bigjeff's Profile
Anyone know where to find hong zao jiang 紅糟醬 (red wine lees / red wine dregs)?
that's weird because I definitely have seen it under the manhattan bridge sold by the vendors outside (where they sell various things out of sacs); one guy had a metal set of shelves full of quart containers of it, leaned up against the brick wall. but, it's been awhile; I'm surprised you didn't see it even if you made it into the actual supermarket itself.
Can anyone think of a list of round/circular foods?
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/324254
Great African restaurant?
hey racerx x;
this place (african grills and soul food) is now called Accra and I just ate there last week:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/373767#6826134
delicious!
Delicious Ghanaian food! In the Bronx ,easily accessible
this place is now called Accra and I just ate there this past week:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/373767#6826134
delicious!
Ghanaian Food - Authentic
so the place African Grills and Soul Food is now called Accra but I don't know for how long it's had that name. regardless, I went there this week with my sister and a friend who spent two years in Ghana and just came back this summer, with a hunger for the cuisine she ate so much of. It's a great restaurant, close to the train, steamtable but not self-serve and great service; husband and wife behind the counter (Davine is the really helpful and friendly big guy) and family in the kitchen; we had:
+ pepper soup with cow foot and various beef parts (the place is strictly halal)
+ palmnut soup (not peanut or groundnut soup) with various beef parts, fishy
+ spinach with egusi (ground pumpkin seed)
+ jollof rice served with gari (dried and fried cassava powder)
+ smoked turkey butts
+ suya (grilled steak offered in medium and well-done versions)
+ fried fish (maybe tilapia)
+ banku (fermented cornmeal / cassava)
+ cocoyam fufu
+ rice fufu
+ ginger drink (spicy!)
+ shito (red pepper sauce)
wow, what flavors! we really enjoyed the meal and could barely get all the food down, mainly because we had 3 of the fufu starch bombs; I liked the cocoyam fufu and rice fufu a lot; apparently the plaintain one is really good but they didn't have it ready; the banku was definitely more sour and fermented and the kenkey is supposed to be even more sour; all were good foils against the rich and spicy food. the spinach was amazingly fresh and tender and totally green yet totally infused with flavor; hard to describe but definitely a must-order. there is an okra dish that is supposed to be nice but that wasn't ready yet either; we went at 1pm on a weekday and they had a big selection out but this might be more of a mid-afternoon or dinner place.
the meats were really good; the steak was kinda dry but the turkey tails were a revelation; smoked to a porky bacon-y goodness but poultry instead, these had deep flavor. the two soups were very good; the pepper soup was quite spicy with deep flavor and went really well with the jollof rice; the palmnut was also very good and deep with dried-fish flavor so you have to like the taste of salted/preserved/dried seafood. they didn't have groundnut (peanut) soup which our friend insisted would be much tastier but we found it great. the fried fish was lengths of bone-in fish but really delicious; no batter and fresh; excellent with some kind of hot sauce they served it with over the jollof rice.
the jollof rice was amazing; great texture, great flavor and really a wonderful flavor. Davine kept telling us that it was "voted" the best jollof rice of all the african restaurants in NYC; not sure how he surveyed everyone but indeed, the best I've ever had. the gari is interesting; like a fried topping that didn't really add crunch but, something of a good texture. if you dumped that in any of the soups or stews as a thickener, you would seriously get a full meal.
the shito was a deep-red and smoky hot pepper paste that added great flavor but not much spice; reminded me of the hot chili oil at Shanghai Cafe or at Hand-Pulled Noodle on Doyers; sort of a sa-cha thing going on; very good. there was also a green sauce that we saw but weren't served; that's probably really good too.
overall, an excellent meal; this place is close to the train and the prices are very reasonable. there were maybe 3x more dishes available but after jabbering with the servers for 10-15 minutes, we just asked them to "hook us up" and indeed they did. they had many more different fufus available in various colors and a few other starches as well plus a bunch more stews. and as we ate, we kept seeing more big trays come out of the kitchen. the place has a great seating area in the back of the restaurant with comfortable tables and booths so don't get the impression that it's strictly a takeout joint. the A/C is really cold though so bring a jacket or something.
I don't have that much experience eating west african food but I've had meals in restaurants and home-cooked; this was a great meal and I'd love to get back up there and try some of the other dishes. ya'll should check it out.
Little Pepper Opportunity
finally ate here. short review: fu qi fei pian is amazing. everything else we had, good, except for the cold spicy cucumbers: not good since I like the sour kind and this was just plain oily and salty.
Chicken Sandwich on a Pineapple Bun at Carnation Food in Chinatown
yup. the same. and same prices! tried the Manhattan one for the first time and had an amazing meal for under $5. Try the vegetable steamed rice rolls; they are really good.
Chicken Sandwich on a Pineapple Bun at Carnation Food in Chinatown
I heard this opened! I still think this is one of the great baked good places and now in a much more convenient location. definitely gotta eat this stuff fresh, get the crazy pillowy square one with the black sesame seeds.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/733839
Lotus of Siam in NYC
also, maybe folks eating at LoS-NY simply haven't heard of the Vegas branch and just see it as another nice thai restaurant in the neighborhood? not everyone is a food-nerd, and not everyone has been to Vegas. for me, the fact that I've never been to Vegas but I am a food-nerd cancels me out I guess.
Lotus of Siam in NYC
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/lotus-of-siams-creators-leave-citing-health-and-differences-with-partner/
korean bakery
sometimes koryodang has "ugly" cakes which are really good. also the bacon dutch is good.
Lotus of Siam in NYC
thanks kathryn, I just read the article. great move on part of the Chutimas to stand by their health and their morals.
Lotus of Siam in NYC
they are getting some very favorable coverage in the NY weekly-mag media (the usual suspects); I just thought it was funny that NYMag at least gives a nod to CH whereas VV never mentions the word "chow" or "hound" in any of their writing. But then NYMag always paints CH-types as a bunch of cheapskates; what's with the snobbery, dude? Sorry buddy, the 7-train is where it's at.
http://nymag.com/restaurants/reviews/70462/
"Obscure" ethnic eats
missmasala, I forgot, there is also an Apna Bazaar that opened recently, it's at Hillside and 260th. This is the same place that is by 37th ave and 73rd st in Jackson Heights so basically, Floral Park has totally replicated the triumvirate of big indian markets in Jackson Heights. They just need a Haat Bazaar out there!
Pho Bac
re: fullness/emptiness of pho bac/bang
or the other way around. I've never ever eaten at at that Pho Bang; I just have some loyalties to Pho Bac for some reason. Oh, and I believe Pho Bac has the same owners/staff as the vietnamese place in downtown Flushing across from the library; the place that is half chinese-steamtable and half-vietnamese restaurant. can't say that it helps or hinders it quality.
Indian Buffet / J.H. & Bellerose/Floral Park
regarding bellerose / floral park, where might I go for weekday indian buffet?
I can think of santoor, taste of cochin, sohna punjab, flavor of india but what about some of the other places on hillside or jericho turnpike?
thoughts?
Pho Bac
re: omosa as tripe:
one of four different kinds: cows have four different stomachs hence . . . four different kinds of tripe! that was my major discovery/epiphany while trying to decipher vietnamese pho menus.
Pho Bac
full report coming but yeah, that banh mi was really really really bad. I had the pork; maybe the chicken is better?
Chef Yasuda is leaving Sushi Yasuda
thanks uwsister, your first sentence is so spot on.
Does Yelp carry any weight with you? [moved from San Diego board]
yelp is only good for information like address, hours of operation and phone number. But, Chowhound has done an alright job stepping up their restaurant/place system.
Pho Tu Do - decent vietnamese food
haha, raw brisket! reminds me of a smoked brisket (direct heat) experiment gone awry: "screw it, let's just eat it, we're all hungry"
Great African restaurant?
any thoughts on this place (AG&SF), racer x, as to weekdays versus weekends, or lunch versus dinner? thinking to hit this on a thursday or friday night for dinner; wondering if some of the food will be run out by then. or . . . takeway as another option?
Pho Tu Do - decent vietnamese food
I always get double meatballs whenever I get pho; the brisket should be dark shreds of cooked meat while the semi-raw is usually the eye of round or maybe flank steak. if you like, order the beef raw on the side so you can swizzle it into the broth for cooking doneness to your liking.
Pho Tu Do - decent vietnamese food
ya its a monster. and they have a heavy hand with the umami crystals. oh well.
Mei Li Wah: The Deep-Fried Banana (and other underrated dim sum items)
fried banana has no peanut butter sauce but instead, served on a pile of shredded lettuce. still . . . delicious. ripe banana, in an eggroll-type skin, and then breaded, and then fried crisp. 3 of 'em for $3.75 and totally delicious. and yes, made to order so it takes some time.
Best Soup Dumplings Delivered Hot!
anyone else eaten here? walked by and not sure if this is a new joint or old; so many shanghainese restaurants to choose from! personally, I miss moon house, eat at shanghai cafe by default, but enjoyed my meal at Old Shanghai Deluxe; doesn't hurt to have more choices in the repertoire, right?
Source for Cocoa Nibs in Brooklyn (not Wlliamsburg)
not in BK, but I thought I saw them in a whole foods; it was in a "superfoods" section or something; there is also that health food store on court street (above a bookstore) that I recall having some kind of interesting stuff like that.
