The worst part of my job is having to taste a range of foods, wines and beverages. I ask myself, “Why me?” :)
Who doesn’t love a tea party? One of the best events I’d been to this year was a tea social hosted by Cindi Bigelow, CEO and grand-daughter of Ruth Bigelow, founder of one of America’s largest tea companies, Bigelow Tea.
Believe the hype! Today we had lunch at Calexico, on Union St., in Brooklyn, today and loved it. For once, I let everyone order what they wanted so there was a plethora of pulled pork. We had it in a taco, a quesadilla and a burrito. The child veered from the pig pack and had chicken quesadilla. We also ordered a small salad and a side of guacamole. Everything was delish on its own, but I had too much fun at the salsa bar and tasted them all. The only thing I did not care for was their infamous “Crack” sauce, but I am not a big mayo fan. Get a yummy peek on the video.
Meal #22 of The Wandering Foodies 93 Plates project found Hagan and I enjoying breakfast at the Iris Cafe, a new cafe in Brooklyn Heights. One word: Delicious! It’s on the road less traveled: Columbia Place, but that street should get worn out soon by people trekking over to get divine raisin sticky buns, yummy ham and cheddar scones, homey soft boiled, farm fresh egg breakfasts with divine Surryano Ham (It’s spelled correctly!) and awesome oatmeal served up with the best tea I’ve ever had and the super sought after Stumptown coffee!!! We did not even try the sandwiches , but Liza de Guia, Food Curated’s story-teller and self-proclaimed food addict (@SkeeterNYC on Twitter) says they are to die for. So I deliberately did not buy the sticky buns so I could head back very, very soon and try them… and then devour more sticky buns!
Could you eat at three restaurants a day for thirty one days straight and blog about each meal? Hagan Blount aka The Wandering Foodie is able and willing and doing it and has invited NYC food bloggers to join him! We met on day five, meal thirteen of his 93 Plates project at the Roots Cafe in Brooklyn.
We grabbed a late brunch at Cafe Mei Mei, which opened one week ago, on Court St. in Boreum Hill, Brooklyn, New York. I took a wee video of what we had…
When @flavorista (aka Barr Hogen) came to visit New York, we went on a food adventure in New Jersey with my new video camera…
In the land before time the diva was a surly old hash slinger at the River Cafe in Brooklyn. To document my attitude at the time, I recall at my interview being offered a job as a cocktail waitress on the outside deck, since the manager claimed he did not have room for me in the dining room. I looked him straight in the eye and said, “Thank you, but the day I have to rely on the weather to make tips or not is the day I throw myself in that mother-*$#%!*@ river!
Somehow I got the job anyway and at that time Dan Budd was the extremely talented and very hard working pastry chef. I think he left to be a pastry instructor at CIA right around the time I quit before I got fired (long story). I could barely look at CIA in the distant views yesterday during my harrowing (vertigo induced) stroll across the Hudson, but after we were back on terra firma and I calmed down, we zipped up route 9G to Dan’s cafe, Taste Budd’s Chocolate and Coffee Cafe, in Red Hook, New York for some medicinal pastries.
The BF and I had the most bizarre meal in years at a new Korean restaurant in Palisades Park, New Jersey. The name of the place I believe is Girodi, but I lost the card. Don’t fret about it since I wouldn’t actually recommend it. It is a good one for your places to avoid list.
We had a ball in Asbury Park this past Saturday with friends. The boardwalk’s renaissance seems to be on the upswing in spite of the economy and the damp start to the season. Sandwiched between the reviving the Asbury Park Convention Hall on one end of the board walk and the Asbury Park Casino (where a scene from “The Wrestler” was shot) on the other is lots of upmarket and interesting food places, shops, bars and FUN!!! We almost skipped lunch to jump the fence and play under the giant hose, watering can and more in the Asbury Water Park, but we didn’t have the obligatory child to get us in.
When it comes right down to it the Fancy Food Show (FFS) is not pretty or easy. Three days of tasting, even doing just three hours per day, is hard work! My new system of eating only savory food for the first two hours and doubling back for the sweet stuff for the last hour worked really well, but by the end of second day my buds and my dogs were B-E-A-T! and I had yet to set foot upstairs.
The next morning I was toast. Is there such thing as a food hangover? Or was it wine flu from the foodparty.com event the night before? Duty called so I dragged myself back for the love of cheese and smoked, fried, cured, marinated pork products that was my day three and it seemed to “cure” whatever was ailing me. Last night, I had a huge salad to ward off the scurvy and today I bring you my fancy food finds (if not necessarily faves).
