Posts Tagged With: food

10 Things To Eat In Florence

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Ziggy

It was like seeing your dentist in the supermarket. Flying from Newark, the last thing I wanted to see upon landing in Florence was standing there in all its glory, IKEA! And it was not your average IKEA, no. This was a mean and scary one. I mean the Airport is located in its parking lot! I did not come 4182.6 miles which included a scenic tour around Charles de Gaulle on a shuttle from hell to eat Swedish Meatballs. I needed to see pizza ASAP and 90 minutes later I did.

When in Florence, or Rome, or anywhere else pretty much, leave your eating habits behind. Forget the bread with butter, your evening cappuccino, your well done steak. Eat and drink like a local and let the chefs do their thing without asking for alterations. When we went to Portugal a few years ago we kept hearing about the Portuguese obsession with Bacalhau, and how they can make it in 365 different ways, for every day of the year. Well, we must have picked the 2 worst days. Tried it once and hated it just enough to try again at one of the top spots in Porto, and hated it even more. However, the opposite was true with Porto’s famous 5 meat beast, Francesinha. I expected to hate it but absolutely loved it. For every Bacalhau there are 10 Francesinhas sitting there waiting for you. A statement borderline offensive.

Anyway, here are 10 items to try in Florence. Some unique to Florence, some unique to Tuscany, while some aren’t unique at all. Hey, its my list and I’ll do what I want to. But feel free to comment on anything that I’m missing of course. In no particular order…

1) Pizza/Bakery. Yes I know, I know, Pizza is not a Florence thing. Leave it to Rome or Naples. But it doesn’t mean there’s no great pizza here. Try Pugi while visiting David or San Marco. Grab a number, and while you wait look at all the Foccacia and Schiacciate coming out of the oven. Then point to what you want, point to your mouth, show them the size you want with both hands (like an NFL referee showing how many inches are left for the first down) and you are all set. The smells alone at Pugi is worth going. Another popular pizza option is Gusta Pizza near the Pitti Palace

Pugi Florence 2) Bistecca alla Fiorentina – This is a no brainer and required eating by local law. A massive bloody rare Chianina raised Porterhouse cooked to perfection. Cooking it any differently will result in what I call a Paris Hilton – Pretty to look at but with zero substance. My personal preference however in the region is Tagliata style, which is sliced Chianina and served with with olive oil and spices. Just about every Trattoria in Florence offers it seems like. All’Antico Ristoro Di Cambi and its 21 day aged Bistecca, Trattoria Mario, and Sostanza are good bets

3) Pappa al Pomodoro. Tomato and bread sounds as sexy as a George Costanza pose, but surprisingly delicious when done right. Garlic, Basil, Pepper, spices are added accordingly to create this beautiful dish. Try it at Da Ruggero. And while you at it try the Ribollita, essentially bread, white beans and veggies.

4) Crostini – Talking about bread, more please. You wont find many great bread baskets in Florence or Italy as a whole but I love everything else they do with the bread. The Tuscan Crostini, rich buttery liver goodness is the perfect starter. Especially when paired with savory Salumi like the fennel studded Finocchiona (so so good). Try the liver crostini at La Pentola dell’Oro, or better yet the entire assortment plate they offer.

5) Pollo al Burro at Sostanza – Perhaps the most celebrated single dish in Florence. Chicken with butter! Or is it butter with chicken, not sure. Rest assured there’s plenty. Check out this dish and the rest of our meal at Sostanza here

6) Panini – This goes hand in hand with #9. In Italy Panini simply means sandwich (other than sandwich made of sliced bread) and trying all the various sandwiches in foreign countries is always fun. Try any of the tripe stands all over town, Bollito with Salsa Verde (Boiled beef with green salsa) in Nerbone, top notch ingredients in legendary ‘Ino, and something we truly enjoyed: mini sandwiches at Procacci. They are known for the truffle sandwiches but we really enjoyed the rest of the lineup as well. Don’t eat the biscotti sampler.. you will wind up buying a case for your entire family and your neighbor, even though their dog is annoyingly wakes you up early in the morning and is ugly. Had to get it off my chest

7) Pici – Pici is more of a regional dish and you will see Pici predominantly featured in the country side. Its essentially a thick round spaghetti, very “meaty”, very delicious, and very absent in the USA. When we learned how to make Pici in Montelpulciano our instructor made us add a little big of egg, though normally its eggless. Try it anywhere with any ragu like cinghiale (wild boar).

8) Anything in Mercato Centrale – Here I am torn. I need help from the locals as I see 3 options. A stupendously cheap full meal at Nerbone (inside the market), or just walk around the market and try everything in sight including the cured meats and cooked on the spot fresh seafood. Or, both of the above. 2 trips here would be ideal

9) Tripe – Ok, I have to admit, this is my Bacalhau in Florence. Meaning I wasn’t exactly crazy about what I tried. The plate of Lampredotto I tried at a restaurant that shell remain nameless was the worst thing I ever ate in Italy. Lampredotto is made from the fourth stomach of the cow. Maybe I’m just a first and second stomach kinda guy, or maybe this tripe thing is not for me. Either way, I tried it, I hated it, and I’m taking you all down with me. I mean, YOU may like it. Thats what I’m trying to say

10) Gelato – I started with something that isn’t so much a Florence thing and I’m ending with something thats definitely is. Some of the best Gelato in the world is right here, but you need to do a little homework in order to take advantage of this artisanal craftsmanship. We tried all sorts of Gelato all over town. Pretty much anything that starts with “Cara” is good (cara I think means delicious ice cream!) as in Carabe and Carapina. Gelateria dei Neri was another winner

What not to try in florence:

1) Swedish Meatballs

Categories: Florence, Italy | Tags: florence, florence eats, Florence restaurants, food, Italy, restaurants, Travel, What to eat in Florence | 15 Comments

Khe-Yo – Your Laotian Fix

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Ziggy

Dear Readers, it is official. Tribeca is now a culinary hotspot. A few Years ago I wouldnt touch the area with a 10 foot pole (mainly because of the difficulties involved) but now I found the area refreshing. I can now have a great Falafel in Nish Nush, amazing Korean in Jungsik, and now Khe-Yo. Just like Jungsik, the first modern Korean to hit NYC, Khe-Yo is the first place purely devoted to Lao cuisine. But Lao cooking has been around here for a while now. In my best Troy McClure voice…

“Hi, I’m Troy McClure! You may remember this Laos dish from movies such as Yum Yum, An Officer and a Thai Dish, Yum Yum 3, Eat Drink Man Woman Tranny”

What I’m trying to say is Lao dishes like Larb and the spicy papaya salad can be found in many Thai restaurants all over town. But in Marc Forgione’s Khe-Yo things get a bit more inventive. I visited Khe-Yo about a month a ago, 2 days after it opened and since then Khe-Yo has gained a lot of media attention. Marc now has places in both Duane and Reade streets! Ok, it sounded much more meaningful in my head. Executive chef is Laos born Soulayphet Schwader (AKA better call Saul!)who will occasionally come out to serve the main course himself

They start you off with a bang here. Sticky rice comes with 2 fantastic condiments and a prolonged explanation on how to best enjoy the sticky rice. Eating with your fingers. Dip it in the Heirloom puree or the addictively sick spicy Jeow made with 4 different Thai chili, cilantro, fish sauce and garlic. I was dipping everything in that thing including car keys

I love small menus. This one only has 5 apps, 5 entrees, and a few salads. Crunchy coconut rice with spicy kafﬁr lime Sausage was good and original. I just wished there was a bit more sausage. Jurgielewicz Duck salad was even better. Nicely done, freshly butchered (24 hour) duck along with lightly fried crunchy duck tongue, lemongrass, nice palm sugar vinegar, and jalapeno skins to balance things out. Nice start

Berkshire Spare Ribs were just ok. A bit fatty for my taste and on the salty side. But I liked the accompanied cold long beans salad. Pork Jowl Red Curry was more like it. Like a super delicious mild pork stew with tasty grilled shiitake mushrooms and baby eggplant on the side.

Dessert menu consists of coconut rice pudding with sliced peach and cashew bits which was fine, and a pricey but promising native cocktail ($13). A fine meal overall. I would love to come back and explore the rest of the menu, like the whole black bass and the chicken. Marc Forgione told me since they opened 2 days ago 15 Lao natives told him how thrilled they were with this place. They also recently opened “Khe-Yosk” for lunch. Get it? Khe..yosk. Its a Banh Mi Sandwich takeout place, and I hope to to try it next week

Categories: New York City, TriBeCa | Tags: food, Khe-Yo, Khe-Yo NYC, NYC dining, NYC restaurants, restaurants, Tribeca restaurants | 1 Comment

Piccola Trattoria Guastini – Meal Of The Year

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Ziggy

August 21st, 2019 Update

Allora, so which is my favorite restaurant in Tuscany? A question I get asked often. Its actually easier for me to answer this than naming my favorite NY restaurant these days. The answer is Piccola Trattoria Guastini in the little hamlet I call Torrita di Siena, because thats what its called. The post I’m bumping is also to announce a location change. Emanuela and Davide Guastini moved the restaurant from close to home in Valiano to the other side of the Autostrada, 12 km north of Montepulciano.

The title refers to the meal we had here in 2013. But this one was not too shabby either. New location, same family, new atmospheric terrace with some of the best views in town. Although Davide seemed to age a little so I dont know if I can wait another 6 years to visit this gem. His wife Emanueala however, hasnt missed a beat. A super versatile chef who is like Houdini in that kitchen.

Piccola Trattoria Guastini - Faraona

One can spend hours on that terrace. And we did. But before you knew it, we were munching on delicate eggplant parm featuring fresh, tangy tomato with buffalo mozzarella. Then came the same great crostini with creamy chicken liver, onion and apple we had last time. Superb Pici topped with tomatoless Ragu of Chianina, the local cattle so prized its announced on the menu. It always amazes me how the Tuscan extract so much flavor from such little meat. And of course there was Tortelli again, packed with that addictive fresh ricotta.

That versatility is especially showing with meats, particularly game birds. This time we enjoyed a fantastic, most tender Faraona (guinea fowl) with pistachios and raisins. And a roasted Maialino – delightfully salty, crunchy, and fatty in all the right places. Like slow dancing with your mother-in-law. A proper Tiramisu, and an even better Ricotta with honey. All enjoyed with a Pieropan 2015 Soave. GO!

Piccola Trattoria Guastini - Picci e Tortelli

September 10, 2013 Post (Old Location)

The “Saving the best for last” cliché doesn’t quite make sense to me in this context. How do you know its the best if you haven’t done it yet. Surely it can turn out merely “pretty good”, or perhaps one of the earlier meals rises to the occasion. With that said, I cant help but anticipate and suspect whether I’m leaving the best for last sometimes. Piccola Trattoria Guastini, our last meal in Tuscany was not only the best meal in Tuscany, it was the best meal of the entire 12 day trip which included about 20 pretty good ones.

Emanuela and Davide Guastini run this popular spot in the tiny village of Valiano not too far from Montepulciano. Sunflower galore on the way there from the Cortona direction. Gorgeous terrace overlooking the area I can only describe as “the other side of A1” which doesn’t sound as sexy as the real name I keep forgetting (Val di Chiana). Everything was working that night – the sublime food, the wine, the mood, the comfort, the gracious hosts, and the one ingredient missing from just about every other place we visited, locals.

Started with, what else, more amazing crostini this time with chicken liver and caramelized onions – sweet and savory. Followed that with an ultra fresh Caprese salad. Cant get much better than this. Tortelli with ricotta were topped with fresh tomatoes and basil, almost resulted in a family feud (I won simply by staring). One particular stunner was the ravioli stuffed with pigeon with 2 succulent pieces to boot. Our first pigeon of the trip resulted in a messy moment of silence.

More deliciousness followed in the form of fried rabbit which we couldnt get enough of. Glorious duck encrusted with fennel, one of those dishes you know will be good as soon as it arrives. My nose and sense of smell were working overtime that night.

I had a long talk with Davide about food and after voicing my slight disappointment with the Bisteccas in Florence and the region, he comes back minutes later with a full plate of Tagliata, sliced Chianina beef perfectly cooked with olive oil. This was absolutely delicious. Who knew that the best steak of the trip would be the free one. Great desserts here as well. Panna Cotta with chocolate sauce, ricotta mousse with honey and hazelnuts (seems like a specialty here in the region) and a fine tiramisu.

It was packed with locals which was not surprising considering the restaurant was suggested by a restaurant owner in Montepulciano. Reservations are a must. If you want a quick meal, this is certainty not the place. Like Da Roberto and many of the other places we visited, Guastini oozes Slow Food freshness. A meal you need to experience at least once on vacation. Guastini is why I come to Italy

Categories: Italy, Tuscany | Tags: food, Guastini Tuscany, Guastini valiano, Italy, Piccola Trattoria Guastini, restaurants, Travel, tuscany, Tuscany restaurants | 11 Comments

HKSG – The Update

Posted on September 7, 2013 by Ziggy

5.7 pounds (and counting) and 3 months later it is time to update this beast. But first a word from our sponsors… oops we have none. But, I do want to say a few words about this list because it became more popular than the original intent.

This list is not for everyone. If you are looking for the prototypical pre-theatre dinner where you are nicely dressed, most of these options are not for you. This list is all about the food, mostly on the casual, cheap side, and mostly really its about what Hell’s Kitchen does best – ethnic food. If you want to eat at a “Nice” place than I suggest picking a different area. If you are looking for that special pre-theatre meal and really care about the food than I would suggest looking at places that are not in the area but not too far. i.e. Betony, Marea, NoMad, The Modern. You are already spending $300 for a show, surely you can afford a $5 cab fare to add. Although after a nice long meal, I rather take a nice long walk.

The complete guide is here…

https://eatingwithziggy.com/2013/06/27/the-hells-kitchen-survival-guide/

Here’s whats being added to the guide…

Italian – Mercato. This is quickly becoming not only my favorite Italian in the area but my favorite restaurant in the area. I cant quite explain how I missed it all those years. Truly flavorful, mostly authentic southern Italian dishes like the excellent homemade Trenette with garlic, almonds, tomato and basil. Check out the simple spaghetti, and the flavor rich gnocchi. Owners from Sardinia, chef from day 1 from Sicily, good looking all Italian wait staff means I fit right in.

Thai – Larb Ubol. My favorite is still Pure overall but this new kid on the block is quickly gaining traction. Larb Ubol is an offshoot of Zabb Elee in the East Village, specializing in authentic Isan cooking. Like Pure, some of these dishes not for the faint of heart. Even more so here actually. If you want your typical American Thai dishes this is not the place. Go to something like Kare Thai on 10th or Wondee Siam 2 instead. In Larb Ubol what you get is complex flavors like you never experienced before (unless you did!). Try the Pad Ped Moo Crob – Crispy pork, thai eggplant, basil, peppercorn, ginger, and spicy curry paste

Ramen – Ippudo Westside. Perhaps the most exciting HK opening in 2013. One block away from Totto making HK a NYC Ramen powerhouse. Just like Totto, this is an experience but quite a different one, starting with all the yelling in Japanese every time a new guest arrives, leaves, a dish on its way, or a guest going to the bathroom. I have no idea what they are yelling but its fun, and after a few minutes you start to yell as well. Clearly my favorite here so far is the Akamaru Modern, but you must add the egg, and for a little more spice add the spicy miso paste. Highly recommend this one

Chicken Over Rice Guy – 11th and 51st (Northwest corner). Every neighborhood has a favorite chicken over rice guy. This one is mine. Try the chicken over rice!

Tried a few other new places like Nook… Feh!

Randon tidbits on existing places…

Szechuan Gourmet 56 – I had my first terrible meal here, followed by an excellent meal. Keeping it on the list for now but inconsistency will not fly

Gazala’s Place – I’m not big of the Bourekas overall, but the cheese and sun dried tomato Bourekas here is the bomb. The bomb I tell ya

Sullivan Street Bakery – Quickly becoming one of my favorite breakfast places in the area. Discovering all kinds of bread goodies lately

Guelaguetza – Spicy chicken burrito is now officially my favorite Burrito in the area. Readers, its official!

The Complete Guide…

https://eatingwithziggy.com/2013/06/27/the-hells-kitchen-survival-guide/

Categories: Midtown West, New York City | Tags: food, Hells kitchen, Ippudo NYC, Larb Ubol NYC, Mercato NYC, NYC dining, NYC restaurants, restaurants, Travel | Leave a comment

Citibike Confessions 2 – Battle of the Bridges

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Ziggy

“We are going shopping”, the most beautiful words for a man to hear since “I do”. “We” – as in just us, without You”. Here’s how I took advantage. A Labor Dy trip report if you will…

Picked up Mr Hummus Whisperer and parked the car by the Brooklyn Bridge on the Brooklyn side. Picked up a Citibike and rode the Bridge over to the other side. Unlike the day before where we walked the bridge after (and before) visiting the Smorgasburg in Dumbo (will try to write a separate post) the bridge in the morning was fairly quiet.

“Cruised” Lafayette and dropped the bikes by Houston. Wanted to try La Colombe Coffee after watching the guy on the travel channel exploring the world for coffee beans but it was closed. I was surprised to learn how many places are closed on Mondays in NYC. Like being in Milan in August. Too hot for coffee anyway. We made our way to Russ and Daughters, picked our bagels and went to a nearby park where an elderly Asian couple were doing an exercise I haven’t seen before: Bouncing a basketball. Buttery Lox, cream cheese, tomato, onions, on a fresh crispy bagel never tasted this good. R&D, one of many Lower East Side institutions is touristy for good reason. We were without the wits of our women which means without napkins but we somehow managed with minimum stain action.

We proceeded to pick up the Citibikes nearby again and rode to Delancey and Williamsburg bridge. We crossed over to Brooklyn and just biked around Kent Ave without a plan whatsoever. None of this was planned BTW. Feeling hungry again we decided to park and just walk to Egg for another round of breakfast. But the line was too big so we just went to Verb Café nearby on Bedford and had ice coffee with our takeout Bialys from R&D. Ok, the R&D mention again reminds me that I need to go back to work.. Ok I’m back.. where was I… Oh ye. Verb Café – Ive been there before. If you ever need a reminder that you are in Williamsburg you head to this café and the mini mall attached to it

We picked up the bikes again and rode the Williamsburg bridge back. An unfortunate incident occurred where a bra-less woman riding a bike was accidentally flashing more than the laws allowed. Unfortunate for her. Anyway, we had a good laugh and continued riding by the East River toward midtown. Nice views of the manhattan skyline open up at some point with the river a few feet away. This is a nice section to bike on. We U-turned on 30th and turned on 20th toward the flatiron area. Just rode around aimlessly until it was time for you know..eat.

We dropped the bikes in the East Village. A trip like this is incomplete without eating something in the East Village. Opted to go to Maharlika but we got distracted by a little piggy and shared a Porchetta sandwich in Porchetta. In here they do it differently than in Italy. They get whole loins with the skin and all, season, roll it, and roast it for 7 hours. The result is one fatty, garlicky, porky goodness. Fantastic sandwich. Highly recommend Porchetta.

Time for a cleanser. Liquiteria is thee place in town according to my juice obsessed friend. I’ve been there before and ordered the same thing again, the Grasshopper – a great blend of apple, pear, pineapple, wheatgrass, mint, old cellphones, or god knows what else they put in there. All freshly squeezed, naturally sweet and very refreshing. A little pricey but you pay for quality

Too full for Maharlika we pick up the bikes yet again and head to Tribeca. Dropped the bikes by Whole Foods and spent some quality R&R time (Relieve and Read) in Barnes and Nobles. This branch has my favorite travel section. We are in Tribeca which means we have to go to Nish Nush. Shared a Masabacha which is essentially hummus with Tahini, some other sauce, chickpeas and boiled egg. Added some Falafel balls as well to this party. Since I introduced HW to this place a month ago he’s been here 6 times. He was so excited he stained himself again right next to the R&D stain. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this is the best falafel in the city.

Time to pick up the bikes again and cross the Brooklyn Bridge back to the car. Now its raining which means I finally look cool on those bikes. I tried the one hand move before and nope.. need it to rain. The bridge is much busier now even with the rain and those darn pedestrians are all over the bike lanes. Of course I was also all over the bike lanes when I was a pedestrian the day before

We dropped the bikes for the last time and started to head home. But hey, we are already here, next to a place I wanted to visit for a while now, so whats the rush. The only one who has the balls to open a pizza joint next to Grimaldi’s is.. well.. Grimaldi. The place is called Juliana’s and the Margherita pie was absolute perfection. I’m not gonna go into the details of the story and controversy here but the gist of it was that Grimaldi’s sold the Grimaldi name rights years ago and now he’s back.. right next door. So when you come to Brooklyn to stand on the hour long line to Grimaldi’s just keep in mind that the place next door with no lines has probably better pizza – I think it does. And for the sake of the neighborhood locals who finally got their pizza back this is the last time I will mention this.

And that’s how I spent my Labor Day.

Categories: Brooklyn, East Village, Lower East Side, New York City, TriBeCa | Tags: food, Juliana's Brooklyn, Nish Nush NYC, NYC dining, NYC restaurants, Porchetta NYC, restaurants, Russ and Daughters NYC, Travel | 1 Comment

Sostanza in Florence – Underdog Pollo

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Ziggy

Another year, another City of David. First Jerusalem, now Florence. After withstanding repeated 14th century attacks by Milan, underdog Florence over time chose David as its symbol. Besides the masterpiece in the Accademia you can see all sorts of Davids everywhere in Florence such as Donatello’s David at the Bargello. It may take more than a day trip to see and understand this phenomenon. And then there’s that other famous underdog, found only in one particular 140 year old trattoria

In a city dominated by the Bistecca Fiorentina, a stocky and bloody T-Bone, the little Pollo al Burro, Chicken with Butter prevailed, reaching legendary status over time. 2 generous breasts are cooked over coal before pan fried with eggs and one stick of butter. Thats still 2 sticks less than the similarly celebrated BBQ Shrimp at Mr B’s in New Orleans, but rich nonetheless. The result is moist and addictive. With the massive Sostanza Bistecca Fiorentina side by side, for the first time ever my fork was reaching for the bird over a well cooked medium rare steak. Long live the pollo!

But that’s not all we enjoyed in Sostanza. Tortellini al Sugo was a subtle, cruel reminder how different are the sauces in the States. A nice assortment of prosciutto, melon, salami, and a well crafted Finocchiona which made us order it just about everywhere we would see it the rest of the trip.

There were a few misses however on this night. The omelette with artichoke which is another signature dish, was just ok for us. I Didnt care much for the artichoke part in particular (out of season perhaps?). A “stew” with beans produced 2 fairly dry bland veal cutlets but mighty delicious white beans.

Sostanza is like a timeless well oiled machine. 7:30 reservations for tourists like us. You may share your table with other {shrug} tourists. 9:30 is for mostly locals who may share a table with more tourists. Although fairly touristy, Sostanza is far from a tourist trap, like this one for example. If you only have the weekend, you are out of luck, as Sostanza closed Saturday and Sunday. Otherwise, try to make reservations ahead of time (by calling only unfortunately). I like places with signature dishes like Sostanza. Easy to write about and easy to recommend. Get the chicken!

Categories: Florence, Italy | Tags: florence, FLorence dining, Florence restaurants, food, Italy, restaurants, Sostanza, Sostanza Florence, Travel | 2 Comments

Cesare al Casaletto – Another Useless Rome Post

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Ziggy

Continuing my streak of useless Rome posts I will now write about our last meal in Italy. Why is a post about this particular meal useless you ask? Well, good question Timmy! The answer lies with Google and the reason I picked this place in the first place. Virtually every Rome blogger and their nonnas has already blogged about Cesare since they opened a few years ago. Some of them even show you the same pictures like the Kodak friendly meatballs and the fried gnocchi. I really don’t have much new to offer here. The Oxtail? Looks like that tip was already covered by Katie Parla. “off the beaten path”, “Last stop on #8 tram”, “Only locals”, “gotta have the fried stuff”, bla bla bla, all of that was already covered extensively. Perhaps I could add a picture of myself trying to smile but that would just make things more awkward and may ruin any appetite you may have, or may make you moody. I got nothing but reconfirm what the locals already said. Cesare al Casaletto has left us impressed.

Its almost like every major Italian tourist destination has this line in the sand. Cross the line and you dine with the locals. Cesare is well beyond the line but extremely easy to get to especially if you are staying in Trastevere. Take tram #8 all the way to the last stop, about 15 minutes from the river, and its right there on Casaletto street.

I almost didnt make it to Cesare after seeing less than glowing reviews on the boards. But then it hit me. Caicos Cafe in Turks and Caicos is just about my favorite restaurant in the world, but does not always get rave reviews from visitors. So just like I expect my friends and family to trust my judgement on Caicos Cafe I decided to stop reading and start trusting.

The menu here reads like a roman cuisine dictionary with a surprising English translation for such a residential area trattoria away from the center. Within an hour the place got filled with locals. How do I know they were all locals? Well for starters everyone got kisses from the staff except us. I tried forcing a wet one but the young waiter got a little confused.

Appetizer portion of the menu consisted of all sorts of fried staff which is a specialty here. Started with a very interesting and very generous fried gnocchi on a bed of light cream. Terrific, although the the gnocchi loving little ones declared their preference for the regular kind. Tough to argue but this was satisfyingly unique nonetheless. Excellent fresh succulent mussels here. The reason we order them everywhere is because the kids ask for them every time they see them. But the star of the apps and perhaps the entire meal was probably the meatballs with pesto. Not the meatballs your mamma used to make. Better! Like an airy slow cooked savory brisket balls. Well done!

The pastas were fine here but again the least memorable course as was the case with all the meals in Rome not named Sorpasso. More of a testament to the other courses here really. You select a pasta type and the classic preparation. I wanted another Carbonara and Cacio but the wife said lets try something else so I opted for a Gricia with Tonarelli and Bucatini Amatriciana which was more satisfying. I realized I prefer all the classics over the Gricia overall. Roman pastas to me is like Mexican food. A 3 to 5 ingredient shuffle. Pasta, Pecorino, Guanciale, black pepper, egg or tomato sauce. Stuff I would eat over Mexican food any time of course.

Another winner was the last course of oxtail stew. Chunky, falling of the bone juicy, tomatoee, packed with flavor meat. Although I forgot to take a picture of this one since we were so engaged telling the kids the story of Maximus (gladiator). I took pictures of pretty much every single dish on this trip except this last one

We skipped dessert this time and left very satisfied. For the price perhaps the best dinner in Rome (70 something. 100 euros less than Roscioli).

Special thanks to Hande of Vino Roma for all her help with the restaurant choices. Thanks Hande!

Categories: Italy, Rome | Tags: Cesare al Casaletto, Cesare al Casaletto Rome, food, Italy, restaurants, Rome, Rome dining, Rome restaurants, Travel | 3 Comments

Malai Marke – Shiva latest + German Draft Beer = Success!

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Ziggy

I will make this one short and sweet and spare you the usual nonsense. East Village is kicking butt lately. What else is new. Already perhaps the best foodie neighborhood in NYC which makes it one of the best in North America, things are only getting more and more exciting, and deserving of a run-on sentence. Its almost like something new pops up in the East Village on a daily basis.

The title refers to Shiva Natarajan, not what you do when your goldfish dies (sit shiva). Malai Marke is the latest from Natarajan, the king of Indian food in NYC. Shiva owns more restaurants than I own boxer shorts and briefs combined (note: I know what you thinking and its really none of your business. Its between me, my wife and my briefs. I should have more briefs but mrs Z keeps throwing out all my “air conditioned” ones whenever she packs for vacation). While Shiva virtually owns Curry Hill including Chote Nawab and about 4 eateries on one block, his presence on “Curry row” is now firmly established with Malai Marke.

I’ve already been to Malai Marke twice now, sampling all sorts of complex deliciousness…

Garlic Naan fresh from the oven as good as it gets. German draft beer, major bonus.

Kurkuri Bindi – Okra. Fried and dry which was a surprise. I was expecting a saucy okra but it was still very good. Reminded me of one of those spicy Indian nut snacks.

Bindi Sasuralwali – I much preferred this Okra – “okra you would eat at your in-laws house.” as it says on the menu just like in Chote Nawab. If anyone here can introduce me to someone who’s parents can cook like this I might need to reconsider my status. My in-laws don’t even know what Okra is.

Chicken Xacuti – Outstanding! Had it twice already. Mild but subtle, with roasted coconut, peanut, and poppy seeds

Lamb Madras – One of the better Madras dishes I’ve had. Tender lamb and the dish overall was fairly similar to the Xacuti

Tand Mix Grill – Another must for me. Great chicken tikka, Tandoor, unique lamb kebabs with just enough heat

Lamb Chettinad – So good. Thicker and heavier than the others but in a good way. Again I expected more heat but was pleasantly surprised with just the right amount.

Chicken Tikka Masala – something I eat often but never in places like these even tho I’m always sure it would be much better. This was no exception. Creamy and perfectly buttery, tho I sort of liked it more as an occasional bite vs eating it continuously if it makes sense.

Chicken Rizzala – Green nutty korma almost dessert like compared to all the other dishes. Korma is another dish we eat often at home and this was like eating it for the first time.

As with pretty much any Indian restaurant I would not bother with dessert. East Village has too many great choices like Chikalicious, Big Gay Ice Cream, Sundaes and Cones

Add another one to your East Village list people. and excuse the horrific Iphone pictures please

Categories: East Village, New York City | Tags: East Village Restaurants, food, Malai Marke, Malai Marke NYC, NYC, NYC eats, NYC restaurants, restaurants | 2 Comments

Nish Nush – Ach Ya!

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Ziggy

A little Borat/Bruno humor there

So the other day something weird happened at night that never happened before. No, not what you think. And shame on you. What happened was I was awaken by Mrs Z’s stomach making all kinds of weird noises. I spent about 10 minutes lying there listening to this processing symphony with a certain amount of fear that she’ll wake up with some sort of ailment. The night before we had an incredible meal at a place where 2 Yelpers got sick recently and I couldn’t help but worry. (That place is not Nish Nush). Unlike snoring, there’s really nothing much you can do in this case. I mean, imagine this conversation..

Her: “What?”

Me: “Ahhm, your stomach is making noises”

Her: “And..what exactly can I do about that?”

Me: “Ahem, can you.. like.. go downstairs and have a turkey sandwich or something”

Her: Speechless

Me: “I love you”

Her: “Fuck You!”

See what I mean? But thankfully Mrs Z woke up fine the next day and everything turned out fine. False alarm. What does it have to do with Nish Nush? Good question Timmy. Nish Nush is sort of a symbol that we are eating out a little bit too much lately, and as I was listening to Amadeus Belly I was wondering if I’m going too far. The place is an hour drive from my house and I already visited it twice in one week.

Quite simply Nish Nush (“snack” in Hebrew) serves the best Falafel in NYC at the moment. Their classic “Green” Falafel is not really green but picture perfect blend of brown and green herbs, mostly brown which I prefer. Along with the perfectly crispy exterior its the closest I’ve had to Falafel in Israel. Although I used to live in Israel as a kid, my best Falafel came last year when I returned as an adult (stop laughing Mrs Z!). Falafel here is made to order which makes a big difference. Pitas are baked in house which is another big plus, and are served warm. There’s free Hummus inside the Falafel sandwich, which is sort of a sad plus. Hummus should always be free, like wifi. So many charge extra for Hummus these days.

But thats not all Nish Nush serves of course. They have a pretty large menu in fact for a place like this. All sorts of Hummus specialties, the Hummus Whisperer a ~~former?~~ contributor to this blog swears by their Masabacha, Hummus with warm chickpeas, boiled eggs, and spices. Hummus is made fresh daily and second only to Gazala’s Place for my taste. The Falafel Platter puts other Falafel platters to shame and I’ll let the pictures do the talking. They also got Sabich on the menu and get this, they even spell Schug correctly.

Move over Taim! Just a little bit

Nish Nush

88 Reade St, New York, NY 10013

Categories: New York City, TriBeCa | Tags: food, Nish Nush, Nish Nush NYC, NYC eats, NYC Falafel, NYC restaurants, restaurants | 5 Comments

Da Roberto in Montisi – Slow Food Nation

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Ziggy

“We are far from Da Roberto” is a phrase I’ve used more than once already. The first time was in Rome’s Le Mani in Pasta where we got treated like second class citizens. The last time was in my house where Mrs Ziggy flat out refused to disclose where she got the couscous. I suspect now that it wasnt organic couscous.

Da Roberto, in the remote Tuscan village of Montisi, represents everything I love about eating in Italy. Fantastic setting, great food, local ingredients, and a man whose passion for food is contagious. I said “Man” instead of “Chef” for a reason. “I’m not a chef, I’m not a cook, I’m simply here to present the finest local ingredients in the simplest form”. And what ingredients they were. Every grain, every bean, every tomato, cow or pig that you will consume at Roberto’s house, its origin will be explained to you in full detail. Roberto’s freezer is turned off and his has no microwave. You get fresh or you get nothing. The only salt in the house is for the pasta water in the kitchen and out on your table. The fact that our American salt demanding palates only reached for the salt once throughout the meal apeaks volumes.

As you come in through Roberto’s herb garden and security guards (pictured above) you immediately get the sense that you are not in Kansas anymore. The 10 or so items you see on the board are carefully selected dishes that showcase what I was trying to describe above. Meaning, you don’t ask “what’s good here” or “what do you recommend”, or what’s the house specialty. The board is the specialty.

Some of the things we ate…

Insalata lagumi (top) – 5 different beans with pecorino, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, carrots, stem of garlic, olive oil. All work together like a beautiful symphony. A fantastic starter

Pici, the Tuscan specialty we couldn’t get enough of, was well represented here, in a healthier more organic way. Pici with Chianina ragu – most excellent. Pici with pork sausage, pecorino and sweet onions was even more satisfying. The fact that we had Pici for lunch that day and the previous day did not affect our enjoyment.

Our short streak of overcooked, dry secondis was stopped here with a lovely, tender roast of chianina. And “The last sausage of the season from a {vendor name} 15 kilometers away”. Sorry Roberto’s guests who came in the following days and months. You missed a darn good sausage.

You will be hard pressed finding a better Slow Food ambassador. “Slow Food”, the fight against fast food and globalization in Italy means fighting a bug that is in its infancy, or hasn’t fully developed yet. While in the USA, its like fighting a late stage cancer. In Lucca, they recently banned any non-Italian restaurants from opening within the ancient walls, leaving 4 kebab houses as the only ethnic options in the historic center. While I, ethnic food lover Ziggy, cant even begin to imagine life without ethnic food, I understand what Lucca, and other Tuscan towns like Siena (who banned fast food in its beautiful historic center) are trying to do. They are trying to prevent the floodgates from opening. Can you really blame them? Its a sensitive subject in Italy that deserves its own post. But as much as I like living in ethnic food capital of the world, New York City, I’m not sure I would mind trading all that for a few Robertos and its farms in my area. Well, at least for a short while. Gotta have that non-organic couscous eventually.

Categories: Italy, Tuscany | Tags: Da Roberto, Da Roberto in Montisi, Da Roberto Tuscany, food, Italy, restaurants, Travel, tuscany, Tuscany restaurants | 5 Comments

Posts Tagged With: food

The places