Featured Dish: Kesté’s Insalata Pizza Sandwich
Arthur Bovino — August 11, 2010
A quarter cross-section of Kesté‘s Pizza & Vino’s Pizza insalata.
Last June, when Grub Street reported on the pizza wallet at Kesté Pizza & Vino, aka the Portfolio, we took note with excitement— the Neapolitan pie goes portable! But we measured the ‘Neapolitan’ equivalent of New York’s street slice against the original with mixed results. While they tasted good, wallets made with regular Kesté pies (they wouldn’t make minis), with toppings and without, eaten crust or tip first, either burst open or devolved into a mess of bread and cheese. Whether you were sitting or walking, it was a fail. A new innovation at Kesté, the Pizza Sandwich, had more promise.
AlwaysPartying: Fatty Football Feast
The Gluttoness — October 05, 2009
The Gluttoness’ heaping helping.
I’m used to enjoying hanging with the guys for marathon Sunday football sessions, but this past Sunday was really special. As I embarked up the stairwell at 844 Broadway for Epicurious.com’s “Fatty Sunday,” the scent of smoked meat was almost palpable. On the third floor, the always awesome Fatty team was offering a sneak-peek at the Southeast Asian Barbeque that’s going to be served at their long-awaited Brooklyn outpost, Fatty ‘Cue.
Left, Robbie Richter and Corwin Kave. Right, Zak Pelaccio.
The event was dubbed, “A Zak Pelaccio Lunchtime Feast,” and the buffet-style spread fit the bill. The room was outfitted like a cafeteria, with room-length tables flanked by flat-screens (on which the Giants showed Kansas City who was really chief). The food was showcased in the demonstration kitchen, where Zak Pelaccio, Corwin Kave and Andrew Pressler worked the burners, while Robbie Richter sliced Smoked BBQ Lamb Shoulder. It was topped with a Goat Yogurt Chili Sauce and the first bite had my nose running in no time. Since the Fatty crew intends to focus on local, sustainable products, all of Sunday’s dishes won’t necessarily be available when Fatty Cue opens, but they hope to keep a lamb and/or goat dish on the menu.
FirstLook: Ed’s Chowder House
The Gluttoness — October 05, 2009
The exterior of Ed’s Chowder House, and the raw bar, inside.
When news broke about Center Cut’s transformation into Ed’s Chowder House (view), I instantly had confidence in Jeffrey Chodorow’s new direction with Eighty-One’s Chef Ed Brown. After City Harvest’s Street & Savory Event in June, I named Brown’s Crispy Fried Clam Roll the evening’s best savory bite. Considering that Center Cut was bad and remarkably over-priced, a sophisticated clam shack seemed worth a shot (though said Clam Roll is nowhere to be found). The stately decor and older crowd hasn’t changed much, but both the bar (with it’s own menu) and dining room are crowded with diners now that buttery Lobster Rolls are flying out of the kitchen a la Pearl Oyster Bar.
AlwaysFresh: A Day at Stone Barns
Michelle Kiefer — October 02, 2009
Tomorrow at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is their Sixth Annual Harvest Fest, a community celebration of the farm at its most fruitful. As our Calendar notes, family-friendly festivities will include live music, a farm market, hayrides and games from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Here is a beautiful piece about a day spent at Stone Barns by Michelle Kiefer, an AlwaysHungryNY.com contributor.
Top, Stone Barns Farm. Bottom left, Raspberry Coffee Cake. Right, Blue Hill Café.
As fantastic as a meal is at Blue Hill at Stone Barns (restaurant page) it’s not something everyone can afford. But as a recent visit demonstrated, you don’t have to splurge to have a great time eating and experiencing Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture (view site). And it’s closer than you think, just a forty-five minute drive or a thirty-five minute ride from Grand Central to Tarrytown on the Hudson Line’s express train followed by a 10-minute, $12 cab ride to the farm.
Featured Lunch: Mae Mae Café
The Gluttoness — August 12, 2009
Mae Mae Café‘s Curried Chicken Salad with Currants.
The warehouse-speckled neighborhood between Hudson and Varick on the western edge of SoHo where Mae Mae Café (restaurant page) is situated, is known for both swallowing up and quickly spitting out the courageous and foolish restaurants that have attempted to make inroads there. The beautiful space that housed both Dani and Archipelago is doomed by location, and while nearby Harbour started off okay, the ending of Steve Cuozzo’s review does not bode well, “We all want to ‘sustain’ the sea’s bounty — but first, let’s learn to cook it.”
One of the things these other restaurants lacked was an understanding of the neighborhood and the meals it needed to serve. Save for its Wednesday night jazz dinners, Mae Mae Café doesn’t make the mistake of having dinner service. It is the restaurant’s adherence to lunch service that has allowed them great success since opening in 2002. Its quiet spot on Vandam Street is far from significant foot traffic, but there’s a steady flow of afternoon clientele that clearly relies on it. And why not, this casual escape is affordable. It sells satisfying sandwiches like the Cubano and a Pulled Mozzarella Panino, and mountainous salads such as the Kinderhook Beets with Chopped Hazlenuts and Shaved Caciotta.
The consistent food is care of Great Performances, one of New York City’s premier catering organizations. Among other places, they’re also responsible for the food at BAMcafé, Sotheby’s Terrace Café, and Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center. Under its founder, Liz Neumark, Great Performances transformed office space in its production warehouse to create this lovely, quaint café.
Much of the produce used on Mae Mae’s menu is sourced from Great Performances’ Katchkie Farm. Take, for example, Mae Mae’s Local Farms Pickled Vegetable Platter, which consists of beets, cucumbers, cabbage and green and grape tomatoes. The tangy, crunchy vegetables whet the palate for a delightful meal of lunch favorites: Tuna Salad, Egg Salad and Chicken Salad. The Curried Chicken Salad with Currants, served on a thin, crisp pita, is worthy of a return visit.
Mae Mae Café may be out of the way for many of us, but the neighborhood has undoubtedly embraced it. It’s a neighborhood which isn’t so doomed for restaurants after all, as long as they know their customers. When buildings vacate at 5pm, there’s no point in serving dinner.
Check out the pictures from lunch at the MAE MAE CAFÉ on its RESTAURANT PAGE.
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