Religious Experience

When I'm feeling sad, I think of my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad. When God closes a door, a window opens. So must wisdom from the movie I just read Christopher Plummer calls the "Sound of Mucus!!" On Nov.1 around 10pm, I was walking past St. Mark's Church feeling sad that I had worked late and missed dinner when I smelled one of my favorite things. Food! In the church's courtyard a lady was making real Mexican style quesadillas to celebrate the Day of the Dead. The sweet lady was pressing corn masa into flat rounds using a wooden tool, then folded them on a big griddle with that delicious salty white cheese. Once the cheese was melted, she stuffed shredded iceberg lettuce, squirted green salsa then refolded the golden tortilla. The first bite was heaven. The warmth of the queso contrasted with the coolness of the iceberg and the night air. Then the spice of the green hotsauce added zing to the sweetness of the corn tortilla. I could go one, but since you can't eat it until next year, I'll just say that it was one of the most amazing experiences I've eaten this year.

Hot Tamale in the City

I don't remember what I was doing on 38th (bw 9th&9th), but I was there until I saw this guy with the sign. Tamales for a buck! Las Poblanitas(212.629.0090)is one of those little Mexican dives you walk right by because it's in the no man's land of the garment district and there's no margarita machine. Glancing at the menu, the most expensive dishes are the gorditas, chiles rellenos and mole poblano at $5.95. And after looking at the plates in the restaurant, the food does look good. Unfortunately, I only had time and funds to grab the tamale and it was the right choice for a buck.

BBQ pig

There's no real reason to put this on the blog, except that it's funny and sort of food related. This shot is from the Oliver Stone movie that will come out next year. You'll probably never see the pig, but now you know it'll be there.

sophies

sophies
Originally uploaded by i_eat_ny.

I was buying batteries at Duane Reade for work and passed by Beaver St. when I saw Sophie's sign. I read about Sophie's a long time ago in the Voice when I was addicted to Cubanos, but never thought I'd be that far downtown to try them. Lunch time is crazy time and there were tons of people vying for a table. It was easy to get a sandwich, though. They've set aside counter space just for sandwich service next to the expansive steam table. My Cuban cost $5.42 and was very filling. Warm pork, ham, cheese and pickles will do that to you. All in all, Sophie's is good, but Margon continues to reign as the king in my book.

Never fear the ginger beer

The past couple of weeks I've been working in the financial district across from the Staten Island Ferry. We had a great view, but the lunches were not so great. That is, until I went to Shirley's cart. There's barely a sign in front of the silver cart, but there's a bright red umbrella to signal really great Caribbean food. Shirley arrives on the corner of State and Broadway across from the Whitehall stop almost every day at 8am to start cooking her delicious food. I keep missing chicken roti days because you have to get there before noon on certain days before it runs out, but I've tried her stewed chicken, jerk chicken, stewed fish and goat curry (beware of bones!). Everyday she serves a vegetable, rice and peas and then either white or yellow rice. As for the vegetables, I've had the plaintains, spinach, cabbage, and greenbeans. The cabbage is my favorite because it's such a humble food. Shirley says it's so simple to make, but she elevates it into something spectacular. It's tender and juicy and sweetened with carrot slivers. I realized as I was eating the fish one Friday, Shirley's food reminded me of my mom's food. Not because it was homey and contained onions, but because it tasted so good, it must have been made with love. Oh and you've got to try the fresh ginger beer for $1.50. It's hot and spicy and amazing!!!

The Chocolate Room

chocroom
Originally uploaded by i_eat_ny.

I was hoping Chocolate Room would be made of chocolate, but instead they make chocolate desserts. And they are damn good! Elizabeth and I were splurging one night after dinner. We had shared an appetizer and entree to be economical, so blowing money on dessert seemed like a good idea. The Chocolate Room is definately a good idea. I ordered the volcano cake with the port pairing. That was good, but not as exciting as the terrific ginger ice cream that topped it. We also shared the butterscotch custard with a delish sugar caramel topper. I won't bother to further describe the sweets because it will make me start drooling at the computer. You just have to try it for yourself.
www.TheChocolateRoomBrooklyn.com
86 5th Ave. Park Slope, Brooklyn

Who's the best Cuban?

One of the great debates on the message boards is where is the best Cuban sandwich. It's a difficult decision. There are some great ones out there. Off the top of my head, Margon in theTimes Square area is my favorite. It's a bummer they are only open for lunch. Anyway I was heading over to the Mercantile Building in Chelsea to my friend’s place with 30 minutes to feed my face.
I’d passed this storefront with the neon advertising the best Cuban, so I had to check it out. Located on 8th Ave. and 20th St, Havana Chelsea is a warm and inviting little place. I took a seat at the bar, because I was alone and immediately ordered the half Cuban. It was $4.50. They sit pre-assembled in the window case and are put in the sandwich press with a generous brush of butter. The resulting sandwich is really good. The bread was almost like a cracker, it was thoroughly toasted and the rest of the elements worked nicely. Pickle, ham, roast pork. Yum! The pork was a tad dry in a couple of bites, but the cheese helped moisten the rest. A good sandwich, but next time I go, I’m going to get the Sopa de marisco. The bowl of yellow soup had tons of seafood in it and was less than 5 bucks. As soon as the weather gets cold, I’m going to get me some of that!

I like the sauce

nyburgerco
Originally uploaded by i_eat_ny.

After picking up some stuff from the fabulous vendor, Specialty Signs, I needed some lunch. I probably eat too many burgers, but the newish local chain NY Burger Company opened between 21st and 22nd on 6th Ave and I hadn’t ever eaten there. I’d eaten at the one on Park between 23rd and 24th, but I couldn’t remember if I liked it. I think I got it confused with Better Burger which I remember as boring. One bite of the NY Burger and I remembered what I liked about NY Burger Company: their sauces. They have a whole bar full of condiments to squirt on the burger. Spicy bbq sauce, maple Dijon mustard, chili pepper ketchup, chipotle honey, horseradish, there’s probably more, but those are the free ones that I can remember. The literature boasts that their meat is Coleman all natural beef. I don’t really know what that means. Somehow it’s better. They also use Murray’s free range chicken in their chicken sandwiches and salads. The place is called NY Burger, I’m getting a burger. And while their burger is good, the burger at Shake Shack is tastier in my opinion. Still, NY Burger’s fries are better than the Shack. My advice is if the line is too long at Shake Shack, go to NY Burger, but for now, go wait in line the Shack. It closes for the winter in December. After December, go to NY Burger. It’s good, though a little expensive. Their plain hamburger costs $5.75. But the bun is a nice brioche and the plum tomatoes are actually red and the Romaine fresh. Maybe next time I’ll bring Tupperware to take home some of their sauces. Is that too weird?