Mini Fat Bastard's Fête - New Zealand Meat Pies

Aaron kindly drove us for a shopping spree at Fairway - Red Hook (ummmm cheese and good olive oil) . On the way, we snacked on his native food of choice, curry vegetable and mince meat pies :

Dub Pies!

tastiness...
_____________

I am adding to Alyssa's post. First off: I want a silver Volkswagon golf. I am going to steal your baby mama's Aaron. Anything that heats my cold ass has my vote.

Secondly, Aaron just confirmed the fact that everyone from New Zealand knows everybody else. When we stumbled into the sweet bread smells of Dub Pies he started chatting up the Kiwi working there like the sheep hugging lothario he is. Then we were told we would have to wait fifteen minutes for the curry vegetable pies so Chris, Alyssa and I settled into a booth while Aaron asked the counter girl to prom or something. I debated getting a flat white, the Kiwi's answer to the latte, but opted for a cappuccino with Milo (New Zealand's famous powdered chocolate drink) on top instead.

My friend Jenny from Wellington explained to me that "pasties" and "pies" were what you ate at 3 in the morning from street vendors when your mates were piss drunk. According to the BBC, they are derivatives of Cornish pies or British mince pies, respectively. According to Aaron, they make you have a fat ass so beware of eating them all the time. It was a cold rainy drizzly day in Brooklyn and these subtly curried little pies were the perfect savory dish. Aaron lifted up the tops of them and put "tomahhto"/ketchup inside of the minced meat ones. And the world was magical.

Pasties:

Pies:

12.9.07 Zocalo - a mini fat bastards

Zocalo --- another excellent rebuttal to the ubiquitous lament that no decent mexican food exists in new york.



al pastor taco







cinco de mayo plate -chipotle shrimp with cheese









quesadillas with cactus, Cotija and jalapeno









tamale








the beer is served in a salt rimmed glass filled with ice, hot sauce and lime.

Wurst Selections

Inspired from a way too brief holiday in Germany, I have been seeking out and stumbling across all the braised red cabbage, bratwurst, spaetzle, and knuckles - not to mention beer, ny has to offer. A couple of places to consider visiting :

.....
Cafe Katja
The clientele of Cafe Katja is pushing the later boundaries of the 30s (maybe even 40s), but the Austrian fare is as good as it gets. The warmly lit and adorable space oozes a cozy atmosphere, with the head chef often checking on your table. And the food -- well the food can best be described as sumptuous... All of the selections of sausages were uniformly amazing and refined. The spaetzle was unanimously voted the best we ever had. Of course, a good selection of beers.

......
Radegast Hall and Biergarten

The denizens of the southern portion of williamsburg have been long awaiting the opening of
Radegast. After rumors of being in business for Oktoberfest, Radegast finally opened last week. Consisting of two separate spaces, one a long hall exposed to the outside elements (though the website claims it is heated) with a grill serving an assortment of wursts including a venison sausage and the other a more formal (and well heated) bar/restaurant with an upscale menu, Radegast offers a large selection of beers and tawdry dressed beer wenches. Selections from the grill were inexpensive and seemed to be enjoyed by all. The other night I sampled braised rabbit with red cabbage and potatoes. The cabbage and potatoes were addictive, but I was less enamored with the meat itself. A second visit is definitely in order to evaluate further.

BTW, are we going somewhere tomorrow?

11.30.07 Hill Country NY

MEAT, MEAT, MEAT


Jennifer's pictures say it all...

Maybe it was the tequila, but there is something undeniably satisfying in standing in line to receive a butcher paper wrapped package of meat and wonder bread. Unfolding the brown paper to reveal a feast of glistening cuts of pork and beef conjured the atmosphere of a snowy Christmas morning of my youth. In addition, Hill Country's long wooden tables marked with isolated enclaves of giddy conversations among our growing number(10+ by the end of the evening) of fat bastard guests also was akin to a holiday feast with the relatives.

The ribs were bursting with packets of fat infused tenderness, the sausages almost shimmered with juice, and the perfectly pink ham was seasoned precisely. The only mild disappointment was the relatively arid brisket. At a bbq joint, the sides are generally beside the point, but the corn pudding was worthy of a second trip.

I relish the ability to out eat my companions. After packing up our tray with green beans, corn pudding, sweet potato mash and bean soup, Abs and I were unable to finish our one person meat sampler. crazy!

sorry you couldn't experience mary -- next time vegetarian?

Ethiopean

I'm not much of a writer so here's some pics...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18213021@N03/sets/72157603236920004/

GO GO CURRY Breakfast

Today and tomorrow only, go go curry is having a 55 cent breakfast sandwich special.
see my post here

http://www.cheapassfood.com/eats/show/303

Andy

Chocolate Show

The chocolate show is this weekend at Metropolitan Pavilion. The price has skyrocketed over the years, but the bounty of fabulous confections is worth the ticket :

http://www.chocolateshow.com/home.php?titre=2&id_code=2

.............
The Show :

Is it possible for a venue that distributes unlimited samples of gourmet chocolate from the premier cocoa bean plantations in Ecuador, Madagascar and Venezuela along with intricately constructed confections flush with such culinary delights as figs macerated in whiskey and green tea infused raspberries to be anything less than fabulous?
Sure you have to pace yourself:
(1) discard anything resembling white chocolate (with some notable exceptions at Mary's)
(2) do not be tempted by the servers hovering at the front entrance with the cheap (though undeniably tasty) French truffles. the true exotic pleasures lie in the crowded inner stalls.
(3) only nibble at the edges of samples until you have made the full rounds.
(4) carry a water bottle to neutralize the palette

Even when abiding strictly to the above rules, it seems inevitable that the most composed and restrained adults will run amuck like over-stimulated/sugared children on Halloween. Likewise, the gleeful high quickly subsides (usually at the half hour mark) with complaints of stomach aches as was the case with my father. In 30 minutes he ate his way through a good pound worth of chocolate not to mention also purchasing a 5 year supply of 'gifts'.
Obviously the show did not disappoint. The array of different strains of chocolate was suburb. One highlight this year was the purchase of an absurdly expensive bag of Madagascar (80% cocoa) chocolate nibs after tasting a miniscule sample that left us in rapture. For such a low cocoa butter content, the texture was miraculously smooth. As the morsel slowly melted on the tongue, the initially creamy and mildly sweet flavor gave way to hints of coffee, vanilla and a faint trace of whiskey. However, the truly exceptional nature of this chocolate came in the finish which sparkled with a pleasurable tingling sensation. Remarkable!

As in previous years, the Japanese company, Mary's, stood out with its stellar pairings of ingredients and chocolate perfectionism (see pictures below). The relatively inexpensive green tea , passion fruit, wasabi and sesame chocolate ganaches were all lovely. A newcomer, whose name I forgot, offered innovative new flavors (such as the aforementioned whiskey figs) and a fresh raspberry puree. A couple of Italian companies experimented with combining traditional tastes of olive oil and rosemary with the Asian spices of star anise and Chinese peppercorn.

With that said, the show was much smaller than in previous years. There was a dearth of the New York boutique chocolates that once flooded the aisles. Two years ago, silk screening colorful patterns on the confections and servings of luxuriously thick hot chocolate were ubiquitous. This year there were few examples of either. Similarly (and much to my disappointment), the trend of mixing dark chocolate with cayenne peppers (and other piquant spices) has diminished significantly.

After becoming suitably satiated, I stumbled over to the Guittard stand to pick up my yearly supply of baking chocolate ( a 15 lb box). I usually opt for the 70-80% cocoa content. However, some minor research has revealed that the graininess in a few mousses was due to the low cocoa butter content of the chocolate. Therefore I purchased the less complex in flavor 65%. This year my soufflés will be silky and the mousses ethereal!