A Paupered Year in Review: Our Favorites

As we've mentioned, what's popular is not always what we predicted, and there's little correlation between how much effort we put into a post and the amount of feedback/enthusiasm we receive.  The public has their favorite posts, and we're much obliged.  But then we have our favorites.  The posts that we remember most vividly, that provided the most interesting experiences, the most challenging, the ones kept us up late into the night.  Or the ones that we thought were really funny, even if, in retrospect, we were the only ones who would see the humor.  Or the most self-indulgent ones.

Because we don't want to pat ourselves on the back too much, here are Blake's favorite posts that Nick wrote, and vice versa, and a few that we wrote together.

Blake's Best of Nick
Grill Week Day 5: North Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches
"...for some reason I can’t ride straight.  I blame the night before.  Sure, the asphalt of Van Brunt St. does not exactly run level, and I am balancing a 7 pound hunk of meat on my left handle bar, but mostly I can’t see straight.  It is an early Sunday for my brain and for me--the two are definitely not one yet--and I need to get started right now ."

Filet Mignon the Poor Man's Way
"But by god I had bought the steak for cheap and I wasn't going to doll it up.  So I had some whiskey left over from a party.  And it worked. "

Nick's Best of Blake
The Paupered Chefs Attend an Art Brut Concert at Bowery Ballroom and Make Beer Shakes and Gourmet Cheeseburgers Before the Show
"At the end, I begged a roadie for a drumstick and wrestled it away from somebody, proceeding to tell strangers about it and bang it against things as we waited in the unbearably long coat check line."

A Day in Helsinki, Mostly Eating Pastries
"Notice: Pizza, Sushi, Asia, Mexico, India, Italia, Tex-Mex, Thai FOOD . And it's a club."

Best of Both
Dinner with Ghengis Khan
"If you're French or happen to be a steak tartare enthusiast, we apologize.  However, you could never have expected us to eat horse meat in good faith.  Honestly now."

The Great Potato Contest
"The final word is simple: never try to eat only potatoes for dinner.  While you can feel full for around 75 cents, you will never be able to do it again.  Neither of us have been near a potato since this happened."

How to Throw a Successful Tapas Party
"Step 1: Find a Spanish Man.  Step 2: Find a Spanish Ham"

Grilled Steak and Asparagus to celebrate Brooklyn's "Day of the Year"
"There is technique, and there is skill.  But all this quibling is best done with a beer in your hand prodding your buddy in the side with a large spatula, wondering aloud if it's time to flip the steak or not. Ah, grilling is so manly."

Best of 2006