Eat for Victory

Top Chef Hung Huynh to Cook Kosher

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:37:20 -0500

Hung Huynh, perhaps our favorite Top Chef contestant ever, and, in case you're living under a rock or something, last season's winner, will be cooking Kosher food for the month of March. Solo, a fancy Kosher spot in the Sony Building on Madison Avenue, has enlisted Hung's services as a guest chef. The full press release is available, after the jump. Jump!

Extended Cubano Voting!

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:57:45 -0500

EfV Headquarters were hit with some gnarly pipe-related structural damage yesterday, and we apologize for going missing as a result. We have decided to give you all a little more time to vote for New York's best cuban sandwich. Take the weekend to entertain Thomas Vicari's challenge and sample the Casa Havana version, or just drop us an email (foodblog@villagevoice.com) or comment below with your favorite.

The polls now close at midnight on Sunday!

New Seafood Shack Comes to Bed-Stuy

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:11:24 -0500

A block down from a fish n' chips shack on Nostrand Avenue that's been closed for months, a new, family-run seafood/soul food take-out spot opened about a month ago to fill the void. EfV decided to look past the pun-y name, "71.Ate," and sample the fried whiting and chips. After a good dose of salt, they were delicious, mostly because they were fried "dark." But the best part was when the woman behind the counter offered a sample of the house-made banana pudding. We'll be back for that, no doubt.

71. Ate

417 Nostrand Ave

Bed-Stuy

(718) 638-0205

Our Man Sietsema: '(Gasp!) Balsamic Vinegar'

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:32:10 -0500

Our Man has brought us another gastronomic history lesson this week, and a review of First Oasis, a restaurant that "reflects [the Middle Eastern] culinary diaspora is First Oasis on Fourth Avenue, which offers a slightly different (and maybe more assimilated) take on Syrian food than the excellent, more traditional Damascus Gate."

At First Oasis, Sietsema approves of the addition of balsamic vinegar in a fatoosh salad, but not the skimpiness of the crunchy bits of pita. The hummus beats the baba ganoush, the lamb "scores a touchdown" (kebabs and, even better is the ouzi). But when it comes to the raw lamb kebbeh balls, which Sietsema loved most the next day, when he cooked them at home like burgers.

First Oasis

9218 Fourth Avenue

Bay Ridge

(718) 238-4505

Getting Out the Cubano Vote

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 09:20:25 -0500

Havana Chelsea's Cubano was widely adored, but it is no more.

Time is running out to exercise your right to vote in EfV's Cubano contest. The polls close on Thursday night, so drop us an email (foodblog@villagevoice.com) or comment below and tell us where you satisfy your Cuban sandwich cravings now that so many favorite spots have disappeared from our fair city. Results and analysis on Friday.

How to Make Coffee at Home, From an Expert

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:27:47 -0500

Ever since we met Dan Griffin, the manager/consultant/director of coffee at Williamsburg's new, super serious coffee-shop, El Beit, where I sampled their delicious coffee, my own morning mug has seemed lacking. So I got Mr. Griffin to give a few pointers, for us common folk who may not have access to the $11,000 machine he loves the most, the Clover.

From the master:

For making coffee at home several factors are key:
Always use fresh roasted coffee, between four to 14 days out of the roaster.

The State of the Ball-Field Vendors, Plus a Ceviche Exclusive

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:31:28 -0500

It may be wicked cold out, but if the Red Hook "Ball-field" vendors are going to be in action this summer, the time has come for them to fight for it. Cesar Fuentes, Executive Director of the Food Vendors Committee of Red Hook Park, gave us a full update on the situation.

In a nutshell, the Park's Department has issued a Request for Proposals, and meeting its guidelines would be expensive. As Fuentes put it, "It is more fitted for a corporation than a group of artisan food vendors." In addition, the proposals are due in just ten days. But if they can make it happen, the permit would be good for six years, and the operation may eventually be open full-time (all week, all year). There is competition for the permit, but at this point, it doesn't seem to be fierce. The vendors' greatest opponents remains the Parks Department and the Department of Health.

The only detail about the next season that's official is the sad news that Victor Rojas, the ceviche man whose stand was usually the furthest west on Bay Street, has decided to bow out already because of financial concerns. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the effort doesn't disintegrate before February 22, when the proposal is due.

Let's break it down, shall we?

Valentine's Day is Only for Lovers at Prune

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:31:02 -0500

We love Gabrielle Hamilton's dueling Valentine's Menus—one for lovers and one for cynics. But this year, we're all united at Prune, with just one menu (after the jump).

For the cynics, last year, the chef put forth some Pasta Puttanesca (whore sauce), some cold pork shoulder with tonnato sauce, bitter greens with a broken vinaigrette sauce, and for dessert: "coffee and cigarettes." The menu for Cathy-types was also half the price of the lover version, which was, as it is this year, $69. Bah-ha ha. (The cynics menu was also a much shorter price-fix affair).

How Long Can You Eat?

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:44:11 -0500

The kids over at 826NYC's drop-in tutoring program have started an awesome blog, "Fish Slaps a Baby", which focuses on issues like wrestling, penguins, rock n' roll, transformers, and, uhhh, wrestling. But it's also interactive. On the right side of the page are polls for readers to answer. There are currently six days left to answer one that asks: "How long can you eat?"

Stupid Shit: Mike Ditka's Pork Chops

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:15:03 -0500

It's a proud day when your friends see really stupid, gross shit and immediately think of you. We have arrived, folks. And now Ill share with you, some really shameful "celebrity" food endorsements, via A.V. Club. For example, there's Smokey Robinson Down Home Pot Roast, a frozen dinner thing. It seems that he had a special operation to replace his eyeballs with a cats, or something. Mmm, pot roast. Check out Mike Ditka's "Coach Cut" pork chops, Jeff Foxworthy's BBQ sauce, and more here.

New Sandwiches Replace Old Sandwiches

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:02:14 -0500

We're not sure why the space that was Daniele's Piadina, on 22nd street just east of Sixth Avenue, was empty for two years, but a new sandwich shop is moving into its place. Ashby's, a take-out place serving sandwiches and design-your-own salads, will be open on Monday. Ashby's is a chain and previously had a location on 24th and Park Avenue South, until construction plans for a 40-story condo took shape.

When we passed by, Mark Bugzester, who designed the typography for the place, was supervising the placement of the vinyl decals on the glass front. He said that several people had stopped him that day to ask if they could get a sandwich or a coffee. Look at this place. Why are people so stupid?

Ashby's
64 West 22nd Street

(212) 228-7993

Now Hiring: Merkato 55, West Village Grom, Smith Street Wine Bar

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:27:55 -0500

Photo by Brian Meacham

Marcus Samuelsson's Merkato 55 is opening tomorrow, but they still need hosts and reservationists, and line/pastry cooks.

Is coffee the final step in gentrification? Williamsburg just got El Beit, and another espresso bar is supposed to open on Grand Street any day now. They are looking for a barista.

Contest: "These So-Called Cubanos"

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:32:24 -0500

Thomas Vicari, the exuberant and very confident owner of Casa Havana, has issued a challenge through our inbox:

I have eaten and tested over a thousand of these so called cubanos. I have perfected the perfect cuban sandwich.I would like to challenge anyone who says they have the best cuban sandwich! I would like to have your paper The village Voice hold the contest and let the people vote.

Sixpoint Beer Menu at Jimmy's

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:38:58 -0500

If you are a fan of Sixpoint beers, as we are, you might want to reserve your Monday night for a special event at Jimmy's No. 43. A beer-intensive pre-Valentine's event will feature a menu inspired by/the Brooklyn beers. Several dishes use Sixpoint beers as a cooking ingredient.

Full details after the jump.

Our Man Sietsema: 'Asking Why is Useless'

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:36:55 -0500

Is it acceptable to learn the majority of your history/geography lessons from Robert Sietsema? We feel fine about it. Good Sri Lankan food has arrived in Gramercy, and this week, Our Man walks us through the various influences he tasted.

The restaurant, Nirvana, comes from a Buddhist rather than Muslim or Hindu point of view, which is good for us, because that means there is pork and beef on the menu, but also plenty of vegetarian options.

Sietsema enjoyed the flatbreads called hoppers with vegetarian curry. His favorite entrees came with pittu: "a perfect white cylinder compacted of beaten rice and shredded coconut, which begins to crumble and flake as it lands on your table." This, like the hoppers, comes with a choice of curries, but Sietsema found many of the meat variations bland, until he got lucky and dined on a day when the chef had decided to make a black pork curry:

This signature Sinhalese recipe toasts the spices darkly before grinding them, resulting in a flavor both brooding and complex. And the pork is fatty enough to make the curry glisten in the reflected light of the dining room's wide-screen TV.

Nirvana
218 Third Avenue
212-777-1555