name : wesage : 24
location : hoboken, nj
occupation : food
explain yourself:
i love to eat food.
i love the thought of eating food.
i love reading about people who are eating food.
this blog is to document every chew, gulp, sautee, and taste i encounter. there's plenty of food out there, and i want to experience all of it.
[featured photos and video were captured on my iphone 3gs. others will be fairly and rightfully credited to their proper owners.]
who do you like:
midtown lunch
amateur gourmet
serious eats
VendrTV
Robyn Lee
Wine Library TV
what are you up to?:
Theme by nostrich.
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Happy St. Patty’s Day!
For everyone not chugging a pint of Guinness this afternoon, the rest of us had food to satiate our thirst for the devil’s nectar. What better combo in the world other than corned beef and cabbage, this platter coming from All American Deli on Water Street in the Financial District. Interesting mix of red and green cabbage.
Happy St. Patty’s Day everyone!
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Swich’n Up Leftovers
Most days at work, I disappoint my friend Matt. He’s a frequent buyer of food at lunch time, and asks me on occasion if I’d like to jump on an order. More times than not, I let him down, and decline, falling back on leftovers I brought from home. Still, the way I figure it, it’ll only be a matter of time before he stops asking. And today’s lunch, grilled chicken with broccoli and tofu, was in dire need for some sprucing up. Matt sent me a menu to Swich Pressed Sandwiches, which serves, of course, sangwiches. Not the ideal side dish option. But, I did see that they have a “big little couscous” for a reasonable $2.50 price tag that piqued my interest. And I have to say, I did not regret it.
Only being accustomed to boxed, supermarket couscous, I had no idea it could come this big! It had a light oil dressing, fresh herbs, and generous helpings of cranberries laced throughout. Each spoonful had a delightful sweet, and savory taste, which boosted the otherwise one-dimensional lunch I had started with. Dishes like that make me feel like I’m making a healthy choice for my midday break, and it did not sacrifice in flavor at all. If Swich’s sides are this good, I’ll definitely be taking Matt up on the next sandwich run.
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Grilled Chicken Sandwich
What is it about the grilled chicken sandwich as the quintessential “I need to eat healthier” go to food? When I bit into this, it was like “rainforest water fall of cool, clear water hit me in the face” fresh!
A simple salt-pepper chicken breasted, cooked in a non-stick pan with olive oil. I also tossed in a knob of butter to kick up the creamy factor on the ole’ palate. Earlier, I defrosted a pre-cut baguette from a Balthazar loaf I purchased, and toasted it in the oven. While all the hot stuff cooked, I mixed up some Sriracha mayo and cut up some onion and cilantro. I spread the spicy condiment on, put down the veggie bed, and laid my chicken to sleep. Delicious!
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Stone Street Stuffed Tavern Burger Stuffed With Imaginery Cheese
Like a deceptive winter coat from Old Navy, this burger looked stylishly good on display, but when worn lacked the proper interior and left me unsatisfyingly cold. No, I didn’t actually wear the Stone Street Tavern’s Stuffed bleu cheese burger. And, I certainly did not enjoy it as much as my eyes told me I would. Served on a toasted english muffin and generous amounts of thick crispy bacon, I thought I was walking into a sure thing. But, when you go as far as specifying your burger as “stuffed”, you’d better deliver on that promise!
First bite: no cheese. Second bite: no cheese. Third bite: an EYE DROPPER amount of warmth finally hits my palate. What remained was an empty, cavernous hole where the old bleu should have resided in all its gooey glory! The beef wasn’t a complete miss, being decently tasty albeit not cooked to my medium request. But the fact is this doesn’t live up to the name.
The one positive note were the steak fries, which gave a nice crisp crunch on bite, and nice smooth finish. I did like the mixed green accoutrement as well. Sure, the Financial District isn’t the culinary mecca for all thing outstanding. But they should at least know that outside of the lunch-rush Wall Street business patron, too busy to his/her own shoe let alone take the time to enjoy what they’re cramming into their face, there are normal customers who expect better.
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Tuna Cakes over Vermicelli with Oil and Garlic
Even though I have a crab cake taste, but live on a tuna fish budget, it doesn’t mean that Bumblebee can’t taste good. I mixed up some standard tuna salad, using a little less mayo than normal, and added some spicy brown mustard to taste. In a separate bowl, I mixed panko bread crumbs, white pepper, and sea salt, and coated golf ball sized tuna liberally. When properly layered, I gently smushed them into small cakes, using additional dry mix to fill in the cracks. I’d say keep your tuna cakes on the small side, as the larger ones seem to fall apart easy.
I dropped them into a hot pan of oil, in which the liquid came up just below the top of the cake, leaving it exposed to the air. Cook until your side reaches it’s desired brown, and flip, shaving off a few minutes on the second side. In a separate pan, I sauteed some french cut string beans in some olive oil, garlic, and butter, and tossed in vermicelli. Salt and pepper to taste.
For an additional kick of heat, I mixed up some spicy sriracha mayo sauce, and lightly drizzled a bit over the cakes.
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Ghetto Gourmet - The Saddest Pot Luck Leftover Lunch of All Time
Taking a small step down from the bachelor’s fridge means an incredibly limited base meal, with unlimited amount of random condiments. In this case, I was pushing the boundaries on Thanksgiving leftovers and other one-off dishes, on top of having nothing of real substance as the main feature. What’s pictured above will hopefully be the last saddest lunch ever witnessed. Leftover mac-n-cheese that you’ve seen, green peas, and stuffing.
Coolio, I’ll be taking the crown back now.
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NYC Cravings’ Taiwanese Fried Chicken and Pork Platter
Let’s start you off with a little riddle: you are placed in the middle between two tables. On your left, a succulent chicken leg, perfectly fried crispy skin, juicy thigh and drum dark meat. On your right, a tender pork chop, thick, chewy, just the right amount of salt that gets your mouth gushing. The question .. which way do you go?
The correct answer: the NYC Craving’s truck is, which brings the chicken and pork as duo to street eaters in the glorious $7 steal: PORKEN!
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Zitironi and Cheese
I think it’s completely normal to be sitting on a couch one Saturday 10 AM, and get a hankering for mac and cheese from scratch. Everyone should leave the powdered blue box cheese in their childhood past, and try this out. I heated a cup or so of milk and a few tablespoons of butter in a small pot, and tossed in a few different hand shredded slices of cheese: provolone, american, cheddar, monterey jack, asadero, and queso blanco. Letting it cook out for about 15-20 minutes to get all the cheese melted, pour the cheese sauce into a pre-drained pot with ziti, or whatever pasta you might choose. I mixed it together until the noodles were coated, and put in a pan. I love the crispy top on casserole ziti and cheese, so I dusted the top with bread crumbs mixed with black pepper and oregano, and drizzled a little olive oil. Bake in 300 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is at desired crunch.
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Banh Mi So Hungry!
One thing about my dad, he’s a giver, even on his birthday. We assembled in his apartment, awaiting to depart for dinner, and he presents us with a bag of the best un-birthday gifts ever: foot-long sandwiches from Banh Mi Saigon Bakery. I haven’t had one of these in months, and hope to never make that mistake again!
Sitting on the border between Chinatown and the Lower East Side, Saigon Bakery runs its small operation in a back of a shop, sharing its real estate with a jewelery store. Walking in, you would never imagine that gems like these would ever walk out of the doors (you hear that? Gems? A pun? Geez, I stink…). Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches are super cheap, starting as low as $3.75 for pork, and $5 for chicken. They pack massive flavor without being overly stuffed with ingredients. Dad bought us banh mi saigon, featuring roast pork, pickled carrots and daikon, a type of Asian radish, cilantro, cucumbers, pate, and a thin coating of mayo. I normally order it spicy, adding super hot jalapeno peppers, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers. All of these components sandwiched between a soft baguette.
Yes, we held these in our hands, and managed NOT to eat before dinner.
When ordered, the sandwich makers will toast the bread, giving it an exploding out crust, adding to an already crisp vegetable repertoire. Dad asked them not to, knowing that we’d hold off eating until the next day. Having saved this until today’s lunch, counting the minutes down before sinking my teeth into the sub, I skipped the toasting process and dove right in: just as good. I did miss the tang from the hot peppers, but having it plain was fine.
My brother and sister love cilantro, and have no problem asking for as much as Saigon Bakery would be willing to put in it. They came through big time, as you can see above. The cilantro is a key ingredient in the taste of banh mi, rounding off the sweetness of the pork and subtle sourness of the veggies with its own cool, refreshing, almost minty, taste. I would recommend adding it to almost any sandwich for the same effect. My sister told me she added it to a turkey sandwich with just as positive results.
Saigon Bakery has been held as the banh mi sandwich shop to visit. And at a $3.75 price point and consistent quality, how can I not continue to give them my loyal business? Still, this being a blog about food exploration, and never one to close my wallet to a good meal, the journey continues. For now, I’ll continue to call this shop my Vietnamese sandwich home base.
Photo
A chicken and steak fajita burrito, black beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, hot salsa and extra roast corn salsa.
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