Lunch | Good Stuff Eatery

Over the past weekend, Marcus and I made our way down to Washington D.C. to celebrate our anniversary. Not arriving to Union Station until late afternoon (many hours after lunchtime), we were beyond starving and hurried over to Capitol Hill for some burgers at Good Stuff Eatery after checking in with our Airbnb host (which I highly recommend doing for multi-day stays!).


Good Stuff Eatery first opened in 2008 by Chef Cathy Mendelsohn and her son, Chef Spike Mendelsohn (of Top Chef fame!) over on Capital Hill, with a subsequent location opened later in Arlington as well as upcoming locations in Georgetown and Philadelphia this year!


Love this cowbell fixture near the entrance of Good Stuff Eatery!


Following suit with its locale of neighborhood, there's cheeky little decorations like this one throughout the space. Gotta love puns!


The mother and son team were inspired by a vision for "a place where people can enjoy the nostalgia of eating the best of their American favorites" -- handcrafted burgers, handcut fries, handspun shakes, and farm fresh salads made with the highest quality ingredients from local suppliers. The restaurant is also constructed almost entirely of recycled materials.


Along with this, Good Stuff Eatery strives for "sustainability in all of its business practices" as every business decision is made with its environmental impact in mind. Every effort is made to recycle all waste from the restaurant, spanning from the delivery boxes and the oil from fryers.


Goodness gracious, indeed!


While patrons can place their orders on the main floor, where limited counter seating is available, the upstairs portion of Good Stuff Eatery has a lot more seating, including this communal table.


Along with the wide varieties of burgers offered at Good Stuff, it also has for its patrons a condiment bar, which is mostly comprised of different mayonnaises including mango, Old Bay, sriracha, and chipotle varieties. We opted for the traditional ketchup and mustard along with some mango mayonnaise.


Marcus had the Farmhouse Bacon Cheese burger, served with Applewood bacon, American cheese, and lettuce. We also shared a side of Sunny's handcut fries sprinkled generously with sea salt. First off, I would just like to say that I love the size of these burgers -- they're slightly bigger than a typical slider, which makes it the perfect portion for lunch or one to be split with a friend as a snack. Plus, there's no issue with trying to figure out how to eat the burger -- it doesn't stack up super high nor does it have a difficult-to-conquer circumference. As for the Farmhouse Bacon Cheese, the bacon was crispy and savory and melded well with rest of the standard burger accoutrement. The patty was cooked to an ideal temperature -- somewhere in the medium region -- where it was juicy on the inside without spewing out with meat juices and oil. Whatever blend of beef is used at Good Stuff Eatery, I now want that blend for all my burgers. And the icing on the cake was the bun -- well buttered and toasted/grilled to a warm yet soft delectableness that made every bite into the burger so glorious.

The handcut fries were great -- such a refreshing contrast to the usual frozen shoestrings we're used to -- as they were fried to a lovely browned crisp without being at all oily. They went surprisingly well with the mango mayonnaise -- the tangy flavor was very interesting against the delicate starchiness of the fries.


I opted for the Steakhouse burger with roasted cremini mushrooms, onion straws, Emmental Swiss cheese, and tangy steakhouse mayonnaise. With the same basic characteristics of Marcus's burger (delicious blend of beef, well-toasted bun, ideal portion size), the Steakhouse burger was fantastic, too. I love me a really good mushroom-and-swiss burger, and this one is undoubtedly a list-topper, especially with the pleasant addition of onion straws, which not only added a nice flavor to the burger but another textural dimension as well. Even with all of the condiments and toppings on this burger, the super soft bun (mine with sesame seeds!) was strong enough to withstand it all without becoming soggy -- the meat-to-bun-to-condiment ratio (as Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory postulates here at 1:14) is, simply put, just very satisfying.

Findings: Marcus and I left Good Stuff Eatery quite happily, where we even are audacious enough to declare the burgers there the best we've ever had, a close one for us, making it slightly ahead of how we feel about our home city Shack burger at Shake Shack. The combination of well-portioned burgers, favorable meat-to-bun-to-condiment ratios, original condiments (c'mon, mayonnaise bar = AWESOME), nicely toasted bunsm and super flavorful, juicy (but not at all greasy!) patties made Good Stuff Eatery an instant winner in my "best of" chronicles in eating. I am officially making this a must-do every and any time we're down in DC, because it'd be blasphemous to miss out on such deliciousness otherwise! :P

Price point: $6.95-6.98 for each burger, $3.69 for a regular-sized order of hand cut fries.

--April 19, 2013

Good Stuff Eatery (Capitol Hill)
303 Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast
Washington, DC 20003
http://www.goodstuffeatery.com

Dinner | Mighty Quinn's

Excuse my brief absence from Four Tines over the past six weeks. The bean counting part of my life has transitioned into its busiest time of the year, so I hope to resume regularly posting in March! Thank you for your continued support and understanding. February was a GREAT month for eating, dining, and nomming for me, so stay tuned for some awesome posts ahead!

Legit barbecue has finally arrived to New York City -- erm, well more specifically, in the East Village. Chef Hugh Mangum's most recent expansion brings his formerly traveling food stand to its very own brick-and-mortar space. I first came across its pure awesomeness at Smorgasburg last fall, where Mighty Quinn's had the longest line during the duration of our eating fest, convincing my friends and I that something great must be cooking up there. Indeed there was, and here we all were (more specifically Marcus, me, Jess, Jen, Jill, and a couple of friends in town visiting), returning for some more.

Chef Hugh Mangum, pit master extraordinaire, grew up with his father in Houston, Texas, where he learned to "explore the gritty local legends of barbecue fame," becoming his favorite activity and setting him on "a personal quest for slow, smoked perfection." It was on this journey (and {1} "copious piles of wood later") that Chef Mangum "attained barbecue excellence in both flavor and technique," resulting in the establishment of Mighty Quinn's that we see and witness today.

{2,4} We arrived around 7:30 PM, and considering it was only open for a month, {6} it was quite hoppin'. Thanksfully, even with our relatively large group of seven people, we were able to snag the banquette seating near the front of Mighty Quinn's so we could seat, chat, and enjoy some barbecue in this fast, casual setting. One interesting fact is that Mighty Quinn's "is committed to sustainable building, as the wood tables and bars found here have been reclaimed from the famous Puck Building in downtown Manhattan." Originally constructed in the late 1800s, The Puck has recently undergone a renovation enabling the builders of Mighty Quinn's to salvage the spruce wood planks that are over 125 years old.

{5} Once you arrive, a queue forms at the back of the restaurant, and it's kind of a friendly, assembly line of barbecue specialists carving and creating sandwiches and platters to your liking. {7} You have a choice between (beef) brisket, pulled pork, smoked sausage, spare ribs (1/3 rack), or beef ribs. My recommendation for first-time visitors would be the brisket or the pulled pork -- they're both straight up excellent and will draw you into the Mighty Quinn's way pretty instantly.



The barbecue at Mighty Quinn's actually "merges two great culinary traditions, Texas and the Carolinas, bringing together the best of both worlds and creating something uniquely of its own -- something they call Texalina Barbecue." The kitchen takes the "best, all-natural meats and poultry, seasons them with the perfect spice blends, and smokes them with wood for many, many hours until the perfect harmony of smoke, flavor, and time emerges." The ultimate part of Mighty Quinn's approach is quite simple -- "source the best quality ingredients that they can and do not fuss with them too much."

Whether the protein is carved straight or assembled into a thick and fluffy brioche bun, you can see the slices of meat oozing with the most flavorful juices and smoking with the most appetizing of aromas. To top off the meat, some flecks of salt are sprinkled over it to give it a little gritty, salty finish.


I don't become a creature of habit at many places, but when I do, I become a pretty monogamist eater, straying not too far from my favorites (e.g., always the Shack burger at Shake Shack, always the crispy chicken tacos at Dos Toros Taqueria, etc.). So just knowing what I had (and what I LOVED) from the slider-sized barbecue sandwiches we had sunk our teeth in at Smorgasburg last fall, I couldn't forego a chance to experience the braised brisket once again. Marcus, on the other hand, wanted to give the smoked sausage a chance. The smoked sausage was pretty good with an intense smokiness to it and a little kick from whatever seasoning they incorporated inside it. As for sides, I got a side of vinegared slaw (there was a choice between slaw with vinegar or with mayo) to top on my sandwich as well as a side of the edamame and sweet pea salad. While I wasn't crazy about the latter (maybe it was my distaste for sweet peas or the flavorless edamame), the slaw proved to be essential to any barbecue sandwich at Mighty Quinn's.



Here's a closeup of the insanely juicy goodness that is the beef brisket that comes to life at Mighty Quinn's. It's an irresistible combination of salty, savory, slightly tangy, and crunchy (from the slaw, pickles, peppers, and onions) that is captured in this braised brisket sandwich.


Jess, Jill, and Jen each had their own pulled pork sandwich -- essentially the same preparation and seasonings as the braised brisket, only with pork. Also went great with the slaw (both creamy and vinegared). They also shared a side of sweet potato casserole with maple and pecans, which they reported to be quite good as well.


Marcus was still a little hungry after his smoked sausage sandwich, so he went back for some more -- for the spare ribs, to be precise. Each rib had a generous amount of meat surrounding it, smoked and charred with a nice, even glaze. Definitely worth getting if you don't mind getting your hands a little messy!

Findings: If you've been looking for some hardcore awesome barbecue in New York City, Mighty Quinn's may very well be it. Not only is it incredibly flavorful, juicy, and tender, it goes easy on the wallet and the line moves quite quickly as there's an assembly line type deal going on here. Disclaimer though -- you may be waiting a decent amount of time for a table to free up -- this place is bustling with hungry eaters around prime dining hours, especially on Friday and Saturday evenings, and given the liquor license they were able to acquire, crowds tend to linger longer than you may think. With that being said, I would advise getting here early for an earlier dinner or later (around 8 PM) for a later dinner so you have a place to sit, eat, and enjoy. Slaw is a must, and if you don't leave with oily hands, you didn't get the true Mighty Quinn's experience.

Price point: $7.25-8.50 for each single-serving of barbecue, $3 for each small-sized side.

--January 12, 2013

Mighty Quinn's
103 Second Ave
New York, NY 10003
http://www.mightyquinnsbbq.com

Lunch | Butcher & Bee

Back in late September, Alice was kind enough to ask Marcus and me if we wanted to join her and Jimmy on a weekend trip to Charleston (wait for it) . . . to eat at Chef Sean Brock's two well-renowned spots, Husk and McCrady's. Our first response? Totally down! I'm embarrassed to report that I didn't know much about the Charleston scene (or any Southern scene for that matter) -- I think as a food blogger up in the Northeast area, I sometimes get caught in this microcosm, so much that I focus much on what's going on in our neck of the woods before I can start thinking about other regions. With that being said, I'm quite thankful to Alice for giving us this opportunity to experience, taste, and absorb a different part of the U. S. -- a less metropolitan place (but by no means any less sophisticated) in comparison to my familiar territories of Chicago and the Bay Area. When foodies (pardon my use of the word -- it just fits!) travel with other foodies, there's no question that the majority of the trip (if not of its entirety) is centered around food and drink. A getaway of any kind to us is an exercise in hedonism and gluttony.

We arrived mid-afternoon that Saturday to Charleston, dropped off our things are our little airbnb weekend rental, and set forth for what would begin our two-and-a-half-day exploration of the Holy City. As we had our first big dinner that evening at McCrady's at 8:15, we wanted to make sure to have lunch to hold us over until then -- one that would satisfy our post-flight hunger but one that wouldn't ruin our appetite for dinner. With a recommendation from Everyday Musings, we decided on {1} Butcher & Bee, a sandwich shop/comfort food joint on King Street.


{2} Run by owner Michael Shemtov and Chef Stuart Tracy, Butcher & Bee is open for lunch (known for its "honest to goodness sandwiches") and then again for late-night dining until 3 AM. Its offerings on the menu are full of big ideas, and the shop even has a garden growing behind the restaurant. I love the mosaic of woods against the white tiled walls with a ribbon of chalkboard running atop it. Definitely has a modern-rustic café feel to it. {3,4} The eclectic industrial furniture makes the ambiance laid back and casual along with {5}old-fashioned cash registers that you'd find in a midwestern saloon.


On top of it all, the menu is constantly changing and developing, filled with sandwiches, salads, coffee, and other tasty items. You can track the changes daily on Butcher & Bee's Twitter.They're growing a garden out behind the restaurant, and their menu's constantly changing and developing. I found the menu on the day we went over here.


Marcus tried a bottle of Fentiman's Curiosity Cola (just a fancy way of saying cola), which was quite flavorful yet less carbonated than most colas I've had.


The Burger and Fries with American cheese, Thousand Island dressing, and LTOP (i.e., lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles). Atop a well-buttered brioche bun, the patty itself was nicely charred and very juicy -- it was divinely with the melted American. The Thousand Island dressing was a tangy touch which makes it so different from most classic American burgers that pervade restaurants and diners alike. The fries were hand-cut and crunchy -- it had that "straight-from-the-potato" texture to it.


As one of the recommendations from the gentleman who took our orders, I opted for the pulled squash sandwich with smoked slaw, barbecue sauce, and pickles -- ultimately a "pulled pork sandwich" for vegetarians and veggie lovers. Thoroughly coated with some savory barbecue sauce, the julienned squash remained snappy and had some wonderful texture to the sandwich overall, especially with the smoked purple slaw and vinegared pickles. Undoubtedly something I've never had before but am glad I tried -- the pulled pork sandwich is just delightful! Oh, and the baguette! Loose crust, soft interior -- one bite, and it was gone. No tugging or difficulty eating. It was the kind of bread you wish you had with all of your sandwiches.


Jimmy had the Chinese pork sandwich with hoisin, cabbage, and peanuts. It worked exactly as it sounded in the description -- like an Asian-style salad on a baguette. For an American sandwich joint to pull this combination of ingredients off so deliciously, I was happily impressed. It was so tasty that Marcus even said he wished he had ordered it, too!


Alice went for the other recommendation we received (i.e., the other most popular lunch item on the menu) -- brie and broccoli grilled cheese with roasted tomatoes, mustard, and a side of tomato-bacon soup. The brie melted onto the bread into a creamy ooze that melded right onto the housemade multi-grain bread covered in benne seeds. While the inclusion of the tomato is familiar in the world of grilled cheese sandwiches (though they being roasted here garners bonus points!), the tossing in of broccoli made the sandwich stand out. It all complemented each other, and with a careful dunk into the intense tomato-bacon soup, you will surely surrender yourself to this sandwich and leave no crumb or bite behind.

Findings: There is no false advertising at Butcher & Bee -- "honest to goodness sandwiches" come to life in its kitchen with the best ingredients and resulting combinations for them to put in between two slices of bread (yup, seriously the next best thing since sliced bread). It is worth venturing out to the north part of King Street, just for the bread alone. Seriously.

Given it was our first meal in Charleston, all in all, every single one of our choices really hit the spot and gave us the warmest welcome to this city. I wish we had more time to stick around and explore the late night menu, but there's always next time, right? ;)

Price point: $9-11 for each sandwich, $12 for each burger.

--January 5, 2013

Butcher & Bee
654 King Street
Charleston, SC 29403
http://www.butcherandbee.com

Lunch | Cocoron Soba

In the spirit of our noodle outings together, Debra and I thought Cocoron Soba would be a great choice for our next undertaking. So this past Sunday, Debra, Marcus, and I headed to Cocoron Soba's original location in the Lower East Side on Delancey (note the new location is on Kenmare between Mott and Elizabeth). We made sure to arrive around noon, i.e., when the restaurant opens, as I've been warned by many friends and reviews that waits can get crazy.


As you can tell from the shots above, cocoron is Japanese for "heartwarming," and as such, Cocoron Soba is "dedicated to preparing health-conscious and 'heartwarming' Japanese home cooking, starting with the staple soba."

Owner Yoshihito Kida opened Cocoron Soba "to share his love and passion for soba, as he wisely and firmly says, 'Through soba, I want people to discover that being healthy isn't an alternative to taste. In the U.S., the concept of healthy is almost like a choice or a sacrifice you have to make, but in Japan, health and taste somehow co-exist dtogether, and I want to deliver that through [my restaurant]." In fact, its tagline is cocoron, where hearty meets healthy.


{1,5} The restaurant's space is quite small, where guests can sit pretty comfortably in stools at the noodle counter or in a few tables surrounding it. It is quite incredible how the chefs at Cocoron Soba manage to cook up some amazing things with such a small, confined kitchen area. {2} The menu offers an wide variety of sobas, both warm and cold. We opted for something warm as the chill in the fall air was pretty brusque that afternoon. {4} To start, I had a soba buckwheat barley tea which brewed inside a stone ceramic cup from a tiny weaved basket-like strainer. It was quite fragrant yet enjoyably bold (but not overpowering) upon sipping. {5} Even Debra's ice water came in a cute hammered copper cup!


All of our noodles came out piping hot, right off the stove, which explains the steamy and foggy photographs above. {3} Debra chose the stamina soba with sliced pork and scallions. It was basically soba noodles with sliced pork and scallions inside Cocoron's signature broth. Though simple in ingredients, the broth made the entire bowl super flavorful and rich. {2} I had the sansai soba with bamboo shoots, flowering fern, woodear mushrooms, scallions, deep-fried tempura batter, and kitsune (i.e., simmered, deep-fried tofu). I have been on a crazy bamboo kick lately (probably making up for all the times during my youth and adolescence picking them out of my food and discarding them), so I just had to try it (plus the woodear mushrooms were another plus). I normally don't drink the broth after consuming all of the noodles and accompanying ingredients, but to Debra's bewilderment, there I was slurping away, not getting enough of the awesomeness that was Cocoron's broth. I saw one of the chefs dump in a good amount of chicken bones into a large stockpot full of water, and immediately I knew the secret to the broth's rich flavors. In hindsight, I wish I had ordered an extra topping of sliced pork. While I enjoyed the clean, vegetable-centric aspect of the sansai, I still felt like I need a little heartier protein mixed in. Next time!

{1} Marcus went with the Japanese-style curry soba with sliced pork and scallions, which seems to be the heartiest of all the warm soba noodle soups. It is essentially the stamina soba that Debra had, only with some spiced Japanese curry mixed in. I had a spoonful of his broth and was totally blown away by the depth of intensity it had to offer. While it wasn't unbelievably spicy, it still had a decent punch to it. If you want to bare witness to the most distinctive soba here at Cocoron, I think this would be your best bet.

Findings: Cocoron Soba was indeed a heartwarming treat (ha-ha-ha) for us. The soup base for the soba captured the restaurant's mission in the soup's every drop -- it was hearty in flavor with a clean clarity to the healthy broth. The buckwheat soba was cooked perfectly in each of our bowls, and the accoutrement -- protein and veggies -- were perfect, too. This tiny little noodle joint has lots of delicous things promised in its bowls of soba, either cold or warm and is certainly worth a detour! Just be wary crowds during prime eating hours, so try to get here when it opens. Chances are, you'll get your choice of table or seat at the counter, and will shortly be entranced by the magical broth and musical soba.

Price point: $10-13.50 for each bowl of warm soba.

--October 21, 2012

Cocoron Soba
61 Delancey Street
New York, NY 10002
http://www.cocoron-soba.com

Cocoron Soba 61 Delancey Street New York NY Great soba and even better broth. If you want to try something bold, try the Japanese-style curry soba Four Tines and a Unit

Market Eats | Smorgasburg

This past Saturday, Marcus and I met up with Lisa, Jess, Jen, Jill, and Evan for some outdoor grub over at Smorgasburg, a food market run by the folks of Brooklyn Flea. Smorgasburg "features packaged and prepared foods as well as purveyors from New York City and across the region, and other food-related vendors (kitchen utensils, housewares, etc.)." On Saturdays, Smorgasburg can be found on the East River Waterfront (between North 6th and 7th Streets) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.


{1,2,3} We arrived a little after 11 AM, and it was already crowding up with lots of hungry eaters.

Before committing ourselves to just any food vendors, our group took a loop around the Smorgasburg grounds and compiled a list of places we wanted to try.


{1} The first vendor we tried was Mighty Quinn's, {2} mostly because of the long line that was forming that was longer than all the rest (after all, aren't long lines for food a solid determinant of really good stuff?!).. The menu had two options for protein -- barbecue pulled pork or barbecue beef brisket -- available in two sizes, a little slider or a big one. {3} The pulled pork was pre-pulled, while the {4} beef brisket was hand-carved. {5} Marcus and I both thought it'd be best if we each ordered a little slider of each to share -- pulled pork on the left, braised brisket on the right. Wow-ee! These barbecue sliders boasted the moistest, tastiest, and most flavorful barbecue style pork/beef that I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying. If there's one place you do hit up at Smorgasburg, it's definitelly Mighty Quinn's. {6,7} I also sampled some kickass ramp vinaigrette (inspired from the ramps' pickling juices) from Right Tasty, a company started by Duncan Adams and Josh Mizrahi, which led me to immediately purchase a bottle. Cannot wait to try some of this in my own kitchen! {8,9} The next spot we hit up was Brooklyn Piggies, a vendor that specializes in pigs-in-a-blanket using top tier sausages and incredibly flaky puff pastry. They certainly lived up to our hype of stumbling upon Brooklyn Piggies (with options such as original, spicy, and chicken).


For some intermittent third quenching, {1,2} I got a homemade cream soda from Brooklyn Soda Works -- which had the perfect balance of carbonated sweet and creamy flavors -- {3,4} while Jill and Marcus each had freshly lemon shaved ice from People's Pops. {5} A little later, I finally made my way to the highly anticipated Yuji Ramen, especially having been on my list of places to try for the past year. {7} Its specialty is mazemen -- new style of ramen that is served without broth, consisting of flavored oils, tare (i.e., concentrated soup base), and various toppings. {6,8,9} Lisa and I were all over the uni miso mazemen, which had chilled ramen topped with uni, sea urchin sauce, shredded shiso, and shredded nori. It was everything I thought it would be and more. Seriously amazing stuff that they're cooking up here at Yuji Ramen. I cannot wait to return back to Smorgasburg to try their other original creations!


{1} Another vendor Lisa and I were sure to check out was Brooklyn Oyster Party which sells sustainably harvested oysters. {2} The vendors shucked the oysters upon us ordering a half dozen of them -- one of each kind offered that day for each of us -- that came with complimentary lemon slices. {3} Beginning from the top left going clockwise, we went in the order of briniest to sweetest: the Fire River from Richibucto in New Brunswick, Canada; the Wellfleet from Wellfleet, Massachusetts; and Caraquet from New Brunswick, Canada. The Fire River was super briny (described as complex liquor, custard-like texture with an unmistakable sweet finish), while the Wellfleet was a little less briny (described at plump and clean with a good balance of creamy sweetness and brine) but still intense. Our favorite was the last one -- the Caraquet -- as it was the sweetest, richest in flavor (described as sweet, buttery, and juicy with a high salinity). I think the first two would have been a little more palatable with some good ol' hogwash. {4,5} For dessert, Jess, Lisa, and I had doughnuts from Dough. Jess had the toasted coconut (not pictured), I had the simple cinnamon sugar, and Lisa had the dulce de leche with almonds. These doughnuts were HUGE -- both airy and fluffy. They were fried to the perfect collapsing, doughy consistency, and the designated flavors were just a little sweet so that they could be easily enjoyed without a crazy sugar overload. I wish I weren't so full at the time so I could fully savor it even more. These doughnuts would be great with coffee for breakfast. {6} Lisa, Evan and I also had fresh fruit smoothies from Salud (Lisa and I had the Mango Tango -- mango, pineapple, and orange juice -- and Evan had the Brazil Thrill -- açai berries, blackberries, bananas, and apple cider). They were all well-blended with super fresh fruits -- solid quenching beverages! {7} I noticed Blue Bottle Coffee Co. was there, but I didn't have an opportunity to try anything, but these dripping coffee contraptions certainly looked cool!

Other places our group checked out were Asiadog (the Wangding hot dog), S'more Bakery (assorted cookies), and Milk Truck Grilled Cheese (the Classic grilled cheese) -- all hits as well.


Me with Jen, Jill, and Jess at Smorgasburg.

Lisa and me at Smorgasburg!

Findings: I cannot believe it took me so long to get my butt over to Smorgasburg -- I was undoubtedly missing out on some quality bites here! I've been to the Brooklyn Flea last August which had a fraction of the food vendors as Smorgasburg did so I had a glimpse of what was to come. The key to optimizing any visit to Smorgasburg is to do a walkthrough the entire marketplace, noting which places you'd be inclined to check out, and then reassessing this list once the walkthrough is complete. Then the rest is strategic -- i.e., how much your stomach can take before it explodes, which appeals more to personal tastes, which is more economical in value, which is worth the splurge, etc. I am happy to report that all of our eats were all worth the pretty pennies we paid. The major highlights for me were Mighty Quinn's, Yuji Ramen, Salud, and Dough. 

I hope we can make this a seasonal thing (once in the spring, once in the summer, and another time in the fall) so we can get a better picture of the 250+ vendors that are signed on with Smorgasburg. There are some exciting things happening over at Smorgasburg, and I can't wait to bear witness of how much more it'll explode in growth. 

Thanks to my awesome friends for trekking out there with me!

Price point: $3 for each small barbecue slider from Mighty Quinn's, $9 for each bottle of ramp vinaigrette from Right Tasty, $3 for five pigs-in-a-blanket from Brooklyn Piggies, $4 for each soda at Brooklyn Soda Works, $2.50 for each shaved ice from People's Pops, $10 for each bowl of uni miso mazemen from Yuji Ramen, $16 for a half dozen of oysters from Brooklyn Oyster Party, $2.50 for each doughnut from Dough, $6 for each smoothie from Salud.

--October 20, 2012

Smorgasburg

Brooklyn Flea

East River Water Front (between North 6th and 7th Streets)

Brooklyn, NY 11211

http://www.smorgasburg.com

Mighty Quinn's

103 2nd Avenue

New York, NY 10003

http://www.mightyquinnsbbq.com

Right Tasty

http://www.righttasty.net

Brooklyn Piggies

http://www.brooklynpiggies.com

Brooklyn Soda Works

http://www.brooklynsodaworks.com

People's Pops

http://www.peoplespops.com

Yuji Ramen

http://www.yujiramen.com

Brooklyn Oyster Party

http://www.brooklynoysterparty.com

Dough

305 Franklin Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11205

http://www.yelp.com/biz/dough-brooklyn

Salud

1308 Avenue H

Brooklyn, NY 11230

http://www.saludnyc.com

Dinner | Little Muenster

Last Sunday, after trying to get into The Meatball Shop with no avail, Marcus, Lisa, and I paid a visit to Little Muenster in the Lower East Side for some dinner grub. James, a former colleague of mine, had raved about it for quite some time now, so I was glad that I'd finally be able to report back.

Little Muenster (gotta love that name!) was opened by Adam Schneider and Vanessa Palazio, basing a lot of the grilled cheese menu offerings on "creative flavor mash-ups on their favorite pastas," including one sandwich with leek confit, Gruyère, chèvre, and pancetta. It may better explain its tagline of offering "super fancy grilled cheese." Another thing that makes Little Muenster quite the kickass joint is its delivery service -- not only do they offer it in the surrounding neighborhood but customers can request the sandwiches "be cooked on premises or delivered toaster-ready to protect against sogginess." Plus, the to-go packaging includes not only aluminum foil wrapped around sandwiches but also the boxes containing them allow the heat from them to vent.


Couldn't get an excellent photo of the Little Muenster sign out front, so I resorted to using this cute window mirror to capture it!


The menu is written on chalkboard painted cheeseboards/oven trays. Note there are no substitutions.


The coolest part of Little Muenster is this spiffy cheese grater chandelier. Really awesome!


Each sandwich came with a cabbage side salad as well as these well-made wooden trays. Marcus had the chipotle-braised chicken with jarlesberg, cotija, and cilantro crema (#2). A very Mexican-spirited grilled cheese sandwich, the chipotle part of it gave the kick, while the blended cheeses with cilantro cream overlaid it an extra flair of flavor.


Lisa had the savory blend of butternut squash with asiago, parmesan, muenster, and sage brown butter. Given from the description alone, you know it's going to be incredibly rich and undoubtedly cheesy. Even for a cheese lover like Lisa, it proved to be a little overwhelming for her, but still delicious nonetheless. It'd be perfect so split this with someone and order a soup to go with the half.



Lisa also had the tomato soup which was nice and thick with a little smokiness to it. It's the best complement to any of the sandwiches on the menu.

I had the prosciutto with fontina, Gruyère, and membrillo (i.e., quince paste). The taste of the quince fruit is like a cross between an apple and a pear, and it somehow had the same culinary magic with the prosciutto as its classic pairing with a juicy slice of melon. Packed with a formidable crunch from the well-buttered, thoroughly toasted slices of bread, this sandwich is a solid winner.

Despite the heaviness from our sandwiches sitting in our stomachs, Lisa and I still managed to make room for dessert. The bread pudding was sprinkled with a generous helping of confectioners' sugar, resulting in moist cubes of vanilla-flavored bread.It was the savory kind of dessert where it wasn't overly sweet or rich but instead a lovely punctuation to a relatively intense dinner of melted cheese between bread slices. Recommended to share!

Findings: Little Muenster may rival my devotion to Morris Grilled Cheese and Milk Truck Grilled Cheese. I like that it offers menu items much different than the others (besides the essentially classic kind with bacon) so there is no culinary redundancy in the grilled cheese sammy market here in New York City. It seems as if the menu at Little Muenster changes every so often, so that promises new experiences each time you may go. The storefront may be small, but don't let size fool you one bit. The kitchen is cooking up some remarkable combinations of melted cheeses, savory proteins, and other gourmet ingredients. Plus, the bread pudding is pretty great, too.

Price point: $8.75 for each grilled cheese sandwich, $4.50 for a cup of tomato soup, $2.75 for dessert.

--September 23, 2012

Little Muenster

100 Stanton Street

New York, NY 10002

http://www.littlemuenster.com

Little Muenster 100 Stanton Street New York NY Excellent gourmet grilled cheeses along with some delicious tomato soup and great bread pudding! Four Tines and a Napkin

Dinner | S'MAC

Last week, Jess and I got our fix of macaroni 'n' cheese over at S'MAC (which stands for Sarita's Macaroni & Cheese) in the East Village.

This beloved comfort food joint was created by husband-and-wife team, Sarita and Caesar Ekya. When they were eating one day at Peanut Butter & Co. (another comfort food-centric restaurant in the West Village), Mrs. Ekya wondered (in a half-joking, half-serious way) how cool it would be if there were a place that served PBJ, grilled cheese, AND mac 'n' cheese. They both laughed and went on their way, but for some reason, the idea couldn't be shaken, and nine months later, in 2006, Mr. and Mrs. Ekya opened up S'MAC, serving up ten variations of mac 'n' cheese.

Inside S'MAC -- very bright oranges and yellows (fittingly so, of course). Even the ceiling light fixtures resemble elbow macaroni! The cast iron skillet pans hanging on the wall delineate the different sizes offered at S'MAC. The smallest is Nosh, next sizes up are Major Munch and Mongo, and the largest size is Partay! We had no idea that the Nosh size would be THAT sizable (especially with the price), so we decided to err on the side of caution and ordered that size. All of the mac 'n' cheeses come with a generous sprinkling of bread crumbs. There is also a "make-your-own" option as well, so you can get pretty creative if you want to!

Jess decided to go the classic route, and ordered the All-American ("nostalgia at its finest") with a blend of cheddar and American cheeses. The mac 'n' cheeses at S'MAC are casserole style (just how I love it), and the combination of breadcrumbs and cheese covering the macaroni creates a really nice and delicious faux-crust. It's crunchy, toasty, and cheesy, providing a great textural contrast to the creamy and soft cheesed macaroni. It also comes scorching hot in those black, cast-iron skillets with a quilted potholder and a wooden trivet. With that being said, the All-American is the no-nonsense version on the menu -- just straight up cheese and elbow macaroni -- which is ideal for those who are purists of this comfort food form.

I decided to try something a little different, so I went with the Alpine with Gruyère and slab bacon. The aforementioned crust is nearly mind-blowing, and the combination of Gruyère and bacon was fantastic. This might be one of those really? things to complain about, but the slab bacon (I should've known from the description right there) was cut really thickly and spread out unevenly, so it was hard to gauge whether I'd have enough bacon to go with each bite of cheesy macaroni. But really, did I have much to complain about? I mean, it was HUGE chunks of bacon after all.

Findings: Overall, I think there is some delicious stuff cookin' over at S'MAC. Its location is perfect, attracting the hangover crowd as well as college students (and let's face it, any reasonable adult) yearning for that childhood indulgence. Satisfying for the stomach and very easy on the wallet, S'MAC offers an array of different kinds of mac 'n' cheese, spanning all kinds of cuisines bound to appeal to any hungry palate. When comparing it to the other mac 'n' cheese haven, macbar, in SoHo, I would say that I like the breadcrumb crust better at S'MAC while I prefer the gourmet selections at macbar (as it's more fitting to my own tastes). Either way, they're both solid places to find a generous helping of mac 'n' cheese at a decent price for any jonesing that may occur late at night. Definitely adding this to my list of late-night cheesy binges (plus, Artichoke Pizza is around the corner).

Price point: $4.75-7.25 for Nosh-sized macaroni and cheese.

--September 13, 2012

S'MAC (Sarita's Macaroni & Cheese)

345 East 12th Street

New York, NY 10003

http://www.smacnyc.com

S'Mac
345 East 12th Street
New York
NY
Great place to get your fix of macaroni-and-cheese. They have the classic All-American or others with nuances inspired by other international cuisines. You can even make your own!
Four Tines and a Napkin

Lunch | Jin Ramen

On Sunday afternoon, I took Debra, my old college roommate, out for her birthday. We've made it a little tradition of ours to celebrate birthdays and milestones with noodles, and usually, we try to change it up so we can compare new up-and-coming noodle joints with places we had eaten at together previously. This whole celebrating with noodles doesn't fall far from Chinese culture either -- my family typically celebrates any birthday with noodles as the noodles signify long life. While this is a happy coincidence, I think we both elected for ramen/noodles because we both really love it! :)

Our noodle shop of choice this time was, Jin Ramen, a recommendation from Alice, an old high school friend of mine, who had raved about how awesome everything was there. I had been dying to go ever since she mentioned it to me in passing, but the only thing that was precluding me from getting there sooner was that it is located at 125th Street and Broadway, one stop past Columbia University's. So given that I live all the way on the East Side (essentially, on the East River), trekking there would be a total hassle, but we made it work this time, and getting there took a lot quicker than I had originally anticipated (even with all of the MTA construction going on). Win!

Jin Ramen is located in a relatively large space (i.e., for a noodle shop), which includes both separate tables and a noodle counter/bar. Most places that Debra and I are used to are one aisle long, lined with stools with a counter-style set-up. We arrived around noon, but it got pretty busy shortly after that, even on a Sunday afternoon!

Jin is Japanese for "benevolence" with its root in Confucian philosophy. The character itself (仁) consists of two elements -- the left representing a person and the right depicting the numeral for two. Ultimately, this kanji character is intended "to depict the way two people should treat one another." As a result, the noodle shop selected this name "not only out of an enthusiasm for ramen, but also from a desire to grow a business that has a positive impact on the community."

Love the Japanese-inspired organic interiors.

Hakata, a city in Japan, "is famous for its style of ramen, which has a very pungent smell thanks to a pork rib broth called tonkotsu (豚骨)," and this ramen "is considered one of Japan's top three styles of ramen (along with Tokyo and Sapporo)." This tonokotsu broth is made primarily of pork bones, which are cooked for a long time over extremely high heat so that the bone marrow within the bones are released into the broth, "giving the soup its characteristic richness." Along with noodles of course, popular toppings with Hakata raomen are chashu (pork belly), kikurage (wood-ear mushrooms), and negi (small green onions). Others included benishoga (pickled red ginger), crushed/whole-roasted sesame seeds, karashi takana (spicy pickled mustard greens), and crushed garlic.

I decided to try the miso ramen topped with sautéed corn, leeks, scallions, bean sprouts, chicken sausage, bok choy, sesame seeds, nori, and pork belly, all within a base soup of blended chicken and pork stock. As promised, the broth had a "robust, tangy flavor" and totally blew my mind in the same way that the (in)famous akamaru modern from Ippudo had done several years prior. The accoutrements (noodles, toppings, pork, etc.) and portion-size reminded me a lot of my current favorite spot, Totto Ramen, which I really appreciate in a noodle joint. So with that being said, I may have very well found my new favorite spot. There was just so much depth to the broth without being too salty, and while it was a little zestier than I had expected (lots of heat from the temperature and spices mixed in), it was just the perfect amount of punch. I rarely (pretty much never) drink the broth, but at Jin Ramen, I found myself slurping a few spoonfuls, savoring every last remnant of pork bits, curls of ramen, and corn kernels swimming in the depths of swirling miso. If you're looking for something mild, this is quite the opposite, so be prepared to be wowed with flavor if you order the miso ramen.

Debra had the tonkotsu ramen -- Jin Ramen's signature dish, which is said to be the richest broth of the four main varieties as it is made by boiling pork bones over high heat for several hours, "suffusing the broth with a hearty pork flavor and a creamy consistency that rivals milk or melted butter/gravy." The ramen noodles in broth are topped with wood-ear mushrooms, shredded scallions, and chashu. Debra really enjoyed the tonkotsu ramen -- certainly worth noting, she reported -- but her favorite still lies with Totto Ramen. One thing to note is the chashu is a little fattier than she would've liked (for me, it looked perfect!), but just as my experience with the miso ramen's broth, Debra drank the tonkotsu all up. To me, it was a lot milder in taste (not in an unfavorable way, of course) than the miso ramen because it wasn't laced in spice -- it was straight broth with minor dressings, which was very velvety on the palate. It was hard for me to really savor and taste it because my mouth had already been wiped out by the intensity of the miso ramen, so I really have to go back to give this a taste before I set my teeth into something like the miso ramen.

We were so excited to try out the ramen that I forgot to look at the appetizers. So being that I still had some room left in my stomach, I ordered us the steamed pork buns which comes with two gua bao buns stuffed with chashu, iceberg lettuce, spicy mayonnaise, and a side of slaw. The choice of ingredients and presentation were great, but we felt that the chashu, though tender, was quite bland. Additionally, the gua bao buns were a bit soggy, and there was more mayonnaise than the buns needed, thereby overpowering the dish in execution. I see lots of potential for improvement with this dish, so I haven't lost all faith with them.

Findings: So while the ramen at Totto Ramen has been my most recent go-to (because of its price and portion-size), I might dare to say that Jin Ramen has singlehandedly (on my first visit!) ousted Totto as my favorite bowl of ramen noodles in the city. You may wonder if the journey to Morningside Heights is worth it, so I'll make the answer easy for you -- yes it is! For whatever tricks and techniques are flying around in the kitchen of Jin Ramen, I hope the restaurant continue pulling out the stops and wowing its patrons with intricately delicious broths that are, by no secret at all, dressed in bovine marrow as a result of cooking its bones for hours upon hours over high heat. Although I can't say much about the other dishes on Jin Ramen's menu as I only had the opportunity to try the steamed pork buns, I do know that you have to try the miso ramen and the tonkotsu if you make the trip up there (i.e., if you don't already live in the Upper West Side area :P). You will be licking every drop of broth left in your bowl, noodle soup spoon, and your chopsticks, only wish you had one more drop. So watch out noodle shops of New York, there's a new noodle kid in town, ready to blow any conception of what a solid broth should be (here in the United States) out of the water!

Thanks to Alice for the awesome recommendation!

Price point: $7 for the starter, $11-12 for each bowl of ramen noodles.

--August 19, 2012

Jin Ramen

3183 Broadway

New York, NY 10027

http://www.jinramen.com

Jin Ramen
3183 Broadway
New York
NY
Miso ramen is a MUST! Arguably better than Totto Ramen's and (dare I say it) Ippudo's akamaru modern. Zesty, tangy, and incredibly flavorful broth!
Four Tines and a Napkin