Forking Tasty

Goomba Beef

You can’t beat some fresh beef sliced by Italians. At John’s Deli in Bensonhurst they have some of the finest. If you have not already heard about their famous roast beef, formerly only available on Tuesday’s, you have now. After peeking at this clip I don’t blame you to be checking hop-stop for the most direct route to this slow cooked sensation.

John’s Deli
2033 Stillwell Avenue
(between 85th St & 86th St)
Brooklyn, NY 11223

Local Grand Cayman

Craft Market Cafe – Grand Cayman from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Diabetic Blood Sugar Count
Pre-meal: 78 | Post-meal (1 hour): 128 | Insulin: 4 Units

Grand Cayman is a beautiful place. The water has that perfect Caribbean blue/green color to it. However, before I went to sink my feet into the sand and go for a swim I need to fill my stomach with some local food.

I do need to apologies; I know it has been a while since my last post. It’s been busy on the ship. When I finally got off the ship I found a bunch of restaurants like Margaretville, which are fun but not what I was looking for. I wanted something more local and after walking around the town for a little while I think I stumbled upon just the place. The Craft Market Café is pure local. There is no inside only an outside and there were many locals eating on the benches. Even the local food was running around the floor. You’ll see what I mean when you watch the video. When I sat down I finally got to enjoy my early lunch with some of the guests from the ship before I headed to the beach.

Costco is my new butcher

Not really but I tell you the way they cut their short ribs makes for an amazing grilled steak. They are so tender all they need is a little salt and pepper. The other night I paired it with some orchiette and beat greens. The greens were another REEL TASTY leftover simply dressed with really good olive oil and some S+P. Splash of cider vinegar. The pasta was butter based with some pecorino cheese and parsley. To accent all that food, I polished off the opened bottle of Zin from Saturday’s supper club.

Truth be told, I have many butchers. Costco for short ribs, Mario’s for braccioles, JPB for kobe cuts, Dickson’s for the less common cuts and Florence for lamb. Pork and chicken is a whole different world and a whole different post.

Leftover Lunch Goodness

REEL TASTY was a success this past Saturday and the spoils keep on a comin’. Some left over hanger steak was calling my name from the refrigerator. One nice part of working from home I get more bonding time with the old chill box. A fresh Portuguese roll was my vessel. What you are looking at above is some thin sliced hanger steak with fresh ricotta cheese spread across the toasted roll. I added some olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh pepper for good measure. I love leftovers in sandwich form. More on the REEL TASTY coming soon.

REEL TASTY: Season Opener

Deck is clean. Knives are sharp. Screen warming up. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, REEL TASTY: Season Due is set to begin. Tomorrow night will kick off the season with a bachelorette party. A table full of ladies eating drinking and laughing their to-be-wed friend off in style. 80′s style that is. The Sarah Jessica Parker/Helen Hunt madness of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” will be on the big wall and the food will try it’s hardest to compete with the on screen dance off.

It looks like our first official dinner will be right around May 15 possibly the week before. Those of you on the mailing list, don’t worry you will get an email. Those of you not on it, get on it. This season is going to be packed with new recipes, new people and some new features. We have some ideas around a movable feast version of REEL TASTY. Look for that literally POPPING up on a block near you. As well, we might fancy up a few dinners and bring in some special wine peeps and movie peeps. Of course I am purposely being vague. I wouldn’t be good at my day job if I wasn’t right? So, Aimee and I are excited to say the least. We hope to see you on the deck very, very, very soon.

Get on our list for upcoming dinners: dinners@forkingtasty.com

Rule Breaking PBJ

Most of you know that I keep strict rules when it comes to PBJ’s. I am a purist. I think the fluff, nutella, etc should stay in the pantry. This is why I have avoided visiting Peanut Butter and Co. for years. This small shop in Greenwich Village has over a decade of sandwiches under it’s belt. Through the years PB and Co. has diversified into jarred PB and even lunchboxes. Despite my dismay for breaking the traditions I made a stop for lunch. I perused the menu a bit and realized quickly that Jelly was nowhere to be found. I am sure it is somewhere on the menu but the PB and Co. master chef liked a whole bunch of other condiments a whole more. I decided to go with the craziest thing I saw on the menu. Something that didn’t sound like it could work well together at all…

Truck to Table

Everyone loves a surprise. Well…most people do. At the root of surprise is discovery. Most of the time is boils down to a moment. Like the moment you sip your glass of soda only to realize you grabbed someone else glass of milk. But, sometimes, when we are really lucky, that discovery unfolds with multiple moments over time. I happened upon a bustling scene yesterday morning on a quiet strip of Franklin St. in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. For a Sunday morning there was a lot of activity in what appeared to be a vacant store front. I could not help but let the moment sweep me up as the discovery unfolded before my eyes and then straight into my stomach. The above explains it all.

NOTE: I left my camera at home so this whole video had to be shot on an iPhone. Not bad. I added the pro VO to hide the crappy video quality. I sort of like the juxtaposition.

The Road Less Eaten

This morning was wonderful. One of those morning that unfolds with effortless decision making, timeless scheduling and non-strenuous motion only a lazy Sunday can produce. I have been living in Greenpoint for the better part of 5 years now and the restaurant scene is just now hitting it’s stride. I should quantify that, but will not waste your time with that in this post. This post is simple. It is easy. It is about something fun, yummy and frivolous.

Franklin St. has long been ignored when…

P.I.E. WITH The Crane’s

People usually say they don’t make great friends late in life. After college and your 23rd birthday you are pretty much set with friends. Your circle is complete and you lock the front door. Everyone from there on out is an acquaintance. Sometimes that ridiculous norm is broken. For me, that norm is an (ab)norm. The Crane’s, as they are never called, are great friends dating back just 7 years.

One day back in 2003 a Brit sporting a huge smile walked into a conference room and started rant off ideas to me. That was the first time I met Patrick. Over the next 2 years we worked together and played together, although, we should have played much more. Despite Patrick’s drive and smarts, he is a big kid. He loves his toys and has talked me into a few frivolous purchases over the years. Lita is his beautiful wife but I only write this for context. She is maybe the most driven and independent woman I have ever met. Someone needs to keep Patrick in line and that would be Lita. A few years back lil Santiago joined the crew and I saw the softer and more mature side of both of them. Despite that Santi will still be riding a motorcycle before he can spell motorcycle. Like father like son. As parents Lita and Patrick strike a nice balance.

Having moved back to NYC from San Francisco in 2005, I see them much less than I would like to. I will have to figure out how to move back to the west coast so that I can be part of the camping trips and bike rides as the three of them create new exciting adventures. For now, dropping by when I am in town and being treated to their unique and wonderful brand of hospitality will have to suffice. It usually takes decades to be as comfortable with friends as I am with Lita, Patrick and Santiago. They always have a bottle of wine popped, a thorough recap of “So You Think You Can Dance” and a fluffy pillow and blanket at the ready. Thanks for being such great friends away from home and I hope Santi is loving Daddy’s newest toy, his iPad.

What we ate:
Goat Hill pizza
Hot wings

Into the Fold

photo credit: Ricky Montalvo

My last good meal in SF this past trip was a treat. The food was delicious but the company made this meal. I was honored to be brought to La Mediterranee by my good friends Ricky and Britt. Their 10 plus year relationship had many Friday nights in this spot and they were now folding me into the La Mediterranee family. As soon as we walked in Arthur came over with a huge hug. Arthur is a 13 year veteran waiter who has much more than food knowledge to impart on his guests. The seemingly customary round of hugs, hellos and here’s-a-menu ended and Arthur asked what bottle we would be drinking tonight. As I learned, a bottle of wine is par for the course when the Montalvos visit. We settled on