Crawfish!...

I've had a thing for crawfish and crawfish boils for a while now--my bro has been doing them @ our house back in CA for some time but...now I've got the fevah, and the only cure is more cowbell! er...crawfishies!!! ^_^ woohoo!

Very much into eating seasonal and I hope to sweet jebus that it's crawfish season--sorta. Summer...boiling...i dunno. BUT it's here!! This wkd I went with Albee to the Ninth Ave International Food Festival in midtown--just a glorified street fair, but a couple more cuisines than usually at these things. The only place that had the crawfish was the Delta Grill booth (also based in midtown, 48th & 9th ave). WEEEEE!!

Nummy num num. There was rice and...i don't know to be honest I didn't pay attention. There was jambalaya--the pic abouve is of the sausage, rice, crawfish boil, and crawfish etouffee--which I must try for another time b/c me likes etouffee and that whole smother everything over rice concept :)
There were 2-3 carribean food joints that were pretty good--I wanted to try some conch fritters but 1. you know it's not fresh conch, and 2. it wasn't ready yet :P. Didn't pay attention to where I got this from :(

This was the oxtail & rice we had--complete w/ plaintains and some pickled cabbage-y stuff that was...decent. I thought the oxtail should've been more tender and be of the "fall off the bone" kind of texture and yumminess but alas. The sauce itself was pretty good--but I think had the oxtail been simmered longer that sauce would've had a creamier consistency and more intense flavor as well. Can't complain tho! mmmmm nummy nummaaaay. Plaintains were simple--i think just sauteed with some garlic and that was it!

BACK TO CRAWFISHIES!!

This makes is evocative of some...great crawfish battle that seems to have transpired--a la the Zach Snyder film 300. Except u know--instead of Spartans, these little critters tried to fend off the mighty hordes and dieeeeeeeeeeed! Their teeny little carcasses stacked up in the wake of the most nom-able epicurean war.

Also makes me want to quote Braveheart :D HEhehehehehe...

"Make haste, Dilios! Back to Spartaaaaaa!" ......................"Okieeeeeeeees!"

All right--one more with a caption and whatnot cuz...it's fun to play with your food and I was far too behaved as a wee littl'un to have used or fathomed making my critters prance and speak with accents--or switch nationalities and storyline mid-food-'n-play :P...

"Mah nem eez Claude! I am ze damn crawfeesh! Un'and meeh! Zut alors stoopeet countrayman! I am go-eeng to keel you! Mon dieu you ahr 'eartless, I am how you sey...veray deddd!!"

:D I haven't been much of a fan of sucking on the crawfish brains but--I get it for the most part. It's the juiciest bits and soaked up most of the seasoning during simmering...that and dammit if u're paying that much for boil and let's be honest, the damn tail meat is meager in terms of shell/mass to meat ratio, you bettah make the most of its bits to make it worth it!!!

How might one--"de-husk" a crawfish, per se? Wellssssss....I like to pinch it lengthwise and crack the shell along its back. Then I hold it with its underbelly towards me then I splay it backwards...against that initial cracking if u will. This then thrusts the tail meat out in tact as u peel back the broken swimmerettes and all!

et voila! ze crawfeesh! eet eez ready for ze consumption!

And that's not grease btw--it's just how the seasoning stains your hand a bit cuz you hafta get all up in the crawfishies and dismantle them and all.

That was pretty much it :) Albee wasn't much a fan but ohhhh I still am. Unlike with ramps, my singular fixation with crawfish has not waned (and far from abruptly :P).

Oh...and we had "the best cannoli" from the Fortunato bros (which I hafta say...is pretty damn good). Not too sweet, had some mini chocolate nibs inside.

I def prefer this over Ferrara's cannoli's since F-bros' are made with ricotta! Hate the pastry cream filling otherwise!! booo! Also had some forgettable greek sweet, and savory pastries which were soggy and cold (and a bit bland) from...wherever. WHATEVER. :)

Cafe Euro in Balestrate...

Down the st. from Scott & Ange's place in Balestrate--one of the better pasticcerie in all of *ITALY* that we got a chance to go to...I guess...we wanted more of a panificio (bakery) than a sweets shop--but even still...most of them didn't deliver in terms of the breads, pastries, etc in texture etc. Their cornetto/croissants are pretty dense...as is most their...carbs we thought =/ Or the pastry cream was wack! Either way...

SO YUMMMAAAAY!!!!!!

...lotsa ricotta in these...a bit overwhelming at times but I mean...these things are massssive! TEEHEE!!!!! Their sfoglias and croissants and other stuff are far from flakey either.

The tarts were rather good--the wild strawberries--MAN the fruit toppings/fruit themselves make such a HUGE diff when abroad!! The pastry cream here is also one of the better ones I've tasted in my life too....and look they wrap everything up so prettily!...

It's also really interesting the diff in bread rise and airy qualities the farther down south you go. Mostly plain jane breads--they serve their purpose =/ But...these from Cafe Euro we thought had the right amount of sweetness and compromise in airiness/bready...whatever it is.

We had what looked like 2 massive cakey/doughey things overflowing with Ricotta--but actually one is like a bombolone (italian donut/beignet) and the other is more...brioche-like.

As u can tell the Italians (esp Sicily) love their almond cookies and pistachio or pine nuts! I can't complain. I think I prefer ricotta over marscapone as well!...SUPER CLOSE-UP OF PISTACHIO COATING!!...:) it was so ...deliciously green and coloured!! And almond-y!

I think this is one of the most fun/funny shots I've taken b/c u can clearly see Karen smiling w/ glee in the background over the foods hehe...

It was perfect weather, perfect lighting, perfect mostly everything in Sicily after so much rain and some ish in Bologna and Florence when we first came in! :) Except for the slow ass non-existent trains that take longer than the bus to get from outside the city into Palermo hehe...SUPER ZOOM on the pistachio topped almond cake!!

Restaurant WK @ Convivio!...

A little in the boonies side of midtown east--sammiched between some hard core old residential buildings, aptly named Tudor City Place... :) Overall? Decor is a little bipolar in warmth/woodsy, soft and a little cold gray. Food--a little on the pricey side but split a few things and u're good to go--pastas, anything braised is AWESOME. fish is eh. duck eh. go for more sumptious ingredients and u can't go wrong :)

Appetizers! There were 4 of us so we got the Sfizi (pickled things), the Pane Cotta (bread soup with pancetta, buffalo ricotta, blahblah),

and 2 of the Duck Sausage over lentils...

First Plates! Again, we divied it up nicely :P Karen insisted on finding out about Convivio's infamous handmade pastas--sauce was GREAT...same kind of rustic, fresh, light and creamy feel as Pisticci's (yes, my measuring stick per se!), and the texture of the spaghetti was also good.

I got the mackerel but I was torn with the pork shoulder--but Roger and Albee got it so i figured EH...why not round it out :) I was drawn to it mostly for the mustard-caper sauce since I *lurves* me some capers!! The sauce did not fail--the fish was EH, but the sauce and potatoes/salad underneat was a nice touch. :)

Braised pork shoulder w/ soft polenta was *yummaaaaay!* That's yummy in a crescendoed high pitched tone if u couldn't tell! So tender, well seasoned--polena much better than i thought! Creamy, rich, not so gritty as I anticipated. Lick the plate kinda tasty! Maybe rub polenta on my face a little in circular motions like a crazy olive oil drenched moisturizer. MmmmMmmm.....*ahem*. ;)

Desserts were WHATEVER. the Chocolate gelato that came with my cannolis were good--except the cannolis weren't all that extraordinary though it had a little citrusy top note to it. The affogato was sufficient--it's a shot of espresso over gelato, and after having it done right in Italy well...no comparison :)

The VERY AWESOME thing was that we got a $25 gift card off our next meal!! Recession special/restaurant week gimmick if u will...I don't care, I'm def coming back to try the grilled octopus, the gnocchetti, and tortelli with crab meat and sea urchin!!

NEVER MIND my lighting. I'm having some off problems eyeballing lately :( Esp in unnatural light. *bah!* :) Enjoy--I promise to put up italy food pictures from...3 mos ago soon. It's like a trove of...orgasmically lit and fresh and...exciting food!! Bar Bao for Restaurant week also coming up...maybe Dovetail. EH.

Veniero's (confection heaven!)...

Oh HEY--yeah what's up?
It's...it's been, uh, a while, huh?
Yah...I know, I should've called but...you know, you know how it is.
Um yeah so...
Me? OH just fine, good times, good times.

So....
...yeaaaaaah....

...VENIERO'S!! After a month and a half lull..I present you...yummy yum yumness u don't even KNOW homeslice. It truly is a uh...a post to reintroduce mahself with.

In terms of italian pastries and just...pastries period, I've never been that big a fan of Ferrara's, and I truly thought that was the best NY had to offer (a little tear drops down my cheekie-poo). Mike's pastries (esp the cannoli) in Boston...seriously. It's the ricotta cheese and the shell and just...how fab it is PERIOD. Ferrara's uses a custard-y filling but Veniero's....RICOTTAAAAAA!!!

I'd like to go to get some cannoli's from Salvatore Brooklyn Ricotta (at the Ft. Greene flea market too!! ^_^) but this bodes well for me since Veniero's just in the East Village. I had just eaten dinner w/ Albee and he took me to Chickalicious and then "oh this little place it's pretty good you should come back to try stuff if you're too full now"...and OH. MY FRIGGIN'. COW.

Rows and rows of impeccably constructed large and mini versions of tarts (multiple, endless types) The colors, the rows, the freezer...THE EVERYTHING!

Albee, love, you sure know how to make a girl feel giddy! ;)
btw...Veniero's is on 11th st between 1st and 2nd ave...it's 110 yrs old (as in how long it's even been in NYC), and has outposts in Rome and Bologna.

In Vino + [Mike's Pastries v. Ferrara's]...

There are 2 places in the city I go for Italian: Pisticci's near Columbia, and In Vino in the LES. Both have distinctive, brief menus--all the food is well portioned, well seasoned (or perfectly lightly flavored), culmination of interesting sauces + flavors that sets them apart from other Italian places *anywhere*. (side note: I don't like the lobster tail @ Ferrara's on Grand & Mulberry b/c the filling is more custardy and marscapone-like instead of a sweet cheese like ricotta @ Mike's Pastries in beanown) Here's some torrone instead :) :

Anyway, Annie visited from CA in October with her boyf--so I took her for non-Asian foodies @ Cuba Cafe and In Vino :)...Cuba Cafe will be saved for later when I can find my photos--so back to In Vino.

Anyway, Annie got the Gnocchi w/ gorgonzola cream sauce + walnuts, I got the Papardelle with shrimp arrabiata (which I always do), and Chris got the porcini Ravioli in truffle cream sauce.

The pastas are home-made...per se...but it tastes noticeably different and wonderful ^_^ Anyhoodle, I ran into Albee w/ his boyf there once and they got the risotto special--it was freakin' amazing, but me & Jun still stuck to our usuals.

We [as in pretty much anyone I go with, and I go too often] tend to start with the sottocenere cheese plate (cow's milk cheese with truffle oil and truffle flakes) with apples, walnuts, and a really intensely flavored, dark honey. I don't care much for many cheeses but I LOVE the truffle cheese!! warm, kinda nutty, creamy taste (sorta) with a delicate truffle flavor, but especially fragrant per se with the truffle.

Sometimes I get the crostino di avocado (avocado + goat cheese puree on toast and it's freakin' AWESOME). Jun and I split the calamari salad the last time I was there--white wine sauce w/ tomatoes and...lemon and something whatever. Blah di blah blah. pictures later.