A few years ago I fell in love with the Bistro Burger at Big Nicks. Its been a few years and many burgers in between, and the Bistro Burger is still a ridiculously good burger. I’m not going to get into what makes it so go because we covered it in the “Ant’s Last Supper” post. Here is my recent Bistro Burger

Still as delicious as always. The waitress was really nice and gave us a couple balaclava’s for dessert on the house.

Now lets talk about a new burger that has hit the city and is making a statement and a push for BEST BURGER IN THE CITY. It’s at the Brindle Room in the East Village. A little birdie told me about this burger and made the statement that it is his favorite burger in the city right now and may be the best in the city overall. That little birdie was non other that Jay.

Friday night I was deciding to either get on a packed subway and take it home to queens or I could solve my starvation and see what the fuss is about at the Brindle Room. It was an easy choice even though it was a cold and wet night out. When I sat down at the bar in the back I got the menu and started to panic. I walked all the way there in the cold rain and the burger was not on the menu. I almost walked out but I asked the bartender if it was possible to get it. She said it was not on the menu because so many people love this burger and they want to get people to order other things that are on the menu. She still hooked me up.

Let me tell you what makes this burger so special. All I told the bartender was I wanted a medium burger with american cheese. It comes with caramelized onion on it automatically and when you bite into it there is so much burger juice that pours out of it. I also liked that each bit had a crunch to it. They grill the bun so it is perfectly toasted almost like how a grill cheese sandwich is toasted with butter. Delicious! Next time I need to go with Jay.

I also got a desert on the house. Funny how this weekend I got 2 burgers and 2 complementary deserts.

I have been working a lot of long hours lately promoting the New Windows 8 in Times Square and toward the end of the event the southerner and I found some time to go to an Italian restaurant in Astoria called Via Trenta. We have passed by it a hundred times and always say “We need to go there”. We finally did it. I was starving, I mean starving. I think I had a bowel of cheerios that morning and it was about 8pm when we sat in the restaurant. After looking over the menu I wanted 2 mains. The Gnocchi di BarBaBietola al GorGonzola which is handmade potato-beet gnocchi, in a gorgonzola- walnut sauce (I’m a sucker for walnut sauce) and the Veal in a a truffle cream sauce. On a typical day I’d get both and over eat myself into a food coma but something told me to just get one so I ordered the Veal.

Before the Veal we had a a lobster salad with hearts of palm and avocado. It was really good and looked cool in the lobster half shell. The southerner got the p.e.i. Mussels steamed in a tomato, white wine and garlic broth and the blue point oysters baked with spinach and four cheese béchamel. I am not an oyster guy even though I grew up in Oyster Bay but these were delicious.

So earlier I mentioned I was starving and I ended up settling on the Veal. Well, here is the Veal:

It was so thin it felt like I ate nothing, but it tasted good. It is a good thing they kept bringing bread to the table because what made up for not ordering the Gnocchi earlier was the sauces from the Veal and the Mussels. By the end of the meal there was no more sauce on the plates.

I love sauce

I am probably the last person in New York to have tasted some of the Torrisi mini-empire’s treats. As of a few weeks ago that’s no longer the case. Plus, I entered the “I’ve had it” club in a way that puts me in the small category of those who’ve enjoyed their 21 course tour of New York tasting. I’m not sure yet if this was a good way, or a bad way, to enter this trendy food club. I’ll explain.

First off, I had some preconceived ideas about what Torrisi Italian Specialties was all about. From the interviews, the Bourdain appearance and their shop next door I expected Italian-American classics twisted up with their new approach. Secondly, all my ten plus course tastings are pinned against each other regardless of restaurant size, chef and price point. That means these guys were up against my Per Se experience and my Momofuku Ko 22 course may lay.

My dining partner for the evening was my friend Aimee, my Forking Tasty Suppers co-chef and the one responsible for not one but two other of my amazing food experiences. This would be the third HUGE food favor she has given me. I know, I owe her BIG TIME. Below is the full menu and we of course opted for the wine pairings. I’ll call out and describe the highlights after you’ve had a chance to read through.

Sable Cigarette

Wins for presentation. It was plated in an ash tray and even looked as if it were lit. Of course, all edible. A very fun, play-with-your-food course that set up a casual tone which I like. These tasting menus can get quite stuffy and this allowed us to enjoy with more careless abandon for our manners.

Buckwheat Caviar Knish

A flavor explosion. The single best bite I had the entire meal. The texture, taste and presentation all made for a palette exciting mouthful leaving me wanting about a dozen more of those gems. Ohh, and how quintessentially New York is a knish?

Blue Crab Spaghettini

This was more along the lines of meeting my Italian-American cuisine expectations. A solid homemade pasta mixed with the twist of crab made for a delicious and adventurous dish. I could have done a whole bowl of this with a bottle of sangiovese and a half loaf of bread and been happy, fat paisano.

Pastries

A cornucopia of flavor, size, shape and intensity. The stand out came in the takeaway package which I ate while still at the table. First off, we love takeaway food offerings. Second, the contents were perfectly made, brightly colored rainbow cookies. An Italian-American staple that can be found in many New York pastry shops but few have them perfected. These guys got it right with every layer of cake and jam being identified by my tongue with every bite. Bravo!

After I rolled my half drunk self back out onto Mulberry street I started to walk off the courses one by one I sobered up enough to start reflecting on the gastro expedition. In comparison to my expectations I was left wanting more Italian-American flavors in the menu BUT I think that is what Parm is for. In retrospect, I think I should have visited Parm or had Torrisi’s regular menu before taking their 21 course New York journey. That would have satiated my Italian-American need and squashed my expectation. Putting that aside, the tour of New York was awesome. It touched upon almost every ethnicity present in old new york as well as some of the famed eating establishments and behaviors of the time. This meal would be best paired after a museum tour of the queens museum and the tenement museum but of course coordinating those would be quite difficult being that the 21 course tasting reservation can take months to get.

I’ve decided not to compare this experience against Ko and Per Se because all three are so different that they really stand out for different reasons. The fact that they all have more than 15 courses to savor is really their only similarity. To close, I think the visit is a necessity for new New Yorkers and for you old dogs who were around when things still resembled the old world. Hell, break out that three piece suit and throw on a fedora if you are so inclined just be sure you’ve still got room for expansion.

I made pizza the other day that was low in carbs. The trade off it is basically made of cheese so it is high in fat. I used Almond Flower to make my crust with a little baking powder and a brick of Mozzerella. Yes, a brick and that was just for the crust. I melted the shredded cheese and added the rest. Mixing it was a workout. My arms were feeling it and I probably burnt off some calories before the feast.

The next challenge was to flatten the dough in a frying pan, cook them until golden brown on one side and flip them to cook on the other side. This will make the crust and keep its round form. However, flipping the doughy crust in the frying pan was not my strong point. I had many bad flips causing many holes. After they are golden on both side, with no holes, you put it in the frig so it hardens.

I made a pepperoni onion mushroom pizza. The taste was good but it’s not a New York slice by any means of the imagination. However, if you want to try something different and low in carbs give it a try. This type of pizza is part of a ketosis diet and you can find it on reddit.com/r/keto, Type in Holy Grail Pizza, Check out.

Yep, that is right folks. Not only can you get ridiculous ribs at Rudy’s but you get some gas there also. This place is amazing. The menu is short and sweet and you order everything by the pound. I ordered a half pound of baby backs, pork spare and St. Louis ribs. I couldn’t help myself, it was so much fun just to order the food by weight. I also got their sausage. I figured I’m already in for a pound and a half of meat whats another half pound. They have a huge smoker where they cook all their meats. There are a bunch of Rudy’s around but I think the one in Frisco TX is the only one with the gas station. This is a Texas staple and a must go.

I had a crew of about 6 others with me and lets just say we defiantly covered the menu. Also you have to try their brisket and potato salad, both are Killer. I almost went back to get both for my own dessert but I was stuffed after 2 pounds of meat.

Baby Back Rib

Pork Spare Rib

Sausage

I have recently been in Cincinnati and my co workers and I were headed to the Red and Giants game on a rainy Tuesday night. We decided to get some food before the game instead of eating hot dogs all night. We stopped off at Local 127 and was not sure what we were getting into but there was a giant pig in the middle of the restaurant. That is always a good sign.

We ordered a bunch of stuff for the table and based everything on the waiters recommendations and the pork dishes. We were a little disappointed at the recommendations we went with. It was not the taste of the food but a lot of the apps had the same type of sauce and taste with different dishes. I just want to highlight our favorite small plate and large plate. Here is how it went down

Our favorite of the small plates was the Roasted Beets with Prosciutto, Goat Cheese, Crispy Shallots, and Red Wine Reduction seen above. It had such a good taste to it mixing the beets and goat cheese. They nailed that dish.

Our favorite of the large plates was the Porkopolis which includes White Bean Ragout, Wilted Cabbage, Bacon-Tomato Jam, and Red Wine Reduction. With a name like Porkopolis how could it be bad. There was different pork tastes in each bite and I liked how it laid on a bed of white beans.

The one large plate that tasted good but through us for a loop was the Meat Loaf Mac & Cheese with Squash, Mushroom Gravy, and House Made Ketchup. It was more of a meat loaf dish than a mac and cheese dish. The noodles were all under the meat loaf and not that much of it. In the picture you can even see any noodles. We never got the taste of the squash in the dish. The meat loaf had some great taste but I guess our expectations were more of a mac and cheese dish than a meat loaf dish.

We were so stuffed that after dinner we went to the game and made it by the 5th inning. It was so wet and we were so full we walked in watched an inning and left. I actually have know idea who won the game. I’m a Yankee fan so it really doesn’t matter.

My friend and west coast supperclub counterpart have long talked about a supperclub collaboration. Until last week the closest we’ve come were a few test dinners and email exchanges over potential menu items. That all changed last Thursday night in a secret kitchen in North Beach San Francisco.

In another cross over between my food world and marketing world Ben and I served a twelve course meal for a table of sixteen marketing executives from some of the greatest companies in the world. To share the food-marketing story love I decided to post the full story over on the Manifold blog this time. Take a look.

I had some work in Minneapolis recently and after a long day the team decided on steaks for dinner. Murray’s is one of the more known steak houses as well as one of the last family owned in the twin cities. Our waitress was wonderful, she has been there 40 years and her husband who is the butcher has been there 35 years. That is a long time of delicious beef. The team and I indulged into a few appetizers before we ordered our steaks. Shrimp wrapped in bacon, escargot, and mac & cheese followed by caesar salads. I liked how all of that came before we ordered our steaks. Maybe it is a “just-in-case-you’re-full-already-and-don’t-want-to-order-the-steaks or as many steaks” idea. It’s a good way to not waste good meat. However, this did not stop us from getting our meat. We ordered the ribeye, porterhouse and I shared the strip sirloin for two. The steak for two was huge. It came about 2.5 inches thick and was sliced for you at the table. All the steaks were cooked with a dry rub and the spices were perfect. The steaks were perfectly cooked and complemented with the fresh horseradish and sauteed mushrooms. See above and below.

Ribeye

Porterhouse

I’ve been traveling a lot….what a surprise, and when I got home my refrigorator was quite empty. So I decided to make some breakfast for dinner. I wanted to take it up a notch and make a hardy egg sandwich. I started off by sautéing diced onions and peppers in some olive oil and salt. Wanted to make sure they were lightly browned. In a bowl I mixed 2 large eggs, 1 large egg white, shredded cheddar, diced swiss, hot sauce, black pepper and paprika. After I mixed and dumped that in I started the grilled cheese bread. While I was cooking the southerner was making a BLT. I used her bacon pan with all the bacon grease to make my grill cheese. I started by buttering both sides of the bread and put them in the pan soaking up some of the bacon juices and then put a slice of american cheese on both pieces and covered them to melt the cheese. It cooked really fast but by the time I was done the eggs were done as well. On a plate I left the grilled cheese open faced and put a layer of eggs on both sides. On one egg I topped with green pesto and the other with ketchup. Both were light layers. I then made a peppered fried egg over easy placed that in the middle of the sandwich and topped it with the ketchup half. When you cut through the middle the yolk oozes out. It was so delicious.

For desert I made black and blueberry pancakes with bananas and walnuts. The trick is to dice it all up nice and fine then dump it all into your pancake mix. The pancake mix will look purple. It will come out tasting the berry’s all throughout the pancake. Top it with a little butter and hot syrup and you’re good to go.

This year for Thanksgiving I headed down south with the southerner. We hopped into the car and made the normally 7 hour trip to Yorktown VA, in 9 hours. Can not believe how many accidents were on the road. We got caught in every one of them. Lucky us!

The following day was Thanksgiving and the cooking started early. Things are done a little differently in the south compared to my families typical Thanksgiving. Our family usually cooks all day starting maybe around 10:30 starting with some apps around 2ish. The cousins start to come over around this time and there is constant cooking, eating, drinking and catching up. Well probably start having turkey at 6:30 followed by half the family cleaning and half the family triptophaning on the couch.

The Goon house in VA. does things a little different. The cooking starts early just like home but we are eating turkey dinner at around 2:30. Dinner is filled with all the Thanksgiving goodies and a few extra things from the south. Oh and we used an inferred cooker for the turkey instead of a traditional deep frier. However, after dinner we all hopped in the car to take a traditional Thanksgiving picture. It was nice to get up off the couch and go do something on Thanksgiving Day. The rest of the holiday weekend was great and the I was nice to meet the Goon family for the first time.

Here is how Thanksgiving went down:
First the inferred Turkey

30 minutes after inferred

1 hour after inferred

2 hours after inferred

Here is a full listing of all the goodies