This Little Piggy went to the New Amsterdam Market

I was excited to go to the New Amsterdam Market this past Sunday, especially since I had enjoyed October's market so much.  I was a little worried that the snow would deter some shoppers and mainly vendors, particularly those coming in from out of town.  Fortunately for us, that was not the case.  For those who don't know, the New Amsterdam Market is a monthly farmers market that has been held in the South Street Seaport (shout out for FiDi) over the past few years and more regularly since September.  Their website states,

"Reinvented for our present time and needs, New Amsterdam Market will incubate a new growing business sector: purveyors who source food directly from farmers and producers whom they trust to be good stewards of our land and water."

We arrived a little late in the game at about 3:15, though luckily there was still enough time to take a look around.  Among many wonderful items present at the market were really tasty cider, kimchi, smokra (smoked, pickled okra), mead, and cheese.  The Market was also very festive, providing the vendors with bells, which they rang in order to spark holiday cheer.  Expect more to come on individual items purchased while shopping and many more posts when they re-open in Spring 2010.

Danny Meyer Considering Plaza Food Kiosks in FiDi

As I mentioned last Friday, for as dead as everyone claims the Financial District to be (and it can't be that bad since I live down there),  they certainly seem to be opening, or at least contemplating, many new restaurant endeavors in the area.  As seen yesterday on Eater,   Danny Meyer Considering Plaza Food Kiosks in FiDi.  All these new places is about enough to make me reconsider my move at the end of January.  Hopefully 2010 will be a rebirth for FiDi... We shall see.  Oink Oink!

This Little Piggy ponders "The rise of the kitchen bitch"

I found The rise of the kitchen bitch., an article published last week on doublex.com, extremely interesting.  It reminded me of a question someone asked Batali and Chang at The Strand about a month ago.  I can't remember their question verbatim, but it dealt with the woman's place in the kitchen.  I remember Chang stated that while he has no problem with women joining his team, at times it causes some issues, merely due to strength and how much a woman can lift versus a man.  Similarly, Batali claimed he also did not have any concerns with women in the kitchen, noting that they often times add a delicate touch to the pasta that a male chef cannot.  That being said, it does seem that many of the big name chefs these days do tend to be men, which is sort of strange (though not bad at all), considering that traditionally women tended to be the leader of the kitchen.  Anyways, I thought I'd include this article, which elaborates on the topic.  Please feel free to add your comments!

This Little Piggy stays warm in the Crocodile Lounge

Although it's nice to stay inside in a cozy apartment when there is a blizzard outside, I didn't want to miss the snow.  I headed out to meet a friend for a drink near his apartment at the Crocodile Lounge (E. 14th between 1st and 2nd).  I'd never been before and it felt like I had just been transported out of NYC to some random hole-in-the-wall bar in the middle of nowhere.  Mind you, the streets were completely white, as was everything else in site, so it already felt different than your normal Saturday evening in Manhattan.

I walked down into a dark bar and grabbed a seat while I waited for my friend.  The place was oddly cozy, uncrowded (though, I heard it is usually much busier) and the perfect place to have a casual drink.  I was pleased to see they had Harpoon Winter Warmer on tap and even happier when it was only $5.  I was asked if I wanted a pizza and politely declined; shocking, but I wasn't hungry.  Come to find out, that's their thing.  Evidently you get a personal cheese pie with every drink.  Lucky for me, it wasn't too late and we ordered one with my friend's drink.  This seemed like an Insane deal!  A beer and a pizza for $5?!  The pizza wasn't even bad, especially when loaded up with parm and chili flakes. 

Also exciting was that they have Skee Ball, Big Buck Hunter Safari, a photo booth and some bowling video game (like Golden Tee for bowling) that you can actually win money from.I may have just found a new favorite place! 

I definitely will be back for the pizza, beer and skee ball, not to mention it beats crossing the river to their sister restaurant, the Alligator Lounge, in Williamsburg.

This Little Piggy went to Lusso for Brunch

Lusso , a contemporary Italian restaurant located in SoHo, sits on the corner of W. Broadway and Grand in a modern, exposed brick space.  I had passed Lusso many times over the past few weeks on my walk home and was intrigued by their drink special brunch menu ($20 all you can drink with a brunch entree).  While the atmosphere is nice, cozy and offers a warm refuge to the snow outside, the food was less than delicious.

Tini and I thought it would be a great place to meet before finishing up our holiday shopping.  Although we opted out of the drink special, the coffee was good, and the bloody mary was decent.  The menu also looked appetizing, including brunch items like maple toast and steak and eggs, as well as salads and sandwiches.  I chose the eggs and polenta and Tini ordered the frittata with basil, goat cheese and potatoes.  I was hopeful about my choice, however, sadly disappointed.  The creamy polenta, which closely resembled cream of wheat, quickly became luke warm before I had hardly touched it.  Additionally, the poached eggs possessed a runny, white consistency, which I hate.  Personally, I find runny egg whites disgusting.  Fortunately, the bacon was nice and crispy, though nothing to write home about.

The frittata, on the other hand, was delicious, though I find goat cheese makes everything tasty.  The potatoes were mixed into the eggs and added a surprising texture, which I enjoyed.  Other than that, the meal was mediocre at best (clearly excluding my wonderful company).  The hi-light was definitely the decor and very much not the food.  Who knows, maybe the dinner menu is more impressive.  Unfortunately, I probably won't find out since I likely won't go back unless to grab a drink at the bar.

Get your Wall Street Burger!: The Open Door is now, um, open on John Street

For as dead as everyone says the Financial District is (I'm not disagreeing entirely), there are certainly a lot of new places opening down there.  Within the last month I can think of at least three.  First the Vintry, then a couple weeks later Goodburger and now right across the street from me, Open Door.  And coming soon (who knows when?!), Bon Chon will also open a few doors down.  All of this just two months before my lease runs out and I move farther uptown... I guess you can't win 'em all.  Luckily, my brother will still be in the area.  Anyway, more to come on the above mentioned locals in the next couple of week.  Have a good weekend!

Consumer Reports Health Blog: Is romance ruining your waistline?

Given that I am a 25 year-old woman who went to school in Texas, it's not surprising that I know dozens of girls who were getting married right out of college.  Also not too surprising, are the bitter comments I hear from ladies who are not yet married or in serious relationships.  Fret no more my friends, at least you're not one of the statistics in Reports Health Blog: Is romance ruining your waistline?, an article recently posted on Consumer Reports Health Blog discussing the correlation between marraige and weight gain.  Cheers to that next time you're at brunch with your girlfriends!

Personalized Wine Journal | Williams-Sonoma

Still finishing up your holiday shopping? Stay warm indoors and shop online at William-Sonoma. They have a wonderful selection of gifts for everyone on your list. They even break it down into price ranges for under $25, $50, $100 and $250. My personal favorite is the Personalized Wine Journal Williams-Sonoma for $49.00.  What can I cay, I'm a sucker for monograms! 

Culinary Adventure Society at Zingerman's Mail Order

Who would've guessed, based on football alone, that anything great could come from Ann Arbor, MI? This sounds like an episode of Bizarre Foods delivered right to your doorstep. So exciting!

10 Creative Mac ’n’ Cheese Creations from WomansDay.com - Macaroni and Cheese

10 Creative Mac ’n’ Cheese Creations from WomansDay.com - Macaroni and Cheese

Being the big fan of Mac 'n Cheese that I am, when my friends Bana and Lulu sent this to me, I had to re-post.  I'm looking forward to making the Three-Cheese Mini Macs!  Oink oink!
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This Little Piggy Goes Oink for Oysters!

While reading Bourdain's A Cook's Tour, In Search of the Perfect Meal I discovered that we share a love of oysters.  I was really hoping to incorporate his  feelings about the amazing bivalve into The Piggy Post, but couldn't for the life of me figure out how.  Low and behold, a wonderful article in WJS.com this morning, Re-Branding the Oyster by William Snyder.

The article is fantastic.  It provides interesting knowledge about the marketing trends currently surrounding the oyster industry.  It also explains why different oysters have different tastes and how those flavors are developed, using the comparison of different grape varietals and how those produce differing wines.  Snyder states, "That’s because like Malbec or Cabernet grapes, oysters from the same species create entirely unique tastes when raised in different conditions. But while extracting a varying flavor from a grape means growing it in a different country, climate or hemisphere, for an oyster that change in taste might only be a matter of a few yards."

Snyder's comments on oysters reminded me of Bourdain's description, "What is an oyster if not the perfect food? It requires no preparation or cooking.  Cooking would be an affront...It appears on your plate as God created it: raw, unadourned."  I also recalled Batali's response at The Strand last week when asked what his favorite meal was: "Anything someone else makes for me." He elaborated with the example of an oyster, stating if someone else was doing the shucking he could eat hundreds, while forced to do it himself he would only eat a 1/2 dozen. 

All this oyster talk has me excited to try the new Mermaid Inn Oyster Bar, open now in Greenwich Village.

This Little Piggy Goes to Brunch at BREAD

While trying to catch a matinee performance of the Nutcracker last Saturday on the LES, a friend (aka. Tini) and I decided to grab brunch beforehand. Neither of us had been to Bread, but I had walked by many times before and always thought it would be a nice place to try. Tini arrived shortly before me and was able to take shelter from the dismal weather at the quaint bar near the front of the restaurant. Upon my arrival, we were quickly seated... a pleasant surprise for 1:45 on a Saturday afternoon.

The menu was relatively simple, though not small, with only a handful of brunch options hidden on the back. I seriously considered trying the eggs benedict with prosciutto cotto, which also came with coffee and something else (I forget what), but Tini mentioned she had seen the tomato soup served to another table and that it looked tasty. Taking that into consideration, and that they're known for their bread, we both ordered the soup and 1/2 sandwich combo, an excellent deal for only $10 (the menu said $11).

We chose the tomato soup, as opposed to the soup du jour, and were slightly worried it would be a small cup and with the 1/2 sandwich we'd leave hungry (God forbid). Not to worry. The bowl of soup was larger than a regular bowl and had a delicious crostini on top with a sprinkle of parmesan (yum!). We also chose the same sandwich, the Prosciutto Di Parma with mozzarella and cherry tomatoes on ciabatta (I know, I know, we should've tried different things, but it looked so good). Additionally, the sandwich came with a small mixed greens salad. Everything was delicious! The prosciutto in my sandwich was excellent, as was the soup. The table next to us had ordered a salad and the Tortellini with butter and sage. They looked amazing as well! Given I do not live in the area, I am not sure when I will return, however, it is definitely worth the visit. Oink oink!

This Little Piggy went to 10 Downing

I had been wanting to try 10 Downing for about 8 months now.  I finally stumbled upon it last night, unknowingly, while trying to find a "Plan B" to Blue Ribbon Wine Bar.  Luckily, the wait was only about 20 minutes at 9:30 pm, and the atmosphere seemed to be just what we were looking for.  The triangular space focused its decor on one wall, including various paintings and creative pieces.  The place was lively, but not so much that you couldn't hear your conversation.  We made our way to the bar and ordered a bottle of Rioja from their small-medium sized wine list.

Upon being seated, we began to review the menu, which is broken up into small plates, appetizers, entrees and sides.  I decided I would create a meal of small plates in order to better experience the menu.  So much stood out, the bone marrow, yellowtail with uni, steak tartare, beets with burrata... the list went on.  I decided I would seek the advice of our waiter, I mean, he would know best, right?  Unfortunately, no.  When I told him what I was hoping to do and provided some of the dishes that jumped out at me, he sneered "Well, they're all different."  Clearly I knew that bone marrow and yellowtail were not remotely similar, I was merely hoping for some guidance.  This attitude persisted throughout the meal, although the rest of the staff was delightful.

Anyway, I selected the beets with burrata, wild mushroom polenta with manchego, and the steak tartare, and was pleasantly surprised with my choices.  The beets came first with a beautiful presentation.  An assortment of both purple and orange beets were placed throughout the plate, with delicious morsels of fresh, creamy burrata intermixed.  Then, the tartare and polenta arrived.  The steak tartare was one of the best I have had, however, I think next time I may forgo the polenta with manchego to try something new.  My friend ordered the roasted chicken, which comes in both a half and full order.  It was delicious, very moist, and the skin was nice and crispy, though it could have been a little crispier.  Additionally, we had ordered a side of the fries with truffled salt, which never came, though we were both full and definitely didn't need them.

The dessert menu also looked delicious, particularly the chocolate cake with olive oil gelato.  To my dismay, I could not eat a single thing more.  Good thing there is always next time.  While the food didn't blow me away, it was good, and I will definitely go back.

This Just In: Grub Street on Batali, Chang & Meehan @ The Strand

This Little Piggy wants Momo of Ma Peche

After reading Midtownlunch's review of Momofuku's new lunch outpost, Ma Peche, in the Chambers Hotel (56th between 5th and 6th), a couple girlfriends and I thought we'd go today for lunch.  Figuring it would be packed and we may not get a table, I arrived promptly at noon.  Luckily, it was early enough and there were still tables available.  I was prompted to have a seat in the front while I awaited the other two in my party.  The space is a very relaxing, modern hotel lobby atmosphere and I happily awaited the other two in my party. 

Once they arrived, we were escorted to a small, artistic table surrounded by a small couch and two cushioned stools.  Typically, I would find this a most uncomfortable seating arrangement, however, it went perfectly with the meal and conversation. Since the restaurant is technically not opening until 2010, they currently have a limited $10 lunch menu in addition to a small breakfast and dinner selection.  Assuming they will make additions once the restaurant is in full swing, I'm curious what they may add because right now it is perfect as is.  I selected the  bahn mi du maison, which came with a soda or spring water, as do all the lunch menu options.  My friends, who are not as crazy about pate, selected the bun du riz, a dish consisting of rice noodle, pork ragout and saw leaf herb.  Both choices were excellent.  The bahn mi quickly became my favorite of those I have tried throughout the city.  What it lacked in size, it made up for with incredible ingredients, including an absolutely delicious and creamy pate. 

Additionally, we ordered the popcorn from the regular menu, which came with a interesting nori and chili seasoning.  To top it off, we shared a peanut butter cookie, which was dazzled with bits of peanut brittle that were the perfect compliment to an otherwise perfectly moist cookie that left us asking, "how do they do that?!"

This turned out to be one of the most wonderful weekday lunch experiences I have ever had.  We didn't have to wait, the food was flawless, and the decor and table settings were especially enjoyable.  We will be back next Thursday without a doubt.

This Little Piggy Met Batali, Chang & Meehan

If you love food, and particularly restaurants in NYC, you really missed out last night if you didn't make it to The Strand to see Mario Batali, David Chang and Peter Meehan converse about life, food, and their NY outposts.  It was truly awesome and made me remember why I am so happy I moved to this city.  The event started at 7 pm and when we arrived at 6:30, it was unsurprisingly packed.  Luckily, my friend scored some great seats right in the front that had somehow been overlooked by others, and I quickly grabbed a signed copy of Babbo and dove right in while we awaited our hosts. 

Before we knew it, in rolled Batali, orange crocs and all, followed by Chang and Meehan.  The conversation was incredible.  They spoke very briefly about their new books, the Momofuku cookbook (Chang and Meehan) and Spain...A Culinary Road Trip (Batali), but mainly focused on questions raised by Meehan and the audiance.  Chang relished on his younger years, before he was voted JBF Best New Chef: NYC (2007) among others, emphasizing the wonderful inspriation and mentor that Batali had been, and continues to be (Mario frequented Momofuku for lunch in its early years on a weekly basis).  They discussed what they each look for in a cook at their restaurants and Batali said he can tell within 30 seconds of sitting down with someone whether or not they will be a stellar chef by "the kindness in their eyes".  They both elaborated on the change in the priorities of chefs over the years, touching on the new battle between passion and star chefdom.  Additionally, they spoke about the concept of authenticity.  Batali explained that for him, authenticity deals more with the ingredients than anything else, stating "We're using American ingredients with an Italian thought process," when describing his Italian restaurants, while Chang answered the million dollar question, "what type of genre would you classify the Momofuku Restaurants?" using "fusion". 

Ultimately, it was a delightful, rainy evening in New York.  Batali was hilarious and Chang had an unexpected degree of sincerity in his responses.  Peter Meehan didn't say much. I left after meeting Batali, Chang and Meehan, with a personalized copy of Babbo for my collection (I already have the one on Spain) and an even greater excitement to discover Ma Peche the following day.

Making Green Bean Casserole

So we weren't doing the normal Thanksgiving feast, but why not make a favorite dish right? Right. That's why I found myself shopping for Green Bean Casserole first thing this morning at the corner market.  A very simple dish, yes, but with a few changes.  Here you go:

-  I decided I would try to make Green Bean Casserole.

-  I bought the ingredients, a total of $16.49 at your NYC Corner Market (mind you, this costs $12.00 outside of NYC)

-  Go by the recipe on the side of the French's French Fried Onion can, minus the milk (makes it runny = no bueno), add one jar of sliced mushrooms (preferrably Green Giant sliced mushrooms), and half a pack of 8 oz. oscar meyer bacon (or any bacon, but why skimp on the fat... it's Thanksgiving)

-  Mix ingredients, minus half large can of fried onion and half pack of 8 oz. bacon fried into bits.

-  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes

-  Top with remaining fried onions and bacon bits.

-  Serve.

No Frijoles for Thanksgiving

This is a funny story. My best friend is Mexican. Her boyfriend is American. She was going to his mother's home in South Carolina for Thanksgiving. Growing up in the U.S., she had more or less always celebrated Thanksgiving in the traditional American way, sweet potatoes, stuffing, turkey, you know how it goes. Anyways, she was going to SC this year and was excited to help her future mother-in-law make Thanksgiving dinner. She suggested to her boyfriend, "Hey, tell your mom I'll help with dinner, I make a really good sweet potato dish." He relayed the message. Like a game of telephone she shortly found out that her soon-to-be mother-in-law was on a search for the necessary mexican spices for this sweet potato dish, because my friend was going to be making a very authentic mexican speciality. Little did she know it only consisted of canned sweet potatoes, maple syrup (aunt jemima), and marshmallows. We have all be joking around, urging her to throw chipotle or jalapenos into the mix just for the sake of the story. Feliz Dia de Thanksgiving!

Too Much Beef on Thanksgiving

We went to Dylan Prime on Thanksgiving. It was delicious. We ordered too much. I am extremely full. So goes Thanksgiving Day regardless if you're eating a traditional Thanksgiving meal at home with family or at a steakhouse with your older brother. My apologies, this post will not have any picture. In avoidance of feeling tacky and hearing my brother say under his breath "put your camera away, they're going to think this is our first time at a nice restaurant", I opted not to take pictures through the course of our feast. We ordered cheese fondue with apples, bread cubes, fried onions and bacon bits (ideal combination = dip bread in cheese, dip bread with cheese in bacon bits and fried onion = amazing). We ordered Caesar salad, which came with a delicious crostini topped with black olive tapenade. We ordered petit filets with parmigiana reggiano and Maytag blue and chive chappeux, respectively. And then... then we ordered lobster mac n' cheese and sausage stuffing. Needless to say, Happy Thanksgiving. One of two holidays a year (the other being Christmas), when it is socially acceptable to completely indulge in some of the least healthy food known to man. Luckily, we have some sense, and after destroying the fondue, and tasting the filets, mac and stuffing, we decided to pay the bill and relocate to the bar.

Coole Swan Irish Liquor (sooo much better than Bailey's), a cool, creamy vanilla, wintry liquor and pumpkin pie...the final blow before completely succumbing to this food coma, and then (thanks to the NY Giants and my brother's wisdom), we were off. On our way home to watch football, with a delicious goody bag of two - 1/2 filet mignons, part lobster mac, and part sausage stuffing. The perfect day-after-Thanksgiving breakfast/lunch/dinner surprise. Who says you have to eat at home to enjoy the beauty of Thanksgiving left overs?!

Happy Thanksgiving! (pictures to come at a later date when it is polite to photograph the inside of the dining room at a respectable (and excellent) restaurant.

Prime Bites at The Palm

Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, stuck in NY with nothing to do. Lucky for me, my brother lives a block away and is never one to turn down going out to dinner. We decided we'd try The Palm Tribeca, a member of the chain steakhouse whose downtown location has been open for almost a year.

We sat at the bar and were pleased when the bartender suggested we try the New Prime Bites Menu, a select bar menu costing a mere $3.50 per dish after 9:00 pm. At first we couldn't believe it, anything costing less than $20 at The Palm?!, and I mean, who really eats before nine o'clock in New York anyway, but sure enough... every appetizer was only $3.50. Our choices were as follows : Filet Mignon Capri Sandwiches, "Ultimate" Chicken Strips, Mini Broiled Crab Cakes, Veal Parmigiana Sliders, "Point Judith" Calimari Fritti and Prime Cheese Steak. Additionally, oysters were $1 and jumbo shrimp $2. We chose half a dozen oysters, which came with a dipping vinagrette, the calamri and the cheese steaks, both which came with a pile of cross-cut potato chips. The cheese steak sandwiches (3 per order) came on a delicious bun that definitely made this the favorite of the meal. Unfortunately, the calamri was fairly bland and the cocktail sauce that accompanied it did nothing to help. The potato chips, which looked delicious, were disappointing lacking flavor almost entirely. Hopefully in the future they will add something as simple as a Lawry's Seasoned Salt to the chips to spice them up.

The discount menu, which is also available from 4:30-6:30 pm, does not include drink specials, although the palm belgian wheat ale is a tasty compliment to their wine selection.

While the food did not blow me away, the price was unbeatable and I will likely be back in the near future (at least for a beer and oysters).

Piggy Weekend in Review

I had quite a line up of dinners planned for the weekend. Momofuku Fried Chicken on Friday night and DBGB on Saturday... it's a wonder I haven't had a heart attack yet. Anyway, a group of us were able to get one of the coveted reservations for Momofuku's special Fried Chicken dinner for Friday night.



While I am no connosueir of fried chicken (I like KFC), I had heard that Momofuku's Fried Chicken was one of the best and I was excited to check it out. The reservation requires a minimum of 4 people and a max of 8, and 7 of us showed up at 11:45 eager to dig into the meal. While the focus is clearly on the chicken, they also had their late night menu available (12-2 am) so we began with some appetizers. Their kimchi, which comes in a small or large jar, was delicious as usual, and the pork buns were unreal. We also ordered the tamales, which I had never had before. An order of three, including jalepeno/queso, pork/kimchi and sichuan sausage, arrived and was quickly devoured. Don't be fooled by the fact that there are three, two people can happily share this, not seven.

Good thing we ordered accordingly though, because next came an enormous plate of fried chicken that could have fed ten. The plate is divided between buttermilk fried and a more spicy/tangy korean chicken wing, and is the same heaping mound regardless of the number of eaters. While I loved the buttermilk, which were warm and tender, and not the slightest bit greasy, the korean chicken wings had an amazing flavor, and quickly became my favorite. Additionally, the fried chicken is accompanied with mu shu pancakes, carrots, lettuce, radishes and an assortment of sauces to help with making the perfect fried chicken burrito. With an order of pie crust frozen yogurt to top off the chicken and a bill that equated to $40/person (beer and wine included), Momofuku's Fried Chicken Dinner proved to be a delicious and fairly inexpensive Friday night out.

Piggy Pic of the Week

My wonderful dad sent me this cartoon from The New Yorker and I thought it was great!

With One Week to Spare, Eater's Top 20 Thanksgiving Restaurant Picks

Eater just featured a great list of restaurants that have availability on Thanksgiving. My pick would be Park Avenue Autum. I've been hoping to try it. Hope this is helpful!

With One Week to Spare, Eater's Top 20 Thanksgiving Restaurant Picks

When this Little Piggy dreams, she dreams of El Bulli...

... and this video is precisely why (not to mention I have a small obsession with Anthony Bourdain and Ferran Adria). Every year I dream of having the opportunity to eat at such a fine restaurant as El Bulli and this December I will submit my application to be one of the lucky chosen few. The possibility of enjoying a 32 course meal of such amazing courses as iced powder foie gras with foie consome or tuna bone marrow with caviar is almost unimaginable. More to come on the application process...

The Piggy Post

Welcome to The Piggy Post, a blog glorifying food and all things culinary. This site will follow one little piggy on her edible endeavors through New York City. The primary focus will be on eating, and the best and worst places to do so in New York. So get ready (and hungry) and start following this Little Piggy as she travels throughout the city in search of something tasty to eat ! Oink Oink!