Food and Things

Chef Michael  of Greek eateries Anthos and Kefi is turning to comfort food. Apparently inspired by his son Gabriel’s food preferences—they range from grilled cheese to hot dogs—Psilakis’ new Upper West Side diner-like menu will feature comfort food favorites.

Photo: National Hot Dog & Sausage Council.

The gastropub is named after Psilakis’ late father, Gus, and his son Gabriel.  It’s in the same spot on 79th Street that was once occupied by Kefi, Psilakis’ enormously popular neighborhood Greek spot.

“I was making simple, kid-friendly American foods for my son. We’re talking grilled cheese, turkey sandwiches, nachos, hot dogs.  He was enjoying them and I was having a blast,” says Psilakis.  “I wondered, why not take these comfort foods to a new level by preparing them in a professional kitchen?”

The top price for any item is $15. There are standards like chili, French onion soup, and sandwiches composed of homemade pastrami and corn beef, not to mention a full list of drinks for grownups in your group. From the bar, there are 50 beers and 70 varieties of bourbon, scotch, rum and tequila.

If you try Gus & Gabriel, let me know…

July 2nd, 2009 | Tags: 10025, 10026, comfort food, greek food, gus and gabriel, Kefi, restaurants, restaurants openings, upper west side | Category: Manhattan, comort food, restaurant openings, restaurants, upper west side |  Print This Post | Leave a comment

Ed Levine of Serious Eats writes a loving tribute to pizza maker Sal Malanga, who died recently.  As Levine points out, Sal was one of New York’s great pizza men.

Sal’s legacy will live on, says Levine:

I hailed a cab to take my pizza home. My son, Will, was watching the Mets-Yankees game. We each put a slice on a plate and took a bite. ‘This is such good pizza,’ Will said. I had to agree. So satisfying, so seriously delicious, and so Sal. Sal would have been proud.

Luciano (Sal’s grandson), along with Carmine, are doing everything Sal’s way, the right way, the only way.

And a charming reminiscence from the very talented playwright, Charlie Schulman:

Very sad news. Sal and Carmine’s was a staple of my diet for over ten years when I lived a block away from their place and was a young, starving writer. (Now I’m middle-aged and still hungry) Sometimes I would wait for Sal to open up the store at lunchtime. Or get the last slice of the night. They only made pizza. Sporadic delivery. A true “brother… Read More and brother” shop. Carmine was the “character” of the two. Sal took care of the business side. This was REAL, no frills, no foo-foo gourmet, New York pizza. Despite rising rents, they refused to buy lesser quality Mozzarella. Sometimes Carmine would hide the oregano and napkins to to save $. By far the best real pizza on the upper west side. For a long time above 96 street was a “no man’s land” that wasn’t even considered part of the Upper West Side. I rank it up there with Mimi’s Pizza on the Upper East Side. Another family pizza place that has been inherited and now run by Mimi’s son Steve. Long live “Sal And Carmines!”

July 1st, 2009 | Tags: ed levine, Manhattan, New York, pizza, sal and carmine's, serious eats, upper west side | Category: Manhattan, pizza, upper west side |  Print This Post | Leave a comment

Favorite neighborhood brunch spot Community Food and Juice, which was shuttered because of a fire April 24, is set to reopen in mid-to-late July, a company spokesperson said.

The blaze broke out in the kitchen, according to Dede Lahman, of Clinton St. Baking Co. & Restaurant, which owns Community Food and Juice. There were no injuries, said Lahman, who declined to comment further on the cause of the blaze. The Columbia Spectator had reported that the fire started on the grill.

Damage from the blaze was enough to shut down the restaurant for repairs during the busy Columbia University commencement season earlier this month.

Email info@communityrestaurant.com if you’d like to be notified when Community Food and Juice reopens.

June 29th, 2009 | Tags: 10025, 10026, brunch, Columbia University, Community Food and Juice, Fire, Morningside Heights, new york restaurants, restaurant openings | Category: Harlem, Manhattan, Morningside Heights, New York City, brunch, restaurant openings |  Print This Post | Leave a comment

Mark from Syracuse has offered up a spirited defense of Dinosaur BBQ. By the way, for those who missed it, I revised my initial thumbs down on the place. The ‘cue I had there during a second visit was excellent.

Ribs

Mark says Dinosaur’s Syracuse joint was voted the best BBQ in America.  What do you think of Dinosaur’s grub?

I am from Syracuse, N.Y. which also has a Dinosaur BBQ. I don’t know about the Harlem location but the Syracuse restaurant offers some of the best BBQ in the country. I’ve met numerous people from the south who come to Dinosaur in Syracuse because “it’s better than anything we can find in the south”. The original founders of Dinosaur are a husband and wife….he’s from the south and she’s from Cuba. A perfect match for BBQ. I’ve driven by there many nights and there’s smoke billowing from the chimneys as ribs, chicken and pork are slow-roasted through the night. Sorry the Harlem location sucks but the Syracuse location was voted Best Bar-B-Que in America. I’ve lived in several southern states and have yet to find any BBQ as good as Dinosaur’s!

June 28th, 2009 | Tags: barbecue, Dinosaurr BBQ, Harlem, Harlen, Manhattan, New York, ribs, Syracuse | Category: BBQ, Harlem, Manhattan, restaurants, ribs |  Print This Post | Leave a comment

What could be more refreshing on July 4th than Chef Renee Marton’s Watermelon Wave Cocktail? Its red-tinged coloration sports a true patriotic blush! Pair this drink with Renee’s Feta-shized Popcorn–derived from the now-classic salad combo of feta cheese and watermelon cubes–and you’ve got yourself some culinary fireworks to impress your guests with.

A watermelon cocktail is a refreshing summer drink. Photo: jspatchwork via flickr.

Watermelon Wave Cocktail
6 servings

INGREDIENTS

8 cups seedless red watermelon cubes

6 cups seedless yellow watermelon cubes, frozen. (Freeze the yellow watermelon cubes in an ice cube tray, at least a couple of hours. They will be used as ice cubes in the drink.)

1 cup Cointreau
½ light rum
1 ½ cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup club soda
¼ cup Grenadine
2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice

Garnish: 2 mint leaves per drink
Pinch flaky sea salt per glass

METHOD

1. Place red watermelon cubes in blender.  Blend until mixture is liquefied. Strain through a fine mesh strainer.
2. Not including the yellow watermelon cubes, mix next six ingredients until well blended, then add red watermelon juice.
3. Pour drinks into 6 old fashioned glasses filled with yellow watermelon ice cubes. Squeeze the mint leaves gently between your fingers and drop into the drink (don’t over press—mint will become bitter).  Sprinkle drink with sea salt (5-6 grains/flakes for each drink).

Feta-shized Popcorn

INGREDIENTS
1 bag microwave popcorn, popped—unsalted plain is best. Keep warm in a covered mixing bowl.  Or 1 bag popped plain popcorn, unsalted, which you will reheat later.

¼ pound hard feta cheese—the dry and salty kind, grated
1 teaspoon smoked paprika-sweet or hot
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons good olive oil

METHOD

Warm the olive oil in a small pan (not smoking hot): add paprika and cayenne.  Stir the oil until it is red (about 1minute).  Pour onto popcorn and toss—quite a few times—until well distributed.

Add feta and toss again.

Place bowl (no plastic, please) in microwave and heat for 20-30 seconds (depending on the wattage of your microwave oven).  When cheese is melted, toss all together and serve. Taste for saltiness.  Have napkins handy.

June 26th, 2009 | Tags: cocktail, drinks, feta cheese, hors d'oeuvres, July 4th, popcorn, snack, Summer dining, watermelon | Category: July 4th, cocktails, drinks, holidays, hors d'oeuvres, snacks |  Print This Post | Leave a comment

Some NY food events coming up:

La Cense Beef Truck debuts today, [amNY's Urbanite]. 100 percent grass-fed burgers hot off the grill in Midtown.

Edible Garden, NY Botanical Garden.  An edible plant tour and farm to table demos are two events at this summer-long food celebration from June 27-Sept. 13.  There are celeb demos, gardening demos and farmers markets, too.

American Cheese.  Beard on Books reading featuring Clark Wolf Author of American Cheeses: The Best Regional, Artisan, and Farmhouse Cheeses, Who Makes Them, and Where to Find Them, Wednesday, July 15, 2009 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m., James Beard House.

June 25th, 2009 | Tags: Events, food, Food trucks, Manhattan, New York, The Bronx, urban farming | Category: Events, Food trucks, Manhattan, New York City, food, gardening |  Print This Post | Comments (1)

A friend of mine despairs that there’s no place to have a nice meal in the west 90s in Manhattan. He’s mostly right. But if he stops by Buceo95, he’ll find one of the more pleasant spots in the hood for reasonably priced wine and tapas. On a hot night, you can sit outside.  If you hate noisy eateries, beware of eating indoors where the sound is deafening.

Try the potato omlete for $7 and the gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp) for $12. And the mini-stuffed mushrooms are fabulous finger food. There’s also a nice selection of wines, with vintages from Spain, Italy and South America.

June 24th, 2009 | Tags: 10025, Buceo95, Manhattan, New York, restaurants, Spanish food, tapas, wine | Category: Manhattan, food, upper west side |  Print This Post | Leave a comment

Last Friday, I was lugging my computer down 44th Street just east of Grand Central on my way to catch the Hampton Jitney.  I felt an urge for caffeine that could not be denied. You know the feeling. If you’re not inhaling coffee immediately–as in the next three minutes–you’re going to have yourself a good cry.

What’s your favorite coffee spot in NY?

Then I spotted Machiatto Espresso Bar, a coffee place that also serves up pastries and sandwiches. I’ve walked by it before, mostly on my way to catch the Jitney, which makes a stop at the corner of 44th and Third. But the scrum of coffee-craving suits crowding the place always kept me walking on by.

Last Friday morning around 9:30, I stopped in. Miraculously, Machiatto was relatively empty, so I ambled inside and ordered an iced coffee ($2.00/small, $2.75/medium, $3.75/large). Naturally, I needed something sweet to go along with my caffeine fix. So I had the pixieish barista snag a chocolate and hazelnut Danish for me ($2.75).

One bite and I was totally entranced by this buttery, flaky confection. Notably, it delivered an intense chocolate hit without being cloyingly sweet. “They’re homemade,” chirped the barista when I inquired after the provenance of these goodies that, truth be told, are more puff pastry than classic Danish.

Go for the coffee at Machiatto. It’s really good. Then throw calorie caution to the wind and throw yourself an impromptu party with their pastries. I haven’t tasted the other items on the menu–which include a yummy looking chocolate cigar–but I bet they’re mouthwatering as well.  There are also sandwiches, including a tuna, turkey and egg salad, all priced between $7.50 and $8.95.

Related

NY Coffee Summit Set to Give a Jolt to Java Lovers

Upper West Side: Dog Days at Your Espresso Bar

West Village: Think Coffee Serves Up Great Java

June 22nd, 2009 | Tags: 10017, chocolate, coffee, coffee houses, danish, food, grand central station, Midtown. new york, pastries | Category: Baking, Breakfast, Manhattan, New York City, Sweets, coffee, coffee houses, midtown, new york restaurants, pastries, restaurants, upper east side |  Print This Post | Leave a comment

I was late  last Tuesday to the 28th annual James Joyce orgy, Bloomsday on Broadway, Symphony Space’s 12-hour tribute to the Irish novelist. This year the theme was food.

People scampered in and out throughout the 12-hour marathon that began at 6 p.m. and ended at midnight. I spotted a lot of gray heads dotting the audience at this iconic Upper West Side event as a parade of veteran actors and celebs read passages that charted Joyce’s foodiest moments.  These included descriptions in Ulysses of Bloom’s fried kidney breakfast–yes, he was an organ meat guy– and of the items like potted beef that occupied Molly’s larder. I walked in on the reading of a passage from Ulysses in which Bloom recounts the agony and ecstasy of his a.m. bowel movement.  Maybe that was appropriate given the median age of the listeners, not to mention of the readers which included Robin McNeil former host of PBS’ News Hour and battle-scarred Broadway actresses, like Marian Seldes.

Bloomsday on Broadway celebrates June 16, 1904, one of the most famous fictional dates in literature, when Leopold Bloom walked around Dublin in the pages of Joyce’s Ulysses.

To get the right Irish vibe going on the hamish Upper West Side, lamb stew and soda bread were dished up during intermission.

What did you think of this year’s Bloomsday on Broadway?

Related: Symphony Space: Bloomsday on Broadway Dips Into Food

June 21st, 2009 | Tags: 10023 synphony space, 10025, 10026, Bloomsday on Broadway, Events, food, Irish food, James Joyce, readings, Ulysses, upper west side | Category: East End Long Island, Events, Manhattan, New York City, Queens, upper west side |  Print This Post | Leave a comment