June 2010

The Archives

• Alphabet City, Delis, East Village

  Lechón Reminder & Fried Squid at Johnny Air Mart – NYC

  06.26.10 | Permalink | 5 Comments

  

  Just a reminder, lechón is happening today at Johnny Air Mart. It usually starts at 11:10am, but I was told yesterday sometimes the lechón is late. So get there around 11:10am to 12pm for lip-smacking porcine goodness, they run out within a few hours.

  And while you’re there, check out the Fried Dried Squid ($4.50 for a small aluminum container) they sell at the counter. (People who “like” Bionic Bites on Facebook already got a heads-up on this one.) If you like dried seafood, you’ll love this. It tastes like charcoal grilled squid in chip form. Salty, slightly bitter, and hella’ crunchy, it’s great with beer. However, one caveat: It stinks. Not a good pre-date snack. Eat it alone or with other like-minded folks. Also, if you don’t finish it, it’s a good idea to transfer it to an air-tight container. I ate half and left it out in the same container it came in and for days my boyfriend complained about a strange odor emanating from the apartment. I had my mom take it back to Jersey when she came to visit just to appease him. MORE »

• Palisades Park, Restaurants

  Fire Noodles in Black Bean Sauce – Palisades Park

  06.22.10 | Permalink | 10 Comments

  I’ve been going to Mandarin, a Chinese-Korean restaurant in Palisades Park, for years. They have best jajangmyun (자장면, wheat noodles in black bean sauce) in the area because of their noodles. The noodles are made in-house, and to attest to this fact, they used to have a monitors in the dining area showing the cooks hand-pulling the noodles in the kitchen. Now the monitors show Korean programming. I guess the people working out front got tired of watching the back of the house day in, day out. In any case, the noodles are still good, and late last year I learned about their buljajajangmyun (불자장면, literally “fire jajangmyun”) through my brother’s friend, Young. By the way, I have a somewhat funny story about him. When I started this blog, I used to get a lot of weird comments that I attributed to an evil troll. Later on, I discovered it was Young. See, “somewhat funny.” I guess pestering your friend’s little sister never ends, even when she’s no longer little. Regardless of the source, since then, buljajangmyun has become a favorite of mine and my brother’s. MORE »

• Clinton Hill, Events, Giveaway

  Senegalese Summer Giveaway – NYC

  06.17.10 | Permalink | 9 Comments

  

  I get emails from PR people all the time about events around the city. A lot of times the events are lame, but this one sounded pretty cool. Pierre Thiam, the chef and owner of Le Grand Dakar in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn is having a viewing party called Senegalese Summer next Thursday (June 24, 2010) for his battle with Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America. Not into Iron Chef? Well that’s okay, because there will also be food (such as shrimp & sweet potato croquettes, oven roasted dates stuffed with spiced lamb, black eyed pea fritters, and skewered grilled steak with ginger & peanut crust) and unlimited sangria. Still not convinced? Well, there will also be music. Jojo Kuo — a veteran jazz, Afro pop, and World drummer who has collaborated with Fela Kuti — will also be performing. (There’s a nice story about him and his collab with Fela on Lens, The New York Times‘ photography blog.) MORE »

• Alphabet City, Delis, East Village

  Lechón at Johnny Air Mart – NYC

  06.15.10 | Permalink | 12 Comments

  

  A few weeks ago, Eating in Translation tweeted that Johnny Air Mart would start having roast pig on Fridays. The following Friday I was there, immediately after work. Unfortunately, they had grilled pork skewers but roast pig was nowhere to be found. It turns out Johnny Air Mart has lechón (roast suckling pig) every other Saturday (starting at 11:10am) and I just missed it the previous Saturday. I would have to wait another week.

  The next weekend, as soon as I woke up, I put on my clothes and told Alvin (David’s cousin who was visiting from out-of-town) that I was going out for roast pig. Having stayed with us before, he didn’t seem surprised. MORE »

• Bakeries, LES, Small Shops

  I Heart Doughnuts Only at Doughnut Plant – NYC

  06.03.10 | Permalink | 13 Comments

  

  I’ve been quite busy the last few days. I have visitors from out-of-town (so fun, but I feel like death!), contractors all up in my crib (argh, drilling and banging at eight in the morning!), new projects at work (I need a raise!), and I’m going to court tonight (wish me luck!). But because I love you guys, and because tomorrow is National Doughnut Day, I thought I’d write a short post about the doughnuts I ate this weekend. MORE »