Super Bowl XLIII

Super Bowl XLIII feast at Erik, Rebecca and Sean's. Per custom, regional foods from the teams' cities are represented. Primanti Bros. style sandwiches were made to order by Chef Mooney.

Pittsburgh should be in the Super Bowl every year! DMR and I shared a pastrami and provolone, with the usual fixins: fries, cole slaw, lettuce and tomato. Yummmmmm.

Teriyaki wings by Jen and my pigs in the blanket to the right. Neither have anything to do with Pittsburgh or Arizona, but who doesn't like to eat them? I made a batch with cheddar, but most of the cheddar oozed out during the cooking. That did make for some tasty crispy bits to snack on during the baking.

Representing Arizona was Erza's Barry Goldwater's chili from and "mediocre" Mexican that Erik cooked up. Middle of the road is put in quotes because I think that's how it was originally described, but I thought Erik's tacos were tasty!

First Taste: Char No. 4

The day started with a return trip to Rutt's Hut in Clifton, NJ. Despite what you see in the photo, I did not have 4 rippers all to my preggo self. DMR and I had two rippers each, accompanied by a cup of chili, sauerkraut and disco fries with gravy on the side. Very Jersey, very good.

Then we spent too much time at Best Buy and Babies R Us in Secaucus. And then even more time getting back to Brooklyn. So with some time to kill before Christy's birthday drinks at the Clover Club (where I wound up having a sour cherry fizzy thing, minus the egg whites and booze. Verdict: disappointing), we decided to get some food at nearby Char. No 4.

Much to our surprise, the place was packed at 6:30. All the tables were taken, and nearly every seat at the bar was, too. Thankfully there was an empty stool at the end where I could wistfully stare at the wall of bourbon bottles. We were told the wait would be about an hour or more, but were seated after only about 30 minutes.

DMR and I shared the apple and fennel salad with bleu cheese and pickled turnips to start. The turnips were hiding at the bottom of the bowl and I had completely forgotten about them. When I crunched into one thinking it was a piece of apple, it was a nice, salty and tangy surprise.

I wasn't super hungry so while DMR opted for the chopped pork sandwich (shown above with a side of baked beans and some pickled onions and peppers, and which he loved, loved loved), I made a meal of the smoked and fried pork nuggets appetizer and roasted delicata squash side. The squash was served as two roasted rings, with a mount of swiss chard on top. Chopped pecans were sprinkled into the mix and the entire plate was blanketed with parmesan. I would have liked either a little more salt or sweetness (maybe more caramelization from the roasting process?) but otherwise, this was enjoyable and I also convinced myself it was sort of healthy.

There were 5 nuggets to my order and much to my surprise, instead of whole pork chunks underneath the breading, there was rich, fatty minced meat. I'd probably order these again, but definitely not just for myself. DMR helped me out, but I did feel a little porked out.

To end the meal we shared the homemade butter pecan ice cream, which was super delicious. The description kind of undersells it as the super smooth ice cream is studded with nobs of praline. It's served with bourbon, but we asked for it on the side. DMR was able to pour it all over his ice cream for an even more decadent treat. In an act of jealousy, I poured a tiny drop onto a spoonful of ice cream for a wonderful bourbony bite all to myself.

field trip to Rutt's Hut

My first visit to Rutt's Hut did not disappoint. Despite growing up about 15 minutes away, I never made the trip. With Callahan's 5 blocks from my parents' house, there was really no need. I mean, I didn't even visit Hiram's (directly across the street from Callahan's) until 2 or 3 years ago. When it came to deep fried Jersey dogs, I was set.

New Jersey loves hot dogs. This place is just big enough to seat all the hot dog lovers of the Garden State.

I normally steer clear of relish but the stuff at Rutt's had many things going for it. It was yellow, not green. It was homemade. It didn't look sticky. It was delicious.

We started off with six rippers: one for Jen, two for Dave, and 3 for DMR and I to split. We wound up ordering two more.

Disco fries, another Jersey staple, with gravy on the side. These were beautifully done.

Gravy, onion rings and chili. The onion rings were too much batter, not enough onions, but the chili was over the top!

Full spread.

We ate in the dining room, but there's a order and eat standing at the counter annex next door.

mile high nachos and a chili cheese coney kick off a roadtrip

I flew into Denver and met up with DMR, Balgavy and Erik who were on the last night of their Pioneer League excursion. After they picked me up t the airport, we drove around trying to find a Chik-Fil-A. Balgavy was given bad intel and we wound up at some mall that not only did not have a Chil-Fil-A but didn't even have a food court. Boo.

Beef nachos from Coors Field in Denver, CO later in the evening. The chips were bordering on stale, but overall a satisfying ballpark concession. Toppings included marinated beef, cheese sauce, a corn salsa, pickled jalepenos and sour cream. I think it cost $6.50. The chips at the bottom got a little too soggy.

After the game we walked to the Wynkoop brewing company. Erik caught up with an old college friend and the rest of us tucked into some warm pretzels with mustard and queso.

Oh, I nearly forgot, I had to change planes in Cincinnati before touching down in Denver. I loved the food options at CVG! First I had a chili cheese coney from Gold Star Chili. I was still hungry so I then hopped in the Chik-Fil-A line and ordered a chicken sandwich.

SXSW - Day One and Two

March 11
Torchy's Tacos @ Little Woodrow's

green chili queso with chips


green chili pork taco, mr. pink taco

March 12
Las Manitas Visit 1

huevos rancheros (not picture: side of chorizo, watermelon aguas frescas)

Weinermobile!


Maggie Mae's

mini vanilla cupcakes from babycakes



R.E.M. @ Stubb's


Hot Dog King

austin dog: smoked jalepeno sausage on a gigantic roll with pickles and mustard. took away a little bit of the sting from a disappointing r.e.m. show.

A perfect Brooklyn day

The day started off at Totonno's in Coney Island. It was my second time there this summer, and in fact, ever! Oda and DMR had both been before, but Nellie and Jimbo popped their Totonno's cherry. It was also Little Henry's first visit, but he's still trying to master pureed foods so no pizza for him! Our group had to wait about 10 minutes outside as we arrived before doors even opened but that meant we got the first pie of the day! They were not quite as delicious as I recalled my first taste of Totonno's, but pretty close.

Then it was off to catch the Cyclones take on the Staten Island Yankees. But first, I took a quick side trip to Nathan's to grab a hot dog. Well, I thought it would be quick when I took my place on line and saw there were only 4 or 5 patrons in front of me. In a cruel twist of fate, the cashier turned out to be a moron. She was incredibly slow and then she disappeared for 10 minutes! She just walked way from her register and couldn't be found. We tried to flag down managers and assistant managers to find her, but nobody could (or care less, actually). Finally, she reappeared and she did a crappy job of putting together my very basic dog with sauerkraut and onions. I lost 30 minutes of my life to get hot dog in a wet bun. Sigh.

At the Cyclones game, I had tons of water and a lemonade to keep myself hydrated. By sheer coincidence, members of the Sweet Meats, our bocce rivals (well, can you call it a rivalry when you have never beat a team?) were seated next to us.

Then it was off to Avenue U in Bensonhurst to stuff our faces at and with Russian Style Ravioli! We had to split up into two tables as our crew had grown in number since Totonno's and the restaurant denied us the VIP section up front. DMR and I shared a table with Anne and Alex and we began with a pitcher of kompot, a non-carbonated, non-alchoholic drink made with cherries. Tasty, but it was not very cold and a few ice cubes in our glass would have really upped the ante.


Anne and Alex went with a couple variations on pelmeni (Siberian and chicken) and an order of fried cabbage vareniki. Dan and I ordered potato vareniki, Siberian pelmeni and a beef stroganoff (with a choice of kasha or potatoes, we picked the latter).

The vareniki and pelmeni portions at Russian Style Ravioli are huge and super cheap - less than $5 for an order. Did you know that there is a pelmeni eating record? Dale Boone ate 274 of them in just six minutes. He deserves a round of applause.

Potato vereniki served with intensely caramelized onion bits. They need to add the onions as a side dish.


Siberian pelmeni, simply prepared and served. What can I say, I love any sort of dumpling. Dump 'em into a bowl, give me a fork or spoon and get outta my way.


The stroganoff was served in a bread bowl! It was like the most delicious, rich, creamy chowder ever, with a bounty of tender beef strips and vegetables. Anne abstained, but Alex, Dan and I all put in solid efforts.

Hot Dog, USA

An email from Annie F. reminds me to give a shout out to one Joey Chestnut, for SHATTERING the hot dog eating mark set by the great Takeru Kobayashi. This is truly a great feat. Until Chestnut came onto the eating scene a few years ago, many thought Kobayashi's record was untouchable. In other Chestnut news, he threw out the first pitch at yesterday's Mets game. Easily the best part of the miserable affair which ended with me, DMR and Erik getting rained on making our way to the car. For those keeping score at home, the Mets are 2-3 on Sundays at Shea this season. And I can't even get a freakin' visor!

New on Fifth: Willie's Dawgs

The tiny storefront across the street from IS 51 that's been promising hot dogs for months has finally opened. I happened to be walking by on the first day of operations at Willie's Dawgs and picked up a couple to sample. They use natural casing Karl Ehmers, which have a nice snap to them. The guys behind the counter hadn't yet found their groove, but the dogs were solid. Willie's offers an afterschool special for the kids but there were no combos for the adults, something I hope will change soon as two dogs cost a little over $8 with tax.

I went with the Heidi - swiss cheese, sauerkraut and mustard on a multi-grain roll.


For DMR, I picked up a Frankie, loaded with bacon and caramelized onions on a challah roll.