Vibrant India

We first wrote about Chitra Agrawal when we discovered her Brooklyn Delhi products. Since then she’s been up to a lot more than just jarring delicious pickled things from India. Her latest edition to your Indian food education comes in book form with Vibrant India. South Indian cooking is not the Indian dishes that commonly pop to mind for us Americans. Having a South Indian mother-in-law has schooled me on these flavorful and light regional tastes. Chitra draws from her mother’s cooking bringing Bangalore all the way to Brooklyn where she adds her own twists to these vegetarian classics. I’ve often proclaimed, “I could go full vegetarian.” after eating at my in-laws for a weekend. As a pretty serious carnivore, that says a lot about her book and the deliciousness potential. Point is, there’s something for everyone in this book. Vegan, vegetarians, paleo or carnivore the flavors and simplicity will swoon you. We promise.

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yakitori recipes from Chicken on Charcoal

Culture | Books

Chicken on Charcoal is your quick Tokyo trip

The world’s most popular meat sizzling on a skewer over a smokey high end charcoal fire. Yes and YES. We’ll take our chicken yakitorized any day. Originally popularized in the 1950’s after Americans introduced broiler chickens to Japan, (Leave it to us to blow up portions and popularize the American food dream) this street food was initially shamed because the smell and act of cooking meat was shunned in much of Japanese culture. Thankfully the tasty sticks proliferated and once popular enough on Tokyo corners they moved into restaurant setting and spread beyond Japan. Our first encounter with the delicious, and often obscure, chicken parts was at, now shuttered, Yakitori Torys, a semi-secret second floor spot off a random street in Hell’s Kitchen. The second feasting came shortly after on a quick 48 hrs pitstop in Tokyo. This provided us the authentic experience we craved after our NYC introduction. A decade later chicken on sticks have become much more popular and prevalent. When we saw Yardbird Chicken on Charcoal published by chef Matt Abergel we jumped on it. Having never been to his famed Hong Kong spot YardBird, we brought the restaurant to us through his award winning recipes. This bird bible is packed with easy moves to grill all summer long. Quick recipes, many with that weird stuff we mentioned before, make for goodness on any page. Chicken hearts, butts you name it, Matt cooks beak to tail. He explains more here. Most of you won’t be on your way to Hong Kong anytime soon so turn your backyard or balcony into a 1950’s Tokyo street stall for a night with the help of Matt and his cookbook. It’s as close to international travel as you’ve been in months. Enjoy the trip. And, if you jump to Yardbird’s site you can grab one of these awesome souvenir shirt.

Culture | Books

New Orleans: The Underground Guide

Books seem useless these days. The content on the other hand is invaluable. Sometimes great content can’t be found with a Google search and New Orleans: The Underground Guide is one such unicorn. Packed with hidden gems, secret places and local flavor, Michael Patrick Welch outlines the food but takes it much farther. With music and art at its core this guide book will keep you far from the French Quarter disaster and get you deep into places that you’ll remember for a lifetime.

Culture | Entertainment

Tarot of Cocktails

An otherworldly drink is your future, at least if it comes from Tarot of Cocktails, a deck of 30 recipe cards that promise to add some spirit to your…spirits. Created thanks to funding from a successful Kickstarter campaign, the cards have an ethereal, tarot-inspired layout featuring cocktails with names like “The Violet Twilight,” “Seer of Dreams,” and “Blood and Smoke” to make you feel like you’re communing with another world (the alcohol may help, too). The cards are mortal-friendly and aren’t meant for official divination purposes BUT we like picking a random card and letting the concoction in question predict the night ahead. We’re willing to bet that the buzz from Queen of Bees portends a better evening than The Withering Vine. But really, what do we know? It’s all in the cards, and what we see in the cards are some darn good drinks, whatever destiny awaits you.

Culture | Books

Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found

From destruction comes the new. There’s lots of ways to say that, some more poetic than others. There’s even more ways to see that. Hurricane Katrina was heavy on the former before even a trace of the later was anywhere in sight. During the aftermath, rebuilding and rebirthing, The Times-Picayune became a post-hurricane swapping spot for recipes that were washed away. Marcelle Bienvenu decided to take 250 of these salvaged gems and create Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found. Not only does this book champion one of the greatest cuisines on the planet but it chronicles one of the most devastating events to hit the United States through the stories of the recipes creators.

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