Sound Bites

The Cheesiest

Another great, lactose tolerance testing party from the folks at Slice, Gothamist and Fornino. It would be unfair to hold tonight's festivities up against the last one two years ago (lightning in a bottle) but it was a whole lot of fun. And delicious. Fornino is my neighborhood pizza place, the food eaten at most LOST nights at my place, so I'm familiar with the menu but I had a couple pizzas I'd never tried before including arugula/gorgonzola/figs, pesto/shrimp, and the black trufflicious Tartufo. Also: another mozzarella-making demonstration from Fornino owner Michael Ayoub and some great spumoni.

And, of course, there was "Hot Kate" who took a lot of great photos and supplied the evening's best quotes:

"Can you hold this for a second?"

"Oh my god...it's too big!"

"My bag is wet!"

"What happened to my wheat?"

"Wait a minute, I said something else funny..."

Sound Bites Interview: Gerard Cosloy

Gerard Cosloy is Co-President of Matador Records, and ran Homestead Records before that. (My cassette of Homestead's seminal 1988 compilation Human Music still gets play when I visit the parents.) When he's not busy doing those things, he blogs about baseball. I pulled him aside after the Blog Factor panel at SXSW to talk, ever so briefly, about food. I was a little nervous, as the last time I'd spoken to Cosloy (on the phone as a college radio MD trying to get Matador to send us the Teenage Fanclub record; our station was more mainstream than a lot of college stations) he yelled at me. But it made his Top 10 Highlights of SXSW So Far, apparently, so maybe now would be a good time to hit him up again for A Catholic Education.

Sound Bites: The Matablog seems to be turning into a food blog.

Gerard Cosloy: Yeah, well we get hungry. Patrick [Amory, Matador GM] is a wiz in the kitchen. I do think if you look throughout the years, most people who were degenerate record collectors – as they move on in their lives, the only thing left for them is food. I look forward to the day when we move exclusively to food coverage and can stop putting out records altogether. That's our five year goal.

SB: I know you posted endorsing Torchy's Tacos as the place many may eat every meal during SXSW. Have you managed to eat elsewhere?

GC: I have, as a matter of fact.

SB: So what's the best thing you've eaten this week?

GC: I'd rather not say -- Austin restaurants are overrun this week as it is.

SB: This won't go up till after SXSW.

GC: Well, in that case, Jonathan from Shearwater to me to a Vietnamese place on East Oltorf called Hai Ky which, for better or worse, is probably my favorite place in town these days. Very cheap, the food's awesome, the people who work there are great. Sadly they're closed Sundays, but what can you do?

MP3: The Young Fresh Fellows - Taco Wagon (buy)

Photo courtesy Mr. Cosloy; credit, according to him, "Dick Avedon." Ahem.

Happy Sushi!

Holiday travel sucks, but it's always nice knowing there will be a new Sushi Yasuda origami waiting for me when I get home. They send them out every year to people who are on their mailing list. (It's free.) Usually, it's some kind of fish (eel, blowfish, etc) but this year they sent out a Fishing Boat. It kind of looks like a doobie in this picture but, don't worry mom, it's not. It's a boat.

Sushi Yasuda is probably the best sushi place in NYC that won't cost you a month's rent. It will still cost you your cable bill, but it is worth it.

Still, it's a splurge. But once you have had the good stuff, neighborhood sushi just doesn't cut it. The rice is cold and hard. The fish isn't cut with much skill. And the pieces are too big to eat in one bite. (A serious no no.) Finding affordable sushi that is worth eating in NYC is difficult. But I've found somewhere that fits the bill.

Nori opened about a three weeks ago on 2nd Avenue, just below St. Marks. It's a little place with nine seats at the sushi bar and about seven or eight tables. They don't have the variety of fish you'll find at Yasuda or 15 East but everything they have is very good. And if you sit at the bar and show the sushi-ya that you're a serious sushi eater, and let him choose your meal, he will show you how serious he is.

On a recent meal I got fluke that had been marinated between sheets of kombu, giant clam, kanpachi, hamachi belly, King salmon, real Japanese wagyu beef sushi, briefly blowtorched, very good o-toro, uni, house-made sea eel, ikura, and half a roll filled with toro and japanese pickles. And the finale was something I've never had before: king crab topped with uni, and then blowtorched. Awesome. And the rice is not an afterthought -- warm and soft, you need to dip your fish flesh-side down in the soy sauce (the way you're supposed to) or risk it falling apart on you. As it should be.

Nori doesn't have a liquor license yet, so it's BYOB and they're currently enticing customers with an trio of amuse bouche  (last night we got eggplant in miso, asparagus with sesame sauce, and a salmon and roasted tomato thing) and desert (chocolate cake and green tea ice cream), both of which were gratis. The bill for all that? $60 not counting tip -- pretty amazing if you consider we got toro (twice), wagyu beef, uni (twice) and more. They also have your typical $20 sushi assortments that I have to imagine are good too, but I recommend sitting at the bar and getting the good stuff, served one piece at a time.

Nori | 129 Second Ave.|212-677-4825

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In other sushi news, Ushiwakamaru just reopened after a nearly six-month renovation. It the closest thing NYC has to the great neighborhood sushi joints you find in LA and San Diego (though more expensive), filled with Japanese speakers and in-the-know round-eyes. The sushi chef and owner, Hideo, is well-loved and gets all sorts of fish you normally don't see outside of Japan. It's not as affordable as it once was, but it's still cheaper than the Midtown shrines. Reports on Egullet say the funky vibe and green walls have been somewhat replaced by lots of pretty blonde wood but as long as Hideo-san is still in charge it will be worth checking out soon.   

Adiós Matamoros

After 18 months of having a For Sale sign in their window, looks like Matamoros Puebla Grocery has finally given up the ghost. I headed there yesterday for some lunch and they were gutting the place. I was gutted too. They might've been merely renovating, I couldn't bring myself to inquire, but I'm guessing not. The shutters were down when I walked by around 11am this morning.

Matamoros was one of the few places on Bedford that was still around from when I first moved to Williamsburg ten years ago. It was there that I first had "authentic" Mexican food and it's cheap and delicious tacos, sopes and tortas got me through some lean years and continued to eat there probably twice a week. It was also my source for perfect avocados, crema, cotija cheese, dried chiles and bizarre tamarind candy. Mostly I will miss their amazing sopes, pictured above. I've had better tacos elsewhere in the city, but nobody did sopes as good as Matamoros. I am very sad.

Thanksgiving Aftermath

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, as it's all-inclusive. It doesn't matter what religion, race, nationality...if you are here, you're welcome to be apart of it. The more the merrier. And I love big potluck dinners, especially when everyone is trying to bring the delicious.
This was maybe the best Thanksgiving, foodwise, in quite a while. Nobody tried to fancy it up too much (a crime committed by me in the past), all the standards were covered but with extra attention. Just awesome.

I took it easy this year, after treating previous Thanksgivings as a competition, making three things but they were all fairly easy. White bean spread for crostini using Cellini Runner beans from Rancho Gordo, the beans being so good I almost ate them all the night before; curried cauliflower, using Ganda's recipe again, as a base, though upping the dose of spices and adding dijon mustard and unknown chiles from that stand in the Union Square Greenmarket ... excellent, and even better cold the next day; and green tea vanilla ice cream which was very good though not quite as green tea-y as I would've hoped. But not bad for an idea I did on the spot. Plus a jar of Windy City Wasabeans from Rick's Picks, a big hit.

I ate leftovers the rest of the weekend, barely leaving the house, watching a lot of Picket Fences Season 1 (not as good as I'd remembered) and too many episodes of Never Mind the Buzzcocks on YouTube. (If you've never seen the episode with Amy Winehouse from a year ago, it's a must: Pts one, two, and three) Ate out Sunday night at Momofuku Ssam Bar, which was great. But I'm not sure anything was as good as that cauliflower.

Elsewhere

I usually consider myself as being on top of the UK scene, but Obscure Sound has three tracks from a band I'd never heard before, Hidden Messages, and they are quite good. [Obscure Sound]

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Over at the AV Club, Comedian of Comedy Brian Pohsen interviews fictional, animated metal band Dethklok who tell him about the craziest thing that ever happened at one of their shows: "There were two guys who ran at each other full force in a mosh pit and exploded their brains and guts and donkey cum onto a bride who had just gotten out of a limousine at that exact moment."; Jason Schwartzman offers up his iPod for an exceptionally interesting Random Rules. My esteem for him went up by 24% after reading this; And Nathan Rabin finally tackles the inexplicable, horrendous, yet un-turn-off-able mess that is Dreamcatcher for his awesome My Year of Flops project. [AV Club]

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I saw both of Pelle Carlberg's NYC shows in May (one of which I reviewed) and in addition to his own songs, he covered Elton John's "Rocket Man" and Mika's "Grace Kelly" which were both great. I've been looking for MP3s ever since. (There's an EP that has them, somewhere, but you had to order the album online to get it. I already owned it at that point.) Quick Before it Melts comes through with the Mika one. [QBiM]

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Speaking of... in today's NY Times Dining section, restaurant critic Frank Bruni gives two stars to high-end tapas joint Pamplona. I'll have to take his word on the food, but Pelle Carlberg's song of the same name is at least a three-and-a-half, if not four:

MP3: Pelle Carlberg - Pamplona (buy it)

Hibachi of the Near Future

MTV2's Subterranean is so much better now that we no longer have to watch smarmy Jim Shearer interview bands. More time for videos! The producers are still making "original content" for the show, however -- band interview segments in kooky places. The past couple weeks they've shown The Klaxons being interviewed at some Japanese hibachi joint. Watching the band trying to give serious answers while being distracted by the hibachi chef's antics is priceless. Even serious talk of how the internet has changed the way bands get signed is no match for the onion volcano:

NY Magazine may say that England is undergoing a culinary Renaissance, but the Klaxons beg to differ:

 

The Klaxons' epic, awesome debut, Myths of the Near Future, is out now. Tickets for the Klaxons April 13 show at Studio B are only $10 and still available. I was somewhat underwhelmed at the band's first two NYC shows, but having heard the album in all it's glory I'm hoping for greater things this time.

A couple more Subterranean clips after the jump...

Elsewhere: Food

David Cross shares a week's worth of eating with Grub Street: It's mostly snacks, including peanut butter on pretzel rods. "I just dip them in there and have them with a glass of red wine. I am not kidding. I am both 12 and 42 years old." He also eats a lot of ramen, but refreshingly doesn't mention Momofuku, instead giving props to the nearby, excellent Minca: "It’s cheap, filling, and everything is infused with succulent pork fat, like an angel’s ejaculate."

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Additionally... this is a bit old, but I have to give props to New York Magazine's Everything Guide to Chinatown, which includes Fatty Crab owner Zac Pelaccio's favorite places; a couple different annotated "so that's what that stuff is" photos; and, best of all, a map of everything on mysterious East Broadway. This is easily the most useful, handy thing of it's kind since the Porkchop Express brought us the map of the Red Hook Soccer Field vendors and is a good example of what the internet was made for.

Minca ramen photo swiped from Transparent Reality's Flickr photostream.

Eat to the Beat: Galapagos / Music Hall of Williamsburg

Two of Williamsburg's main rock venues, Galapagos and the soon-to-open Music Hall of Williamsburg (formerly NorthSix), are conveniently located right next to one another on N. 6th Street. There are loads of great chow choices for before or after the show. Note, these are not necessarily the best places in all of Williamsburg, just the best ones closest to the show.

PRE-SHOW BEST BETS

CHEAP-BUT-GREAT: In the back of Matamoros Puebla Grocery is a zero-frills taqueria offering some of the best, authentic Mexican food in the neighborhood. Skip the burritos and head straight for the tacos and the sopes (both $2 each) which you can get with a variety of fillings. The latter are thick, homemade tortillas filled with meat or vegetables, salsa, onions, crema and crumbly cotija cheese. There are non-meat options, but everything's cooked on the same griddle...so vegans might want to head to the branch of San Loco on N. 4th.
193 Bedford (between N. 6th and N. 7th) | 10AM - 10PM (ish) daily.

EVERYONE LOVES PIZZA: Fornino opened two years ago and has been a pizza destination ever since. Using homemade moz and herbs grown in the backyard greenhouse, this is upscale pizza that will still leave you with money for beer. And the pie is pretty great, with plenty of options for carnivores, vegetarians and vegans alike. Whole pies only. For a slice, Anna Maria's is on Bedford, just north of North 7th.
187 Bedford Ave | 718-384-6004 | Noon to 11PM daily.

THAI ONE ON: While it's North 6h location makes it seem ideal, SEA is overrun with B&T/Sex & the City types and should be avoided at all costs on the weekends. Instead try Chai or Thai Thai. Chai scores with it's deft mix of culinary finesse and atmosphere to match; Tai Thai is the cheapest in the area, with better than average food. It's the only place you can find the extra-spicy Northern Thai specialty Jungle Curry in the neighborhood.
Chai: 124 N. 6th St (at Berry St) | 718-599-5889 | Noon to midnight daily
Tai Thai: 206 Bedford Ave (at N. 6th) | 718-599-5556 | Noon to 11PM daily

MORE: Sparky's is a fast food concept with a slow food heart, using  organic and local ingredients; Miyako is the WB's best sushi option; For a non-sushi Japanese fix in a transportive setting, Zenkichi offers luxe izakaya favorites... at a price; Oasis has your Middle Eastern options covered; Bliss is decent vegetarian; and Monkeytown is a destination in its own right.

POST-ROCK EATS

SNACK ATTACK: When your starved but want to keep the party going, few places in Williamsburg fit the bill as well as Snacky. As the name implies, it's menu is full of little bites, drawn from Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisine. But it's Snacky's spin on American classics that really satisfy the munchies. Hot dogs are topped with kimchee and a tangy, spicy sauce; and the Popsie Burger is their take on the slider, which is one of my favorite non-traditional burgers in the city. Kitchen stays open late...especially on weekends. There's a nice selection of beer, sake and soju (distilled Korean rice wine that packs a vodka punch), the decor is hip and funky, and the stereo often plays mixes from yours truly.
187 Grand St (at Bedford) | 718-486-4848 | 6PM - 1AM (or later) Mon-Sat

IT'S THE BOMB: Further east on Grand St. is Bozu. Like Snacky, Bozu is essentially an izakaya joint -- a place to drink with little items to nosh on while getting sloshed -- but the two places have a totally different vibe. It's very Japanese, and you feel like you're walking into some secret den (kind of like Decibel in the East Village). There's a full bar, but the emphasis is on beer (Hitachino on draft!), sake, and especially shochu -- the Japanese equivalent of soju. The food is great. Their sushi bombs are made in muffin tins, the result are little pucks of raw fish and rice. Sushi rolls too -- with many vegetarian/vegan varieties -- and a nice selection of salads, cooked dishes and other little treats. The star, however, is the Pork Betty: slow-cooked pork belly, sliced thin into little medallions of fatty goodness.
296 Grand St. (btwn Havemeyer and Roebling) | 718-384-7770 | 6PM - 1AM (3AM on weekends)

BURGER ME: Open for less than a year, DuMont Burger has become one of the most popular spots on the South Bedford drag. During normal dinner hours, you have to fight for one of the 25 stools in the small place. But after 10PM, snagging a spot is pretty easy and the kitchen stays open till 2AM most nights. Their signature eight ounce burger uses top-quality, house-ground ground beef, and it's served on a buttery brioche bun, which can be a bit much. The better option is the DuMont Mini -- five ounces (still big) on a ciabatta bun. The fries and onion rings are excellent. You can also get DuMont's famed Mac and Cheese (a portion big enough to feed four), a decent grilled chicken sandwich, and a veggie burger made with chickpeas. (It's dry.) There are also daily specials, nice draft beer choices, plus more wines by the glass than you might expect. Still, my favorite menu item is the fish sandwich.
314 Bedford Ave (btwn S. 1st and S. 2nd) | 888-895-2668 | 11AM - 2AM

NO TIME: Despite it being open very late and located basically across the street from Galapagos and NorthSix, Anytime should be avoided at all costs. You can do much better.

Sam Mason: Indie Rock Superchef

Sam Mason is a busy man. The tattooed pastry chef that wowed diners with his clever deserts at Wylie Dufresne's WD-50 left that famed temple of molecular gastronomy last year to do his own thing. That thing is Tailor, his new restaurant with Francis Derby (who worked at Gilt during Paul Liebrant's controversial, short regime) which is set to open next month on the corner of Thompson and Broome. Mason has been documenting the process of getting the menu, space and details ready in weekly dispatches on New York Magazine's food blog, Grub Street. Mason's genius deserts were the highlight of the birthday meal I had at WD-50 last year, and the menu ideas he posted on Grub Street make Tailor sound like one of the more adventurous, forward-thinking places in the city.

You'd think trying to open what will surely be one of the highest-profile restaurants of the Spring would be enough, but Mason is also host of the soon-to-happen online cooking-and-music show, Dinner with the Band. While the show's pilot (which was online until just recently) played a bit like Tyler Florence's Food 911 but with music slant, from the looks of web series' official trailer, the show has been reworked so that bands come over to Mason's apartment, hang out, cook, and play a couple songs. I think it's a great idea (of course, given this blog's name, I would) and if there was ever guy to do the job, Sam's the man.

Upcoming episodes will feature EL-P but the show's producers (those Finger-on-the-Pulse brothers, who should really think about changing their moniker to Fingers-in-Everything) are looking for bands to fill out the remaining shows. Not that many bands read this blog (if any) but I highly recommend that any that do contact the talent coordinator. Who would turn down the chance to have someone as talented as Mason cook for you -- and get publicity out of it to boot? Even if I was in a band that wouldn't normally bother with something on this small level, I would go do it. Even if the show never aired, it would be worth you hauling your gear over to his pad if you get to eat the food. But that's me.