Owner: FoodMayhem URL:http://www.foodmayhem.com/ Join Date: Wed, 04 Jul 2007 17:53:39 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Written from New York City (mostly), FoodMayhem.com is all about... food! We love food: talking about food, writing about food, looking at food, taking pictures of food, making a blog about food, and, of course, eating food. Site statistics:Click here
Lili's Noodle Shop & Grill 2007-07-05 19:42:00 About five years ago (I guess) Steve and I noticed a new noodle shop on 3rd Avenue at 84th Street, it was a convenient and enjoyable spot to grab a bite to eat. It was and still is Lili's Noodle
Shop and Grill
Lili's 3rd Ave -- we went back again tonight and it was as good as ever.
The weather in NYC is still pretty sour-- overcast, raining, seventies, so I went for some soup. I had the Wonton
Batali Hates il Bloggeros! 2007-07-05 10:59:00 Heavyweight celebrity chef Mario Batali has gone on record (twice, actually) stating that he hates food bloggers. On the Eater.com page, the comments swing back and forth discussing about whether he hates bloggers or not, he is still a talented chef. In a recent BlogSoop post the point is made that most bloggers heavily favor the talented Italiano. Overall Batali's comments are hypocritical, Read more:Hates
Sarge's Delicatessen 2007-07-04 20:07:00 After watching Transformers, we were starving and ready for lunch. We walked up Third Avenue and decided to try Sarge's Delicatessen Sarge's Delicatessen since some people had heard of it. There was a short wait for our party of 6, which was weird since we passed by a couple of empty tables as we walked all the way to the back.
Andy artistically rendered his Transformer emotions in brown
Silo Cafe 2007-07-04 18:53:00 Recently I commented on how Susie's is the worst deli, and so my hunt continued for a half decent deli in Murray Hill. After trying quite a few, I stumbled upon a new cafe, that opened next to Artisanal called Silo Cafe Silo Cafe. Silo is more than just half-decent, it's wonderful.
In addition to being modern and clean inside, Silo features various deli and cafe foods, but seems to do them all
Great Fage Page Advertising 2007-07-12 09:18:00 While thumbing through this week's issue of New York Magazine earlier today, I noticed a brilliant advertisement by Fage Yogurt, one of Jessica's picks. It's shown below...In case it's hard to tell from this low resolution image, on the right page is a whole page of yogurt, with an imprint of the Tourneau watch from the left page! The ad first caught my attention because I opened the right page without having looked at the left page, so I spent 30 seconds trying to figure out what the imprint was supposed to be. Then after opening the book fully the design made sense.This is another great campaign by Ogilvy. They also have this ad with Honora Pearls on the left page (also discussed on AdCritic). Read more:Great
, Advertising
Treatise on Grilling 2007-07-11 15:07:00 It seems almost needless to say, but having a blog and being verbose I shall: grilled food is delicious food! We've talked about grilling before, as recent as the post about Clean BBQ, and in the past for events such as Mother's Day. Today's entry is about why I think grilling is so delicious.BackgroundIn the U.S., grilling is a method of cooking that involves any type of grill, and direct heat from beneath the grill. While many consider indirect cooking on a grill a type of grilling, I do not. With indirect heat, if there is smoke, it is barbecuing; if there is no smoke, it is roasting. For me, an ideal grill has a cooking grid that consists of half inch-wide bars, made from a metal that retains heat well-- such as cast iron. There is a lot of debate in the outdoor cooking world about what type of fuel is best: natural gas, propane gas, charcoal, wood, etc. While the fuel has a tendency to impart flavor, when I'm grilling, I do not want flavor from the fuel-- so I prefer natural g Read more:Grilling
Nutrition for Marathoners 2007-07-11 08:36:00 I've been running with Team in Training, a group that trains for athletic events while raising money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It has been an amazing experience so far and I've been overloaded with information about nutrition for marathon runners. I think I can handle eating the bigger breakfasts, carb heavy meals, and the timing of meals, but now that the runs are getting longer, we have to power up during runs and I'm afraid of all those bloks, jelly beans, and gu. I'm going to have to try them within the next 2 weeks but I'm taste and consistency sensitive (cause I'm a foodie!) and I'm deathly afraid of putting this stuff in my mouth. I've never been a fan of power bars and the way these power foods have been described to me don't sound so good.If any of my readers would like to donate on my fundraising page, I'd feel really loved! Thanks!
Flashback: My First Angel Food Cake 2007-07-10 05:57:00 Almost exactly six years ago I made my first Angel Food. I had watched an early episode of "Good Eats" and felt like Alton really provided good ideas for how to ensure a successful cake. And as usual, I never leave good enough alone, so I came up with a few further ideas for how to make it good.And so, below is a reprise of a post from my site six years ago, about how to make a great angel food cake...1.After I finished whipping the egg whites and fine sugar, into a merangue. Note the cool equipment to the left!2.Some tools for sifting the remaining fine sugar, flour, and salt.3.After I folded the dry ingredient mixture into the merangue. This was an extremely difficult step!4.Alton's advice: buy a pan with a post taller than the pan edge. Now, that's some good thinking (of course, I overfilled)! Check out my clever work.5.Still cooling (I backed away slowly, to not knock that thing over).6.That was surprisingly easily to get out of the pan.7.Look at the beautiful carmelization.8.Cut Read more:First
My Most Favorite Name Change 2007-07-09 18:29:00 We stopped in at Connolly's to wish our close friend Steve a farewell from his current job at HBO, he's moving over to R/GA -- congratulations Steve! On our way out we noticed that the previous location of My Most Favorite
Dessert, famous for their cookbook, was now bright orange and called My Most Favorite Food My Most Favorite Food.We stopped in to investigate and found out that the restaurant remains the same -- although attractively renovated. The food is the same and the owners are the same. We were told that the name change was to help make clear that they don't only serve dessert. Having eaten there numerous times, I can attest that they do have full courses.They also re-affirmed that they maintained their OK Kosher Certification. Because I haven't eaten there in a while, I won't review their food, but I will note that it's a good location to keep in mind if you need a dairy kosher restaurant in midtown. Read more:Change
Product Review: Clean BBQ 2007-07-09 13:20:00 There are many advances lately in the world of cooking gear-- many of which seem to be focused on cooking inside. But what about cooking outside? Today we review a product for just that: "CleanBBQ
" a disposable grill liner. Actually, Jessica and I do our grilling inside-- on a Blue Star Indoor Charbroiler (in the Residential Nova series range).To test out Clean BBQ, we cooked a few products, and will discuss the two that seem most prescient: hot dogs, a classic barbecue food, and fish, every barbecue's nightmare. Before we could get to the cooking though, we had to figure out how to use the liner. As you can see from the picture above, to the right, the structure is a largely corrugated aluminum with regular cutouts. For some reason, I first thought I'd need to wrap the liner around some of the grill rods, or perhaps try to line up the corrugation with the grill. Neither of those are necessary. After placing the liner over the grill, it sits perfectly, no fuss. Plus it was simple to
Dinner with my Male Bridesmaid 2007-07-09 08:11:00 Lon and I made dinner for Peter, my Bridesmale/Bridesman (don't know what the correct term is), last night. Everything came together wonderfully.We started with a salad of romaine, radicchio, endive, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber. The dressing was made with balsamic and fresh lemon. Our bread was a whole wheat panelle.The main course was a 2.75 lb whole red snapper from whole foods. We grilled it whole with Cajun seasoning and topped it with a mango salsa. We served a side of a brown rice blend we had gotten from Justin K. (who gave us everything in his kitchen when he decided to take the kitchen out). Pete brought over a bottle of Ferrari-Carano Fumé Blanc. It was delicious and tied everything together.For more pictures, check out the Flickr photoset. Read more:Dinner
, Bridesmaid
It's All in for Breakfast 2007-07-09 07:23:00 Lately, I'd been having a hard time deciding what to eat for breakfast. Sometimes I'd have a deli breakfast sandwich (like egg and cheese) or just a banana, but I wasn't satisfied. Then we starting buying loads of fresh fruit.We now keep boxes of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries around. Sometimes we also have bananas and cherries too (although I don't use cherries in this recipe). So for breakfast, I just slice up a few strawberries, and toss in some of the other items along with some other ingredients for a great breakfast.Jessica has been doing this too-- however, she typically adds some yogurt.Some ideas for ingredients you could include:Strawberries (sliced)RaspberriesBlackberriesBlueberriesMulberriesBananas (sliced)Almonds (whole)Flax SeedsYogurtI usually rinse the strawberries and blueberries before adding, in addition to removing debris, it also gives the flax seeds something to stick to, if you don't add yogurt. If you can't find mulberries, which I think ar Read more:Breakfast
Smartest Way to Chill Beer 2007-07-08 17:05:00 There are a lot of people out there who like beer, after all, it's the world's oldest and most popular alcoholic beverage. Jessica can particularly attest to that fact after her visit to Brooklyn Brewery. I would wager that most beer drinkers do not like their beer watered down; so what can you do on a piping hot day like yesterday to keep your beer chilled, but not water it down with ice? There are many crazy ways, but here's something simple and effective.Angie, our brilliant host, demonstrated a clever technique to keep your beer literally on ice, while drinking it. Simply put an inch or two of crushed ice in a one cup then another cup over that to hold your beer. The result is illustrated to the right.Next time you're drinking your frosty ale, think of Angie-- and her trick (I couldn't find anyone else online talking about this method). Read more:Chill
Chicken and Cucumber Pasta Salad 2007-07-08 15:06:00 Salad, Pre-Tossed: Prepped for TravelI went to Scott and Angie's rooftop BBQ yesterday and Angie asked me if I could make my famous Chicken
and CucumberPasta
Salad. Of course, I agreed. It's expected. Everyone who has tried it, requests that I make it for them. I've given friends the recipe but I don't think anyone has made it yet. It is a bit work intensive, but the steps are easy and you get an impressively delicious summer pasta salad.Dressing:1/3 cup soy sauce1/3 cup rice vinegar3 tablespoons white sugar1/2 teaspoon ground ginger1/2 teaspoon black pepper1/2 cup olive oil1 teaspoon sesame oilSalad, Dressing Tossed In: Ready for ServicePasta Salad:1 box (1 lb) dry pasta (any shape)3 chicken legs, poached and chilled2 large cucumbers, seeded and thinly sliced1/2 cup chopped cilantro1/2 cup chopped scallion1/4 cup toasted sesame seedsInstructions:Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together and set aside. (I usually do this the night before just to get it out of the way.)Cook pa Read more:Salad
Race to Cilantro 2007-07-14 13:06:00 I ran the Naples - New York Park to Park race this morning in Central Park as part of Team in Training. Lon and Ice came to cheer me on in my second race ever. This was my first experience ever in grabbing water while running and while I did manage to hydrate, I also snorted water up my nose, and spilled it all over myself.After the race, we headed south to find an area for Ice to play ball. After Ice was completely worn out, we headed out of the park in search for lunch with outdoor seating and found Cilantro
.Cilantro A basket of fried tortillas with cinnamon and 2 mini blueberry muffins(delicious) is placed on the table for customers to much while browsing the menu. Lon chose steak and eggs which comes with flour tortillas and home fries (Lon asked to substitute it with the spicy fries). The steak and tortillas were good, the eggs were excellent, the fries were horrible. I chose the shrimp fajitas which came with a great green sauce. The peppers and onions were oily but the overall f
New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe 2007-07-14 12:51:00 Last night we hunted for our dinner. Unfortunately, the hunt didn't take place with spears in hand, through the forest; but rather with Vindigo (a foodie must-have) in hand, through the murky streets of Chinatown. Along for the hunt were our new friends Kate & Jesse. Jessica and I remember a wonderful place where we had eaten with her family and longed to return. We couldn't remember the name or the address, but knew they had great soup dumplings, a crappy-looking entrance way, and a bridge inside (which is not visible from the street). None of these are remotely helpful data.After not too long our "Tucan Sam" noses led the way and we found it, New Yeah ShanghaiDeluxe
New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe. We waited for five minutes and then were seated in the front section. We ordered quickly: Soup Dumplings, Sautéed Japanese Eggplant, Salt & Pepper Pork Chops, Steamed Whole Fish, and Sautéed Crab with Rice Cakes & Edamamé.The eggplant arrived first, it was perfectly cooked with
Chicago isn't Tasting Too good 2007-07-13 16:52:00 For the longest time I've wanted to take a trip to the famed Taste of Chicago
-- a massive, two-week, outdoor eating fest that takes place annually in the windy city's Grant Park Grant Park: Taste of Chicago. Yesterday, at least 120 people, and reports of up to 400, were sickened by one booth's herb, tomato, and cucumber hummus salad! I guess my friends who hate healthy food were right after all ;-)In no way would this stop me from going. Even though at least 10 people have been hospitalized, this is the first food-borne illness in over 20 years at the Taste of Chicago event.
My Favorite Fruit Stand 2007-07-13 10:38:00 Of course I love loading up on produce in Chinatown or Flushing, but since I can't always make the trip, I frequently buy fruit from a fruit stand Best FruitStand
on University Place, in front of L'Annam. It's twice the size of most fruit stands in Manhattan and offers better prices than most too. It's run by a mom with 2 or 3 sons; they generally sell fruit, but sometimes have vegetables as well. Most of their stock is ready to eat that day, so occasionally you have to be aware of their goods being over ripe, but usually I'm very happy with my purchases there. Oh, and they're usually wiped clean by 5pm so try to stop by early. Read more:Favorite
Zeytuna Market 2007-07-12 18:52:00 Lon has been telling me about Zeytuna Market
Zeytuna Market for a while so we decided to go there for lunch. They have a nice outdoor seating area where half is for table service and half is seating for anyone purchasing food inside. They also have seating downstairs where they have a buffet of prepared foods, kebabs, sushi, pastas, etc. I couldn't tell you if it tastes good because it's a madhouse during lunch so I squeezed my way out and opted for the deli upstairs. Lon had a sandwich with hickory smoked ham, salami, mayo, lettuce and tomato, and black pepper on a Portuguese roll. I ordered the grilled chicken with lettuce, tomato, and mustard on a multi-grain hero. All of the ingredients were super fresh (meat sliced to order) which is no surprise when you watch the traffic coming through. I was impressed with the moist grilled chicken and the delicious mustard they used taking the sandwich just a step above the rest of the delis I've been going to for lunch.The price is comparab
Let's Not Rendez Vous at This Cafe 2007-07-16 20:13:00 From the outside looking in, Le Rendez
-Vous Cafe Le Rendez-Vous Cafelooks like a pizza joint with a bar on the side. When you get to the back, it turns into a Middle Eastern theme. The menu includes a mix of Italian (wierd) and Middle Eastern foods and Hookah.The 5 of us decided to split 3 appetizers. The hummus tasted like tahini with very little chickpea. The Babaganoush did not look or taste like Babaganoush and that's because it had large chunks of onions and peppers in it. The tabouli didn't actually have any bulgur (a primary ingredient) in it. The pita was dry, crappy pita.As main courses, we all got platters of either chicken, beef, shawarma, or lamb kebabs. They all come on top of rice that tastes like Uncle Ben's and a large salad with Italian dressing from a bottle. The salad is fresh though. As for the meat, I can only speak for my chicken and Lon's Shawarma. My chicken was so over-cooked, burnt, dry, and almost inedible. Lon's shawarma didn't taste like anything. Lon
Markt Moves 2007-07-16 14:44:00 As we were driving to Kasi's (Lon's sister) yesterday, we passed Markt Markton Sixth Avenue, a pleasant surprise. Someone had recommended their fries to me when this restaurant had their meatpacking district location. Before, I got around to going, they closed. They have now re-opened on Sixth Avenue so it looks like I'll get another chance. It looks smaller than their previous location but the true test is the fries.
In-n-Out in NYC 2007-07-19 17:16:00 We received a request (in the form of a comment from DelectaBILL) to find out if the rumors about In-N-Out Burger (founded by the late Esther Synder) coming to NYC were true. Such rumors are being discussed on FlyerTalk, Goner Records, and on other blogs. So far, even, A Hamburger Today doesn't know for sure.So I've sent an email to In-N-Out corporate and hope to hear back. I guess in the mean time, we'll just have to keep eating the very similar, Blue 9 Burger Blue 9 Burger burgers, frieds, and shakes!
Opia 2007-07-19 16:33:00 I went to a networking Lunch at Opia yesterday. When work pays for food, I shouldn't complain but my duty is to tell the world where to eat.It was a pre-fixed package that started with a Ceaser salad. I didn't eat it so I won't comment. Then we had a choice between 3 main courses. There was a plain penne in red sauce (nothing else in it), a chicken dish with french fries that looked like a diner dish, and the salmon dish I chose. It was pan-fried and plated nicely with a saffron sauce, rice, and some greens. It looked pretty nice but tasted just ok, the main problem being that the salmon was very overcooked. The dessert was a nice cup of (I think) coconut ice cream. strawberry ice cream, and raspberry/lemon sorbet with a tuille.It wasn't terrible but I wouldn't go back.
Hell No! We Want O! 2007-07-18 21:08:00 That's my "we want oxygen" / bring it to the streets rant, what do you think? It's about the CO2-packaged meat that's been around for a bit; and it's time it goes away. I was really happy to read an article over at Slate about this issue. Particularly, because they have a copy of a letter from Safeway SVP, Meat & Seafood, Michael McGinnis, stating that Safeway will no longer carry meat in CO2 packages.To read more about this issue, start with one of the (many) links from the article, the best link is to Food Safety Magazine. There's also more on Wikipedia and various links on Google.
The Best White Balsamic 2007-07-18 09:27:00 Thanks to Anon's comment, we were informed that O & Co. O & Co. (in GCT) carries a new WhiteBalsamic
with Oregano. For some reason, the producer felt the need to add caramel coloring, but it works. It is the best white balsamic I have ever tasted!If you don't know how to make salad dressing, I suggest buying one of O & Co.'s vinegars and just sprinkling the vinegar and a good olive oil over your salad. You won't need anything else.
Humor Break 2007-07-18 07:53:00 Not that I haven't picked on Subway enough, but this is so true, and hilarious. Why doesn't Subway tessellate their cheese!? Read more:Humor
, Break
Oscar's at Waldorf Astoria 2007-07-21 14:33:00 My boss took me to lunch at Oscar
's Oscar's for a break from the heat (our office had no air conditioning as a result of the steam pipe explosion on 43rd Street). They do a good job maintaining a cool temperature without being freezing like most air conditioned restaurants.Each table is given a basket of fresh breads, a raisin fennel, a cheese topped, and regular French. We split a crab cake appetizer which was good because it was mostly crab but had a weird choice of condiments. A spicy barbecue was smeared across the plate. A blob of a ketchup mayo mix sat on the side. A small clump of guacamole was on top. The guacamole worked for me and the other 2 sauces didn't.I ordered the Zuppa di Pesce and Roger had the Grilled Rare Yellow Fin Tuna Panini. The shellfish in my dish were cooked perfectly (especially the shrimp) but the sea bass was a bit over-cooked. The tomato-herb broth was very flavorful and great for dipping. The overall impression was a good one especially since it was Read more:Waldorf
Bryggen Kaviar 2007-07-21 09:12:00 The incredibly poor quality image to the right is that of a tube of special caviar made cod fish. Normally, cod (and it's subsequent family members haddock, whiting, and pollock) are considered mild flavored (a.k.a. tasteless) fish. How so then is their roe so damn delicious!?It turns out that by curing the roe and adding just the right ingredients, and injecting the product into a blue cylinder, you can actually create a tube of heaven, and it would be called Bryggen Kaviar. The product is sold by Domstein Enghav, who in their parent company's business concept page says "Domstein shall be... the preferred supplier of marine value added products in selected markets." Well if the market is bacon toothpaste, then my god, they have succeeded!The products ingredients are 1/2 sugar salted and smoked roe (52%) from codfish caught in the North East Atlantic Ocean, rapeseed oil, sugar, water, salt, potato flakes, tomato puree, preservative, anti-oxidant, citric acid, and colour. The result
Korean Fried Chicken 2007-07-24 13:20:00 Over the years, I've lost interest in reading the generic food articles written up in most newspapers and magazines. The same subjects get re-used over and over again, while restaurant reviews are not honest (pumping up whoever is paying top advertising dollars), and the recipes are either old or untested.My friend Andy sent me this article about KoreanFriedChicken
and it really caught my interest and it was a quick and easy read. Surprise, Surprise. Next time, I'm in Queens, I'll be trying some of their recommendations.Hey, if anyone has tried any of those places, let me know what you think!
Peking Duck Forest 2007-07-23 10:16:00 Peking Duck Forest
Peking Duck Forest is surprisingly authentic. Located by the Austin Street shopping area in Forest Hills, you'd think it was one of those typical Chinese restaurants with the Lo Mein, General Tso's, and Chicken with Broccoli. While those dishes are also offered, you can also get the real stuff if you know what to order.The Peking Duck there is superb, from the flavor and texture of the duck skin to the house made wraps, to the friendly chef who carves your duck table side. Don't worry if you're a first timer, the chef also expertly makes each wrap for you with the right proportion of scallion, cucumber, duck and sauce. Just enjoy watching and then eating.I also recommend dishes like Dungeoness Crab, Imperial Stuffed Lettuce Leaves, and Shrimp Stuffed Tofu. The prices are good, the staff is friendly, and you can get real Chinese food without going to a whole in the wall joint in Chinatown.
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