Forking Tasty

South Carolina Home Cookin!

Home Cookin at the Johnson’s from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Diabetic Blood Sugar Count
Pre-meal: 136 | Post-meal (1 hour): 154 | Insulin: 5 Units

I had a great week down south with my girlfriend Kelsey. On our last night before heading home to New York, Kelsey’s parents, Mark and Karen, wanted to cook us dinner, Southern Style. Mark and Karen are such great and kind people. They really made me feel welcome in their home. As much as I wanted to help out in the kitchen there was no need to. Karen had taken care of everything the night before and the only thing left was to heat it up. As for Mark, he already had the Pork Loin on the grill on a low temp already cooking by the time Kelsey and I got to the house. Dinner and dessert was delicious. Thanks so much for everything Mark and Karen.

It’s More Than A Huge House

Biltmore Estate from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Diabetic Blood Sugar Count

Pre-meal: 96 | Post-meal (1 hour): 136 | Insulin: 5 Units

Kelsey and I went on a little road trip to Asheville North Carolina. The main attraction we went to go see was the Biltmore Estate, which is the biggest house in the U.S. There are almost 300 rooms in the house including a bowling ally and indoor swimming pool. However, that is not all to see on the estate. Here is what went down…

Meet The Parents

Cheesecake Factory from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Diabetic Blood Sugar Count
Pre-meal: 74 | Post-meal (1 hour): 104 | Insulin: 5 Units

My girlfriend Kelsey made it in town for a long weekend. I was super excited to see her and for her to meet my family and friends. We jumped on a train in the morning headed to Long Island to meet the parents. This was the first time Kelsey was meeting my parents so I thought why not meet over lunch at one of my favorite spots in Long Island, Cheesecake Factory. I have never had a bad meal at Cheesecake Factory. I had a couple of my usual staples and I nibbled on a little cheesecake. That cheesecake is hard to resist but half of it went home in a doggy bag as did half my burger. It was a great afternoon having Kelsey meet my parents and whacking down a great lunch in the process.

Full of Moonstruck

Ant and I went for a quick hit last night at one of our staple spots in the city. The apt on 30th and 3rd has been in the family now for 12 years. In that time there has been a swinging door of friends, family and randoms occupying the bedrooms (and sometimes the living room…ehhhem, Tim).

Through all those changes there has been one staple on the opposite corner of the block. Moonstruck Diner, now with multiple locations, has been the anchor for everything from 4am post party snacks to 11am hangover breakfasts to 7pm homecoming dinners. Yes, it’s just a diner but, this is our diner. If you are a New Yorker you surely can relate to this. It falls into the same category as “your laundromat” and “your bodega” (look for a post on the BEST bodega in NYC soon)

There are 100 things on the menu that we could have chosen last night. The video above highlights two of the ultimate choices for taste and health. Well, somewhat health. Ohh yeah, and that defcon rating I mention. I’ll explain that in a future post as well. For now, just know that means I am really, really hungry.

Pig by the Pound

Last week was a doozy. Yesterday was no exception. Lots of eatin’. I ended the work week on a high note that took my belt back a notch. I don’t think there is much more to say that the video can’t explain. But, if for some reason you do have a question, drop it in the comments and I will be sure to answer. I will say, if you are looking for a mess of smoked pork piled onto butcher paper and thrown on a cafeteria tray, Hill Country might be the best game in town. The theatrics alone are 5 star. Quick warning, never go to this spot with me. I will make you leave in pain. Have you ever passed a 3″ pork chop around the table with your hands? I didn’t think so.

Hill Country
30 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10010
(212) 255-4544
hillcountryny.com

I’m Lovin it!

McDonalds Voyage from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

My girlfriend Kelsey absolutely loves McDonalds. On my last contract she was unfortunately not with me. Every time I saw a McDonalds it would remind me of her, not necessarily the food but of her singing “da da da da da I’m lovin it”. I decided to put together a little video of the McDonalds I came in contact with while I was in Asia, New Zealand and Australia. I am not a big fan of McDonald personally but I did have to try it to see if it tastes the same in all the different countries. I always got a cheeseburger, my personal McDonalds staple, and yes, they all taste the same!

The Blue Mountain Experience

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The Blue Mountains Lunch, Australia from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Just out side of Sydney there are amazing landscapes to see. A few friends and I decided that before we leave Sydney we needed to see the Blue Mountains. I have always seen pictures but this was our chance to actually see them. The tour was great. We started the day going to see wild Kangaroo’s hopping around. I got pretty close to them, about 40 feet. After about 15 minutes they all hopped off into the woods. All around us there were eucalyptus trees. We took a leaf each, broke it in two and shoved it up our noses. It smelt so good…

BBQ At The Mall

Burney Brothers Bellevue Seattle from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Diabetic Blood Sugar Count
Pre-meal: 116 | Post-meal (1 hour): 94 | Insulin: 5 Units

I finally made it back to America but I am not home in New York just yet. I had to make a pit stop in Redmond Washington to attend our yearly Techspert Summit at Microsoft. We had a night off to go out and grab some grub. A few of us ended up at a mall food court, which had a ton of different types of restaurants. It had been a really long time since I had BBQ so I went for it at Burney Brothers. I was very skeptical because I was at a mall food court but check the video and you will see how it was…

Biriyani Redemption

There has been something bothering me for a long time now. Months to be exact. I have been around the world eating. I have ate in the dirtiest, weirdest, darkest, hottest, slowest, fastest, spiciest, freshest, coldest, strangest places I could find. I have ate on the street everywhere. Everywhere except, India. India frightened me. To be more accurate my friends, the locals and the restaurant proprietors all warned me of the horrible sickness I would suffer with just a nibble of the street food I so desperately craved.

I left India having NOT touched one morsel from a cart, stall or street peddler. The defeat sat dormant in me for a month after returning home. I thought I had forgotten about my disappointment when one day that defeat roared back to life. I felt it suddenly coursing through my body the same way I was told the gastro-intestinal hell raising bacteria would if I did not heed the words of the, presumably, smarter. It grew stronger, itchier and madder each day. It attacked my brain, my nervous system and my appetite, flooding my body with tasty thoughts of goodness reaped only from a hot street cart down a dusty ally.

I couldn’t take it any more. I had to do something. I was not heading back to India anytime soon so, I did the next best thing for a shot of redemption. The above video was my shot to stifle and kill this now uncontrollable feeling inside me that I MISSED something wonderful.

Want to make this yourself? Make the jump to see the a How-To-Video and recipe.

Capturing your flag with a skewer

Way back in October I sat down for a meal with my buddy Erik Michielsen. Prior to this our shared meals have been complicated by me trying to keep 16 people fed and happy during one of my backyard supper club evenings. We finally had no other distractions and we picked a spot that would truly indulge our food curiosity and keep the conversation flowing, not that either of us have a problem talking.

Yakitori Torys was Erik’s pick and I can’t thank him enough for it. Over the 2 hour visit we…