March Food Essay

Here are some of the highlights of my food odyssey in March 2010.

Above:  Karaage udon set (they call it a “set,” just like in Asia!).  Udon West at Saint Marks Place.

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Above, chicken and lamb on rice, with the sauce.  it looked like a mess, and it tasted like a mess as well.  It sure was cheap, though.

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Chirashi, (Shinjuku Sushi).  What’s going on with the vegetables?  And where is the bowl?  Well, when I walked in I saw them reading a Taiwanese newspaper, and they were clearly speaking Mandarin to each other.  They wouldn’t speak it to me, though.  Anyway, the presentation was weird but the fish was ok.  Look at some detail below.

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Above:  roast “jerk” chicken (not jerked) with juice from the oxtail stew poured over, with veggies, a bucket of rice and beans, and some tostones from Golden Krust on 14th.  The lady asked if it was “for stay or to go,” and I said “for here.”  She gave me a plastic bag anyway, saying I wouldn’t be able to finish it, which I thought was presumptuous.

When I went to leave, she asked how it was, and I said, “it was nice, thank you.  I finished it all.”

“No you didn’t,” she said, and looked down at the leftovers I was carrying out the door with me.

“No, I didn’t.  Thanks.”  And I left, and she chuckled, shaking her head at me.  It was 2 days worth of food for $9.00.

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Today I went on a mission for new york pizza slices (shout out to my boy Luke in Brisbane).  First stop was Bleeker Street Pizza (picked by the FoodNetwork as the best pizza in NYC!).  I was kind of surprised to see that the entire staff was white folk; the website says it’s really a family affair.

I got the maregherita, and it was very nice.  They pinch a ridge into the crust, so you can’t really fold it like a taco.

Next was Famous Joe’s Pizza.

The interior was darker, dingier, and there was nothing but Mexicans on both sides of the counter.

This was the tomato mozzarella at Joe’s.  I added oregano and chili flakes.

This one folded nicely  into a taco, and the crust somehow had a coal fire char taste.

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So at New York delis, people order salads custom assembled and tossed.  I got this one at Pick-A-Bagel.  This was was tuna (it looked like it came from the expensive can), a boiled egg, whole artichoke hearts, diced tomatoes (chopped or cherry?  chopped or cherry?), feta (which they call “fetacheese”), dolmades (which they call “grape leaves”), and caper berries.  Ok, next time, I have to say, just a few caper berries, because the man put in what seemed like three jars before… ahem… tossing my salad vigorously… and returning it to the plastic clamshell.  When I got it home, the entire salad tasted like capers.  Next time I need capers, I will get a salad with lettuce and capers, and then pick out the lettuce and then pour the caper berries into jelly jars.

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Here’s a bonus photo:  you know that there are Chinese people around when you see bike seats wrapped in grocery bags.  This is the delivery fleet for Lili’s Noodle Shop.