Wednesday, November 27, 2024

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Flushing Adventure – New York City – Part II

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Eric and I walk another block on our journey through Flushing, Queens. I’ve been here before, year after year, but never knowing what places were good and so in our own fear of disappointment, we would always try the same things again and again. This time would be different. This time, we had it all planned out.

Downtown Flushing is a bustling crossroads of sorts, even in the early morning time, buses, cars, people all out and about moving from here to there, to markets and to breakfast, to work. The experience takes your breath away for a moment before you too have to move through the crowds and find your next destination.

Ours was the AA Plaza beneath the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) tracks on Main Street. This takeout stall is a long glass case with their grills right along the glass window showcasing their foods. Greasy, nasty, cheap, delicious food: the definition and embodiment of street food.

They sell turnip pudding cakes, oiled-up scallion cakes, steamed pork buns (4 for $1.25), fried chicken wings, lo mein noodles, and more to go. We decide to get some of the curry fish balls (1$). It is all dirt cheap and tasty to boot.

The curry fish balls are plump and tender, spongy and dripping in its sauce, tasting a bit spicy yet also fresh. I always love any meat served on a stick.

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The AA Plaza beneath the LIRR in Flushing, New York

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The window stalls at AA Plaza

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Lo Mein noodles ready to eat!

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Curry Fish Balls waiting to be bought and eaten, marinating in the curry sauce

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Precious plump balls of fish

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Delicious!

Beware of having to go flushing after wards tho…

Rating
4 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!!

AA Plaza on Urbanspoon

Flushing Adventure – New York City – Part I

Flushing Adventure – New York City

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The conference began early Saturday morning in Flushing, Queens borough of New York City. Since I am an alumni and didn’t need to go to some of the workshops, I decided to take a gastronomical tour of eats in downtown Flushing near the metro station. I mostly used a guide from chowhound.com as well as this map from the New York Times of Eats in Flushing and the NYTimes article “Finding Beijing in Flushing”

My brother, Eric Ho, and I rode the Q65 from Jamaica Hills to Flushing which took about 20 minutes and stopped right off of Main Street. The first place we went to was the “Golden Mall” which contained in its basement a smorgasbord of Chinese street food style vendors.

First, we stopped by Xian Foods, a small stall in the center of the Golden Mall basement. Xian Foods was actually featured in the NY times article and even visited by Anthony Bourdain before. The city of Xi’an, located in Central China and one of the oldest cities of China, was home to the imperial tomb of the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang and his famed terra cotta warriors.

Eric and I decide to split a spicy lamb burger ($2.50). The lady at the counter takes out a piece of frozen lamb meat from the freezer pre-prepared and sets it onto the sizzling pan on the stove in the back of the stall. I was hoping it would be fresh rather than frozen but you can’t expect much when ordering from a basement stall. There were also a few other stalls there in the basement of the Golden Mall, but I did not know what to get as the signage was all in Chinese and I also didn’t want to have to go “flushing” after wards (if you get what I mean).

The lamb burger was wedged between two slices of bread roll, and had a spicy gamey taste to it made with cumin and pepper. Ah, the perfect way to start a morning in Flushing. Overall I would give this lamb burger a 4 out of 5 tasty chomps….


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“The Golden Mall” – not really golden nor a mall

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What does it say? Who knows? I just want to eat!

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Xian Foods stall, in case you are ever in the Golden Mall basement

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A photo gallery of Xian Food’s offerings, with english subtitles thank god

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yummy frozen lamb

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the Lamb burger is complete!

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Xian Famous Foods on Urbanspoon


Next Stop:

The Sun Mary Bakery is located right off of Main Street on 41st st. We get a few bakery items such as egg custard, pineapple bun, and the taro ball. I liked the egg custard the best because of its flaky, pastry crust, something that many egg custard places neglect to perfect. Overall, this is a 4 out of 5 tasty chomps!!


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Taro Ball

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Pineapple bun!

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Delicious Egg Custard!

Sun Mary Bakery on Urbanspoon

Bonjour Vietnam – Pham Quynh Anh

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One of the songs that played this past weekend in Atlanta at the UNAVSA conference is an old favorite, reminding me why Vietnam is one of my favorite places on Earth:


[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9znhO7i9Dsc]

Tell me about this name so strange and difficult to pronounce
That I carry since I was born.
Tell me about the ancient empire and the feature of my “attached eyes”
Which say better than me what you don’t dare saying.
Of you I only know images of the war, a film of Coppola, [and] helicopters in anger…

One day, I will go there to say hello to your soul.
One day, I will go there to say hello to you, Vietnam.

Tell me about the color of my skin, my hair and my small feet,
Which carry me since I was born.

Tell me about your house, your street, tell me about this unknown,
The floating markets and the wood sampans.
Of you I only know images of the war, a film of Coppola, [and] helicopters in anger…

One day, I will go there, to say hello to my soul.
One day, I will go there, to say hello to you, Vietnam.

Temples and stone Buddhas for my fathers
Curved women in the rice plantations for my mothers
In the prayer, in the light, retrieve my brothers,
Touch my heart, my roots, my land…

One day, I will go there to say hello to my soul.
One day, I will go there to say hello to you, Vietnam

Welcome to Atlanta

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Headed to Atlanta today for a conference and also tastychompin’ on the side

Here are a list of places I will try to go to!

Tasty China
Tasty China
585 Franklin Rd SE # 215
Marietta, GA 30067-7760
(770) 419-9849

Flip Burger Boutique
Flip Burger Boutique
1587 Howell Mill Rd NW
Atlanta, GA 30318-7648
(404) 343-1609
flipburgerboutique.com

Pho Dai Loi Restaurant II
Pho Dai Loi Restaurant II
4186 Buford Hwy NE # G
Atlanta, GA 30345-1067
(404) 633-2111

Quoc Huong Banh Mi Fast Food
Quoc Huong Banh Mi Fast Food
4 reviews
5150 Buford Hwy NE
Doraville, GA 30340-1153
(770) 936-0605

Ann’s Snack Bar
Ann’s Snack Bar
1615 Memorial Dr
Atlanta, GA 30317
(404) 687-9207

Cho Wan Restaurant
Cho Wan Restaurant
6 reviews
3635 Satellite Blvd
Duluth, GA 30096-4591
(770) 476-0458

Pung Mie Chinese Restaurant
Pung Mie Chinese Restaurant
5145 Buford Hwy NE
Doraville, GA 30340-6115
(770) 455-0370

Fat Matt’s Rib Shack
Fat Matt’s Rib Shack
1811 Piedmont Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30324
(404) 607-1622
fatmattsribshack.com

Six Feet Under
Six Feet Under
437 Memorial Dr SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
(404) 523-6664
sixfeetunderatlanta.com

The Vortex Bar and Grill
The Vortex Bar and Grill
878 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 875-1667
thevortexbarandgrill.com

Atlanta Marriott Century Center
Atlanta Marriott Century Center
2000 Century Blvd NE
Atlanta, GA 30345
(404) 325-0000
marriott.com/vsstart/mktcmp…

Colonnade Restaurant

Loving Hut – Special with Brian Feldman

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This past Saturday, local performance artist Brian Feldman (visit http://www.brianfeldman.com ), in honor of Loving Hut’s win as best vendor at this year’s Orlando Fringe Festival, has decided to award them by doing a performance piece at their humble hut and also to celebrate his 10th anniversary since turning away from eating meat products. The performance act: to eat all the items off of the Loving Hut Menu!

This formidable feat is no joke as there were over 64 items of food on their menu each made, as David the kindly, jovial owner of Loving Hut reminded us, by vegans with care and made with love.

Loving Hut is a relatively new establishment here in Central Florida, having only opened earlier this year in the space formerly occupied by Vietnamese restaurants Thanh Thanh and Tay do a little bit west of Bumby Ave on Colonial Dr. Loving Hut’s concept is simple: Be Veg. Go Green. Save the Planet. The owners and workers and chefs at Loving Hut have one not so simple mission: to save the world by starting here in Orlando.

I thought that was a pretty cool idea, and harmless enough as it seems. I did think it was a bit odd how the television playing in the background was “Supreme Master TV” with pervasive notes from the blond-haired Supreme Master Ching Hai, on the good in the world and the goodness of vegetarianism. Even the fortune cookies here had special notes about living from our Supreme Master Ching Hai. A bit too much like Big Brother a la 1984 for me.

Inside the hut, all the chairs and tables are pure white, everything white and pure like a doctor’s office or something. On the walls are photos of Leonardo Davinchi, Albert Einstein, and other figures with the saying “These smart, beautiful people are vegetarian, why aren’t you?” Good point. I think I love meat just too much to let it go for enlightenment just yet.

Looking over their menu, I saw that most of the items were pretty standard Vietnamese/Chinese fare with vegan twists, but some of them had strange names like happy dog and noble rice?

I ordered the small golden tofu and a glass of lemon juice drink (da chanh – a Vietnamese form of lemonade). A small soup made with carrots and chayot ( I think its a type of melon), complimentary of the house arrived first. The golden tofu was fried with a tasty breading, similar to that found for fish sticks, oh so crunchy and good. The lemonade was refreshing and sweetly sour. Its also noted that the dishes are all arranged beautifully, which David chimes in is not unintentional in order to encourage more people to try it, because they might just like it afterwards.

The food is pretty cheap and also pretty good here, minus the sometimes overly strong messages to convert to the Loving Hut religion and/or cult. Some people call it a cult but I don’t see much diference between this and any other religion, they’re just people trying to do good in the world.

As Brian Feldman begins his conquest of the Loving Hut Menu, I watch on and wish him good luck. The items on there do look delicious, especially when you know you are saving the world one step at a time.

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Supreme Master Ching Hai watches over us like a mother, a all seeing all powerful supreme mother

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Albert Einstein: beautiful and smart, and vegetarian. Why aren’t you?

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Complimentary starter soup: delicious and fresh

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Lemon juice drink: sip sip
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Golden Tofu (small), crispy and fresh. yummy..

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Brian Feldman’s meal…whoa

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Brian and David, Loving Hut’s owner

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Thanking the audience

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not your standard fortune cookie

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oh hey its a message from Supreme Master Ching Hai

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Enjoy!

Tasty Chomps rating!!!!
4 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!!

Loving Hut on Urbanspoon

Sweet Tomatoes – International Drive

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I always thought Sweet Tomatoes was a buffet for wussies because who goes to a all you can eat place to eat healthy and to eat greens, and do they only sell tomatoes? My perception changed however after my first experience at the salad buffet restaurant on the NE corner of International Drive and Kirkman Road.

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When you first enter Sweet Tomatoes, you will notice the long salad bar in front of you with a sign above showing you the pricing. For $8.19 the price is pretty good for all you can eat for an adult and even cheaper for children, making it an ideal healthy family friendly place to go. After you go through the line picking up your items, you pay at the register at the end.

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The Salad Bar

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I put a lot of pasta in my salad.

The salad bar itself has a mind boggling variety of assorted salad toppings and greens and it was kept pretty fresh that day because of the crowd of people there (I assume they were tourists visiting Orlando).

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Meatball soup

In addition to salads, Sweet Tomatoes also has soups and a bakery filled with baked goodies. I particularly enjoyed their meatball soup, a rich savory soup with rice, veggies, and small succulent balls of meat that just burst with tender goodness. They also have vegan soups for the vegetarians out there.

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Fettucini pasta and tomato based pasta

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I tried the chicken soup and it was kind of bland, a little too watery and the chicken was a little too tasteless.

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Cornbread was fresh out of the oven!

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Dessert at Sweet Tomatoes was also delicious, they had chocolate brownies and a unique tasty muffin top, complete with self serve soft serve ice cream.

The service was good as well and the elderly man who took care of us was kind. He asked us if we wanted to get discounts next time and free food by signing up for their email program too.

Overall I was satisfied with my experience with Sweet Tomatoes and I know where to go if I am in a salad mood, but also for a place with endless soups, pastas, and desserts for cheap!

Tasty Chomps rating!!!!
4 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!

Sweet Tomatoes
(407) 363-1690
6877 S Kirkman Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
www.souplantation.com

Sweet Tomatoes on Urbanspoon

Dessert Truck – East Village – New York City

Dessert Truck
East Village, Manhattan
St Marks Place and 3rd Avenue
Sunday July 20th 2009 – 10:10PM
twitter.com/desserttruck

It is a late night. We decide to head our to St Marks Place to go foodie hopping. Joining me on this trip are brothers from the St Johns University, University of South Florida, and University of Florida. We pack into two cars and head out from Flushing to the City.

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When we got to East Village and parked, Lo and behold in front of me parked is the mythical Dessert Truck, the stuff of twitter legends and rumors of postings popularized in Orlando on the blog thedailycity.com. I was happy to try it out and quickly crossed the street with about 10 of us following behind with another group of about 4 on the way.

According to their site,

DessertTruck is a mobile food concept based in the heart of New York City. We bring
desserts from the world of fine-dining into the realm of everyday enjoyment. At our
mobile food truck, there’s no BS, no pretension. Just really good desserts.

I approached the Dessert Truck and noticed that they were sold out of their offerings besides their New York cheesecake and the Molten Dark Chocolate Cake. I decide to pick the dark chocolate cake ($6) and it came out quickly in a paper cup, topped with vanilla ice cream, hazel nuts, sea salt and with a olive oil and chocolatey center.

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Molten Dark Chocolate Cake

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Molten Dark Chocolate Cake

I let Romel, a brother from the University of South Florida, have a taste and he asks me immediately, “what just happened in my mouth?”

The chocolate melted warm, the ice creamy cool of the vanilla, the hazel nut crunch, all come together to dance on our tastebuds in the warm New York summer night.

“It’s good isn’t it?” I replied.

He nodded in agreement.

Follow them on twitter!
twitter.com/desserttruck

A taxi drove by, and the guy looked like Andrew haha

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but it wasn’t as Andrew drives a antique BMW, running on vegetable oil!

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we continue our way to ippudo but it is closed again ! we just missed it

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We continue our path towards Continental bar, where you can find $10 for 5 shots of anything. ANYTHING.

Dessert Truck on Urbanspoon

Ichi Umi – All you can eat Sushi

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Ichi Umi is a few blacks past Korea town on West 32nd Street. It is an all you can eat sushi and assorted Asian dish buffet. I would rank this place among the best buffets that I have been to due to the sheer vastness of their menu and the decent quality of their food. As we know, buffets are a bit of a bastardized form of dining where the waitresses are only there to clean your empty plates and refill your drinks and all the food that you want is already sitting there, waiting. The food is good only if it gets busy because its guaranteed to be fresh, and packed it was at Ichi Umi.

It was about 6:30 pm at this point and when I entered the sushi restaurant i had very little recollection of Ichi Umi except:

-Good company with alumni brothers from all over the East Coast, if its one thing bros love, its food and lots of it, usually via buffet format
-Wow this place is huge
-Wow this place got packed quick after 8
-Wow lobster fried rice?? is that allowed??
-Our waitress is pretty kewl, but she is engaged she tells us…

haha….

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shumai dumplings, a cousin of the chinese shu mai of the same name

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lobster fried rice …??

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Tuna tartar

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Calamari

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Soba noodles

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Masago/ Fish roe

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Sushi!

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Sushi on my plate

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Desserts!

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Desserts!!

no more food please i must rest

Overall, Ichi Umi was a good buffet.

Tasty Chomps!!!
4 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!

Ichi Umi on Urbanspoon

Koreatown – Woorijip and Mandoo Bar – New York City

After Gray’s Papaya, we hop on the subway to head north towards Midtown where we will meet up with a few alumni for a summer dinner at the all you can eat sushi buffet at Ichi Umi (formerly Todai) in Koreatown. It is around 5 pm at this point on Friday July 18 2009. Five hours of eating and we won’t stop, can’t stop. Although Andrew is in a food comatose state, we are still truckin!
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Woorijip, Korean all purpose quickie food store.

Along the way we stop by a couple places including Woorijip, a fast food convenience store for Korean food. I stepped inside to check it out and was delighted to find what was within.

Woorijip is basically formated as a open grocery store where you can by pre-made Korean staples. Including:

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A glorious display case of alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages.

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People scuttling about and wondering what they’d like to get?

Cheap, fast, all you can stuff down Korean bibimbap, kimchi, bulgogi, korean goodies everywhere! No wonder Woorijip was the winner in Midtownlunch.com‘s Best Cheap Korean.

A few doors down was a dumpling place that had been on several books and lists, however I found it to be disappointing!..gah.

Mandoo Bar
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Located in Koreatown, Manhattan on West 32nd Street, Mandoo Bar is almost a strictly dumpling place. At the window, elderly ladies dutifully fold pork fillings into the dumpling skin and get them ready to steam right at the counter.

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These ladies showcase their goods: Mandoo or Korean dumplings.

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The dumplings are color coded: these are seafood dumplings.

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The flavors range from kimchi to pork to vegetables. I was disappointed to find that I couldn’t get a small mix of all three to go, and so had to settle with just the pork dumplings.

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Yellow pickled radish from Mandoo Bar

The pork dumplings, compared to Prosperity Dumpling‘s were abysmal. The skin was too thick for my liking and the pork meat was a bit bland. To top it off the dumplings cost about $6.00 for 5. I could have had better dumplings for a fifth of that cost in Chinatown…

The last time we were in Koreatown, we ate at BCD Tofu House which had ten times more amazing mandoo (dumplings).

Maybe I am spoiled by all the dumplings I have had the good fortune to try during my years. But its not that hard to do it well and if half your name is about the meat/veggie filled dumplings, it better be damn good.

Sad to say it but Mandoo bar was not to par.

Woorijip on Urbanspoon

Mandoo Bar on Urbanspoon

Gray’s Papaya – Hot dogs – New York City

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This is a funny sign outside a restaurant on our way through East Village. CHOMP.

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Veselka, recommended by fellow blogger Watch Me Eat, specializes in Ukrainian cuisine and is the spot for late night snacking by East Village bar patrons. The prerogies were recommended here but we were still recuperating from the past 4 hours of eating, so I must place this on the to-go-list for my next trip to New York.

Looking around East Village, I appreciate and cherish the sheer diversity and complexity of all the stores, shops, restaurants, and people living and working here together in one small area no larger than a square mile. I wish one day Orlando could become like this, full of quirky shops and tasty treats all in walking distance of each other. Maybe one day…

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Baoguette, a nouveau Vietnamese food place


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Baoguette, inside

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Crepe Cart in NYC!

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Beard Papa’s – pastry puffs – found its way to NYC as well!

I continued my thoughts as we trodded down to St Marks Place, the late night bar hopping area of choice for New York University and surrounding college students, and met up with brother Ronny. He just got off of work and had been trying to catch up with us on our food expedition, but missed us by a few seconds each time.

After a quick pit stop at a cafe, we drudged onward to our next destination:

Gray’s Papaya
West Village, Manhattan NYC

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Gray’s Papaya, opening as a spin off of Papaya King in 1973, sits on a corner in Greenwich Village, Manhattan.

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The festive displays inside Gray’s Papaya

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Gray’s Papaya and their Hot dogs: ready to eat!

Gray’s Papaya is a simple concept: great hotdogs with great fruit drinks. The drinks, in addition to the papaya namesake, also include orange, grape, piña colada, coconut champagne (non-alcoholic), and banana daiquiri (non-alcoholic).

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The wall of fruit drinks at Gray’s Papaya

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Gray’s Papaya – Hot Dog with sauerkraut and ketchup

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Gray’s Papaya – Hot Dog with sauerkraut and ketchup

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Gray’s Papaya – Papaya drink

I choose the hot dog with sauerkraut and ketchup ($1.50) and a papaya drink to go along with it (Thanks Ronny!). Individually, the hot dog is a bit salty and the papaya drink is a bit too sweet, but together they make a marvelously good combination of sweet and salty. The combo is cheap coming in under $4.00 and there is even a recession special where you can save a dollar on two hotdogs and a drink.

Gray’s Papaya
402 6th Ave, New York – (212) 260-3532

Tasty Chomps rating!!!
4 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!!

Gray's Papaya - Downtown on Urbanspoon

Artichoke – Pizza – New York City

Artichoke Basille’s Pizza & Brewery
East Village, Manhattan NYC
Friday July 18 2009
4:06 PM

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When we arrived, our friend told us that he was surprised because usually there is a line out the door at Artichoke, even at 2 am at night there is a line. We took the clue and decided to get in line, and shortly thereafter a small crowd grew behind us. The pizza must be damn good here.

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Interesting Light fixture inside

The storefront is small and minimal, with pizza ovens taking up most of the space in the cramped store and pizza pies on display in the front in a glass case. The ceilings are a deep, dark red ceramic tile from the old world, giving the place a feeling of being from another time.

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We order the signature artichoke and spinach pizza ($4) and the pizza maker swiftly places it in the oven and under 2 minutes the pizza is ready for us. This is a first time with artichoke on a pizza for me. My brother Andrew is wimping out and could only take a bite of pizza, after our long journey I guess I could understand. A man can only humanly take so much. good thing i have a super human appetite. chomp.

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The cheeses are creamy on the pizza and thick sauce that they use with some parmesan as well as mozarella. The artichoke is a hearty tasting veggie topping and went excellent on top of the pizza along with the spinach. The crust is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, a tasty buttery, garlicky, flavorful bite. My one complaint may be that the pizza crust is a little bit too hard and too thick, if it was a little bit thinner it would be perfect.

Easily one of the best pizzas I have ever had and so much better than the rest.

Tasty Chomps rating!!!!
4.6 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!!

Artichoke Basille’s Pizza & Brewery
Neighborhood: East Village
328 E 14th Street
(between 1st Ave & 2nd Ave)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 228-2004
http://www.artichokepizza.com/

Artichoke Basille’s Pizza & Brewery on Urbanspoon

Casey’s Grill – Ribs – Winter Springs

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Casey’s Grill
Winter Springs, FL

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I drove by Casey’s Grill for lunch the other day and decided to try out their ribs, proclaimed as the best ribs in Winter Springs. Are they? we shall see…

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Inside, Casey’s is a minimal alehouse-like sports bar joint, a dive for wings and beers most likely.

I order the half rack of ribs with cole slaw and mashed potatos!

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The slaw was ok not the greatest, not the most fresh and had too much pepper?

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I did not like the mashed potatoes as they tasted powdery

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The ribs here however were really good, tangy and falling right off the bone. Succulent and moist.

Overall the ribs were good but the sides were disappointingly in need of improvement.

Tasty chomps rating!!!
3 out of 5 tasty chompsss

Casey's Grill on Urbanspoon

Casey’s Grill
(407) 696-0533
1335 Tuskawilla Rd
Winter Springs, FL 32708

Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar

Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar
East Village, Manhattan NYC

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Heading north towards 13th Street on 2nd Avenue, our merry band of merry foodies head towards another dessert place after Veneiro’s pastry shop: the Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar (which we later found out is attached to the Momofuku Ssam bar restaurant).

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Inside, there are a few bar tables set up in the center of the room and display cases with pies and goodies framing the sides. On one of the walls is a photo of a man, who we found out is a pastry chef and a performance artist, fighting a mechanical fire breathing dragon machine. Nice.

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Also, our good friend and a kind of mystical guide on our gastronomical journey reappeared here at Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar: Mr Sriracha sauce. He’s all over this place, no doubt a dose for their famed pork buns ($9).

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Lemon Verbana soft serve ice cream

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There are also soft serve ice cream here but not your typical flavors like vanilla, but rather, home made rosemary, apricot, lemon verbana (a tart, smooth soft-serve), and blackberry. They give out one free sample for each guest and of course, since they insist, we must oblige. 😀

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Crack Pie: it’s addicting.

There are various original pies at Momofuku Bakery and Milk bar such as the candy bar pie, made with chocolate crust, caramel, peanut butter nougat, and pretzels. We order the crack pie ($5), described as a toasted oat crust with gooey butter filling

The pastry pie is savory and buttery rich, deep in the sweet-o-meter yet not overly sweet. Its like your taste buds were jolted with a high intensity dose of brown sugary pastry goodness.

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Milk to wash it all down!

We also found that attached by a hallway to Momofuku Bakery and milk bar is the momofuku ssam bar, but they were closed at that time around 3:30pm because they had to get ready to re-open again for dinner at 5PM.

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Momofuku Ssam Bar

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We walked out and I took this shot of the concrete jungle of New York City, a juxtaposition of abandoned lot overgrown with greens against the backdrop of concrete East Village apartment buildings. Here, life grows.

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We walked down further and turned a corner to stumble upon Ippudo, the Japanese Ramen Shop that was on my list but it too was closed for the afternoon to reopen again later for dinner. =

Tasty Chomps rating!!!!
4 out 5 TASTY CHOMPS !!!!

Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar
207 Second Avenue, New York NY 10003
(on 13th Street; map)
212-254-3500

Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar on Urbanspoon

Veneiro’s Pastry Shop – Desserts – New York City

Veniero’s Pasticcceria & Caffe

Veneiro’s Pastry Shop – Desserts – New York City
East Village, Manhattan, NYC
Friday July 18 2009
2:55PM

We left Katz Deli full and satisfied and began to walk back to 1st Avenue, turning north towards East Village. There we would meet one of Andrew’s old friends from Stuyvesant High School who recently graduated from Fordham University and lived in the area.

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Bras strewn across Coyote Ugly’s doorway, lost or left here?

We walked and passed by Coyote Ugly on the way, the original Coyote Ugly, the one the movie was based on, filled with its tales of drunken late night mischief. We passed by and wondered what went on there at night (Andrew himself had been with a friend or two before and reminsced about an awkward moment there).

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We met up with Andrew’s friend and quickly saw Veneiro’s Pastry Shop nearby and we couldn’t pass up the prospect of savoring a dessert after 6 meals already. Sweet surrender.

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Veneiro’s Display case of pastry goodies

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Veneiro’s Pastry Shop, a relic of Italian cafe’s past, founded in 1894 over 115 years ago here in East Village, would become our 7th food item on our hitlist today. It was approximately 2:55pm and 3 hours into our food binging New York experiment.

Inside, the dimly lit pastry shop showcased its pastry goodies from homemade cannoli to cheesecakes to pignoli cookies, tiramisus, specialty cakes and carrot cakes, this place is dessert paradise.

The girl behind the counter was courteous and kind, giving us suggestions and various tips on what to get. I was cautious but my friends must have been under a spell.

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We had a delicious cannoli topped with green colored pistachios, a perfect creamy cheesecake topped with strawberries, and a heavenly raspberry mousse tart /cake. All were scrumptious and savory morsels of Italian pastries.

Tasty Chomps rating!!!!
4.5 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!

Veniero’s Pastry Shop
www.venierospastry.com
342 E 11th St
New York, NY 10003-7417
(212) 674-7070

Veniero's Pasticceria & Caffe' on Urbanspoon

Katz’s Delicatessen – Pastrami Sandwich – New York City

New York Foodie Adventure
Part 6 of ….

Katz’s Delicatessen
Lower East Side
Manhattan, New York City
205 E Houston St
New York, NY 10002-1098
(212) 254-2246
www.katzdeli.com

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1888

Friday July 18 2009
2:01 PM

When I asked what was the one thing that I should eat when I came to New York, the almost unequivocable answer to quintessential New York food was the “best pastrami sandwich ever”, the pastrami sandwich at Katz Deli on the Lower East Side.

Many delicatessens have come and gone, but Katz Deli is one of the only left standing after more than a hundred years of existence and still has that old-world feel in its dining halls. This Jewish kosher deli, started in 1888, grew famous for its salami during World War II and its slogan “senda salami to your boy in the army.”

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Chaos at Katz Deli

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Lunch time clusterf***

Stepping inside Katz Deli is overwhelming at first: noisy crowds of people are lined up throughout the fluorescent-lit cafeteria-like room along the long deli counter, waiting to order, the boys behind the counter shouting about in the typical street-wise New York fashion. A chaotic world of deli mayhem and delights.

Passing through a turnstile, we receive a ticket at the entrance, which we are reminded not to lose as they were used for marking our orders on and would cost us $50.00 if we lose them. The staff obsessed about these tickets. The tickets are turned in at the register when you leave and used to calculate your bill.

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Noticing the mayhem at the deli counter service, we decided to sit down by the wall where there was waiter service. I know its not the authentic way to eat at Katz, where you go up to the cutter (meat man) at the counter and place a dollar and tell him what you want and he trims it right there for you, but I really didn’t feel like waiting in that long line today. Service here however, is not the fine dining type but rather the curt, somewhat gritty “what do you want?” type attitude of the city. That was fine as we simply ordered our pastrami sandwich ($14.95) and it was quickly delivered to our table along with a side of pickles.

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In addition to old photographs throughout the 120 year history of Katz and celebrities who have visited the deli, there is a sign dangling above the seat where you can sit where Meg Ryan infamously demonstrated her “acting” skills in the film “When Harry Met Sally.” Still today, thousands of tourists to New York City drop by every week to Katz Deli to “have what she’s having.”

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In addition to their pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, Katz is also known for having some of the best hot dogs in the city, including the knoblewurst, having won several awards from New York magazines for the grilled, cheap delights. Each week, Katz’s serves 5,000 pounds of corned beef, 2,000 pounds of salami and 12,000 hot dogs in addition to chopped liver and tongue servings.

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Pastrami Sandwich at Katz Deli – divine.

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A mountainous heaping of juicy brined briskets of black pepper coated pastrami, hand sliced, gently smoked with a smear of mustard and placed between two slices of rye bread . The sandwich was luscious and generous: I understand why it is ranked among the best in the world. Stick with this and that’s all that you’ll need at Katz.

I was also happy to mark Katz off as the 2nd place I have visited on Anthony Bourdain’s List of “13 places to eat before you die.”

Tasty Chomps rating!!!!
4.5 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS

Katz's Deli on Urbanspoon

The scene in When Harry Met Sally at Katz Deli on youtube:


[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-bsf2x-aeE]

Russ and Daughters – Lox, Cream Cheese, and Bagel – New York City

New York Foodie Adventure Part 5 of …

Russ and Daughters
Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City
Friday July 18th 2009
1:26pm

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I had first heard of Russ and Daughters from a recent episode on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations “Disappearing Manhattan” on the Travel Channel. I knew I had to check it out when I hit New York City this last weekend after seeing and reading about their bagel, cream cheese, and lox. Little did I know the epiphanies and delights that were really in store at this “appetizing store”, one of the best things I have eaten in my life.

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Dried Fruits at Russ and Daughters

Russ and Daughters is a New York City institution (it’s even featured as a part of New York’s cultural heritage by the Smithsonian Institution and in the national registry of historic places). It has been on the block in the Lower East Side for almost a hundred years (1914) beginning from its humble beginnings out of a push cart and has since then began to faithfully and dutifully serve and specialize in excellent caviar, smoked and cured fish, dried fruit, and other items. Their storefront is situated just a few doors away from Katz’ Delicatessen on the south side of Houston Street. The feeling of pure peace and tranquility when we entered the store offered a stark contrast to the loud carnival atmosphere of Katz Deli later on.

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Assorted Cheese Display at Russ and Daughters

Stepping into the Russ and Daughters store is like stepping back decades into an old-world class establishment. The walls feature their caviar in tin cans, dried fruits in glass jars, and their glass deli cases display vast varieties of smoked and cured salmon, fish, and cream cheeses.

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Assorted Bagels at Russ and Daughters
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Wasabi infused Flying Fish Roe? Got to try that next time.
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The men working behind the counter are dressed in white lab coats, like surgeons meticulously and skillfully slicing and examining the highest quality of smoked fish cuts.

We picked up a number (it can get busy at times here in the small storefront) and luckily didn’t have to wait too long for our turn. My brother Andrew and I were relatively new at this ordering lox and bagel thing and so we asked the gentleman at the counter what he would recommend: the scallion cream cheese, everything bagel, and the nova lox. The total came to about $9.45.

When we stepped outside to enjoy our bagel on the bench overlooking the park, we noticed that the door had a recently laminated Anthony Bourdain article on the “13 Places to Eat at in the world before you die” from Men’s Health magazine. Russ and Daughters was featured at number 8 and I was glad to have enjoyed this place at least once in my life before I died.

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The everything bagel is a soft bagel with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion, etc and is good, maybe not the best but still a good bagel. The scallion cream cheese was rich and creamy, tasty. The traditional gaspe nova lox is a rich, oily, slightly salted yet smooth tasting, smoked salmon that just melted in our mouths. Together the bagel, cream cheese, and nova lox were completely divine and absolutely delicious.

The rich yet mild taste lingered on my tongue, tantalizing my senses and enlightening my tastebuds to the point of a taste-nirvana. Mind-blowing.

The face of Manhattan may have changed over the last hundred years or so but the traditions and commitment of Russ and Daughters remains strong still today. We sit on the bench outside a little longer, savoring the flavors that we had just experienced in our mouths and watching the New York City streetscape pass by and enjoying life.

Next time, I will also try their herring fillets in cream sauce as I have heard that those are a specialty here at Russ and Daughters as well.

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Russ and Daughters: Nova Lox and scallion cream cheese and everything bagel
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Russ and Daughters: Nova Lox and scallion cream cheese and everything bagel
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Russ and Daughters: Nova Lox and scallion cream cheese and everything bagel

Tasty Chomps RATING!!!!!
5 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!!!

Next up: Katz’ Delicatessan (just a few doors down!).

Russ & Daughters on Urbanspoon

Tuck Shop – Australian Meat Pies – NYC

New York City Foodie Adventure Day 2 Part 4 of …. –

Tuck Shop near Houston St in East Village

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After our experience with the first pizzeria in America at Lombardi’s, we were noticeably slower in our pace as we continued our way up Mott Street to Houston St (pronounced How-ston). I think the dumplings, banh mi, and the coal-oven pizza were starting to take its toll on us, but we continued our gastronomical expedition and reached Tuck Shop, a small hole-in-the-wall dive near the NW corner Houston St and 1st Ave in Manhattan’s East Village.

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Inside, the Tuck Shop looks like a perfect place to go for a late-night snack after a night of heavy drinking: darkly lit and cluttered, a single glass display case of the delicious Australian meat pies along the wall. The owner at the shop is Australian who appears as though he may had just waken up, still sleepy no doubt from a busy debaucherous night before.

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After looking over the menu of beef pies, curry chicken pies, sausage rolls and more, we decide on the lamb and veg meat pie ($5).

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Not Mrs Lovett’s Meat Pies: But The Lamb and Veg Meat Pie at Tuck Shop

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Lamb and Veg Pie: Up Close and Personal

The homemade puffy, buttery pastry is filled with creamy lamb meat chunks, potatoes, and other good veggies. I thought the crust was excellent as well as the creamy texture of the fillings. However I did notice a bit of a lack of flavor but what’s this?…….

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Our trusty friend Mr Sriracha has made a appearance again, this time at Tuck Shop, returning to our aide with his good friend Mr Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce.

A dose of both of these bad boys helped the meat pies out alot and the result was just delicious.

The Tuck Shop was also featured in New York Magazine’s Best of Cheap Eats 2006.

Tuck Shop
68 E 1st St, New York, NY? – (212) 979-5200?
http://www.tuckshopnyc.com/home.php

Tasty Chomps Rating!!!
3 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!

As soon as we finished our tasty meat pie morsels, we were off and onward toward our next destination: Russ and Daughter’s for their famous and divine nova lox and bagel.

Tuck Shop on Urbanspoon

New York Adventure Day 2 Part 3 of … Lombardi’s Pizza

Lombardi’s Pizza in New York City’s Little Italy

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Luckily after finishing up our banh mi from Banh Mi Saigon, we didn’t have too far to go as our next destination was only a few blocks away past the fruit vendors and gucci prada bags of Chinatown and into Little Italy for Lombardi’s, the “first” official pizzeria to open in America.

Lombardi’s Pizza in New York City is widely known and recognized for popularizing pizza the way we know it today. Recently, the New York Magazine did a time line special of the pizza through time in 104 years of Pizza in New York in their Cheap Eats of 2009 issue.

1890s: With the influx of Neapolitan immigrants comes pizza sold on the streets. Unlike those from the old country, these are super-size specimens baked in coal-fired (not wood-fired) ovens

1905: Gennaro Lombardi’s grocery store at 53 1/2 Spring St. becomes first licensed pizzeria in America. Eventually recruits pizzaioli Anthony “Totonno” Pero, John Sasso, and Pasquale “Patsy” Lancieri. Cost of pie: a nickel.

Though the current Lombardi’s is down the street from the original, there is still a continuum of sorts dating back to the original Lombardi’s. Over a hundred years of pizza history? I’ve got to check it out.

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As we walked up on Mott Street approaching Spring Street, I noticed on the corner a huge mural of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa greeting us with a pizza pie and smiling, letting us know that we are “here at Lombardi’s”.

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The reason why Mona Lisa smiles? Lombardi’s Pizza in her hands duh
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There is a plaque: it must be true ?

There was a line of people waiting for the dining room area, but that was okay since we were on a mission and had to keep moving. We told the hostess that we wanted to get take out and she told us to head towards the back and make a right and then a left to order, right where the pizza oven was! What a surprise that our adventure led us into the Lombardi’s coal oven room, where pizza makers were hard at work putting their classic pizza creations together.

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The Dining Room at Lombardi’s Pizza

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Lombardi’s Coal Ovens for Pizza making

We were recommended by the man at the register to get the pepperoni as it is delicious here, and so we ordered a small personal pizza half pepperoni and half plain margarita (cheese and tomatoes) (about$18). It is important to note that they do not sell pizza by the slice here only by the pie made fresh to order.

We wait for our pizzas at the bar and enjoy a nice cold glass of Yeungling beer (it’s actually German American not Chinese) straight from the tap. The beer was cool and refreshing, as the sun had been steadily getting warmer outside and we needed a drink from the trek. Bad Idea, since it filled us up quite a bit and probably slowed us down a bit (but it was a good beer nevertheless).

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Hello Mr Yeungling

Soon, the dining room’s waiting area filled up to the brim. I was glad that we were in the bar area and had placed our orders already to go. The pizza arrived and we downed our drinks before stepping outside to sit on another stoop to behold the famous pizza in our hands.

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Pizza Box
The pizza came in six slices with a flat crust, slighty charred and smoky from the coal oven pizza. The pizza had fresh mozzarella, a red tomato sauce, fresh basil and on half the pizza were the little circular quarter pieces of pepperoni. It is important to note that the pizza, like all the pizza made here in New York is said to have a distinct light tasty goodness because they use the New York City tap water.

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Lombardi’s The First Pizza in America!!

The pizza I thought was good, not the worst ever by far but not the best I ever had. The cheese was fresh but tasted a bit bland and the tomato sauce was a bit watery causing the crust to moisten and soggify. The pepperoni pieces on the pizza however was excellent, crunchy and spiced to a savory crisp satisfying the tastebuds.

Overall, it was okay but definitely a bit too hyped up. It is a good pizza, and it may be the first pizza, but it wasn’t the greatest.

With a pizza box carton half full, we proceed onward to our next stop: The Tuck Shop, a Australian Meat Pie shop.

Tasty Chomps Rating!!!!
3.5 out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!

Lombardi's on Urbanspoon

New York Adventure – Day 2 – Part 2 of … Banh Mi Saigon Bakery

Friday July 18th 2009
12:01 pm

We leave Prosperity Dumpling and head north towards Banh Mi Saigon Bakery on Mott Street. We are conducting a drive-by eating of sorts.

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You may have to do a double take when arriving at Banh Mi Saigon Bakery, because I did. I saw the sign awning above that showed its name but at first glance inside I thought it was a jewelry store!(?) Looking deeper into the store I find the Banh Mi Saigon stall all the way in the back, with a line of customers in waiting for their order of delicious sandwiches. Ah, the banh mi sandwich, quintessential street food of Vietnam, popular here in New York City as ever especially ever since the New York Times article on them and their recent “evolution”.

On the front door, there is a sticker stating that Banh Mi Saigon is on the list for comedian “Bill Murray’s Last Meal”. I know I am in for a treat at this point and there is no turning back.

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The Jewelry Store / Banh Mi Sandwich Shop – a interesting symbiotic relationship similar to the idea of the mullet: “business in the front, and party in the back.”

While in line, we were advised by a gentleman that they are renown for their #1 Banh Mi Saigon with pork (it seems the number 1 is almost always a good choice). I take his advice and order it for me and brother Andrew. They ask you if you like it spicy and I often reply no and ask for it on the side. If you tell them that you will eat it tomorrow, they will put the picked veggies in a separate bag for you so it won’t soak the sandwich overnight. At only $3.75, this banh mi is a steal here in Manhattan and also a great value as the sandwich comes in about 10 inches long on a baguette.

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Inside, the small store is filled with people waiting for their orders. I am guessing they take meticulous care of their sandwiches, like sushi chefs do, sort of?. While we wait, I notice the other items for sale here including gio cuon -Vietnamese spring rolls – and salads, che pudding desserts, as well as other small to go items.

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This lady wonders, how long is it going to take for a banh mi here? sheesh…

After about 10 minutes in line, we finally receive our sandwich wrapped in wax paper inside a brown paper bag and cut in half. If you order this for yourself you can eat the first half and save the other half for a late afternoon snack if you’d like.

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“How cute, jalapeno peppers in a little baggie”

We decided to go outside and sit out in front of the store on a stoop, watching people walk by as we enjoyed our sandwiches.

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a group of school children on their way somewhere

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The banh mi saigon sandwiches are beckoning us to eat them

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A Di-section of Banh Mi

I immediately notice that the banh mi saigon has sweet reddish crumbled pieces of dried marinated pork (nem nuong) on the bottom layer, with hints of fish sauce, something that is not found in any of the banh mi shops in Orlando. Usually there is the banh mi dac biet in Orlando which is a special combo of all the cold cuts, but the banh mi saigon is served with cha lua and also this pork

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Andrew is the hand model for our photo shoot today with this banh mi.

Andrew notes that he loves how fresh everything is and how distinct each of the tastes in the sandwich is. This is his first time eating banh mi, I think I just popped his banh mi cherry, and he likes it. Andrew notices also that the way they keep the pickled daikon and carrots from soaking through the sandwich is that they wrapped it inside of the cha lua pork meat cold cut to block the juices from seeping through.

This scintillating sandwich is one of the top five banh mi I have had in my life, beating all the banh mi in Orlando for sure and rivaling a few out west in Texas and California (as about close to Vietnam that you can get). The crisp outer layer and soft inner bread of the baguette, the fresh slivers of cucumber and pickled vegetables and meat cuts with a hint of fish sauce, all come together in perfect harmony. All is well in the universe.

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It was well worth the wait. Alas, we can’t sit around for too long as we have miles to go before we let our stomachs sleep. Onward to Lombardi’s, the famous pizzeria!

Tasty Chomps Rating!!!!
4.5 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!!

Banh Mi Saigon Bakery on Urbanspoon

New York City Food Adventure – Day 2 Part I of … – Prosperity Dumplings

Friday July 17 2009
St Johns House – Flushing, Queens – 10:30 AM
I wake up and realize that it literally feels like sweaty balls in the room, looking around at my friends and remembering that most houses in New York have no central cooling, only central heating for air conditioning. It’s okay as I am used to the feeling of sweaty balls in Florida.

Today I will embark on a grand gastronomical journey into the inner intestine of Manhattan. I am dropped off at Main Street and Roosevelt in Flushing by my brother Victor Yin of Stonybrook University (who joins the crew at East Palace for dim sum). There on the corner I meet up with brother Andrew Kayserian of Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute, who is of Armenian descent and lives a few blocks away on Northern Boulevard. On our trip a few years ago, Andrew was the one who opened his basement for us to live in for a few days, all 8 of us on a fold up futon, and a place where I will forever remember his mother’s home made sausages. A graduate of Stuyvesant High School, Andrew is familiar with Manhattan but himself has never had a lot of the items on the list today and decided to join me on this epic journey. Good food always calls for good company. Besides, it’s no fun to eat alone!

The Plan
After making a mega list and google map of the places that I wanted to try out, mostly of cheap eats, we decide to start in the Chinatown area after getting off the Chinatown Van ($2.50) from Flushing to Catherine Street in Chinatown. From there we will walk up Eldridge St, up Mott St, Across Houston St, Up 1st Ave, and then all around East village. Its a plan partially planned and partially left up to the fates and the capacity of our tummies.

Tips
Don’t wear sandals like I did because you will get blisters from all the walking. Maybe it is better to wear sneakers. Dress light as it is hot and humid (think sweaty balls) in New York during the summer. Also, bring lots of cash: all the cheap places take cash only, even some of the not so cheap places take cash only, so bring cash! Also it is a plus to have an I-phone and the yelp app to search and detect where you are along the journey. Make sure you go with a friend or two, preferably two but no more than 4 as it can get cumbersome with too many people. Remember you are on a mission.

First Stop:
Prosperity Dumplings
, 46 Eldridge St # 1
11:45AM

After taking the quick Chinatown van from Flushing, we hop off at Eldridge St and head north. Around us, Chinatown, after over 100 years of existence, is alive and kicking with fresh fruit markets and bakeries and all the fake chanel and louis vuitton bags hidden in back alleys you could ask for.

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If you walk too fast, you just might miss Prosperity Dumplings where you can find the delectable items listed on the “Best of Cheap Eats 2009” list by the New York magazine.

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There is not much to this store front operation: the decor is minimal and there are only 3 seats by the window and plastic utensils for wares. A hole within a hole in the wall, where sometimes the best foods in the world can be found.

For here they serve 5 pork filled dumplings for $1.00 ! What the heosauce?

We order one and it serves as an appetizer for the beginning of our trip.

The gentleman behind the counter quickly opens a wok and plops 5 out for us on a styrofoam plate.

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stupid bloggers

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the chef at work: whisk off a top and voila!

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The dumplings are fried and crispy on the bottom yet soft from the top. The skin is slightly chewy and tasty, the pork and chived fillings are savory and delectable. Not bad for $1.00, I would say even better than some dumplings I’ve had for five times that amount.

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Here as many places around Manhattan, I observe the reach of the California based spicy red sauce known as Sriracha aka the spicy Rooster sauce. This is the first of many times we will meet the Rooster along our trip. We add a dab to spice up our dumplings.

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Tasty Chomps rating!!!!
4 out of 5 Tasty chomps !!!!

Prosperity Dumpling on Urbanspoon

After our last bite of the dumplings, we get up and continue our journey up through Chinatown to get our next New York fix: the Vietnamese sub sandwich aka Banh Mi at Banh Mi Saigon on Mott St and Grand.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill “Mix it up for MDA” Event – July 30th Thurs

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Carrabba’s Italian Grill “Mix it up for MDA” Charity Event

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What: “Mix it Up for MDA” Event, a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
When: Thursday, July 30thfrom 5 p.m. to close
Cost: $15 a person

Admission includes a sampling of four food items from the new Mr. C’s Bar Menu and, for guests 21 years and older, one of three signature cocktails (Blackberry Lemonade, the Italian Lemon Drop or Blackberry Fields Martini) or another drink on the Mr. C’s list. In addition to monies raised from event admission, Carrabba’s also will donate $1 to MDA for each of the three signature drinks sold from July 30 – August 6. Check it out!!

Where:

(407) 888-2727 1001 Sandlake Rd., Orlando, FL 32809
(407) 355-7277 5701 Vineland Road, Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 938-0015 8702 Vineland Ave., Orlando, FL 32821

To find other Carrabba’s locations near you, visit http://carrabbas.com/locator.aspx

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Recipes

Blackberry Fields

1 ½ oz Stolichnaya
1 ¾ oz Sweet and Sour
½ oz Monin Blackberry Sangria
4 mint leaves
Combine ingredients and shake well.
Serve in a martini glass.
Garnish with a blackberry and mint leaf on a cocktail pick.

Blackberry Lemonade

1 oz Stolichnaya
1 oz Sweet and Sour
¾ oz Monin Blackberry Sangria
Splash of soda.
Build in a highball glass.
Stir and garnish with a blackberry and lemon wedge on a cocktail pick.

Italian Lemon Drop

1 oz Stolichnaya
1 oz Limoncello
¾ oz Cointreau
1 ¼ oz Sweet and Sour
Combine ingredients and shake well.
Serve in a martini glass.
Garnish with a lemon wedge.

New York City Food Adventure – Night 1

New York City, the city that never sleeps, the city that keeps moving, a gritty city full of millionaires and beggars, of street meat vendors and world-class dining, a beautiful “movable feast”. This isn’t my first time in New York, but it would be the first time for me there on a mission: to enjoy and taste the tastes of New York within the days that I am in NYC for business.

During my first trip to New York in 2006, my senses were immediately overwhelmed upon entering the city: the lingering pungent smell of hundreds of years of American civilization, the cacophonous sounds of car horns and the clatter of the subway on the train tracks, the push of millions of people shuffling through the streets, all came together to sucker punch me in the eyes, ears, nose and skin. After the 9th trip in three years however, I got used to it all and began to move like crowds did: quickly, stubbornly, on a mission.

The only sense left was my taste: all these trips had been a rush, a quick jot into the city and out again after a day or two unable to fully enjoy its culinary offerings. After days pouring over advice on message boards like chowhound, yelp, and emails and messages left on this very blog, this was my chance to get a taste of New York.

Thursday July 16th 2009
9:00 PM – Flushing, Queens

Touchdown at the Laguardia Airport in Flushing, Queens NY. Flushing…what a name for a city huh? We hop on a taxi cab to meet my partner’s family off of Main Street. The taxi driver doesn’t know how to get to Main Street. But luckily, we arrive safe and sound at the hotel.

The city is hot and humid, maybe I brought a piece of Florida with me here.

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10:08PM – Prince Street, Flushing, Queens
A walk around the Best Western lands us in Canton Gourmet, a Cantonese style restaurant that luckily for us is open till midnight. Ah, the comforts and perks of living in a predominantly Chinese city in America: restaurants open late nights.

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Upon entering the restaurant, we observe the offerings displayed in large brightly colored poster board photos along the wall. The images are crispy and make you salivate.

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After a moment, the tables are ready for our party of 10. We begin with a traditional start to a Chinese meal: soup. We order the crab meat and fish maw soup ($10.95) which is a huge bowl enough for our whole group of 10 and divided into individual soup bowls by our friendly and often comedic waiters. Fish maw, if you haven’t had it before, has a foamy, springy texture with little taste.

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Crab meat and fish maw soup!

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Next to arrive is a plate of house style clam ($14.95), a heaping of clams and also fried garlic that they apparently love to use on every dish here at Canton Gourmet. Alot of garlic, not a lot of clam.

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Famous silver golden egg fried rice ($10.95) – my favorite fried rice, made with golden raisins a la biryani style and topped with goodie chinese toppings.

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Stir fried string beans ($10.95) – crispy and fresh string beans

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Pi Pa To fu ($7.95) stuffed with chinese sausage and turnip.

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Peking Porkchops ($8.95) – my favorite style, sweet and sour but so good

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Rack of Lamb ($17.95) – a rack of tender, slightly gamey lamb topped with that fried garlic stuff

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Crispy Squab ($14.95) – a dish with squab (aka pigeon) roasted.

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Garlic Crispy Chicken ($10.95) – Garlic Crispy chicken was my favorite dish out of all, made peking duck style with a extra crispy skin and succulent flavorful chicken topped with that fried garlic that they use on everything here.

There is something homey about the place, as if the dishes could have been cooked by my grandfather if he were still alive today.

Overall I enjoyed Canton Gourmet, and although it may not have been the greatest thing I ever had, it was pretty good, a little bit above the offerings we have in Orlando and definitely with a lot more authentic dishes.

Tasty Chomps rating!!!!
4 out of 5 Tasty chomps!!!!

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After dinner, we head back to the hotel and I say farewell to my partner who will join her family on a tour of Niagara Falls and upstate New York for the next few days.

Friday July 17 2009
1:08 am I am picked up by one of my brothers, Andy Meng of St Johns University. I will be graciously staying at the St John’s house during this trip with 20 or so other brothers from Florida headed up this weekend for the National Pi Delta Psi Fraternity Inc. Summer Meeting.

Andy picks me up and we quickly zoom off to the city to hit up Club Touch in Manhattan. A party was going on and Andy was a promoter. Following Andy, we literally skip the line and walk through the doors into the clubs like big shot callers. Whoa.

Hip hop dance music bumped as the bodies of young men and women rhythmically grinded in the darkly lit night club.

At the club, I enjoyed a delectable corona and lime as well as a few generous shots of jaegerbombs. At the end of our night we rode away back to the house and I crashed on the third floor.

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Good night Times Square, NYC

Canton Gourmet on Urbanspoon

Chipotle Opening in Winter Springs!

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One of my favorite fast casual dining places!!! i like to get the steak burrito with little rice, no cheese and no sour cream for a healthier offering

Chipotle Mexican Grill will open its Winters Springs restaurant this week and to celebrate, the restaurant will give away its critically acclaimed gourmet burritos before officially opening to the public. The new location at 5637 Red Bug Lake Rd., in the Willa Springs shopping center in Winter Springs will offer free lunch and dinner on Wed., July 22 and free dinner on Thurs., July 23:

* Wednesday, July 22: Free lunch from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. for all medical personnel dressed in scrubs or with a medical ID badge
* Wednesday, July 22: Free dinner from 5 – 8 p.m. for all YMCA Center Health and Wellness staff and members with membership cards
* Thursday, July 23: Free dinner from 5 – 9 p.m., open to public

The official grand opening on Friday, July 24 will include a drawing for free burritos for a year and the first 100 people to purchase a burrito at 3 p.m. receive a free T-shirt and burrito buck good for a free burrito.

Chipotle Mexican Grill on Urbanspoon

Mama Nem’s Soul Food

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Mama Nem’s Soul Food

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Classic Southern cuisine, with its Native American roots and African and European influences, is renown for home-cooked soulfulness and lip-smacking delicious yet may be bad for you goodness. Owned by the church located just next door, Mama Nem’s is a place that serves truly comfort food for the soul and deservedly earns the Best Soul Food of Orlando title. It is definitely not a place to go for a healthy meal, but rather a place to go to enjoy some good southern style comfort food like fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans. They have heaping servings of the best southern home-style cooking in the area. Everything from their sides to main course are heaping.

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Mama Nems, located on Kirkman Road just south of the SR 408 exit and just past Old Winter Garden Rd, is not a newcomer to accolades (its won best soul food from the Orlando Sentinel’s Foodie awards in the past and even was a finalist in Tom Harvey’s “Hoodie” awards for best soul food, attracting mega stars like Shaq to visit)

The place is pretty nice, definitely not a hole-in-the-wall place, clean and brightly lit by flourescent tubes, large booths for seating as well as smaller tables. There is often a wait here, always a sign of good food within, but usually not more than 10 minutes.

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Mama Nems is a Orlando Magic fan!
The staff are accomodating and cheerful, if not a little unsure at times as the place does get a little busy, but always friendly and welcoming. The prices are also more than reasonable for what you get, most dishes under $10.00.

With each entree, you get three sides to choose from as well, all enough to feed two people or one very very hungry hippo. They range from fried okra to corn to mashed potatoes, collard greens to fried sweet potato fries.

They bring you a side of cornbread and fruit to begin. The cornbread is baked fresh and you can even see pieces of corn in it as you bite. The fruit changes with the seasons, in the past it was melons, and today it was watermelons.

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CORNBREAD!!!!
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WATERMELON!!!!

My sister had Mama Nem’s fried catfish ($10.95), 2 huge, freshly country fried pieces of cat fish.

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Gabe, our friend, had the meat loaf ($7.95), two generous cuts of delicious meat loaf topped with that drool inducing brown gravy.

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I had originally wanted to try the ox tail for this visit but I was told that the chef was still cooking it for a while and it would not be ready in time. Instead, I ordered the seasoned roasted pork shoulder ($8.95), a tender pork dish slowly roasted and topped with their delectable brown gravy sauce that makes your mouth drool.

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I also tried (for the first time) fried green tomatoes for one of my sides, fried in a country-fried chicken type batter and still tart and fresh from the zest of the green tomatoes.

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FRIED GREEN TOMATOES!!
For dessert, we enjoyed Miss Celia’s Red Velvet Cake ($3.50), a luscious cut of moist, layered, sweet chocolate cake topped with cream-cheese icing.

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RED VELVET CAKE!!!

On a past visit, I had the chitterlings and hog maws dish over rice, which was tasty and fun to eat though a bit salty for me. Other recommended dishes include the fried chicken and the lip smacking pot roast, a tender braised roast of meat.

Not fine dining and probably not the greatest of all time, but I love Mama Nem’s offerings and that is fine by me.

Tasty Chomps rating!!!!
4.5 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!

Mama Nem’s Soul Food
(407) 253-7744
805 S Kirkman Rd
Orlando, FL 32811
www.mamanemssoulfood.com

Mama Nems' Soul Food on Urbanspoon

Google Map of NYC Eating Tour

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I have created a googlemap from recommendations! Thanks for all the recs!


View Tasty Chomps’ NYC Eating Foodie Tour in a larger map

Longhorn Steakhouse – Waterford Lakes

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Longhorn Steakhouse, situated in our favorite mega outdoor mall/weekend babysitter for juveniles – Waterford Lakes Town Center – is stylized after the often-romanticized Wild West, adorned with photos, saddles, signs to the corral, the whole roundup of cowboy paraphenalia in a recreation of a dark wood-framed and dimly-lit Western saloon.

America has long had wet dreams about its ambitions to “Go Westward, young man” and beyond via the sometimes harsh expansionist doctrine of manifest destiny (basically that everything west of the Appalachians is ours, so scram Native Americans, Frenchies, Spaniards, Chinamen, et. al). Yearning for a time of gun slingers, and saloons, dust and tumbleweed when America was in its age of prepubescence, no longer a colony and not yet a global empire, only beginning to take its first steps into the unknown vis a vis the Oregon Trail (and its damned, perilous fording, river-crossing oxen).

The images of adventure, cowboys, and great steaks are forever intertwined in the American psyche.

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Yes, Longhorn is a chain but it is a locally owned chain? and the steaks here are pretty good comparably. This Longhorn Steakhouse, one of many owned by the Darden Restaurant group, has pretty good consistent service and the owner/manager often walks around to check up on you as you dine.

On this occasion, we are celebrating a family member’s birthday. (Shout out: If you need a birthday gift, I recommend the Unique Image stall at the Florida Mall where they do engravings and dogtags etc. for pretty cheap, email uniqueimage.fl@gmail.com).

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Caeser Salad at Longhorn Steakhouse
The birthday girl orders the 7oz. Flo’s Filet and Lobster Tail. The filet was good but the lobster tail, as things are sometimes at chains, overseasoned and way too salty. You would hope for the price that you pay it would be perfect.

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My cousin Helen orders the healthy Longhorn Salmon on a bed of seasoned rice.

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For my entree, I opt to share a outlaw ribeye steak with my cousin Kevin. It is a considerably large and savory 18 oz. cut of USDA prime ribeye, seasoned and cooked to order medium rare. The steak is tender and moist, with a dab of melted butter on top, flavorful from the grill and seasonings and fattiness of the cut.

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Overall, Longhorn Steakhouse is a pretty good, though sometimes inconsistent, better-than-Outback, steakhouse for dinner. Leaving Longhorn’s, this cowboy is content to ride out into the sunset, with a head towards the western skies and a satisfied tummy full with food.

Tasty Chomps rating

4.5 out of 5 TASTY CHOMPS!!!!

Longhorn Steakhouse on Urbanspoon