Showing posts with label cheese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheese. Show all posts

6/1/10

NYC's Best Sandwiches

Grubstreet has a list of the 101 Best Sandwiches in New York. And no surprise, many of these are pork sandwiches! There are so many in fact that I decided to choose a mere 10 from the list that I would like to try in the next year or so. From the bottom of the list up, here are my picks:

100. The Elvis - Peanut Butter & Co.

83. Ham & Cheese - Char No. 4

56. Bacon & Marmalade - Prune

53. PMB (pancetta, mango & basil) - Sullivan St. Bakery

43. Bacon, Egg & Lettuce - BKLYN Larder

39. Bacon, Egg & Cheese - Prime Meats

26. Country Ham Biscuit - Egg

22. Grilled 3-Cheese with House-smoked Ham - The Breslin

13. Croque Monsieur - Bar Boulud

I think I’ll start with number 53! A lot of these picks are based on me already loving particular restaurants or wanting to try ones I haven’t. There is lots of porky goodness on the list besides these. What are your favorites? Any sandwiches that you think are missing? I think Bierkraft’s Serrano should have been very high on the list. And are ice cream sandwiches not considered? Because Xie Xie’s 1000 Year Old Ice Cream Sandwich would easily top my list!

5/26/10

Hot Chicks Eat Bacon

Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks is mad for bacon—chocolate covered bacon to be exact—according to Esquire. A woman after my own heart, she orders a soup with both pancetta and guanciale and exclaims “I know my pork!” She goes on to extol the wonderful uses of having a deep fryer. Is there anything sexier than a hot woman who just loves to eat?

Next month, I will be going a Mad Men-era cocktail party filled with hot women who love to eat. So what do I bring for these drunk, hungry bitches? When I think of 1960s entertaining, I think: canapes! And wouldn’t baconmarmalade be a beautiful (and yummy) topping for a canape?! But... I’m not exactly prepared to share that much of my stash. Instead, I whipped out my trusty Bacon Cookbook and found a french cheese & bacon puff recipe that looks amazing. I then googled 1960s canapes and found a recipe for “baconettes” which sounds more theme appropriate. Which would you rather enjoy while knocking back a gimlet or two?


French Cheese & Bacon Puffs
1 cup water
1 stick butter, cut into pieces
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
4 large eggs
1/2 lb slab bacon, diced
1 cup shredded Gruyére

Combine water, butter & salt in a heavy saucepan & bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add flour & beat w/ a wooden spoon until a ball of dough forms. Transfer to a mixing bowl & add eggs one at a time, beating with an electric mixer on high until the batter holds soft peaks. Cover with plastic wrap & chill briefly.

Fry bacon until crisp & drain. Preheat oven to 375° & Butter a large baking sheet. Fold the cheese & bacon into batter & drop by tablespoon onto the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, turn heat off & let stand until golden & crisp, about 10 minutes.


OR

Baconettes
bacon
peanut butter
large apple & toothpicks

Spread slices of bacon with peanut butter. Roll tight & fasten with toothpicks (soaked in water). Toast under broiler until bacon is done. Serve by sticking the toothpicks into a large apple.

5/17/10

Review: Five Guys Burgers & Fries

Dinner at Five Guys on 7th Ave between 6th & 7th in Park Slope.
Bacon cheeseburger:

4/26/10

Review: Double Windsor

Dinner at Double Windsor on PPW & 16th in Windsor Terrace.
Grilled fontina & emmental on country bread with thick-cut Nueske’s bacon:

Review: Marlow & Sons

Brunch at Marlow & Sons on Broadway and Berry in South Williamsburg.
Home-made biscuits with bacon egg & cheese:

4/3/10

Review: Ultimate Burgers & Dogs

Dinner at Ultimate Burgers & Dogs on Degraw between Court & Clinton in Carroll Gardens.
Bacon-wrapped dog with cheddar cheese:



1/16/10

Maialino


So much for my New Years resolution... this little pig did me in. Maialino, Danny Meyer’s newest restaurant in the Gramercy Park Hotel, is the pig in question. The place is teeming with Gramercy Tavern alumni. So when I went with former Lot 2 chef Scott Bridi (also from GT, now with Marlow & Daughters), I knew that my “diet” was soon to be thrown out the window. Eh, I wasn’t doing all that well anyway. How could I not give in when a seemingly endless amount of beautiful plates kept arriving at our table? If I were to describe each one, this post would be far too long. Instead I will list all the wonderful items we tasted and then describe my personal favorites. Although, with such a lengthy meal it’s almost hard to remember everything.

Salumi:
Prosciutto (I don’t recall which particular one of the 3 on their menu)
Finocchiona
Salame (again, not sure which one)
Soppressata Piccante

Cheese:
Mozzarella di Bufula
Robiola Bosina
some kind of Pecorino

Anipasti:
Animelle d’Abbacchi (lamb sweetbreads)
Insalata di Bottarga

Primi:
Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe
Spaghetti alle Vongole
Bucatini all’Amatriciana
Raviolo al Uovo

Secondi:
Maialino al Forno
Pig’s foot

Dessert:
Sformato Di Ricotta
Tiramisu
Tartufo
hazelnut bread pudding (I can't remember the name)

I think my favorite part of the meal was this Sformato Di Ricotta with figs and drizzled with an aged balsamic. Dessert in general is always my favorite & pastry chef Jennifer Shelbo made sure we had plenty (thank you!). Other stand outs were the silky prosciutto, the creamy robiola cheese, and of course the restaurant’s namesake with it’s crispy skin and tender, succulent meat. The Bucatini all’Amatriciana was probably my favorite non-dessert dish. The guanciale added nice texture and such delicious flavor. Overall, the meal was quite an experience. Thank you to everyone in the kitchen who prepared this amazing feast and came out to say hello!

Images from gastro chic and kathyylchan on flickr.

12/30/09

Best Bacon of 2009

I started rating bacon at the beginning of this year so as it comes to a close it seems appropriate to take a look back at the best bacon I’ve had this year. Below is a list of all the 4-strip ratings of 2009... Happy New Year!

Sala - datil (dates stuffed with almonds, wrapped in bacon)

Applewood - applewood smoked bacon

Char No. 4 - cheesy bacon grits

S’mac - 4 cheese mac with slab bacon

Salt - honey-glazed, bacon wrapped dates

Char No. 4 - grilled asparagus with bacon dressing

Irving Mill - bacon cheddar burger

Hale & Hearty - sweet corn chowder with bacon

Nolita House - mac & cheese with bacon

Permanent Brunch - Hungarian smoked kolozsvari
(also available at Grateful Palate)

9/23/09

Review: Irving Mill

Dinner at Irving Mill on 16th & Irving near Union Square.
Irving Mill Burger with cheddar & bacon:

9/3/09

Le Fooding D’Amour

Two of my great loves (aside from bacon of course)—food and design. My favorite posters for this event:


“12 chefs, three misologists, two butchers, one ice-cream maker, two DJs, 15 graphic designers, a select vintner, a fine Champagne, some fromages and a mystery guest, to feast your senses and do some conscious good. Action Against Hunger can’t wait.”

Neither can I.

8/21/09

Bacon Sandwich—Hold the Bread?


Consists bacon and cheese between 2 fried chicken fillets. Can the KFC Double Down sandwich be real? Please tell me if you’ve witnessed this...

Thanks to Jimmy for the tip!

8/19/09

Review: Bar Breton

The very affordable ice cream cart at Bar Breton on 5th Ave near 28th in midtown.
Carrot cake (cream cheese ice cream with carrot cake folded in):

7/20/09

Review: Nathan’s

Lunch at Nathan’s Famous on Surf & Stillwell in Coney Island.
Bacon cheese fries:

7/10/09

FREE BACON!

There’s a catch—it comes on a fast food burger. And you all know I don’t eat fast food burgers. But you never know, maybe they’re really good. Best way to find out is for free (with purchase of any soft drink). Try Arby’s BBQ Bacon Cheddar Roast Burger before Monday (expires 7/13)!

7/2/09

Review: The Carriage House

Bar food at the Carriage House on 59th between 2nd & 3rd in Midtown East.
Potato skins with bacon and cheese:

6/26/09

Larder Love



I was instantly smitten when I walked into BKLYN Larder in Flatbush yesterday evening and saw all the dried sausages hanging from a pig-perched rail. I was then overwhelmed by the many tantalizing cheeses displayed before me but the staff was eager to help. I tried two pecorinos as well as a pantaleo. I went with the panteleo as well as a soft cheese I can’t recall the name of. The dude behind the counter was very patient as I was overcome with enthusiasm and forgot my manners. I exclaimed, “We want more!” because there was still the task of choosing from the plentiful pork products. I’ve mentioned before that cuteness counts and the Larder is no exception—as evidenced by their prosperity pig (rather than kitty), shelves full of beautifully packaged provisions, and well-designed signage. And they certainly have the gastronomic goods to back it up.

6/16/09

Review: Bridge Street Cafe

Lunch at Bridge Street Cafe in Irvington, NY.
Chicken cutlet sandwich with bacon, cheese and pineapple salsa:



6/15/09

Review: Marseille

Brunch at Marseille on 9th & 44th in Hell’s Kitchen.
Bacon cheeseburger:

6/8/09

Review: Flight 151

Bar food at Flight 151 on 8th and 18th in Chelsea.
Bacon & cheese potato skins:

6/3/09

Say Cheese!


This has nothing to do with bacon. Unless you are looking for a great place to buy cheese to make some fancy bacon pops or bacon-wrapped fried mac & cheese. But cheese may be my second favorite food so... The Brooklyn Larder just opened on Flatbush not far from the Q/B 7th Ave station—which just happens to be along my route home. The specialty cheese shop brought to you by Franny’s will also sell locally produced pickles, bread, and chocolate as well as their own gelato and sorbets. There will be a daily sandwich menu and a few seats up front to eat them. According to gothamist a bacon & hard boiled egg sandwich and a prosciutto & butter sandwich were on the opening day menu.