January 2009

The Archives

• Chinatown, Restaurants

  Excellent Pork Chop House – NYC

  01.24.09 | Permalink | 11 Comments

  As I mentioned previously on several occasions, my boyfriend David does not like pork. He does not want to eat it or even smell it, which means my apartment has become a pig-free zone, and I have become an obsessive pork fiend. I crave it constantly. Every waking moment, fried strips of crunchy bacon cloud my thoughts. So last weekend, when David left town to go visit his mom, I knew where I was going: Excellent Pork Chop House. MORE »

• Home Cooking, Recipes

  Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice Nuts – NYC

  01.21.09 | Permalink | 2 Comments

  

  I’m not a huge dessert person. If given a choice, I rather have an extra serving of something savory (like bacon!) instead of dessert. It’s partially a Korean thing. There aren’t too many super sweet desserts in Korean cuisine, so growing up, dessert was fresh fruit in my house. To this day, I don’t feel satisfied until I have a piece of fruit after dinner. However, just recently, I started craving something sweet at night. Maybe it’s the cold weather, or maybe it’s because my boyfriend, who is a dessert freak, is always snacking on candy bars, chips, and popsicles. In any case, I saw this recipe for Sugar and Spice Candied Nuts on Smitten Kitchen, and I decided to give it a try since they reminded me of the yummy candied peanuts they sell on the streets in New York. I love those nuts, by the way. The warm smell of those nuts on a cold winter night is insanely bewitching. MORE »

• Midtown, Street Eats

  Lamb Pita at Kwik Meal – NYC

  01.14.09 | Permalink | 3 Comments

  

  It’s in the twenties these days in New York, which is pretty darn cold. Speaking of which, why are women’s fashions so freaking useless? I got a cute wool blazer recently, but the sleeves are 3/4, so now when I walk around outside, my forearms are freezing, while the rest of my body is toasty warm. Well, I guess I should just be grateful 3/4 length pants aren’t in fashion now. Sheesh.

  So anyway, today it was crazy cold, so I decided to take my frozen forearms over to Kwik Meal to get a Lamb Pita. I figure, in this weather, the street vendors need my support. God love them, rain or shine, they’re always there, ready to serve you with a smile. That’s more than I can say about the service at the golden arches and the like. Really, I can’t deal with teenage angst when I’m hungry. MORE »

• Alphabet City, East Village, Restaurants

  Fried Chicken Brunch at Back Forty – NYC

  01.08.09 | Permalink | 2 Comments

  

  The first time I ever tried Chicken and Waffles was at Ressie Mae’s when they opened a midtown location last year. Never having tried the combo of chicken and waffles, I eagerly rushed over one day after reading Zach’s post on Midtown Lunch. Unfortunately, the experience was a bomb (soggy chicken and waffles), and I never went back. Ressie Mae’s closed a few months later.

  Last Sunday, almost one year later, I was on the search for a new brunch spot with something other than eggs benedict, and I came upon Back Forty’s menu featuring Chicken and Waffles. I was jonesing for some fried chicken anyway (although I can’t say there is a time when I’m not), so I grabbed David and we were off. MORE »

• Home Cooking, Palisades Park

  Happy New Year & Happy Belated Holidays – Palisades Park

  01.07.09 | Permalink | 4 Comments

  

  Happy New Year! I’m a bit late, but better late than never I say. Not sure what 2009 will bring, but as always, I’m optimistic. 2008 is so last year anyway. Bring it 2009!!! Bring it! Now on to the food.

  On Thanksgiving, my family does the traditional American turkey thing, but Christmas and New Year’s is a strictly Korean affair. This year, after the Thanksgiving cooking marathon, I told my mom we should keep it simple on Christmas and just eat some samgyupssal (삼겹살, uncured pork belly) and galbi (갈비, beef ribs). Of course, my mom always cooks up a storm anyway and made a million other dishes, but as requested we ate a lot of galbi and samgypsal (pictured above). Nothing makes me more happy than samgyupsal, except maybe samgyupsal and soju. We eat so much samgyupsal at my parent’s house, that David (who doesn’t eat pork), complains that anything we eat on the table-top grill now tastes and smells like pork after we cook it. Personally, I think this is a good thing. MORE »