AlwaysPartying: 1933 Rollback and Pizza-Eating Contest at Patsy’s Pizzeria

Arthur Bovino — August 26, 2009

Patsy’s Pizzeria in Harlem at 118th an 1st Avenue (Patsy’s Way).

“Try drinking a grape soda,” advised Ray Cabrera, 57, a lunch companion at Patsy’s Pizzeria (restaurant page) during their 76th anniversary celebration in Harlem, “it keeps the weight off your chest.”

Ray should know the best way to eat pizza at Patsy’s— he has been doing it since he was 17. Today, he and his friend Tommie Kirk were taking a break from work to enjoy their lunch during the rollback to 1930’s prices, which Frank Brija, the owner of Patsy’s described as their way of “giving back to the community,” after being in the neighborhood for 76 years. Also on the docket later was a pizza-eating contest and the unveiling of a new street sign depicting the block on 1st Avenue as “Patsy’s Way.”

Doors were scheduled to open at 11am but the long line of crying children, bloggers, hungry locals and patrons doused in Aqua Blue didn’t start getting let in until almost a half hour later. Then Israel Miranda, the dapper, suit-wearing doorman started asking the security guard to send in parties of people, “Sexy, five,” he teased. “Sexy, two!”

Sexy?

“I keep telling him, ‘Today I’m Mr. Garcia,’” explained the guard.

Inside, lunch with Tommie and Ray was on AlwaysHungryNY.com’s dime. At these prices, it might have been possible to buy lunch for the entire restaurant without breaking $150. The waitress explained that each person was allowed to order one appetizer, one Primi Piatti, one Secondi Piatti, one pizza and one dessert. The menu noted that there were “No Subsitutions. No Take-Out or Doggy Bags,” allowed. It ruined a lot of plans devised by people on line to “roll in, order five pies and two of everything to go.”

From top left, clockwise: Patsy’s Original Coal Oven Pizza, Cheese Slice upskirt, Vongole Fresche, Fusilli con Pollo al Marsala, Chicken Parmigiana, and Coal Oven Pizza with Sausage.

At the AlwaysHungryNY.com table the bill totaled $3.75. Three people managed to eat and drink: a Coca-Cola (10¢), a Grape Soda (10¢), an Organic House Salad (30¢), Vongole Fresche (45¢), Pollo ala Parmigiana (85¢), the Fusilli con Pollo al Marsala (70¢), a Coal Oven Pizza with Sausage (75¢), and an Original Coal Oven Pizza (60¢). With a $10 tip, we still escaped under $15, well under the $70.90 bill it would have cost without tip. This reporter downed his first pie at Pasty’s by himself. There was good sauce to cheese ratio and the crust was exceptionally thin. “You have to eat it within the first two minutes,” advised Tommie, “it gets floppy fast.”

Continue Reading >>

AlwaysTraveling: Pizza à Bessa (Brasília, Brazil)

Arthur Bovino — August 25, 2009

Left, ‘Calabresa’ (Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Sausage, Olives, Onions, Oregano and Crispy Garlic.). Center, Sausage, Corn and Potato Sticks. Right, Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella and Potato Sticks.

Restaurant: Pizza à Bessa (view site)
Address: SCLS Quadra 214, Bloco C, Loja 14, Setor Comércio Local Sul, Brasília, Brazil‎ (view map)
AlwaysHungry Grade: A-
AlwaysHungry Recommends: Rodizio.

Brazilian cuisine is known for the seemingly endless meat offerings that are served rodizio-style (unlimited food at a fixed price) at its renowned churrascarias. But it’s not the only cuisine in Brazil served in this style. In many places, rodizio has been adapted to one of the country’s favorite cheap snacks, pizza. In Brasília, the country’s Epcot-like capital, Pizza à Bessa is the pizza spot.

An open airy setting for Pizza à Bessa in Brasília’s Asa Sul (South Wing).

There are two Pizza à Bessa locations. The branch that opened in Asa Sul in June, 2006, is in an area with other good restaurant options. Settle in, R$19.70 (about $11) gets you as many slices as it’s possible to stomach. It’s half-price for children five to nine and free for anyone younger.

Waiters fly from the kitchen and do circuits around the dining room, each one carrying a tray with a different type of pizza. You’ll frequently find yourself with three different slices on your plate. When it comes to getting your money’s worth, as at any rodizio, pacing is key. But part of the fun (besides downing caipirinhas with your pizza) is the two-fold food challenge you face: 1) seeing how many slices you can eat 2) attempting to sample each of the thirty to forty different kinds of pizza.

Pizza à Bessa serves conventional pizza, but Brazilians use all kinds of unexpected ingredients— at any one point your plate is likely to resemble a Midwestern potluck. Some toppings you’ll find include: Carne de Sol, Catupiry (Brazilian cream cheese), Mustard, Purê de Batatas (Mashed Potatoes), Corn, Tuna, Cassava and Potato Sticks. Purists, be warned, while the menu says that many slices feature tomato sauce (molho de tomate) its application is light. The best slices tend to be the ones featuring very creamy Brazilian cheese and enjoying the experience is mostly about the novelty of unexpected textures and combinations.

There are also a number of incredibly sweet dessert pizzas: Sorvete e Calda de Chocolate (Ice cream and Chocolate Syrup), Maçã (Apple), and Mel (Honey) among others.

The slice count on our vist: 25

Left, ‘Purê de Batatas’ (Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Mashed Potatoes and Oregano). Right, ‘Calabresa.’

Click here for more pictures of Brazilian pizza from Pizza à Bessa. >>

AlwaysLearning: Durian, As Bad As They Say

Arthur Bovino — August 24, 2009

Durian, the so-called “King of Fruits,” being prepared at the fruit stand outside Tú Qùynh Pharmacy in Chinatown.

Durian. Eating this stinky fruit is a culinary rite of passage you see Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain perform halfway around the world, late at night on television. But you don’t have to let them have all the food challenge fun.

Where it’s from: Southeast Asia. Though native to Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, Thailand is the world’s largest exporter.

What it is: Durian, a greenish-brown fruit renowned for its powerful smell, grows from a tropical evergreen tree, and grows to be a foot long and a half-foot wide. Its spiny shell inspired the name— duri is Malay for thorn. The texture inside is part custard, part mushy-stringy-slimy rot. The smell comes from a high concentration of sulfurous compounds.

Comparisons to cheese, sewage, and death, and descriptions like “banana, caramel, and vanilla, with a slight onion tang,” may seem over-the-top at first. Travel-writer, Richard Sterling’s description sets the tone: “pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock.” But Bourdain’s isn’t far behind, “your breath will smell as if you’d been French-kissing your dead grandmother.”

There is no hyperbole. Keeping this down may be difficult. As if durian’s natural flavor isn’t uncompelling enough, some preparations go further. Take Tempoyak, fermented durian, and boder, durian minced with salt, onions and vinegar.

There are several durian-related urban legends. One is that the ripe fruit falls from the tree and kills people. Another is that it eating it in excess can kill anyone with high blood pressure. Many in Southeast Asia believe that it’s lethal to consume alcohol with durian, some brave souls set out to disprove on video. It’s also believed to be an aphrodisiac— there’s said to be an expression in Java, “durian jatuh sarung naik”, meaning “durians fall and the sarongs come up.”

Left, Tú Qùynh Pharmacy at 230 Grand Street. Right, Durian Sorbet at Bao Noodles.

Where to get it in New York: Visit the stand in Chinatown outside Tú Qùynh Pharmacy on the corner of Grand and Bowery. They regularly receive durian flown frozen from Thailand. You have to buy the whole fruit, which on average weighs 8 to 11 pounds and costs about $2/lb. A salesman with protective gloves selects a durian (when ripe and shaken, it’s said to rattle inside like a soft-boiled egg), slices it open with a boxcutter and seals it in plastic for you.

If you’re interested in a more tame experience, try Bao Noodles, which recently featured a surprisingly pleasant Durian sorbet or Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, which regularly offers Durian Ice Cream.

36 Dishes in Boston, MA

Arthur Bovino — August 10, 2009

In The New York Times weekly column, 36 Hours, a weekend-long itinerary is given for different cities. AlwaysHungryNY.com, is taking a more culinary-focused, food-challenge approach to weekend travel with a new, occasional feature, 36 Dishes. The goal? To eat and drink a combination of 36 memorable dishes and beverages from significant places in a city during one weekend.

Left, Boston from Top of the Hub bar in the Prudential Building. Right, the Tall Ships in Boston Harbor

Today’s feature is a recap of 36 Dishes eaten in Boston over the weekend of July 10-12, when AlwaysHungryNY.com ate everywhere from the South End to Harvard Square. Our weekend of eating began on Friday night at 10:50pm, ten minutes before the Radius kitchen closes.

Click to see all 36 Dishes in Boston, MA. >>

AlwaysPartying: Oyster Odyssey

Arthur Bovino — August 05, 2009

The John Dory’s Hangtown Fry ($17) is served during brunch.

New York City is a great place for raw bar and fried oysters (see AHNY’s National Oyster Day post). As delicious as these oyster preparations are, other classic and interesting preparations shouldn’t be missed. Take the Hangtown Fry, an oyster and bacon omelette made famous in California during the Gold Rush. Its origin is one of those epic food myths.

It starts in a place forty miles east of Sacramento that was called Dry Diggins until three desperadoes were hanged from the town’s giant oak tree, after which it became Hangtown. Supposedly, in 1849 a miner who had found gold walked into the El Dorado Hotel across the street from the tree and asked the bartender for the most expensive meal possible. The result was a combination of bacon from the East, eggs from the coast and oysters that had been packed on ice and brought in from the San Francisco Bay.

The dish outlasted the town’s name and the hotel. Today, Hangtown is known as Placerville, and the El Dorado was replaced in 1857 after burning down a year before, by the The Cary House Hotel, which still stands. Allegedly one of the only places in town to regularly serves the Hangtown Fry is Chuck’s Restaurant. But that’s okay because you don’t have to go to California to strike culinary gold.

The John Dory’s rendition has to rank up there with the city’s best egg dishes. Eggs are creamy. Bacon is substituted with a thick prosciutto that has the texture of tender corned beef. Slices of pickled jalapeño add bursts of a light vinegary flavor and heat also spread throughout the dish. The oysters are only slightly cooked. The pooled flavors lining the plate’s bottom when you finish are worth wiping up with the delicious Parker House rolls.

The Hangtown Fry is just one of New York City’s many notable oyster dishes on the following Oyster Odyssey that a true bivalve-lover should try to check off their list.

Click to see AHNY's checklist of New York City's notable oyster dishes. >>

AHNY Challenge: Feel the Burn!

Arthur Bovino — June 30, 2009

Chowhound chatter alerted us to the potential for a showdown between what some have called New York’s spiciest dishes, Brick Lane Curry House’s Phaal Challenge and Rhong Tiam’s Pork on Fire. Brick Lane’s menu is the best introduction to phaal (above):

An excruciatingly hot curry, more pain and sweat than flavor, for our customers who do this on a dare, we will require you to state a verbal disclaimer not holding us liable for any physical or emotional damage after eating this curry. If you do manage to finish your serving of curry, a bottle of beer is on us.

Big talk, but documented attempts back it up. In the other corner is “Pork on Fire,” (Moo-Na-Rok, $13) a dish from the West Village restaurant, Rhong Tiam. Last summer, a New York Times article suggested it could be a “contender for spiciest dish in the city,” a suggestion that didn’t go untested.

We decided to see which dish was hotter.

Click to find out which dish is spicier: Phaal or "Pork on Fire" >>

AlwaysPartying: The Most Interesting Academy

Arthur Bovino — June 22, 2009

Eating a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) prepared by Gene Rurka (behind, right)

I make no claims of being the most interesting man in the world. Fortunately, when Man vs. Wild star, Bear Grylls (below, left) rappels from the ceiling to start a party, the pressure is off. Thus began the “New York Curriculum” of Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Academy at the Broad Street Ballroom.

You may know the new Dos Equis advertisements that feature a gray-bearded, fictional pitchman (above, center), a tuxedo-clad, Hemingwayesque gentleman who fell in love with Dos Equis during a “short stay in a jail in Guadalajara.” He’s said to be the most interesting man in the world and he’s depicted in exotic locales with models and fez-wearing men, accomplishing the fantastic and engaging in the eccentric. Commercials end with the tagline, “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis. Stay thirsty my friends.”

The event was hosted at Claremont Prepatory School, former headquarters of the Lee-Higginson Bank, transformed by MetSchools, Inc., into a K-8 private school. Two weeks after contacting the school, Mirrorball, a marketing agency, turned it into an “interesting” playground (above, right) with go-go dancers, Dos Equis beers and cocktails, 16,000 volt Tesla coils, didgeridoos, henna artists, and exotic birds like an Eastern Screech Owl named Sienna. The idea? To “help consumers kick up their ‘interesting quotient’ a few notches on the ‘interesting’ scale.” So of course, there was interesting food.

Continue reading about the "Most Interesting" food at the Most Interesting Academy >>

AlwaysInvestigating: About Giada’s Meatball Madness…

GutterGourmet — May 21, 2009

Now that Dish du Jour’s “Meatball Melée of the Boroughs” is behind us, and Nicky’s Famous Meatballs, a dark horse, deep-fried meatball by Bello Giardino’s, has taken the title, Best Meatballs in the Borough, it’s time to look forward to the next great meatball competition. This fall’s return of the Food Network’s New York City Wine and Food Festival (presented October 8-11 by Food&Wine and Travel+Leisure) is rumored to be featuring an entirely new event hosted by Giada De Laurentiis: Meatball Madness. It would have been a close call to choose between getting up close to Giada or the city’s best meatballs, thankfully we won’t have to. And who better than Giada to judge the best balls?

The event has inspired some intense thought about the competition’s potential participants and possible categories. For the approval of the powers that be, we submit the following:

The Traditional Italian/American Category
1) Lazzara’s gargantuan Meatball Parmigiana Hero (now at 2 locations: 38th Street and the new offshoot in Hell’s Kitchen on 9th Ave.).
2) Papa Perrone’s (best Midtown pizza truck) for meatball sandwiches and meatball pizza.
3) Manganaro’s Grosseria (no, not their archrival relatives next door, Manganaro’s Hero Boy).
4) John’s of 12th Street for spaghetti and meatballs in a Tony Soprano atmosphere circa 1908.

Click here for more suggested "Meatball Madness" categories >>

AlwaysTraveling: Charlie’s Hamburgers (Folsom, PA)

The Gluttoness — May 20, 2009

Charlie’s Hamburgers was first opened by Charlie Convenry in 1935. When the restaurant was forced to relocate further away from Route 402, Charlie sold it to long-time manager, Bernard “Bunny” McDonald, who opened the new Folsom, PA, location in 1986.

One juicy bite of a Charlie’s hamburger makes it easy to understand how they have maintained a loyal fan base despite a no-frills attitude and an influx of fast-food chains— little besides the location has changed. The same family of Jewish butchers has supplied the restaurant since 1935 and aside from the ice cream, nothing is frozen. The secret behind the beef is that they use meat from the front portion of the stomach. When asked about the smaller than average burger size, it’s explained that things are done the way they were first done and that, “people had smaller appetites back then.”

To compensate for the smaller patty size, most customers order doubles (above). Cheeseburgers are topped with thick slabs of yellow American cheese cut the old-fashioned way, from a giant brick. At Charlie’s, hot dogs (right) mean Philly Franks sliced through the center and weighted so the insides get blackened and extra crispy. Burgers and dogs are served on Baker’s Touch Sandwich Rolls, and the buns are always grilled on the greasy flattop. Condiments include ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles, tomato, onions, but you also have the option of ordering “à la Charlie,” with pickles, tomato and fried onion (top). Charlie’s has always used Potts Ice Cream to make their super thick milkshakes. It’s said that this is in return for Mr. Potts having lent Charlie Convenry part of the stake he needed to originally open the restaurant.

It might seem easy to saddle up to the counter and consume burger after burger with a cool Black-and-White milkshake, but if you’re the competitive type, keep in mind you’ll have to best the current record of 28 burgers if you want the title for most eaten. According to the folks at Charlie’s, this record is the legacy of Pat Ryan, who played the Mayor in The Toxic Avenger. Considering the cult following for these hamburgers, it’s fitting that an actor from a cult classic holds Charlie’s hamburger-eating title.

Restaurant: Charlie’s Hamburgers
Address: 336 Kedron Ave, Folsom, PA (view map)
AlwaysHungry Grade: B
AlwaysHungry Recommends: Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Shakes
Notes: Closed Tuesday.

AlwaysInvestigating: Philly vs. NY Soft Pretzels

The Gluttoness — May 14, 2009

I’ve never had the physical evidence to back up an assertion I’ve made many times: New York City’s street vendor soft pretzels don’t hold a candle to Philadelphia’s soft pretzels. During a recent trip to Philly I made a point of going to the Philly Pretzel Factory to bring back proof.

The Philly Pretzel Factory’s slogan is, “Real Pretzels Travel in Packs.” Stumped? Philadelphia soft pretzels come in sheets, usually rows of ten. They’re long and narrow, like squashed New York City pretzels with thicker ropes. During baking, the sides adhere to each other as they expand, creating the sheet effect (right). Enough about aesthetics— let’s focus on taste.

from left: Philly Soft Pretzel, New York Street Vendor Pretzel

Since I grew up in Philadelphia, I turned to two impartial members of the CORE:

CORE Member, The Hungry Goat:
“Philadelphia Soft Pretzels are much denser, the salt MAKES this pretzel. It’s tough and very chewy, especially the outer layer, and I wish it was softer. As far as New York pretzels go, bigger is not better. While I prefer the texture of the NY pretzel, the dough is totally bland, and there is not enough salt to make up for the lack of seasoning. It’s like eating something that has the flavor of a water cracker but in doughier form.”

CORE Member, Arthur Bovino:
“I’ve got New York pride so I’m loathe to cede ANYTHING to Philadelphia and I mean anything (I’m not even a Mets fan). So it really makes me mad that even with the significant advantage of being just bought from a vendor before I ate it, New York soft pretzels lost out to day-old Philly ones that sat overnight in a fridge. The charcoal smokiness I enjoy smelling as it wafts from the New York pretzel street carts during the winter isn’t enjoyable to taste and not only were the exteriors undersalted but they were somehow dry on the inside too. The Philly pretzel was properly salted, still moist and tasted like I remember enjoying soft pretzels as a kid. In the name of all things NY-pretzel-holy, somebody do something, please.”

Philadelphia pretzels are also a better deal wallet-wise. At the Philly Pretzel Factory, ten pretzels cost $3.00. Two pretzels from a New York City vendor cost $4.00. No contest—Philly wins.

AlwaysInvestigating: Eatin’ Dumplings at Eton Dumplings

Lina Mark — May 06, 2009

On an unassuming corner in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, a small storefront houses Eton Dumplings, New York’s ““Best New Dumplings”:http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/eat-out-awards/73190/eat-out-awards-2009-best-new-dumplings-eton,” according to Time Out New York. Inside Eton Dumplings (named for the owner, Eton Chan) there’s not much to the place, but what there is has charm. There are four tables, a couple of counter stools and an open kitchen behind a granite counter. The kitchen is pretty basic: four burners on two hotplates, a steamer and a table where dumplings are formed, Two Hawaiian ice machines next to the register crank out more than 20 flavors of Hawaiian Shave Ice. And that’s all folks. Dumplings and Hawaiian Shave Ice are all they do at Eton Dumplings, but they do it well.

The chalkboard menu shows three kinds of dumplings: pork and beef with cabbage, chicken and mushroom, and vegetable with tofu. There’s also a special dumpling that changes frequently. You can order one kind of dumpling (5/$3.50) but the sampler (3 of each/$6.75) is the obvious move.

The dough is made with a special Chinese flour, which is finer and retains more water than conventional flour. The fillings are made in the morning in large batches, then formed and filled throughout the day. Watching the bandana-wearing dumpling-makers in action—cutting, rolling, filling, and crimping the dumplings— is like watching Oompa-Loompas working in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. They cook the dumplings to order, first pan-searing them to crisp the bottom skin, then steaming them in the same pan.

Read more about Eton Dumplings and the 25 Dumpling Challenge! >>

AHNY Challenge: Tasting the Triple

Arthur Bovino — April 27, 2009

We’re always looking for culinary creations and New York City food challenges, so when we were alerted recently to an epic West Village masterpiece at the bottom of a Chowhound post titled, NYC Food Challenges, we were intrigued. It even had a good name: The Triple.

What’s a Triple? As, Nels, the user who posted about the creation described it:

“One Mamoun’s falafel sandwiched between one slice of Joe’s pizza (on the bottom, cheese side up) and one slice of John’s pizza (on the top, cheese side down). Best enjoyed with lots of hot sauce from Mamoun’s.”

A pizza sandwich using slices from Joe’s Pizza AND John’s of Bleecker Street? With a Mamoun’s falafel sandwich in between the two? Before you could say “carb attack” The Gluttoness and I had planned the logistics of how to create the sandwich at its peak quality. We had to make and eat it, right away.

Click to read about eating "The Triple" >>