AlwaysInvestigating: Chicken Beak-to-Tailfeather
Arthur Bovino — March 11, 2010
The Always Hungry approach to chicken beak-to-tailfeather eating.
From FergusStock and Cabrito to Hakata Tonton, there was a time last year when there seemed to be nose-to-tail eating going on every which way you turned. It involved hearts, tongues, and heads of oxen, pigs, duck, goat and the like, but no chicken. Then someone on the interwebs wrote a post about eating balut (fetal duck embryo), inspiring beak-to-tailfeather eating. Okay, so no one ate any beaks. But we did gather an impressive résumé of tasty chicken offal from restaurants around the City.
Always Hungry: The Restaurant List
Jeff Zalaznick — January 05, 2010
Dishes from The Always Hungry Restaurant List.
If I had to choose, what restaurants would I take with me into 2010? Off the top of my head, what places do I know that I will choose to return to in the coming year? These are the questions that I asked myself as I thought about this year’s restaurant list. As I made the list, I have made sure that it not only reflects what restaurants to go to, but that it also lets you know exactly what to eat when you get there. As always, our goal is to arm readers with the information that they will need in order to have the best eating experiences possible. This list is a guide to a slice of the Always Hungry life. It is a roundup that will help you unleash your inner fat kid to the fullest in the New Year. If you have not tasted all of the dishes mentioned below, then you have a lot of work to do, but if you start now, you have a whole year to make it happen. So, without further ado, I present The Always Hungry Restaurant List: A Strategic Guide To New York Eating. Keep this close in 2010, and it will ensure that you Never Eat An Insignificant Meal Again.
HungryChefs: Chefs Love Lupa, Mixed on Hot Dogs
The Gluttoness — June 11, 2009
Roasted Pork Shoulder “Gyro” with Pickled Cucumber & Yogurt from Anthos at Street & Savory
Some of the country’s best chefs attended Citymeals-on-Wheels’ Street & Savory Tasting Event. We’ve already brought you pictures of all the dishes and rounded up our favorite plates, but we were also able to speak with the chefs.
Our questions were obvious: What are you AlwaysHungry for? Which New York City restaurant do you crave? And in keeping with the night’s theme: what would you serve if you opened your own street cart? Some chefs took the easy route, promoting dishes they had prepared for the evening, others were quite creative with their responses.
AlwaysTraveling: Cal Pep (Barcelona, Spain)
Jeff Zalaznick — June 03, 2009
Cal Pep is synonymous with the great Tapas and seafood of Barcelona, and has been nestled in a small square just north of the Plaça de Palau since 1977. There is no question that its chef and owner, Josep “Pep” Manubens Figueras (now approaching 60), serves Barcelona’s best tapas. Pep is known for his seafood, specifically, Razor Clams and Frito Misto, (one taste will inform you why) and in a way, his prowess is partially responsible for the abundance of those clams that we currently find being served around New York. Yes, I am giving him credit for Razor Clams. The trick to Cal Pep is go for lunch (if you’re a tourist, it’s near the Picasso Museum, which makes for a nice morning), and show up 15 minutes before they open their doors. It’s important to play close attention to the time, because if you show up ten minutes before they open, you’ll be waiting for more than a full turn to be seated. This has now been proven three times— take it for what it is.
The restaurant itself is tiny—you sit at the 20-stool bar and eat what they give you from the open kitchen. It’s also well known for its frying prowess and some fixtures of the seasonal menu not to be missed include the Fried Artichokes and the plate of fried-egg topped, deep-fried, inch-long fish, called Llengeta. In my mind, what they should be most famous for is their Tortilla Tempana. I can say with great confidence that it is the best that I have ever had in my life. It is served warm, which seems obvious but is so rarely done, and is truly a slice of Spanish heaven. When they are done with their work, they encourage you to request more. I was applauded for my last minute addition of Steak and Butifarra, and received a departing hug from Pep himself.
You can go to Cal Pep for dinner, and you can even make a reservation for large parties in the back, but the place you want to be is at the bar for lunch. To continue the seafood extravaganza into dinner, you should try their more formal restaurant nearby, Passadis del Pep, which serves one of the finest seafood meals I have ever ingested.
This is the Mecca. This is where Mario and Joe went to get inspiration for Casa Mono. This is where the tortilla at Mercat is copied from. This is the place.
Restaurant: Cal Pep
Address: Plaça Olles 8, 08003 Barcelona, Spain (view map)
AlwaysHungry Grade: A+
AlwaysHungry Recommends: Tortilla, Butifarra con Foie a l’Oporto, Almejas con Jamón, Fritto Misto
Razor Clams
Foie Gras Butifarra Sausage with White Beans & Port Reduction
AlwaysPartying: Joe & Mario’s 4th Annual Wine & Swine
Jeff Zalaznick — May 12, 2009
from left to right, Cesare Casella, Billy Gallagher, Mario Batali & Dave Gallagher slicing up the Whole Roasted Pig
Yesterday, Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali hosted their 4th Annual Springtime Wine & Swine event, at the Bastianich home in Greenwich. In addition to Mario, Michael Schlow (Radius), Cesare Casella (Salumeria Rosi), William Gallagher (Becco), Dave Pasternack (Esca), Fortunato Nicotra (Felidia), and Andy Nusser (Casa Mono & Tarry Lodge) were all making it happen in the kitchen.
The surprise guest was Schlow, who was in from Boston making his award-winning Radius Burger. Topped with cheddar, horseradish mayo and fried onions, this is unquestionably one of the finest burgers in the world. Pasternack’s Balsamic Octopus is also a gift to humanity, as it truly defines what tender octopus should taste like. The Ribeye was immaculately tender and served perfectly rare. The Pig, cooked overnight and served whole, was a revelation as well. The party was phenomenal—the weather was beautiful, the band was rocking, and excellent Wine and Swine was served all-around. Perfect Monday.
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