Amazing strawberries from Lyman Orchards got me so excited I could only take blurry pictures, I suppose. Here in Connecticut strawberry season is just heating up, so if you like to pick ‘em yourself, or you’re lazy like me and you just want a basket-full without all the work, several sources around Southern New England can get you covered this weekend.
Luckily if there are strawberries out, there’s probably rhubarb, too. My mouth has been watering over Dorie Greenspan’s Roasted Rhubarb, which looks simple and delicious. Could make an easy dessert this evening for those of us heading out to the local market today.
Of course, those devilish supermarkets know it’s berry season, too, so even if these blueberries I used for Mark Bittman’s No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Bars were not grown locally, they were at least cheap and on sale. The whole thing comes together in minutes, and given the hot and steamy weather lately it’s a relief to not turn on the oven.
Although not about food, per se, this article in the Hartford Courant retraces some of the fallout from the closing of the much beloved Rosco’s Big Dog in downtown Hartford. A good read for anyone who owns their own business, but perhaps an encouraging sign for Connecticut hot dog fans; any media exposure for owner Ron Reisner may keep our hopes up for a new incarnation of Rosco’s in the future.
Not particular to New England or even the Northeast, but my beloved (Washington D.C. based) Five Guys recently got the sort of nation-wide exposure money cannot buy after a recent visit by President Obama. Luckily the chain has been spreading like wildfire throughout the country, if you’re reading from New England check out your nearest location.
The same can’t be said for still-stubbornly regional In-N-Out, so damn Tom Hanks on The Tonight Show for rubbing our noses in the fact that we here in the New England tundra still have to take sojourns out to California, Nevada, Utah, or Arizona to get our In-N-Out fix.
I am almost hesitant to link to stories like this, because let’s face it, any single writer claiming a list of the top 25 pizza places in the country might be an interesting read, but it’s also a good way to stir up controversy, anger, disssent, and, oh yeah - page views and magazine sales.
Indeed, trying to read or scan the whole piece online requires an insufferable amount of click click clicking so to peruse the full list first head on over to Slice.
I don’t have much commentary to add, other than the original Pepe’s in New Haven (#12) serves the best pizza I’ve ever had, and the branch in Manchster serves as a nice proxy. For New Haven fans I also very much like Modern, and I wish I could say I like Sally’s (#6) but I can never get in. The wait in line on a typical day would be insufferable at Sally’s but if you’re not a regular, or have a connection, it seems you’ll also stand in line while further suffering the indignity of watching those-in-the-know slipping in and getting tables long before you even get a whiff of pizza aroma.
The list does make a guide for my next pizza travels - Mario Batali’s Tarry Lodge (#11) has been on my radar since it opened and it sounds like Bob and Timmy’s (#5) may merit another trip over to Providence.
Pictures and notes from a recent trip down to New York City. Lace up your walking shoes!
Stop one - Kalustyan’s, an overwhelming emporium of spices, dried fruits, chutneys and all sorts of goodies. I was saving room for other stuff so I did not go up to the deli on the second floor but they say over on Yelp it’s good stuff.
Stop two - the original Shake Shack. Oh God, Shake Shack. Believe the hype. As a long-time lover of smaller, thin-pattied, griddled burgers I’ve been drooling over a taste of Shake Shack for quite a while, and the wait was worth it. This was everything I wanted in a burger, close to my ideal, and a lot closer to me than In-N-Out, for sure. Profoundly delicious.
Stop three - Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar. As in, David Chang, hottest chef in the known universe, Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar. Intriguied by what I had read about the green curry banana bread, I picked up a loaf for eating the next day, which was just divine. It sounds weird at first but I mean, really - banana and green curry. These things go together. Putting them together in an American standard like banana bread takes a leap of logic most of us mere mortals would never be able to make, but still it makes sense, especially once you taste it.
The famous banana cake is killer, just killer. If it sounds like I’m gushing here, it’s for good reason - it just may have been the best slice of cake I’ve ever had. It was so good I completely failed to get a picture, but a picture would not have done it justice anyway. Speaking of pictures,
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This one is worth two: Pork. Fat. Yes, the bun was pillowy and soft and probably would have been delicious on their own. And that green stuff they throw in there is all fine and dandy, but for anyone who knows the wonders of pork belly, you know what I’m talking about. The belly was cooked almost to the point of being unctous, melt-in-your-mouth pork Jello, except delicious because whe you type it out like that it sounds kinda gross. But it’s not, trust me on this one.
Time for dessert at Laboratorio del gelato for a small cup with peanut butter on the left, bracingly bitter Guinness on the right. Both were exploding with flavor, and a perfect way to cap off a calorie-packed walking lunch around town.
