Ippudo w/ Mama Ly!...

Thanksgiving w/ Mama Ly in the city --> Ippudo, Pommes Frittes, Ronnybrook Milk Bar, Chelsea Market, Amy's Bread, and...some cooking but for now...more pics of the porkiness that I love esp with the coming brisk winter days/nights!

Pork belly bun.

Akamaru Shin-aji ramen.

YUM YUM YUM.

Kampuchea Catfish Sammich!...

I met up with the girls after an NYurban vball league game @ Karen's (when we had made beignets and apple tarte tartins) so I was STARVED and feeling portable foods. Claudz took me to Kampuchea on Rivington & Allen. She had raved about the sammiches particularly the Ginger-rubbed catfish.

I was torn between that, the Hoison Pork sammich, and The Kampuchea sammich (with headcheese terrine)...but something about the cleaner finish of fish and the prospect of honey/peppercorn/ginger just grabbed me. It was a pretty big friggin' sandwhich and they definitely weren't stingy with the catfish. The sauce and the way all the flavors came together was subtle, a little sweet with a little heat from the peppercorns but just overall quite quite pleasant. It was an unbutton ur pants kinda filling and satisfaction :)

What pissed me off a bit was that it was $12 bucks. REALLY?! with tax it came to be about $14. -.- The girls told me it used to be like 9 bucks when it just opened and then they ramped it up. Granted it's a nice restaurant and the portions are nice from what I saw of their noodle dishes as well. Everything's fresh and the quality of the food fares well but just...does not justify the price jacking.

So it's supposed to be Cambodian food but obvy very much like the Vietnamese sandwiches. I ate a Catfish sandwich with Dave @ Baoguette (a Vietnamese sandwich place that recently opened up on 25th and Lex) which was $7 and though the texture of the fish was subpar compared to Kampuchea's...flavor, fixin's, and overall experience is just as good though less exciting.

GIVEN the name, I couldn't help but think maybe it was a Michael Bao endeavor...AND IT WAS! :) I thought maybe it would've been a little more elevated like Bun (Grand & Crosby) but I'd be happy to have something closer to Chelsea with reasonable enough pricing and taste. I did enjoy Bun tho--i haven't had certain things in the city or a few places that had the same flavors as back in CA or the way my mom made it. The butterd frog legs were...effin' AWESOME. that's for another post...

Amy's Bread & Ronnybrook Farm Milk Bar!...

Part of turkey day brunch avec Mama Ly in the city. Ate @ Chelsea Market (on 16th and 9th ave) since Momofuku Milk Bar was only open for pickup! :( Then got groceries (pancetta, porchetta, olive/black truffle tapanade etc etc) to make Turkey day dinner & grubbage for the drive down to DC the next day...

And yes, they quoted There Will Be Blood below.... heheheheeh

Eggs Kaush..something. Eggs in casserole! like at Viceroy (18th & 8th ave) and Relish (North 3rd & Wythe in Williamsburg). Came with roased potatoes w/ pepper & chives.

I swear though...somethign about poached eggs...i'm still fixated with them...

Mama Ly got the free range roast chicken w/ what looks like fresh mozarella, tomatoes, and a salad with really good vinaigrette!

Apparently it's diff from what the menu says (some kinda...cheddar. WHATEBBS). it was tasty. organic and all that ish but all that matters was that it tasted fresh and was prepped quite well yaaaaay.

The Ronnybrook Farm chocolate milk is whole milk but INFINITELY "thinner" and cleaner taste than most chocolate milk--even the chocolate soy milk. No aftertaste, no...lactose-y...intolerance...harshness. Tastier than Horizon Organic Chocolate milk (omg did i...did i blaspheme? HA!! HOCM def pales in comparison exponentially...and i once thought very highly of it. esp when buying it in bulk @ costco :D or whole food's :))

That said...Mama Ly's hot chocolate was also damn festive and good...

And to end with: almond buttered toast from Amy's Bread. Very soft--brioche-y kind of bread, subtle almond paste (not crazy sweet like how the Sicilians prefer it!--sweeter than Almondine)...

Brussel Sprouts & Bacon!....

Claudz got me some brussel sprouts the last time we were @ Karen's making beignets & apple tarte tartins so I decided to test drive them out for Thanksgiving, along with chicken in bacon fat and lotsa rosemary...

and by "we were making beignets and tarte tartins" i mean I showed up uberlate after my NY Urban game and got a sammich nearby and ate while Shanaz made the tarte tartin and the other girls made beignets (and deep fried snickers!) while I noshed and bitched about being sweaty and tired :P more pics of that some other time.

In this version, I had about...3 cups of brussel sprouts halved, sauteed with shallots, pine nuts, and about 1.5 lemons. Didn't have pancetta so I used center cut bacon (b/c it was like..10pm on a Sunday when I decided to do this little culinary experiment and Gristedes isn't exactly...gourmet central :P). Prosciutto would've been nice but it's so thin and when I've crisped them up before it's just TEEEEEEEENY!!

So...I was reading a lot about how to prepare them sprouts--and I opted for a compromise of boiling for 3 min and then sauteeing the rest. I'm going to have to say...I'm going to just nix the boiling and do fullon sauteeing or roasting next time.

I really lament the loss of color w/ boiling and the texture is like any boiled cabbage would be. I think w/ all the layers it's so much better roasted or whatever to maintain the crispness of each layer. It's like if u had a soggy crepe mille cake. EES NO GEWWWD. Crispy! Also...note the diff b/w flash and natural light...

That's brussel sprouts I had in Italy--really really fresh sproutsies! ^_^ boiled, with a little olive oil. granted it didn't taste all that exciting b/c it was fully boiled, but the quality of the produce--YUMMMM. and the sprouts were much bigger than here. I also hafta say...the bacon really darkens and chars the chicken and sprouts well, but since the sprouts were already soft and boiled it didn't add much dimension to the coloring. FULL CHAR NEXT TIME! :)

That's mah full meal. let's hope turkey day sprouts will be much more interestingly plated. Also trying to switch up my cakes this year. still befuddled. HRmmmMMmmmmm....>.O...

I'm also hoping I can buy the brussel sprouts on the stalk at the Union Square farmer's market when my mom's in town (tomorrah!) and we'll be makin' my first Turkey day dinner in NYC!

Almondine!...

We had the bestest sammich EVER today at Almondine!...

Karen & I got the ham and cheese sandwich with bechamel cheeze on top today...and it was gloooooorious and tasty. I don't think it was bechamel inside--maybe it was I dunno...I DON"T KNOW. but the butter Pam got with her bread was very good as well.

THe bread was a little dry/hard as it should be (i forget the type of bread). Granted we came like at 2pm so everything was practically out and I do realize and appreciate the potential of this sammich fresh out the overn and I'd be remiss if I never got to taste it that way but...MY GOD even in its "off" form, it's still so...so very tasty!! The bechamel (never had it before) was a little creamy and more spreadable--blasphemy, but it's like a cross between the Laughing Cow color/texture crossed with Brie.

It was quite an enormous sammich, cut in 2 (and I had some fresh squeezed OJ) and I still couldn't finish it. Fortunately, it was a nice little snackeroo when we were at the Brooklyn Flea in the cold, cold, cold wind. :) YUMMAY!!
Zees was un eclaire i got...

I lurves ze boysenberries!! SO TASTY!! So very....

nom nom nom nom....their custard cream is really good--light, clean, and just a smidge sweet. Great texture too--not too dense or viscous.

This was also my first attempt at bread pudding...

i have to say...not that tasty, but better than I thought. Just a little bland in my opinion--and i also just dont' really get bread puddings to begin with. My friend got me christmas pudding one year, from England...yeaaaaaah i dunno. Rustic I suppose. but not pour moi!!

Okay, gotta cut the commentary short b/c i'm backed up with posts and I gots a post on brussel sprouts and baking adventures with beignets and apple tarte tartins to put up besides all the old stuff from italy!!! ^_^

Here's one more loving peekture of the crusty bechaaaamelllll!!!!

Death by chocolate....cake! in b-burg

Went to brunch @ Relish in Williamsburg on N. 3rd and Wythe. Came late (as I tend to) and noshed on half of Claudia's eggs in casserole (everything was on point, much better than the one at Viceroy b/c it had other elements--potato slices etc that made it a heartier meal), and then the 4 of us split THE CAKE. :)

Quite a decadent little sucker--not as moist as *mine* ;) but ginormous layers + pretty tasty frosting + pretty yummy to begin with cake = yummyYumYUM. HERE's the ODD thing...we all ate it with the whipped cream! We all *had* to eat it with the whipped cream--it was...compulsion beyond comprehension. About halfway thru--we were angling on asking the waitress for another dollop to finish the cake with...except...my god. I normally HATE whipped cream O.o it's just *garnish* like...cilantro! (we'll get to that some other time)

I'm sure the cream was made on premise (or something) or specially sourced since it had none of that airy bland lardy-lightness --> my version of "buttery" in an undelightful (read: uninteresting) slant. We couldn't exactly pin point why the cake tasted so much better with the whip cream--or rather, just...tasted really incomplete without it even tho the cake itself didn't taste like it was lacking. *shrug*. Regardless, it was still magnificent!

I've only wandered in Williamsburg in daylight a handful of times (got some new cords at the Built by Wendy sample sale, my awesomest new winter coat at In God We Trust blahblahblah). Today--LO AND BEHOLD--we came across the Bedford Cheese Shop--which is SO MUCH MORE THAN CHEESE!!!

it's perfectly what I needed after being in Italy and since then avowing to really be good to myself w/ products, produce, artisanal foods etc. I've fallen into a slump of eating just to feed myself and move on b/c I get so carried away with life as a whole and everything becomes such an arduous task (as I tend to make it) that even cooking and eating is laborious.

Will do a full blown post of it some other time....but here's another pic I took there :) They sell jams, pickles, breads, sweets, oils, condiments, snacks--general goods from Italy, England, Germany, Switzerland, Holland--and wherever else. All in one shopping. YESSSS.

This is the same brand as my Oven Roasted Lemon & Thyme Chicken potato chips :) Just mine were Walkers' Sensations and these are regular. MY GOD. i love the british crisps!! :D

...oh what the hell...one more shot of the cake--tipped over! :)

WEEEEEEEE!!!

iKEA Swedish Almond Cake!...

First time I had this was a few wks ago back when I was visiting family in CA--when my bro and his gf took me to Ikea for BREAKFAST....and *tasty!* it was O.o So, on Sunday when I drove w/ Carolyn to the new Ikea in Redhook I had to buy a whole cake ^_^

It's very moist, light, not very sweet--bordering on NOT sweet--but just perfectly tinged with a sweet flavor. There's also, surprisingly, a complete lack of that strong almond extract essence that I'd normally expect with anythign 'almond' (i.e. almond buttercream...see SSS entry).

Also bought the chooooooocolate version! This plain white one--from the ingredients page I guess it's just buttercream? but much gooey-er than the cupcake buttercream frosting which I'm assuming is just not whipped, more oil, *way* less sugar. YAAAAAY!

I lub me some Ikea...I lub me some Ikea food.

Celeste...

Went to Celeste on 84th and Amsterdam last month w/ Carolyn!! YAAAAAAY to Carolyn moving back from Espagna (I hadn't seen her in like 5-6 yrs!), and yay to Celeste. Jun took me here a while ago and ever since our office relocated uptown I pretty much go here as much as I can.

Italian gets thrown around here a lot so it's great I get to practice (sorta, when I'm not too meek or caught up to start tossing phrases out here and there). The ownder is a lean faced man with bony features, longer hair...an affable man that I guess goes to the fishmarket all the time so much that the Sushi chefs know him (just not by name!).

I only recently got into mussles--this is a basic garlic and white wine sauce but the quality of the mussels are amazing (which makes the owner's little stories believable, and endearing vs. some ridiculous braggadoccio BS!) It has a tinge of sweetness, succulent, well seasoned but lightly seasoned so u really just get...the quintessence of the mussels in what you're slopping around in ur mouth as opposed to stuff that sits in the yummy broth you're sucking down.

I had the Homemade Papardelle Special which is reminiscent of their old Shrimp Papardelle (which now comes with cabbage, goat cheese, and i forget what else). CLOSE UP!!...

But this incarnation has scallops, asparagus, and a light tomato marinara sauce. The pasta really is something to experience (well, the paparedelle anyway) b/c u can more plainly feel the different texture of hand-made/rolled/whatever pasta versus the shit u just pop in and boil at most restaurants.

Carolyn got the Butter-sage cheese ravioli that Julia's gotten too. It was def tasty and the sage was strong but pleasantly so b/c i feel like i don't get to really enjoy sage in a lot of things, and not as a focal point. (pumpkin ravioli @ fig & olive still def rocks my socks!!)

The thing I like about Celeste better than Pisticci's is that Celeste has more distinctive and rustic flavors, a little more pungent in comparison--but I mean the two are so restrained in their seasoning and composition, everything works together well and stand on their own. It's simple, and clean--just Celeste is a little more hearty, but...Pisticci's has so many different and refreshing ideas in their dishes! It's like talking about 2 very diff things joined by an effortless composition of tastes and fantastic ingredients!

...i like to finish my plate :D

Redhook vendors (@ the Bklyn Flea!)...

Went to the Brooklyn Flea w/ Claudz so she could buy an arm chair--also to pilfer the foods and find Salvatore ricotta cannolis!! And of course...the Redhook ball field vendors! woohoo! Now, being originally from southern CA (see post on Tijuana!), the "Mexican food" here in NY has never quite...hit the spot. BUT...dare i say...could this be...LOVE??

Huarache (...and NO, NOT THE SANDALS):
They're pretty much just giant corn tortillas (fried masa?) with refried beans inside and then stuffed like tacos etc..

....mmmmmmmm. makes me wanna really have some good Mexican food when I go back to CA to visit for mah niece's bday...

...what's brooklyn flea market without a little...cafe habana outpost GRILLED CORN!!!:

...and....YUM look @ them all ready to go...

Oh what the hell, one more shot:

*sigh* l'amour. you know how I feel about grilled corn.

It was really great seeing them hussle about and make all the food and see how it was kept. I love all the random street fairs b/c I like seeing all the prepwork, all the whatever whatever all up in my face. I think it's riveting seeing them in action not in a kitchen (granted i never get to see the kitchens in restaurants anyway--but it's...hard to describe what I'd imagine is the rush of working in an entirely different, and very minute space! OH! contact high from all that quick thinking and organization and pre-calculation!!

...it's pretty much a giant block of preseasoned/marinaded chicken meats that they're breaking down. YUMMMAYYYYY. I have to say though, the pork in my huarache (choice of meats) was pretty damn tasty and well seasoned. A little hot, a little salty, great texture, a little fatty--fresh pico de gallo was great, the hot sauce was well (pretty hot but on point).
Anyhoodle...so we got a plethora of things including....PUPUSAS!!

Pupusas:

A pupusa (from Pipil pupusawa) is a thick, hand-made corn tortilla (made using masa de maíz, a maize flour dough used in Latin American cuisine) that is stuffed with one or more of the following: cheese (queso) (usually a soft Salvadoran cheese called Quesillo), fried pork rind (chicharrón), squash (ayote), refried beans (frijoles refritos), or queso con loroco (loroco is a vine flower bud from Central America). There is also the pupusa revuelta with mixed ingredients, such as queso (cheese), frijoles (beans), [1], and chicharrón or bacon.

the accompaniments (which I think is pickled red cabbage, other ish, salsa, sour cream? (honestly I liked this stuff much better than the pupusas themselves, but they were a fun little alternative):

...the making of...

Claudz got me the mixed meats pupusa i think--and she got the vegetarian one. I like the texture--kinda grainy but not inasmuch as a regular corn tortilla is (a little heavy, a little dry and not so doughy). This was light, full, and not polenta-y either.

The horchata was really creamy but at the bottom u could see the gunk of all the cinnamon and whatever else the drink was loaded with--however, still pretty damn good b/c it's perfecdtly seasoned as opposed to overly sweet like most horchata I've ahd--although the one in Tijuana was much cleaner and more refreshing. (mmm. yeah forgot to take pics of this.) Also had hibiscus tea and watermelon juice. YUMMY YUM YUM YUM. That's all...there are still 3 posts coming in regards to the cupcakes and other crap at the brooklyn flea. be patient, childrens.

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.