Forking Tasty

Last week was a doozy. Yesterday was no exception. Lots of eatin’. I ended the work week on a high note that took my belt back a notch. I don’t think there is much more to say that the video can’t explain. But, if for some reason you do have a question, drop it in the comments and I will be sure to answer. I will say, if you are looking for a mess of smoked pork piled onto butcher paper and thrown on a cafeteria tray, Hill Country might be the best game in town. The theatrics alone are 5 star. Quick warning, never go to this spot with me. I will make you leave in pain. Have you ever passed a 3″ pork chop around the table with your hands? I didn’t think so.

Hill Country
30 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10010
(212) 255-4544
hillcountryny.com

Diabetic Blood Sugar Count
Pre-meal: 87 | Post-meal (1 hour): 155 | Insulin: 4 Units

My buddy Dave Severino, a stand up comic, saw my posts about Pancakes on the Rocks and was waiting for me to get back to New York to grab some brunch. He really wanted some pancakes because of the picture of the slow dripping butter oozing down those delicious pancakes. However, somehow we ended up at a Mexican brunch called Vamos.

We all remember being five years old and losing our ice cream cone on the dirty pavement because a gigantic dragonfly landed on in at the exact time you took a lick. Well…maybe not all of us remember it quite that way. What we all DO remember is the comfort you felt when your Mom came over, wiped you eyes, rubbed your back and got you a new ice cream. As humans, we need to be comforted from time to time. Stepping beyond the negative, sad and difficult moments in life, we LIKE to be comforted. A giant insect does not need to screw with your creamy treat to want some comforting. The fun thing about humans is that each of us are comforted in a unique way. For some, comfort is a massage. For others, it’s new shoes. Still, others prefer a silent moment and a ray of sun. For me, it’s good food. Not a surprise given the theme of this blog.

I am blessed to have great friends and family. Their ability to comfort me when I need, or want, it is astounding. I couldn’t ask for better but, I recently stumbled into…

Diabetic Blood Sugar Count
Pre-meal: 96 | Post-meal (1 hour): 188 | Insulin: 6 Units

I have been home just under a week and I finally got around to having dinner with my good friend Josh. We were both trying to figure out where to meet for dinner and we came across the typical story when it comes to figuring out where to go to eat. Even though there are literally thousands of restaurants in Manhattan we both couldn’t figure out which one to go to, same ol story. We are always looking for the perfect storm when it comes to choosing a restaurant, Good food, not expensive and not to many people. After about an hour we still couldn’t come to a conclusion.

One of my last nights in Sydney before I had to head back to the states I really wanted to have some different meats. The two things my friends and I were after was crocodile and kangaroo. We spoke to a few locals and a bunch of them recommended the Australian Heritage Hotel. There is a restaurant bar under the hotel that serves up pizza with Crocodile and Kangaroo toppings. I thought it was a little weird that the locals couldn’t recommend a restaurant that had Crocodile or Kangaroo as a meal, but whatever we went for it…

After hitting The Spotted Pig earlier in the week, I found myself having an 8am breakfast with my new buddy Ken Rona at April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman’s other restaurant, The Breslin. Of all the standouts on the menu the $21 full English breakfast could have been renamed “Jason Anello”. The video above will give you the rundown on the food. To get to the Breslin you have to walk through the lobby of The Ace Hotel. At 8am it was interesting to see so many people up, online and sipping coffee in the retro, chic hipster-esque lobby. Being such a jaded and seasoned New Yorker, I couldn’t hold back a small sigh of disgust for ALL things trendy. I know that is the way it goes. I quickly got over it as I entered the Breslin and saw a pig hanging from the ceiling. I was home.

Breslin The
thebreslin.com
16 W 29th St
Manhattan, New York, NY 10001
(212) 685-9600

McDonalds Voyage from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

My girlfriend Kelsey absolutely loves McDonalds. On my last contract she was unfortunately not with me. Every time I saw a McDonalds it would remind me of her, not necessarily the food but of her singing “da da da da da I’m lovin it”. I decided to put together a little video of the McDonalds I came in contact with while I was in Asia, New Zealand and Australia. I am not a big fan of McDonald personally but I did have to try it to see if it tastes the same in all the different countries. I always got a cheeseburger, my personal McDonalds staple, and yes, they all taste the same!

I love the business lunch. I like the whole idea of a hot snack, mid-day filled with some marketing talk, some good yucks and an Arnold Palmer or two. (I rarely sip the vine, hops or fermented potatoes during a business lunch, just a personal policy) Because I lunch often, it feels right to cover the action, when possible, with a quick little video snack. Depress clutch. Pull stick into second. Release clutch.

Lately, I have been overwhelmed by restaurant reviews. For a town hit hard by the recession, there sure are a load of new restaurants opening across this metropolis. A month ago I decided to hone my sources down to three websites. From these three I would work my way through their recommendations and keep my mind temporarily uncluttered. My favorite. Immaculate Infatuation. Chris and Andrew give ya the straight dope. They break the joint down in a non-foodie way, tell ya what to get, what not to get and if you should bother going to the restaurant at all. Of course, I have yet to dine with either of these music industry moonlighters, so I can’t trust them just yet. But, I like their tone and site design so I figured I would put one of their reviews to MY test.

The Spotted Pig is the now famous gastro-pub that…

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The Blue Mountains Lunch, Australia from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Just out side of Sydney there are amazing landscapes to see. A few friends and I decided that before we leave Sydney we needed to see the Blue Mountains. I have always seen pictures but this was our chance to actually see them. The tour was great. We started the day going to see wild Kangaroo’s hopping around. I got pretty close to them, about 40 feet. After about 15 minutes they all hopped off into the woods. All around us there were eucalyptus trees. We took a leaf each, broke it in two and shoved it up our noses. It smelt so good…

A quick lunch with Ant the other day landed us in Petite Abeille. I have had a love/hate relationship with this place ever since they resided on 18th and 6th. Old space or new digs, there is always one thing that has pissed me off about this place. Their coffee counter is a shit show. There is no established waiting line, there are lots of people behind the counter doing nothing OR doing everything but paying NO attention to you (the customer). Typically, when I finally get around to ordering I always feel like I have ordered something that no one else has ever asked for. I am usually met by a confused face and a frozen set of coffee making hands. When the coffee(usually what I order, simple right?) does get made, it is handed to me and the clerk (ohh sorry, barista) runs off. Now I am left with the problem of “who do I pay?”. Once I pay, I then need to go to the “fixings bar” located directly behind the register and right next to the front door. If someone is paying and someone is at the fixings bar, you can not open the front door to get in or out of the restaurant. How many people do you think pay, fix and come in during the morning coffee rush? Rhetorical, but I will wait until you finish rolling your eyes. All I am asking for is a simple change. Set up your store so people can get in and out. You stand there everyday and watch this cluster fuck. Are you that oblivious?

But, something has changed. Unfortunately, it is not the cluster I just ranted about. I have recently discovered…