Archive for the ‘Out Of Town’ Category

Daisy MaysDaisy Mays has been on my list of eats to try since I walked by their 11th Ave. restaurant about year ago. I was walking down 11th Ave. and was smacked in the face by the smoking smell of BBQ about three blocks away.

Today I got a chance to stop in a see what all the buzz is about. I walked in the corner located restaurant front and made my way over to the counter. When you walk in you are hypnotized by the smell of smoking slow cooked pork.

A friendly and warm welcoming man with a white outfit and white hat stood behind the counter and waited to help me. I took a minute to go over the menu and try to make some last minute decisions on what i wanted to feast on. With things like Ribs, Chicken, ,Beans, Greens, Macaroni and Cheese all on the menu is was tough narrowing it down. With the smell of sweet roasting pork in the air I couldn’t wait any longer. A Pulled Pork sandwich with a side of beans and macaroni and cheese were ordered up. The persistent and some what funny guy taking my order also almost insisted that I get something to drink with my meal. Jokingly he mentioned that he didnt want me to choke on my food. The drink options were pretty endless from, canned soda, to sweet tea’s and beer. All great compliments to the menu.

With in 2 to 3 minutes our food was served up and we walked around to the sitting area. This is just like high school. Your food comes on a tray, you find a seat with some one you know, in this case my wife and you eat. The room itself is pretty consistent wit the BBQ food theme. Tons of wood paneling a few pictures and my favorite, an old faded Iron Chef poster.

Daisy MaysThe food. Man.  The food. You know your food is good when you have to walk back to the counter you got it from and let them know. The pulled pork sandwich was smokey and rich with BBQ flavor. It was also not sauced. This is a big point because most other BBQ joints serve pulled pork soaked in BBQ sauce. When you taste pulled pork at many other places your tasting bbq sauce not the pork. Daisy May’s servers their pulled pork sand which up with out the sauce all over the place. All the flavor is in the meat. The sandwich also stayed together excellent on the bun. This is another rarity when it comes to pulled pork. Nothing dripped off the side or on my shirt. Alot of care was put into this sandwich. From the more then 8 hours the meat cooked slowly to the soft bread and final construction. Chef Adam Lang has a true passion for the details that are so often over looked. Even the meat it self tasted like it was combed through with a fine tooth comb. All the chunky little pieces of fat that you usually get  pulled pork in sandwiches and tacos was removed before it hit the bun. Its either that or it just disappeared in he 8 hour+ cooking process. Either way eating it was care free. Its the small details like this that separate this from the rest.  To say this mouth watering pulled pork BBQ sandwich occupied my thoughts for the rest of the day would not be an understatement.

If your in this area. You owe it to your self to stop in and get some smoked pig.   This is was BBqs about.

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Spain On The Road

Yesterday by chance I was channel surfing and came across Spain On The Road This food and travel show starring Food Network Iron Chef Mario Batali ,actress Gywneth Paltrow and food writer Mark Bittman was a pleasure to watch. This should be an example for other Food/ Travel Productions. Although the comments from Mario Batali arent as funny as Anthony Bourdain’s sarcasm what the show lacks in humor in makes up for in visual style and breathtaking videography of lush landscapes of Spain. The show is still airing on local public channels , check your local listing for times. The DVD is also available and on my list of things to get. 

 

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Its about 1:30 am and I just got home from Tavern On The Green. Located in the heart of New York City’s Central Park, Tavern On The Green is a restaurant that is always talked about and had been one of the place I’ve always wanted to try. This week they offered a special Restaurant Week prix fixe menu featuring an appetizer, entree, and dessert. We (a total party of eight) were able to get a reservation for 8:00 pm on a friday with only about a weeks notice. We arrived about 5 minutes past our reservation time and were greeted by the doorman and then proceeded  to the main entrance area where we checked our coat.

The decor inside ranged from exposed beams, rustic and for lack of a better word “Tavern Like” to mirrored hallways and giant brass roosters. There were many windows areas that were nice to gaze out of. Through the window we could see a wedding reception taking place which i guess wouldn’t have been to bad but we could also hear the music in the background during dinner. I have nothing against the Michael Jackson but “Beat It” Is not really what I prefer to hear when i go to “nice” restaurant for dinner. The overall ambience was a little noisy especial with bigger receptions going on in other rooms.  Our waiter was nice, but nothing great. He didn’t tell us his name, didn’t really explain to us any specials, just past out the menus and explained there was a Restaurant Week menu available and a quick display of the wine list. No small talk, no recommendations. There was also a photographer that came around and took a picture of our  group and tried to sell it to us in a matted frame for $20 each. That should just be against the law. When you go to Disney World that is completely acceptable, when your paying NY city prices for food its just a bit to tourist.

The Food was okay, but nothing great. As an appetizer I had a mushroom ravioli with green peas. The ravioli was a bit thin but the mushroom taste and texture was good but not memorable. I also had a chance to taste the black bean and chorizo soup which bascially tasted like black beans with a slight spice of chorizo here and there. The presentation of the soup was nice though the waiter brought it in a nice silver container and poured it out into the bowl for each guest. As an entree I choose a herb and bread crumb crusted piece of chicken with french style green beans and risotto cooked in a vegetable stock. I liked the risotto the chicken was a very decent sized portion and almost tough to finish. It tasted okay but could have been seasoned a little heavier. For dessert I choose chocolate cake with fresh berries and raspberry sauce. The berries tasted very fresh and the chocolate cake was very light and airy. This was favorite course out of three. 

Looking back the experience was not a bad but not extraordinary. At many times the service and food seemed more like attending a wedding then a fine eating establishment.   I tend to like salt and the dishes seemed slightly under seasoned to my taste. There was nothing here I tasted that I would go back for. I would consider dining there again but only in early summer or fall if there was available seating out doors in the surrounding areas. 

If you go… Go to go and say you have went but don’s set high expectations for the food or service.

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