Martha Stewart Goes Streit

It's still Passover and we still love matzoh (at least for the next 5 days anyhow). Take a tour with Martha Stewart to last bastion of matzoh making on the Lower East Side in New York, Streit's. Great grandson of Streit's founder Aron Gross is, as Martha would say, a good thing.

Clucky Reading

Maybe you've noticed, but we love chickens.  No seriously. We adore the little guys in all their different feathery getups.

And we are delighted to have some new reading material: The Poultry Tribune from 1921.  Don't fret, not everything is about chickens.

Check out the entire collection of The Poultry Tribune here.

Breaking News for Passover from the Japanese

Have you ever tried to break a piece of matzoh right down the middle only to have it crack and crumble unevenly? Looks like we could learn a thing or two from the Japanese on how to do it the right way.

Guild This

Sometimes we want our food...gold.

Now there is just the product to get rid of those pesky natural colors (who wants red strawberries or purple eggplant anyway), Esslack Food Spray by The Deli Garage.  Its like spray paint. But for your food. 

For some reason it seems as though you cant actually purchase this product on their website, which is a complete tragedy.  We will have to settle for their Tubenhonig instead.

Limericker: La Esquina

La Esquina was fun ultima noche
Eating quesedillas con huitalacoche
Los tacos: bonitas
As were the carnitas
Es muy bueno, this Mexican buffet

Flagged By Our Friends Down Under

The Sydney International Food Festival is underfoot down under and to celebrate, participating countries recreated their flags using popular local foods.

South Korea

France

Vietnam

Brazil

Greece

Switzerland

Japan

Oh, the places you'll go.

Plonk Wines - Your Personal Guide to Wine

Sometimes we all need a little guidance.  Although we may know the benefits of the effects of wine, we know very little about which ones to select.  It is true, we are usually drawn to the most attractive looking label in conjunction with the lowest price point we can hit without purchasing wine in a box.  (After all, boxed wine has its very own special time and place in the world).  So we admit, we are novices.  Yet, we crave a good glass of wine to pair with our take-out dinner on a Tuesday night, and preferably something that doesn't break the bank.  In turn, we are optimistic that we can find really amazing bottles for under $30 that would impress our parents, in-laws, food-snob friends, first dates, or our best friends.

 

Enter Etty Lewensztain.  Etty, a good friend of ours for many years now, has just ventured out on her own to create Plonk Wine Merchants, a Los Angeles based online wine company.  The site is user-friendly, helping us novices explore Lewensztain's carefully curated selections based on region, grape, style, and price.  Best of all, she has visceral descriptions of each bottle, suggested food pairings, and video portions in which Etty describes the bottles and why she likes them (side note: her ever-changing fashionable outfits and her signature curly hair are to die for).  Consider yourself lucky, Ms Lewensztain is accredited by the Wine and Spirits Education Trust and the American Sommelier Association, and she is now your own personal guide to the wine world.

For those of you lucky enough to live in a state where Plonk can deliver wine (Alaska, California, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington DC, Wyoming), we are jealous.  The rest of us will have to study up and head over to the wine store alone, but freshly educated.


Well done Miss Lewensztain, well done.


http://www.plonkwinemerchants.com/

Peep Show

Easter is right around the corner - and you know what that means. Easter candy. Yes, we may be full grown adults with jobs, responsibilities and the like, but Easter candy has always been our favorite holiday  delicacy.  Cadbury Eggs, jelly beans, and most importantly, Peeps. While Peeps are delicious and surprisingly crunchy and soft at the same time, they are also adorable and beg to be put in action. 

A few of our favorites Peep dioramas from Peeps Show competitions in years past:

We Come in Peeps

Peep / Tuck

Thelma and Peep-oise

Peep Show

Top Peep

Street Meat to the Beat

People! This is exciting! The team behind Brooklyn Flea has been tapped to curate the food selections at this summer's Central Park Summer Stage. This year, you’ll be able to get down with some serious street meat while you’re bopping to the beat. Such as…

A sampling of the best Mexican, Dominican, El Salvadoran, Colombian, Chilean and Guatemalan food in town from the Red Hook ball fields’ vendors!

image via Serious Eats

Lobster rolls by Red Hook Lobster Pound, self-procliamed purveyor of "the freshest live lobsters in New York."

image via sarafine

Kimchi-smothered Asia Dogs!

image via NYT

Blistery and black-bottomed pies from Pizza Moto!

image via Slice

Homemade coarse-ground pork sausages from Marlow & Daughters!So far, only five of the concerts have been announced, and predictably three are already sold out. Check back here in late April for the full schedule.

John Butler Trio

State Radio

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

From 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Central Park SummerStage

Doors: 5:30 PM

...

The Flaming Lips

Monday, July 26, 2010

From 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Central Park SummerStage

SOLD OUT!

...

The Black Keys

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

From 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Central Park SummerStage

SOLD OUT!

...

Hot Chip

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

From 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Central Park SummerStage

...

Pavement

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

From 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Central Park SummerStage

SOLD OUT!

To the Summer Stage planning committee, we say: please invite the Freelance Whales! Look at how great their Tiny Desk Concert is. They’re so cute, you could eat them. With a side of Brooklyn-authentic taquito!

Meat = Heat

Throughout New York City, there are so very many souls in search of a mate, and a good handful of them seek it not just through the heart, but the stomach.

In our new favorite blog (Missed Connections), and our for-a-while-favorite Etsy vendor (Sophie Blackall), we get illustrations of the daily Craigslist postings in search of a denoument (or primax?) to that subway or "Subway" flirtation. And we just adore these images.

Blackall's subject matter - literally, the illustration of Craigslist connections - remind us a lot of Jason Pollan's voeyeuristic, but personal and oh-so-sweet, "Every Person in NY" campaign: New Yorkers, being themselves.

She also does non-Craigslist, often-food-related work, including mushroom girls and boys, turning those umami vegetal fans into Victorian-era-worthy neckwear.

And with that, we introduce The Mother of Meat.

Swaddle that meat.

That Cook is So Bewitchin

While rummaging around a junk shop, a frequent activity of ours, we found these stereographic prints that were part of a steamy romance narrative taking place in the kitchen.  They were too good not to share. Enjoy.

Click on the images for a larger, and ergo, a better view:

"Ah, ha! I see why I'm forbidden in the kitchen,

It's because the cook is so bewitchin'."

"O, you're so sweet! And those beautiful eyes!

By that trickery cook I was hypnotized."

Happy Saint Patty's

So... you guys know how much we love Nigella, right? Well, in celebration of St. Patty's day, rather than stumble through town in shades of unnatural green after too much Guinness, we'd like to suggest a classier route - and one with hopefully less suffering the next morning.

Nigella's Chocolate Guinness Cake. That's right. We did just type that combination of words into ONE sentence.

oh, a guiness delight!

Ingredients for the cake:
1 cup Guinness 

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 cups superfine sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
Ingredients for the topping:
8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

The full podcast can be found here.

Delicious Tattoos

We have always had a thing for tattoos - specifically food tattoos and knuckle sandwiches.  Ergo, it is completely critical that we pay homage to the incredibly talented tattoo artist Amanda Wachob, who does some of the most creative and original tattoos we've ever seen.  She makes us want to run to her studio and cover ourselves (ok that's not what we look like). 

A few foodie favorites:

i'll give you fish

peaches

If you have a minute or a lifetime - we strongly suggest you check out the rest of her website.

What Men Should Smell Like

We may be ladies, but we love us some man scent.

Enter the Portland General Store - making man scents all around - Whiskey, Tabac, and Wood. They describe the Whiskey scent as a "deep woodsy and amber fragrance with a surprising hint of spice and floral complexity that reveals itself over the hours. The result is a masculine scent with the magnetism of a Hollywood star".  Yes.  Funny, because that's what we smell like after a few whiskeys too. 

And - just to make our weak hearts palp just a little bit faster, they are bottled in vintage Czech pharmacy bottles.  Seriously Swoon worthy, just like your soon to be whiskey-smelling man.

Moonshine

Speaking of whiskey - maybe we should start making our own moonshine - but only if we can keep it in these vintage J. Friedrich Moonshine Jugs:

$125 each at Factory 20

Early Signs of Spring Vegetation

One of the greatest joys that come from March thawing is the influx of fresh produce that begins to make its way into NYC’s green markets. Root Vegetables and Brussel Sprouts begin to fall off restaurant’s menus to make room for the haricot verts, snap peas, and asparagus. Chef John Fraser of Dovetail is celebrating this tonight, and every Monday, with a new Vegetable focused menu. Many of the dishes are vegetarian and vegan, but others incorporate meat and fishes as simply a way to highlight and season the very fresh and special vegetable. Escarole Salad with anchovy vinaigrette, haricot verts and chickpeas is a favorite of mine. And the mason jar vegetable consommé with mushroom dumplings (vegans rejoice) is not to be missed.

Ok, Ok, you know I can’t help myself but, please save room for cheese! Another part of what makes Dovetail so special is their outstanding cheese cart. It can be wheeled tableside and explained by their highly trained and enthusiastic staff for a very traditional cheese service experience. Last I heard, they had Caspian, a Jasper Hill Farm rarity, on their cart – proof that they are serious about cheese, and food, on West 77^th street.

Dovetail

103 West 77th Street

Dinner open 7 days with "Sunday Suppa" menu served Sundays and "Vegetable Tasting" served Mondays

Brunch: Saturday and Sunday

Lunch: Wednesday-Friday

Candy Slipper

Sometimes you need a treat - and where else would you store it, but your feet?!?!
Brilliant. These dandy shoes by Sarajevo designer Belma Arnautović bring us back to our youth, with a spin of today's shoe habit.

via

No Guts No Glory

This weekend we went to a fair run of art shows - Volta & Pulse to name a few.  Some things we liked, others we have already forgotten. One artist has remained in our minds: Tamara Kostianovsky who has created some amazing pieces, sewing and stitching her clothes into incredibly cuddly carcasses.  We love the meat hooks, we love the attention to gory detail...unfortunately we don't think Rocky would be able to train as well on these...oh well.

Image via New York Magazine 

Get In My Belly!

 

we want you to be in us too.