Mott St Nicky's on E. 2nd have something going on with their food which is tastier.

Waited 15 minutes on line to order at prime lunch time - not bad. Waited another 30 minutes on top of that to actually get my sandwich. During which time they ran out of pork (there was more cooking in the oven). During which time the two people behind the counter were taking their sweet time to the point where I wanted to jump back there and help them out.

So I finally got my sandwich and it was quite good. Worth the wait? Maybe. Maybe once a month, but certainly not once a week. Bread was not warm as they were using it up too fast to get any QT under the warmer.

In other news, unless they storing their "house made" mayo in industrial size Hellman's bottles, it's not so much homemade.

I have been on a Banh Mi kick this week to discover the best in town. So far I've been to: Paris Bakery, Saigon Bakery, the new An Choi and then back to Paris all in one week. Paris is more of a $4 smaller baguette but so fresh and great bread. Saigon, was bummed about the Special and the bread felt like a hoagie but great price under $4. An Choi (Orchard/Grand) great sit down, their Special is ok, their grilled pork was DELISH! I loved their touch of serving it with shrimp chips, priced at $5-5.50 but you can actually sit and enjoy the restaurant. Their iced coffee... meh, very weak.

I'm a bit hesitant to try Baogette but its next along with Nikki's for the taste test. There should be more Banh Mi spots in the city, its an odd thing that New Yorkers have not entirely discovered while we are so international. In cities like Seattle and San Francisco they are much more recognized.

Every sub par SUB shop should become Banh Mi fo sho!

Check out this site: http://battleofthebanhmi.com/

I'm actually surprised at how big a deal people are making of comparing haagen dazs and Ben & jerry's. Besides both brands being expensive and sold in "pints," I never thought of them as similar products, even before the B&J buyout. People buy B&J becuase they like the pretzels, marshmallow and everything else added in. Thats the novelty of their product. Haagen-Dazs brand is based on simple, pure flavors. It's a different beast entirely. Sometimes I want Phish food and sometimes I want dulce de leche, so I buy whichever brand suits my needs.

Was anyone else reminded of "Schooner Tuna" from "Mr. Mom" when they were reading Ben & Jerry's press release?

"My fellow Americans. I am Howard Humphrey, President of Schooner Tuna. All of us here at Schooner Tuna sympathize will all of you hit so hard by these trying economic times. In order to help you we are reducing the price of Schooner Tuna by 50 cents a can. When this crisis is over, we will go back to our regular prices. Until then, remember, we’re all in this together. Schooner Tuna. The tuna with a heart."