The NoMad: Brunch

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: rooms like the parlour, atrium, library? Are you sure the NoMad isn’t a live action version of clue? If a Colonel shows up with a pipe, I am out of there.

The NoMad just got their first Michelin star before I went to brunch with the family here. Though it is in a desolate area, I mean come on, it is just really hotels around here and hell, the NoMad is in a hotel, and it is worth coming here. Ran by Daniel Humm and will Gidara of Eleven Madison and Park, NoMad is by no means their bastard child, this place once you experience the service and food is at the level that you would find at Eleven Madison and Park. To start off, we have the house made pastries. It was pricey and 18 bucks but you did get a lot of bread, 3 croissants, and blueberry crumb cake, slices of warm bread, 2 preserves and butter. That is a hell of a pastry basket. Only criticism I had was that the croissants, an almond, chocolate and regular could have been significantly improved and most likely been destroyed immediately if they came out at least slightly warmed. The bread slices, speckled with raisins and walnuts did come out warm and was destroyed immediately. 

The menu can be split into two categories from you breakfast fare to regular lunch. Though you would think getting a dish of egg Benedict would be a waste, you would be wrong. Their eggs Benedict with crab, tarragon is probably one of the best eggs Benedicts I have had. Okay, I do not eat eggs Benedicts a lot but this can be summed up with one word: rich. The hollandaise just fantastic and fat kid in me wanted to just lick the plate clean. Civilized fat kid in me used excess bread to wipe the plate clean. Food After the Jump!

Brunch at The Breslin

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: The Breslin needs more mounted animals on their walls

The Breslin is slowly becoming one of my favorite places to eat in New York and especially in Nomad. I am being awesome and calling this area Nomad because it sounds cool and feel trendy. The brunch menu here is something that should not be overlooked and is offered bright and early on the weekends so if you need a bit of protein after your workout, I think the lamb burger will suffice. The pastries here are good like the gooseberries coffee cake. I have really have no idea what the heck a gooseberry is and frankly, sounds dirty but I know that it works in this coffee cake. 

The gooseberries are really tart and great contrast with the sweetness of the coffee cake and sandy crumbs. One of the specials was the pork sausage roll, all made in house from the sausage up. The pastry was flaky and buttery and oozed of butter that blanketed a dense flavorful sausage. You could taste each Weight Watchers point and with a side of mustard and fried sage leaves, I could have stopped here. But I would have missed my main of the baked eggs with chorizo. The eggs were in a spicy tomato sauce and topped with slices of chorizo this was like an eggy dip. The toast crisps were really the only utensils needed to eat this dish. Only one personal complaint was I wish the eggs were a bit runnier, of the three eggs, there was only one runny egg. Brunch at the Breslin is good, though next time; I need to man up and fatty up and have at that fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

The Breslin
16 West 29th Street 

 New York, NY 10001

thebreslin.com/ 

Dominique Ansel Bakery

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: figure out how the hell he gets his madeleines so light

In Soho I usually try to walk as fast as I can to avoid the random tourist that just kind of stand there or sometimes in the middle of the street to take a picture and I hope that a cab hits them. What? I just said hit, not kill them, there is a difference. However I find myself slowly down to stop at Dominique Ansel Bakery. Dominique Ansel is not a cutiesy cupcake baker, rather one of those, trained in France and worked in Boulud kind of bakers. He ventured out on his own and started up this bakery, sometime last year. At Dominique Ansel bakery, they are making delicious sweets and pastries that would make a Frenchman think twice that there are no good croissants or pastries in America (though they would never tell you that). Like more bakeries that have croissants, I always go for one step further and get a chocolate croissant.

 Any reason to get more chocolate in my diet in the morning is always a good thing. The chocolate croissants are rich and airy and have a shattering flakiness. Of the flaky awesome butter pasties is the kouign amann or DKA for short or to skip butchering the name of this pastry. This is a pastry from Brittany that uses salted butter and has sugar laminated in resulting in a caramelized pastry.

The caneles here are some of the best I have had. There are few places in New York that have caneles, which is odd because when I visit Taiwan, almost all the bakeries there have them. However, the caneles here are the best I have had so far. The outside is rigid, but break through the caramelized exterior; you get a custard-like center. These are so good it makes me finding reasons to justify the purchase of canele molds. Canele molds, the no-shit ones, are made of copper and average about 20 a piece. So, who wants to be my Sugar Mama?

Madeleines are one of my favorite cookies and whenever a place has them, I always need to try them even if I know they are going to bad (like the ones in a Dakar gas station). Tangent, I do not know why they are considered to be cookies by the French, they are just mini cakes. Anyways, the madeleines here are baked to order so you need some patience on your part but you are rewarded with light little cake bites that are fresh from the oven.

The staff at Dominque Ansel is friend and you can see him there all the time either baking to running the register. He is committed to his place and the food and pastries here are the result of his hard work. I find myself now trying to be in area so I have an excuse to come by. 

Dominique\Ansel Bakery
189 Spring St
New York, NY 10012
http://dominiqueansel.com/

Mable's Smokehouse

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: If you serve your food on trays, can we get like place mat that you can color in?

Mable’s Smokehouse is right by Brooklyn Brewery and I could think of not place better to eat at, if you did the beer tour and was hungry. Mable’s is part of the ever growing number of respectable barbecue joints in New York and specifically in Brooklyn. Give it a few more years and Brooklyn will have its own barbecue style eventually. I like eating at barbecue places because it is straight forward. Order how much meat you want, sit down, eat. You can eat a meal here at Mable’s in under 20 minutes, depending on how much you chew and do dinner afterwards. Wait, you mean eating two dinners is not a thing? Meat After the Jump!

Artichoke Basille’s Pizza

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Apparently, sobriety may playa a pivotal role in pizza deliciousness

I am going to come straight out and say it: I do not get Artichoke Basille’s Pizza. After rave reviews, seeing throngs of people waiting outside and reading that it is a must eat, I eventually had my chance to stop and see what the fuss was all about here. The place is basically takeout only with a small ledge that you could barely fit a plate. I tired the grandma slice and their Margarita slice. 

The Grandma slice was half burnt. Not charred or anything, but the edges of the crust was just burnt, simple as that. If this was a person’s skin, I would be pretty sure they would have been diagnosed with cancer. The parts that were not burnt and edible were crunchy, oily and airy. This pizza was all crunch and cracker-like and the sauce was really acidic. The cheese did not really add anything to the slice, it was not horrible, but it was not that good either. The Margarita slice fared a bit better, lacking any outrageous dark stops but it overall, tasted the same as the Grandma slice except the addition of basil balanced out the acidic sauce. The slices here are nothing to rave about and I feel bad for tourists that come here, with guidebook in hand trying the pizza here. If time permitted, I would rather jump on the L train and go to BEST Pizza in Williamsburg. Maybe if I was a drunk NYU student on a Thursday night, I would understand the appeal of the pies here but sober, I’ll take a street gyro. Though people swear by Artichoke and that the square slice is the best there is on a good day, I do not have time and guru power to figure out and get a slice on a good day. So tourists, here is the warning, I suggest you bank your stomach on something a bit more consistent.

328 East 14th Street
New York, NY
http://www.artichokepizza.com/ 

Diner

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Good penmanship is a requirement with hand written menus

Diner is located in a pretty desolate part of Williamsburg and does not look like much from the outside. Yet, come here around noon on a Saturday, it is packed. Before Brooklyn became its own dining genre, there was Diner at the forefront and what all eateries if they know it or not, somehow replicate what they have been doing. The menu has some core items, but it changes depending on what is available and of course, it is handwritten and to add the hipster kicker, it is written on receipt paper, so it is just one long looking menu. Though they had some really interesting dishes, I was craving red meat in a carnivorous way and Diner makes a good one. 

Menu

The burger, is composed of dry aged grass fed beef which even you do not know what the combination of all of those words mean, you know it is going to be good and it was. Cooked to temp, this burger hit all the right notes of meaty and gaminess. The burger to bun ratio was perfect and dare I say that this burger is probably one of best (Minetta still reigns supreme) and has a hell of a price tag on it, for about 15 bucks. The fries accompanying it were fine but nothing to write home about and like that there was a side of fresh mayo. Call me a Francophile but I like eating my fries with mayo. The hipster vibe is strong here: some kind of indie rock is on and the dude is wearing really short shorts and suspenders, and I am pretty sure that ketchup is like, made in house. But you cannot deny the fact that there is some good food here that is worth checking out and a great tasting burger that rivals any in New York.

Damn fine burger

Diner

85 Broadway

Brooklyn, NY 
http://dinernyc.com/ 

Dun-Well Donuts

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Eat as many vegan donuts as you want, it is made of all veggies so it is good for you right?

There is very little vegan food I like. I will try it with an open mind but besides tofu and like…fruits and veggies. The idea of say vegan cookies or just vegan bake goods are generally as appealing to me as asked to eat bark and leaves. The last time I had a vegan cookie, I just wanted to slather it in nutella or butter because it was so dry and crackly. Thankfully, my run with vegan donuts has fared better. Having tried the donuts at Babycakes, I hear about Dun-well Donuts in East Williamsburg. The donuts here are vegan, which primal instincts would be a pass, but I got pass that and I am glad I did. The donuts are of the yeasted variety and they have filled and glazed donuts. I tired the Crème Brulee, Peanut Butter and Jelly from their filled selection and the cinnamon sugar and Mexican Chocolate from their regular/glazed donuts. 

Creme Brulee

PB&J

The donuts are good; they are soft, moist and have a bit of a chew to them. The Crème Brulee has a little disk of harden sugar to mimic the crust of your typical brulee. However, as good as the donut was, the “custard” was not really to my liking, it was somewhat blandish and did not have the richness that you get from a crème brulee. However the peanut butter and jelly donut was stellar, with a thick rich jelly filling and nutty peanut butter glaze. The glazed donuts fared very well too, the Mexican Chocolate had warm spices mixed in and the cinnamon sugar had just the right about of sweetness. Regardless of their vegan status, their donuts rivals some of the other donuts being made in the city and doing it better than some. 

Mexican Chocolate

Cinnamon Sugar

Dun-Well Donuts

222 Montrose Avenue

 Brooklyn, NY

http://www.dunwelldoughnuts.com/

RedFarm

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Cute looking food=tasty food. Same applies to animals.

The Dim Sum experience at Red Farm is a polar opposite than getting Dim Sum in Chinatown just 20 minutes away. Red Farm, opened by Ed Schoenfeld and Joe Ng (Chinatown Brasserie) is as stated on the website, “inspired Chinese cuisine with Greenmarket Sensibility”, translation: place for white people to eat dim sum without feeling intimidated and hold the MSG. Red Farm is quite small and is dominated with communal tables which I do not like but hey, it does capture the essence of eating in Chinatown and on the plus side, chances of you being setting next to a creepy old Chinese Grandma that stares at you throughout the meal is slim. 

Pac Man Dumplings

Dim Sum items dominate the meal with a good selection of appetizers, large plates and rice and noodle dishes. The brunch meal features some salad and sandwiches but I pretty much ignored. We started off with the Pac Man Shrimp Dumplings, or shrimp har gaw. It was a playfully cute looking dish, the dumplings were multicolored and had a tempura’d sweet potato that was looked like well, Pac Man. The dumpling skins are thicker, but the shrimp filling was great and if you are wondering, Pac Man tasted good too. It had actual whole pieces of shrimp, rather than a discernible meat paste. More after the Jump!

Mile End Sandwich

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: the smell combination of smoked meat and mustard just lingers on you all day

 

I am a bit embarrassed that I tried Mile End before going to Katz Deli. I mean, I have had the pastrami at Katz, but I have never had the full experience of going there myself and ordering. Mile End, with its original location just off of Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn opened up a sandwich shop on Bond St. It is more like a lunch counter than its original but offers almost the same exact things and then some. The veal tongue sandwich and the beef on wreck looked enticing, but I was here for the Montreal smoked meat, the funny sounding Canadian cousin of the pastrami. Both are very similar but have subtle differences. Montreal smoked is brisket flat and pastrami is from the navel.  The spicing and “corning” process will vary and the spices used have differences.

Both sandwiches however, are served the same way, rye bread with a healthy schmear of deli mustard. The Montreal smoked meat is noticeably subtle and easier on the pepper but the brisket is tender and has a nice amount of fat mixed in. The sandwich is not as hearty as the one at Katz’s but for about half the price, it is still a filling sandwich. Which is better? I will let you know when I hit up Katz. But I have to come back to Mile End for their poutine (maybe when it cools off) and other sandwiches.

Mile End Sandwich

53 Bond Street
New York, NY
http://mileendbrooklyn.com/sandwich.html

Hill Country NYC

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: mason jarred drinks, food on Butcher paper, was Texas style ‘cue the OG of hipster dining?

First time I had anything from Hill Country was during the Big Apple BBQ block party and it started drizzling/raining and we ran for cover, the Hill Country trailer was right there. Even though we tried not to hit up any of the New York vendors, we decided to try the Hill Country Brisket and glad that we did. I decided to go to Hill Country for real this time and Mr. Wells giving it a respectable 2 stars, why not?

Hill Country is modeled after any Texas ‘cue place that I am hoping to experience Labor Day weekend when I venture to Austin. The only formal service you will get is the host bringing you to your table and from there, you get a place card and you have at it. The inside borders a bit on tacky, it is going for that Texas salon look and I was hoping there was a Swayze impersonator. Thankfully, they do not do the weird Lonestar/Roadhouse restaurant crap of peanut shells all over. Despite the Crapplebee’s inspired décor, the tables are pretty Spartan; do not expect a place mat, just a fork and a knife and water served in mason jars, no doubt just trying to keep up with the Brooklynese trends. 

This is all you need, for 'cue...and maybe just life

The table just had a roll of paper towels, hot sauce, a shaker of salt/rub and their barbeque sauce. There barbecue sauce in my opinion was too sweet for my taste, heavy on the molasses but apparently Rick Perry declared it the best outside the state of Texas but let’s be honest here: if he did not specify best outside Texas, he would be done politically. 

Bottom right clockwise: shoulder, sausage, brisket and rib

No matter really, the place is keeping with Texas tradition in which it is counter service and ‘cue is served by the pound. Think of it like a deli, where you can order as much or as little as you want. If you want sides, you go to another counter and get them there, and desserts are at another counter. It somewhat reminds me of a buffet, with getting up and down but the food is a heck of a lot better. I love it that it literally keeps with Texas style ‘cue in which all the meat is plated on butcher paper with a bunch of white bread or saltines and thrown onto a tray. Just wait, give it a few and you will be going to a Michelin star restaurant and they will be serving something on butcher paper. Here is the run down:

Brisket, Moist- Meat from the point of the brisket, it is moist because it is fattier but hey, fat = flavor and the brisket was nice and moist. It was tender, but not pot roast tender that it is falling apart which is good, you want it to be able to stand on its own but the use of a knife to break it apart should not be necessary. The meat had a good enough flavor that it really did not need sauce, maybe some Texas Pete hot sauce if you want some heat.

Brisket Lean- this is the cut that you get pastrami from, has fat just a lot less. Unfortunately, we got some end bits that were just dry, but the lean pieces that were not from the end were fine. I would stick to the moist bits in the future.

Sausage- from Kreuz Market in Lockhart, this was filled with jalapeno and cheese. It is a beef and pork mix, ratio unknown but I could probably look it up. It was juicy and a great snap, not to spicy, I think I would get two of these in the future.

Beef Shoulder- Also known as beef clod, something that should not be missed and the best thing on the plate, it was juicy and had a nice fat striation on the top side and left me wishing I got a half pound instead of a quarter.

Beef rib- was excited for this but ended up being the biggest let down, it was tough and chewy and did not have much in flavor. If I want ribs next time, I will go pork.

Although I see sides as a waste of meat real estate space in your stomach, the sides at Hill Country were pretty good overall:

Mac and Cheese- ziti pasta, it was in a thick and creamy cheese sauce, emphasis on the thick. I prefer the my Mac and Cheese with a runnier béchamel sauce but this was respectable, a little hot sauce helped.

Collard Greens- a winner here, the greens were tender and had a lot of potlikker on the bottom, good for dipping cornbread

Cornbread- It was slightly sweet, so I guess it would be classified as “Yankee” cornbread. Tender crumb and served with an awesome honey butter, I would get this again.

Deviled eggs- on a hot day, these are refreshing, actually these are just good. The egg filling was like eating a savory buttercream.

Finally, no ‘cue experience would not be complete without a staple dessert of banana cream pudding. The pudding was full of banana goodness and the only criticism is that some of the banana pieces were a bit too hard, the pudding needed another night to soften up the bananas, but I am not really complaining because we did finish all of it.

Overall, I like Hill Country. It is a great place to hang out and most of all, it is comfortable. This would be a great place for any group outing, just make sure most of them like meat or they will be picking at the sides.

Hill Country
30 W 26th St
New York, NY 1001
http://www.hillcountryny.com

Union Square Cafe, again

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: When you are given the opportunity to order a burger cooked to order and you order it pass medium rare, you are on notice

My parents love going to Union Square Café and after coming here for brunch again, I can see why. Though it kind of gets lost in the chaos of the Green Market and hidden behind the Bluewater Grill, Union Square Café is executing great food and the brunch here is one of the best in the city. 

Polenta Crisp

I cannot get enough of their polenta squares, this time to coincide with the season, some blueberries. Crisp on the outside and custard like in the inside, this was enough to get me my sugar fix. Okay, my sugar fix for the morning.

The appetizers like the sugar snap pea tagliantini salad that was shaved sugar snap pea, pecorino and guanciale. I mean, there is really no way this dish can go wrong with the combination of face bacon and pecorino.

Sugar snap peas

 The other appetizer we got was the hamachi crudo with pickled vanilla pineapple and an avocado puree. I was wary of the pickled vanilla pineapple, but the vanilla was subtle and worked nicely with the cubes of hamachi. 

Hamachi Crudo

For mains we got the Chicken Cutlet Milanese which as my Mom compared it to a tonkatsu, thankfully she did not attempt to ask the waiter for katsu sauce. It was topped with a salad/vegatable bomb. It felt like it was a guilty, pleasure, hide the awesome tasty chicken under the mound of healthy green stuff. 

Chicken Milanese...under that forest of greens

 My dad got the lamb chops that had a creamy Gruyere potato gratin that I think could have been a dish on its own. 

LAMB??

Lamb chops were thin, but still cooked to a perfect temperature and I if it was not for the public setting, bone gnawing would have been done. The cappellini is something that is not to be missed, with stracciatella, zucchini and truffles. There is a healthy dose of summer truffles on this dish and perfumes just about everything. Creamy and earthy, this dish was worth every bite. 

Cappellini and summer truffles

The Ahi tuna burger was another great hit. I liked it that they cook the tuna to your desired temperature, and doing this anything pass medium rare in my opinion (like a good old hamburger) is a sin and you should be forced to give up meat. The tuna burger has a whole Asian vibe going to it, with pickled ginger and a cabbage slaw that has sesame in it. The burger is just as rich as any red meat burger. The tuna was juicy and though I do not like pickled ginger, it worked well with the burger and was balanced out with the cabbage slaw. 

Tuna Burger

There are few places that I eat at repeatedly, the options here in New York are tremendous and with new places always popping up, you could go on without eating a the same restaurant twice, but with a place like Union Square Café, you want to come here repeatedly. 

Union Square Café

21 East 16th Street
New York, NY 10003 

http://www.unionsquarecafe.com/

Bohemian NYC

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: places located behind butcher shops, are always good places to visit!

Bohemian is one of these restaurants that if it eating was a video game, you would have unlocked an achievement that actually takes effort to do, like knifing 5 commies in a row. Bohemian is a speakeasy restaurant that has a level of exclusiveness. Not Gossip Girl Lavo exclusiveness, just a bit of mysterious aurora to it. They do not accept walk-ins, reservations only and the number is not publicized. Getting the number either requires a sincere email to them or getting the number from someone already in the know but either way, it takes some effort but not really hard to do. I went the email route and found myself dining there the previous weekend. It is located down a side corridor next to the Japanese Premium Beef Shop. It leads to an opaque door that you have to ring the door bell in order to get in. I kind of was hoping for a little more effort, maybe a password, some riddles or a double dare challenge but this works too. 

Once you get past all the secrecy, you are lead into a suburban house sized living room. Actually, it is a living room basically, it has couched and low chairs and tables. Lack in size no doubt; there is a calm and relaxing atmosphere complete with an amazing skylight above. Apparently it used to be a Warhol space but you will not see cans of tomato soup here. The food is not strict Japanese fare, but it is all done with Japanese influence and style.

Take the vegetable fondue that we started off with, served with perfectly trimmed vegetables in a absurdly huge ice bucket, the fondue was more similar to a dressing. It was thin and light on the cheese but worked well with the vegetables. If you were expecting a cheese fondue that would keep you hearty and full in the Swiss Alps, you are going to be disappointed. Given I spent the day eating 'cue, I even needed a break from all that meat and this helped. Food after the jump!

Parm NYC

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Never too old to have ice cream cake

Baked Clams!

I am a big fan of what the Torrisi guys are doing-even though I have never eaten there. I really only eaten their food at the San Gennaro festival and now at Parm. I do have to stop being lazy and commit to eating at Torrisi sometime but if the food at Parm is any indication of what to expect, then I should get cracking at making a reservation soon.

Parm is the offshoot of their main restaurant and set up like a lunch counter. The menu looks like your average Red Sauce American style Italian food but of course, if it was just like any other, people would not be lining up to eat here. 

What Chicken Parm should be

If you are scared of eating solo, I suggest you come here to eat to ease your fears, the bar makes up for the majority of the seating and it is spacious and comfortable. Their sandwiches are the thing to get here, either on a hero or a roll or go for a platter that comes with a side salad I believe. I got the chicken parm sandwich on a hero and an order of bake clams. Parm hits on the nostalgic factor, I mean I do not even remember the last time I even had baked clams and after eating them, I felt I needed it more in my life. The clams were simply adorned with seasoned bread crumbs, hit it with a bit of Tabasco, I am a happy man.

The chicken parm sandwich is the epitome of all chicken parm sandwiches. Eating one of these will atone for all the crappy chicken parm sandwiches you ate during those late nights in college. Normally when getting a chicken parm sub, there is the expectation, well not expectation but just an acceptance that there will be parts of the chicken that will be dry and stringy. This one was juicy and tender and the blanket of red sauce and mozzarella, a Parisi bakery semolina roll, this is what Red Sauce American Italian food should taste like. 

I love ice cream cake.

Do not leave without a piece of ice cream cake. That’s right, ice cream cake, I am hoping they will come up with a fudgy the Whale version soon (cough, maybe a birthday present idea for me? Cough). This tri-layer ice cream cake is the perfect way to end a meal here. The only thing from making this an everyday spot is that it is a bit pricey. But, I guess you have to shell out a bit more for great tasting food.

Parm

248 Mulberry Street
New York

http://parmnyc.com/

Big Apple BBQ Block Party

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Complaining about eating barbeque at 11am or “early” is simply un-American

So Y'all from Texas?

Face it; living in the Northeast, we do not have a barbeque culture that is even comparable to states in the South. Sure in New York, we have come a long way in having respectable barbeque places but once you have tried the barbeque from some of the pit masters at the Big Apple Barbeque Block Party, you will realize what you have been missing all these years. 

Every year for the past 10 years, New York has been blessed with hosting the Big Apple Barbeque transforming Madison Square Park into a Carnivore’s wet dream. Pit Masters from around the country hike up here and make tasty barbeque. The main question is not what you are going to eat, the question is who’s barbeque are you going to eat first? For me, it was the Salt Lick all the way from Texas featuring Sausage and brisket. The Big Apple BBQ is a place where teamwork works to your advantage, one waits while another one goes and gets barbeque from another line. So while my friend waited for the Salt Lick, I hit up Rodney Scott’s whole hog from South Carolina. Tangent: I am slightly interested in seeing how much white bread they go through during the event; if anyone wants to fund this research let me know. NEED PICS OF 'CUE NOW!

Guelaguetza Deli

Om Nomz Hero note to Self: I have become quite proficient in random bits of meat Identification

Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan is considered to be a dead zone for food, but not many would expect there to be great Mexican in that area. Though I will easily travel to Roosevelt Avenue for tacos, the tacos in Hell’s Kitchen are just as good. These Mexican places is what I call Bodega Mexican, in which from the street, looks like a regular ethnic bodega, but enter and venture to the back, there is a small window and kitchen making great tacos and Mexican eats. Also a TV that has Univision marks a sign of great Mexican eating to come. Across the street from Sullivan Street Bakery is one such place called Guelaguetza Deli. The awning says La Rosita but I think they just did not care and why replace a perfectly good awning? It is tiny and in the back there are about maybe 3 tables, not really a place for a group outing. However, they have a kitchen that is pumping out tasty treats. I came here because I heard they had sangrita, a mixture of goat meat and onions, thickened with goat blood, however, I was kindly informed that the goat did not come in today and no sangrita. Such bad luck! However, I ordered the lengua, carnitas and he suggested I try the panchita which he said was similar to tripe, but it was a different cow stomach. Sold. They also had Sidral Mundet which is like apple soda, similar tasting to my Asian Apple Sidra but mellower. 

Tacos came out with just some radishes on top, and the double tortilla base. The filling is generous and meaty spillage will occur, but is that a bad thing? The panchita was great, nice and tender and spicy, the lengua tender, the carnitas was a bit dry but easily resolved with a liberal usage of the red and green salsas. Both were nice and spicy. I looked on Yelp that people complained that they were serving their tacos and such from paper plates and Styrofoam containers. Are you kidding? What were you expecting? Plates from the Orient and silverware stolen from Hitler? This is a bodega and you are eating tacos and just solidify my hate for Yelp.

Guelaguetza Deli

526 West 47th Street

New York, NY 10036

Bark Hot Dogs

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Apparently Bark is a family friendly environment; need to turn my headphones down when listening to Wu Tang

I finally made it out to Bark Hot Dogs. Bringing tube meat (insert pun) to an elevated level, Bark Hot Dogs is sourcing their dogs and their ingredients of the highest quality. They have a list of where they are getting their ingredients mounted on the wall and or course being in the Slope, this piece of information is just more important if not more than the Health Board certificate. Bark Hot Dogs reminds me and most likely modeled after Shake Shack in set up and in service. It is the pseudo-fast food kind of genre. The place is orderly, the people working there actually look somewhat happy and food is cooked to order and distributed in an orderly manner. I stopped in for a snack, because as I stated previously, hotdogs never seem like a complete meal to me. I got the namesake Bark Dog and the chili cheese dog. The Bark dog consists of ketchup, mustard onions and a Sweet Pickle Relish. This is not dirty water hotdog, which by the way I never saw the appeal. They do not ever taste good, even when drunk. Anyways first bite into the hot dog, you know it is different and this is what a good dog should taste like. 

There is that “snap” that you get from every bite of this dog. I remember reading previously that they use what they call “Bark Butter” that is a mix of butter and pork-like fat that is smoked. I approve of this. The chili cheese dog looks almost unnatural without the Cheez Whiz layer, but that cheese sauce is all natural (Grafton Farms in VT). The sauce has a bit of a sharp bite to it and is mouth roof burning hot which I guess is a consequence of fresh made food. Though it is pricier than most places you will eat a hot dog from, it is a good hot dog and they have other options such as burgers and sandwiches I need to try in the future. 

Bark Hot Dogs
474 Bergen St
Brooklyn, NY 11217
http://barkhotdogs.com