Chowing down in Greenpoint

Until recently, I'd never stopped IN Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Walked through, rode through, drove through, but never stopped. Thank goodness Yoga Jen and her BF Tom invited me to dinner and broke THAT foolish streak!

I can't say the name of this restaurant, but I can tell you where it is and WHY YOU HAVE TO GO THERE NOW. Mamma mia, THIS is some of the best home-cooked food I've ever had! The decor? Well, it's...different. As if someone mixed Nana's welcoming home with a hunting lodge's leftover animal heads. :)

Look! This guy's got his party lei ready to go!

You can BYOB at this place, and there is NO CORKAGE FEE, ie the 25 bucks and up that many establishments charge to let you open your bottle of wine at their table. What a treat! Tom picked up a nice Malbec around the corner and the server happily brought us an opener.

The menu was a bit overwhelming, so we ordered a little bit of everything. First up: Pickle soup. Stay with me, because one spoonful of this and you'll also be saying "Why have I never had this before!??!" So. Insanely. Scrumptious.

You don't go to a steakhouse and order fish; neither would you go here and NOT order pierogies.

We ordered sauerkraut/mushroom and potato/cheese. The s/m blend was good--the p/c blend was DREAMILY DELICIOUS. Crispy, crunchy exterior, savory, yumtastic, soft yummy innards. Add your own 'yum' derivative here.

Tom got the Hungarian pie ($8.00), which is a ginormous potato pancake wrapped around a hearty serving of goulash. Delicious, delicious, deeeeelicious! How did they keep the pancake so crunchy outside, soft inside, and not go all gushy with all that goulash? Magic, I decided.

I ordered the chicken cutlet ($8.00), stuffed with mushrooms and surrounded by a pool of chicken juiciness. I didn't even TOUCH this. Okay, I cut off a tiny piece so I could sample it at the height of its freshness--the other 3 pounds of it came home with me that night.

Oh this? Just our table o' food, minus Jen's mushroom soup, which was also good, but NOWHERE NEAR AS GOOD AS PICKLE SOUP!!!--Photo Credit: Jen A :)

We were beyond stuffed, but Jen had already ordered the cherry blintzes, and it's a sin to waste food (so says my late, great Nana Jo), so really, we had to sample them.

I did not realize these were also fried. Holy caloric intake...cherry-tastic bites of yum yet again. I took the second one home with me for leftovers. Yum.

A quick glance back at the kitchen showed several women hard at work, churning out delicious dish after delicious dish. My compliments to all of the chefs!

Oh, and the leftovers? I reheated them Sunday night and they were just as delicious. Don't you love it when a good thing gets even better after a day or two in the fridge? Even better? When the bill (including generous tip) comes to about 50 bucks for 3 very stuffed, very happy people. Seriously...why aren't we there right now, having some pickle soup?!?!?

Ladies who Lunch (late)

I had a savings code via BlackboardEats.com that was expiring soon--and that just could not happen! My friend P & I finished up our workday and zipped over to Inside Park at St. Bart's for a late lunch, with a free bottle of wine and a free charcuterie plate. Yes, and Amen! The restaurant area is attached to the still-active St. Bartholomew's church on Park Avenue. There's seating indoors, but we opted for outdoor seating, where we could see the garden, the birds, the people...and enjoy our free food and wine!

There were two reds available, and we opted for the blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, two of my favorites! I didn't realize until we saw the bottle that it was from the Barons de Rothschild [Lafite] vineyards, who also make one of my favorite reds (Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon).

This was a yummy, drinkable blend. I think we both enjoyed it, but I think I liked it just a smidge more than P did. Val d'ours means Valley of the Bear--how could I resist?

When I handed our server my printout for the free wine and free charcuterie, I thought he might be annoyed with us, but he warmed up to us quickly. I think he realized we weren't two cheapo tourists who were going to pretend to 'forget' what tipping is at the end of the meal (something that happens far too often in NYC).

He brought out our platter but left before explaining what anything was. I could tell the meat on the left was mortadella (droooooooool) and the far right was prosciutto (?), but other than that we were just guessing.

Pickled veggies = tongue-tingling deliciousness! Curried cauliflower, tangy carrots and beets--oh-so-crunchable. My least favorite was actually the pickles! There were also two dips: one a hearty, zesty mustard, the other what I guessed (correctly) was an anchovy paste. We kinda left that one mostly alone. ;)

Free wine, free appetizers, and outdoor seating on a cool but beautiful day in NYC? Top that! I heart it here.

I ordered the burger, which our server said was one of the best items there. It came with a red onion remoulade for dipping the fries. I'm not a 'fry gal,' normally, but these were perfect. Expertly seasoned, crispy but not dried out, and the sauce was spicy but not overwhelming. The burger was juicy, cooked just as I requested, and super-filling.

My dining companion ordered the Cobb Salad, which looked lovely, but which she said she wished would have come you know, like a regular salad. I get her point--the whole 'deconstructed' food trend can get a bite old when you want your meal to come with no assembly required. It sure did look pretty, though!

We had a great view of the garden out front, and also of the activity on Park Avenue, including the scads of crowds straining to get a glimpse of President Obama as his motorcade rode past us. It was not very crowded at all--we got there on the tail end of lunch-- and we took our time and savored every bite, every drop, every moment.

When the dessert question arose, we answered yes, even though we should have said no...especially to the financier. This thing was an awful, sandy, tasteless mess. The 'almond cream' it came with had hardly any flavor. Even the cherries were a disappointment. Ugh. Skip this dish--trust us.

The sundae, though? YUMAYUMAYUMAYUMMMMM. Definitely share it--you'll get plenty of vanilla, chocolate, and caramelized walnuts, all drizzled in hot fudge! What a lovely ending to a lovely lunch, and at a place I'd never have visited without that crazy-good coupon!

Florida Food

Wrapping up ABF's and my quick trip to Florida--we stopped one night at Cosimo's Grill, a favorite of the Parkers. Dad & Bobbie raved about the Cobb salad, so after browsing the huuuuge menu, I decided on that myself. This salad is HUGE! Huge! And delicious! Crazygooddelicious.

ABF settled on the pizza with meatballs, red peppers and ricotta and I didn't say anything at the time, but I thought 'wow! risktaker!' I mean come on...we come from NYC. Ordering pizza anywhere but, say, Italy, is a bit of a risk. However, he LOVED it, and was searching for Cosimo's in our area as soon as we got home. :)

Our last night in Florida, we went to Pineapple's, a new restaurant that had opened up in Sarasota. Isn't that an adorable light? Made me think of Psych, too. :)

The menu is chock-full of Caribbean-inspired flavors, from mango to jerk chicken to sweet and spicy bbq. I opted for the mango-marinated chicken and veggie kabobs, thinking it would be tasty and maybe 2-3 cubes of chicken. Um..this sucker was HUGE. Big, ripe chunks of pineapple were between crisp peppers, grilled mushrooms, and tangy onions. I gave plenty to ABF and was still stuffed.

ABF ordered the cheeseburger that came with a slice of fresh pineapple AND spicy bbq sauce. This was even yummier than it looks! And yes, that slab o' something under the bacon is the super-sweet, fresh pineapple!

The whole reason I ordered the healthier dish was to save room and calories for dessert! I was in Florida and I wanted a slice of Key Lime pie! This pie, sadly, wasn't great. Good, not great. Then again, it's tough to come even closer after you've had the best key lime pie ever, I mean, EVER.

ABF opted for another sundae, and it was quite tasty. Yes, I had order envy yet again. Not a bad way to wrap up a sunny, delightful trip to Florida!

Keep on Votin'!

The voting is on for another 2 days--thank you to everyone who has taken the time to click on the heart in my profile box on Foodbuzz.com. It's very unnatural for me to ask for help or assistance like this--but I appreciate it so, so much! I want to take this blog up another notch--or three!! Ooh look--pizza!

Voting has started!!

Cheers, dear readers! It's time to click this link to vote for me in Foodbuzz.com's newest challenge: Project Food Blog! Would you kindly take a second and vote for yours truly?? Look for the yellow 'vote' sign under "My Trophies!" I'm looking at this contest as a way to breathe new life and new direction into this blog that I have so loved creating.

Feel free to send the link to my profile page to anyone else you might know who has a spare second to cast a crucial vote. I so appreciate it--and stay tuned! Lots of delicious stuff coming to this space soon! And quick shot of yummy food coming in three...two....

Project Food Blog #1: Ready, Set, Blog!

The folks at Foodbuzz.com have issued a delicious new challenge to their Featured Publishers: Project Food Blog. Thousands of bloggers (including me!) will compete through several rounds of challenges--they'll need enough votes to advance to the next round, and the ultimate winner gets ten grand and a feature on Foodbuzz.com for a year. All I need is for my readers (yes, you!) to vote, vote, vote for me! I'll let you know when ;) My first assignment: explain what makes me the foodie I am. This will not be a short answer! The simple theme at first: My approach is to make food approachable, whether it's finding affordable and delicious deals here in NYC, or putting together simple yet scrumptious recipes that just about anyone can do.

My main inspiration has been and always will be my mother. That woman can COOK. No, seriously. Ask anyone she's ever cooked for--decades later they will remember every bite. It's a good thing she's so great at it, because when my sister and I were growing up, cooking at home was almost always more affordable, and as I learned along the way, usually healther and tastier. Of course, back then I was an insufferably picky eater, and would turn my freckled nose up at Mom's homemade Hollandaise(!), anything with seafood, and God help us all if she tried to get me to eat salad. I was smart enough to gobble up her biscuits (heaven!), Boston Cream Pie, and my favorite dish, Chicken Tarragon. I'm sure she's relieved, maybe surprised, I developed a love for cooking myself, and this blog has morphed into a fun and wonderful way for me to share that with even more people. As I've mentioned before, there's something empowering about being able to take raw ingredients and feed yourself, and others, well. It's also usually so much healthier. Except when it isn't. And even then it's worth it. :) Working with Foodbuzz has also let me have even more opportunities to share food and friendship with the people I love--and I feel I can and will do so much more!

I've been doing this blog for quite some time now--I started it quietly, not even telling any of my friends and family at first, not sure, I guess, if I was up to scrutiny or sticking with it. But I managed both, and I'm so glad I stuck with it! I hope it comes through that I think cooking does not have to be complicated or difficult--making good food is usually a simple process, and I love hearing when people try a recipe on my blog and love it, or when someone tries snazzing up their usual menu with something exotic, simply because something I wrote (cooked/ate/baked) inspired them to do it. I also love it when people who don't even like to cook take the time to stop by and check in on me! Whether I'm trying out a new recipe, reviewing a local restaurant (or those far away), or just swooning over a gorgeous creation, I enjoy the camaradarie that's developed through having regular readers, friends, family, and new peeps, visit me here.

I'm definitely not a food snob--there's room in my life for Froot Loops AND foie gras (okay, not foie gras--I can't really stomach the stuff). I find value in both childhood favorites and daring, newer ventures. It's all part of our lives, and sometimes crunching on a bowl of artificially flavored loops of Froot is just the cure for a bleary Monday morning. Other times, my tastes might sway more toward the 'grown-up' arena. I'll try local favorites, like Montreal's smoked meats and eeek--poutine! (better than it looks), shockingly good Mexican in Martha's Vineyard (no really, I swear!), but I'll always come back to my love, the world cuisine of NYC. Crispy pig's ear? Yes please. Any cuisine you want? Oh yeah, we got that, too. I think I usually do a good job of capturing beautiful food on camera, but an upgrade to my pretty little Canon point-and-shoot sure wouldn't hurt! Neither would a PC that takes fewer than 20 minutes to start up each time. ;)

I've weathered layoff after layoff, the recession biting me right in the wallet, ups and downs in general, but I've always managed to find a way to make life delicious and share it with others. I'd like to go even further with this delicious little hobby o' mine, and I'll need your help to do it! Thanks for all of the support, comments, encouraging emails, and other fabulous feedback you've given me over the years! It means everything!