Thai Son Vietnamese...Ahh The Memories

Oh man that looks so good! Prior to 1999 I had never eaten any Asian food other than Chinese and Japanese (barely any Japanese), and basically as a typical American there were only a few dishes that I ever even tried. It wasn't until the summer of that year, when I met my wife, that I was introduced to a whole new world. Why you say? My wonderful wife, who happens to have been born in Hong Kong, is Chinese, and she took it upon herself to show me the so-called ropes when it came to Asian cuisine. Great I thought, someone to guide me thru it and someone who was pretty darn cute to boot! A win win as they say. You see the Chinese think we are all a bunch of whimps when it comes to eating certain foods. I for one am a huge whimp and am not ashamed to admit it (my wife makes fun of me all the time), and man do they eat some scary looking stuff, but I won't really get into that. On one of our very first dates that summer she took me to a Malaysian Restaurant called Nyonya on Grand Street, I certainly didn't know what to expect, but the place was packed with non-Asians...good I thought. Let's just say the most memorable part of the meal was the pink sweater she was wearing (she looked fabulous btw), because I try as hard as I can to block out the food that I saw that night. They were serving up scary looking creatures with lots of bones sticking out in all directions (ok thats a bit of an exaggeration but like I said I've blocked it out), suffice it to say I went home really hungry. Then she introduced me to Dim Sum which was a smashing success. Lots of tasty little appetizers filled with Pork and Shrimp and other stuff, it was really fun, but to this day I still get hung up on her eating Chicken Feet in front of me, gross. Anyway then came a broadened Japanese palate and even a dabble into Thai food which she never really had eaten either. However it wasn't until she brought me to a Vietnamese place that I finally found my calling...eating Vietnamese, it was meant to be. Above all others I truly preferred the variety of flavors and dishes at our favorite place Thai Son at 89 Baxter Street, and quickly we became regulars, frequenting the place three times a week. I couldn't get enough. I really enjoyed the way that they brought everything out in a jumble, sometimes the appetizers coming after the main course, and the general disinterest the servers had for the customers was always a real treat! Seriously though the food was great and it was really cheap. Sadly all good things must come to an end as they say. In 2001 we moved out west to Phoenix, due to a job transfer, and we had to say goodbye to our favorite place...a sad day indeed. Time passed very slowly indeed but as luck would have it the winds of change would find us again and return us back home in 2007. Back where we belonged, even if it was to New Jersey (sorry Jersey you ain't NYC), but back nonetheless. Fast Forward to a couple of weeks ago.

Of course time changes everything including habits, so it should come as no surprise that since we have been back we have only gone to Thai Son twice, a shame I know. So the other day while working downtown, my stomach grumbling as usual, I thought why not eat there? So I ran over to Baxter Street (the man punted Baxter! Anchorman reference) and ordered a few things to go. It was actually really cool to be back there but I wasn't used to standing there without my wife...weird. Anyway back to work I went with my delicious meal in a plastic baggy and all I could think about was how good it was gonna taste and if I should tell my wife that I ate there without her (tough one). First up were the Vietnamese Summer Rolls filled with Shrimp, Pork, Rice Vermicelli, Cilantro and Lettuce (I think) with a side of Peanut Sauce. Mmmmmm good! For my main dish I chose the Grilled Pork and Spring Rolls over Rice Vermicelli with a smal cup of the Vietnamese National Fish Sauce...better tasting than it sounds I promise. It's always better to sit and eat at the restaurant and I certainly didn't want to do that alone, but taking it to go was better than nothing. Thankfully it was still as good as I remembered and gave me more than enough reason to come back sooner than later. Besides there are like five other dishes that I need to make sure still taste like they used too...can't wait.

Is The Reuben The Mecca Of All Things Sandwich?

Back when I was 13 me and my friends used to work at a nearby golf course as caddies during the summer, carrying rich peoples golf bags for close to four hours a day. Hard work. Afterwards, fresh with a lump of hard earned cash in our pockets, we'd walk into town and head to our local deli to order gut-busting sandwiches for lunch. My weapon of choice was usually a Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato and Mayo on a hero or what we called a 'Wedge', to which I would add a bag of BBQ chips and a large bottle of Coca-Cola. My two friends, Peter and Larry (attached at the hip) always liked to one-up each other by ordering something different each day, a sort-of anything you can eat I can do better (?) kind of thing. Mostly I just ignored them both because they're act usually became a bit tiresome, besides I needed to concentrate on my own sandwich. Anyway one fine late summer day, as schools were getting close to opening, the boys introduced me to a sandwich that consisted of Rare Roast Beef (the redder the better baby) and Cole Slaw on Rye. At first I was a bit skeptical because up until that point I had never really had Cole Slaw or Roast Beef for that matter, but it was the fact that the sandwich was on Rye bread that caused me to have the most pause. You see we were always looking for the biggest pieces of bread we could find. Gigantic rolls that could have sailed the seven seas just like a submarine, so it went against all our unwritten rules to request puny little slices of Rye bread. However I relented and I was sure glad I did.  For years after that day, whenever I would order that sandwich, it would happily bring me back to my days at Bedford Golf & Tennis even if it did make me think of Peter and Larry. How was I to know it would open me up to a much grander world? Not quite as easy to remember is how exactly I got turned onto an actual Reuben. Was it at Katz? Was it just dumb luck? Perhaps, but the rest is history. It is in fact my favorite sandwich of all time. Now I am talking about a real Reuben, not a Rachel Reuben or a Roast Beef Reuben (the original sandwich that I was first introduced to). The Reuben that was first created in.....New York? Or was it Omaha, Nebraska? Nebraska, really? Well actually there are conflicting reports so no one is really sure. The sandwich dates back to at least the early 20's (whether it's NY or Neb), so it is basically an American institution at this point. A traditional Reuben is made with Corned Beef, Sauerkraut, Swiss Cheese and Russian or Thousand Island dressing and often times is grilled kind of like a Panini. Some people substitute the Corned Beef for Pastrami, also incredibly delicious, but that lead to the Rachel which uses Pastrami and Cole Slaw instead of the Sauerkraut. All good. I don't exactly remember why I started thinking about this, maybe it was a dream, or quite possibly it was my blogging friend Keri over at http://www.sandwich365.blogspot.com/ , her wonderful blog dedicated to the worlds greatest invention, the sandwich. All I know is that every time I read it I start craving for sandwiches...thanks Keri. Oh and thank you Reuben, you are the best (the sandwich, not the person).

Murray's Bagels Vs. Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company

Those are the two combatants....Murray's on the left and Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company on the right. Ok first off Murray's has the early edge because their name is shorter and easier to remember, maybe I should call the other one BB&CC to make this whole writing thing a bit easier on my brain. I am still a bit confused however that there are actually two Murray's bagels and not too far from each other either, one on 8th Ave and one on 6th Ave, but I have yet to confirm their relation (Both are owned by guys named Pomerantz, Matt and Adam and it would be easy to assume they are brothers, however they have separate websites and don't mention the other...very strange). The one I refer to is the one on 8th between 22nd and 23rd because that's the one I have been to. BB&CC, on the other hand, is just up the street on 8th between 24th and 25th making this the perfect comparison due to closeness of proximity. Both places offer traditional style bagels which are hand-rolled making the bagels less uniform. The biggest difference between the two places? Size. BB&CC's are over-sized and bulbous, so much so that the hole is pretty much not a hole. How do they accomplish this? They add a bit more yeast into the bagel so it plumps up extra high, and I know this because I worked in a bagel shop back in my high school days many moons ago...that's what we did, so it's nothing new. Ultimately it all comes down to the flavor and both places are right on par with each other. However in my book BB&CC's were just a bit tastier, but that is no slight on Murray's because they are a fine example of a great NYC bagel.

On top is a Murray's Whole Wheat Sesame with Vegetable Cream Cheese and on the bottom is BB&CC's non-Whole Wheat version, just a regular Sesame. Of course when you add Cream Cheese it changes the flavor of the bagel, so just comparing the two this way wouldn't be a true test. Just like Pizza, you gotta eat a plain one...no butter, no nothing (referring to a plain slice of Pizza not a slice with butter...duh). I will say that the Coffee at BB&CC was also very delicious but we're not comparing Coffee here. Anyway I would be quick to recommend both of these Bagel joints because they were highly satisfactory and wonderfully uphold the high standards that we New Yorkers have when it comes to good Bagels. I believe it's something in the water...  

Hill Country Chicken Is The Best Fried Chicken I've Ever Had!!!

Ok that is probably an over-statement but I am no Fried Chicken expert, all I know is that damn bird was juicy! For weeks earlier this summer I walked up Broadway past the corner of 25th street and wondered what exactly was happening inside because it was under construction and all they had on the door was the image of a Chicken. So the other day when I was reading the blog Midtown Lunch (great by the way) they mentioned that this place called Hill Country Chicken had just opened and it was the same exact place I had been passing. Early reports were that it was good but expensive and the wait was a bit too long with lines out the door. Well it's all true. In fact I waited on that long ass line today which stretched out to the corner. A little daunting yes, but it was worth the wait. I'd prepared myself by checking out their menu online and read about the history of the recipe blah, blah, blah. I am not going to go into it here I just want to talk about the food. First off the place smells and looks wonderful. It's retro, reclaimed kinda vibe really adds to the effect and was actually a pleasure. There was also lots of room to roam with numerous tables scattered about, so staying there to eat didn't seem so far fetched even though I took it to go.

I will say one thing about paying $5.50 for a Chicken Breast, $2.75 for a Drum, $2.50 for a small Cheesy Mashed Potatoes and $1.00 for a biscuit...you will certainly not over-eat at this place. It was definitely starch overload and I continue to think that I should have gotten the Cole Slaw to counteract the affect. Oh well back to the Chicken. There are two options when it comes to the Chicken, Hill Country Classic Style or Mama Els' Recipe, and of the two the Hill Country Classic was better. It was juicy and flavorful and like I said, it was the best Fried Chicken I have ever eaten. Not that the Mama Els' was bad or anything, it wasn't, but it was certainly not as good. Now the words Cheesy Fried Mashed Potatoes are enough to make anyones knees buckle, so you know I had to order it and I have to say they did not disappoint. The Buttermilk Biscuit was way to good, I mean I could've eaten like twelve of them and it would have cost me the same as my entire meal, but I'm glad I didn't. So do you think I liked it or what? Of course I did but I won't be going there too often. Not only is it pricey but it is still Fried food afterall, you can't eat that stuff every day, if you do well you'll be poor and dead. Not too promising.

 

When You Don't Know What To Eat, Eat The Pizza "I Dunno"

This beautiful creation above is called the Mezzaluna and thanks to the wonderful people over at New York Magazine I must now go run out and try it. It is a Pizza and Calzone hybrid that is sure to make me drool...oops it already has...anyone have a kleenex? Anyway you can find this at Olio Pizza e Piu at 3 Greenwich Ave near 6th Avenue. However Peppino's in Brooklyn claims that it created a similar concoction many moons ago when a customer could decide if he wanted a pizza or a calzone. Apparently the owner, Joe Mancino, told the guy to hold on a sec while he put something together. He called it the Pizza I Dunno and now he sells a ton of them each week. Man, you know what that means? I gotta go to both places to try them out, what a shame.

Five Guys Voted Best Fast Food Burger In NY And USA

Actually they tied with my personal fave, IN-N-OUT, accross the country as the best burgers in the country, in a survey by Consumer Reports and published here in the NY Post. Not surprisingly of course, MacDonalds was rated to have the worst even though they outsell all the others by a ton, I mean what do you expect for a buck fifty? Second in the big NYC was Fuddruckers which I can honestly say I have never been mostly because of the stupid name. IN-N-OUT is currently only available out West so there is no comapring for those of us here on the East Coast, however I was lucky enough to have lived out there for a few years and have fond memories of ordering my Animal Style burgers and Fries. Oh, don't know what that is? Sorry can't tell you, it's a secret. You see IN-N-OUT has a secret menu that only the regulars know about and I'm not about to share it with you! Only kidding. Actually it's just a special way of ordering the food really but you gotta be there to experience it. Here is the link to the story in the Post,  http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/america_hail_to_the_beef_GrJhlyrYxVfFx9QGZ2DvYM. Personally I also love Five Guys and appreciate their high quality and standards, so I say why not love them both?

Grimaldi's Coming To The Bowery? I Don't Think So

Landmark pizzeria Gramaldi's in Brooklyn will probably be closing the location sometime next fall when their landlord will refuse to let them re-up due to a rental dispute. What are we to do? Well there's good news and bad news. This past May, Grimaldi's opened up a spot inside the Limelight Marketplace on 6th Avenue which gives fans an option in Manhattan. However Community Board 2 has just recently turned down Pat and Carol Grimaldi's request to open up a new pizzeria at 352 Bowery due to the fact that it would be a disturbance to the area...like the drug dealers aren't. The fate of the Brooklyn location is up to it's new owner, Frank Ciolli, to find a new spot, perhaps somewhere in Brooklyn, but only time will tell. The old location will most likely be rented again to house a pizzeria due to the fact that it has a coal oven inside it which is none too easy to take out, plus it is also outlawed in the city and can no longer be built elsewhere. Stay tuned...