Choose Your Own Adventure at The Meatball Shop

A big ol bowl of spicy pork meatballs

Inconspicuously situated on the corner of Allen and Stanton on the LES, you might walk right past The Meatball Shop as I did. With a large community table centrally located, warm colors and wood textures, its just cozy enough and the staff are extremely friendly, stopping to say hello wearing different plaid button down shirts. The restaurant has only been open one month and it's a full house at 6:30 on a Thursday night. We dine beneath a row of “instant ancestor” turn of the century photographs hung on the wall, making it seem like these long lost grandparents, aunts and uncles could look down and approve of our dinner plans.

But what really makes this place so rocking, is it’s like a choose your own adventure of food. Use the dry erase marker at your table to mark up your laminated menu presenting a stunning array of options.

Choose your balls! Spicy pork, beef, chicken, veggie, salmon, or the weekly special. (check)

Choose your sauce! Tomato, spicy meat, mushroom gravy, parmesan cream. (check)

Eat your meatballs on a slider (check here) or maybe on a hero sandwich, (check there) or get your meatballs and sauce served with risotto, polenta, white beans, mashed potatoes, or spaghetti. (check here, here or there)

How about adding some greens? - sauteed broccoli, steamed spinach, roasted veggies, market salad. (you get the idea)

My spicy pork meatballs live up to the buzz and the crowds. While they aren’t particularly spicy, they are mighty flavorful, moist, and sized well. Served four in a bowl, they are adequately coated in my chosen classic tomato sauce, with shredded cheese and two foccacia strips. They taste like good home cooking should. Just how I would want my mom to cook meatballs (if she ever made them).

The side of risotto I randomly chose isn’t creamy like I anticipated, but it is a nice texture contrast.

Brownie cookies with vanilla ice cream

Gingersnap cookies with chocolate ice cream

For dessert, it’s another odyssey of choices to build an ice cream sandwich from a handful of home made ice creams smushed between two freshly baked cookies. All are conveniently made on site by the owner’s wife. I chose gingersnap cookies loaded with real ginger you could taste. Pairing it with chocolate ice cream that is as rich and intensely chocolate as Van Leeuwen’s, I knew I had hit pay dirt. The ice cream was actually better than the meatballs, but shhh don't tell.

My first time as a Guest Blogger

Velva Knapp digs my blog and she asked me if I would do a guest posting on her recipe based blog - Tomatoes on the Vine.

My posting is up today (Monday) so take a moment to head over to Velva’s blog to check out my post and stay a while to take a peek at some of the recipes she’s made. She does one helluva job!

Thanks Velva!

The Future of Food with Y+30

L to R: Mollie Chen, Glenn Roberts, and Fernando Music discuss food

Courtesy of Y+30

Y + 30 is a thought experiment group that gathers to discuss topics and issues projected 30 years in the future. They recently assembled a panel of professionals to talk about food at the 92 Y Tribeca.

The event also featured a spread from local food purveyors including Early Bird Granola and Kumquat Cupcakery. Thirsty attendees could belly up to the bar to sample Goose Island beer or try a bourbon and pecan cocktail specially concocted by Chef Dave Arnold, who runs a culinary technology program at the FCI.

Panelist for the evening were:

Glenn Roberts, Founder of Anson Mills

Fernando Music, Principal of Rooster Design Group

Amanda Hesser, Co-founder of Food52.com

Michael Anthony, Chef at Gramercy Tavern

Mollie Chen, Moderator and panel organizer

Having gone to a number of food panel discussions the past year, I was already familiar with some of the usual debated questions such as, “how do we make organic/sustainable food affordable?” and “are food movements elitist?” However there were a three topics of interest discussed that I believe are worth noting.

1. Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver, formerly known as The Naked Chef, won an award in February 2010 for his momentous campaign to change how we feed America’s children. His speech is generating a lot of internet buzz and it was mentioned twice during the panel. Check out his speech on YouTube.

2. Anson Mills

Glenn Roberts founded Anson Mills, an heirloom grain and mill goods company, in an attempt to preserve near extinct varieties of corn, rice and wheat and reintroduce heritage ingredients rooted in Southern food culture dating back to the Antebellum period. I'm not talking about just any old grits and cornmeal. Roberts has brought back the ingredients found 200 years ago in plantation inventories and recipes - the real deal.

Roberts was hands down the most fascinating, gravely serious, and most scientific person on the panel. He spoke about grains using terminology I couldn’t understand, but his message was clear. Due to corporate decisions, we are currently faced with a narrowing of food choices. We are already past the point of no return and we must do our part to take back control of our food system.

3. How can we expand the local, sustainable, organic food movement?

One audience member boldly told to the panel that they are preaching to the choir since the audience already had a vested interest in the subject matter. In a frustrated tone, she demanded to know how can we can convert the non believers.

Glenn Roberts immediately shot back a simple and direct answer. He said the responsibility is on each of our shoulders to broadcast the message about sustainability. We must communicate like a laser - frequently and consistently. Over time the message will resonate.

A profile of Cerise Mayo, Program Director of the New Amdsterdam Market

The first New Amsterdam Market was held back in December 2007. Thirty-two farmers, artisans, and food purveyors began setting up at dawn to sell their goods in the freezing cold.

A staggering 4,000 people came that day, some traveling from Philadelphia and even Boston. When the day ended, many vendors had completely sold out.

Clearly, the folks behind the New Amsterdam Market were onto something.

Cerise Mayo, the Market’s Program Director, essentially curates the market. She also has the daunting task of sourcing for the market (both products and purveyors). Through a series of phone calls, she tracks down the people behind appropriate products and brings them into the market. Unlike traditional cold calls, Cerise finds that talking about the New Amsterdam Market and ideas behind re-instituting public markets sells itself.

She said the market is really about the purveyors, maintaining strong relationships, and making sure the market works in their interest. In this line of thinking, Cerise explained there is a limit on the number of prepared foods sold because they want the public talking and blogging about the market food itself and not getting distracted by a popular sandwich that might be for sale.

Cerise developed a business relationship with Market founder Robert LaValva, while both worked at Slow Food USA. She eventually left Slow Food and when Robert asked her to come on board with his project a few years later, Cerise brought a wide array of experiences from working at Slow Food, the Raw Milk Cheesemakers’ Association, and her apprenticeship with master gardeners at the Four Season Farm in Maine.

While Cerise acknowledged small pockets where local food movements have sprouted across the country, it takes an infinite amount of planning to pull off a public market like this in Manhattan. But she enjoys her work immensely because she feels it’s necessary and is both a timely and creative project. Also, I’d personally like to add that it must be pretty damn cool getting to make real connections with the likes of Mast Brothers Chocolate, Saxelby Cheesemongers, and Dickson’s Farmstead Meats.

Due to the complexity of market days, Cerise and Robert use a small army of volunteers to help serve as Market Ambassadors who give a voice to the market by talking to people, generating support, and surveying visitation.

The New Amsterdam Market is looking for interns as they are an expanding organization that just moved into new office space.

The new market season kicks off in June along South Street in Lower Manhattan. For more information on the market (or to contact Cerise Mayo) visit their website by clicking here.

I'm a shmegegge when it comes to bagels and lox

Maria Balinska, author of The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread, engaged in a Q & A session with Serious Eats’ own Ed Levine as part of the Tenement Talks lecture series at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.

Balinska’s book chronicles the myths, facts and cross-cultural history of the beloved bagel from its roots in Poland to its mainstream presence in America. A link about Balinska and her book can be found here.

But this post is not going about the bagel Q &A. No, no dear reader. This post is about my bumbling introduction to an iconic New York City food legend who randomly chose the empty seat next to me.

An older gentleman, probably in his sixties, with a kind face and big smile left his backpack on the seat next to me and headed up front to greet and hug Maria Balinska and Ed Levine. When the gentleman returned to the seat next to me, I entered into “insert-foot-into-mouth” territory which I will gladly recount for you in all of its embarrassing glory.

Keep in mind the whole dialog between him and I was very friendly and the gentleman was extremely gracious. I’m paraphrasing our larger conversation below.

Me: So how do you know Ed? (Said as if I’m on a first name basis with him)

MF: I know Ed because I’m in the food world. How do you know Ed?

Me: I cover food events. I don’t know Ed personally, but I know him from going to various events.

MF: So you’re a food writer or blogger for Ed?

Me: No, I’m a food blogger on my own for my website.

We bonded for the next few minutes since he had stopped practicing law to start working with lox and I’m currently trying to get out of legal services and into the food industry.

But I missed that vital clue that he gave me because he then asked --

MF: You’re not originally from New York are you?

Me: No......but I’m not trying to be.

He chuckles at my remark, says “that’s a good thing,” and I start getting get this feeling that I’m supposed to know this man....pangs of dread begin knotting my stomach.

The woman sitting across the aisle leans over and says to the man, “I love your lox and I was just at your store getting some dried fruit.”

Then it hits me.

Lox and dried fruit. Lox and dried fruit.

Oh no...... I feel a big Homer Simpson “D’oh” moment coming on as I realize the man I’ve been chatting with about lox and life is a legend.

I blurt out with astonishment and uncertainty, “Russ & Daughters?”

He beams, extends his hand and says “Mark Russ, pleased to meet you.”

As we shake hands, my face turns five shades of red.

Am I a schmuck or what?

(l.)- (r.) Joshua Russ Tupper, Mark and Niki Russ Federman stand in front

of their family-owned restaurant, Russ & Daughters Appetizers. (NY Daily News)

This funny, unassuming man is Mark Russ Federman, former owner of Russ & Daughters, a cultural landmark in the Lower East Side. Known for smoked fish, caviar, bagels, bialys, dried fruit, babka, and other specialty foods, Russ & Daughters has survived as a family run operation for almost 100 years.

Turns out, Mark is in the early stages of writing his own book on the history of bagels and lox, which certainly will be steeped in his rich family history.

I intended to ask Mark if he would grant me a brief interview sometime, but when the event concluded, audience members flocked to him to tell their fond memories about his family’s store. I suspect this happens to Mark frequently and he is genuinely appreciative to hear such praise about his family’s work.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out a way to ask for an interview without interrupting his rock star moment. So I decided it was best to let it go and not make another ass out of myself.

I touched Mark on the arm, and wished him good luck on the book. He grinned and replied, “good luck with your life.”

For more info about Russ & Daughters (including their family history) click here.

Must Eat This: Porchetta Sandwich

Pork belly transforms into cracklings after 6 hours of slow roasting.

Courtesy of Food GPS.com

To get your pork on, go directly to Porchetta at 110 East 7th Street, in the East Village.

Porchetta is a tiny joint offering a small menu packed with big Tuscan flavor. Known for their meaty pork sandwiches, Porchetta’s menu also offers up cooking greens (broccoli rabe), cannelloni beans, soup, chicory salad with garlic dressing, crispy potatoes and burnt ends (those would be cracklings), and a mozzarella sandwich for those who don’t come for the swine.

Ordering up a sandwich for $10.00 gets you a mound of six hour-slow roasted pork seasoned with wild fennel pollen, thyme, sage, rosemary, and garlic. Topped with a few pork belly cracklings, the pork is served on a crusty ciabatta roll from Sullivan St. Bakery. No fixings or condiments need apply. Its 100% flavor intoxicating pork and ciabatta to ram in your face.

Thank God for Pork. Courtesy of Time Out NY

It’s good. Damn good. And not just because I had three Belgian beers before hand. The right amount of fat (three napkins worth for me), seasonings, and chewy crusty bread will give your jaw a workout and make your mouth happy.

We arrived at the odd hour of 9:30 on a Friday night -- after the dinner hour but before late night eating fueled by alcohol begins. The timing lent itself to our pork not being served hot, or even warm. But it was an acceptable trade off since Porchetta was nearly empty and we landed stools at the window.

For your visit, I recommend splitting the big sandwich with a friend and get a couple side dishes to get the full experience of Tuscan flavors.

Banh Mi Sandwiches: Where Cilantro, Pork, Pickled Diakon & Carrot Collide

Pork Banh Mi sandwich

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and as usual I could care less about testosterone driven football, swilling light beer and eating crappy chips, wings and pizza.

Instead I opted for an excursion to Sunset Park, Brooklyn to try one of the many Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich shops around the city.

Ba Xuyen Store front

Yelp and Chowhound offered much praise for Ba Xuyen on 43rd and 8th Avenue in Sunset Park, a primarily Asian and Latino neighborhood.

I wandered through Ba Xuyen’s doors and struggled to find some signage in English while trying to not look like a tourist. There it was - an illuminated sign with pictures of food with numbers and words in Vietnamese and English.

I ordered the #3. The pork banh mi for $3.75 and the friendly, smiling ladies behind the counter served me a big ‘ol sandwich and I settled into my seat by the window.

Get ready for some crunch!

The first bite revealed toasty bread, fragrant cilantro, and a powerful crunch from the pickled diakon and carrot. The flavors were sweet, a little sour and spicier (from the jalapeno) with every mouthful.

Though the pork didn’t have much flavor, the mighty crunch won me over. I’m stoked to compare Ba Xuyen with other Banh Mi sandwiches in Queens in the coming weeks....as soon as my foodie contact in Queens gets back from Mexico.

Sign in the bathroom