AlwaysInformed: Spekuloos for Sale from Wafels & Dinges

Arthur Bovino — July 14, 2010

A Liège Wafel with Spekuloos Spread and Strawberries from Wafels & Dinges.

There it is in the in-box, sweet, sweet news: “IT’S NOT PEANUT BUTTER, IT’S SPEKULOOS!” Wafels & Dinges is now selling their secret weapon, Spekuloos, the “winning ingredient” used in their victory over Bobby Flay on Food Network’s Throwdown.

While it may not be being popularized across the country at quite the breakneck pace the press release makes it seem— “And It’s Spreading Across America”— (look out! it’ll be on your jelly sandwich in the lunchroom tomorrow!) this is exciting news. If you’ve missed our previous coverage, basically, Spekuloos (or Speculoos), tastes like Golden Grahams Cereal in dessert sauce form. Spekuloos didn’t originate as a spread, but as a cookie— for the full details, read all about it here.

Previously, finding Spekuloos was tough. You could buy the cookies at Le Pain Quotidien and at Walgreens which sells Lotus Bakeries’ ‘caramelised biscuits’ rebranded in the United States as Biscoff. As far as we can tell, before this, getting the spread meant ordering a 28oz jar for $7.58 through the airline food supplier, Gourmet Center.

Now you can buy Spekuloos through Wafels and Dinge’s website, at their truck, and at their new stands at the South Street Seaport, Riverside Park, and at the Arcadia Gift Shop on Eighth between 21st and 22nd Streets. “It leaves Spekuloos-virgins in awe,” their site claims. Indeed.

Featured Brunch: Daniel Boulud Does Brunch

The Gluttoness — November 06, 2009

Summer Fruit Parfait with Yogurt, Granola and Berries, $9.00.

Hot off the heels of its two-star review from The Times, DBGB Kitchen & Bar (view) has experienced the expected surge in business, and not only during prime dinner hours. Turns out it’s not all about the sausages, especially during brunch, when DBGB serves sweeter delights like Belgian Waffles topped with chocolate or berries and whipped cream, and a Fruit Parfait featuring figs, yogurt and granola. You can still order a juicy Yankee Burger, and those sausages (nine varieties) well, they get even better— any of them can be topped with two eggs, any style for $6.00.

Breakfast favorites abound, whether you’re looking for Brioche French Toast, a simple stuffed omelette in the velvety, uncolored French style, or poached eggs “en cocotte” with caramelized onions, mushrooms and bubbly Gruyère. Best of all is the classic Croque Madame, topped with an oozing sunny-side egg, and the super crisp, triangular hash brown cakes served in a miniature iron skillet.

For little kids, the horribly hungover and serious sweet tooths alike, nothing will end your bountiful brunch on a better note than DBGB Kitchen & Bar’s spectacular sundaes. There’s a Cassis Beer Yogurt with Speculoos Cookie, Rainbow Meringue, and Black Currant Compote too. But for the sake of the season you might consider the Caramel-Cider (with braised apple, marshmallow and oatmeal crumble). Of course, it’s impossible to go wrong with the indulgent chocolate chip cookie and brownie-flecked Coffee Mocha. Looks like Daniel Boulud has spent some quality time with a pint of Half Baked.

Haven’t we all.

AlwaysPartying: National Chocolate Day

The Hungry Goat — October 28, 2009

From Strip House: Strip House Chocolate Cake.

On this most sacred of days, National Chocolate Day, we give you the gift of chocolate food porn. For the viewing pleasure of all you chocoholics out there, we have assembled pictures of some of our favorite chocolate dishes in New York City.

Click Here for more Chocolate Food Porn >>

AlwaysInvestigating: Frying Fowl

The Gluttoness — October 08, 2009

Devi’s Masala Fried Quail with Spicy Indian Slaw and Calcutta Mustard Potato Salad.

The round-ups have been done and The Times did their fried chicken cover, so the trend is officially over. We still love large format fried chicken dinners at Locanda Verde and Momofuku Noodle Bar, and believe that new birds deserve recognition, but since we reported on Momofuku’s Ko-style chicken dinner reservation system and how delicious a deal it is, we haven’t seen any green checkmarks. So it’s time to focus on restaurants like Devi (view) and Park Avenue Autumn (view), which have turned fried chicken preparations to a different fowl: quail. While small, these birds fry up with lots of flavor.

Continue Reading >>

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.

Continue Reading >>

AlwaysLearning: Speculoos

Katie Reisert — August 26, 2009

Speculoos. What is it about Dutch and Belgian food words, like Speculoos (or Spekuloos) and Kapsalon that make them sound so epic? If you’ve eaten a Spekuloos covered waffle from the Wafels & Dinges truck you may find that the taste is epic too. It’s like Golden Grahams Cereal in dessert sauce form. But as good as it is, Speculoos didn’t originate as a spread.

Where it’s from: The Netherlands and Belgium.

What it is: Speculoos is actually a cookie, similar in composition to a biscuit or shortbread. Traditionally, it was baked to be eaten on St Nicholas’ Eve in the Netherlands (Dec. 5) and Belgium (Dec. 6). These thin, crunchy cookies are typically made using butter, sugar and a combination of spices including: cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves and sometimes ginger. They were then stamped with depictions of St. Nicholas. These days the cookies are available year-round. But they typically remain stamped with images, sometimes relating to the story of St. Nicholas, sometimes featuring representations of people, animals and daily life.

It’s not clear exactly where the word Speculoos comes from. Some speculate it originated from the Dutch word for spice, specerij. Another possibility is the Latin word for mirror, speculum, which could refer to the mirrored wooden stamp relief which was used to decorate the cookie.

Where to get it in New York: You can find packaged Speculoos cookies at Le Pain Quotidien (pictured above). Their renditions are like thin cinnamon sugar cookies with tiny bits of lemon. Lotus Bakeries have been making their ‘caramelised biscuits’ since 1932. After being discovered the cookies were rebranded in United States as Biscoff (Biscuit + Coffee = BISCOFF), which you can find at Walgreen’s.

A Liège Wafel with Spekuloos Spread and Strawberries, $6.

As mentioned above, spreadable Speculoos (we’re talking delicious, next-level stuff, here) can be found at the Wafels & Dinges truck. They actually label it on their menu as “our favorite.” And believe it or not, you can get it for free —well, technically that is— because when buying a waffle, your first ‘dinges’ (topping) is on the house, or the truck rather. The Wafels & Dinges version is in the peanut butter and Nutella school of the spreadable world. It has hints of caramel and cinnamon, is thinner and lighter than peanut butter and more gooey than Nutella. But it’s less sweet and a tad saltier. Unlike a heavy hot fudge sauce that can hide the waffle’s flavor, Spekuloos complements it perfectly.

If you want to keep some Speculoos Spread on hand at home you can order a 28oz jar of the spread for $7.58 through the airline food supplier, Gourmet Center which distributes Lotus’ products in America.

First Look: Bao Noodles Menu Revamp

Arthur Bovino & The Hungry Goat — August 11, 2009

Salt and Pepper Soft Shell Crab at Bao Noodles.

A few weeks ago, we were invited to a seven-course tasting at Bao Noodles (restaurant page) to sample dishes being introduced as the owners try to redefine it now that former chef Michael ‘Bao’ Huynh has moved on to his mission of turning Manhattan into one giant bahn mi emporium.

The meal began with a Green Soy Bean Salad, a lightly dressed bowl of shelled edamame. Though it needed salt, the dish was a nice alternative to the standard approach. Malanga with Sesame Cracker and Pickled Eggplant, followed. Shrimp and sesame crackers are fantastic snacks, and it’s interesting to engage restaurants’ attempts to integrate them with sit-down meals (for example, Rhong Tiam). The malanga (mashed taro), eggplant and curried tofu sauces were tasty with varying textures, but the dish became messy quickly. Shrimp Paste Noodle Soup arrived hide-your-tongue-in-your-cheek hot but the noodles were overcooked and the broth was underseasoned. Even the housemade hot sauce (right) couldn’t save it.

It’s one of the contemporary mysteries of New York City’s commercial kitchens that they often overcook quail. The Pan-Roasted Quail with Choi Sam was an exception. It was perfectly cooked and dressed with a salty soy glaze. The Salt and Pepper Softshell Crab was also well-prepared. Unlike the soup, the taste matched its vibrant visual appeal. Crunchy, tangy bites of crab intermingled with red cabbage slaw.

Desserts were surprisingly successful. Unless you’ve eaten actual durian it’s difficult to appreciate how muted and good this sorbet is. While tame, it still had a substantial hint of the stinky fruit. That “hard to place, something is a little off somewhere” taste lingers in the back of your throat and explains why the serving is so small. Still, the flavor keeps you tasting it again and again, trying to figure it out. There was a similarly pleasant hard-to-place taste with the Yucca Waffles, which were much lighter than the name would lead you to expect. The taste? Fruity Pebbles syrupified. Bottle that stuff.

Lollipop Chicken with Taro Fries and Spicy Mayonnaise.

We enjoyed the softshell crabs and the quail, two dishes that demonstrate a successful effort to prove Bao Noodles can be more than Michael Bao’s menu. But the highlight was a staple item which we had on special request, the renowned Lollipop Chicken with Taro Fries and Spicy Mayonnaise. It may be that the earnest, hospitable co-owners, Chris Johnson and Chris Andrews, may find that the best way to move Bao Noodles out from under Michael Bao’s shadow is to start by reclaiming their restaurant’s name.

Click here for more pictures of the tasting dinner at Bao Noodles. >>

AlwaysInvestigating: Belgian Waffles

The Gluttoness — May 28, 2009

With Jacques Torres dishing out ice cream waffles at his Hudson Street store and the Wafels & Dinges Truck giving away free “wafels” (above, their Liège Wafels) for an hour today between noon and one o’clock at 45th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, we have waffles on the brain. If you can’t make the trek to Hudson or you miss the Wafels & Dinges freebies, but now you too have a craving, check out some of these more convenient places that serve good, quick waffles.

Click here for more places that serve up great waffles >>

AlwaysHungryNY: Buttermilk Channel

May 26, 2009

A recent meal at Buttermilk Channel, the popular Carroll Gardens eatery, revealed that this cozy, neighborhood spot has upscale comfort food on lockdown—dishing up everything from Duck Meatloaf to Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Cheddar Waffles (above).

Check out the pictures from our meal at Buttermilk Channel.