AlwaysPartying: Food and Wine Celebration for Veggie U

Arthur Bovino — July 19, 2010

Chef’s Garden Squash Blossoms at the 8th Annual Food & Wine Celebration hosted at The Chef’s Garden in Milan, Ohio.

This weekend marked the 8th Annual Food & Wine Celebration. The event, hosted by Farmer Lee Jones at The Chef’s Garden in Milan, Ohio, benefitted the Veggie U Children’s program, an effort to combat adolescent and juvenile disease, and create a better understanding of sustainable agriculture.

Outside, under tent cover that shielded everyone from a hot, summer day, Farmer Lee Jones graciously welcomed his guests, wearing his trademark blue overalls and red bowtie. There were dishes prepared by more than 40 local chefs, including one by chef Jonathon Sawyer of The Greenhouse Tavern, who was recently noted as one of Food & Wine’s best new chefs.

Farm-fresh corn, sweet peas, micro-greens, carrots, beets, and green goodies of all kinds graced the tastings— the food was fantastic. One of the best dishes was the Chef’s Garden Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Fire Roasted Heirloom Sweet Corn and Silver Lake Chevre with Fresh and Spicy Peach Chutney from Chef Michael Deligatta of Michael Anthony’s at the Inn (top).

Vegetables were crisp, sweet, and full of summer flavor— but then, they came from the farm, and you can’t get much more to-table than that. And while the after-party coincided with a torrential downpour, festival-goers and chefs partied on with a deconstructed clambake, more farm-fresh salads, soft-shell crabs a la plancha, and a seemingly endless supply of steamed lobster.

More at The Chef's Garden >>

AlwaysTraveling: Randy’s Donuts (Los Angeles, CA)

Arthur Bovino — July 12, 2010

Fresh donuts at Randy’s Donuts in Los Angeles.

Restaurant: Randy’s Donuts
Address: 805 West Manchester Ave, Inglewood, CA
Contact: (310) 645-4707
Hours: “Open All Night.”
Grade: A-
Notes: Accepts credit cards. Lines can be long.
Recommended: Apple Fritters, Coconut Raised, Cake and Raised Donuts.

After driving around Los Angeles, it wouldn’t be a surprise to learn there are more donut stores there (1,182) than in New York (1,121). That’s 3,256 donuterias per Angeleno compared to 7,327 per New Yorker. Consider this map. Play punchbuggy while driving, subbing donuts for VWs and you will crash.

L.A. also seems to have more independent stores (remember, they don’t have Dunkin’ Donuts), and aside from Doughnut Plant, more good ones. To boot, is there anything in New York that equals the cool factor of the leftover architecture from the defunct Big Donut Drive-In chain? No. So, with it’s most recent star turn— Iron Man 2— it’s time to feature one of L.A.‘s most iconic stores.

Any discussion of L.A.‘s best donuts (and even some of the country’s best) inevitably brings up many of the same characters, among others: Stan’s, Bob’s, Fritelli’s, Donut Man, Tang’s, and…Randy’s Donuts.

More at Randy's >>

AlwaysTraveling: Good Stuff Eatery (Washington, DC)

Arthur Bovino — July 07, 2010

Clockwise from top: Prez Obama Burger, a sign inside Good Stuff Eatery, and the Good Stuff/We the Pizza sidewalk café.

Restaurant: Good Stuff Eatery
Location: 303 Pennsylvania Ave, SE, Washington, DC
Contact: (202) 543-8222
Hours: Mon-Sat, 11:30am-11:00pm; Closed Sunday.
Grade: B
Recommended Dishes: Prez Obama Burger, Uncle D’s Chili ‘N Cheddar, Spike’s Village Snack Fry, Toasted Marshmallow Shake.

Spike Mendelsohn’s new pizzeria, We, The Pizza is supposed to open to friends and family tonight. This past weekend, plywood was up at the pizzeria adjacent to Mendelsohn’s burger joint, Good Stuff Eatery, but the door was open. Inside was a glistening dining room with pizza boxes stacked from floor to ceiling. We, The Pizza should make a run at the dominance of Capitol Hill’s nearby pizzerias, Matchbox and Seventh Hill. At least, the opening solidifies this stretch of Pennsylvania as Spike’s block.

Inside We, The Pizza.

With the U.S. Pizza Team appearing at tonight’s “Red Carpet Opening” of We, The Pizza with Mendelsohn, Chef Michael Colletti and a DJ, it figures to be a scene. But July 4th meant burgers. So, we stopped in to test out the Prez Obama Burger along with some of Spike’s other good stuff.

More from Good Stuff Eatery >>

AlwaysStrong: Lola (Great Neck, Long Island)

GutterGourmet — June 18, 2010

Lola Duck à la Yuzu Orange, the signature dish at Lola in Great Neck.

Restaurant: Lola
Location: 13 Middle Neck Road, Great Neck
Contact: (516)466-5666
Hours: Tue-Fri, Lunch, 12:00pm-3:00pm; Bar Specials, 5:00pm-6:30pm; Dinner, 5:30pm-10pm. Thur-Sat, Dinner, 5:30pm-11:00pm. Sun, dinner, 4:00pm-10:00pm.
Grade: A-
Recommended Dishes: Whole Lola Duck.

“Well I’m not dumb but I can’t understand
Why she walked like a woman and talked like a man
Oh my Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola.”
— Lola, The Kinks

Looks can be deceiving. So it is with Lola on Long Island. You’d never expect to find a restaurant of such quality with these ingredients, and a chef of this stature on Middle Neck Road in the heart of Great Neck. But, we shouldn’t be surprised by Lola’s chef and owner, Michael Ginor. After all, he is not only the author of my all-time favorite cookbook, “Foie Gras: A Passion,” he is also the founder and owner of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the upstate producer and purveyor of foie gras.

More about Lola in Great Neck >>

AlwaysTraveling: Mercado Municipal (São Paulo, Brazil)

Arthur Bovino — June 16, 2010

A stand featuring various peppers in São Paulo’s indoor city food market, Mercado Municipal.

Location: Mercado Municipal
Address: Rua da Cantareira 306, São Paulo, Brazil
Hours: Mon-Sat, 6:00am-6:00pm, Sun and Holidays, 6:00am-4:00pm
Notes: Near the São Bento Metrô.
Grade: A
Recommended Dishes: A good bet is to hop from stand to stand, sampling the many fruits you’ve likely never seen before. The Brazuca from Mortadela Brasil.

Rio de Where? For all the beauty of Pão de Açúcar, the lover of food and skyscrapers visiting Brazil will likely admit to preferring São Paulo. And when it comes to produce in Sampa, the Mercado Municipal is tough to beat. Neobaroque-style architecture, an upstairs food court packed with Brazilian snacks and sandwiches from more than 20 stands, an open-air hall filled with at least 300 booths carrying more fruits than there are English words for them.

The Mercado, which was completed in 1933, is just a fifteen-minute walk northeast of Praça da Sé on Rua da Cantareira. It’s a grand, spacious hall whose most striking architectural features are the large stained-glass windows, which feature scenes of plantations and animal husbandry.

Downstairs are the food stalls: cured meats, eggs, and fish. Fruits and vegetables too— you can test yourself against a variety of pimentas and sample exotic and beautiful (though expensive) fruits: Cherimoya, Atemoya, Cashew Apple, Guaraná, Guanabana, and Jackfruit, just to name a few.

More Photographs from São Paulo's Mercado Municipal >>

AlwaysTraveling: Haute Dog at Umami Burger (Los Angeles)

Arthur Bovino — June 08, 2010

The Umami Dog at Umami Burger on La Brea in Los Angeles, California.

Restaurant: Umami Burger
Address: 850 South La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
Hours: Mon-Sat, 11:00am-10:00pm; Sun, 11:00am-9:00pm.
Contact: (323)931-3000
Grade: B
Recommended Dishes: Umami Burger, Tempura Onion Rings.

You don’t go usually go to a burger joint for a hot dog, but when the staff says something has only been on the menu for two days you know the move: get both. That’s what happened recently in Los Angeles at the Umami Burger on LaBrea, where a visit meant an obligatory Umami Burger was eaten with the joint’s special, their Umami Dog.

If you haven’t heard about Umami Burger, it’s a chic, but comfortable, high-brow burger concept by Adam Fleischman— four joints that focus on making burgers that emphasize umami. Supposedly, Fleischman’s goal was to recreate the “craving he gets for his two favorite burgers: the In-N-Out Double Double, and The Father’s Office burger.” (Read for a full treatise.).

More Umami >>

AlwaysStrong: Peter’s Clam Bar

Arthur Bovino — June 04, 2010

Clockwise from top: Littleneck Clams at Peter’s Clam Bar, overlooking Empire Point Marina from the deck behind Peter’s Clam Bar in Island Park.

Restaurant: Peter’s Clam Bar
Address: 600 Long Beach Rd, Island Park, NY, 11558
Contact: (516) 432-0505
Clam Bar Hours: Mon-Thu, 11:30am-10:00pm; Fri-Sun, 12:00am-10:00pm
Restaurant Hours: Mon-Thu, 12:00pm-10:00pm; Fri-Sun, 12:00PM-11:00PM
Notes: Clam Bar closes the third week of September.
Grade: B-
Recommended Dishes: Lobster Bisque, Littlenecks, Cherrystones, Baked Clams (must), White Wine and Garlic Steamed Clams, Bowl of Steamers.

The cash-only deck out back where you watch kids on the rocks cast lines into Shell Harbor. Barstools out front. Clams. Oysters. The calming bob of boats at the piers of Empire Point Marina. And of course, the crowds when work is out or the weekend begins. For many Long Islanders from the South Shore, whether it’s 90 degrees out or not, it isn’t summer until Peter’s Clam Bar reopens.

More photographs at Peter's Clam Bar in Island Park >>

HungryHamptons: Best of Long Island and the Hamptons

June 04, 2010

Food pit-stops for your drive out to the Hamptons, and what to eat once you arrive.

Summer is here, and with it begins the weekly Friday trips to the Hamptons. If you’re driving, and looking for culinary distractions from traffic, there are plenty of pit-stops to make along the way. So we’ve created a map of all the delicious things you find on Long Island, and a guide to the best food in the Hamptons for when you finally arrive.

HUNGRYHAMPTONS: WHERE TO EAT ON THE DRIVE
Some of the places to hit along the LIE on the way out, including some that are off the beaten path if you’re in the mood for adventuring.

HUNGRYHAMPTONS: BEST OF THE HAMPTONS 2010
From jelly doughnuts, to soft shell crab sandwiches, skillet fried chicken and ribs to lobster rolls— where to go and what to get when you’re out there.

AlwaysTraveling: Pink’s Hot Dogs (Los Angeles, CA)

Arthur Bovino — June 01, 2010

Clockwise from top: a Bacon Chili Cheese Dog at Pink’s, corner of Melrose and La Brea in Los Angeles.

Restaurant: Pink’s Hot Dogs
Address: 709 North La Brea Ave., LA, CA 90038
Hours: Sun-Thur, 9:30am-2am; Fri-Sat, 9:30am-3:00am.
Contact: (323) 931-4223
Grade: A-
Recommended Dishes: You can’t really lose, whether you start basic (Chili Cheese Dog) or go big (Three Dog Night).

Is there anything about Pink’s that hasn’t been said? Hard to imagine. After all, there’s a perpetual line, the walls are covered with autographed photos of celebrities, and it has been serving customers since Paul Pink started his pushcart in 1939. It has been lauded by no less than Johnny Apple and Ruth Reichl. Describing Pink’s is like explaining a bagel to a New Yorker— you don’t do it. But, Pink’s is a pilgrimage, so this is more celebration than revelation.

More at Pink's Hot Dogs >>

AlwaysTraveling: Acme Oyster House (New Orleans, LA)

Jeff Zalaznick — May 28, 2010

In honor of the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience we are sharing a little more Big Easy love from our archives…

Crawfish Boil at Acme Oyster House in New Orleans.

Restaurant: Acme Oyster House
Address: 724 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Contact: (504) 522-5973
Hours: Sun-Thur, 11:00am-10:00pm; Fri-Sat, 11:00am-11:00pm.
Grade: C
Recommended Dishes: Oysters, Chargrilled Oysters

Founded in 1910, as Acme Café on Royal Street in the French Quarter, Acme Oyster House relocated nearby to its current location on Iberville after a fire destroyed the saloon in 1924. It has weathered the natural ups and downs you’d expect of a local institution. One of those down periods is actually responsible for Acme’s famous “Waitress available sometimes” neon sign. In the early 80’s, Acme closed at 4:00pm and had just one waitress on staff.

More About Acme Oyster House >>

HungryHamptons: Best of the Hamptons 2010

Jeff Zalaznick — May 26, 2010

Always Hungry’s guide to the best places to eat in the Hamptons.

We have already put together a user-friendly guide to what and where you should eat while you are driving to the Hamptons, so now we can move on to the fun stuff. A guide to the best foods that the Hamptons has to offer. What to eat when you get there. From jelly doughnuts, to soft shell crab sandwiches, to big nights out for dinner, these are the best things that you can put in your mouth this summer. Print this baby out, unleash your inner fat kid, enjoy the AlwaysHungry 2010 Hamptons Guide, and start crossing these off your summer to-do list.

Always Hungry's Hamptons Guide 2010 >>

HungryHamptons: Where to Eat on the Drive

Jeff Zalaznick — May 26, 2010

Always Hungry’s guide to where to stop along the LIE for good food on your way to the Hamptons.

Summer is finally here, and with it comes the weekly Friday trips out East to the Hamptons. As we will all find ourselves sitting in perturbing amounts of traffic on the Long Island Expressway (LIE/495) over the next few months, we thought that it would be kind to put together a map of all of the delicious things along the way where you can stop to satisfy your hunger and to break up the trip. All of these locations are also accessible if you take the GCP/Northern State, but that you will have to map for yourself. The conclusion: there is actually some great food that is worth eating on Long Island—you just have to know where to find it. You’re Welcome.

Always Hungry's Hamptons Drive Guide >>

AlwaysTraveling: Johnny’s Po-Boys (New Olreans, LA)

Jeff Zalaznick — May 26, 2010

In honor of the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience we are sharing a little more Big Easy love from our archives…

Clockwise from top: Johnny’s Special Po-Boy, Surf and Turf Po-Boy, Big Egg Biscuit.

Restaurant: Johnny’s Po-Boys
Address: 511 Saint Louis St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Contact: (504) 524-8129
Hours: Mon-Thur, 8:30am-3:00pm; Fri-Sun, 8:00am-4:30pm.
Grade: A
Note: Cash only.
Recommended Dishes: Big Egg and Sausage Biscuit, Johnny’s Special Po’ Boy, Surf and Turf Po-Boy.

I have eaten my fair share of Po’ Boys, both in and out of New Orleans, and the ones at Johnny’s are the first that have ever really excited me. They are perfectly proportioned, expertly dressed, and conveniently located in the French Quarter, which is the icing on the cake. The best Po’ Boys that I tasted were the Johnny’s Special (Ham, Roast Beef, American and Swiss Cheeses), and the Surf and Turf (Roast beef and Fried Shrimp). The Big Egg Biscuits are also worth noting as they provide a fabulous breakfast option and a top-notch hangover cure.

More About Johnny's Po-Boys >>

AlwaysTraveling: Mother’s Restaurant (New Orleans, LA)

Jeff Zalaznick — May 26, 2010

In honor of the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience we are sharing a little more Big Easy love from our archives…

Famous Ferdi Special Po’Boy at Mother’s Restaurant in New Orleans.

Restaurant: Mother’s Restaurant
Address: 401 Poydras St, New Orleans, LA, 70130
Contact: (504)523-9656
Hours: Mon-Sat, 6:30am-10:00pm; Sun, 7am-10pm
Grade: B-
Recommended Dishes: Famous Ferdi Special Po’Boy, Jerry’s Jambalaya, Black Ham.

Mother’s Restaurant is one of those places whose name actually refers to someone. In this case it’s Mary Landry, who along with her husband, Simon, opened Mother’s to feed longshoremen and laborers in 1938. The Landry’s sons sold the business in 1986 to Jerry and John Amato, and the restaurant is a little tattered with love, but the tradition of the Famous Ferdi Special and its lexicon lives on.

Click for More at Mother's >>

HungryHamptons: Navy Beach (Montauk, Long Island)

Arthur Bovino — May 21, 2010

Navy Burger with Onion Bacon Marmalade, Hand-cut Fries, and House Pickles at Navy Beach.

Restaurant: Navy Beach
Address: 16 Navy Road, Montauk, NY 11954
By Boat: 41° 02′ 45.11″N, -71° 57′ 44.88″W
Contact: (631) 668-6868
Hours: Thur, 3:30pm-12:00am; Fri, 3:30pm-12:00am; Sat, 12:00pm-12:00am; Sun, 11:30am-12:00pm; Mon, 3:30pm-12:00am.
Grade: A-
Recommended Dishes: Littleneck Clams, Navy Burger, C.M.P. Sundae.

Past Lunch, beyond the Clam Bar at Napeague, just off 27 and the turn for 2nd House Road, there’s a new addition to the Hamptons dining scene in Montauk: Navy Beach. Sand, water, picnic tables, and tiki torches, the old Sunset Saloon has been whitewashed, the interior redesigned, with chef Paul LaBue in the kitchen. The project is backed by partners Frank Davis and his wife Kristina Davis, and Leyla Marchetto of Scuderia and her fiancée, Franklin Ferguson.

Survey Navy Beach, your toes in Fort Pond Bay, or catch a glimpse of a classic Mustang parked outside, and you glean its black-and-white postcard quality. There are open portals behind the bar, rods and lures at the door, and framed vintage bathing suits in a dining room with thick wood beams and rattan windowshades. Boaters are being encouraged to anchor and come for dinner. They, and anyone nautically-inclined will notice the message spelled out in naval flags under the bar: DRINK. It was the brainchild of the woman behind the restaurant’s design touches, Kristina Davis.

Photographs of the food at Navy Beach >>