Viennese Vegetable Orchestra

(I did not take this picture)

I heard about these folks a few weeks ago... Here's a video (after a commercial). I wonder, is a carrot-cucumber-pepper called a ca-cu-pe? Could be the long awaited vegetarian response to turducken!

Tacombi

Well I guess I have to make my "Plan A" work now because someone scooped my "Plan B." You can now get breakfast tacos in Nolita. Tacombi is essentially an indoor taco truck.

COME & TRY A TACO....uh, ok.

Spanish lesson?

The $4 breakfast tacos: this ain't potato & egg time

The truck, which I think opens for lunch and dinner

A remarkably clean kitchen area
(I did just read Kitchen Confidential, after all...)

My breakfast taco, on a homemade tortilla
I nearly cried.

Was curious about the agua de pepino...

But it came in this sustainably compostable cup so I couldn't admire its color while I drank it

Around Little Italy

The "real" Little Italies may have moved off Manhattan (according to the guide books), but I still enjoyed living near Downtown's old Italian quarter, which is by turns touristy and seemingly authentic.

Torrisi Italian Specialties

Ok, so Torrisi is not great for vegetarians, but I got some eggplant, broccolini, and cauliflower treated in various ways, plus some smoked mozzarella from Raffetto's

Delicious pasta salad from Raffetto's

Lasagna from DiPalo's

Tiled floor at one of the million eateries on Mulberry Street

Amazing wild mushroom and olive pizza from Lombardi's

The old-school espresso and sweet shop, Caffe Roma

Cannoli from Caffe Roma

Eating at the Brooklyn Flea

The Brooklyn Flea takes place every weekend and I suppose it's a gathering place of sorts for the hipper types of Northern Brooklyn. The stalls have all kinds of antique clothes and knick knacks that would be finds at garage sales, here sold at a premium. No matter, I was more interested in the food.

This guy was doing all right selling nothing but pork on a roll

And I, sadly, couldn't resist the bbq sausage roll

Food vendors ranged from some faces familiar from the Red Hook ball fields, to Middle Eastern, to wood-oven pizza (they had installed one at the tent!), to this table advertising themselves as Texas barbecue. When I asked if they were from Texas, one of them answered in the affirmative, so I had to give them a shot.

Finally reading Kitchen Confidential...

So I'm finally reading Kitchen Confidential. Bourdain's braggadocio never really appealed to me, but I have to admit his first book is really amusing. As he says in the introduction, it's a book for the cooks. If you've ever worked in the food service industry, you'll probably snicker knowingly at a lot of his descriptions.

What I don't understand is why he is so intent on bad mouthing vegetarians. It must be mostly a publicity stunt. Anyway I think he's lost the debate. Listen to his conversation with Jonathan Safran-Foer (author of Eating Animals) and see what you think.

Food on Screen: Food Beware

The food documentary is not an exclusively US phenomenon - Europe has ventured into the genre with films like Our Daily Bread and the recent French documentary Food Beware.



Despite the terrible English title, this film is worth watching. It's about a small town in the South of France where the mayor decided that all school children and invalids - who are fed through a central municipal kitchen - should eat organic food. This decision was spurred by increasing scientific evidence that pesticides used in the region (which is heavily agricultural and wine-producing) have been responsible for health problems in children and adults.

The cross-cultural difference is what I found particularly interesting about the film. It's really astounding to see French school children sitting at lunch tables, enthusiastically tasting and describing the new foods they are being offered. That, and the class picnic at the base of the Pont du Gard, were enough to bring a tear to my eye.

It's a nicely made film, and set in a beautiful region. Available on Netflix!

Hester Street Market

On a sunny August Saturday I headed to the Hester Street Market, after reading about it in an issue of Time Out. As far as street markets go, this one gets top marks for interesting food. Lots of different vendors that I haven't seen elsewhere in the city.

"Artisanal" pretzel made with cheddar and truffle
+ a cucumber limeade

Bowls of bulk spices and teas...

Japanese pancakes filled with red bean paste