Halloween Candy

Halloween is almost over, and I guess I should confess that I fell off of the health and fitness wagon. Last weekend, Brian and I found a Costco sized bag of peanut m&m's at his parent's house and we at them while watching All About My Mother. Peanut m&m's, make me think of my friend who couldn't stomach anything while in the hospital other than peanut m&m's. It seems like the perfect food. They have calcium from the chocolate, protein in the peanut and there's probably chlorophyll in the green dye.

While in Queens, we stopped into Candy Shop USA (38-03 Main St. There are more stores in Manhattan Chinatown, too) store for some of my favorite Chinese candies, White Rabbit. I first had a White Rabbit a couple years ago when I was visiting Britt in Paris. We were at a farmer's market, and there was a Chinese food vendor with a perm there. I just consulted my photo album and there are summer rolls on the counter, so maybe it was Vietnamese. Honestly, I don't remember what I ate there or why. Anyway, the guy gave me a White Rabbit, and I kept the wrapper because I just think it's lovely. Maybe I could wallpaper my bathroom with them. The White Rabbit is basically a vanilla tootsie roll, but what makes it stand out is the thin rice paper film that melts on your tongue when you pop the sweet. There are new fangled flavors like red bean, chocolate, strawberry and lots more fruity flavors, but I find the plain old vanilla the best.
Carol brought me the best caramels that I've ever tasted from her vacation in Portland. They're buttery, sweet, chewy and then spicy! These big soft pieces of caramel contain habanero chili and cayenne pepper. The little chocolate skeleton which she calls a milagro is also from Alma Chocolate. A nice dark chocolate with an iridescent coating this candy is very healthy with all those antioxidiants and it's perfect to eat tomorrow to the Day of the Dead.

Thank you for being my friend, Charles Fried Chicken

I got some really sad news today and needed some Fried Chicken therapy. Of course, I had no cash, so I had to go to the bank. A short walk from said bank, I became mesmerized by the ribs cooking at Sherman's BarBQ (2507 Frederick Douglas Blvd. bw 145th&146th St.). Can you see them in the window? I've always loved the looks of this storefront, but I like my bbq cooked in a smoker and Sherman's aren't smoked. So I've never eaten there. Eating In Translation has a much nicer picture of the exterior in case you're interested. But once I saw the lady behind the counter peek her head out at me, I felt obliged to go inside. Faced with a bulletproof plexiglass window in front and wood paneling on the walls behind me, I ordered the ribs with cole slaw and potato salad ($11.75). I loved the simple cole slaw. The light sweetness in the mayo dressing was offset by the slight heat of the ground black pepper. The potato salad was too sweet for my liking, and the ribs were just ok. The sauce was thin in flavor and body. The actual ribs were quite fatty, but there were a lot of them. So I took the meat off the bones and will add it to rice for a nice fried rice lunch tomorrow.
To hell with health and fitness! Like a Golden Girl drawn to cheesecake, in times of trouble, I need fried chicken, not ribs. In my opinion, Charles'(2841 Frederick Douglass Blvd. at W. 151st St) is the best Southern fried chicken in Manhattan. There weren't any drumsticks, so I ordered two thighs and a side of collard greens (less than 6 bux) I've learned that unless the pan of mac and cheese on the steam table is new, it's better to skip it because it's going to be greasy, not creamy. The chicken's crust and meat are perfectly seasoned. Look at the huge heap of collards. The juice from the greens reminds me of this great scene in the movie Hal Ashby directed before Harold and Maude, The Landlord. In it, rich white Lee Grant gets drunk with her son's black tenant Pearl Bailey while drinking regular liquor, then they switch to collard green pot likker in glasses. It's the kind of movie that my old friend Patrick would have loved. Full of color, music and the vibrant energy of New York in the Seventies. If only he was here in NYC to drink pot likker with me right now.

NY Dosas Revisited

Thiru of NY Dosas won the first place award for best street food vendor for 2007. The awards are a fund raiser for The Street Vendor Project which helps defend and preserve the rights of street vendors. If you saw the first episode of I EAT NY on MNN, we interviewed Thiru back in 2004. I thought it would be fun to revisit that footage and shortened it by a few minutes. I know I could have shortened the new video by at least a minute by removing the part with the lady looking for orange juice, but I just love that moment. I especially love how she's wearing a Dennis Kucinich button. I can't help but wonder if she's wearing it now three years later.
These days, Thiru's dosas are just a buck more ($6) and he has an assistant who helps with the money and ordering. The food is still terrific. Brian got the rava dosa and I got the special pondicherry dosa. Both come with the coconut chutney and the lentil and tomato soup, sambhar.
Even though things change so quickly here in the big city, it's nice to know that some things don't.

The trouble with organics

What's that saying about stuff happening in threes?
This worm was in the cauliflower I bought from the farmer's market on Monday. I felt bad about smooshing him, so I stuck him in with my used coffee filters in the freezer. I'll dump him out at the composting stall at the market tomorrow. The lettuce I've had for two weeks is miraculously still good and when I made a salad for lunch today, it had a couple of bugs in there, too. Oh, and that stupid yellow mushroom is back in my mint plant with the addition of annoying aphids. Where do those things come from? Aphids, not mushrooms. They are eating up my basil and the eucalyptus plant is suffering now, too. The aloe is fine. In fact, it's growing out of its pot. Does anyone want some aloe?

Greek Yogurt craving

I like it when people reuse items for purposes other than their original design. For example, as I left Fairway today, I saw a lady put an extra grocery bag on her head as a hat to protect her hair. My mom always uses newspaper to clean a mirror. Yesterday when I was at the Bronx Zoo, there was a little squirrel monkey that used an old sock as a toy. You get the idea.

I like to use my one cup coffee filter holder as a Greek yogurt maker, but you could also use a coffee filter in a sieve. Just fill up the filter with some yogurt and stick it in the fridge overnight and voila! Greek yogurt. Well, sort of.

Remember, I'm dedicating my life to health and fitness, so instead of yogurt with some fat which I love, I've been eating the no fat stuff, but I've been craving the richness of Greek yogurt. I'm never going to calculate it, but I think this process is cheaper than just buying no fat Total Greek yogurt. On the FreshDirect website, they have 17.6 oz priced at $4.89 and the little 5 oz at $1.89. Meanwhile, I got some stuff at Fairway called Axelrod. It's 32 oz for $2.29. Granted, there's some shrinkage in the product as the whey drains out, but whatever. I've been drizzling honey and nuts on the yogurt but I've also added cucumber and green onion to make a raita or tzatziki type of spread for bread. Like I said, it's not delicious like the Greek yogurt dessert from Kefi that's pictured, but it does the trick. Now if I could just figure out some kind new use for all these darn yogurt tubs.

Diet & Budget Tip #1 — Kiddie Cones!

Okay, seriously. I'm dedicating my life to health and fitness, but it's really hot outside. I don't want to use my AC because it costs too much, and I'm on a budget. So I need ice cream. I've read that when it comes to eating ice cream, if you want health and fitness, you shouldn't buy it from the grocery store. If you buy that pint, then you might eat the entire thing in one sitting (I'm talking to you, Brian!). That's why it's better to buy ice cream at places that offer a kid sized scoop. It's smaller and cheaper. And in this case, that's better! Two places that provide this virtuous size are the Cupcake Cafe at Books of Wonder(18 W 18th St bw 5th/6th Ave.) and Ronnybrook Milk Bar (75 9th Ave bw 15th/16th St.).
Don't be tempted by the cupcakes at Cupcake Cafe housed at the children's bookstore, Books of Wonder. They are beautiful, but ultimately, it's just butter flavored flowers on top of dry cupcakes. Really. You don't need them. Instead, opt for the Nelson's ice cream. I did an internet search, though I should have just asked the woman at the counter where Nelson's is from. The first google entry said it's an ice cream parlor in Pennsylvania. So it's almost local. No matter, the taste is quite good. Creamy, sweet, cold. Everything you want ice cream to be. And the price? A yummy $1.50. I got the flavor of the day, blackberry and the cream mellows the tanginess of blackberry quite nicely.
The kids cone at Ronnybrook Milk Bar is listed at a $1.75, a quarter more, but Ronnybrook has more flavors and the stuff is made in house. Plus, they just renovated their space at the Chelsea Market and something has to pay the bills. If you haven't been to the new Milk Bar, check it out. It's a really nice example of new retro design. The walls are covered with wooden milkcrates and the menu is written on a long chalkboard. There's a round shaped bar complete with 1950's stools. I haven't had any of their food yet, but it's at the top of my list. I can't wait to try their eggs in a hole with Applewood Smoked Bacon and melted Grafton Cheddar on Rye. Check out the rest of their menu, and let me know when you want to meet up there for lunch. Pictured is the ginger creme brulee. The first taste is an almost egg nog flavored cream, then tiny flecks of ginger heat up the back of your throat as you swallow. I can't wait to try all of their flavors!

The Place in Guilford, CT

My mom saw a commercial for Red Lobster and decided she wanted to go there for her birthday because the ad made the food look so good. My sister warned her it wasn't going to be good, but for some reason, mom really wanted to go. So they went, and it wasn't that good. What are you going to do? There aren't that many lobster places in McKinney, TX.
Anyway, I felt bad that my mom ate lame seafood for her birthday, when I recently feasted on lobster out in Guilford, CT. My pal Carol live in Connecticut and she's part mermaid. She swims laps in the ocean, has long blonde hair and loves to eat clams. I find this very interesting not because she uses the shells to make bikini tops, but because she doesn't like fresh tomatoes. They are squishy and what's squishier than a clam? No matter, The Place doesn't serve tomatoes, but you're welcome to bring your own sides if you like. We saw that people brought cole slaws and potato salads.
This is a good idea because the only sides are corn on the cob and veggie kabobs. We both ordered the roasted lobster, roasted clams, and corn. We debated getting the house special clams, but we realized they were just the roasted clams with some kind of ketchup sauce squirted on them. We wanted the unhindered flavor of the sea. And that's what we got. Delivered to us on a hot wire grill, the clams were briny and fresh. Perfection. The corn was dunked in butter by a cute teenaged boy and brought to us on a soaked paper plate. I believe the the way you eat corn indicates the kind of person you are. Here's my ear. I'm tidy.
We should have ordered one roasted and one boiled, but the sight of the lobsters roasting on the rickety concrete block spit is pretty exciting. See video for excitement.
The boilers bubble in big black pots set to the side of the grill. We should have ordered one because as the roasted lobster cools, the juices dry up, especially in the meaty claws where you want it to be really moist. We had a bit of trouble opening the claws because there were no nut crackers. Then we saw the waitress give another table a foil covered rock. This helped, but also hindered because the shell shards smashed into the meat and they were hard to pick out. At that point, you are kind of annoyed because there's so much labor involved with dwindling returns. I whined to Carol that I missed my mom because she would have picked out the meat for me. Yep, I'm a baby when it comes to crab and lobster picking. My mom is a pro and must be a mermaid, too. She eats shellfish like Daryl Hannah in "Splash." It's a sight both embarrassing and impressive.
But the dry claws didn't matter because the setting was beautiful. You sit on old wood stumps under a trees and the sky. The staff is almost all teenagers with the boys manning the grills and the girls waiting the tables. It was fun to try to figure out who was dating who and to make up stories about the other diners. We didn't order dessert because we didn't have enough cash and at that point the smoke was starting to get in my eyes and give me a headache. Carol said that it was the suburbs that gave me the headache, but I can't wait to go back.

The Place (901 Boston Post Rd) is located in Guilford, CT on Rte. 1 right across from a Walmart. It's about 2 hours from NYC. Cash only and they are only open from June to October.