theeatenpath's Recent Activity
Chowhound Post
In search of your favorite red borscht
I've lived in Russia and spend time in Poland and Odessa, so I've had my share of great soups. I've got my go-to stops for a nice bowl of borscht here in NY, but I'm interested in really digging into bowls of beet that I have yet to try. Polish borscht, Ukranian borscht, Russian borscht... I want it all!
So where do you hounds go to get that crimson red borscht fix? Why is that particular bowl your favorite? What else should I order where I'm at it? I'm willing to travel anywhere to try em all out.
Chowhound Post
RIP Sal of Sal & Carmine's
I agree! Thanks for making sure the news made it to CH, sad as it is.
I've posted my own writeup of S&C, seeing how there seems to be a general lack of blogging on how great their pizza is and hopefully will continue to be. Hopefully it does the man justice: http://theeatenpath.com/2009/06/07/sa...
Rest in peace, Sal.
Chowhound Post
Don't Leave NY Without Eating...
Best Slice: If you're downtown, Artichoke will seriously live up to the hype. The Sicilian slice blows the other options away, so try for that if you make the trip. If you're uptown and don't mind your pizza on the salty side, I would highly recommend Sal and Carmine in the Columbia area. A great no-frill slice with really flavorful, chewy crust and a distinctly delicious cheese- I don't know what it is about that cheese, but it has a much fuller flavor than the cheese I've had on any other slice.
Best pie/slice: If you have time for the pilgrimage, go to Di Fara in Brooklyn. Google the name and you'll read plenty about its merits. As long as you don't go during a high traffic period, it'll be more than worth it.
Best Doughnut: Peter Pan Bakery in Greenpoint, Brooklyn is not too far from the city and serves outstanding, cheap doughnuts of all kinds. They taste good even when they've been out for half a day, and only a couple varieties tend to run out, so you won't have to get there very early. I recently posted about this place on my blog, so you can check that out for details if you'd like.
Best Polish: One of my favorite restaurants, Lomzynianka, is a few blocks away from Peter Pan in Greenpoint- it's a BOYB family Polish joint that serves the best Polish meals I've had outside of Poland itself. Try the zurek (fermented rye soup), fried sauerkraut pierogi, bigos, golabki... anything that'll fit will be amazing :) One of my best friends went on a whirlwind food tour while visiting recently and he said that this was his favorite meal of the entire week.
Best Ramen: shio ramen at Ramen Setagaya on 1st Ave (not to be confused with the new Ramen Setagaya on St. Mark's). Unless you entirely abhor seafood, this is an incredible bowl of ramen that you don't have wait an hour for (now that people are flocking to Ippudo/Momofuku, the OG Setagaya is almost awlays a convenient trip). Again, more details about Setagaya on my blog.
Best Dog: I'm a Papaya King+Gray's Papaya believer. Crif Dogs are also a solid choice.
Best Cart: Lamb at 53rd/6th with a healthy amount of spicy sauce. Have you seen midtownlunch.com? That's a great place to look up more details about food carts.
Best dessert: A ton of stuff to cover here, but I'll throw out a few favorites. Sugar Sweet Sunshine makes my favorite style of cupcake (cupcake less dense, more spongy - frosting less sweet, more buttery). They also have a GREAT banana pudding. On the West side near Madison Square Garden, D'aiuto's serves a nice, cheap slice of straight-up cheesecake. Perfectly layered and textured without taking things overboard. No crust, even, which didn't hurt as much as I thought it would.
Best Lox: Russ and Daughters! No argument from me there, but I think their bagels are terrible. I'd buy the lox and cream cheese there, and get a bagel elsewhere.
Best Burger: Yep, I'm a Shake Shack loyalist. I'm also a big fan of Five Guys, but don't know if they already post in your town.
If you're into beer, I would highly recommend that you visit Radagast Bier Hall in Williamsburg. Hell, I'll meet you for a beer there if you want; I live five blocks away. They have PALM, my favorite beer in the world, on tap (some local delis import bottles of Palm, but they're the reject expired boxes that the brewery in Belgium won't sell to its own people). They also have a great selection of German wheat beers that blow Pyramid/Widmer/what have you completely out of the water. You can get a pitcher for $20 and food from the grill from $10 (a variety of sausages with french fries, a fantastic sauerkraut and a variety of mustards).
Best Chinese food: Are you planning on visiting Chinatown or Flushing Chinatown in Queens? There's plenty of great stuff to be had. I'm far from expert on these locations, but I do love the fried dumplings at Prosperity Dumpling, walnut shrimp at Big Wong, and the steamed dumplings and spicy beef hand pulled noodles at Super Taste. I've heard lovely things about Grand Sichuan and some other places but have yet to try them myself.
I hope this helps a bit. Have fun, and make sure to overdo it wherever you end up eating!
Chowhound Post
New + Wonderful Taco Truck in Williamsburg
As I learned through painful experience, they don't use homemade tortillas for the burritos or tacos. I recently had a cesina burrito, which was sparsely stuffed with tough meat. After watching the woman at the cart make a quesadilla and trying some of my friend's carne asada taco, I'm sure those are the superior options... especially the quesadilla! I'll be back to give them another shot soon, as the taco truck up near the Metro is a bit unbearable to me.
Chowhound Post
Jack in the Box tacos
Oh indeed... not only is the Jack in the Box taco a tiny slice of Nirvana, I would dare say it's the edible flag of American processed food. Is there any industrial process that hasn't been used to make this miracle? I don't want to know.
http://theeatenpath.com/2008/06/29/ja...
Chowhound Post
Recap: BBQ stop in Kansas City
I've finally gotten around to writing up my visit to Arthur Bryant's on my blog. This is probably it on KC for now, but I hope to make it back out for a much more poweful weekend sometime in the not-too-distant future!
An excerpt from the post, on my favorite part of Bryant's: the fries!
"The French fries— not just any fries, but fresh potatoes deep fried in pure lard— told a different tale. According to Bryant (according to Trillin), 'Pure lard is expensive. But if you want to do a job, you do a job.' Cold as they were, the fries piled next to my short ends confirmed the value of the most heart-clogging, PETA-insulting work ethic in America. Where most fries would have chased the light, crisp archetype of that classic McDonald's side, Bryant's lard fried potatoes delivered a punch of meaty heft that could have constituted its own meal. It was as if the founders of In-N-Out had decided to turn their noses at health-conscious California and plant their fry baskets in the Buffalo graveyards of the Oregon Trail."
Chowhound Post
Recap: BBQ stop in Kansas City
Thanks! I did try to eat around the sauce at first, and I agree that at LC's the sauce didn't necessarily change the game for me- it was delicious, though. What a great smoking job with that meat.
Chowhound Post
Recap: BBQ stop in Kansas City
I recently passed through Kansas City on a business trip and took the opportunity to hit some major BBQ restaurants. I was particularly excited as I'd sampled Q from Memphis, North Carolina and Lockhart/Luling, but had never been to KC.
Sadly, the day I arrived, I came down with a heavy cold, which knocked me off my feet and into bed the entire time I was in town. I did not, however, let this sickness stop me from eating BBQ! I did let it stop me from eating any other kind of unhealthy food, which is still a big letdown. I live to fight another day.
I managed to visit the original Bryant's, LC's, and Oklahoma Joe's.
LC's was my favorite by far. I had a burnt ends platter with beans. I am not a big fan of beef in general but the sophisticated flavor and texture of LC's burnt ends were, as some have noted, a revelation. Hard to tell if I liked them better than the brisket at Luling City Market in Luling, TX. Both were top notch Q and absolutely delicious.
An excerpt from my blog post on LC's: "A bovine counterpoint to pork rib tips, these fatty morsels of meat are whacked from the ends of a smoked brisket and placed back in the pit for a final burn. LC’s burnt ends are a hallmark of Kansas City BBQ. Each chunk is just big enough to fill the cradle of a human hand. Hearty, juicy, and multi-layered, each burnt end presents a sophisticated argument for beef. Its edges are crisp, red and black deposits of smoke. Encased within their candied protection is a tender, generously marbelized cut of meat that, when chewed, fires subtle shots of 'rare' through clouds of smoky 'well done.'"
Bryant's was my second stop. I had a short ribs sandwich with fries. I liked the BBQ fine- it reminded me of Memphis style ribs- but I was in no way impressed by my lunch. The meat was well cooked, with that chewy, crispy texture that I love in pork ribs, but I felt they lacked any distinctive flavor, and the sauces didn't add much to the equation. The fries were fantastic! I'd love to go back and try the sausage and some other meats, but seeing how I was alone and sick, I didn't venture further than that one plate of food.
OK Joe's was my final stop, and I was accompanied by fellow chowhound emassow for the meal. I ordered the rib and one-meat dinner with fries, choosing turkey as my one meat. emassow ordered a pulled pork sandwich, which I sampled. I would place OK Joe's a bit below Bryant's. The ribs were definitely more flavorful, but not in a way that would cause me to come back with all my friends. I can see why people praise the fries here so much, but their flavor had the same generically addictive taste as the ribs, which was very enjoyable but not particularly memorable. I liked Bryant's fries (are they still fried in lard?) much better, as they had a distinctively meaty flavor and heft to them that I haven't found at any other restaurant. In any case, my leftovers from OK Joe's made a fine roadside snack as I drove from KC to Denver the next afternoon :)
Overall, I was satisfied, but not completely won over by KC BBQ. I'll be posting full stories on each restaurant on my blog with photos if you are interested. I'm looking forward to my next visit to the area, and would love to meet more local chowhounds on that day.
Chowhound Post
Not to be missed places in Diamond Bar area
My goal wasn't to make a "not to be missed" list; i was just suggesting some of my favorite places that people usually don't stop to try. That said, I'm glad people have stepped in to round out the post with Rowland Heights recs. I don't think I'm adequately prepared for that undertaking :)
Chowhound Post
Not to be missed places in Diamond Bar area
Hi Jay,
This reply seems two years overdue, but I have a few big recommendations for you if you're still in the area. I'm a Diamond Bar native back in town after 6 years at school and abroad.
1. Colima Burgers on Colima and Fairway: solid greasy spoon burgers and fries with amazing chili (easily beats Tommy's, Pink's and most other hailed condiment chilis in LA). I wrote a post about it on my blog (http://theeatenpath.com/index.php/200... The customer favorite is chili cheese fries. Stick to the specials and don't be deceived by the presence of a Mexican menu- most of that stuff is unsatisfying.
2. Sushi Koyo on Diamond Bar Blvd near the 57N entrance, in the same center as D'Antonio's: very nice lunch specials (the chicken teriyaki is surprisingly good), but the real prize is Hiro's sushi dinner (the sushi you get with lunch is good, but dinner is on a different level). omkase with drinks usually comes out to $45 or $50 and the nigiri sushi he prepares is brilliant.
3. India Sweet and Snacks on Golden Springs near DB Blvd (next to the laundromat): good vegetarian chaat. The samosas are particularly delicious!
4. Fresh Paradise (somewhere in Chino Hills): authentic South Indian (vegetarian) meals. The rice dishes and dosas are fantastic, but I was also surprised by the quality of their dahi puri (give it a try!).
5. Barro's Pizza (Brea Canyon and Colima): this is one of Diamond Bar's gems, even though the quality has gone down slightly since the Barro family sold the business in 2001. Go there on Monday night for the large one-topping special. It's ridiculously cheap (though pretty pricey at all other times) and the pizza is one of the best examples of California pizza I've ever seen. It's a lot like Dino's in Burbank, if you've ever been there. Beer used to be $7 a pitcher, but has recently risen in price. Still, $12 for a pitcher of fat tire ain't all that bad.
6. El Taco Nazo (Grand, across the street from Mt SAC): a new branch of this chain just opened in Walnut. Eat anything with fried fish in it, avoid everything else. The fish tacos are absolutely divine!
Happy eating :D
Chowhound Post
Yogurtland in Irvine
I hit Yogurtland for the first time last night and was really impressed. I paid around $4.50 for a nicely sized cup, which is a bit less than what I'd end up paying at Pinkberry, and a lot more rewarding. I don't think too much of the quality of the yogurt, but the freedom to create a symphony of flavor is nothing minor! I was surprised at how haphazardly my friends threw together random things in splotches as I was crafting a multilayered strawberry tart vanilla cheesecake red berry graham cracker masterpiece of a dessert. I'd recommend that anyone who goes to Yogurtland take into consideration soft-serve dispensing technique and flavor-matching skills to maximize its natural strengths. Then again, I'm pretty obsessive about dessert presentation :D
Chowhound Post
Disappointments -- 900 Grayson, Champa Garden, Sushi Sho, Bui
I'm sorry to hear about your experience at Grayson! While it's not one of my favorite places to eat, I have to say that the demon lover really is worth the hassle, even if it were the only thing done well there. I am, however, a sucker for good gravy. I haven't tried any of the dishes you sampled, but I really enjoyed the recently added chicken fried steak and eggs over biscuits, the corned beef dish, and the basic breakfast. I've never heard a complaint from my friends, who hit the joint much more often, but they've never had the pulled pork (and I have no trouble believing you on that one). If you ever end up there again, I hope you have a much better meal.
