Forking Tasty

Pizzacake

Pizza. It’s arguably the quickest and most versatile fast food out there. The trend these days in NYC is to bring pizza back to its Napoli roots. Thinner crust, less topping and more time to make it equates to the gourmet-izing of this friendly snack. I have been to Napoli. The pizza is great. But, You don’t need to charge me $25 because you throw some kale on top of a super thin crust and have some 500 year old wood burning stove to cook it in. I was in Chicago this week, so I opted for the exact opposite of this New York pizza revolution in the video above.

Dogged Legacy

Chicago hot dogs are famous like their pizza. I am not sure I understand why on either account. To be fair I was told to visit this place NOT for the hot dogs but for the Italian beef sandwich pictured on the next page…

Cured in Seattle

I never expected to find great salami in Seattle. But, I am a big Batali fan and I figured he had to learn from somewhere. Salumi is an Italian cured meat shop in the heart of Seattle’s Pioneer Square run by Armandino Batali, Mario’s father. Armandino had a full career at Boeing as a process control engineer but after he retired…

Guten Morgen, Seattle!

Flying into SEATAC airport in Seattle leaves you with few options for some early morning chow. Asking the locals came through again when I was directed to this “frozen-in-time” pancake house with a German surprise.

Spotting Pigs in Greenwich Village

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…

P.I.E. WITH Tarikh and Josh

It’s rare, even for me, when a work partnership turns into a friendship considering that the two guys above do not work with me everyday. Tarikh and Josh are the duo that make unbelievable ideas come to life at their company, Uncommon Projects. It has been just over a year now when I called up Uncommon and asked them to put a GPS tracker in a sneaker. They said no. Then I asked, “Hey, how about a bike” They agreed. (More on that picture taking, GPS enabled Yahoo! bike here) Thankfully we finally got down to celebrating the project at Vinegar Hill House about a week or so ago.

Josh Rooke-Ley is the quiet, coding genius who rarely is scene without a fitted Mets hat on his head. Among his many passions he has become quite the cyclist since the Yahoo! Bike project launched. For a while he was riding to the office in DUMBO all the way from his house in Queens. It even inspired this iPhone app. You know someone is into their work if it changes behavior in their personal life.

Tarikh Korula is a master of hardware and software mixing. In a world of new apps, programs and websites, Tarikh has the magical fingers to hack, invent, make and modify devices that can do things never before seen. Tarikh and I had more than one 4am night getting the bikes ready for shipment. Through those wee hours we covered everything from hip hop legends to failed relationships to beer preferences. I love to get him going on a topic he finds interesting. The conversation always goes to a great place. Outside of work he has gone deep into the ambient music world. He has started turning out performances that use all sorts of sounds in his melodies including old traffic reports. Super fun stuff to close you eyes to and listen hard.

Guys thanks for making work so fun and making play that much more interesting.

What we ate:
Farmstead Cheese & Salami with homemade crackers, pickled quail egg
Fennel Salad with provolone piccante, green olives, currants
Braised Beef Cheeks with celeriac, celery, chestnut honey
Red Wattle Country Chop with homemade sauerkraut

Random Lamb

A couple weeks ago I was in Austin. You may have heard. In between my BBQ adventures and a trip out to a crepe trailer I had the pleasure of dining on some lamb parts with a crew of true gents. An impromptu “boys night” that well deserves its own post. This post, however, will focus on the food.

After finishing a smoke (not me) and passing Stevie Ray Vaughan’s brother at the bar we settled into a large booth in Olivia Restaurant located on South Lamar in Austin. Olivia has a delicious menu that reads much like the back dumpster of a butcher shop looks. Let me explain.

P.I.E. WITH Amit, Ishita and Seth

Can you beat a home cooked vegetarian (almost) business lunch? Rhetorical, please hold your breath for a moment. I was in Hastings, New York with Amit to meet with Seth and Ishita around a few projects in the percolator. Only days before Thanksgiving I certainly have food on the brain and this gastronomical surprise was the perfect easement into my second to last business day before holiday.

If you are a faithful reader, you have undoubtedly heard of Amit before. Creator or Photojojo and Jelly, he has been my partner on the Yahoo! and Jelly “Jellytalk” series. Most recently, besides a red eye from SF and a quick nap on my couch, he has put out an awesome photo book with all sorts of great ideas in it. You know I rarely plug but, this is a great ‘lil holiday gift from a super creative place.

Seth I had met once before at a Jellytalk in Brooklyn. Although he loves to complain about the space I know he had a good time, at least during the talk. Seth’s office reads like a neatly organized exploration in fun and interesting. Not surprising considering his background, occupation and writing. His one line bio, (Seth is a writer, a speaker and an agent of change) may need another comma and the word cook added. Thanks Seth for the delicious lunch.

Ishita made the tea and kept the meeting on track. She is Seth’s assistant and creator fear.less, an online magazine that empowers people through unique stories of overcoming fear. There seems to be some discrepancy over Ishita’s role. After further clarification it is unclear if Ishita works for Seth, if Seth works for Ishita or if they are partners in crime. One thing is clear, Ishita’s official title is “Head of Hoopla”. That sounds like the boss to me. I’m just saying.

This was perhaps the most productive and tasty meeting I will have all week. Thanks again guys for the hospitality.

What we ate:
Brown rice with kimchi, hummus, egg and tofu

I’m Flippin’ Happy

When someone tells you they are taking you to the outskirts of town to a parking lot where great food is made in an old airstream trailer, YOU JUST GO. My friend Brad did just this on my recent trip to Austin. As the story goes, two friends wanted to start making crepes and well…teh vid will explain it all.

Sandwich Buzz

You can’t hate a job that takes you into the heart of San Francisco, buys you a sandwich and lets you “work” in the park over looking the bay for an afternoon. That’s what went down a few days ago as the Buzz Team and I started work on our next set of BIG ideas. This video will give you a peek into where the “magic” starts and how we do what we do.