AlwaysInvestigating: Fancy Snack Food

The Glutttoness — October 14, 2009

From left, Cod with Potato Chips (Ed’s Chowder House), Broccoli and Cheetos (Park Avenue Autumn), and Pretzel-Crusted Crab Cake (davidburke townhouse).

When Park Avenue Autumn’s (view) Craig Koketsu started the trend with Cheetos on broccoli, we were excited, but now that people are following suit and doing cool things with everyday snack foods, we are very excited. Sure, it might not be as extreme as Erik R. Trinidad turning Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Frosty into a “gourmet” Chicken Mole Frostano on Fancy Fast Food, but considering what’s being done with Cheetos, potato chips, pretzels and breakfast cereal (e.g. Franklin Café Southie’s Cap’n Crunch Fried Chicken in Boston), just imagine the possibilities for Hot Fries, Smartfood and Cool Ranch Doritos.

Broccoli and cheddar is a classic combination, but choosing Cheetos as your cheddar is pretty damn awesome. And Koketsu doesn’t just use ordinary Cheetos, opting instead for broken chunks of Cheetos Crunchy. Any nutritional value from steaming the vegetables is further undermined by what you don’t see, the pool of butter at the bottom of the bowl. Butter-coated Cheetos amounts to a new level of crazy deliciousness, like the savory equivalent of eating Fruit Loops in melted ice cream. It will be near impossible to ever enjoy broccoli this much again.

Click Here for Dishes with Potato Chips and Pretzels >>

AlwaysLearning: Coxinha

Arthur Bovino — September 08, 2009

Top, Coxinha & Guaraná soda from Barril Grill. Left, Barril Grill, 30-18 Broadway, Astoria. Right, Coxinha cross-section, New York Pão de Queijo, Astoria.

Sure there are Pastels and Bolinhos de Bacalhau but when you consider the Brazilian salgadhino that comes to mind most quickly after Pão de Queijo, it’s likely to be Coxinha (pronounced, Co-sheen-ya).

Where it’s from: Brazil.

What it is: At its most basic, coxinha is a croquette filled with minced chicken and seasonings. In Brazil, each coxinha is usually about two and a half to three inches long and about one and a half to two inches wide. It can be found in Brazil’s little corner coffee shops throughout the country. Where you find Pao de Queijo, you’ll most often also find coxinha. The word, ‘coxinha’ is said to actually mean ‘little chicken thigh”, and that’s supposedly what it originally contained. These days, the teardrop shape is said to be purposely reminiscent of this drumstick origin.

While it’s easily eaten on the go, coxinha is often consumed at the cafe counter where there’s usually a bottle of hot sauce. The top is torn or bitten off, and a dash of hot sauce is often used to spice it up as it’s eaten. The perfect coxinha resembles a misshapen arancine, and is similar in color. The outer shell should be crisp and delicate. Just underneath, a quarter-inch layer of batter and catupiry combines for a creamy effect, similar to a mashed potato paste. Finally, in the center, the minced chicken should be moist, flavorful and at least a little warm.

How it’s made: There are different preparations, but generally, chicken cooked with broth is then seasoned and minced, then enclosed in a wheat flour batter. Applications differ, but most recipes call for a Brazilian cream cheese called Catupiry. Some dictate that the cream cheese should be mixed with the chicken, some stipulate its inclusion with the batter, while others just note it should be present with the chicken when it’s battered and fried. This filling is then coated with batter and breadcrumbs, shaped to roughly resemble a drumstick, allowed to set and then fried.

Where to get it in New York: Coxinha in New York City tends to be much smaller on average than in Brazil but you can find it at several of the Brazilian restaurants in Midtown. Be careful, on occasion you’ll find a toothpick sticking out of the center. Whereas in Brazil you usually buy one individually (unless you’re hungry), here they’re served small and several to an order. Some restaurants serving them in Manhattan include Brazil Brazil Restaurant and Brazil Grill (787 8th Avenue). In Astoria, Rio Bonito and New York Pao de Queijo also sell decent renditions.

AlwaysLearning: Pão de Queijo

Arthur Bovino — September 04, 2009

Pão de Queijo in Astoria at New York Pão de Queijo, $1.75.

Pão de Queijo (pronounced, pow de KAY-ju, with a nasal ‘ow’) is an addictive, gluten-free, South American salgadinho.

Where it’s from: Pão de Queijo is one of many different salgadhinos (snacks), like Coxinha and Pastels, which you can find everywhere in Brazil. It is most often sold at cafés, where it’s eaten with espresso for breakfast while standing at a counter— though it can be found all day. Variations are said to be found in Bolivia, where they’re known as Cuñapé, and in Paraguay and Northern Argentina where they’re known as Chipás.

What it is: In Portuguese Pão de Queijo means ‘cheese bread.’ Bread isn’t quite accurate— gougère or cheese profiterole is more apt. Basically, it’s a domed cheese puff one to three inches wide, made using Povilho Azedo, cassava flour (tapioca starch) usually with Queijo de Minas cheese inside. Origins are murky, but it’s thought to have been created by slaves who harvested the yucca crops and gathered the starch leftover after processing. Starch was rolled into balls and baked. Later, when cattle-farming became widespread, cheese was introduced. One Brazilian chain that specializes in it, Casa do Pão de Queijo (founded in 1967 in São Paulo), attributes it to the 18th century in the state of Minas Gerais, a region in the Southeast of Brazil, a little less than 300 miles from Rio.

How it’s made: Recipes vary, but generally, milk, oil and butter are first mixed over heat. Then tapioca flour, eggs and cheese are added. After the mixture cools, balls of dough are formed and cooked for about twenty minutes. The combination of tapioca starch and cheese creates a slightly gummy, chewy consistency inside, like a palatable rubber cement. When done right, they are crisp on the outside and light, airy, warm and slightly chewy on the inside with full, cheesy flavor. One of Brazil’s best places for pão de queijo is in São Paulo— Pão de Queijo Haddock Lobo —a little shop in a neighborhood called Jardins Paulista.

Where to get it in New York: There are pockets of Brazilian restaurants downtown (like Casa and Cafe La Palette in the West Village, and one place in the East Village, Esperanto) that serve pão de queijo, as well as a few in Midtown (Emporium Brasil) on what’s left of Little Brazil on 46th Street (“Little Brazil Street”) and also in Newark, and Astoria, Queens.

One AlwaysHungryNY.com favorite spot for pão is New York Pão de Queijo (right), a small café in Astoria. It has other treats including açai na tigela and a bevy of Brazilian fruit juices. Fair warning: once you’ve eaten one, it’s difficult to stop.

AlwaysPartying: Poutine Tasting (Park Slope, Brooklyn)

Josh Kaplan — June 26, 2009

Wednesday night at the Australian Park Slope gastropub, Sheep Station, Chef Martine Lafond (a Quebec transplant) held a Poutine tasting in honor of “La St. Jean Baptiste,” (Saint Jean Baptiste Day, June 24th), a national holiday of Quebec that celebrates French Canadian culture.

Poutine has been on the rise around the city. Draft Barn threw a disco fry tasting this week. TPoutine is supposed to open on Ludlow soon. Even the swanky Hotel Griffou makes poutine with duck confit. This Canadian junk food classic, (French fries cheese curds and gravy) is said to have its etymological roots in the Quebecois slang, “une maudite poutine,” which describes what it resembles, “an unholy mess.”

Of the three poutines at the tasting —Classic, Chicken and Peas, and Italian— the first (above) was the best. Fries were bathed in a straightforward pan gravy and topped with five curds— salty, chewy bites reminiscent of mozzarella balls. There just weren’t enough curds.

Click for AlwaysHungryNY.com's poutine pictures and descriptions >>

AlwaysSnacking: Burger King Launches New Line of Snack Food

The Gluttoness — June 24, 2009

Being delayed at Jet Blue’s Terminal 5 at JFK wasn’t so awful. I grabbed a few Toro Rolls at Deep Blue Sushi and a Strawberry Frosted Donut from Dunkin’ Donuts to keep me satisfied until I could ravage my grandmother’s signature spread of bagels, varied smoked fishes and schmears. Being delayed on the way home at Ft. Lauderdale’s Hollywood International Airport wasn’t as luxurious (never flying Jet Blue again). Terminal F had one dining option, and having eaten a Cuban sandwich and Eggs Benedict at Jerry’s Famous Deli, an airport pulled pork sandwich just wasn’t in the cards. But I was hungry.

I grabbed some Welch’s Fruit Snacks then set out to find something salty. While perusing the snack food in the bookstore, I found two semi-nauseating sounding, yet curiosity-inducing, must-try snacks: Burger King Onion Rings and Burger King Fries with Ketchup. I’m an admitted lover of Funyuns, and I wondered if Burger King Onion Rings could trump one of my favorite treats. I was fairly confident they wouldn’t be horrible because BK’s onion rings are the reason I stop there before other fast food joints.

The prepackaged snack fries were like Burger King’s actual French fries, disappointing. But the Burger King Onion Rings were surprisingly satisfying. They’re bite-sized like the originals and crunchy with a rich onion taste, zesty seasoning, and a subtle hint of smokiness—as if they had actually been deep-fried in animal fat before packaging. I grabbed an extra bag and headed for the gate, much happier than I would have been with Jet Blue’s complimentary Terra Blue Potato Chips or cashews.

AlwaysQuestioning: Wine Enthusiast’s Sybil Strum

The Gluttoness — June 09, 2009

Ten years after its first event at the Whitney, Wine Enthusiast’s Toast of the Town Grand Tasting is being held on June 15th at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. Since its first year the event has spread to San Francisco, Atlanta, and Chicago. There are plans for it to be held in Dallas next year.

We recently spoke with Wine Enthusiast’s CEO, Sybil Strum, who founded the business with her husband. She shared some details with us about life as an oenophile, her favorite food and wine pairings, and of course, what she’s AlwaysHungry for.

Read the full interview with Wine Enthusiast's Sybil Strum >>