Posts Tagged With: restaurants

New Orleans Eats Day 2 – Men in black sitting on cane stools

Commander's PalaceSounds mucho isnt it.  10 nicely dressed adults sitting outside on the tiniest stools one can imagine (the ones that turn into walking sticks or weapons), listening to a lecture on the history of New Orleans for 57.5 minutes.  In NYC this would require police or at the very least occupy wall street members protection.  This was us in the lavish Garden District, half a mile away from homes of papa bear Payton, Sandra Bullock, other celebrities, and 10 miles away from Nicholas Cage’s future grave.

We were touring with Tree of RaconTours who not only knows his history but also knows his trees.   Tree also got the Sweet Deal.  The Deal that no other Garden District guide got.  A deal with a legend called Commander’s Palace where Tree started is NOLA career as a waiter.

Commander’s Palace –  This is an institution.  One of the oldest and most famous restaurants in America and the birthplace to legends like Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse.  We got a private room with a balcony overlooking the famous Lafayette cemetery.

Commander's PalaceThis was one of those lunches that was one of the least memorable flavor wise (more of a testament to the other places) but the most memorable overall.   The only oohs and aahs came from the fabulous turtle soup although it was fairly small (large coffee cup size). It was nice and thick and very rich in flavor  (27 ingredients packed in this one). Commander's Palace - Shrimp and TassoAnother app of shrimp and tasso was good. Loved especially the pickled okra side.
The shrimp and grits were good but not as savory as the wonderful shrimp dishes from the night before. I enjoyed the Cajun Cochon de lait  a bit more. Tender, savory pulled pork, boudin, corn and other goodies on a homemade tortilla. Took a bite of the brisket, not as good as boucherie’s.  The famous bread pudding soufflé was good but again falls behind the others. I actually enjoyed the pecan pie more at CP.  The unlimited 25 cent martinis on the other hand makes everything taste better.

Overall a very enjoyable, fun and exceptionally memorable meal  However do it in style!  Do it with Tree!

Commander's Palace Pecan PieCommander's Palace - Cochon de lait

 

SoBou – What a fantastic meal! Great drinks, beautiful decor, nice vibe, and one of the more enthusiastic waitresses I’ve ever seen. Or maybe she was high.  Not sure don’t care.SoBou - Pork Belly
As for the food, loved the cajun queso – pork cracklings with the sickest cheese fondue ever. The girls really enjoyed the butternut squash with honey soup. Very sweet but savory. The tuna ice cream cones were just ok for me.  Yes its original, unique, cool, but that does not always translate to full of flavor.
Excellent alligator sausages and more of those awesome pickled okra we enjoyed throughout the trip. Need to start looking for that at home. The star perhaps was the pork belly with another fantastic boudin.  We were split on the Duck debris and butternut beignets.  The girls like them, the boys didnt care for them.
SoBou - Alligator SausagesOk here’s the thing with the cherry jubilee bread pudding. Great overall and perhaps the best one we tasted so far but not enough cherries in something thats called cherry jubilee. We (in a fun nice way) mentioned it to the waitress and she said we were not the only ones to mention it and that they were probably running out of cherries. The dark and stormy banana rum cake ordered by the Hummus Whisperer who was still raving about the dark and stormy at boucherie was enjoyable as well.
Loved the menu, loved the meal.  Highly recommend SoBou

SoBouSoBou

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New Orleans Eats – Day 1. The legend of the Schweddy Balls

Day 1 started with a bang and a possible a hygiene complaint.  You be the judge…

Drago's Chargrilled Oysters

Drago's Chargrilled Oysters

Drago’s Chargrilled Oysters – Really enjoyed our first snack in New Orleans.  These were meaty, cheesy, citrusy, garlicky goodness.  Various blog chatter hinted on some inconsistancies here especially compared to Drago’s original location and if that’s the case, color us lucky.  With that said, this Hilton location is a big operation where the oysters are constantly being cooked regardless of the ordering.  Our order of a dozen of these babies arrived at our table within a minute after the order took place  Nice start!

Mr B’s Bistro – I already mentioned Mr B’s in the opening remarks.  The fact that we visited this place twice and had the BBQ Shrimp twice and that upon ordering the dish the waiter puts on a bib on you speaks volumes.  It was like eating butter.  Well, 3 sticks to be exact in every dish.  But there was also a fair amount of fiery pepper in that sauce.  Add plenty of huge juicy plump gulf shrimp and you got a spectacular dish.  Bravo!

Mr B's BBQ Shrimp

Mr B's GumboGood gumbo ya ya as well but think I was expecting a bit more on my first gumbo in NO (I’ve had many gumbos before). Very nice bread pudding with whiskey sauce – first out of many BP’s on this trip for this Bread Pudding deprived poor blogger.  😥

Boucherie – An excellent meal from start to finish.  One of many uptown establishments located inside a house.  Nice and cosy.  A nice Pimms and something called Dark and Stormy that the Hummus Whisperer absolutely adored was a promising start.  The meal started with a very nice smoked shrimp and fish beignets with tartar sauce and leek frites. Blackened shrimp and grits were beautifully seasoned and very tasty.

Boucherie Shrimp and GritsBut the star was the boudins. You could smell it immediately when it arrived.  The smell reminded me of Shawarma seasoning.  I was sitting next to the bar and a blonde at the bar who was a little tipsy turned around and said “mmm I can smell your balls from here”.  For the record I did not take a shower that day(yet) but I did not hear any complaints from my travel companions.  I suspect however that they did not shower either because none of us spent much time in the hotel yet.  But anyway, big flavors in those boudins.  One of the top eats of the trip.

Boucherie Boudins

Boucherie BrisketThe brisket was another winner.  Tender and juicy melt in your mouth goodness.  The garlicky Parmesan fries that came with it were spectacular and the table vinegar took them to another dimension.  Also enjoyed the nicely seasoned dry rubbed ribs and the sides of crispy fried shallots.  Loved the sides here.
The Krispy Kreme bread pudding here was as good as advertised. Perhaps better than Mr B’s.  They also had an apple cobbler that we all enjoyed and a side of some amazing homemade butter pecan ice cream.  Great first dinner!

Boucherie Bread Pudding

Boucherie Cobbler

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New Orleans – 5 days of Culinary Bliss

Mr B's BBQ Shrimp

Paris, New York, Tel Aviv, Lisbon, Venice, Staten Island are just some of the food Meccas where we’ve enjoyed some amazing cuisine.  Adding New Orleans to the top of the list.  Ok ok maybe not Staten Island but we getting there.

The picture above says it all.  Thats BBQ Shrimp at Mr B’s, aka 3 sticks of butter plus spices galore.  I can still smell the aromas coming out of the dish.  Partly because I’m currently wearing the shirt I wore while eating it and spattering  sauce all over it.  Also its the first dish my wife and I ate twice while on vacation.

Accompanying us during this trip was renowned food blogger Hummus whisperer, and renowned critic Hummus Whisperer’s wife.  She’s not a food critic, just a critic.

Wherever we go we normally have our share of average and less than average meals.  Not so much on this trip.  Is it because I’ve spent countless hours browsing various food blogs like Chowhound to come up with what was later described as the “heart attack I can die now itinerary from hell”?  Possibly.  I did in fact research more than usual on this trip because unlike other trips, food had more of a purpose here.  The purpose was to enjoy some of the best New Orleans has to offer and the result was, as can only be described by Borat… GREAT SUCCESS!!

This post is the first of a series of posts about New Orleans food, New Orleans cemeteries, and what to eat after visiting New Orleans cemeteries.  Enjoy!

Categories: New Orleans | Tags: , , , , , | 4 Comments

More Ratatouille Moments at Scarpetta

Scarpetta
I have mentioned this phrase before.  Ratatouille moment.  What is a Ratatouille moment Ziggy? Well, I’m glad you asked Timmy.  A Ratatouille moment derives from the movie “Ratatouille” and the moment is when the tough, ugly, mean, hard to please critic takes that mega important bite of the Ratatouille.  Well, you can see for yourself

For me Ratatouille moments are a bit different.   They are not really about me reminiscing about something I ate as a kid.  Although I did have Bacalau in Portugal that reminded me of some awful Gifilte fish I had as a kid.  That would be the opposite of a Ratatouille moment I suppose.  After the 10th Gefilte fish I was the youngest member of our city to file for a restraining order against his parents.  And as far as Bacalau in Portugal goes, they say they can make it in 365 different ways for every day of the week.  We must have picked the 2 worst days.  The 2 ways they invented in days 364 and 365, well after they ran out of ideas and just focused on completing the cycle.  But I digress.
Scarpetta, tied with Marea for the meal of the year, gave us some “Moments”…
We started with a stunner.  Without a doubt the most impressive bread basket I have ever seen.  It included a Focaccia, a Stromboli (mozzarella and salami sandwich) among other goodies.  And it comes with 3 great condiments, a great tasting butter, eggplant salad and olive oil.  What a start.  After nibbling on some nice apps like the ribs, Mozzarella, and the Farmers Market with truffles, the monsters have arrived.

Creamy Polenta with truffled mushrooms – Fantastic! creamy and light polenta with those savory mushrooms took me back to Enoteca Valpolicella in Italy’s Valpolicella wine country.   I was counting the blessings of being married to a family that did not like mushrooms which includes my wife, her sister and her mom.

Polenta at Scarpetta

Cavatelli Capretto – Melt in your mouth, juicy tender Capretto. Some in our party claimed this was their favorite.

Rabbit Agnolotti – This was a personal favorite.  Nice perfectly cooked rabbit in those pillowy delicate mini raviolis bursting with flavor. Couldnt get enough of this.

Spaghetti with tomato & basil – This is one of Scott Conant’s signatures and the most famous Spaghetti with red sauce dish in NYC. Homemade fresh pasta with the most amazing tomato sauce I ever tasted. Another one I couldnt get enough of.  Reminded me of a simple pasta I had once in Varenna.

Spaghetti at Scarpetta

Duck & Foie Gras Ravioli with marsala reduction – Spectacular looking and spectacular tasting. All kinds of nice contrasting flavors packed in this one. Another must

Duck & Foie Gras Ravioli at Scarpetta

We could have stopped right there but we didnt.  What followed was a much less memorable cod, and a finish of an odd coconut Panna Cotta which had a soupy texture that I did not care for.  The Hummus Whisperer had the Sheep’s milk Ricotta from Lazio with honey which seemed like a better choice

Generally I favor the places that have a signature dish like the Spaghetti in this case.   But I especially favor places that offer many other options that are equally as good.  The experience was less perfect for my wife and her sister who will be quick to note the cramped space (for the 8 of us) and less than stellar service.  And normally I would be quick to note the same.  But when you are in one of those moments, any flaws are not only quickly forgotten, they get ridiculed

Scarpetta

Categories: Chelsea, New York City | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Staten Island – Viva la Vida

Our goldfish Ziggy Jr. is not well.  He hasn’t eaten in 2 days, he is slow to react to disturbances and stimuli, and his poop has sort of a mahogany tone to it.  Our history with previous Ziggy jr’s indicate that he does not have much time left.

What Ziggy Jr. desperately needs is a meal at Vida (OMG I can just see Vida’s owner rolling her eyes at this transition :roll:).  Vida has all the ingredients for a fun meal with the family.  It got that nice neighborhoody vibe, quirky waiters, and home cooking that is better than mama’s.  Ok, cooking better than my mama is not exactly a stretch (thankfully my mom does not read this blog, nor does she know I have a blog, or knows what a blog is) but Silva Popaz, Vida’s chef/owner sure knows her stuff.  Vida is a chef’s restaurant.  When the chef de cuisine is out, the restaurant is closed.  So many more known establishments in the city don’t follow this rule.

Reading the menu at Vida is like visiting Disney’s Epcot.  It’s as eclectic as a menu can get.  Between the Asian style shrimp, Gumbo, Hummus,  chicken Francaise, and the rest of it, all major continents are well represented.

We started with the always reliable Vida bites — pulled pork, pico de galo and avocado sauce on bread.  Another regular for us is the mussels with cilantro, shallots, garlic, and white wine.  This decadent sauce normally screams for some serious  finger dipping, until they bring more bread.  I wasnt quick to wash my hands following the meal.

Vida

For main the wonderful special Butternut Squash Lasagna with marsala reduction well demonstrated Silva’s talent and originality.  The marsala, just like with Scarpetta’s foie gras ravioli added nice intensity to the dish.

Vida

My feeling of uncertainty after not getting my usual gumbo dish this time and ordering something I normally never do, did not last long.  The special chicken stuffed with sausage, spinach and mushrooms was outstanding.  Perfectly crisped skin with that savory filling made every morsel regret sharing the dish with Mrs Ziggy.

The kids were enjoying their linguine Fra Diavolo with shrimp, calamari, mussels, and Asian style hanger steak.  Sorry about the quality of the pictures which I blame on lack of lighting, and lack of skill

I normally get the bread pudding for dessert but this time I was convinced to try the Tiramisu cheesecake.  Wowser!  Perfect finish to one of the best meals we had in Staten Island.  Is wowser an acceptable food blog word I wonder?  I’m still new to this blogging thing and I dont want to embarrass  myself.

Silva gets much of her culinary influences from her trips around the world.  A recent trip to Morocco can almost assure a bigger arsenal of exotic spices and perhaps a nice Lamb Tagine in the near future.

Vida up until recently was the only restaurant in Staten Island included on the coveted Michelin Bib Gourmand list.  Its like a michelin star for affordable neighborhood joints.  The excellent Enoteca Maria has now joined the list for 2012.  If Vida is not Staten Island’s best, she is not far behind.

Recommended dishes:  Vida Bites, Mussels, Gumbo, Stuffed Chicken, Tiramisu cheesecake

Categories: New York City, Staten Island | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Top 15 things we ate in Israel

       In the land of Milk and Hummus, incredible flavors were running wild.  2 weeks of touring and eating some of the best Israel has to offer in the North, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, produced some heavenly results.  Here are the best things we ate in no particular order

1.  Hummus from Suhila/Abu Suhil in Akko

A silky smooth, creamy, ’no frills’, amazingly fresh Hummus, served warm with boiled chickpeas.  Simply amazing 

2.  Sashimi salmon with wasabi sorbet from Uri Buri in Akko

Best Sashimi Salmon with Wasabi Sorbet I ever had 😉   Yes, ordered it because I was curious (not a big fan of salmon) and glad I did.  An original and yummy creation of contrasting flavors.  Photo courtesy of Mark H. Anbinder

Sashimi Salmon

3.  Hazkenim Falafel in Haifa

Some of the best Falafel we ever had in a narrow little alley in the Wadi Nisna.  ‘Old People Falafe’ made me feel young again.  That and the procedure I recently had.

4.  Baked trout from Dag Al Hadan in the upper Galilee. 

Baked with Pesto and other spices, delicious fish in an incredible setting 

5.  Lachuch from the Lachuch guy in Tsfat

Whether you want it like a pizza or a wrap, master Ronen will dish out a wonderful snack of Yemenite spongy flat bread with tomatoes, zaatar, onions and fresh cheese.  Add a spoonful of the spicy Z’hug and you got yourself a meal.

6.  The plate from the Ussafia hospitality lunch.

Fresh pita with zaatar, hummus, kabobs, fresh salads and more.  I’ll let the picture do the drooling…  

7.  Hummus with meat from the Lebanese Restaurant in Abu ghosh

Rich, wonderful hummus with nicely seasoned meat with pine nuts.  The rest of the salads were not too shabby as well in this village just outside of Jerusalem

8.  Kibbeh from Rachmo in Jerusalem

If this cafeteria style establishment makes it that day, get it as a meat dumpling in tomato soup or fried like a fried meat patty (I prefered the soup).  I could have easily mentioned their amazing Hummus instead here.  A must while visiting Mahane Yehuda 

9.  Coffee bean Halva from the King of Halva in Mahane Yehuda in the Jerusalem

Halva is something I eat a lot (I had some this morning – Feh!).  This is fresh, melt in your mouth, savory nutty Halva.  Absolutely delicious.  Now I’m drooling.  Cant get that in NY

10.  Shawarma from Turk Lahmacun in Tel Aviv

Veal, lamb, turkey Shawarma, or go Meshugenah and have all 3 inside a Lahmajun, flat bread topped with meat and spices baked in their taboon oven.  Add some Amba (mango condiment) close your eyes and enjoy the show.  p.s open your eyes occasionally to see if you need more Amba or if your finger is bleeding

11.   Pargit from Dr. Shakshuka in Jaffa/Tel aviv

The Shakshuka may be the famous dish here but we found their tender and juicy Pargit (boneless chicken thighs) irresistible

12.  Spicy Halabi Kabob from Haj Kahil in Jaffa/Tel Aviv

A piece of art.  Wonderful meat stuffed with herbs and nuts served with roasted tomatoes in a soup like tomato broth covered with pastry dough with zaatar.  Simply delicious!

13.  Malabi from Haj Kahil in Jaffa/Tel Aviv 

The Knaffe may be the popular dessert here but this milk pudding with pistachios stole the show. Couldnt get enough of this Panna Cotta like deliciousness

14.  Sabich from Sabich Frishman in Tel Aviv

A glorious and flavorful sandwich of Eggplant, hard-boiled eggs, tahini and spices in pita.  Very tasty

15.  Brioche French toast with jam from Benedict in Tel Aviv

C’est Magnifique!!

Categories: Israel | Tags: , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Eating in Tel Aviv – Goodnight Schnitzel!

“The capital of Mediterranean cool” was the last stop of our 2 week culinary adventure in Israel.  The goal was more of the same. Street food, arab food and anything else not easily available back at home in NYC.  Authentic Italian food and fresh seafood is also always desirable wherever we go but fell a little short here.
With that said however, the feeling at the end was mutual – Mission accomplished…

Turk Lahmacun – Also spelled “Lahmajun” and pronounced “OMG this is some good joon!”.  This is glorious Shawarma not for wimps.  3 different meats spinning:  Veal, lamb and turkey.  I got a combo of all 3 in a Lahmajun bread, flat bread topped with meat and spices baked in their taboon oven.  Like Hazan shawarma in Haifa they really stuff a nice chunk of meat there and the result is one outrageous and delicious sandwich.  And that Amba mango sauce compliments it very well.
This place is on Nahalat Binyamin.  When coming from the independence hall, turn right on Nahalat Binyamin and it’s on your left a short block away.

Dr.  Shakshuka – you know you made it when the new antique store next door calls itself doctor Antika.  The Shakshuka here is as good as Shakshuka can get, I guess.   Problem is for breakfast I normally don’t touch this stuff as I like my eggs a bit more simple.  Besides their famous Shakshuka, other goodies rose to the occassion like their terrific salads and in particular the spicy eggplant.  But the best thing we ate here wasn’t the Shakshuka, it was the Pargit.  Israelis love their Pargit, which is either a young chicken, a boneless thigh, or a boneless thigh of a young chicken, not sure.  But you see this Pargit everywhere and here it was the best one we ate during the trip. Tender, juicy, well seasoned grilled chicken on skewers.  Highly recommend this doctor.


Hakosem Falafel – Best falafel since Hazkenim in Haifa.  You know when you are tasting good falafel when you pack the pita with irresistible chips, tahini, salads and more, but the flavors of the falafel still dominate.

Sabich Frishman – Another tasty snack.  Sabich is Falafels not so good looking sister. You know, the one that only calls when she needs money.  Eggplant, hard boiled eggs tahini and spices in pita pack in a lot of nice flavors.  This I was told is one of the better Sabich places but there’s one particular in the Tel Aviv suburb of Givataim where there are lines around the block, called Oved Sabich.

Cafe Noir – the 110th reminder that no matter how great they taste, I just can’t get excited over a Schnitzel.  Veal, chicken, camel schnitzel, no matter.  I suppose if you opt to have one this is the place to go.  Cafe Noir is known to make the best schnitzels in the nation.  The schnitzels have been written about in various publications.  The recipe of the Schnitzel has been well publicized.  Children’s fairy tales have been written about it like “The Princess and the pea, and the veal Schnitzel”, “One-Eye! Two-Eyes! Three-Eyes! Schnitzel!” and my personal nighttime favorite, “Goodnight Schnitzel!”.  Anyway so you get the idea.  In Cafe Noir, you still need to rely on great complimentary sauces with your schnitzels and here you are given 3 good ones.  I should also say that the rest of the family enjoyed it and declared it one heck of a Schnitzel.  We also had some nice Druze bread and Some succulent shrimp in bread-scooping-worthy sauce.  We liked Cafe Noir

Benedict – The “good morning” sign at 7 in the evening wasn’t an indication of laziness.  Benedict serves only breakfast all day long.  This is the type of place I had no desire to go to before the trip when I heard about it, but I had every desire to eat there once we saw it while walking on Rotshchild blvd.  Reason being was that I (perhaps in the minority) was somewhat tired of the legendary Israeli hotel breakfast.  

Benedict delivered in a big way.   The omelette I was so struggling with the previous 12 days, from the greasy to the overcooked, to the burned while the cook discusses Matkot (paddle ball) strategies with the head waiter, has arrived.  A gorgeous, hefty and (finally) perfectly cooked potato, cheese and cauliflower omelette.  We shared all kinds of goodies including nice home fries, and the juicy “benji” sausage. The best thing was probably the brioche French toast with jam, something I haven’t enjoyed this much since my last visit to Maine and its amazing blueberries.  Well done Benedict!  Finally good breakfast.


We had some memorable meals in Israel.  From the famous (Uri Buri) to the not so much (Lachuch guy in Tsfat).  But there was one in particular that stood out as the best meal of the trip…

Haj Kahil – After the initial recommendation from Shoshi on TripAdvisor, and reading writeups on SeriousEats and the excellent David Lebovitz blog, this was the most highly anticipated meal of the trip.
The small salads here were amazing and different. Plenty of fruit which I don’t normally like in my meals but really enjoyed it here like the delicious figs with walnuts. Hummus here was top notch. Nice Iraqi bread, the usual eggplant suspects, tomatoes in spicy tahini sauce, simple, nutty, and absolutely delicious.
The meats here were spectacular. We shared the lamb neck stuffed with rice, ground beef and almonds. They also have the lamb shoulder which was a bit too much for us (says its serves 6 but looks like it serves 26). Also tried a wonderful Synia (sp?), ground beef, veggies and spices covered in tahini sauce.  But the star for me was the spicy Halabi kabob, tender, juicy ground meat stuffed with herbs and some nuts served with lovely slightly spicy roasted tomatoes in a soup like tomato broth covered with pastry dough with zaater.
 For dessert we enjoyed their Knaffe, but absolutely devoured the Malabi, a creamy but silky milk pudding with pistachios. It’s Panna cotta on steroids!  We’ve had the Malabi a few times on this trip but not like this.  A glorious finish to a glorious meal.
Take a look at the map below for the exact location and the locations of the other places mentioned.
There were other less memorable meals like in the White Pergola in the touristy Hanamal area, and another one at a popular Italian, Amore Mio.  With that said however, the little glimpse we got of the wonderful flavors of Tel Aviv, has left us heading to Ben Gurion full with memories and.. full.  Goodnight Tel Aviv! Goodnight Schnitzel!

Related:  Eating in the North   Eating in Jerusalem

Categories: Israel | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dekalb Market and Bushwick munching – Can I pay for this free pizza??

Ever since the Hummus Whisperer was a little boy, he wanted 2 things.  Getting a fish pedicure by authentic Garra Rufa, and eating authentic Napoli style Pizza at Roberta’s.  Now that he accomplished the former, he wouldnt shut up about Roberta’s.  Every month or so he would go “oh, you know what I would like to try?”  and I would answer “Yes I know Roberta’s.  You mentioned it a few days ago”.  Time has come to fulfill a little boy’s dream…

The super popular Roberta’s happen to host the annual Bushwick block party yesterday.  As soon as we entered we saw a huge line for free Roberta’s pies and I really hate lines unless food is involved.  Sometimes I see a line and I just get on it and ask questions later.  “DMV?  oh look at the time, I’ll come back some other time”.  But we decided to come back later and check out some of the other vendors first in an area I can best describe as the graffiti and tattoo capital of the world .

Started with a familiar face, Furn Shawarma.  I’m not big into Chicken Shawarmas as I prefer meat but this was pretty darn good.  Perhaps even better than Mamouns in the village.  This was a nice piece of art.  Yogurt marinated, beautifully spiced goodness with various veggies and a nice sauce.  First and best thing I ate all day.  Then I took it easy with some healthy Ethiopian from Bunna Cafe.  Tried the Gomen, steamed kale with other veggies and spices, Yellow split pea salad, and the more satisfying split red lentils with spicy barbere.  But the best part may be the spongy, smooth, flat Injera bread they serve with it.  Finally I had a chance to try the touted Arancini (rice balls) from the Arancini Bros.  Tried the Ragu and the Norma.  Nicely done!  Could have used a bit more of the non-rice goodies inside, a bit of a tease, but tasty nonetheless.  I think I got spoiled by the Jambalaya rice balls of Staten Island’s Bayou.

Then we finally decided to get our free pizzas and fufill a dream.  Got on line, stood for a few minutes until we were told its past 2 pm so no more free pizzas but we could go to the bar area and pay for our pizzas which I did.  But with all the chaos with the people on line continuing to snag all the free pies, they said it may take a while to get ours so I just got my money back.  Hey I’m trying to pay for this free stuff and I still cant get it!!  And after we realized that waiting for a table inside Roberta’s will require an hour wait, reality struck. Sorry man, we are not getting Roberta’s today!!

Moving on to the Dekalb Market.  A market in the middle of the hustle and bustle of downtown Brooklyn with stores peeping out of shipping containers.  Just in time for some Brazilian band performing with all kinds of technical issues including some weird Depeche Mode rendition.   After surveying the impressive food array with the little appetite I had left I started with some grilled Filipino Longanisa sausage from Maharlika.  Very sweet sausage, almost like sweet potatoe but tasty nonetheless especially once you add some of their spicy vinegar.  Comes with nice aromatic garlic rice.   Before that I tried the Korean Taco from Oaxaca.  Feh! dry, probably seating there for a while meat swimming in red sauce.  The clunker of the day.  The HW meanwhile was busy drowning his sorrows with a double dose of Centruy frozen yogurt.  Time to head back to our families.

As the HW put a reminder on his iphone for the next Bushwick block party, I noticed a tear.  A tear made of hummus!

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