I’m forever messing up pears. I just can’t get a handle on them. So many different varieties and consistencies. I like them raw and I liked them cooked but it’s going to be awhile before I figure out how to cook them properly. Hell, I can’t seem to buy the right ones to eat just like that.
That said, this looks tasty. I like the idea of the vanilla.
Long live Smitten Kitchen.
I’ve tuned into the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest a few times. I’d never consider joining an eating contest, but I like a good gross-out as much as the next guy.
Eating challenges, on the other hand, those intrigue me. The Old ’96er for instance. There’s a whole show dedicated to them on the Travel Channel. The few times I’ve been to places that offered a challenge, I was tempted to try it.
Up all night on Monday at a concert in Newark, I was empty this Tuesday at lunch. I ordered this:
That’s a Grand Slam from Go Go Curry. A chicken cutlet, a pork cutlet, an egg, two sausages, a fried shrimp all covered in a thick, brown curry. There’s a pile of shredded cabbage on the side. And underneath all that is a mountain of rice. With nothing on the line but my pride and my 12 bucks, I bid adieu to all but the rice. The rice just kept coming and I ended up leaving about a handful on the plate.
Maybe if I wasn’t headed back to work and if I didn’t have to play basketball that night, maybe I could have taken it down. But I was happy I left it there.
How about you guys – what was your biggest eating challenge?
An apple a day? For me, it’s more like a carrot a day. If you asked me what my favorite vegetable was I don’t know that I’d say carrots but I eat more carrots than any vegetable, that’s for sure. Go figure.
What’s your go-to veggie?
Over at Saveur, dig these carrot recipes.
This is my favorite Ginger Ale–the grown up soda. What brand do you prefer?
Jacques does tarts on the latest episode of Essential Pepin. Wonderful, and he’s charming with his granddaughter, too.
[Photo Credit: Saveur]
Ever have “The Luther”?
That’s a burger with bacon on a doughnut. It’s named about Luther Vandross.
I have not tried one. I gotta admit the truth: I ascared.
[Photo Credit: Scene by Laurie]
Serious Eats presents: 30 Sandwiches We Loved This Year in NYC.
Dig this fine-looking thing from Rubirosa.
For those of you who are knuts for the stuff, you can now have In-N-Out burgers shipped to you for $50. Eater has the story.
[Painting via Front Room Cinema]
Nice piece in the Times on the lost art of buying from a butcher.
Yeah, Candy Corn. I don’t get it. It’s not the worst thing you could get for Halloween, that’d be a box of raisins I figure. But it’s nothing that makes me happy. So? What’s your ideal Halloween candy treat?
If you’ve never been to this spot, well, what the hell are you waiting for?
Saturday night, 9 PM reservations for four. Two in our group celebrating an anniversary, one of them pregnant. We show up a little early hoping a table is ready. “We’re running on schedule,” says the sleek hostess with dark hair so shiny we see our reflections.
We try the bar, but it’s just a trough at this point, crowded with diners who didn’t have reservations. I love the idea of being able to eat at the bar, but what about people who need to use it as a bar? I guess they need two bars. Our pregnant friend is a trooper but I see her look longingly at the seats.
Several tables look like they are going to leave at any moment, but then they never do. Nine PM approaches and the hostess walks over and assures us that we are going to be seated shortly. “In their laps?” I thought to ask but kept it to myself. Our pregnant friend is shifting weight from one foot to the other and smiling through it all. I learned that dance from my bad knees and bad back.
Nine fourteen. Now everybody is looking at me. Tension is filling our tight space in the walkway between the bar and the tables we long to occupy. I made the reservation, I should be the one to complain. But I’m staring at the hostess the whole time. She’s keeping track of us with an appropriate level of concern. Maybe it’s a relic of my bachelor days, but I can tell when someone is paying attention to me.
A terrible minute passes where my best friend, his pregnant wife and my wife all stare me down trying to get me to act on our growing unrest. But I wait. And yes, the manager gets a whisper from the hostess and he’s on his way.
“I’m so sorry about the wait. I thank you for your patience,” he says. “Can I help in any way?” I ask if he has an extra seat available for our pregnant friend. He does. Our friend sits and relaxes for the first time since we got there. “Now we can wait forever.”
We wait for fifteen more minutes, not exactly forever, and receive one more visit from another contrite manager. We finally sit down and enjoy a lovely meal. And when we talk about the wait, which we only do for about thirty seconds, we talk about how well they handled it and how they defused the tension.
Privately, I think they could have found that chair the second we walked in, but I can also chalk that up to not asking for it sooner. I don’t mention it though, because I don’t want to spoil the good mood.
Over at the Daily Beast check out this list of the 20 unhealthiest cereals. Some might surprise you.
Then again, some of the most delicious crap, won’t.
I have never been to The Meatball Shop.
But that is something I aim to change.
[Photo Credit: truth.travel]
