Tai Hong Lau 70 Mott Street Deep Fried Dumplings Verdict: The first of many deep-fried samplings, not the cheapest but quite tasty. They had an assortment of vegetables and mini shrimp. 
Hello, there. The first step to perfectly roasting a chicken is to get acquainted with the subject. At first I hid it underneath the wrapping when chopping and prepping, like I was ashamed that it might see me. But the only way to really get the chicken to do what you want is to get personal. You'll be shoving lemons and such inside its cavity short enough. Don't get squeamish.
First,...
Founded by Mario Battali and Joe Bastianich, Casa Mono is no culinary secret, nor is it hidden in some trendy outpost like Red Hook or Bushwick. It sits in stately Gramercy amongst the trees of Irving Place, which hush the hustle of neighboring Union Square. I'd never stepped foot in a Battali-affiliated place before, and I felt nervous and ready. It's not that his restaurants are exceedingly ex...
Step 1: Find a Spanish Man.
Step 2: Find a Spanish Ham.
Preferably, a wildly handsome Spanish friend with a hunk of Spanish ham that his mother sent him. Jorge had looks. And he had the ham. What follows is an evening of many, many stages that included overcoming fears of anchovies, quail eggs, and two romantic party members who ate their share, doted on each other, and c...
Gnocchi. No idea. For years this has been the unpronounceable dish on the menu that starred me down and begged to be blurted out to the uproarious laughter of the seasoned waiter. "Did you hear what he just said?" Hell, I didn't have any idea what it was. Was it a type of pasta? Dumpling? Did it have a filling? This feeling of inadequacy kept the recognizable dish on the menu page...
My copy of Gourmet Magazine arrives every month to a sneer and a laugh. Talk of glorious trips to the ends of the earth, newly opened restaurants in Tokyo, and how to find that perfect $200 pasta maker, doesn't translate well into my cramped, cash-strapped life. Yet, I read it every time. Maybe it's my thirst for knowledge, or envy of having loads of disposable cash, but I nod approvingly...
Though egg mayonnaise is essentially the same thing as American egg salad, it doesn't taste like your average pitch-in. The mayonnaise was creamy but it had a lightness to it, which probably has something to do with the proportion of ingredients. Instead of deli-style New York sandwiches where a literal pound of meat is thrown on each sandwich--"It's like a cow with a cracker on either side,...
With minds planted firmly in the dirt, we probed the...
With minds planted firmly in the dirt, we probed the starchy tuber for secrets buried within, all in search of the perfect cooked potato. Armed with a bag of $2.99 Idahos, we set aflame preconcieved notions, sexed things up, and tried to find the courage (and stomachs) to eat nothing but potatoes like our poor brethren of the 19t...
(Hey everyone. Be sure to check out my most recent post on cucumber sandwiches for a slightly more authentic version.)
"...Hallo! Why all these cups? Why cucumber sandwiches? Why such reckless extravagance in one so young?"
-Jack, from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest
After my body had officialy rejected anything of substance thanks to my w...
With Blake off for the weekend, Nick blew the whole...
With Blake off for the weekend, Nick blew the whole Paupered Chef budget on a $20 Chinatown Bus ticket to Philadelphia in search of the city's quintessential greasy delicacy...the cheesesteak. Armed with locals with serious appetites, he checked out some of their favorite institutions in search of the real thing...Wait, with cheez w...
