Tamale cart in San Jose del Cabo

On the second to last night of our stay in Cabo San Lucas we decided to take the short cab ride over to San Jose del Cabo and have dinner at restaurant called Damiana. But before we sat down for dinner my sister and I noticed a few carts in the plaza just in front of the restaurant and made a bee-line for them because we were both craving some street food after all the formal restaurants we had been going to.

There was one cart that had significantly more foot traffic than the other one so we decided to start off with that one. They had four kinds of tamales along with a variety of drinks such as horchata & jamaica. The tamale varieties included: rajas con queso (chili & cheese), carne en salsa roja (beef in red salsa), pollo en salsa verde (chicken in green salsa), and elote (corn). My sister and I started off with the rajas con queso and the beef tamales and were both thoroughly impressed. Then my friend got the pollo en salsa verde. I had low expectations since chicken, while being usually a bit healthier, is also usually lacking in the flavor deptartment and can be on the tough side if its overcooked. Surprisingly, this was super tender and the green salsa gave it some nice flavor.

All in all, they were some of the best tamales I have had. My sister, who lives in Tucson and gets plenty of authentic Mexican food, agreed that these were the best tamales she has had as well. The corn masa itself was the perfect texture and had excellent flavor. I am not sure how they made it so amazing, but I wish I could get them like that in New York City or anywhere north of the border for that matter. After enjoying a few bites of the tamale in its unaltered state I then topped all of them off with some of their homemade salsa picante to kick up the heat a bit though.

All the fillings were damn good but if I had to rank them I would put the pollo en salsa verde at the top because its rare to chicken this tender and flavorful. Usually beef or pork reigns as king since they typically have more flavor, but this was some damn good chicken. A close second would be the rajas con queso because the cheese had a nice saltiness to it and the green chili peppers gave it some nice heat that was different than their spicy salsa that was made with red chili’s. The least favorite, but still utterly delicious and better than anything else I have had anywhere else, was the carne en salsa roja. All of them were well about a dollar each.

The place doesn’t really have a name but they are in the Northeast quadrant of Plaza Mijeres in San Jose del Cabo. If you were in the restaurant Damiana, you would just walk straight out the door and you would run into it. Here is a photo of the cart so you know what to look for.

Salvadorian food in Belize

So the one bit of truly authentic food I had in Belize was ironically enough, not Belizian, but actually Salvadorian at a small street stand called Warugama. While on the island of Ambergris Caye in the town of San Pedro, we walked by a few street stands grilling up fresh Salvadorian pupusa’s after dinner one night. I knew what they were from my experience in Red Hook, but my parents had never tried them before. My mom was excited that the fillings were vegetarian so she could try some too. We were too full that night but came by the next for appetizers after our first choice for dinner didn’t have any vegetarian options for my mom.

The plan was to have pupusa’s for appetizers and then head to a more formal restaurant for some seafood. But after 2 of them, we decided to order 2 more, and then some ceviche, and then 4 more pupusa’s so it ended up just being our dinner. The first two we had were the beans & cheese and the squash & cheese. The beans & cheese one was a bit bland, but the squash & cheese was fantastic. They actually called it pumpkin, not squash, but it was green so I am not really sure what kind of squash it was. Next we go the chicken filled pupusa which was also extremely tasty. We just cycled orders between the chicken and squash from then on out.

I am pretty sure these were better than the ones I had in Red Hook, but I would have to give them another try to be sure. It also helps that the ones in Belize were served the the amazing Marie Sharp’s Hot Sauce. I had to bring back two bottles because they were really that fantastic. I tried both the Hot & Fiery Hot varieties and they both had a good balance of heat and flavor. They have some that a few levels hotter and milder and also have a few varieties with fruit flavors (orange, grapefruit, mango, etc.) as well. They ship internationally if you are interested.

The ceviche was also amazingly delicious. The lady in the front making all the pupusa’s had her helper assemble a fantastic shrimp ceviche (definitely the best I had on the trip). Lots of tender shrimp, a good level of heat, nice acidity, cilantro, etc. The freshness of the shrimp is absolutely key and since they have so much of it around it around they can make some damn good ceviche.

If you happen to find yourself in Ambergris Caye, Belize, I would definitely give these folks a try. It was the cheapest and most satisfying meal I had in my entire stay in Belize (as I mentioned before, I was trapped in tourist-land most of my time there). The actual name of the place is Warugama, but there were a couple places that went by that name. We went the smallest one that was the furthest North on Pescador Drive between Buccaneer Street and Black Coral Street.

Paty’s Taco Truck is finally back

When I first started working in the Upper East Side in September the first thing I noticed was a taco truck parked right next to the subway stop on East 86th & Lexington. Really?! A taco truck! Right next to the subway stop? I could come here for lunch anytime I wanted or pick up an early dinner on the way home from work any day of the week. Usually I would have to go a pretty long trek to one of the further boroughs or way uptown to find a good taco truck, but this was right next to my new office.

Sadly, I never had a chance to check them out before the mysteriously disappeared a week later. Every day I hoped and prayed that they would return. After experimenting with the other nearby lunching options for a few weeks I was even more depressed that I never had a chance to try them out before they took off.

But then today… surprise surprise! They appeared just as mysteriously as they left. There they were, right on the corner as they once were. I thought it was a mirage. I had to try some right away in case they mysteriously disappeared again. I got two tacos. One with beef tongue and the other with chicken. They were both covered in pico de gallo and came with some of their avocado sauce. The beef tongue was deliciously tender and fell apart as I ate it. The chicken was a little on the bland side, but for street meat it was thankfully devoid of any strange bits that appear from time to time. It was also quite tender and juicy. A good dose of their spicy salsa kicked it up a bit.

You can take a look at the menu. Just click on it to blow it up so you can read it.

In a cruel twist of irony, I just found today that we are confirmed to move to a new office in midtown early February so I only have a month to enjoy this for lunch. I will be sure to make a few trips to try out the Tlacoyo, Sopes, Cemita’s, Tortas, and Burritos. They also have some interesting daily specials so I have my work cut out for me in the next few weeks. =)

Back in town

After a 11 day trip through Belize & Los Cabos (Mexico) wearing only flip-flops, shorts, and a t-shirt the entire time I am back in the chilly Northeast again in a heated apartment.

Belize was unfortunately not the culinary experience I wanted. I landed there with visions of escabeche, stewed chicken, rice & beans, beans & rice (apparently its different), and some other creole/mexican creations. Unfortunately, the first destination was an enclosed resort in the jungle (awesome for many other reasons, but not food) called Chaa Creek and the other was a resort island called Ambergris Caye filled with mostly North Americans on scuba diving trips (also awesome for reasons besides food).

Cabo San Lucas was also a bit disappointing. It pretty much catered to Americanized palates on a holiday trip that either included packaged tours with glass bottom boats or multiple nights at El Squid Roe or the Giggling Marlin. I fall between the two groups now. Haven’t quite hit the age where packaged tours appeal to me and I can party enough in New York that Squid Roe doesn’t really interest me either. To be fair, we only went there on two nights and one was new year’s eve so I shouldn’t really expect too much on the culinary front that night, but the other night didn’t impress me much either.

The other cabo, Cabo San Jose, was fantastic though. Great street food of all sorts including quite possibly the best tamales I have ever had and a fantastic restaurant called Damiana, where I actually had a chance to chat with the chef for a bit after dinner and try some of their home-made damiana liqueur at the bar.

I’ll try to post on these soon (this week) and then catch up on a couple of backlogged restaurant posts that got lost in the shuffle of the holiday season.

Recipe: Spicy Roast Squash

This recipe is adaptation of something I had the a Sunday Night Dinner in Astoria a couple weeks ago. I tried it out at the last potluck party I hosted and think I did a pretty reasonable job replicating it. I am listing the approximate quantities of the ingredients I used. This will serve about 20 so feel free to cut down as necessary. Also, if you want to just make it for a few people, the original recipe called for acorn squash so you can just use that and use the squash itself to provide individual serving bowls.

Ingredients:

• 2 large acorn squash
• 1 huge butternut squash
• 1 normal sized calabasa squash
• 3-4 tsp of dried oregano
• 2-3 whole dried chili’s (about 1.5″ long usually)
• 1 8oz jar of sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
• 2-3 tsp of freshly ground coriander seeds
• 3 small pickled hot peppers from a Greek market (more on this below)
• a tablespoon or two of brown sugar
• 3-4 tsp of cider vinegar
• olive oil
• the juice from 2 lemons
• salt & pepper to taste
• feta or some crumbly goat cheese

You are basically making a paste, roasting the squash, and then roughly smashing it up. The pickled peppers were something that Tamara just got from her local market that she used and happened to have extra. I wouldn’t know where to even find this next time so you can just leave it out. It does give the spice puree a nice tang though so feel free to replace it something something else. The most important thing is to taste the spice level of the puree before while you are assembling it. It should be a nice balance of sweet, spicy, and acidity with whatever level of cinnamon you like.

Steps:

1. Cut the tops of the acorn & calabasa squash and scoop the seeds out. Half the butternut squash and do the same. (note: When picking butternut squash, I try to pick ones with a smaller bulb at the bottom so I get more flesh and less seeds for my money)
2. Make a puree with all the rest of the ingredients except for the lemon juice & the cheese. Taste it while you are adding the pepper, cinnamon, vinegar, sugar, etc. It should be well balanced.
3. Rub the inside or bottom-side (for the butternut) of the squash with the puree and roast with the caps on or skin-side up (for the butternut) at 350 for an hour or when the flesh is soft and can be scooped easily with a spoon.
4. When it is done, let it cool so you can handle it, scoop out the flesh, and mash it up with some olive oil and some of the lemon juice. Taste it as you add the lemon juice so it doesn’t become too acidic or sour.
5. Season it with salt if you need to.
6. Drizzle on some crumbled goat cheese and serve.

Don’t forget to add the goat cheese. I forgot that part at my potluck party, and thought it was much better the next day when I added the cheese to it.

I have photos up of most of the process except (unfortunately) the actual squash themselves.

Holiday Potluck 2008

After I had a small but very successful Thanksgiving potluck I decided to have another Holiday potluck around Christmas. This one quickly grew in size though from a very comfortable 11 people at the last one to 25+ this time around, but we had plenty of food and just barely finished all the wine after 6 hours of eating, drinking, and socializing so it all worked out quite nicely.

I ended up making a beef & Guinness stew and a spicy roast squash dish. Both of them were inspired by the dinner I had last week at Tamara Reynold’s supper club in Astoria. Actually, by asking for the recipe and inviting Tamara to join I got a little radio shout out by her partner in crime, Zora. My first reference in the public limelight!

Everyone seemed to enjoy the beef & Guiness stew but after having Tamara’s version last week I think mine still needs a bit of work. I made some modifications and think I ended up a bit heavy handed on the nutmeg. But all in all, it turned out pretty good for being my first attempt.

The squash on the other hand was fantastic. I definitely liked it as much as the original version I had the week before and I can probably add it to my list of dishes worth repeating. It works well for potlucks and such because you can make it ahead of time and bring it wherever you need to go or if you are hosting you can entertain guests instead of being in the kitchen. I, of course, never got around to preparing it ahead of time because the oven was already occupied with the beef stew most of the day. I have some very helpful friends though that gave me a hand throughout the night. I’ll be sure to post the recipe for this soon and I highly recommend giving it a shot during the cooler months as a slightly spicy version of roast squash.

Anyhow, there were tons of other great food as well. Baked brie with dried fruits, garlicky bruschetta, cookies from Jacques Torres, deviled eggs, vegan pate, veggie bake, scalloped potatoes, some amazing sourdough stuffing, and an absolutely delicious rum cake that was topped with Cruzan Black Strap rum (delicious stuff… really… Its perfect for holiday desserts).

All in all, it was a great time.
Next up… the Taco-n-Tequila party…

I am (somewhat) famous!

I decided to through a Christmas potluck party and invited a bunch of NYC friends over to enjoy and gorge ourselves on food and wine. I also invited Tamara of Sunday Night Dinners over to join since she is the inspiration (and source of the recipes) for a couple of the dishes I will be making: Beef & Guinness Pie and Squash with Chili & Cinnamon.

By doing so I got a (previously) anonymous mention on a talk radio show! Now that I divulging it to the world I guess its no longer anonymous though as I shamelessly plug myself. =)

Tamara isn’t the one on the show actually. Her partner for her supper club events, Zora, is though.

Anyhow, you can listen to the radio clip online in mp3 format or directly from a webpage. It is a 10 minute segment on tips about cooking and entertaining at home and how the current economic situation has resulted in increase in both these activities. The part that applies to me starts at around 8 minutes and 25 seconds.

Sigiri

I already posted on this place earlier, but recently revisited this place and thought I’d share my thoughts on a couple other dishes we got since Sri Lankan food is pretty new and mysterious to me.

The new things we got this time were the grilled prawns and the pittu. The grilled prawns are tossed in a sauted onions, capsicum, and a variety of other herbs and spices so that you get a very tasty gravy. Pittu is a mixture of fresh rice meal, very lightly roasted and mixed with fresh grated coconut,and steamed in a bamboo mold. It is served with fresh coconut milk and onion sambol. Onion sambol (seeni sambol) is mixture of sauted onions, chilies and Sri Lankan spices. I actually ended up mixing the two dishes together and the combination was fantastic. You get the ultra spicy prawns and the tropical tasting coconut rice all mixed together. The coconut rice helps to cut the heat if they came out a bit spicier than you though you could handle.

And I should mention again it is very well priced and BYOB with a great beer selection at the convenience store below. Definitely a new neighborhood favorite for me now. Read the previous post for more info.

Sigiri
91 First Avenue (between 5th & 6th street)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 614-9333

Sunday Night Dinner with the lovely Tamara

This was my third visit to Tamara’s home in Astoria to sample her food and I walked away as impressed as usual. Tamara makes amazing 5-6 course meals in her home in Astoria and serves it to anyone that rsvp’s to her mailing list.

I first found out about because I was on the mailing list for the NY Bite Club and they sent out a link to an article in the Post about them that also mentioned various other Supper Clubs in the city. While NY Bite Club is a much more gourmet and upscale dining experience with well plated individual servings and great beverage pairings, Tamara’s Sunday Night Dinners are much more casual and friendly experience. She welcomes you into her home as if she has known you for years and the food is served family style. Wine is consumed for miniature jars, the plates don’t match, she or a helper bring the dishes back and forth, you open and share your own wines, etc. but the food is absolutely amazing and her hospitality cannot be beat. Everyone there is very friendly and lovely for conversation as well.

The price tag is much friendlier too. Tamara’s dinners are $35 and a bottle of wine, while the Bite Club dinner start at $125 + tip. That was last year so with the increase in food prices it might have gone up from there. I have only been to Bite Club once and Tamara’s multiple times now so you can see which one I prefer. In fact, the only reason I wouldn’t go to one of Tamara’s dinner is if I have a scheduling problem. For $35 I don’t think I can ever find better food anywhere else or have a better experience anywhere else.
Continue reading »

Recipe: Chicken with Goddess Dressing

I have been meaning to post a few recipes every now and then so I figured I should start with my all time favorite easy weeknight recipe. My definition of easy is sometimes a bit different than other people’s because I actually find enjoyment being in my kitchen, but this is definitely a very approachable recipe for anyone.

I’ll start off with the basic recipe which only requires 3 ingredients (plus salt, pepper, and olive oil) and then give a few the variations I have found that goes well with it.

Basic Recipe:

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 12-oz container of button mushrooms
One half-bottle of Goddess Dressing from Trader Joe’s.

Steps:
1) Cut the mushroom into quarters. I de-stem mine, but its a personal choice.
2) Saute in olive oil with some salt and pepper on medium until all the moisture has been given off. Stir occasionally so it doesn’t burn.
3) While that is cooking, fillet the chicken breast into two thin pieces. You could skip this, but I just find it easier to cook them through this way. Alternatively, you could pound it thin, but I haven’t tried this yet. It takes a bit of practice to fillet a chicken breast if you haven’t done it before, but it’s worth learning how to do because I have found it to be useful for other recipes as well.
4) Add a bit of salt & pepper to both sides of the fillets and cook on medium to medium high heat until it is just cooked through and hopefully browned on both sides. You could lightly flour the chicken before you pan fry it to help with the browning process, but its pretty optional.
5) By this time the mushrooms should be done, so toss in about a half bottle of the Goddess Dressing and turn the heat to your lowest setting.
6) While the mushrooms and sauce are hanging out, cut the chicken into rough strips or bite sized pieces. I try to cut against the grain when I do this to make it less noticeable if I overcooked the chicken.
7) Toss the chicken with the mushrooms and sauce for a bit (under a minute) to let them heat up together, then kill the heat and serve.

Pretty simple right?
I like to keep a few bottle of this on any given night as a fallback meal.

Variations:

The beauty of this is that since its so simple and already tastes so good its easy to make variations to it.

Continue reading »