From Ed Levine Eats
Posted by Zach Brooks, May 8, 2008 at 8:00 PM
Earlier today, three of New York's finest chefs gathered at a New Yorker Conference panel moderated by Bill Buford, where Momofuku chef David Chang confessed that even he's surprised how popular his pork buns have become. He admitted that they were "an eleventh-hour addition to the menu." He went on to add, "who knew steamed bread and pork fat would be so popular." At which point thousands of pork-obsessed New Yorkers came to realize that their reason for being almost never existed. I shudder to even think about it.
From Eating Out
Posted by Zach Brooks, May 7, 2008 at 1:00 PM
Photograph from the blog 'We Are Never Full'
In France, if you order a "sandwich américain," what you'll end up with is a chopped beef, hamburger-like substance, topped with french (ironic right?) fries, and stuffed into a baguette. It is unclear whether the name comes from the notion that french fries are now fully associated with America (rather than Belgium, where they are probably from), or whether the French just consider us gluttons—either way, I'm not ashamed to admit that the sandwich sounds amazing (and I'd be happy to shout that out while waving a giant American flag).
Even better though, is a variation on the sandwich américain, where the hamburger is replaced with merguez sausage, and served from a street cart. Vendors can be found dishing out the delicious merguez frites, as they're called, on the streets of Paris, from stalls at flea markets, or at the fireworks display in Carcassone, which is where Amy and Jonny from the blog We Are Never Full discovered this Moroccan inspired, French treat.
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From Ed Levine Eats
Posted by Zach Brooks, May 5, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Here in New York City, those of us who have lived in (or just plain love) New Orleans are on a constant hunt for any of the foods that brought us joy from that area. Oysters, beignets, crawfish, jambalaya, po'boys, and even daquiris are all well known sources of pride for anybody who has ever lived in the Crescent City, but there are two lesser known loves: beer (and by that I mean Abita) and strawberries, which once a year come together in a limited-edition Harvest Lager that Abita Brewing Company makes from freshly harvested Louisiana strawberries.
Last year it seemed impossible to track down the stuff here in New York—and the window is pretty short—but this year it seems to have popped up in decent numbers at a few places in the city. And unlike po'boys and jambalaya, which seem to get lost in translation when served in alot of New York restaurants, Abita Strawberry makes the journey perfectly intact.
Stores
Whole Foods Columbus Circle: 10 Columbus Circle, Time Warner Center; 212-823-9600
Whole Foods Chelsea: 250 Seventh Avenue (24th/25th streets); 212-924-5969
Whole Foods Union Square: 4 Union Square South (on 14th Street); 212-673-5388
Whole Foods Bowery: 95 East Houston; 212-420-1360
$9.99 for a 6 pack at all Whole Foods locations.
Restaurants
Mara's Homemade: 342 East 6th Street (First/Second avenues), Manhattan; 212-592-1110
NoNo Kitchen: 293 Seventh Avenue (7th/8th streets), Brooklyn; 718-369-8348
Website: http://www.midtownlunch.com
Location: New York, NY
About: "Fat man, likes food" sums it up. Weekdays I eat in Midtown Manahattan (the most food challenged part of New York City) and post about it on midtownlunch.com Weekends, I stalk sandwiches, which get posted about here on Serious Eats
Favorite foods: I discriminate against no food.
Last bite on earth: A pill that makes you keep living? Barring that, I would probably want to eat at some sort of Asian all you can eat buffet- but if you are literally talking about one last bite, it would probably be a perfectly cooked piece of crispy pork skin