the road | the food | a new direction
A gentleman at the next table was regaling his family, and the waitress, with tales of how, when he was a teenager, he used to eat two hamburgers at Grover’s. We wondered at the amazed reactions to his dog-bites-man confession. Eating two burgers doesn’t seem so outlandish to us. Then our own burgers arrived, and we understood. Continue reading
For a summer patio picnic, Greasy Nick’s is just the ticket. A fiercely downscale New Rochelle spot, across the street from a gas station, there’s nothing refined about the food or setting. This urban shoreline treat is vaguely reminiscent of a New England clam shack, but with a city grit that is far removed from anything you’ll find along the coast of Maine. Continue reading
This past winter we popped into Frangelli’s Bakery in Philadelphia to try their donnoli — that’s a donut filled with cannoli cream. Alas, they were out, and we returned home with a fine selection of “regular” donuts, which included a dossant (like the trademarked Cronut). Little did we know at the time that their jelly donuts are a force to be reckoned with. Frangelli’s jellies were just named one of America’s top 12 donuts by The Huffington Post (full disclosure: the story’s writers are from Philly). Continue reading
Crust is a big part of the story at Forno Siciliano. The pizza dough is stretched out on a semolina-sprinkled board, resulting in a sandy-textured surface around the edge and underneath the pie. It’s baked in an impressive wood-burning oven, which you see to your left as you enter. These pizzas pick up a whiff of smoke from that oven, and the intense heat gives the crust a good crunch without drying it out. The baked crust has a faint yeastiness and well-developed flavor to go along with a chewy texture. There won’t be a pan of pizza crust edges left over on your table. Continue reading
Anchor Bar, Buffalo, NY’s self-proclaimed inventor of the Buffalo wing, will open an outpost next month in Las Vegas, at The Venetian in the Grand Canal Shoppes. They’ll be offering counter service, and they’re replacing a Nathan’s, so it sounds like they are aiming for more of a fast-food operation than the tavern setting of the Buffalo original. And, no, despite what the writer of this story says, they do not dust the wings with cayenne.
If you choose to eat at Food at Fishers Station, you will wait in a line. Absolutely, no doubt about it, you will. If it’s your first time, and you let that be known, you’ll receive all kinds of info from your fellow standees: “they always have a special called 2-2-2, which is supposed to be two pancakes, two eggs, and two sausage patties; when it arrives there are usually way more than two pancakes, and they’re the best pancakes you’ll ever have”; “oh, great, now it’ll be even harder to get in” when we let slip that we might write about it on the net; “everything they make here is fantastic.” It’s all true. Continue reading
Pusties, riggies, and hats: if those words mean nothing to you, you’re not a Utica native, in which case you should make a point of visiting Upstate NY to sample some classic regional Italian-American food. Riggies refer to the Utica fave chicken riggies, aka rigatoni. Hats are the pasta known elsewhere as orecchiette, often served baked in tomato sauce. Pusties are the subject at hand. Continue reading
Palermo street-snacks in Brooklyn! Yes, in the Italian neighborhood of Carroll Gardens, Ferdinando’s serves Sicilian specialties not commonly seen on this side of the Atlantic. Continue reading
The story’s been told many times. In the early 1900s, a man by the name of Nathan Handwerker worked at a Coney Island restaurant called Feltman’s. Nathan left Feltman’s to open his own place in Coney Island, specializing in the new sausage invented by Mr. Feltman. He undercut his old employer, offering his “hot dogs” for half the price of Feltman’s. And the rest, as they say, is history, except that the story is always told from the point of view of Mr. Handwerker, to the point that most people with a passing knowledge of hot dog history believe the hot dog was actually invented by Nathan. Continue reading
In the Buffalo world of wings, there’s Anchor Bar, which everyone in America knows about, there’s Duff’s, which everyone in Buffalo knows about, and then there’s just about every other restaurant and bar in the city (where most Buffalo wings are actually consumed). Continue reading
When Buffalo’s famed Anchor Bar opened their second location, in the village of Williamsville, last year, they aimed for a modern, classy, sleek environment, i.e., not much at all like the original Buffalo bar. Of course, the famous wings are available, but bar patrons will also be greeted by a fireplace, a dozen beers on tap, and plenty of fancy-ass cocktails on the menu. Read more about the new Anchor Bar as a bar in this story in The Buffalo News.
Almost anyone who eats pizza knows the difference between reheated frozen pies and the freshly baked pizzas that emerge from the oven of their favorite local pizzeria. They might be aware of something called “New York pizza” that’s supposed to be something special, and maybe Chicago deep-dish pizza. Can you name 11 styles of pizza? If you’re reading this you might well be able to rattle off many more than 11! For those who do not yet consider themselves regional pizza masters, here’s a rundown of 11 important American takes on pizza, from The Daily Meal.
All things considered, we think Danny’s Diner is the most Binghamtonian place for breakfast in the Southern Tier. Staffed almost completely by women, this Depression-era Sterling diner is remarkably gleaming and shipshape. These folks serve basic diner renditions of eggs, hash, potatoes, toast and coffee at low, low prices and dish out a warm and friendly rendition of diner sass. Continue reading
Msn.com’s getting in on the act – everyone wants to present their list of America’s best fried chickens! From #50 Hill Country Fried Chicken of New York City to #1 Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken of Tennessee (and currently expanding nationally), they present all the usual, and worthy, suspects interspersed with a goodly number of out-of-the-box picks. Have a look!
The finalists for the annual James Beard Awards were announced this morning. Some of our personal favorites among the nominees include: Continue reading
This weekend and next, maple producers all over New York State are presenting the best of their efforts to the public in the annual giant open house called Maple Weekend. Almost 160 producers are participating, each in their own way. The pancake breakfasts many of them host are so popular that the Maple Weekend website has a search function devoted just for that. While the offerings at each producer vary you can be sure you’ll get to pour house-made maple syrup at every one of the breakfasts! Continue reading
Parkside Candy was founded in Buffalo by George Kaiser in 1927. In the 1980s current owner Philip Buffamonte purchased the historic candy store and ice cream parlor from Mr. Kaiser’s estate. He is now sole owner, and a hands-on owner at that – you might see him molding Easter bunnies or making lollipops. The Buffalo News spoke with Mr. Buffamonte about Parkside, and what it’s like to run one of Western New York’s classic candy stores. Read the interview here.
Canlis, in its own words, is “the swankest, dressiest restaurant in Seattle.” When we dined there we were won over by the luxurious cuisine and seduced by the stunning views and caring hospitality. They’ve been open for 64 years and are about to make only their fifth chef transition, as Brady Williams, formerly of Roberta’s in Brooklyn, New York will take over the kitchen at Canlis on April 13th. Read more about Canlis’ search for a new chef, how they came to hire Mr. Williams, and how they plan to balance tradition and relevance on the menu in this Seattle Met story.
No, there is no longer a Jewish deli on every street corner, and yes, the descendants of the original Jewish immigrants have long since assimilated. Be that as it may, the cuisine of New York City still retains some of the identity of its early Jewish settlers, just as the cuisines of all its immigrants over the centuries have forever been imprinted upon the New York City palate. You can enjoy hand-carved deli at Katz’s and appetizing at its finest at Russ & Daughters, or feast on kosher steak at Le Marais or, believe it or not, kosher sushi at Butterfish. Read about these and other New York City Jewish restaurants here.
The list is presented by Travel + Leisure, and chosen by their readers, as the best “food snob” cities but it doesn’t appear that any sort of pretentiousness is part of the equation. These seem more to be the 20 cities for people whose primary travel activity is eating, and that includes us. The list begins at #20 with Seattle. Louisville, at #16, gets recognition for the Hot Brown sandwich invented at The Brown Hotel. #15 New Orleans (#15! Wow!) topped the survey for fine dining, like Brennan’s, and sandwiches, such as the great ones served at Parkway Bakery. NYC is #10 and Cleveland (!) is seventh. Best food city in the U.S.? Houston!
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