The Weekend Dish

This is The Weekend Dish, a weekly Friday post that provides you with weekend meal suggestions. Share your weekend picks with us.

Friday Dinner: Roasted halumi cheese with grilled vegetables and pita and crispy skin salmon with tomato, spinach, baked onion, and lemongrass red pepper sauce at Café Mogador (101 St. Marks Pl. between 1st and Ave A.).

Saturday Lunch: Bocato de gambas (rock shrimp salad, double smoked bacon avocado, pickled peppers, and tomato on a brioche) at Boqueria (53 West 19th St. 5th and 6th Ave.).

Saturday Dinner: Crawfish dumplings and anise and beer braised beef shin sandwich at Mooncake Foods (28 Watts St. at 6th Ave.).

Sunday Brunch: Burger the works and fries at the Burger Joint at Le’ Parker Meridian (118 W. 57th St. between 6th & 7th Ave.).

Sunday Dinner: Steak tartare and sautéed skate wing with blood oranges from Artisanal (delivery Gramercy and Murray Hill).

This is The Weekend Dish, a weekly Friday post that provides you with weekend meal suggestions. Share your weekend picks with us.

Friday Dinner: Arugula marinated beet apple, and green olive salad and spicy organic meatballs in turmeric tomato sauce at Café Gitane (242 Mott St. between Houston and Prince).

Saturday Lunch: Mandioca Frita com Queijo (fried yucca sticks with parmesan cheese) and Bife Acebolado (thin pan seared steak with onions served with white rice, beans, farofa, country vinaigrette sauce) at Casa (72 Bedford St at Commerce St.).

Saturday Dinner: Vodka sampler, crispy potato pancakes with Scottish smoked salmon and chicken kiev at Pravda (281 Lafayette St. between Prince and Houston).

Sunday Brunch: Boudin nior on apple and onions and eggs Florentine at Florent (69 Gansevoort St between Washington and Greenwich St.).

Sunday Dinner: Apple proscuitto salad and creamy chicken pasta with cherry tomato’s from Ruby’s (Delivery Nolita and Soho 212-925-5755).

Weekend Trip: New Orleans

If you need a short break from the cement jungle, I highly recommend a weekend in the Big Easy. It’s a quick, few-hour flight yet it feels like you’ve taken a time machine to the 1950’s, and there’s no better place to bust your belly in just 2 or 3 days. The city is known for its plethora of authentic foodie specialties (po’ boys, muffaletas, and crawfish to name a few), but it was their oysters that especially captivated me. I’ve had plenty of raw oysters in Manhattan and my fair share of fried oysters in the Cape, but I haven’t tasted anything quite like the cooked oysters concocted down south. I would definitely try the oysters at the following three spots:

Wood-fired Oyster Roast at Cochon, 930 Tchoupitoulas St., 504.588.2123

Roasted Breton Sound Oysters (with Green Chili Bacon Butter and Shaved
Manchego Cheese) at Le Petite Grocery, 4238 Magazine St., 504.891.3377

P&J Oysters: Crispy fried Oysters with Louisiana Caviar “Ranch Dressing,” Pepper Seared Oysters with Country Ham and Truffle Spoon Bread, and Horseradish Crusted Oysters at August, 301 Tchoupitoulas St., 504.299.9777

It’s a perfect and important time to visit New Orleans, post Katrina. Along with the grand architecture, festive jazz music, and joyful atmosphere, their unique food makes us truly honor the good things that are there now and will remain their forever.

P.S. Just curious, does anyone have any recommendations for some fantastic cooked oysters in the city? Please email us with your suggestions.

The Weekend Dish

This is The Weekend Dish, a weekly Friday post that provides you with weekend meal suggestions. Share your weekend picks with us.

Friday Dinner: Corn and meat loaf at Soul Fixins’ (371 W. 34th St. at 9th Ave).

Saturday Lunch: Chive and pork soup dumplings at Dumpling House (118 Eldridge St. between Grand and Broome St.).

Saturday Dinner: Scallop ceviche with grapefruit and fennel and meatball and caramelized onion pizza at Grape and Grain (620 E. 6th St. between Ave A & Ave B).

Sunday Brunch: French toast with roasted pears and pecans and hush puppies with clover honey butter at Market Table (54 Carmine St. at Bedford St.).

Sunday Dinner: Thai sticky rice and tea smoked salmon salad with ginger hoisin vinaigrette and grilled scallion mayo at Rice (212-686-5400 Delivery Nolita, East Village, Gramercy, and Murray Hill).

Bacon-of-the-Month

I have a confession to make: I have been living a double life. By day and especially on high holidays, I am a good Jewish boy. Nonetheless, every month I receive a package that would shock my rabbi. It is my Bacon-of-the-Month-Club from The Grateful Palate, which I cook immediately in broiler, no matter the time of day.

The initial membership introduction package includes your first artisan bacon (varieties from apple cinnamon to applewood smoked bacon), a faux pig nose, a light-up pig pen, a rubber pig toy, a wallet sized bacon-of-the month membership card (so you can pull it out and show it off to all your friends, if the occasion arises), and one awesome “I got porked” t-shirt.

At least once a month I receive an insulated, overnight package with 1lb of artisan bacon on ice packs, the bacon strip (Grateful Palate’s very own comic strip), and a recipe card. This month’s selection came from Gatton Farms in Kentucky and is hickory smoked sugar cured country bacon. Unfortunately, of all the different selections I have had thus far, this month is disappointing. The hickory smoke is just too thick, and there is little to no evidence in the taste of the sugar curing process. I have enjoyed both sugar cured and hickory bacon in the past and this one falls short.

Aside from this month’s little blip the overall experience of the Bacon-of-the-Month-Club has been fucking fabulous. Each month was more delectable and juicer than the month before. From trying every cooking technique except microwaving (those who microwave should be flogged in public) I have learned that there is no more tastier way to prepare bacon than to cook it in your broiler (just like they do it at Lugars and Wolfgangs).

Hey Grateful Palate, I am still waiting for the steakhouse thick cut bacon (ie: Lugars and Wolfgang’s style) to grace its presence on my doorstep.

To sign up for the Bacon of the Month club go to http://www.gratefulpalate.com.

The Orchard ~ Reviewed

The Orchard is one of those rare spots in Manhattan that everyone knows about but nobody talks about. Thus, it’s also one of those rare spots that you can actually get a reservation at a normal hour and not feel like you’re catching the early bird special or having your second dinner of the evening at 10:30 PM (you know who you are). I walked in not exactly knowing what to expect and left pleasantly surprised. The sexy atmosphere is modern but still very comfortable. Soft yellow lighting, light wood tables, and faint salsa music creates the perfect backdrop for a date or a fun dinner with friends any day of the week.

The waiters bode well with their LES neighborhood: laidback with a smidge of nonchalant humor. My waiter in particular made an orgasmic sound after I ordered the side of mushrooms (which I took as good sign) and proceeded to ask if my dish was “yummerzzz.” Nope, I’m not kidding. But his odd sexual signals were dead-on: the mushrooms and all the sides were amazing. In fact, everyone at my four-person dinner was very happy with their meals.

To start, we split the delicious royal trumpet mushroom flatbread with polenta, mushroom puree, and fresh herbs. Heaven: the thin flatbread was light and crispy and the mushroom mixture was rich, creamy and earthy. I had the Grilled Bronzini filleted with lemon/lime-glazed vegetables for my main course, which was everything I expect Branzini to be: simple, light, lemony and never too fishy. Instead of dessert (this is the diet diva writing) I opted for a specialty cocktail and it was just as indulgent. I really wanted to try a few more, but it was a Monday night and I had to get a good nights sleep/watch Gossip Girls/The Hills. Bottom Line: part-Italian, part-Spanish, this downtown restaurant is an all-around winner and I hope our insanely popular blog doesn’t completely blow up it’s spot and I’ll still be able to grab a table if I call less than a few days in advance.

The Orchard (212-353-3570) - 162 Orchard Street between Stanton & Rivington

My Culinary Wet Dream

Check out the culinary adventure chronicled on egullet. Its my version of a wet dream.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?s=8e3c633eb56b019af058b6de903f50dd&showtopic=115409&st=0&p=1564854&#entry1564854

The Weekend Dish

This is The Weekend Dish, a weekly Friday post that provides you with weekend meal suggestions. Share your weekend picks with us.

Friday Dinner: Insalata "A Voce" (with fennel, apples, watercress, marcona almonds, and pecorino cheese) and the Marinated Chicken alla Griglia (with funghi misticenzi, creamy polenta, arugula and parmesan) at A Voce (41 Madison Ave. at 26th St.).

Saturday Lunch: Ceasar Salad and Wood Oven Pizzette (with Sonoma Teleme Cheese, Thin-Sliced Yukon Gold Potatoes and Truffle Oil) at Five Points (31 Great Jones St. between Lafayette and Bowery).

Saturday Dinner: Spicy Tuna Tartare (with Cucumbers, Ruby Flying Fish Roe and Crispy
Taro Chips in a Thai Vinaigrette) and Grilled Florida Red Snapper (with a Sesame Cucumber Salad, Sautéed Bok Choy, Roasted Scallions and Shiitake Vinaigrette) at Aquagrill (210 Spring St. at 6th Ave).

Sunday Brunch: Tomato soup with Fontina and Gruyere grilled cheese at Bouchon Bakery (Time Warner Center 3rd Floor, Columbus Circle)

Sunday Dinner: Chien Dai (crispy shrimp, crab meat, and pea dumpling with indonesian sweet and sour dipping sauce) and Ikan Panggang (grilled whole sea bass, galang flower and sweet shallot sauce) from Cafe Asean (Delivery West Village)

Al Fresco Dining

One of our favorite summertime pastimes at Bellybusters is eating outdoors. When the sun is shining, it just doesn’t get better than good weather, good friends and great food. In the up-and-coming warm weather weeks, we will be giving you a list of our suggestions for top outdoor spots. This week we’re featuring the West Village:

Bar Pitti (Prosciutto Cotte E Mozzarella Griglato Panini with dry Pinot Grigio)
Fiddlesticks, 55 Greenwich Ave., 212-463-0516 (Fish and Chips with a glass of Bud Draught)
Gusto, 60 Greenwich Ave., 212-924-8000 (Carciofi Alla Giudea (Fried Artichokes) and Cacio E Pepe (pasta with cracked black pepper & pecorino) with a crisp glass of Rose )
Barbuto, 775 Washington St., 212-924-9700 (Crispy gnocchi with squash and parmesan and Cavolini di Bruxelles (shaved brussel sprouts, toasted walnuts, pecorino and lemon) with their refreshing zenzero mojito)
Tortilla Flats, 767 Washington St., 212-243-1053 (Chimichangas with a pitcher of Margaritas)*

*Warning: we would only recommend this spot for the desperately hungover or rowdy/cheesy birthday parties….

Shout Out

It is often difficult to praise other blogs/websites/food personalities due to the fact that Bellybusters is self-proclaimed as “the best fucking blog in the world.” But in those rare (once-in-a-lifetime) situations we concede that someone might do it a little - and I mean the tiniest bit - better than we do it. In this once-in-a-lifetime case we are giving credit to Savory New York. (Keep in mind, the depth of their content far exceeds the ability of a two person team such as ourselves.)

Some of the most amazing/ridiculous features on Savory New York include video tours of the restaurant and interviews with prestigious chefs like Joel Robuchon of L’Atelier, Thomas Keller (the most distinguished American born chef, some say the best in the biz) of Per Se, and one of my personal favorites, Naomichi Yasuda of Sushi Yasuda.* Other cool features include restaurant recommendations from top New York chefs, such as Anne Burell (Centro Vinoteca), Dan Barber (Blue Hill), and Joey Campanaro (Little Owl).

Go check out Savory New York at http://newyork.savorycities.com/. It got us off our high horse and kept our egos in check, so we suspect you’ll enjoy it too.

*If anyone has the opportunity to sit in front of Mr. Yasuda tell him “Papasun cut off his Mohawk.”

The Weekend Dish

This is The Weekend Dish, a weekly Friday post that provides you with weekend meal suggestions. Share your weekend picks with us. This week Nolita.

Friday Dinner: Roasted beet salad with whipped goat cheese, red onion, orange, organic marche and seared driver scallops with white corn pozole, apple smoked bacon, and roasted pablano's at Jane (100 West Houston between Thompson and LaGuardia Place.).

Saturday Lunch: Beef Colombo (stewed beef cooked with ten different spices) and served with rice and string beans at Cafe Colonial (276 Elizabeth St. at Houston St.).

Saturday Dinner: Kimono fried shrimps and chicken pad thai with bean sprout, crushed peanuts, scallion, and lime with sweet fish sauce at Lovely Day (196 Elizabeth between Prince and Spring St.).

Sunday Brunch: Moroccan couscous with red peppers, raisins, toasted pinenuts, humus, eggplant with cappuccino at Cafe Gitane (242 Mott St. between Prince and Houston St.).

Sunday Dinner: Red snapper carpaccio, sukiyaki with beef, tofu, shitake, carrot, spinach, scallion, and cheese cake tempura from Mottsu (Delivery Nolita and Soho).

I Must Admit I Am From the Dirty

“I Must Admit I am From The Dirty” is going to be a semi-regular post here on Bellybusters. We all know the typical Jersey stereotypes: “What exit are you from?”, “everything smells like garbage” or ever popular “Jersey Shore is all Guidos with fake tans, wearing wife beaters, sonic-the-hedgehog spiked hair and gold chains.” Well I am here to make our readers see the other, brighter side of the Dirty! In this series of posts we are going to highlight some culinary adventures the Garden State has to offer. Please email us. your suggestions.

The existing structure that houses White Manna is the same building they used at the 1939 Worlds Fair exhibition in Flushing (now home of the US Open) depicting the future of the typical American restaurant. In 1939 the building was relocated from Flushing to its current home on Hackensack Ave in Hackensack, NJ sitting directly across the street from a McDonald’s.

Besides the nostalgia for antique diner this place is as close to a hole in hall as one is ever going to step foot into. Despite the size and overall appearance of the place this burger joint finds itself on Top 10 lists year after year. According to Grub St. this place is one of the top three burgers in the NY metro area, and GQ magazine rates this spot as the number 6 of all burger spots across the country. It has also been featured on Guy Fieries Diners, Drive-in, and Drives.

The burgers at White Manna consist of four ingredients: meat, cheese, sautéed onions, and a Martin’s potato roll. Don’t even think about 86ing the onions. The griddleman starts with throwing a golf-ball sized chunk of ground meet onto the griddle, followed by thinly sliced raw onions that are smashed onto the burger which flattens them. As more orders come, he creates more room and slowly moves the burgers from right to left on the griddle, flips them onion side down to caramelize the onions, adds a healthy slice of yellow American cheese, and places the potato roll on top of the cheese. The steam from the cooking burgers melts the cheese and make the bun like a pillowy enclave of righteousness. The average order is about 4 burgers per person and with room to cook about 60 burgers simultaneously, so it’s truly amazing to see how the cook keeps track of the burgers in this 16 stool hole-in-the-wall, including who they are for, and where customers are sitting (most likely standing). Bottom Line: The burgers are so good that they would make a man on death row grim.