Little Piggy Pic of the Week!

My wonderful colleague sent me this adorable picture this morning!  Oink oink!

This Little Piggy made a Multi-Cheese Quesadilla

After hosting a supper club mixer at my apartment on Saturday, I was left with the remnants of various cheeses that had been left unfinished.  Not wanting them to go to waste, I decided I would throw all the smaller pieces together and make a quesadilla.  I have absolutely no clue what they were, though they varied from a soft cow's milk to a harder pecorino type cheese.  I used about 4-5 of them and it turned out to be incredible.  All the white cheeses blended together deliciously and I was so pleased.  So... when you have smaller pieces of cheese and you're not quite sure what to do with them (besides obviously eating them whole), I highly recommend making a quesadilla.  Oink oink!

This Little Piggy had a Burger

About the chain of events above:  Last Friday I found out via the wonderful people at @winedanddined about an insane deal they were doing at Flip in Bloomingdale's.  All you had to do was text #89800 and put "FLIP2" in the body, and BINGO, you received a text back giving you a coupon for a free burger.  If you're not familiar with Flip, their burgers aren't cheap.  They pretty much range from $16-$23, which if you ask me, is a lot for a burger.  Anyways, I'm not a huge burger person to begin with, but I felt it was my blogging duty to take advantage of this opportunity.  My friend and I went during lunch and both ordered the Benedict Burger ( american-bred wagyu beef with canadian bacon, ultra-melted american cheese sauce and a fried egg grilled pattie-style on organic ny rye bread) for $23, which also came with steak fries.  The burger was alright, although a little dry, but you couldn't beat the price.  2 Burgers + 2 drinks = $6.50 (see receipt).  Pretty incredible.  Oink oink!

ps.  While I didn't love the burger, I am now obsessed with their mayo that I asked for to go with my fries.

This Little Piggy Has a New Favorite Spot

I decided I would start the week off with a bang.  I met up with a good friend so we could swing by the friends and family opening of Cienfuegos, a "secret rum bar in the EV" (posted on Urban Daddy yesterday).  Upon entering Carteles, the small sandwich shop at the front, we were led up a staircase in the back and entered a medium sized dining room.  While food does not seem to be of much concern here, the cocktail list is quite extensive.  All of the drinks are "punches" and can be ordered by the glass or in various sizes of bowls.  We enjoyed the the $30 punch bowl of some concoction with the word "Mischief" in it (as opposed to the $60 and $100 options).  It was alright, probably not as good as some of the punch bowls I've had at their sister cocktail dens, Death & Co. and Bourgeois Pig, but still light and refreshing.  In the next couple of months I bet this places will become extremely popular, especially for Friday/Saturday night birthday parties, bachelorette parties, and groups of loud girls who want a night out.

But... all in all, I just wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be.  I mean, I thought the space was great.  The decor was nice, especially the tiles that adorn the ceiling above the upstairs bar.  Unfortunately, however, I think they will likely be so focused on the drinks that the food will probably always take a back seat.  But, hey! I didn't try the food so I may be entirely wrong. 

It's worth the trip though, and I am sure I will go back in the near future to try the food and another punch bowl.  At the end of the day, I am fairly certain the place will be a huge hit, at least at the beginning, and people will probably call me crazy, but oh well!

That was not the bang of the night, however.  We then headed down to Chinatown for additional cocktails and some live jazz.  This is where I truly thank my friend for such a wonderful evening.  He brought me to Apotheke, which I had heard of but never visited.  This is by far my new favorite spot in NYC, and even better, it is located near my apartment.  I was told the weekends tend to be different there than the weekdays, so I will probably stick to Monday and Tuesday nights when they have live jazz.

Also of great importance were their cocktails.  They were unbelievable.  I told the barkeep that I liked everything except tequila, and he threw some things together creating an insanely delicious spicy, salty beverage.  Did I say how amazing it was?!  Ok, just checking, but really, it was that good.  Anyways, it was a fabulous way to end the evening and an even better way to start the week.  Great music, excellent cocktails and a wonderful friend!  What more can you ask for?!  Oink oink!

This Little Piggy likes Pacific Northwest Wines

During a vacation to the Pacific Northwest last October, I had the opportunity to go wine tasting at some excellent vineyards in the Willamette Valley in Oregon.  I had never had a Pinot Blanc before, and the one I tried at Four Graces was incredible.  I quickly fell in love with the amazing wines the region was producing.

I was really excited to hear that the Down Town Association would be hosting a wine tasting focused on the Pacific Northwest.  It was a great event and while I didn't try all eight of the featured wines, I tried some I really enjoyed and others I cared less for.  I found the Adelsheim Pinot Gris (2007) to be a very refreshing white.  It had a medium dryness with a higher degree of acidity.  It smelled of fruits, mainly citrus, rather than berry, and was medium bodied. 

I was slightly less impressed with the L'Ecole No. 41 Chenin Blanc (2009) from Washington, though I believe they may have been serving it too cold and this may have affected its flavor.  Lastly, I was not nearly as impressed with the WillaKenzie Pinot Noir (2007), also from Oregon.  The region is known for producing excellent Pinots and I thought this probably would have stood out to me, but alas, it didn't.  I did, however, enjoy the Mission Hill Winery Oculus (2004) from British Columbia.  I am looking forward to trying more wines from Washington and Oregon and will report back accordingly.

Featured Wines

Whites

- Adelsheim Pinot Gris 2007, Oregon
- L'Ecole No. 41 Chenin Blanc 2009 (Columbia Valley), Washington
- Mission Hill Winery Chardonnay 2006, B.C.
- Snoqualmie Vineyards Riesling Naked 2008, Washington




Reds

- WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir 2007 (Willamette Valley), Oregon
- Ex Libris Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Washington
- Chataeu Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington
- Mission Hill Winery Oculus 2005, B.C.

Having your cake & eating it too!

So they say you can't have your cake and eat it too, and usually that is true.  Except, when there is a birthday here at work and someone grabs a cake at Junior's in Grand Central.  I'm not a huge sweets person, and unless it is Red Velvet Cake, I usually opt out of the sugar experience.  But, for the sake of the post, I felt it was my duty to try the Carrot Cake that was brought in yesterday.  Though it wasn't bad, I'm not sure it was worth the calories.  Others seemed to enjoy it, though, so maybe it's just me not having a sweet tooth.  Who knows, but I found it a little dry and the frosting a little too sweet.  I thought maybe it was cream cheese frosting, which I love, but Felicia claims the pictures look more like butter cream, so maybe that was the case.  Either way, I definitely didn't need two pieces.  Maybe it was a blessing in disguise...

Salty Pistachio Caramel soft serve with a little side of fluff

My apologies for the fluff, i.e., this beautiful picture of the tulips on Park Avenue, but they were just too lovely to pass up, so I figured, what the heck, I'd include them for your viewing pleasure.  I mean, they did give me the urge to get out of the office and make my way over to Milk Bar Midtown for a little soft serve.  Clearly, you can see how that could have happened by the similarity in the pictures. They currently have two flavors, Salty Pistachio Caramel and Cereal Milk.  I went with the Pistachio and was pleasantly surprised with its delicious salty and sweet flavor, but as has been the case with all the soft serves I've tried, I was only able to make it through half of the cup before I was sort of over it.  What's the deal with that?  The perfect way to describe it is with a Spanish word, "enpalagada", which more or less means too much flavor.  I typically use it to describe sweet things that you've just had enough of, like a chocolate brownie sunday, or in this case, the Milk Bar soft serve.  They're perfect for sharing though!

Heads Up: The flavors are changing at the EV location tomorrow, April 21st. Adiós Red Velvet and Cream Cheese Frosting swirl, which didn't taste like Red Velvet at all.

The night I made MExican food (Mexican just for Me!)

Sunday night I decided I would try to make something for dinner.  Initially, I was just going to heat up some soup, but a friend told me that was sad.  Truth be told, I wasn't in a very pleasant mood, so I decided I'd try to cheer myself up by cooking, if for no other reason so I'd have something to post about.  I threw some things together (specifically goya black beans, cheese, sour cream, homemade pico de gallo, sliced avocado and a tortilla) and bingo, I had  MExican dinner.  Que bueno, it was delicious!

Lesson learned: the beans in the can are already cooked, putting them in the saucepan is done only to heat them.  Who knew?!  What would I do without Felicia?!

This Little Piggy found these on El blog de Somoslibros

Because I don't have a lot of time right now, but I don't want to leave you hanging with nothing to read, I am including some info on these two fabulous books that I recently discovered.  I am hoping to buy them tomorrow via Casa del Libro, so I should have more for you soon.  In the meantime, check out their summaries on SomosLibros (Unfortunately, I think they're only in Spanish).

This Little Piggy Watches No Reservations (religiously)

I have been really bad about keeping you abreast of my thoughts on this seasons No Reservations, so I figured why not provide a brief summary since I'm bored out of my mind right now.  Let me first say, this remains my favorite show on television and I think the season has been pretty darn good thus far, minus a few things I'd get rid of, specifically this "good Tony v. bad Tony" marketing thing they've been doing.  It's dumb and in terms of marketing, it has only annoyed me during commercials.  Other than that, I truly enjoyed his trip to Istanbul and the Brittany.

I was also surprised how much I liked the episode on Obsessions, where Tony elaborated on his love of pig (shown above in a twitpic from @NoReservations).  This was also the episode where he featured the Black Label Burger at Minetta Tavern, Terrance Brennan of Artisanal, and Dave Pasternack, the fish guy from Esca.  Additionally, he met with three food bloggers, Jason Perlow of Off the Broiler, Steve Plotnicki of Opinionated About Dining, and Steven Shaw, founder of eGullet.org.  He also met with Ron Cooper of Del Maguey Mezcals, an interesting guy who I also had the pleasure of meeting on Saturday at Astor.  In a nutshell, I felt like this was a nice change (not that I have a problem with the location based themes) from the normal episodes.

This post really isn't doing the show justice but unfortunately, I have to run.  Who knows, maybe I'll add more later, but for now... this is all you get.  Oink!

This Little Piggy likes Guanciale

Is your favorite part of spaghetti carbonara the absolutely delicious crispy pieces of pancetta that add a little crunch in every bite? Then you will love Guanciale! While similar to pancetta, it is leaner and more flavorful, and is made by drying the meat from the pig's jowls. Once featured as the Ingredient of the Month on the Babbo website, they use it on all sorts of things, but especially enjoy it's contribution to the bucatini all'amatriciana (recipe found here). My boyfriend and I were able to pick some up at Salumi, Batali's dad's incredible cured meats shop in Seattle, and an essential lunch place for anyone visiting the area. We brought it back with us to NYC and made a delicious bean soup incorporating the guanciale.

Additionally, Yum Sugar recently featured a post on the magical pork product.  Check it out and more here.  Oink!

Once upon a time This Little Piggy was little

Just for kicks, here's a pic of This Little Piggy when I was actually little.  Proof that I loved food at a young age.  Guess the chef thing never really caught on though.  Oh well.  Oink oink!

This Little Piggy Has Writer's Block

Ok ok, so I know I haven't been as on top of my posting as I should be lately, but I will admit... I have writer's block.  I have all these draft posts lined up in my saved box, but can't seem to articulate my thoughts for the public.  I know this must be as frustrating for you as it is for me, especially since you probably would like to see some new content.  My apologies.  I'm going to buckle down for the next day and try to play catch up.  Please forgive me if some of the posts seem delayed.  I am only including them because I feel they are interesting.  Additionally, I would love your comments regarding the blog.  Everything from content to layout is greatly appreciated.

Hope all is well and you have a great week!  Oink!

This Little Piggy Read "Who Knew: Pickle Juice Popsicles, Sports Drinks..."

Check out these four delicious ways to use Pickle Juice from the fabulous JBF blog, Delights & Prejudices!  I've loved the Pickle Juice chaser for over a year now, but who knew drinking PJ on its own could help your muscles!  Also, PJ Popsicles...Yum and just in time for summer!  I have some empty Rick's Picks jars in the fridge full of salty goodness, but hadn't known quite what to use the juice for yet.  Problem Solved!

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This Little Piggy went tapeando @ Lizarran

I was so excited a few weeks ago when Grub Street introduced a new tapas place that would be opening in Soho.  They explained that Lizarran, which maintains 200 locations worldwide,

"operates a little differently from other local tapas joints, in that waiters jet around trying to tempt you with trays of what are essentially tapas mounted on bread, each of them costing $2.50 to $2.75 (there’s a constantly rotating selection of 200 of them). You choose what you want and are billed by the toothpick — somewhat like a dim sum joint except in this case, you’re likely to be under the influence of Spanish beer and wine."

As you can imagine due to my love of all things Spanish gained from living there for 6 months, I felt the need to go here as soon as possible.  My brother and I decided to stop by after work yesterday to grab a "copa" and "tapear" (meaning to eat tapas).  As you've probably noticed from most of my blog posts, I have a difficult time saying poor things about restaurants.  I am trying to be better about that, so here it goes.

I feel there is usually at least one redeeming quality about a restaurant, which in this case, was the decor.  Other than that, however, I was not left with much of a desire to return.  The menu was way over priced, and I feel they would be much more successful allowing you to build your own meat and cheese plate than providing you with the three listed options (a cheese plate, a mixed snack plate, and a jamón serrano plate).  Furthermore, there were only three or four white wines by the glass and a comparable number of reds... none of which really jumped out at me.  I initially ordered a glass of the tried and true Albariño, but when I requested a second glass, I was informed they had run out.  I opted for a Txakolina that was recommended by the waitress, and though it was decent, it was not even on the same page as other Txacolís I have had in the past.  Additionally, their beers on tap... Coors Light and Sam Adams.  They did have Estrella Dam in bottle, though not Cruz Campo, which our waitress had never heard of.

Food wise, I was probably even less impressed.  Once seated we were told that there was a selection of cold "pintxos" in a case up front.  The waitress did a nice job of explaining to us what our options were, though unfortunately, nothing really looked appetizing. The jamon serrano sort of looked like cardboard and the chorizo was merely one slice sitting atop of a piece of bread.  I got my hopes up when I saw that pan con tomate (bread with tomato) was listed with the sides, but when it arrived at the table we didn't even finish it.  The bread was cold, untoasted and the tomato was minimal and lacked flavor entirely.  I can't even touch on the presence of dishes encompassing "molecular gastronomy", which was also mentioned in the Grub Street article.  Frankly, if you can't get bread and tomato right, I'm certainly not interested in trying anything more advanced, like a foam.  Ohh, and evidently there was a happy hour special (white and red sangria for $6, and a couple other drinks for the same), though the only reason we found out about this was when another waitress informed a neighboring table.  Another server came by and offered us some hot pintxos, but we opted to stick to wine.

I'm really hoping that since this is only their second week open, things will improve in the near future.  I would possibly even give them another try, though with the amazing meats and cheeses at Pata Negra, and the tapas at Casa Mono and Bar Jamón , it will make it a highly unlikely choice.

This Little Piggy gives Lizarran one oink.