Food Sing 88 Corp.

Besides having an almost perfect name, Food Sing 88 Corp. is an almost perfect spot for the mid-winter blues. The only problem is that it is not on my corner.

How many of these brisk mornings do you wake and crave a big noodle-y, meat filled bowl of broth and flavor?  For me, it's about 2 of every 3 days.

So, with hand-pulled noodles swimming in my brain from my encounter with a little place in Bensonhurst, I set out to get more.

Enter Food Sing 88 Corp.

Located at 2 East Broadway, right near the Chatam Square statue, this hand-pulled noodle spot is full of charm.

Clean looking and alive with the sound of slurping eaters, the service was fast and the effect immediate. I barely told our waitress what I wanted and she already had it ready. I joked that she was holding it behind her back when I ordered and just pulled it out and gave it to me on demand.

The soup was delicious.

That's my bowl of "han-pulled noodle with pork chop." Yes, han-pulled. Yes.

For $5.50 there is plenty of pork chop and noodle, some little spinach leaves (you know, cause vegetables are important) and little sour bits of pickled vegetable. It's a great deal and an excellent lunch/snack/meal. Call it what you will; just call it.

For another 50 cents you can get some lamb parts in your soup instead of pork chops. Also, the broth is slightly different, with the addition of star anise and other spices (mainly star anise).

This is what my friend Matt got during our lunch date. Yeah lunch date. Yeah you're jealous. I know it.

I must note that his soup looked a little more cloudy than mine. I do not necessarily know why, but I had a few spoonfuls here and there and it was also delicious. The addition of star anise was an excellent touch considering the lamb (complete with chewy skin parts!)

Real quick, Pros recap:
Fast service
Overall satisfying and delicious
Inexpensive and filling
Clean and inviting
Also, the bathroom was nice. Always a plus, but not how I judge a restaurant.

I need to discuss the noodles for a minute.

As a hand-pulled noodle spot, undoubtedly they take pride in their noodles.
With great texture and consistency, as well as ample amount, I was overall pleased with the noodles and would eat here again. The noodles were filling, they were not gummy nor did they have a starchy, sticky texture or mouth feel.
The noodles needed a little time to hang out in the broth. They needed to soak a little of that porky flavor and to mellow out in the symphony that was this soup. Upon first bite, the noodles lacked the serious noodle-y flavor I was searching out. They did not disappoint however. After about 3 full minutes, they were as fantastic as a hand pulled noodle joint ought to be.

Go here and eat food. Do it.

I went here again today because it's delicious, and I must say that the pork chop and the first beef item on the Hand Pulled Noodle list are probably the best. The broth for the lamb was great, but the pieces are a little funky, albeit satisfying (ie. order lamb if you really like lamb and don't mind skin.)

The short rib hand pulled noodle is not as good as the regular beef. Also, the noodles were just as good today as last time, and I had no problems with noodle-y flavors (full flavor).

While I was eating today, a man next to me had ordered a non-soup item that looked pretty tasty. I suppose this means the rest of the menu is good as well.

Bytes and Sites: Yuletide

With Chanukah days behind us and Christmas on the rise, it's about time to start thinking about the Yuletide. (the period from Dec. 24th through Jan. 6th)

Not only is the internet full of awesome presents and great party/entertaining ideas, but there will be all manner of sales during this period of holiday magic.

Maybe you don't have time to make Christmas cookies, and maybe you're tired of eating latkes already (pshh, not likely) but many of these recipes taste good even when it's not a holiday.

One of my favorite times of year is when hams go on sale. In college one of my favorite meals to bring for lunch and to eat at home was (and still is) ham with white rice and sweet icebox pickles.

Check out Saveur's recipe for a honey and clove fresh ham. The stuff of legend.

Seriously I ate it for five days in a row pretty often. Salty, fatty ham is an excellent counterpoint to sweet, vinegary pickled peppers and onions - balanced out by warm, fluffy, starchy rice. Perfect!

I would make the pickles as soon as I knew hams were about to go on sale so that when the time came, all my pickles would be ready for me. Then all I needed was one day to make a ham and a bunch of rice, and viola!

Anyway, here's a bytes and sites mash-up of all the great Yuletide things now and to come.

For the Adult-Kid in all of us, here are some boozy hot chocolate recipes:

This is to replace egg-nog at all times. Please do not serve me egg-nog. Please serve me hot chocolate with booze in it. Sure, you can put Baileys instead of milk, but that doesn't necessarily make it good. Follow these few recipes and you'll have some hot chocolate to be proud of. Not some dorm-room Swiss Miss with marshmallow vodka.

Nutella Hot Chocolate : Nutella all the time. Best served straight from the jar, preferably on a finger, but I will also accept this hot drink with hazelnut liqueur. Just be sure to use all of the liqueur. Seriously, what are you going to do with leftover hazelnut liqueur? (the answer is coffee)

Cinnamon, Mezcal, and Chili Hot Chocolate : Serious Mexican flavors from Seriouseats.com. I want this more spicy and less ingredients. Really, it's got one hundred percent more ingredients that Saveur's choco-concoction but worth every step.

Bittersweet Chocolate with Red Wine : Because you need to make good with someone's mom. And we all know moms love chocolate and wine. And we all know there is always a mom to impress.

Don't go crazy drinking all these alcoholic things, maybe make them for friends. We all know that you're getting enough calories just from the phrase "holiday time." So take it easy on the liquid chocolate, Santa.

Gift Season!

Here are a lot of gift ideas. Get me some. It's cool, I like gifts, and I've read all these gift compilations so I'll know how much you spent.

Bon Appetit Holiday Gift Guide : Full of great ideas like an ENTIRE JAMON SERRANO LEG (wink, wink rich friends) it also has lots of small and/or practical gifts like retro candy and Almdudler Limonade cans.

Saveur's Holiday Gift Guide 2012 : Check out the Edible gift guide, some of them are great, like single varietal honeys, Olympic Provisions sausages, and travelling bitters set. Some are not so great, like the hexagon spice kit, and the foil wrapped chocolate ornament (just make them boozy hot chocolate.) But all are better than just straight candy-canes.

Also, This, because I think these are awesome if impractical.

If you've read this entire post, I applaud you, because frankly, after the ham and the Nutella Hot Chocolate, I stopped paying attention myself and just started eating Nutella straight from the jar again.

Poetry Corner

Bringing back poetry corner.

Trying to bring back regular posting as well.

If you'd like to see all the poems I've written so far, click the 'poem' tag in the labels section on the right of the screen.

This next poem is part of the Bacon series.


Nose

The visual world is nothing
compared to the nasal heaven
that comes from crisping bacon.
A sight to die for,
let alone a smell.

Cheese Me! Please Me!

It is no secret that I love cheese. I work in a cheese shop. Yes I eat awesome artisan American cheeses. I also still love Polly-O string cheese. String cheese forever.

A friend of mine, we shall call him Andrew to protect his identity (his real name is Andrew), also works at a cheese shop.

I went to visit him on my day off. Because what could be better on a day off from my cheese shop but to visit a different cheese shop?!

He works for Saxelby Cheesemongers at the Essex Street market. For those that haven't been to the Essex Market recently, it's a great place to visit if you like to look at a lot of old Hispanic folks, need to get some Heritage Meats, or generally enjoy markets.

There are several awesome things about this market.

One of which is Saxelby. They have great cheese. They did not pay me to endorse them.

Their shtick is only stocking cheese from the North East of AMERICA. Yeah that's right, suck it European cheese. (except Parmesan, you sir, can stay)

Anyway I got this frickin' grilled cheese and it was awesome.

Yeah, you see that?
Yes. This is three pictures of the same grilled cheese sandwich.

That's how good it was to eat. You should see the pictures I took that didn't make the cut. Naughty stuff.

 

In general, Saxelby is a great place to get great cheese. You're going to pay for it. It will not be cheap. But it will be better than any other cheese. This sandwich costs seven dollars and is worth it.

 Now I'm off to make my own grilled cheese with Kraft American singles and Campbell's tomato soup. Cause what could be better after a grilled cheese, but more grilled cheese.

Hand Pull Noodles and Dumpling House

I needed to get my grub on.

I met up with a friend, and his dad suggested Hand Pull Noodle and Dumpling House.

Great suggestion.

So the three of us made the move over to Bensonhurst, pointing out old favorites and worthy newcomers. Old Italian specialties and the new Asian crowd.

We pulled up to the dive-y looking noodle and dumpling joint ready to feast.
Upon entering I noticed the chef prepping, slapping noodles on the counter in back only to fold them on themselves and set them aside for later. 

A real mom-and-pop joint, complete with little kids and grandma nannies, the service was casual and forgetful, but most of all sincere.

Appetizers and entrees came out as they were ready, in no particular order.

We ordered Hot and Spicy Bok Choy, thinking we'd get a fried dish.
It was Bok Choy kim-chi.
Cold, spicy and fermented - we nibbled a little. I added it to my soup later on and it was a fine addition. Not a repeat buy, nor a worthy picture. It really just made me want to make my own kim-chi. 

Dumplings were absolutely necessary as they are part of the namesake.

They delivered the goods! The dumplings were delicious.

The kind of place I could go and get a few orders of dumplings for lunch and be totally satisfied. 

Steamed dumplings filled with flavorful pork and spices. Wonderfully pleated and steamed, needing little accompaniment.

No plates.
Grab a little dish near the chopsticks and add some sauce. Or eat your dumpling as-is because they're really freakin' good.

Next up is meat sauce over hand pulled noodles. Served with steamed bok choy.
This is awesome sauce.

Although this was not my dish, we all had the spirit of sharing. It certainly was delicious. I would definitely order this next time as there is something about fresh noodles and saucy, fatty meat that really speaks to me.
I really wish I lived across the street from this place.

My food came out next.
Fresh Shrimp Wonton with hand pulled noodles in soup.
This was really good.

Wontons with full, fresh shrimp in addition to regular ground pork and noodles with great consistency and flavor.
This is the kind of dish you would expect at a noodle and dumpling house.
The broth was lightly porky and flavored with star anise - flavorful enough to stand on it's own, but simple enough to welcome additions.
So, I added some vinegar, hot chilies and soy sauce to pick it all up.

My friend Ezra got this next dish.
Rib Tips over fried noodle.

The rib tips were deep fried and crispy, slicked with a sweet and tangy sauce that fit really well with the rest of the food. The kind of saucy meat you want to wrap a bunch of noodles around. I ate a few of these bad boys. The noodles were lightly stir fried.

And now, as a bonus, here is a picture of my soup after the additions.
I'm holding up the noodles because the first picture doesn't look like there are so many noodles. Believe me, there are plenty.

If you look in the very top right corner of this picture you will see some food that I have not talked about.

The fried buns.

Similar to dumplings in composition, these buns had a great wrapper and crisp edge, but the filling was lacking and made me wish we had more steamed dumplings.

Also, fyi, dumplings are available to buy frozen, 50 at a time.

Bytes and Sites: T-Giving

Every dining section, food blog, website and more are stuck in a full-on nose dive towards Thanksgiving.

We can't help it. 

It's the food holiday above all others. 

Sure, some of us still talk about what we are thankful for, and probably more so after this Sandy debacle, but for the most part, people just want somewhere to eat the meal they look forward to all year.

Here are some resources to make this all easier.

This little gem is from the NY Times' archives from 2009. It should also be said that this doesn't have to just be Thanksgiving ideas. A lot of these would be really easy and delicious for everyday life. Make some. Try it.

101 Head Starts on the Day

Bittman has a good point; most of the issues are from not enough space on the stove. 

So plan ahead peoples.

Here is a good way to plan ahead:

Saveur's 9 Complete Menu Ideas

It includes some pretty useful ideas, like Thanksgiving for Two and Vegetarian Thanksgiving, as well as some pretty awesome menus like Elegant French and Chesapeake Bay Thanksgiving.

Maybe you just want to read through some of these for ideas.

Please read this article from Bon Appetit. Please read this. Please.

How to Carve a Turkey

Because whether you're doing it or not, everyone should know how to carve a bird. A turkey is just a large chicken anyway.

Now, I just need to say:

We're having goose this year.

I'm excited.

For The Love of Meat

Meat! For the love of Meat!
Smoked meat.
Cured meat.
Sliced meat.

You don't have to go to Greenpoint for awesome Polish deli's full of smoked sausages you've never heard of. If you've been to a Polish deli without a translator present, you know what I mean. Too many szc and kw combos to even try and pronounce. Point to things. It's probably your best option. If something looks really dark, it's probably double smoked. If it's thin, it's probably dry. If it's available, get it. Invite some friends. Tell them to bring mustard.

Jubilat Provisions, at 608 5th ave (and 17th st), provides those of us in the middle of Brooklyn with the kielbasa and double smoked pork that fulfill our desire for smoked meat and homemade stuffed cabbage, head cheese, dense bread and pickles galore.

Thank you Jubilat for making this kind of spread available.

I make trips to this little deli when I get the hankering for cheap awesome pork. I've talked about it before, when fish was available, but recently it's been all meat and stuffed cabbage, polish donuts and Lithuanian bread. (Awwwesome.)

I love this place. I want this place to continue on. I don't see enough people in here and I want to change that. I want people to go here for great sandwich meat; out-of-the-ordinary amazing meat. I want people to go here and buy a big fat kielbasa and make sauerkraut and sausage at their house. Start a new tradition. Get meat from someone who smoked it themselves.

Go out and get some. FYI this is smoked, rib-in pork belly that is deep fried and then sliced for your convenience. I ate it with mustard, blanched string beans and thick rye bread.

PB&America

This article immediately caught my attention, and judging from its place at the top of the "most emailed" list, it seems it caught many other people's attention as well. I need to share.

Because Peanut Butter and Pickle sandwiches exist.

I definitely have had bacon parties before, constructing the ubiquitous Elvis as part of the fun. But now it seems it's time for a Peanut Butter party.

(I've had pickle parties before too!)

I'm going to make a Peanut Butter Party. You can be sure of it. I'll announce it too. And you can RSVP to it. And bring a friend.

Bytes and Sites

First, Halloween is closing in on us, and with it, tons of candy. Trust me, even adults are getting in on the candy. No one is safe. We may not be eating a pillowcase full, but we're going to be eating some.

I for one, will not be eating candy corn. And apparently neither is this guy:

"I'm Sick of Candy Corn"

Way to go dude. I would have written that article for bon appetit years ago. Also your pictures make me gag.

Also, bon appetit wins a lot of awards from me today because of their Snoop Dogg (double g!) Hot Pocket Video Repost.

Pocket Like it's Hot

This video is amazing, especially if you remember the original with Pharrell. This has the added bonus of Andy Milonakis. I can't believe he's still alive.

"I gotta heat it up to eat it up," says Snoop.

Thank you bon appetit for the junk food.

The Times today (ny) had two great articles in the Dining & Wine section. It comes out every Wednesday, but a lot of times they release some articles a day or so early on their website. So this first one I didn't catch earlier in the week, which I guess makes it more fun to open the paper come Wednesday.

The Snail Wrangler This lady is a boss. She also loves snails. I don't blame her. I love snails too, just not the way she does. You can tell she's about one step away from making snail porn. I would love to eat some of her snails and snail caviar, but I think it's highly unlikely.

Burmese Cooking (Currently Myanmar) has flavor profiles that are very familiar for me. After I read this article early yesterday morning, it was nice to see it so prominently displayed today.

A Burmese friend of mine, and culinary companion, gives me some pointers and suggestions when I want to make Burmese food. 

Most recently she said, "You already got everything but try to add some greens. A ton of fish sauce ruin salad."

And this is why I love her.

Also, I want the book that this lady wrote called Japanese Farm Food.

Check out her blog for some great pictures and a look into what you might expect from her book (or living in Japan for that matter)

For those of you that need a little food porn in your life, I give you Saveur's prime article for today:

Poutine That picture is slutty.

This should keep you busy for an hour.

Fennel Haters Need Not Apply

Under-appreciated by licorice haters everywhere, fennel gets a bad rep.  It's an incredibly versatile vegetable that can be eaten raw, roasted, braised, grilled, sauteed, stewed - the list goes on.

Seriously, the raw bulb is crunchy and slightly spiced, perfect for fall salads with apples and walnuts or any combination of fruit, nut, vegetable. They'll be a few salad suggestions to follow.


Roasted fennel takes on a sweetness that cuts the licorice edge that so many haters hate on.

In fact, I roasted some fennel and cipollini onions with coriander and lemon. Here is a picture. I'll eat it with grilled pork chops, or leftover roast lamb, or oily, full-flavored fish. Or whatever, it's awesome, you get the point right? (Actually I'm having it with merguez sausage, dbj.)

I've enjoyed the compilation posts thus far (blueberry, tomato) and I think I'll continue with another fantastic ingredient, and one that seldom gets the recognition it deserves.

Fennel!

First up, soups and salads, appetizers and such.

Fennel Apple Spritzer - Because we're adults and this doesn't have to be nonalcoholic. I suggest clear Rum, but by all means experiment. Applejack, whiskey, tequila?

Carrot and Fennel Soup - A great intro for those that can't take the full fennel plunge. The sweetness of the carrots helps curb the fennel's bite.

Pickled Fennel - Because it wouldn't be my blog unless something was pickled

Quinoa, Fennel, Pomegranate salad - This is for the ladies (come on, quinoa/pomegranate) and the vegans, and the people that make a shitload of one thing and eat it for lunch for a week and want others to be jealous. Lunch people should poach chicken or fry sausage patties in addition.

Fennel, Sunchoke, Apple salad - Wait, salad? Oh yeah, throw some pork on this, and serve it at a fancy dinner party. People won't believe that you know what sunchokes are. (Oh you don't? Here's some info)

Alright, so you've met my friend fennel, and you're ready to invite him to some parties. Cause, you know, he's such a cool guy.

Corn and Fennel Ragu - Comfort food style, you know. Just the word Ragu sounds good. Serve this with hot smoked salmon (aka kippered) and maybe some polenta cakes.

Cornish Game Hens - Everybody loves little chickens. Also Meyer lemons which have just come into season make this especially good.

Roasted Squash and Fennel - Sometimes you need to know the basics, this will help you build the dishes that will wow yourself and those lucky enough to join you. And because you want to make an awesome side dish for your lamb, or those frisky vegetarians that are making baked artichokes.

Flavorful Tomato sauce - This is for fun pasta shapes like fusilli, orrechiette, and farfalle. Kid shapes and grown-up sauce.

Alright so you wanna get real on these people. You want to wow them in ways that they didn't even know were possible.


Monkfish with Fennel and Garlic - Because Monkfish is delicious and seldom used by home cooks. Don't be afraid. Embrace.

Octopus with fennel - Fennel and seafood pair so wonderfully, and nobody ever cooks octopus. This will make you feel sophisticated and Mediterranean. Your friends will ask if you learned this in Europe, and you can lie about visiting Crete. Only for the truly badass.

Grilled Fresh Sardines with Fennel and Preserved Lemon - Yeah that's right. You're probably already salivating.

Anyone still have room for dessert?

Apple and Caramelized Fennel Tart - It's a perfect fall/winter dessert.

Bonus Recipe!

Roasted Fennel with Cipollini onions.

One Large fennel bulb
about six cipollini onions
1 tsp. coriander seeds
juice of 1/2 a lemon
zest from 1/2 a lemon
olive oil (to coat)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Cut the fennel in half vertically. Take out most of the core. Cut into strips, try and keep them attached, you want them to be relatively thick. Save some fronds for garnish.

Cut the cipollini's in half so that each half has a little bit of the root end. Take off the skin, but leave the root so that they stay connected.

Toss fennel, onions, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and coriander together until everything is coated.

Place on a foil lined cookie sheet and roast for 30-40 minutes or until soft and colorful.
Garnish with zest and reserved fronds.

Serve with pork chops or oily fish (mackerel, sardines, etc.)

Later Haters!