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@Nick, you definitely don't to use a fine, aged balsamic in lieu of black vinegar, but a decent mass marketed brand will give you enough complexity and sweetness (perhaps a touch more than you want) to replicate the flavor of black vinegar. Regular rice vinegar is sharper than black vinegar and wouldn't blend as well.

I have been quite eager to broaden beyond my favorite fuqi feipian at my local Chinese restaurant and now it looks like duck tongues in hua jiao dressing might the perfect rich and spicy option!

@Burger365, I often see duck tongues available at Chinese markets either frozen or by the lb. in the butcher's case.

I can understand how Mr. Leff might come across with some supriority in his tone, but I don't think that compares to the vanity and superficiality of babbling foodiots. There's no passion for food to inspire them, so much as reveling in the experience of dabbling in the fashion of cuisine and broadcasting that to the world. Foodiots might obssess over food much as anyone here, but engaging with them is often like talking home economics with toddlers playing House. There is no depth, no real interest in food because they are not talking about food in the first place, so much as they are talking about themselves and their narrow rung on the ladder. When Mr. Leff talks about Hounds chasing the "shiny big things," he speaks to the deeper self-absorption of the foodiots who aren't writing about food; they're sharing their personal takes on the hottest and the newest, holding forth on their rarest open secrets as if beating UrbanDaddy to the punch earns them a medal as they grandstand on the Manhattan boards, monologue on their Blogspot self-shrines and populate our Facebook Feeds with endless portraits into their special lives.

This isn't too different from my quick banh mi except I use headcheese instead of pork chops and cannot imagine offering up a banh mi without a healthy dash of fish sauce.

I've seen Jacques Pepin do something similar to prepare what he called the perfect "mirror eggs" (oeufs miroirs).

I love grape soda more than life itself! One of the major selling points for my last apartment on the Upper West Side was that the local market sold diet grape soda, which was my white whale living downtown. I haven't seen it in a couple years and would appreciate any tips!

@Chichi, I think we're trying to describe the same elusive quality of tripe. Not exactly chewy, not exactly tender, but in this delicious space in between. Something to be tasted in order to be comprehended!

I love menudo -- it is one of the best imports from our neighbors down south. But I would take issue with your description of tripe's texture. Well-cooked tripe should be tender. The initial resistance of the outer membrane yielding to an almost gooey center. If tripe is too chewy, it hasn't been cooked long enough. If, however, it is melting into your stew, you know you've gone too far in the other directoin.

The sandwiches are a decent size for lunch. The bread is fantastic, but I agree with the assessment of all the proteins. I'm hoping they improve with time as I could easily see them becoming my favorite local lunch.

I almost always eat alone, which frees me to make anything I want, whether it be the slice of cheese on a cracker I had for breakfast or the fusiony morcilla and kimchi lettuce wraps I had for dinner last week. I can go small as with the tandoori chicken I'm having for lunch, or as elaborate as the pasta con sarde and fiddleheads I had for lunch on Friday.

Mushroom soy sauce adds depth of flavor to the broth. Light soy would be too little, so mix that with dark soy (or kecap manis) for something more savory. A little orange peel and cinnamon bark will also spice the sauce and cut through fat if you have an especially lardo chicken.

Geenersaurus - do dilaw or atsuete sound like what your father puts in his adobo?

This sounds like an interesting take on an old favorite. I might swap black vinegar for the balsamic to keep things a little more economical. Like other commenters I agree that reducing the braising liquid and frying the meat and smashed garlic until crisp is a must. That concentrated sauce served over the crunchy chicken skin is addictive.