School Days Tuesday: The Snack Pack

11th Sep 2006

Pudding_8 Billy Madison: I guess that Snack Pack is pretty good huh? [the little kid smiles and nods] Billy Madison: Wanna trade me the rest of it for this banana? [the little kid smiles and shakes his head] Billy Madison: You know how how hard I could beat you? From Internet Movie Database. In any serious discussion of school lunch food, you cannot forget to mention the packed lunch.  Anyon...

Grill Week

11th Sep 2006

Img_0232 And like that, it's over.  Summer's stronghold has disappeared.  The days no longer top out in the 90's, the sweat only beads down my face around noon, and that funk has actually started to lose it's grip on the 14th Street Station.  Last week I only walked on the side of the street completely covered in shadow, and now I can walk wherever I choose.  Really, I'm not sad. But I just got a gr...

Grill Week Day 4: Greek Lamb Kebabs

31st Aug 2006

P1010063_4 Back in the days of heroicism and yore, legends and lore, shish kebab was invented.  In between bouts of maiden-rescuing, treasure-finding, and windmill-attacking, the roaming horseman of the world's countryside decided that they hadn't done enough for mankind.  One evening, as the stars shone brightly and the last few vagabonds were settling lazily against rocks for a pipe and a night's slee...

A Surf and Turf Story

18th Aug 2006

surfandturf01

We christened him Kurt and set about trying in vain to keep him alive.  The ride back from Fairway was not long, but we needed some wine, and the car was quite stuffy and hot.  Blake, strangely, began developing an affection for the creature, and cared for him so deeply he wouldn't leave him in the car alone. So we carried him into our liquor store, LeNell's , and asked the owners what win...

Find Your Craving

16th Aug 2006

Collage

Head on over to Cravings , a wonderful and passionate website published by Celia Cheng , based on the idea that passion for food can be "a consuming desire, a yearning, an urgent need."  This month's feature is on food bloggers and we had the honor to be included.  The blogs The Strong Buzz , The Food Section , The Hungry Cabbie , Cupcake Bakeshop , [ Slice / A Ha...

The Fate of Sweet Summer Corn

11th Aug 2006

Dsc_0012 Both Nick and I are from the Midwest, proud of our work ethic and nice disposition, and find ourselves a rare breed out here in New York City.  I'm not really sure what the conception is--rural, uneducated, whatever--but most people have no idea what exactly goes on in middle of this vast nation, and just assume that most of it is comprised entirely of corn. Here is an example. The other day w...

What''s the best way to make Iced Coffee?

27th Jun 2006

P1010004_3 When I started sweating heavily during my morning walk to the subway and began considering a set of "commute clothes," which I imagined would be composed of a pair of running shorts and a tanktop, I figured it was time to stop trying to drink a steaming hot cup of coffee on the way to work.  There is simply nothing more miserable than thick New York humidity, being full of sweat, descending on...

Subtract Three Ingredients: A Night with Batali, Bourdain, and Buford

22nd Jun 2006

Library

“So why did you write this book?” Bourdain began, gulping from a green bottle of beer.  On Mount Olympus we gathered, two gods of the (celebrity) cooking universe and the scribe who got to tag along, having a casual conversation over beers in front of a packed audience at the New York Public library, at 42nd st. and 5th ave.  It was billed as discussion of "kitchen secrets" as revealed in...

Shake Shack Alternatives Day 4: The Promised Land

26th May 2006

burgersandcup05

I'd eaten the good and the bad , the big and the small , and paid dearly as a result.  The quest had gotten serious, and I was ready to admit defeat and bow at the altar of the shack if I had to eat another huge, dry burger.  A true alternative to the Shake Shack seemed like an idea too good to be true.

But like all quests, the best inevitably came last, far away, in a place...

Shake Shack Alternatives Day 2: Big and Beefy

23rd May 2006

americanburger3

As the quest continues , the well reviewed alternatives start disappearing, and things get a little more treacherous.  Big, greasy, disgusting, messes sprout up at every corner, making me want head back defeated into the line of shame at Shake Shack for some real food.  But thanks to some random posting on Chowhound , I was given a little guidance.  Today's search for the best altern...