AlwaysPartying: Epicurious’ Ultimate Lunch Break

The Gluttoness — September 30, 2009

From Hill Country BBQ Beef Sandwich with Cole Slaw and Sweet Pickles.

Epicurious Entertains NYC (view) began today, and the mega-event (calendar) featuring celebrity chef demos and tastings, with portions of the proceeds going to Feeding America and the NYC Food Bank, kicked off in Union Square with The Ultimate NYC Lunch Break. The sold-out affair lived up to its lofty moniker. The afternoon’s plentiful spread featured some of AlwaysHungryNY.com’s neighborhood lunchtime favorites, namely Tabla’s Chicken Tikka Frankie and Hill Country’s BBQ Beef Sandwich.

Celebrated chefs like Julian Medina and Seamus Mullen were on-hand to dish out their respective Pork and Pineapple Tacos and Lamb Bacon BLTs. Following Mermaid Inn’s Lobster Roll and Cafe Habana’s Cubano, the Treats Truck came through with an impressive array of sweets, the Pecan Butterscotch Bars being the best of the bunch. For twenty bucks, it won’t be easy to find lunch from this many great diverse restaurants in Manhattan.

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AlwaysPartying: 2009 Vendy Awards

The Hungry Goat — September 28, 2009

New York City’s love affair with street vendors was on full display at Saturday’s 2009 Vendy Awards. A crowd of over 1,000 hungry New Yorkers—a record high for the event—filed into historic Corona Park to sample and support the eleven contenders by way of an hours-long eat and repeat marathon.

Highlights included: Biryani Cart’s kick-ass Kati Roll, the chorizo huaraches by Vendy’s winner, Country Boys/Martinez Taco Truck, Big Gay Ice Cream Truck’s Caramelized Bacon Ice Cream Sandwich, and “Freddy” The King of Falafel’s unforgettable performance with two lovely belly dancers.

Top, Country Boys/Martinez Taco Trucks’ Chorizo Huaraches. Bottom left, Chicken Tacos.

2009 VENDY CUP WINNER
Country Boys/Martinez Taco Truck – Fernando & Jolanda Martinez
Served: Fernando said he selected his clients’ favorites, Huaraches, Quesadillas or Tacos with a choice of chicken, beef, or vegetarian filling.
AlwaysHungry For: Anything with seafood.
AHNY Notes: Fernando said his favorite restaurants are El Viejo Yayo, and Barzola.

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AlwaysInvestigating: Ippudo’s Buns

The Hungry Goat — April 17, 2009

Whoever said that steamed buns are the new banh mi was definitely on to something. Now that the wildly popular Vietnamese sandwich has had its glamorous New York Times Dining cover story, the New York City gastrosphere is hungry for its next Asian snack obsession.

Of course, David Chang’s Momofuku team deserves credit for getting the ball rolling on this Asian open-faced bun craze, with Fatty Crab later adding fuel to the fire. And now, it seems that imitations of this signature open style are popping up on menus all over town. As we reported earlier this week, Rickshaw Dumpling Bar has hopped on the bandwagon with their new Braised Pork Belly and Bulgogi Beef Buns, and Macao Trading Co. started featuring a version on their Late Night Menu last week.

Ippudo’s buns are another example of this trend. Buns are sold two per order ($8), either pork belly (above left) or chicken (above right). Both are served on thick, doughy steamed buns (larger than Rickshaw or Momofuku), and are dressed with fresh lettuce and a squirt of mayo. While not as interesting as Momofuku’s crunchy pickled cucumbers, the crisp iceberg lettuce provides a welcome textural contrast, particularly to the pork. The pork belly, while tender, could benefit from a thicker slice, but the nutty, savory sauce adds depth and a generous dose of heat.

The lettuce/mayo favor combination is reminiscent of the flavor of a McDonald’s McChicken sandwich in the best way possible. As expected, the pork bun is far superior to the chicken. This pork bun is without a doubt a Top 5 contender, and a fine accompaniment to a bowl of the city’s best ramen. As a side note, though the chicken bun is lackluster, if you are in the mood for chicken, the peppery sesame seed-coated crispy Chicken Wings (shown right) are absolutely outstanding.

AlwaysInvestigating: Rickshaw’s Buns

Arthur Bovino — April 14, 2009

Having recently heard about Rickshaw Dumpling Bar’s foray into steamed Asian Buns we headed over to check them out. There are two buns on the offer: the Braised Pork Slider (left) with braised pork belly, Chinese barbecue sauce and Asian cabbage slaw, and a Bulgogi Beef Bun (right) with sautéed ground beef patty, onion, sesame, Korean chili sauce and pickled vegetables. Buns go two per order for $6.

The buns were fine—lovingly prepared if ever so slightly stale. The Pork Belly Bun was moist and dressed with a sweet, apple-scented sauce mildly reminiscent of maple syrup. It was the obvious winner. Not bad for fast food—not bad at all. You could eat two orders of these and leave happy. The pickled julienned carrots, sprouts and scallions were pleasantly fresh and the sauce on the Bulgogi Beef Bun was an enjoyable ratio of salty to sweet with about a half-second of spicy heat. The meat itself? To paraphrase the late Senator Lloyd Bentsen, “Rickshaw, we’ve served Bulgogi. We know Bulgogi. Bulgogi is a friend of ours. Rickshaw, that ain’t no Bulgogi.”

Imagine an Asian McDonald’s McRib sandwich patty—that’s the bulgogi beef patty. Stick with the pork belly. Unless, you love the McRib of course, in which case, you will love the Bulgogi Beef Bun.

The only reason to even mention David Chang’s pork buns in the same breath as these buns, is to cite their responsibility in the recent proliferation of this open, folded-over preparation style.