So Everybody Loves Bacon

Anyone who has ever met me knows that I love bacon just about more than anything. I would happily throw my own grandmother under the bus just for a perfectly cooked strip of it, but I have to say, I am finding this current proliferation of public displays of affection for bacon irritating and played out. Granted, the bacon love has been growing steadily for a while now, but in the past year it has really reached a fever pitch.

Like many American desk jockeys, I spend an inordinate amount of time on Facebook. Why, just this morning I became a fan of David Morse, but I will NEVER become a fan of bacon. At this point, being a fan of bacon is like being a fan of world peace – it should go without saying. But the current bacon loving climate seems to be all about talking incessantly about it and making sure everyone around you knows how much you love bacon because they supposedly love it too. In fairness, a lot of my irritation is self-inflicted as I don’t have to go on Facebook and see in my newsfeed that X and Y have become fans of bacon and that Z just baked some cookies using bacon spice, but I do and it annoys me. I am only human and enjoy a good kvetch.

But really, when and why did bacon get so cool? And why has the market become so saturated? Yes, bacon salt makes sense, but bacon messenger bags, bacon stationary and bacon bras? At this point, my poor co-blogger has more canisters of bacon band-aids than she knows what to do with.

Also, do all of these rather vocal lovers of bacon really even love bacon? Like, did everyone who started wearing Kiss t-shirts in 1999-2000 really love Kiss???? Just wondering… I guess what gets me the most is that bacon is not at all new. It is and has been a staple of much of the world’s cuisine practically forever. So this current faddism is disturbing to me.

I for one have been wrapping various fruits of the sea and other deliciousnesses in bacon (growing up my favorite hors d'œuvre was oysters wrapped in bacon), eating it for breakfast and arguing that it is the leading gateway meat for recovering vegetarians for years – back when I would imagine many of today’s bacon fans were gnawing on their Boca burgers.

That being said, I am in no way trying to be proprietary about the genuine love and affection one can feel for bacon – if someone started NAHBLA, I’d be the first to sign up. I have just grown tired of people blathering on about how much they love bacon and how it makes everything better, and so on and so forth. Truthfully, I prefer to love my bacon more privately and avoid this runaway bacon bandwagon altogether.

But just in case, maybe I should start a Facebook fan page for something more specific, like bacon nitrates. I do sort of like how they make me feel really hyper.

Weekend Eating Highlights

I’ve decided to start making routine posts – AGAIN. Hopefully it will go better this time.

Friday night’s dinner

Was feeling nostalgic and in the mood for sushi, so met up with a friend at Sushi Samba 7. I was shocked to find that this place was still packed to the gills by the “fake” sushi eating masses at 10:00 pm on a Friday night in 2008 AND that people actually had thought to make reservations. I only went there as a joke, so couldn’t believe how many people were trying to eat there for real. Even though, based upon my best recollections, Sushi Samba 7 didn’t pop up on the grid, or rather below the grid, until the mid to late nineties, it definitely has a distinct American Psycho vibe. I literally expected to see Patrick Bateman come strolling in with some sort of gore stuck to the lapel of his Cerruti suit. Regardless, this is what we ate:

- Samba 7 Roll - crispy lobster, scallion, cucumber, celery & jalapeño with wasabi-chimichurri dipping sauce
- Neo Tokyo Roll - yellowfin tuna, tempura flake & aji panca
- Pacific Roll - king crab, avocado, asian pear, soy paper & wasabi-avocado crema
- Two Kumamoto oysters and one Fanny Bay oyster (I ate these without the help of my friend)
- One piece of mackerel sushi (also a solo job)

Afterward, most likely because I was drunk, I got he idea in my brain that I was still ravenous, so we went to Rare, where I consumed what most would consider a proper dinner, but I categorized it simply as a snack/dessert. After carefully weighing my options, I ordered the M&M Burger, which is flambéed in whiskey, topped with caramelized shallots, cheddar cheese and applewood smoked bacon. Just to be on the safe side, I also ordered a side of truffle butter. In hindsight, I think I was actually very hungry and not just eating my feelings, as I did not feel overly full upon finishing my second dinner.

Saturday evening hors d'œuvres

In honor of her adorable mother’s visit to New York, my friend Dani threw a little party at her apartment on Saturday night. Since I am a one trick pony, I promised to bring oysters and scallops wrapped in bacon (wrapped separately, not together). Since it is my only one, I feel very fortunate that it is such a great trick. Usually I buy my seafood for this exercise at the Citarella on Sixth Avenue and Ninth Street, but didn’t really give myself ample lead time so had to go to Provisions in Fort Greene. Despite eagerly anticipating the opening of the Greene Grape’s bougie grocery last spring, I have been avoiding it due to reports of how ridiculously overpriced everything is. But alas, my hands were tied and I had to pull the trigger on Saturday in order to procure my little fruits de mer.

Too many dollars later, I emerged from my maiden voyage to Provisions with one pound of Mexican dry scallops, a dozen Hurricane Harbor oysters and a pound of lovely d’Artagnan (did you know that this purveyor of fine frenchie meats was based in Newark, NJ?) uncured applewood smoked bacon. While I felt everything was absurdly overpriced, the fact that the butcher who assisted me with my seafood purchases (yes, butcher - apparently the regular fishmonger was off that day) looked like a more handsome, bearded, beefier version of Lukas Haas helped to cushion the blow a little bit. I was vaguely interested in posting a missed connections thingy, something like “You – cute Provisions butcher person with Social Distortiony looking tattoos poking out from under your chef’s coat. Me – short Asian with Huey Lewis pin who enjoys wrapping things in bacon”, but my inherent laziness got the better of me.

Anyway, I was planning on going to the Greene Grape wine shop to pick up a bottle of Prosecco, but felt like I had given them enough of my money for one day, so instead walked up the street to Olivino, where I purchased a nice and inexpensive bottle of Charles de Fère blanc de blanc. I am happy to report that my bacon wrapped deliciousnesses, accompanied by the above referenced sparkling, were very well received by the guest of honor and I hope to delight her with more bacon wrapped concoctions in the not too distant future.

This Morning's Brunch + Fresh Direct

We were planning to go out for brunch this morning but I wanted to clear out some of the contents of the fridge. I made a frittata using four medium eggs (which were tiny!), cooked spaghetti and cheddar cheese. Then I broiled up the remaining slices of Flying Pigs Farm bacon that Mary had given us as a housewarming present months ago. Bacon holds up really well in the freezer. I dressed up some leftover romaine with Frankie's olive oil and aged balsamic to serve o the side. Rounding out the meal was some toast with small amounts of butter and raspberry jam. I used slices of white bread from Parisienne, a Japanese chain whose products Cafe Zaiya by my work carries. The bread is soft and squishy and I'm a sucker for it. I also grabbed one of the last oranges left from a Fresh Direct order earlier in the week but when I went to slice it, I discovered it was rotten! I've had some bad Fresh Direct orders with bunk produce and missing items, but this one really took the cake. First they were late, then I found mold on some of the fingerling potatoes and worst of all rotten fruit. I have never seen a rotten orange before in my life. Nasty.

Brunch at Ici

My tumultuous relationship with Ici continues. The first time was disappointing but the other week I was working from home and decided to stop in for some breakfast. I had a lovely spread of poached eggs with truffle sauce atop Anson Mills grits, a side of thick cut bacon (a generous three pieces) and some iced coffee out back in the garden. The weather was as good as it had been in weeks and I liked my waitress. She was attentive and workmanlike and even gave me a free refill on my coffee since I didn't get my first one until my meal arrive (as they had to brew a new pot or something like that). My eggs and bacon were fantastic and I was feeling really high on Ici and ready to try it more regularly.

This past Sunday after we saw off our guests from Memphis, DMR and I decided to get a second breakfast. The two of us had split a bagel with cream cheese at around 8:45 and by 1 or 2PM we were pretty hungry again. DMR wanted to hit Bonita, but I was feeling good about Ici and dragged him there.

I went with my eggs with grits and bacon combo once again and was overall pleased. I would have preferred the bacon a little more well done to render out more of the fat, so next time I'll ask for just that.


The egg dish was not quite as good as I found the grits a little dry, but overall it was satisfying until I got to the piece of twine/string/fishing wire that was tucked into the grits. Foreign objects seem to find their way into my food quite frequently. Or maybe I just notice them more than others. I was about three quarters of the way through my meal and it was probably a good time to stop anyway.


They wound up comping my eggs, but in general the service was not attentive at all. I couldn't get my water glass refilled to save my life. The verdict is still up in the air.

Frackin' Delicious

A few weeks ago, the CLC and I were invited over to our pal Marvin's (note, this is an alias) for dinner and a screening of that evening's new episode of Battlestar Galactica. Marv had prepared a delicious pot roast with a gorgeous gravy that I wanted to gulp down straight from the boat. He also put together some pickled red cabbage and mashed potatoes for our pre-show meal. Afterwards we still had a little bit of time before the episode began airing so worked off some of the calories by Wii-ing. We Wii bowled, Wii tennised and Wii boxed. I haven't had a workout this good in ages. My arms were wii-ly sore for the next couple days. I won't even discus the episode because it was incredibly annoying and made me mad, but that gravy! How much time do you have?

Marvy decided to reprise the festivities this past Sunday for the season finale of Battlepoop Shitactica. That night, he prepared a bacon wrapped pork loin. I was impressed by the succulence of the meat. Whenever I make pork, I always overcook it in a way you need a tricked out Ginsu to make a dent. His secret was to cook it in chicken stock and continually baste (did I get that right?). Accompanying our double shot of pig was homemade chunky applesauce and roasted Brussels sprouts. I've never been much of a fan of Brussels sprouts, but these were really good. It was a simple preparation stolen from Ms. Ina Garten, aka the Barefoot Contessa.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that before heading over to M's apartment in Chinatown, the CLC and I got pretty drunk. DMR was out of town doing fantasy baseball crap so I invited the CLC over to watch the basketball games. She was rooting for the Ducks over Florida in game one, while the one tournament pool I'm still a contender in dictated that I root for the Gators. I really did want to root for the Duckies since they were the underdog, but I had to go with my bracket. Sorry spirit of Steve Prefontaine. In the second game, we were both rooting for Georgetown over UNC and while doing so downed a bottle of Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque 1996 without realizing it. It was probably the most delicious champagne I've ever tasted. The only mixer available in my apartment was a little carton of ruby red grapefruit juice so we made Moon Walks (champers and grapefruit). The CLC then polished off the trio of each with only a couple shots left vodka bottles, which I was grateful for since I'm moving soon and didn't want to move those bottles.

Dinner at Prune

It's only taken about 7 years, but I've finally eaten at Prune. Their Chicago Matchbox Bloody Mary, rife with pickled vegetable garnishes, is what initially piqued my interest. Unfortunately, they only serve Blood Marys at brunch and I was there for dinner.

DMR and I were joined at this meal by Fleck and Margie J, who by the way is celebrating her birthday today. Happy Birthday MJS!!! I hope you had good sushi! We began with a bottle of wine which I really enjoyed but now for the life of me can't recall. I though it was a 2003 J.L. Chave Offerus, but in one of the pictures below I noticed the label on which "Barrie" is clearly legible. I should really write these details down but I don't have my act together. I wasn't quite as fond of the second bottle, which I'm almost positive was a Pinot Noir.


For my starter, I ordered the pasta kerchief, which was a pasta sheet draped over a poached egg and french ham, and covered with Parmesan cheese shavings and pine nuts. I tried to make each taste a combo bite, so that the saltiness of the ham and cheese would balance out the simplicity of the pasta. I think I could eat something like this all day.


Fleck went with the sweetbreads (pardon the poor photo), something I had never tried. I was unable to resist fried paired with capers and bacon. I must say it was pretty tasty, but nothing I would ever order for myself. Sorry, but I'll never be a foodie. The consistency reminded me of croquettes from Japanese bakeries - crunchy on the outside, dense and creamy on the inside. Actually they remind me of something else too which I have on the tip of my tongue and can't quite put my finger on. This is going to bother me for days.


One of the special starters this evening was a bed of julienned radishes in a butter sauce, topped with bright orange pearls of trout roe. Margie's ears were perked first by the radishes and then the roe. If tobiko is on one end of the fish egg spectrum and ikura on the other, trout roe would be well-placed right in the middle. I tend to stay away from the huge ikura because I'm not into all that liquid that gushes out when you bite into them.

On to our mains.

Margs and I both went with the grilled whole branzino on a thin layer of lemon peppercorn oil and accompanied by a small ramekin of coarse salt. I loved the way the salt dissolved once it made contact with the warm meat of the fish. We were both very pleased with our choice.


DMR went with the special entree of the night - ginormous beef ribs braised in Asian spices. Our table was intrigued by this dish. Would you need a knife and fork or could you eat with your hands we wondered. The knife and fork won out, but I think the real winner here is DMR, who has truly learned to embrace bone-in foods in the past year or so. I doubt a year ago he would have willingly ordered ribs. Congrats, DMR!

Not pictured is Fleck's lamb shank and it's a shame because the presentation was really nice. The hunk of meat arrived at the table tied up in a parchment pouch.

We also ordered some sides to round out our meal.

To the left are mini sweet potatoes drizzled with a brown butter viniagrette. Prune loves brown butter! These were a bit disappointing because after unwrapping the skin, you were left with two small bites of sweet potato at the most. On the dish to the right are the roasted beets, along with their swiss chard-like green tops, served with aioli. I had never had beet greens before (at least knowingly, who knows what my mother served us back in the day) and really took a liking to them.


M holds up the plate of greens, sauteed in lemon juice and olive oil, served with a sprinkling of pignoli and raisins on the vine! I stayed away from that last part of the dish, although I will say raisins on the vine are pretty cool looking.


Dessert was my least favorite part of the meal. DMR and I shared a panna cotta which was served rather strangely. First off, it was a very thin and liquidy panna cotta. A milk glass didn't seem like the best choice of serving vessel. I wasn't sure what the orange slice was for. I did take the piece of vanilla bean that was resting over it and place it in the panna cotta glass.

The meal was quite satisfying, but I didn't leave the restaurant feeling overwhelmed by greatness. Don't get me wrong, it was a delicious meal and I was very happy with the friendly and attentive service as well as with the little touches, like the chunks of dark chocolate that accompany the bill and the spicy papadums when you first sit down. Maybe I was just bummed the suckling pig, which I had decided during pre-meal research would be the dish for me, wasn't available that night?

DMR just asked, "What are you writing about?" To which I replied, "Prune." His response: "When did you go to Prune?" Oh, DMR!

4 on Fifth

Friday's Lunch: Taro Sushi (ok, technically on Dean, but steps from 5th Avenue)

I took a personal day from work on Friday and wound up having lunch with the China-Latina Chowhound. She was fiending for some sushi, so I suggested Taro, a tiny spot around the corner from O'Connors. Taro offers up some great deals during the day. I went with lunch special #1, a bento box of unadon, whitefish tempura and 4 pieces of sushi along with miso soup and salad for $8. My box was portioned off into four squares: a mount of rice with two pieces of glazed eel; two pieces of fish, a broccoli floret and a small slice of acorn squash all tempura'ed up; a dish of tempura dipping sauce (the wonderful combination of soy, mirin and dashi) with a healthy amount of grated radish; ebi, tuna, salmon and mackerel nigiri. Beth went with a sashimi appetizer and combination #4, which was a plate of chicken teriyaki, dumplings and spicy tuna roll (you can also choose a California roll, but why would you want to?). While neither of us would go out of our way to order chicken teriyaki, Beth needed some additional protein and seemed very happy with her choice. I already had a bounty of food in front of me, but would up eating one of Beth's spicy tuna pieces, all of her noodles that came with the chicken, half of her salad and also one of her peppery dumplings. Wow, that makes me sounds like a pig! Oink, oink.

Friday's Dinner: Bogota
The rain started coming down pretty hard during lunch so afterwards the CLC came over and we had a plan to watch something great on television. By something great, we were hoping for Glory Road or While You Were Sleeping, but instead cable television decided to play a joke on us and only offer up real crap like Must Love Dogs. We wound up spending the rest of the afternoon YouTubing "We Are The World" and Kenny Rogers/Dolly Parton duets, and creating a special rainy day playlist that included lots and lots of Rod Stewart. Obviously, we worked up quite an appetite and decided to meet up at Bogota for dinner with DMR, who would be coming from his squash game.

We started with an order of plantain chips with cilantro black bean dip which was really flavorful. For my main, I went with the ropa vieja, simmered in a cilantro red wine sauce here, accompanied by a side of tropical slaw and garlicky kale. Man, this was a tasty dish. I love shredded meat dishes, whether it's barbacoa or yook gae jang. Each bite was juicy, as the meat retained the sauce well. The crunchy slaw was composed of shredded red cabbage, coconut flakes, mango and a couple other fruits. Thankfully, I spotted only a single raisin in the dish.

DMR ordered the skirt steak with chimichurri sauce, which turned out to be a very nice portion of meat. There were three thin strips of beef on his plate, half of which he placed on my plate in exchange for a mound of ropa vieja. He went with rice and beans and sweet plantains for his sides. The CLC went with a taste of Bogota, the Bandeja Paisa, a smorgasbord of Latin treats including: grilled skirt steak, an arepa, rice & beans, fried egg, maduros and best of all, glorious chicharron.

By the way, the folks at Bogota really couldn't be nicer. DMR had stopped by his work to pick up a package before dinner. On the way out, knowing the weather was terrible, one of the co-owners stopped him and went to get a plastic bag to cover up the box. By the time we stepped outside, it had stopped miraculously raining, but it was still a very thoughtful touch. Also, we were seated moments before Happy Hour was to end, so the same guy rushed over to our table to see if we wanted to put in an order while there were still specials going on.

Saturday's Dinner: Stone Park Cafe
DMR and I were planning to attend a fundraiser in lower Manhattan, but instead decided to stay in. Then we decided to go out and get dinner in the neighborhood. We decided to try Palo Santo again, but once we arrived at the corner of 5th and Union, I realized I didn't want Latin cuisine two nights in a row for dinner. So we headed back south and decided to eat at the bar of Stone Park Cafe. Overall, DMR and I have had our most satisfying dining experiences here sitting at the bar, whether it's for brunch or dinner. I'm a big fan of the night bartender - I think his name is Cliff or Clint. He was also tending the other time we had dinner at the bar. DMR ordered a bacon and jack cheese burger and a pint of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. Very DMR. I once again went with the frisee salad, which I love for its ingredients list: lots of bacon chunks, crisped shitake mushrooms, Yukon Gold potatoes cubes and a poached egg with a breadcrumb coating. I also ordered a side dish of homemade tagliatelle with pork belly. The sauce in this dish reminded me a lot of the broth in tonkotsu ramen, which is made from cooking pork bones for a long time. It had that same thickness and stickiness to it. I remember feeling a little overwhelmed by the broth in that ramen, but here it seemed just right, coating the light noodle strands and tiny squares of pork belly with velvety richness. We ordered a root beer float for dessert. The menu touts Virgil's root beer, so I was somewhat disappointed when a bottle of Olde Brooklyn showed up - not exactly my favorite as I find it a tad syrupy. We're both big fans of the chocolate chip marshmallow sandwich cookie that accompanies the float. With a little more than a quarter of the cookie left, DMR declared that he was going to eat the rest of it, which made me laugh so I didn't put up a fight. Oh, one more thing about the dessert that wasn't great - in addition to vanilla, there was chocolate ice cream! Who wants chocolate ice cream in a root beer float? Certainly, not I.

Sunday Brunch: Perch
I want to like Perch but having to wait 20+ minutes for a couple of egg sandwiches to go, doesn't so much to help that. There's something oddly inefficient about this place despite so many servers zipping back and forth and so many people behind the counter. The egg sandwiches were good (his: eggs, cheddar, bacon, caramelized onions, jalapeños; mine: green eggs, ham and cheddar), but they're not exactly cheap and not really worth waiting all that time for. When my sandwiches were up, I was kind of taken aback when the woman behind the counter asked me if I wanted a bag. It's our own damn fault for being lazy.

I guess at most places, if you order for delivery or take out, your ticket in the queue jumps. Maybe I'm just spoiled by places like Joya, where it barely takes 10 minutes from hanging up the phone to having your doorbell rung. The coffee was nice and hot though.

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Taro Sushi 446 Dean Street (b/w Fifth Avenue and Flatbush)
Bogota Latin Bistro 141 Fifth Avenue (b/w St. John's Place and Lincoln Place)
Stone Park Cafe 324 Fifth Avenue (at the corner of 3rd Street)
Perch 365 Fifth Avenue (b/w 5th and 6th Streets)

Wednesday at the Greenmarket

Taking a cue from Produce Stories, a list of items purchased last Wednesday at the Union Square Greenmarket.

- one head of hardneck/rocambole garlic from Keith's Farm
- two small flavored yogurts (1 coconut, 1 peach) from Ronnybrook Farm Dairy
- one tub of garlic butter from Ronnybrook Farm Dairy
- one small basket of shallots from the huge produce stand on the West side of the park
- one jar of Windy City Wasabeans from Rick's Picks


I am addicted to these. I love pickled green beans but my experience has been limited to the dilly kind. These are marinated in a soy-based brine with wasabi powder and are super crispy. They don't pack the caliente punch of his Mean Beans, but they do an amazing umami dance in your mouth! I ate too many in one sitting on Sunday and all the salt made my tongue feel funny. If that's the price you gotta pay, then so be it.

After the beans are all gone, my plan is to use the brine to make a batch of Bloody Marys for a potluck brunch I've been threatening to have for months.

Maybe for the PB (whenever and if that ever happens), I'll pick up a slab of Tamarack Hollow Farm bacon. I nearly did so on Wednesday, but didn't have enough cash on me. The other week I was having a post-work snack and drink at Boqueria with my co-worker Samantha and we happened to be sitting at the bar next to Mike Betit who runs the farm and supplies the restaurant with some of its pork products. I've been meaning to pick up some bacon since.

For the record, I had the salt cod brandade and a white anchovy tapas.

We're In Los Angeles

Which is why we haven't been posting.
We've been eating lots of deliciousness and will share in our eating outings once we're back next week.

Til then, I leave you with this nugget: I left bacon uneaten today.

And somehow I managed to keep it all down

I did way too much eating this weekend, particularly on Saturday when I was faced with the predicament of a birthday lunch for my mom at Peter Luger's and then a Schnack-catered wedding in the evening. It was the first time at Peter Luger's for both Dan and I so while we didn't want to stuff our faces to the point of food coma, we did want to take advantage of a delicious lunch opportunity. We were both sated and under control until dessert, when Dan became a chocolate fiend.

To begin with, we had their world famous off-menu bacon: half inch slabs of pork belly glistening with fat and crusted with char.

How does that affect the Bacon-O-Meter? Clearly, it was one piece, but the equivalent of at least 4-5 strips. It was superb, although I probably wouldn't have minded a couple extra seconds in the broiler for my piece. The edges were cooked to my liking, but some of the streaks of fat in the middle were a little undercooked. My mother cut little pieces of bacon and slices of onion roll to make mini bacon sarnis for herself and little Ashlyn. I'm glad to see my little niece is already enjoying porcine perfection, but where was mine, Linda? We also shared a couple orders of shrimp cocktail, making sure to add extra horseradish to the cocktail sauce we were dipping the plumpers into. Two orders of "steak for two" were shared amongst the 6 adults and 2 little ones. For sides we got creamed spinach, German potatos (hash browns) and french fries. I think the little Buddha mostly ate cheerios and a cherry tomato. Maybe a piece of muffin as well. Ashlyn was content with french fries and some creamed spinach. She knew what awaited her - dessert! She also told me that not only was she the peanut, but that the little Buddha was the peanut as well!

While I immensely enjoyed the steak, the sides were really the stars of the meal for me. The steak didn't really knock me off my feet like I was expecting it to. The creamed spinach was so tasty and so rich. I had to eat tiny little bites as to not overwhem myself. I don't know what the french fries were fried in, but it made for an unbelieveably perfect fry - crisp on the outside, warm and soft on the inside. Dan took a liking to the super crispy ones that crunched like potato chips.

For dessert, we had a Holy Cow hot fudge sundae with birthday candle. Chocolate coins were tossed onto the table and the birthday song was sung. I abstained from dessert, save for a few bites of chocolate and whipped cream (or I guess schlag they might call it here). I had a roast pig to save room for!

So about two and a half hours later, I was nibbling on some pate (I thought it was smoked pork of some sort) and goat cheese and downing a Pacifico prior at the wedding of Alex and Anne. The consuming really didn't let up for another 5 or 6 hours. The pre-ceremony snacks consisted of the aforementioned slab of pate and plate of assorted cheeses with crackers. There was also a big bowl of shrimp cocktail but I skipped, having already eaten 2 pieces of shrimp with lunch. Trays of mini-schnack burgers and potato-codcakes were passed around, but I didn't get Schnacktified until post-ceremony, when I got Schancktified twice! I also got to try the elusive fries with pork gravy. The gravy was a little cold but I really didn't care because it was so savory and magical. This was my second time at a Schnack-catered event and what I want to know is where these fries with pork gravy were at the first one!

At this point, I had had a couple Pacificos and a margarita - recipe for disaster! During dinner, I switched to club soda and I think that was one of the smartest things I've ever done, because it really saved me from visiting Ralph. Dinner was served buffet style, with the following presented:

• macaroni and cheese
• french fries with more pork gravy (this time all warm and silky from the chafing dish)
• poached salmon with chipotle sauce
• garlic greens (this was probably my favorite side, aside from pork gravy)
• asparagus spears
• bbq chicken (this was my favorite protein)
• roast pork
• salad
• spicy cole slaw (yowza, you ain't kidding!)
• parker house rolls

Am I missing anything? After dinner, shots of Makers appeared (thanks Erik and Dani!), glasses of beer milkshakes, the vanilla ones of which were transformed into boilermaker shakes (thanks Hot Tub!). How in the world did I make it through the night? Also served for dessert were sundaes (make your own, from which I abstained) and wedding cake, which was super fantastico. It was chocolate with what I think was mocha frosting. There were pieces of crushed peppermint patties either in the cake batter or the chocolate ganache between layers.

Ok, you made it down this far so you deserve the truth. On the way to Commonwealth after the wedding, we were stopped at at a red light right at our corner. I couldn't let this opportunity pass me up as I was fading, so I hopped out of the cab and hobbled to our door. When I was brushing my teeth and tongue, I gagged a little and a tiny bit of creamed spinach was freed. It was not from drinking at all though, but I wanted to come clean.

Another Tonight's Dinner (But Really Last Night's): Freeman's

I had a work dinner last night that didn't start til 9:30. Holy moly, I'm usually all tucked in by then. Ok, not really, but 9:30 is late for me. So I met up with the CLC and her posse at the Magician and downed pints of Brooklyn Pilsner. I shouldn't have had that 3rd one because I was super drunk by the time I stumbled west on Rivington to Freeman's. Along the way, I got the Mets score from my husband (3-1 at that point, who knew the drama that would come?), who was incredulous suprised that I hadn't asked for it when I had talked to him about 30 minutes prior. Also along the way, I got soaked because the jungle mist that made the streets of the LES glisten had turned into real rain. By the time I got to Freeman's, I was wet, still drunk and super hungry.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that our table for 20 was not ready at 9:30. Nor was it ready at 9:40. I think we got seated closer to 10, than 9:50. While I think the food at Freeman's can be pretty tasty at times, they really need to tighten up their service.

Because we were such a large group, we got served family style aside from our entrees (for which we got to pick from a choice of three). When we sat down, our party was greeted with plates of rustic bread and butter, as well as grapes and savory crackers. For our first course, we sampled hot artichoke dip with toasted baguette rounds along with a lovely spinach salad with chopped boiled egg, bacon and pine nuts. I really enjoyed the salad because usually uncooked spinach makes my teeth feel weird after a couple bites and I didn't get that reaction this time. Also, as you know I love bacon and I love the combo of chopped egg and bacon. And in my book pine nuts are always a winner. The hot artichoke dip was equally delicious and our crew did a great job of licking the ramekins clean. Anything that is baked til the top is golden brown and crusty is usually a sure bet. Not listed on the menu but served was a round of devils on horseback - sweet and gooey prunes wrapped in bacon. The prunes were stuffed with cheeses, but I was unable to discern the kind. Also, dear reader, does that half strip of bacon count in the Bacon-O-Meter? I say no, but am willing to listen to the masses on this one.

For our entrees, we had a choice of organic poached chicken, roasted trout or a smoked pork chop. I went with the latter and knew it was a sure bet because while dining here with Margo and the CLC about a month ago I was able to sample it. After placing our entree orders, the waitress took our menus away. I asked to keep mine for reference and was greeted with an odd look. Did the restaurant need to save its family style menu dated May 3, 2006, for another party of 20 that was going to be seated soon after us?

The chop arrived on a plate of coarse stone-ground grits and a small dish of chunky applesauce. The saltiness of the chops was balanced out by the unadulterated, pure flavor of the grits. However, I did not really appreciate my plate being taken away without being asked if I was finished. There was still a lot of food on my plate and granted, I was stuffed and she probably did me a favor, but I really felt that she should have asked me if I wanted my plate cleared. To accompany our entrees, there were shared plates of yukon mashed potatoes with truffle oil drizzled on top, as well as big chunks of roasted beets with ginger syrup. Loved the mash, but thought the beets could have benefited from being chopped a little smaller. Also I forgot to taste the ginger syrup.

When the dessert course came around, I was super stuffed, drunk and tired. Still I managed to try a nibble of all three: the pears poached in red wine with honey lavender ice cream, the hot chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and the Bananas Foster with rum butterscotch sauce. None were all that memorable.

Bottom line is that I'm a big stickler for service and friendly attitude. Their food is pretty good, but I think Freeman's has a big head.

The Park Slope Gastronome #12 - West Coast Baseball Trip Day 1

The unthinkable has happened and I have fallen in love with the city of Los Angeles. My first two trips there were relatively underwhelming, leaving me wondering what people could possibly see in this sprawling city. But this time there was an emphasis on food, not the nouveau cuisine served in dim, trendy settings for vapid club hopping dumbasses and out of touch richies, but the food made by the people and for the people that are the pulse of this city - the working class, the immigrants, the regular joes.

Our first meal in the city came past midnight. We had been hoping to pass an In-n-Out from the airport to Dave and Jen's, but instead settled for Carl's Jr. Carl's Jrs are mostly found on the West Coast. I had my first taste on a trip to Hawaii about a decade ago. It was founded by a man named Carl and the franchise began as a hot dog cart. Eventually Carl's hot dog cart turned into a drive in, which in turn begat a smaller version, the Jr. Later in the week we even passed a couple Carl's Jr. Jr's, akin to Pizza Hut Expresses, I imagine, serving a condensed version of the menu.

While waiting for our turn at the drive-in, I was able to study part of the menu. It was only part because of the angle of the car and I didn't even learn about the fried zucchini until the order was placed, which in retrospect was probably a good thing. And this is also a place where instead of chicken nuggets, you get chicken stars! I wasn't really hungry, but am I not one to pass up a meal, so I settled on the Western Bacon Cheeseburger. It would fufill my bacon quota for the day, it was relatively small and the idea of two onion rings nestled between the charbroiled patty and sesame seed bun was too ingenius to pass up. I always like having sides. I don't like just having a burger. Or just an entree. I like having a salad or vegetables - something to break up the monotony of what you're eating. How perfect was this, I thought. I just wanted a little taste of a side and it already came with the package! Brilliant! The most remarkable thing about the burger was the staying power of the pleasing crunchy texture of the onion rings. I got crunch on my last bite and couldn't have asked for more.

Park Slope Gastronome #6.5

in the past two days, i have consumed about 14 slices of bacon. the majority was eaten during a post-thanksgiving brunch in silver spring, md. bacon rules.

**blogger hates bacon and it giving me all sorts of trouble in trying to post this.

Park Slope Gastronome #4

This past week the Park Slope Gastronome had brunch at the restaurant Belleville. Its location made for an easy choice when we were trying to figure out where to have brunch on a glorious Sunday afternoon. The walk to Cousin John's was a bit more than we wanted to flex our legs for. Cocotte stinks. A recent meal at the Mexican Sandwich Company helped me get acquainted with our bathroom and forced us to miss the Atlantic Antic.

Belleville is a French bistro, similar to the ones down the street (Moutarde) and a few neighborhoods over (Patois). There's a sprinkle of quaint, a dollop of shabby chic, a pinch of old-timeyness and steak frites on the menu. We were seated and given our menus immediately. Dan ordered the french toast, only to be told it was sold out. He then ordered the croissants, and was again told it was sold out. "We've had a busy morning" our waitress explained. Finally we both wound up ordering the waffle with eggs and bacon. Along with our meal orders, we requested water, which would not show up until about three-quarters of the way through our meal.

Our dishes arrive and we're both a bit bummed out to see our waffles are pre-syruped. Not only was it imitation maple flavor syrup but the pre-syruping also made the waffle soggy. I like my waffles crisp and I also don't like to drench it in sugar. The eggs on the other hand were really nicely scrambled. They were a golden yellow color without any browning, loose, but firm enough that they didn't have that uncooked, phlegm-like texture to them. The bacon on the other hand was way overcooked. When I bend a bacon strip, I like for it to do just that and not snap in half. Finding good bacon is an impossible mission these days. I'm convinced our meal was to be accompanied by greens and potatoes. Two of the brunch options, the smoked salmon platter and the french toast were above the line that read something along the lines of "the following come with green and potatoes." The waffle was listed under this line and I positive I did not see an asterisk listed next to it saying it was excluded. We asked our waitress about this, not because we were hungry, but because we thought we were missing a part of our meal. She didn't know her menu. She had to check. We still didn't have water by this time. A waiter came by with a pitcher and asked us if we wanted some more water. Then he noticed the lack of water glasses on our table and turned red, apologized and sent someone to get us glasses. We were never offered a refill on coffee.

p.s. The glass of orange juice we ordered was some sort of from-concentrate-crap served with ice cubes. En francais!

Food: C
Service: C-