Taco Bell – Doritos from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Doritos Taco Bell has been a getting great reviews for a while now but I have never tried it. Taco Bell is not my choice typically for a quick snack or meal. They just came out with the Cool Ranch Taco so I figured I have to try this. Is it really that good? Check the the short video and you’ll see.

A very good choice for a burger would be at Clarke Standard. One of the things that makes them a little different is the grilled buttered bun. I’m a huge fan of that and it is starting to catch on at other burger shops. The other great thing about Clarke Standard is around the block from my job. I have a feeling this will be on my list whenever I head out for lunch. This burger is in the same burger class as a Shake Shack burger. Clarke Standard use only 100% USDA verified, hormone and antibiotic free Natural Angus ground every day using a wide-gauge plate for a loose-textured patty and a juicier, more flavorful burger. Check out the juices for yourself.

Forgive us. It’s been 18 days since we’ve posted anything. There are reasons we will later go into but for now, suffice it to say we are full, at least 5 lbs heavier and planning for the turn of the year (It’s Spanish themed. More on that soon too.) The above Christmas beast image represents 2 of a 7 bone roast. The frenzy lasted 4 days straight this year, an Anello record. We hope you have all overindulged as much as we have. Have an amazing New Years. We’ve got one last post brewing before 2013 and it’s destination focused.

Many small towns have festivals throughout the year. When you think of fair foods you think of sausage, gyros, hotdogs, burgers, popcorn, fried chicken, zeppolies, candied apples, etc. This year I went to my hometown’s Oyster Feast in Oyster Bay Long Island. They have a HUGE food section that seems to grow every year and they go a little beyond the typical fair food. After all it is the Oyster fest, there is a ton of sea food, raw and cooked, and contests for eating the most oysters. There was so much good food and I usually will eat something then go to the next booth and then to the next booth. I usually eat the same thing each year. The past two years I have discovered something. Combining two stands could make something glorious.

The next time you go to a fair take these steps and enjoy. Find the sausage pepper and onion guy and get one. It will probably run you about 8-10 bucks. Dig out the bread and make some room. The bread they use at fairs is usually really thick and the bread takes up so much space of your sandwich. If they have cheese sprinkle some on the sausage with the peppers and onions. Oh, and tell them light on the pepper and onions or they will load it on. Next, find the pulled pork guy. Ask them if they can slap some pulled pork on top of the sausage filling the dug out bread. Top it with their crunchy cole slaw. If your lucky they may charge you half price for the pulled pork because you didn’t get a full sandwich.

Then, enjoy. One day I want to recreate this at home and bring it to a tailgate. This is the ultimate tailgating cuisine. However, I need to learn how to make pulled pork first.

This past weekend turned into a full on assault of the market, the kitchen and the stomach. The highlight was definitely the pig. Knowing I had 20ish people stopping by on Saturday afternoon I spent Friday afternoon procuring one of the finest and most delicately butchered pieces of meat you can buy.

In Italian porchetta refers to a whole pig that is deboned, stuffed with herbs, rolled and tied and then slow roasted for hours. Street vendors slice off sections of it and put it in panini. Restaurants cut thick cross sections and serve it as an entree. In Rome you can’t walk two blocks without seeing a vendor.

We were not going to roast a whole stuffed pig BUT believe me, I thought about it.

Instead, we purchased this pricey gem from Fleisher’s butcher in Park Slope Brooklyn. The cut is a pork belly with loin attached. It started out at $170 but I had them cut it back to kiss the $100 mark. Afterall, this was just a test. I know a cheaper way to create a porchetta is to buy the loin and belly seperate and roll them. I was just hell bent on this being one cut of meat straight from the pig. In the end the guys at Fleisher’s sliced the porchetta down to $100 and threw in a frer rotisserie chicken for good measure. It was delicious btw.

Back in my kitchen I started, what I now realize, is a simple 4 step process.

Step 1: Spice prep

You can put almost anything in your spice rub but I opted for the more traditional ingredients. In my research I noted several recipies that had a dry and wet spice rub. For the dry I used salt, fresh ground pepper, dried rosemary and fennel seeds. For the wet I used fresh rosemary, fennel fronds and parsley. I blended the fresh stuff up with a little sweet red wine to muddle it all together a bit and add some sweet. As a final spice I prepared some red pepper flakes.

Step 2: The lipstick

As I mentioned my mini porchetta consists of a loin and the front one foot of the pork belly (better known as bacon). The belly cut technically extends all the way up to the back which is where the loin mussel is found. Here you can see the loin on the left (thats the back mussel) and then the long belly laid out off the loin. The ribs have been butchered out but the loin has been left attached to the belly. For more on how this is broken down check out my pig butchering experience.

In this position sprinkle on the dry spice. Once lightly coated (Don’t go crazy like with a bbq rib dry rub) repeat with the wet spices. This time you can be more liberal. Try and coat the meat competely with a thin layer of the wet spice mixture.

Finally the roll. Starting with the loin end, roll tightly towards the belly. When you reach the end tie tightly with butcher twine.

Step 3: Rack and roast

From here its a cake walk. Find a large high walled roasting pan. Lots of fat will render out of the roast so make sure it’s a solid vessel. Set up a cooking grate for the porchetta to sit on. Insert a thermometer probe dead center of the loin so that the point of it sits dead center in the roast.

Place into your 275 degree preheated over (mine was set on convection). Go have some wine for about 4 hours. When your temperature alarm goes off indicating 145 degrees, remove the roast and turn the oven up to 475 degrees.

When the oven is at temperature place the roast back into the oven for 10 minutes. This crisps up the skin and finished the roast with a delicios and dramatic crust. You can go longer or shorter on this step based on how crispy you like your skin.

Step 4: Carve and eat

After letting the roast rest for about 10 minutes its ready for slicing. Make sandwiches or plates. Whatever you do make sure you get the juices that run from the slices into your belly. My porchetta was a big hit with my guess on both taste and drama making this test a sucess. Looks like this one officially makes it into the Forking Tasty supper roster. Look for it at an upcoming dinner very soon.

It is not that easy to find BBQ in Astoria but there is one place that I know of that serves only BBQ in this area, Butcher Bar. This BBQ restaurant is not only a good place to get your BBQ but it also sells meat like a butcher. They have a display case showing all there organic grass fed meats, sausage, and beef patties that are raised locally.

It’s a cozy atmosphere at butcher bar and they even have a back patio. Although the day the southerner and I decided to try them out it was super hot and the AC inside was much nicer. Everything we saw for the BBQ was all ketchup based. So if your from the south your going to notice no mustard or vinegar based BBQ. I’m from the north so ketchup is what I’m used to.

I had the Philly Cheese Brisket Sandwich. It was the perfect combo of a philly cheese steak and brisket sandwich. Loads of melted cheese, now who doesn’t like that??

The southerner had a pulled pork sandwich. Great bun and a good mix of pork and sauce.

They have a nice menu at Butcher Bar. Things are a little pricy for Astoria but the meat is organic so you get what you pay for.

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.

It’s no surprise that today I am posting about a sandwich given my recent overactive Instagram stream. I dedicate this post to MY perfect sandwich. A perfect blend of nostalgia, haute cuisine and comfort food. How is that possible you ask? Well, let me break it down. Before I go any further it should be noted that this sandwich was served to a crowd of A-list chef’s during last years Michelin Guide party. Michael White, Jean Georges and  David Bouley all savored bites but the best quote came from Mr. Eric Ripert. After his taste he told me to let me mother know she’d done a good thing. I’m not sure if he was talking about her chicken cacciatore recipe or raising me to cook well. Either way, a nice compliment for both of us.

So, back to the sandwich. The nostalgia is, yes, my mother’s classic chicken cacciatore recipe. A mid-week staple in the Anello house while growing up. Better than the original meal were the “on-the-go” sandwiches we’d create the next day with whatever bread, roll, pita was laying around in the breadbox. Yes, we did have a breadbox. I loved it. The haute component is both the size, the slow braise on the chicken and the addition of two new components to my mom’s original recipe, caramelized shallots and a roasted cherry tomato. Maybe the most important part of this sandwich is my last explanatory adjective, comfort food. Everything about how I cook is comfortable (with that Italian-American slant). This sandwich is no exception defined first by the rich and silky sauce. Secondly, the sauce soaked focaccia the other ingredients live between. Even with the skewer you can’t eat this sandwich without getting a little sauce on your fingers. The way to clean that up is with your tongue not your napkin. A small, some may say maniacal, way for me to force eaters to connect with their food a little more. Evil or not, it works.

We will someday recreate these for the public but for now we are slowly working our way through HUGE sandwich research. You can follow the experiments here.

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.