Too Funny

Can't believe I missed this one... but still quite funny. 

Is April 1 Over Yet?

By Feast 04/01/10 at 02:48PM 

D'artagnan Produces World's First "Meat Perfume"

We're sick of April Fool's Day already, and it's almost three 'o' clock here in New York. But the food world keeps churning out "joke's on you!" press releases, and this one seemed worth highlighting, if only for the "A for effort" award. Below, the fake press release in full. Because nothing says "gotcha" like the manly smell of lamb leg.

"NEW YORK, April 1, 2010 -- D'Artagnan is proud to present a new line of fragrances to entice the mind and inspire the appetite.  After 25 years of intensive research, D'Artagnan chefs have been able to produce alluring meat-scented oils that replicate the aromas of your favorite cooked protein.  The scents are suspended in a revolutionary and environmentally-friendly medium: duck fat.  These solid perfumes are not only 100% edible, they are also great skin moisturizers.   

Studies (and many food blogs) have proven that men respond to the smell of bacon, that seductress of vegetarians, and many claim they would be extremely attracted to a woman who smelled of bacon.  Since the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, then the way to his stomach must be through his nose.  Being equal opportunity carnivores, the D'Artagnan fragrance line is unisex.  After all, what woman could resist a man who smells like he can cook?  

 Once the science was established, D'Artagnan developed a line of fragrances for the home using these patented essential oils of meat.  What smells better than bacon wafting up the stairs?  Perhaps the delicate perfume of a rack of lamb, seasoned with rosemary, roasting in the oven?  These room sprays will give your kitchen that friendly, cooked-in smell that makes it feel like a home.  Even when you order a take-out dinner, your home will smell like you slaved for hours over the stove.  Made with 100% natural ingredients, the room sprays are edible and can be used as breath fresheners.  They do not, however, offer much in the way of nutritional value.  For that we recommend actual meat."

Serious Noodles

Pastarazzi

Katie Couric, Wannabe Food Blogger?:  Recently, there's been a lot of debate between chefs, critics, and blogging set about whether or not it's appropriate to take pictures of ones food in a restaurant. Well, it looks like CBC Evening News anchor Katie Couric approves of the practice. Couric was spotted snapping a picture of her ramen at New York's Momofuku Noodle Bar. [Gawker]

Yikes!!!

The Evening News

By Alex Vallis 05/10/10 at 06:59PM

The Day Betty White Ruled the News

Getty Images

Good evening. Today on Feast, we revealed a secret that may have been keeping you from one of the city's best roof top bars: The Gramercy Park Hotel's "Private" terrace is public. Tom Colicchio upstaged David Chang, Eric Ripert, and Wylie Dufresne on HBO's Treme over the weekend. And Maloney & Porcelli started bribing MTA construction workers over-the-table with steak to get their job done on time. If it's legal, it could be genius. Finally, you might have heard that Betty White hosted SNL? We found a food-related excuse to show you a clip today but in case you haven't had enough, NBC Local also uncovered video for skits that didn't make it into the live show.

Domino's Pizza vs Papa John's

Like Athos, I've been tempted to try Domino's after being bombarded by the plethora of commercials on TV. Well, after reading Athos's post, we decided to give it a try at the last UFC event. I'm a little bit of a pizza snob and you know what...this is pretty eff'n delicious. Not spectacular by any means, but pretty damn fun. The sauce is solid having a great balance of savory and sweet with decent tomato flavor. The crust was a little doughy, but relatively crispy on the bottom and the outside crust definitely has some garlic butter. Even the toppings were pretty damn good. Pepperoni was crispy, sausage was pretty tasty, but the winner was bacon. Something about bacon and pizza is so magical.

The funny thing is the coworkers ordered Papas John's the day before. Domino's wins hands down which is funny considering I was always into Papa John's and hated Domino's. Papa John's was very doughy and the cheese was oily and almost too gooey with the toppings having no flavor. Not good stuff at all.

Having said that, I would always go with my local pizza joint 9 times out of ten since our local joint kicks massive ars.

Cheers

Life couldn't be summed up any better... 
Drink Up!!!

Mother's Day 2010

My mom is a seafood fanatic, so I decided to try making a bouillabaisse for Mother's Day. I've actually never made a seafood stew in my life and this came out hella good. It actually started out as a bouillabaisse but morphed into a San Fran cioppino as I was cooking and adjusting the flavorings. Whatever it was - it was hella delicious.

Roasted Peach Salad
I've made this before and it's hella delicious. Sweet roasted peaches, caramelized onions, and whole fat ricotta is such an awesome combo. Great way to start the meal as it hits the sweet, sour, and savory notes.


Fish Stew
I basically started with my basic braising ingredients but substituted fish instead. Surprisingly it worked out really well. My only change would be as you cook the seafood through - take the fish out so it stays whole. These broke down a wee bit too much for me since I left it in the pot the whole time. Especially the cod breaks down easily.

Ingredients
1 can jersey tomatoes
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 fennel - 1/4 of it diced, the rest sliced - fennel fronds removed
2 red onions thinly sliced
5 garlic minced
3/4 cup white wine
1 cup water
dozen clams cleaned thoroughly
3/4 pound halibut cut into four pieces
3/4 pound cod cut into four pieces
2 dozen bay scallops
sea salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil
rosemary and garlic bread toasted with olive oil toasted
garlic mayo (1 egg, salt/pepper, 4 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup olive oil blended)

1) Add the diced fennel and onions in a heavy bottomed pan with olive oil over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper and cook 5-10 minutes until softened.
2) Add white wine and balsamic vinegar. Then cook it down till you don't smell the alcohol anymore. Once the alcohol smell goes away add the tomatoes and 1/2 the water with the clams. If you want the broth thinner, add more water. Set over high heat.
3) In a frying pan, add olive oil and sliced fennel with salt/pepper over high heat. After about 7 minutes remove and set aside. Fennel should be nicely browned and softened.
4) As soon as the clams open up, remove the clams and set aside (about 5-10 minutes)
5) Add the halibut and remove when finished (about 5-7 minutes)
6) Add the cod which should finish in 3-4 minutes.
7) Add bay scallops, the rest of the fennel, and seafood back in. After 1 to 2 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning. Drizzle with olive oil, gently remove the fish pieces into individual bowls, add broth, top with fennel fronds and serve immediately. Make sure you use the bread smeared with the garlic mayo and dip in the broth - the best part of the dish. Buono appetito!

Desserts from Whole Foods - brownie cheesecake, strawberry cream puff, sfogliatelle.
All pretty delicious with the brownie cheesecake being the best.

Eating at the Met

I recently sat in on a talk given by one of the curators at the Met on Van Gogh and Gauguin. It ran until 7pm and naturally, my tummy reminded me it was feeding time. 
I was in no mood to make a reservation in the city and wait a few more hours for a seat, so I opt for a quick bite inside the Met.
And in doing so, I discovered a comic juxtaposition between the caliber of art and food there.

While on one hand, countless breathtaking pieces of art hang on the walls through out the building, and yet, not one quality morsel of food is available in the place. Its an unfortunate truth the cafeterias and dining rooms dish out very bland and uninspiring food.

I guess we can thank Restaurant Associates for pinching their pennies and making a great place such as the Met, such a bad place for a meal.
I wonder if its the chefs or just the nature of museums, but it was just horrible.
It would be a blessing if they suspended cooking on premise and instead outsourced all the food and simply marked everything 3x.  I'm sure people would prefer this over the satus quo and enthusiastically sit down for a meal.

I would happily pay $12 for 2 Gray's Papaya Dogs and a Fruit Smoothie. Or even $4 for a slice of Joe's Pizza from Bleecker St.  And if I'm feeling extra good about myself, $21 for the best Turkey Club from Stage Deli in Midtown.

But unfortunately, we live in a cruel world, where restaurant chains and food service moguls dumb down our tastebuds and dictate poor food upon us.

If you ever find yourself a tad bit hungry while visiting the Met, do everything you can to avoid eating inside. I highly recommend taking a few steps outside and picking up a hotdog from the street vendor. 

Zengo NYC

Went there with 8 of my colleagues for lunch this week. Went back to work with massive Diarrhea.

Needless to say, I won't be going back for eats anytime soon.

Zengo (NYC) - Not Recommended
40th and 3rd

(Mexican with a strong and highly mistaken Asian Twist)

Organically French in the City

A Proclamation

Being from Chicago, and loving food, I’m picky about pizza. What I’m about to say is sacrilege, folks… I. Actually. Like. Domino’s. Pizza.

There, I said it.

Mind you, I didn’t always like it; in fact, in terms of pizza, I actually hated it. Yes, the h-word. It was the commercials that kept drilling into my head where they actually bashed themselves and would say stuff like “the sauce tastes like ketchup” and “crust is like cardboard.” So they promised to make a better deliverable (pun intended). Okay, I took the bait. Plus, 2 pizzas for $12 helps. They let you choose a crust? And sauce? Am I in Domino’s??? Same red, white, & blue around me, same ghetto feel in the store, same bad service… yep, Domino's. Well, let’s see how the pizza is. About 10 - 15 minutes later, I got the pies and went home. I took the first bite, and whoa. I don’t mean like “WTF-whoa,” but more like “WTF-this-is-Domino’s???-whoa.” It was actually good! Both pizzas!! I don’t remember what I ordered, but I remember I had garlic sauce instead of the traditional on one and really liked it. Fast forward about a month later, and we’re pulling in an all-nighter at work. They ordered Domino’s, and yep, it was still good. My colleagues concurred. Apparently, many people think it’s better according to this article:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2010-05-05-dominos05_ST_N.htm?se=yahoorefer

There are a couple bold statements from that article that stand out, like: “the chain reported on Tuesday what CEO J. Patrick Doyle calls a "historic" leap in sales at locations open at least one year” and “Jeremy White, editor of trade magazine Pizza Today, agrees: 'Domino's is really kicking it right now.'”

Try it yourself, and you'll see. And if you don't like the pizza, you can at least appreciate their easy-to-use website. :-)

On the other hand, Papa John’s has been touting the same notion of changing its recipe. Another long project at work caused for more pizza ordering; it’s still crap. Blech…

Gusto - Review

Intro
Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano - Highly Recommended
60 Greenwich Ave, New York NY 10011
Btwn 6th & 7th Ave
Phone: (212) 924-8000

Went out for "date night" with the wife and decided to check out Gusto after seeing the place on TV. Great decision as the pastas were so on point with loads of fun Roman dishes. Overall, I give the restaurant an 86/100.

Our Menu

Carciofi Alla Giudea *
fried artichokes
Carciofi alla guidea was one of my favorite dishes in Rome and these were a good representation. Crispy exterior and creamy interior. Pretty damn tasty, albeit slightly expensive.

Raviolo Al Uova **
fatti in casa raviolo filled with bufala ricotta & egg in sage butter
I've had loads of pasta in my day, but I don't recall ever having ravioli stuffed with a raw egg. This dish just rocked with the egg yolk creating it's own creamy sauce. Pasta texture was nice and silky too though I always prefer a tad more chew to my pasta.

Pappardelle Al Ragu' Di Bue **
fatti in casa fresh pappardelle with oxtail ragu
Great ragu flavor with the rich shredded oxtail meat. Pasta texture was silky albeit I'd like some more chew again. Uber delicious stuff.

Gamberoni Fra Diablo ***
seared jumbo four head on prawns in fradiablo style
Definitely a WTF dish here and totally reminded me of the gambas from Barcelona. Great shrimp flavor - uber sweet and really delicious. Combine that with the intense tomato sauce with decent heat. The shrimp heads were delicious as well. It was so good I got another order of bread to mop of the rest of the sauce - the plate was sparkling white while we were done.

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way * Good ** Great *** What the F – in a good way























Overall Restaurant Experience (86/100)

• Food (8.7/10) – Another Italian joint in the city and another great experience. It's all about big flavors here and totally my strike zone.
  
• Service (8.5/10) – Waiter / waitresses were very attentive and the food came out very quickly. The GM checked on us once or twice too - kinda refreshing since that never happens in the City.
  
• Atmosphere (7.0/10) – Darkly lit with some clubby lights. Music was hella loud and the place seemed a bit odd with a long bar in the middle of the joint. Usually that would be OK, but it was crazy crowded with people that were just hanging out and no intention to eat. Place was pretty mixed, but seemed to mainly consist of people in their 40's and 50's. Got there at 9:30 for dinner and it was pretty busy but we were seated within 15 minutes.
  
• Price (8.0) – $80 for the both of us which didn't seem so bad considering I had 2 glasses of wine. Definitely happy to pay for the quality of food we had. Pastas were under $20 which seemed like a great deal for the quality.
  

Closing Comments
Food was great and definitely have to go back although I don't necessarily love the space. Would love to try the rest of the pastas and try some more apps.

Sumo Wrestle of Pizza

There’s a relatively new show on the Travel Channel called “Food Wars.” The basis of this show is the (hot) hostess, Camille Ford (<-- do yourself a favor, and click that link), goes to different cities and pins the rivals of food against each other, and people would try the food to pick out a winner – for example, we all know of the rivalry in Philly between Geno’s and Pat’s for the cheesesteak sandwich. (I choose Pat's, by the way.) If you've seen Man vs. Food, you can tell the same people do this show. On this episode, they were in Washington, D.C.:




They had “Jumbo Slice” vs. “Pizza Mart.” As the video shows, the owners are brothers, but one broke off, opened Pizza Mart, and changed the sauce and cheese blend from the original. I wrote an article back in 2008 on the Jumbo Slice pizzerias you see in D.C. The pizza is just okay there, but after a night of partying, they taste like gold. Anyway, I headed out to Adam’s Morgan in D.C. and did my own taste test. I stopped at Pizza Mart first and saw the owner , the brother that separated from the original, but he was walking out. It looks like since my last article, the prices went up a dollar and is now $6 vs. $5. I took the (large!) slice of pepperoni a few doors down to Jumbo Slice and ordered one there as well. It was very close, but I agreed with the show and chose the new recipe better than the original and picked Pizza Mart. Basing off of looks, Pizza Mart won, hands down. It seemed like 20% of the pizza, closest to the crust where it’s the widest, lacked sauce, pepperoni, and cheese at Jumbo Slice. Both crusts were about equal, but I think the kicker was the flavor. I felt Pizza Mart had a little more into the sauce, and cheese was a little different. Like I said, it was very close, but Pizza Mart is what wins if I had to choose – but my choice is easily made when I’m drunk: which is the closest to me!

The funny thing is when I was doing my experiment, I noticed the girl behind me with a Pizza Mart box as well, so she was doing her own test. When I asked her about it, the 2 guys that were sitting near us told me they just finished doing their own. We all had a laugh. They agreed that Pizza Mart is better, but only slightly. Guess that extra dollar they added to the price will really make a difference, especially because of this show.

For more information on the episode, look here for video clips and more:

http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Food_Wars/Episodes_Travel_Guides/WashingtonDCJumboPizzaSliceWar

Pizza Mart vs. Jumbo Slice

Pizza Mart has pepperoni & cheese that goes to crust vs. Jumbo Slice that doesn't quite make it

Pizza Mart is the winner on looks AND taste vs. Jumbo Slice

Hold on Kobe Beef

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Beef exports halted over suspected foot-and-mouth

Kyodo News

The government imposed a temporary suspension Tuesday on beef exports after revelations of possible foot-and-mouth disease in some cows in Miyazaki Prefecture.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry took the voluntary measure after the Miyazaki Prefectural Government announced earlier in the day that three cows were suspected of being infected with the virus.

"The suspension will last for at least three months," agriculture minister Hirotaka Akamatsu said.

Japan exported about 550 tons of beef in fiscal 2008 through March 2009.

If no more cows are found infected with the foot-and-mouth disease virus for the next three months, it will be up to importing countries to decide whether to accept Japanese beef.

"The government will take every measure to prevent the disease from spreading further," Akamatsu said. "The disease will do no harm to humans even if they eat beef from infected cows."

The Miyazaki Prefectural Government said a veterinarian found a light ulcer in the mouth of one of 16 cows at a farm April 9. Two other cows were found to have similar ulcers Saturday.

The National Institute of Animal Health in Tokyo has notified the Miyazaki government that the three cows tested positive for the virus in a preliminary examination. If confirmed, it would be the first case of foot-and-mouth disease in Japan since 2000.

The prefectural government will slaughter the 16 cows at the farm and set a zone where livestock movements and shipments will be restricted

Brunch with the King?

Looks like today is pile on Burger King Day. But when the senior vice president of global product marketing and innovation is going around saying "the BK Mimosa was a no-brainer" its pretty much deserved.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/04/29/fast.food.brunch/index.html?hpt=C2

Your way, or throw away

Sometime last week : It was late at night, and I found myself at a local gas station in Miami.
Kinda drunk and kinda hungry.

I perused through the aisles and stumbled upon these bags of little nasties.














I kid you not, these bags of crunchy chips are fowl.
I would love to meet and interview the control group who actually said these were good and therefore convinced Burger King to go ahead and launch these bags of sin out to the public.

What's next...? 5 Bean Burrito Altoids?

Hiyoko Manjyu

These little chick shaped Japanese pastries are my absolute favorite.
Baked in the shape of cute little chickies, and filled with yummy white bean light paste. 

Its one of those things (because you love 'em) you could easily go through a box in one sitting.

I almost always ask for these when friends go to Japan and ask if I want anything.

Hint hint*** 

Nathan's Nuggets

A little pre-boarding snack before my flight back home. Think mini corndogs.
Not great but not all that bad.

Cocktails at Mercadito - Miami

Quite possibly some of the best Cocktails I've had in a long time.
This is a must have/must go to destination when you are visiting Miami, Florida.
Great decor, vibe and most importatly, the cocktails. Best place to have drinks and meet up friends.

Mercadito - Recommended
3252 Northeast 1st Avenue
Miami, Florida 33137

(786) 369-0423

Mitchell's Fish Market

Tampa may not be a gastronome's mecca, but they sure do have their corporate food chains down.

Salmon on Cedar Plank.

Somewhere in Miami

I'm in between meetings and found a gas station with a restaurant built in the back.

All this for $18.

I got my laptop open and munching away on this parade of meats.
Not too bad folks.

Union Square Cafe - Review

Intro
Union Square Cafe - Highly Recommended
21 E 16th St, New York NY 10003
Btwn 5th Ave & Union Sq West
Phone: (212) 243-4020

After some fun drinks and apps at 15 East, the dudes and I decided to get some real food and Union Square made sense. This is the third time that I've been to USC and as usual it was so damn on. Always solid cooking with great flavors and surprisingly some of the best Italian food in the city. Overall, I give the restaurant an 86/100.

Our Menu

Veal Cheek Ravioli **
with celery root, morels, sage and petite sorrel
Great silky, yet chewy texture on the pasta and phenomenal flavors with the veal cheeks. Celery root and morels had this whole earthy thing going on. Some sick stuff...

Berkshire Pork Lasagna **
with ricotta and mushroom-pesto sauce
I was just saying to my wife the other day I have no idea when's the last time I had a great lasagna. I used to love lasagna as a kid, but as an adult I've never had one that I considered great. Well, this was my first great lasagna. This looked like a mille feuile with thousands of layers of super thin pasta. Perfect texture that was delicate without being mushy and phenomenal unctuous pork and mushroom pesto sauce.

Cheeses
Pecorino de Parco, Blu di Bufala
I absolutely love cheese, but the ones here were bland if that were possible. No pop and felt more salty than anything else.

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way * Good ** Great *** What the F – in a good way























Overall Restaurant Experience (86/100)

• Food (8.7/10) – Uber tasty pastas. Two dishes - two huge flavors with mushrooms really amping up the earthiness. Cheeses were average, but pastas were so good I forgot about them until I saw the pics.
  
• Service (8.0/10) – Waitress was nice and food came out relatively quick, but we were laughing about random stuff so didn't pay too much attention to the service.
  
• Atmosphere (8.0/10) – Very casual place that is nice and bright inside. Definitely has that local cafe feel, but serving some awesome food. Place was about 60-70% full and contained a mix of couples and groups of 4.
  
• Price (8.0) – A tad pricey, but well worth it. App sized pastas were about $15-18, with entree sized portions are about $27-35
  

Closing Comments
All four dudes were very happy with their courses. Gotta remember to keep this in the rotation when I crave some pasta.

The new KFC Double Down sandwich - but is it a sandwich?

Take a good look at that picture. Yeah, that's right - no bread. It's bacon and cheese in between 2 pieces of fried chicken. Is this another post about the This Is Why You're Fat dot com website? Nah, you have to look hard to get those things. This? Readily available at your KFC. My coworker asked me if I tried it yet. I haven't even heard of it! I poked around the web, and sure, it's 1,300+ calories, but I'll try it. Good thing they come in grilled chicken, too. Not cuz I'm watching cals, cuz at this point, well... it's a moot point. Once you order it, you're already past the threshold. Might as well keep the momentum going, right? I just like the grilled chicken better than the fried at KFC.

In case this is news for you, too, check out the commercial below. Personally, :13 had me crackin up!

Look for a review on the KFC Double Down in the future.

Ribs

After a whole day of Guitar Hero with friends, it's nice to pause for a bit and munch on some slow cooked ribs.

4 hours in a 275 degree F oven = fall off the bone goodness.
I didn't have time to make my usual dry rub, so the next best thing I could think of was to pick up Adobo seasoning.
That and a generous amout of freshly ground black pepper rubbed into the ribs.
Lay it on a silpat and into the oven it went.

I covered it with aluminum foil for the first 2 1/2 hours. Then uncovered for the remaining 90 minutes.
Basting twice. Once when removing cover, and one more time 45 minutes left.

Worst Vending Machine Snack Ever

Usually around 3:00 every day in the afternoon at the office I take a stroll down the floor for a snack. I'm trying to eat healthier of late in the afternoon, usually springing for some SnackWells Vanilla cookies (0nly 80 calories). But one week ago I saw something that caught my eye. What do you get when you combine Beef flavor , nacho cheese, and tortilla chips: Doritos Late Night All-Nighter Cheeseburger. I had to explore.

The verdict, this is one of the most horrid tasting things Ive ever had. To use the expression from Anchorman: "This tastes like Bigfoot's @*%$!". This is 85 cents of my life I can never have back. I'm hoping next year's federal income tax return asks me "Did you have Doritos Late Night All Nighter Cheeseburger?". Honestly if having Whopper Breath for the next 2 hours is something you think would be cool: think again. Steer clear of this snack - you've been warned. Without even trying these I'd also recommend you avoid the other two in the late night series: Tacos at Midnight and Last Call Jalapeno Poppers.

Celebrity Chef Apperances

Read this Mario Batali interview from Slashfood and he fesses up to getting 100g's a day to appear at these food festivals. Kinda sickening, but most people would sell out also if given the opp...

Excerpts:
I loved the recent New York Times magazine article about celebrity chefs. You and Paula Deen make a lot of money.
Paula Deen probably makes a lot more money than me these days, but you know what, she hits a lot more strings with the public that I do. That cultural confidence with somebody that's motherly is an impressive thing and she makes food. Boy, she can really cook it up.

So how much money do you guys make at those food festivals?
A hundred grand a day is very traditional. It's crazy.

Latin Style Roast Pork

$6 lunch the other day. Yellow Rice and Beans, Roast Pork with Crispy Skin.
Can't beat that!

Dr. Thunder

You know what?  I welcome the competition. Dr. Pepper is one of my favorite soft drinks, and if the market has room for an RC Cola equivalent, by all means, Bring It!

And just for the record, Dr. Pepper is still King.
This imposter scores 2 full marks (out of 10) short of the real thing.

Cobb Salad : The Ultimate

Is there anything better than a Cobb Salad?  Seriously. Not only does it consist of Bacon, Avocados, Ranch Dressing, Chunks of Blue Cheese, and your favorite Meat...  it's considered a freakin "Salad".
I normally don't seak lettuce or any other ruffage, but in a Cobb Salad, I actualy look forward to some greans to wash down the rest of the goodies.  

Who ever Cobb was, I hope he or she was awarded at least 5 James Beard Awards and a place in the Smithsonian National Museum.

Hale to the Cobb!

Momofuku #5

I was lucky enough to receive an invite to Momofuku Ma Peche this past weekend. They were having their Friends and Family event and I got to be one of the first to try their new menu out.
All in all, it was a good meal. I'm going to reserve the word "Great"... because quite frankly, it wasn't.
Ma Peche definitely fell short of my expectations.

The cold dishes and apps were very good, but the 2 entrees my guest and I ordered were merely average. Average in Momofuku standards that is. I've easily had better dishes at both Ssam and Noodle Bar in the past. So I'm left stumped... What on earth happened?
Now granted, the place isn't even open yet, and there are always kinks to work out in any opening... So I'm sure the boys in the kitchen will tighten things up and rock out in a few weeks.

(Momofuku) Ma Peche
15 W 56th St
Mezzanine of Chambers Hotel
(between 5th Ave & Avenue Of The Americas)
Manhattan, NY 10019

Half dozen raw oysters with Vietnamese Mignonette *
Very good start... ain't nothing wrong with solid raw oysters

King Crab with Aioli *
A little briny... but still fun to eat

Guinea Hen and Foie Gras Pate *
Great pate with my favorite toasted Tom Cat Baguette on the side

Mussels cooked in Crab Paste and Beer *
I could eat 2 full orders of these

Juliet Steak with Rice Fries with Ghetto Sauce
Not at all "Inspiring". I know the boys in the kitchen know their beef. I mean, they really know their beef, but the piece I got was pretty tough with tendons and stringy fat. I say bring back the good 'ol Sirloin. Wet aged is fine... I just want to see a good piece of beef on the menu

Skate with Garlic Sauteed Snow Pea Tips
Prepared with a lot of butter, over a bed of quickly sauteed snow pea tips... It reminded me of Chinese food in Flushing. So that can't be right. These guys are innovators of flavor... WTF is going on?

Cookies **
Probably the Highlight of the new location. The Milk Bar is located right as you walk in to Ma Peche. I highly recommend everybody to stop by and pick up a box of cookies for the office, or to take home... or even for the walk back to where ever you came from. These cookies are gooooooood.

- Marshmallow Chocolate Chip, Blueberry Cream, and Chocolate

Sunday Night

Sunday evening tradition. Some munchies for me while watching my 60 minutes.
Yes. The Dork in me is Strong.

This Is Why You're Fat

Check out this website:

ThisIsWhyYoureFat.com

Lots of evil food. But is it bad to say that, as I'm thumbing through the website, that I would love to try a lot of this food? LOL!

My Name is Athos, and I'm an Addict

I just read this article where it compares the addicitve properties of bacon and cheesecake to heroin and cocaine in rats. "Not even mild foot shocks kept them from compulsively feasting on chocolate bars, cream-stuffed cakes, sausage, frosting and other highly palatable human foods. Within 40 days, their body weight had increased 25%." Truth be told, the scientists were mainly monitoring the dopamine levels in the brains of the rats, but it's still interesting - and funny - to see how they were addicted to this food. Can I use that excuse?