I won’t lie to you people. I rarely do. When I first saw the new Essex Market, it felt like I just discovered a new Foodie paradise as the NY Post put it. A mini Chelsea Market without the crowds, was the first thing that came to mind. A striking contrast to the old Essex Market which felt sad and unwelcoming at times. But around 10 visits, a few hits and too many misses later I come back crawling to the Chelsea Market zoo asking for forgiveness, and a Currywurst.
It turned into a strange love hate relationship. I keep gravitating to Essex Market, so there’s something definitely there. Mad kudos to the designers of the space. Its pleasing to the eye, comfortable, and the sitting area on top is just pure joy when compared to other food courts. Its part of a new complex that also includes a swanky new Regal with reclined seats and giant food trays. I never understood movie theaters that serve food or food friendly theaters like this. My enjoyment of watching a movie while eating somehow never transferred to watching a movie while sitting next to a total stranger munching on chicken wings and almost spilling his coke on me three times.
But while the Essex Market vendors wouldnt really fair well at Chelsea Market, there’s definitely a very interesting variety of eats. Some of the old vendors are back, and some new ones joined, and still joining (Another section will eventually open looks like). Here are some of the best bites I tried so far.
Bourekas at Zerza – I’ll give them a pass for serving it a little cool in the middle. The flavors are there and its what you normally would expect from a well crafted Bourekas. Loaded with Spinach, raisins, feta, and pine nuts. A sound competitor to the Bourekas queen in Hell’s Kitchen, Gazalas.
Fried Chicken at Eat Gai – Come for Gai, stay for fried chicken. Its known for Khao Man Gai which is a Hainaese chicken and rice dish that is popular in Thailand as well. Might be an acquired taste or a cultural thing as it just didnt do it for me. The fried chicken on the other hand, marinated with Turmeric was more like it, especially the first time I had it.
The Nordic Sandwich at Nordic Preserves – One of the old guards from the old Essex Street Market (Note they dropped the “Street” at the new place). Its a Scandinavian cured and smoked fish specialist that also crafts a couple of sandwiches like the outstanding The Nordic with Creme Fraiche, Lumpfish Caviar, Pico de Gallo in a Pain D’avignon olive Baguette. Or better yet, buy their Pastrami lox, and enjoy it with a fresh bagel with cream cheese.
Croissant Bread Pudding w/ Crème Anglaise at Pain D’avignon – Bread Puddings in NYC rarely come close to something you can find in every corner in New Orleans. Its often too dry, too bready or just missing any zing. Leave it to baking legend Pain D’avignon to correct that with a perfectly balanced, apple filled (on this occasion) bread pudding that comes with a creamy Crème Anglaise on the side. So you can pour as much of it as you want (suggested amount: all of it)
Banana Ice Cream at LES Ice Cream Factory – Not sure if its the best way to build a brand, but the folks from The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory opted to give themselves a different name here. I suppose, and this is just a crazy guess, that the reason is that this is not in Chinatown. That didnt stop many other businesses however. Not every flavor works (had better Horchata in NYC) here, but the banana does.
Also Consider: Chicken Shawarma at Samesa, Arancini at Arancini Bros, Empanadas at Dominican Cravings, Salted Caramel Panna Cotta at Mille Nonne.
This was supposed to be a post about Osteria Baciafemmine, one of Umbria’s most hidden (quite literally here) gems. But something happened during this visit. A twist. The kind I only see in South Korean movies. As good as this meal was, the little village of Scheggino, with a population of 463 (we counted) upstaged the meal. To the point that we changed plans on the last day to visit the village again.
Cutting through at the foot of Scheggino is the Nera River producing one of the only seafood items found in Umbria, trout. You can have it at Osteria Baciafemmine as is, or crusted with crunchy breadcrumbs and parsley. Osteria Baciafemmine is a local legend, Slow Food fixture, and the reason we came to this village in the first place. Rustic, all in the family Osteria, dishing out local specialties and meat raised in their own farm. Mother, father, daughter, cat, all hard at work at a space decorated head to toe with food and drink stuff, almost museum like. Toto, we are not in Staten Island anymore.
While I was sitting out on a bench on Grand and Mulberry 
There’s a common belief in the travel community that vacations should be all about you, and what you like to do. Stay in the type of accommodations you like. Do the things that interest you. Eat the things you enjoy the most in the setting you feel most comfortable in. “What type of food do you like?” is a common response to someone seeking dining advice on the travel boards. It rarely makes sense to me. But knowing exactly what you want and getting it when you want it, doesnt sound so wrong. Some may argue its living life to the fullest. In fact I’m often jealous of people who travel with their favorite cigars, coffee, rum, prunes. Yes, prunes. Prunes give people comfort.
You start this adventure before you even enter the place. About 15-30 minutes before in fact. To ensure a table its recommended to come before they open, otherwise you get an approx time slot, or risk missing out. If its lunch time, and they run out of space and time, they can put you on a list for dinner. Once they open (may not be on time), everyone surrounds the list reader like he is about to read the chosen names in a high school play, and about to give them free Focaccia. Then he goes “Prego” and bam, a mad rush inside. You are shown to your table or table that you’ll share with others.
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
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.
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
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.
Eating With Ziggy 