nerdgoggles's Profile
FH Trader Joe's---Oct. 26th Opening Day !!!
The new TJ's will be on the border of Forest Hills and Rego Park in Queens. The address, I believe, is 90-30 Metropolitan Avenue.
They're also in the process of building one at Atlantic and Court Street in South Brooklyn.
FH Trader Joe's---Oct. 26th Opening Day !!!
Well, Sandrina, I for one am tempted to storm TJ's as soon as possible. They sell these dried tart cherries that I am craving right now. And enough cashews to make a big South Indian cashew curry. Hysteria!
On LARD BREAD, in Brooklyn
Caputo's on Court! I totally agree that it's the best for lard bread (although I like Mazzola and Cammareri too). I love going in there and seeing it glistening behind the counter. I'm also a huge fan of their vanilla biscotti with almonds.
They're my current favorite bakery.
New Yorker visiting Minneapolis / St. Paul [MSP]
More reports!
After my blissed-out feast at Quang, I went back to Nicollet Avenue for more. I was with some U of M alumni who remembered the Black Forest with great affection. We went back for dinner. Octoberfest was on--as was David Hasselhoff night! (Possibly this is an authentic German experience--eek!) The place was kitschy and fun, and they handed out light-up St. Pauli Girl necklaces. I wouldn't say that the food was exceptional. Sausages were pretty solid. Cabbage and spaetzle were also good. The main focus seemed to be on beer and conviviality. I had a lot of fun.
For lunch the next day, I took a partner in crime and hunted down Big Daddy Barbecue in St. Paul. The line stretched down the block. We waited for an hour--by that time the beef ribs were out and there was a further wait for the chicken. We just took some pork ribs and tips. They were exquisite, with a pronounced smoke ring and a concentrated, smoky flavor. Nicely rendered fat, chewy edges. During the wait, it was fun to watch the grillmasters making adjustments and supervising the proceedings. The smell was intoxicating too. It was a really fun trip.
More to come.
New Yorker visiting Minneapolis / St. Paul [MSP]
First report! I arrived today, dropped off my stuff, and decided to embark on a food adventure. A lot of the recommendations focused on places on Nicollet Avenue, so I thought I'd head over and have a walk around Eat Street. It looks like a fun neighborhood with really wide ranging food options, from Indian-West Indian to Mexican to German to Vietnamese. I'll probably be back.
For lunch I had a pho tai at Quang. I feel that a simple beef pho is a great gauge of restaurant quality. And this was possibly the best I've had in the United States. The beef in it was incredibly tender, and I suspected that the chef just put it into the hot broth, raw, as the dish was ready to be taken to the table. The broth smelled subtly of anise. It was perfectly flavored without adding anything. I did squirt in some hot sauce, since I think most delicious things are even more delicious when they're spicy. The noodles were perfectly tender and seemed to have been fresh, not dried. Overall, I was extremely impressed. My one quibble was that I like to get more herbs on the plate of items to add to the soup--there was some nice basil, but I also like the other leafy things (although I don't know what they're called). To be fair, there were other kinds of chopped herbs in the soup, just not on the plate.
The Vietnamese coffee was take-no-prisoners. I'm feeling ready to take on the world, although I slept three hours last night.
THANK YOU Minnesota chowhounds. I'll report more later.
Also, Danny, thanks for the ice cream tips. I'm also planning to hunt down your legendary beers.
On a quest for the best Tamales in the 5 boroughs.
I doubt that there's a lack of enthusiasm for tamales. Instead, it's more likely that there aren't too many awesome tamales in New York. You can go to Sunset Park, the Red Hook ball fields (my favorite), or the South Bronx. Otherwise you're pretty much out of luck.
New Yorker visiting Minneapolis / St. Paul [MSP]
Wow! I guess that reputation for friendliness is well earned. Thanks for all of the great and well-thought-out suggestions. I'm going to have to compile an eating map--really a gluttony map, if I try even 10 percent of these suggestions. I'll report back after my trip.
Thanks again.
New Yorker visiting Minneapolis / St. Paul [MSP]
I'm a New Yorker making a weekend trip to Minneapolis/St. Paul. I am looking for advice about where to find the local delicacies. I know that the Twin Cities have a reputation for excellent Southeast Asian food, and I'd LOVE to find some great Vietnamese, Lao, Hmong, Cambodian, Indonesia, or other food. Any suggestions? Somali? Any other ethnic foods I should check out? I can get great Chinese in New York, and some good Vietnamese, but from what I understand there's a larger Vietnamese population in the Twin Cities. Are there a lot of Mexicans or Central Americans, like in Chicago? And if so, where do they eat?
Also, I was hoping for recommendations for other local specialties. Venison? Scandinavian food? Does anything come to mind? I've been looking through the boards, and I've heard recommendations for Birchwood Cafe, Quang, Amazing Thailand, Peninsula Malaysian, Mai Village, Saigon, Heartland.
I'd love to hear any advice, thoughts, suggestions, and so on.
Also, are the Twin Cities places where I can just walk through the whole city? I love to walk for five or eight miles on a sightseeing/eating extravaganza.
Thanks!
Sad Days for a Ft. Greene Favorite
I totally agree that the Smoke Joint is better, even though I think it's mediocre. I have never understood the love for Cambodian Cuisine. Sure, the owners seem nice. But the food was never anything to get excited about. The idea of eating Cambodian food was much better than the execution, imho.
Mexican Shopping in Manhattan
I think you might also want to check out the Essex Street Market on the Lower East Side. There is an excellent selection of dried chiles of many varieties--pretty rare in New York--as well as some fresh poblanos, habaneros, jalapenos, and sometimes others. I've also seen cotija and other Mexican cheeses that aren't so easy to find (although I sometimes see them at Fairway). There's a good selection of spices, tamal wrappers, masa harina, tomatillos, and other stuff you could use.
Since you say you're willing to investigate outer bouroughs, I recommend making a field trip to Sunset Park in Brooklyn. There are a lot of Mexican people living there and a lot of little grocery stores and taquerias. Check out Fifth Avenue in the 20s through the 50s. It's worth the trip if you are an aficionado.
Thanks for the tip about epazote. I've also heard it grows wild all over Red Hook--though I haven't scavenged for it.
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Essex
120 Essex Street, New York, NY 10002
Garifuna Star -- World's rarest cuisine comes to South Bronx
I think Garifuna people speak a Creole language. I visited a few Garifuna towns in Guatemala and Honduras, and found that the people speak excellent, native-speaker-level English. Maybe it's because of proximity to Belize? Or because of tourism on the islands off Honduras? Or maybe because runaway slaves from Jamaica or other English-speaking colonies fled there in previous generations? Or perhaps from fighting the Bristish. Interesting.
Anyway, thanks for reporting on this great restaurant find. I'll have to check it out.
cafe du monde/coffee with chicory
If you want to buy chicory alone, they sell it at D'Amico Foods, the coffee roasting shop on Court Street in Brooklyn. It costs something like $6 a pound. They also sell a New Orleans coffee and chicory mix, though I prefer to mix my own.
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D'Amico Foods
309 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
non homogenised milk in NYC?
Dang, you get a gallon of fancy milk for $3.69? That is CHEAP. Good find.
I Want to Toast a SINGLE Piece of Bread
Dude. Just flip the toast half-way through. No toaster is ever going to be perfect.
soap sacrilege (moved from Home Cooking)
I have never used soap on my cast iron pan. It was made in 1942, and I'm hoping to keep it unsoaped until I die. If the hearth is the center of the house, my cast-iron skillet is the center of the hearth. It has never smelled rancid.
So yes, there are some of us out there who don't soap. Although it sounds like we're in the minority.
Cobble Hill and environs - So many restaurants, no good Mexican
Yep, that's the place. I highly recommend it.
Cobble Hill and environs - So many restaurants, no good Mexican
I would second hitting the Red Hook ball fields. I had some astonishingly good goat tacos there this weekend. The goat had been stewing in a giant pot over a grill--it ended up incredibly juicy and fall-apart tender. There was also some nice pico de gallo with chopped radishes. You can also get great aguas frescas, elotes, and fruit with chile and lime juice.
By the way, I agree with you that the Mexican options in Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens are abominable.
Best "Real" Quesadillas in New York? (moved from Outer Boroughs)
Pupusas, arepas, and gorditas are all made with corn masa. In fact, I think by definition masa is corn (masa = maize).
Where Can I Purchase Sport Peppers for Chicago-Style Hot Dogs?
I've had the same experience. No sport peppers in the five boroughs.
The closest substitute I've found was a bottle of Macedonian peppers I got at Fairway. They were called "hot fefferoni" and were long, green, and tasty. They were quite a good fill-in.
Starter Gin
I don't have a particular gin to suggest--I like a lot of them. But I would suggest that if you are easing into drinking gin that you try it in mixed drinks before martinis. Try a gin and tonic. Or a gimlet, which has Rose's lime syrup in it. See what you think.
As for gins, don't think that more money equals a better gin. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/dining/02wine.html?ex=1188446400&en=c67401a2445174d9&ei=5070
La Fin Du Monde
Welcome to the glory that is Unibroue!
It was my impression that Bloomington, IN is a pretty good town for beer--not only because it's a college town, but because of the Bloomington and Upland microbreweries. A lot of people around there must be really into beer. Ask around next time you're buying beer. Unibroue seems to be one of the larger-sized small breweries, so you should be able to find their stuff somewhere.
How can you tell if a Beer is *fresh* vs. old stock
I just wanted to add that Thrifty is also known as American Beer Distributors. Their selection is amazing and fresh and they will fill growlers from a few on-tap, typically local beers. It's a wonderland in there.
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American Beer Distributing
256 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Best "Real" Quesadillas in New York? (moved from Outer Boroughs)
I wonder if instead of looking for quesedillas, you are really looking for pupusas, arepas or gorditas. In my experience in Mexico, I haven't seen many examples of what Americans call "quesedillas."
Do you mean a ball of masa with a chunk of cheese in the center, flattened into a disc, then cooked on a griddle until the cheese melts and the outside crisps? In that case, you seem to be talking about pupusas or arepas.
Or do you mean a freshly handmade masa tortilla, cooked until it puffs, slit open, then stuffed with a filling and grilled again? If so, you want gorditas.
There are many examples of all of these throughout the city. I suggest searching around on chowhound and maybe making a more specific post. Good luck! I'm hoping you'll get some good replies.
Don Q rum
I bought a big ol' handle of Don Q silver in Brooklyn this week. I don't know about Connecticut. But it means there's a distributor in the tri-state area.
What is the deal with Stella?
Amen, brother. Although I'm not a big fan of Stella, I still think the snobbery in this thread is a little bit ridiculous. Is it so hard to acknowledge that some people have different tastes than you do? And that they might disagree with your choices? Sheesh.
Carroll Gardens: New to the neighborhood. . .what are my staples?
Just a word about Province en Boite. I went to their brunch recently. The food was really tasty--very fresh salad with nice lettuce, pancakes with fresh berries. But you'd better not be too hungry. The portions are delicately sized. I think you're supposed to order multiple courses.
