Pinch Chinese Wind Sand
I should have blog posts strictly devoted to Random BQE Thoughts. Thats Brooklyn Queens Expressway if you are scoring at home, or if you are alone. As the traffic reaches new levels these days, so are the thoughts. Not exactly inspirational ones. Other than how is the weather and traffic in say, Denver, this time of the year. More like random silly thoughts like: What do you call a female priest? Why do we drive on a parkway and park in a driveway? Why do I eat so much chicken lately? Is something wrong with me? Am I helping the environment by eating more non-farting animals. Is this the first step to vegan? I had plenty of bumper to bumper guards traffic to think about it this week, and I think I know the answer. Its not me, its you, New York City.
Simply put, the city is in the midst of a crazy chicken renaissance. Gone are the days of playing third fiddle to the beef and pig. The competitive nature of the city these days means chefs all over are trying to outdo each other and can not afford any duds on the menu. Chefs realize that while there’s just so much you can do with beef and other ingredients that are best to leave alone sometimes, its the bird that allows for limitless creativity.
There are countless of articles about Best Fried Chicken, Best Roasted Chicken, Best Wings, etc, etc. Many written in the past three years for the reason I just gave. How about one more. A general, unfocused, random one. These are some of the most creative chicken dishes in NYC today.
Ssam Bar Fried Chicken
Home-style Fried Chicken at Ssam Bar (East Village) – Served only for lunch these days this is a fantastic fried chicken reminiscent of the late Ma Peche Habanero chicken. Although not quite Habanero, its ladened with plenty of chili, and double fried to crispy, juicy perfection.
Chicken at FOB Filipino BBQ (Carroll Gardens) – Impossible to select the best from this chicken paradise. You can try the amazing grilled wings, the air chilled grilled chicken, chicken skewers, and Dad’s incredibly moist overnight chicken Adobo.
Big Plate of Chicken With Bone at Jiang Diner (East Village) – This is an instant hit. I’ve seen versions of the dish before at Biang! and Spicy Village but honestly its been so long I forgot how they taste like. I’ve had this twice already at Jiang. Just ignore their other signature dish, “Big Plate of Chicken Without Bone”
Wind Sand Chicken at Pinch Chinese (Soho)– A tasty rendition of a Hong Kong classic. The whole bird is cooked like Peking duck. Two days of Marinating (cinnamon, star anise, other herbs and spices), drying, spanking, repeating. The skin gets thin and crispy, and the flesh redefines moist. Garnished with the sand like fried garlic which gives it the name. Update: Just made resvs for 4 this Saturday night to have this again
White Pepper Wings at Kawi (Hudson Yards) – If you see wings at a Momofuku, pounce on it like your life is depended on it. You just know that wont be boring. You get three whole crispy, peppery, juicy wings. You will not want to wash your hands for a while after this.
Nori Chicken at Ducks Eatery (East Village) – Leave it to smoking wizard Will Horowitz to figure out how to combat our seaweed invasion. Wrap it around smoked chicken and fry it to Korean style thin crisp and extra crunch. Pair it with the incredible smoked carrots.
Pollo alla Diavola at Maialino (Gramercy) – In the sea of Roman pastas and other Italian classics, this is possibly the unsung hero. Heck, after all those years, I needed some help from a reliable insider to discover this gem. The peppery ultra moist beauty comes with a tangy sauce you’ll want to scarpetta the heck out of.
Pollo alla Diavola at Dell’anima (Hell’s Kitchen) – Yes, another Diavola on the list but in a much more relaxed setting (Gotham West Market) and easier on the wallet. This one also features extreme moistness and a nice peppery crust, and comes as a Panini as well.
Yellow Chicken at Wayan (Nolita) – a cute name for a suburb chicken curry. About three pieces if I remember correctly. Some got the crunch reminiscent of the great Perry Street chicken where Wayan owner Cedric Vongerichten is still the chef. Why Perry Street is not on the list you ask? I havent been there in over 10 years.
Seco de Pollo at Nano (Hell’s Kitchen) – I’ve mentioned this dish before, and many of you that took my Hell’s Kitchen tour have even experienced it during the last year. The chicken is cooked with Naranjilla a fruit grown in Ecuador, which gives this “stew” unmatched layers of flavor.
I get cranky when a meal doesnt go my way back at home. I tend to get very quiet, and everyone at the table usually knows it at some point no matter how hard I try to hide it. But when it happens o
What is the perfect base? Its not rocket science. Put your destination stars on the map, and pick something in the middle. The only decision is whether it will be a city, a town, village, or something in the countryside like a villa or Agriturismo. You’ll find many advantages and disadvantages with all options. Thats why mixing it up a little works for many.
Caterina Campodonico was a peasant that worked hard selling necklaces made of nuts and loafs of breads. Before she died in 1882, she was determined to show her legacy by hiring the most expensive sculptor around, Lorenzo Orengo, and a poet to build her monument. In order to do that she had to sell a lot of nut necklaces and save all her profits. So its easy to see why the “Peanut Seller” in the magnificent Staglieno cemetery in Genoa, became a symbol for the hard working people of Genoa. In the pictures below you can see her proudly wearing one of her necklaces.
If you walk around the village of Bevagna in Umbria looking for a place to eat, Antiche Sere might be the last place you’ll pick. Sort of like picking Thai food in Hell’s Kitchen, NYC. I think my group was hoping I made a mistake when we finally reached it. “Are you positive this is it? From the parking lot we passed more inviting places. Like, all of them. And there are about 10 spots higher on Trip Advisor in a town with 11 restaurants”. They said none of this out loud of course. They trust me and learned to follow me like the sheep in the anarchist logo surrounding the “A” in Antiche.
This being my first Umbria post means the end result was quite positive. One of the most complete meals of a two week trip in fact. As soon as you walk in, you feel more at ease once you see the funky space. You walk by a small kitchen where you see the proud anarchist owner washing dishes, so at least you know the dishes will be clean. And while the anarchist doesnt speak much English it seams, there’s a young friendly Indian waiter that does.
Started with a delicious Chickpeas and clams soup. Clams from Ancora and local chickpeas much sturdier and more flavorful than what we are used to (Goya). This is one of the lone places we encountered in Umbria that gets fresh seafood on occasion. Panzanella salad with soaked bread, tomato, celery and some very good vinegar was refreshing on a hot day. Simply grilled beefy local mushrooms. Eggplant parmigiana was another winner. And an exceptional oversized cappelletti pasta with cheese and tomato sauce.
One of the joys of road tripping in Italy’s countryside for us is listening to the local radio. While we try to catch some Italian tunes that match the mood, we often find catchy American songs that we either never get at our local stations for some reason, or they sound a little different (ie explicit to us). It started years ago when we discovered that Bruno Mars actually wanted to be a Billionaire “So fuckin bad”. Who knew?
“What, no Seafood?!? No problem, I give you Octopus!” No, I didnt crash a Greek wedding, nor have I actually heard this said before. It was simply the pre-trip imagination at work, anticipating yet another seafood heavy leg. I imagined after 10 fishfull days, we stumble onto a small family Konoba somewhere on the Istrian coast, begging an English speaking baka (a Croatian Babushka) for some meat. But luckily for us, not only we never really got tired of those Adriatic c
Eating With Ziggy 