Text message from Porthos to Athos: Green light for this weekend for Eat Fest
Athos’ reply: So there
Couple days later, I was on the 3 ½ hour trek from Washington, D.C. to NYC. Below is the journal of Eat Fest 2009, NYC.
Fri
Arrived to Casa de Porthos at 1:00AM and had dumplings with a fantastic sauce he made. Thoughts of the rest of the weekend on our minds. Good night for now.
Sat
Breakfast of French toast, links, and fruit as seen on TV:
http://dudesonfoods.blogspot.com/2009/05/breakfast-kicking-off-long-weekend.html
We hop on the subway and take a cab. 1st stop:
Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches
150 East 2nd Street (btwn Ave. A & B)
212-388-1088
We ordered the Classic Vietnamese Sandwich - Pâté, (Vietnamese ham, roasted ground pork), sauce with spice, veggies for $5. Although there are many Vietnamese places around D.C., I’ve always had Phở and other dishes. This was my first time having a bahn mi. It was a light sandwich with less flavor than I was expecting, but it was still good. The sauce had a small spice kick that was nice. Nicky’s is one of the original Vietnamese sandwich shops in NYC.
Katz’s Deli
25 East Houston St.
212-254-2246
Do I need to explain? Everyone has, at least, heard about this place. Well, just in case… pastrami. There is a large menu, but pastrami is what they’re known for. There are several slicers behind the counter, all slicing differently. We took a spot in line behind the slicer who piled the meat high, and the pieces were thick. You can tell he was a favorite, since he had the longest line. Everyone was friendly there. The slicer, who I’ll call Red (he just looks like a Red) kept offering samples of the meat he was cooking, and we’d pass the dishes down the line for all to try. He definitely deserved a tip on top of the $15 sandwich. We also had a hot dog, which is known for their snap, however the line was too long so it was colder than recommended eating temperature.
Momofuku
171 First Ave. btwn 10th & 11th
Next stop was Momofuku. I figured Porthos was just going to stop by and talk to some people he knows in there, which he did, but he came out of the restaurant with a to0go container and gave it to me. Inside were two pork buns, different than the usual buns I’m used to. I picked at it and tasted the pork, however Porthos said I should just eat it. I took a bite, and OMG! I was in Heaven. I was all smiles. I was NOT expecting this. The fatty pork, the cucumber to cut through the fat, the sauce, and everything else made me stop and really take in the experience and remember the moment. I wanted to go into the place and shake hands, no, hug, David Chang. This was definitely a sleeper. I was not expecting such flavor and satisfaction.
Jimmy’s No. 43
43 East 7th. St. (downstairs)
212-982-3006
Jimmy’s was having a risotto challenge, and we stopped in for a beer. Jimmy’s is known for their beer, however, yours truly did not partake. It was nestled underneath a building and provided a cozy atmosphere. No doubt, this place was full of locals as it seemed like the neighborhood bar.
Ippudo
65 4th Ave.
This is a ramen noodle restaurant. I never had the good stuff, only the packages where hot water is added, and two minutes later, it’s edible. This time around, I had the Akamaru dish. It’s their signature dish, and I know why. The noodles are made on premise and are nicely done. The pieces of fatty pork are perfectly cooked and go well with the noodles. But the hero of the dish to me was the broth. It was very porky and hearty. The flavor was unbelievable. I didn’t need the fancy décor, the noodles, or anything; the broth felt like a meal in itself.
** no dinner **
Sun
I woke up to the smell of Porthos’ already-in-progress clam bake. When I finally peeled myself out of bed, we ate on the balcony in fabulous weather. The menu had good bread with garlic butter, but the main course was the clam bake, which consisted of clams, lobster, corn, potato and kielbasa and served with a side of risotto with mushrooms. As the food sat happily inside our bodies, Porthos would serve pork cooked in variety of ways. This was the lunch to have at this time. Nicely done.
For dinner, Buffalo wings were ordered as games of beer pong ensued on the rooftop thoughout the night, and then Domino’s Pizza was delivered.
Mon
Again, I am awaken to the smells of Porthos’ cooking. This time, it was clam chowder made from the clam bake’s “leftovers.” It looked good, and I barely had a taste, since we were going to get our eat on again in the city.
Artisanal Fromagerie, Bistro & Wine Bar
2 Park Ave
(212) 725-8585
Stopped here to pick up cheesecake for a get-together later on. I purchased another one to bring back to D.C. with me.
Pepsi Challenge for hot dogs
Stopped at a street vendor for a hot dog. It really was not bad, but I know what a hit dog wants to be when it grows up. Now that I tasted it, onto a real hot dog place.
Gray’s Papaya
2090 Broadway
(between 72nd St & 73rd St)
(212) 799-0243
I have wanted to try this place for years. Today was the day. I usually take my dogs with a little mustard, maybe plain onions. When they offered onions, I asked for a little. I didn’t realize they were cooked onions. I cleaned the dogs off fast enough, but even if I didn’t, Porthos looked out for a brotha and gave me the rest of his plane dog. But the WTF moment happened when I bit into a Gray’s papaya hot dog for the first time – I felt it. No… I think I even HEARD it! What a snap!! I did it again – I bit into another dog and . Oh my, this is great! After my 2 ½ dogs, I washed it down with the papaya juice. Juice wasn’t as flavorful and uicy as I thought it was going to be, but it is a nice light drink to wash down the dogs.
Lenny’s
Next stop was a chain sandwich shop that’s local to NYC. I never had it before, but Porthos talked up a storm. He knows what I like, as proven with the Momofuku’s pork buns, so I went along with him. He chose the Lenny’s #1 Combo, which is hot pastrami and corned beef with Finlandia Swiss cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing on a buttered poppy seed roll. It was gooey, tasty, messy, and delicious. The coleslaw gave it a little crunch to add to the texture. Good choice.
Later on at home, back upto the rooftop where the grill was going. Burgers, hot dogs, fat ass/juicy & sweet grilled lobster, skirt steak & cocktails were served. Later, dessert included three different cakes, donuts, and coffee. What a way to end the eat Fest 2009 Memorial Day weekend. As the sun began to set, that was my queue to leave. Watching the start of sunset from the rooftop and continuing it from the road on the way back to D.C. as it turned Manhattan into different colors was a wonderful sight.
What a good weekend.
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