Mile (Week)End

Memorial Day weekend in NYC is awesome. I love to stay in the city because everyone else leaves. It makes me feel like I am living in Phili or Providence or New York in 1962 (sort of). So, with the mass exodus, I took advantage and headed to a place that would normally be more crowded then a Walmart during a “Door Buster” sale. My destination was the now semi-famous, Montreal bagel and Jewish smoked meat spot, Mile End. The above bagel, with cream cheese, lox, red onion, capers and tomato, was tasty. I didn’t have any meat (one thing they are very famous for) because I arrived before noon. The line was short. I definitely need to come back and try the smoked meat to make a more complete assessment of the Mile End fare. My one wish for my next visit is that the person who takes my order acts a bit more like my friend Seth’s Grandma than a starving artist, hipster wearing an “I am more entitled than you” t-shirt.

POSTPONED-REEL TASTY: Sideways

DUE TO A FEW UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES WE HAD TO POSTPONE THIS SATURDAYS DINNER. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE AND WE HOPE IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. PLEASE FORGIVE US FOR HAVING TO RESCHEDULE. WE PROMISE TO BRING BACK SIDEWAYS LATER IN THE SEASON. STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT MOVIE ANNOUNCEMENT LATER IN JUNE. AND IF YOU HAVE NOT JUMPED ON THE MAILING LIST YET, YOU MAY DO SO BELOW.

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

Saturday, June 5th at 8pm
Bringing a bit of California to the BK. Here’s the skinny on the fat.

Starts: 8pm (cocktails and appetizers)
Ends: 11pm (really, when the film is over)
Donation: $99 (make a reservation below)
Movie: Sideways

Menu

Aimee and I are bringing a special twist to this months dinner. We partnered up with our good buddy Jack to bring you some of the spectacular and rare wines mentioned in the movie. In between scenes, as you eat and sip, Jack will impart some vino knowledge and pose some wine facts vs film fiction while pouring the next flight. In the meantime, Aimee and I will have some delicious food pairings that are inspired by these delightfully fermented grapes. We will also draw on the fresh and simple flavors from southern California to complete the menu. We are feeling some lamb, maybe some risotto and the dessert on this one…whoa, hold onto your forks! We have been planning this one for a long time. The idea that when Paul Giamatti drinks so will you was too good a daydream to not make reality. For those aficionados, the wines will include Sanford, Fiddlehead, Byron, and Hitching Post, heavy on the Pinot Noir.

Reservations

Reservations are required. Space is limited to 16 people. When booking please make sure to change the quantity field to the number of people in your party. In the note section let us know if there are any food restrictions anyone in your party has. Your movie ticket is your pay pal receipt, when you arrive please just let us know your name so we can keep track of you.

IF IT RAINS: If it rains dinner is off. All donations will be refunded at the time we make this decision.

More on Reel Tasty:

Jason and Aimee pair a 5 course gourmet meal for 16 friends, some new and some old on a HUGE deck in Brooklyn. As the name implies, we will be screening a movie during the meal. Don’t worry, there will still be plenty of time pre-entree to mingle, catchup and meet some new friends. Once the sun goes down we will role the film in all its two story high glory. This is an experiment, so we are not sure how much silence or chatting will go on. That’s for you to decide. We hope you will come out and enjoy yourselves with us this summer. See you on the deck.

You can check out pics from our last dinner here.

If you can’t make this dinner but want us to send you an invite to the next one send us an email at dinners@forkingtasty.com and we will put you on out special list. Or join the facebook fan page and get announcement updates that way.

It’s Been A While For Good Sushi

Juneau, Wok & Teriyaki from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Diabetic Blood Sugar Count
Pre-meal: 111 | Post-meal (1 hour): 163 | Insulin: 6 Units

It had been a long time since I have had sushi that was good. The Ship sushi is not the best. I don’t usually have that much sushi because it’s a lot of rice for me. However, once in a while it hits the spot. We have a late port in Juneau and I decided to get some sushi at Wok & Teriyaki before meeting my friends over at the Viking. The Viking is the local pub most crew go to to let loose for a little while before heading back to the ship. I loved both places.

The Fish Was Good, Dessert Was Better

Fish House/Kechi Candies, Kechikan Alaska from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Of all the ports in Alaska I find I really like the town in Ketchikan. I had been there last year before heading over to Japan. There are a few places that I didn’t have time to go to in my last visit. One of those places was Fish House. I wanted to try their double salmon chowder and then asked the staff what else they recommend. The Chowder was good but I am still partial to Clam Chowder. The Halibut Tacos were really good recommendation. Glad I asked the staff for the recommendation. They were crispy and had a nice sauce to go with it.

After lunch I headed to Kechi Candies for some dessert. I am not even going to say anything and I’ll let the video do the talking.

Please Stick To The Crepes

Cafe Crepe, Vancouver from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

I will tell you this, that is the last time I go into a crepe restaurant and get a hotdog and a burger. Seriously, what was I thinking in the first place? I’ll have to go back and get their crepes for breakfast. Cafe Crepe has to do better.

Salmon Bake

Liarsville, Skagway from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Diabetic Blood Sugar Count
Pre-meal: 121 | Post-meal (1 hour): 124 | Insulin: 4 Units

I escorted an excursion with the guests to Klondike summit and walked across a suspension bridge. It was a cloudy day but we could still see the white-capped mountains in the distance. The suspension bridge was over a river that was rushing with freezing water. All the snow is starting to melt up here in Alaska causing the rush of water and tons of waterfalls around the Klondike area. It was a cold day but the views were spectacular. We had to cross over to Canada to get to the summit.

Spinning Tasty

A long overdue addition to my grill was purchased and tested today. The catalyst was an upcoming REEL TASTY menu item and the rising mercury June will provide. The REEL TASTY kitchen gets hot quick and keeping the oven off as much as possible greatly helps the crew. Tonight I installed and tested the new spinner device with two chipotle rubbed birds. An hour and a half on medium and these birds were deliciously crispy and ready to eat. Test one, successful.

RECAP-REEL TASTY: Ghostbusters

photo credit: Kun Kim

Last Saturday’s public season opener of our REEL TASTY supper club was LEGENDARY. Ok, maybe that’s channeling Barney Stinson a bit much, but the dinner was sensational. The day was gorgeous with barely a cloud in the sky and the temperature hovering around 72. I had 20 hens naked and ready for dressing as Aimee arrived with her usual box of treats. After the ritual “taste this-taste that” routine we stepped out onto the sunny deck to set up the evening.

For those who are not in the know, Reel Tasty is our summer supper club where Aimee, my co-chef/host, and I screen a movie on a 2 story building while feeding our guests the latest gastronomic creations our food blitz brains could imagine. My personal vision for this dinner was locked on creating a giant pile of ham wrapped hens for the table. Aimee’s focus was on modifying a cookie cutter to look like a ghost. With that success we started off with her ingenious and made-from-scratch ghost jelly shots pictured above. We followed up quickly with these delicious, bite sized pretzel morsels. That was quickly followed up with

Ban the Bánh mì

I have been to Vietnam. I have had this sandwich a hundred times. The above is raved about as the best in San Francisco but I sure hope they are wrong. I realize I am not in Saigon and I don’t hold this sammie to the standards that only a third world, health code-less country can achieve but this barely beats Blimpie. Tasty but not worth the trek from my Noe Valley temp digs to the edge of the Tenderloin. Seems to me that…

Beets & Rhymes

I have been really into beets lately. I never really experimented with them. Certainly I never had them raw. I have found them to be clever. They are more versatile than I thought. Plus they are a double hit. Beet greens make a great salad. This post is all to say, I love me some beets. Take a second look at the options.