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Food and Things Changes Course

Laura Weiss — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:46:03 +0000

Happy New Year to all! Yes, I know Food and Things hasn’t been too active lately. But now I’m back and I’ve decided to change the blog’s focus. West Side Rag is covering the Upper West Side, including the food scene brilliantly. (I’m one of its columnists.) So it’s time to move on and cover the wider world of food–everything from culinary travel, to events, to recipes, to new blogs, apps and cookbooks.

So that means I’ll be writing about food adventures around New York—and around the country. I’ll cover food stall finds in Flushing, Queens and fried chicken joints in Memphis. Chef Renee Marton’s recipes will continue to appear on Food and Things. Plus, I’ll be posting about my own cooking adventures, mishaps, stumbles and all.

As always, I welcome your comments and feedback. For a daily dose of Food and Things, follow me on Twitter @foodandthings.com.

Where to Go on the Upper West Side for Latkes

Laura Weiss — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:04:51 +0000

When Hanukkah rolls around, even non-cooks are expected to haul out the frying pan and whip up a batch of potato latkes for the gang. After all, isn’t the annual pancake-making ritual part of what makes Hanukkah so special?

But even enthusiastic home cooks can grow weary of the eight-night-long grating, chopping and frying marathon. So this year, think about letting someone else—namely a restaurant chef—do the work for you. Continue reading here.

Got fear of frying? This video will make it all better:

Move Over Junior Mints. Upper West Side Theater is Serving Truffle Popcorn

Laura Weiss — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:15:13 +0000

Heads up, movie junk food fans: the new Munro Theater at Lincoln Center is pushing aside Milk Duds and Twizzlers in favor of vegan hotdogs and truffle popcorn.

Click here to read more.

Milk Bar to Open on Upper West Side

Laura Weiss — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:20:24 +0000

Momufuku Milk Bar, NY. Photo by crunch1977 via flckr.

I love the Milk Bar’s pistachio layer cake. But the last time I was there, they didn’t have it any more. Maybe they’ll bring it back for their Upper West Side opening, scheduled for a September, says the West Side Rag.

Not familiar with the Milk Bar? It’s part of the David Chang empire and consists of outposts sprinkled throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Milk Bar features soft serve concocted to taste like cereal milk. I was never a huge fan of cereal milk and I don’t like it in my ice cream. But if you scoop up every last drop of milk from your cereal bowl every morning, then this is the treat for you. Other baked goods include the Compost Cookie® and Crack Pie®.

Click here to view Milk Bar’s menu.

Cupcakes: Baked By Melissa to Open on Upper West Side

Laura Weiss — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:40:05 +0000

Crains reports that mini-cupcake maker Baked by Melissa is opening an outpost on the Upper West Side. Yelpers give the bite-sized treats a generally solid rating.

The shop is slated to open at 2325 Broadway at 83rd Street. It’s the company’s fifth shop in Manhattan.

Cupcakes by Baked by Melissa.

Pancake Pig-Out at UWS Fairway Saturday: A Carb-Fueled Orgy

Laura Weiss — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 15:52:28 +0000

From our friends at the Westside Rag.

Were you there? How many did you scarf down?

From our friends at the Westside Rag:

The blueberry-pancake eating contest this morning at Fairway Cafe on Broadway and 74th Street was a carb-fueled orgy, dripping with syrup and self-loathing. Sixteen hungry contestants sat down at the Fairway Cafe on the second floor at 9:30 a.m. and … Read the rest of this entry >>

Spices and Tease Opens on Broadway on the Upper West Side

Laura Weiss — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:01:41 +0000

Spices and Tease (no, it’s not a strip joint), a shop selling teas, salts and spices, will be opening on Broadway mid-summer. What a relief from the madly mushrooming Dunkin’ Donuts in the area. Located between 97th and 98th street, the new spice store will carry 30 varieties of homemade spice blends, an array of salts and 180 types of teas. Spices and Tease is actually a place I might frequent in the area above 96th Street, which is still somewhat of a retail desert.

Operating near Naples and in Paris and the South of France since 1933, the company has been selling spices, teas and salts in the US since 2003. Though the spice merchants have sold their wares at Greenmarkets around the city and at the Green Flea at 77th and Columbus, this is the company’s first retail location.

In addition to spices, salts and other items to purchase, the store will serve pastries and teas, according to its web site.

Some of the items for sale include:

fish and seafood spices
Moroccan Tajine Blend
18 different peppers
more than 13 types of gourmet salt
over 70 original spices and seeds
25 herbs and botanical plants
180 teas

Here’s a partial list of spices:

African Bird Pepper

Blue Poppy Seeds

Caraway Seeds

Cardamom Seeds

Cayenne Pepper Whole (Pili-Pili)

Fennel Seeds

Fenugrek

Green Anise Seeds

Herbes de Provence

Juniper Berries

Mustard Seeds

Nora

Nutmeg

Sage

Saffron

Star Anise

Turmeric

Vanilla Beans

Salts and peppers include:

Black Lava

Fleur de Sel

Green Hawaiian

Tomato Basil

Black Pepper

Cubeb Pepper (Java)

Green Pepper

Long Pepper

Teas include:

Green

Black

Fruit blends

Herbal blends

Spices and Tease

2580 Broadway
between 97th and 98th streets
New York, NY 10025

New Upper East Side Fairway Opens July 20; Boasts Speedy Elevators, Wider Aisles

Laura Weiss — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:36:35 +0000

New Fairway opens on Upper East Side. Photo:Fairway.

With the new Upper East Side 25,000 square foot Fairway opening July 20, will Upper West Siders get Fairway envy?

The new store boasts three high-speed elevators to whisk you to the second floor. No balky, coughing, wheezing contraption like the conveyance in the UWS locale. The aisles will be wider in the new store too, according to a Fairway spokeswoman.

What will Fairway be like without scowling little old ladies jamming their shopping carts into your shins?

I for one will be sticking to the original Fairwary on Broadway and 74th. The new one sounds too glitzy, too Upper East Side.

The new UES store is the first to open in Manhattan since the Harlem supermarket debuted in 1995. Located at 250 E. 86th Street between 2nd and 3rd avenues, the new locale means that Upper East Siders won’t need to schlep across the park to shop at the supermarket-cum-specialty food store. What’s more, the UES store makes Fairway a player in the supermarket wars sweeping the city as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods establish beachheads in Manhattan.

Here’s what’s being rolled out at the Upper East Side location:

a fresh mozzarella station
more than 50 kinds of marinated olives in tubs.
sushi made fresh daily on premises; hot take out dishes
specialty, organic and kosher departments
butcher and seafood departments
a “Fairway To Go” café, offering items like bagels, sandwiches, coffee, a chopped salad bar, including pastries in a separate space next door to the grocery superstore. There won’t be a full-service restaurant.
over 600 cheeses
over 100 varieties of olive oil
gluten-free groceries and frozen foods

Bacchus Wine is Closing

Laura Weiss — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 17:09:13 +0000

Bachus Wine is shutting its doors, according to the West Side Rag. Located on Broadway between 70th and 71st, the wine shop is holding a close-out sale of wine, glasses and other items.

Photo: by Digimist via flickr.

H & H Bagels is Closing: Upper West Side Loses Neighborhood Icon

Laura Weiss — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:17:48 +0000

H & H Bagels is closing. What’s next? Zabar’s? But fret not, dear readers. The Upper West Side is now are home to the same chain and big box stores, from the Gap to CVS, that the rest of America enjoys. What will go into the H & H Bagels space? I shudder to think of the possibilities. For continuing coverage of the H & H story, visit the West Side Rag.