what took me so long

Holy moly. If I wasn't so opposed to the eyesore that is ALL CAPS, I would post this entire entry that way, also bolded, and with plenty of hyperbolic exclamation points.

So I realize that people in the know have been talking up the Red Hook street food scene for a while now, but I'm fully embarrassed that it took me this long to experience it for myself. My. God. I swear I planned on going even before this week's glowing NY Times piece, and I was worried that the article might result in annoying crowds today, but there was no reason to fret -- I don't think anything could've ruined this sublime eating adventure. I took the F to Smith & 9th and from there it was an easy 10-12 minute walk to the vendors on Clinton and Bay streets. There are probably about 15 individul stalls serving up all kinds of deliciousness. I started with a very ample portion of ceviche mixto ($6). I'd venture to say it was the best ceviche I've ever had: chock full of shrimp, whitefish, octopus, and squid, all stewing in a flavorful limey broth with red onions and cilantro. The shrimp was the best -- plump and juicy and so very fresh. I'm not the world's biggest octopus fan, so I left a few pieces uneaten, but beyond that I devoured the entire thing. That turned out to be a bit of a problem -- I'd definitely suggest bringing a friend or two along so you can share a bunch of dishes, instead of doing what I did and stuffing yourself silly on just three.

Next up were the pupusas:

I'm sorry to say that these are not the exact pupusas I ate, because I am a damn fool and forgot to take pictures, even though I had my camera with me. Anyway, "pupusas" is not only fun to say, it's also pretty neato to watch them being made. They're kind of like fried pancakes (but made from masa), stuffed with whatever savory goodness you desire. I'd planned on ordering bean and cheese, but I somehow (my own fault) ended up with shredded pork and cheese, served with a side of vinegary cabbage slaw ($1.50). No complaints there. I told myself I'd only eat half, but that just didn't happen.

By this point I was getting REALLY (all caps necessary) full, and I wasn't sure what to do next. Then I had what for about two seconds seemed like the brightest idea ever: I'd snack on an old standby -- corn-on-the-cob slathered with mayo and parmesan -- and wander around for a bit til my stomach settled and was ready for more. I stood in line and watched the guy put at least a cup of mayonnaise (Hellman's) on a customer's corn. Don't get me wrong - I'm sure it was super-tasty, and I could've asked him to go light on mine, but all of a sudden is just seemed like the wrong move. So instead I jumped right back in and got a chicken tamale ($1.50) Wowsers. Pretty much perfect. The chicken was so tender. Every bite was better than the last. And once again, I basically ate the whole thing. It was then that I realized I hadn't had anything to drink, so I bought some sort of pineapple beverage ($2) that was refreshing and yummy.

And that was the end. I seriously couldn't have eaten another thing, although there was plenty of stuff I didn't try. I'll definitely be making multiple return visits before they shut down for the winter (which I think happens in October). Also, I really wish I knew more Spanish than the six classes worth that I took last summer -- there was so much fun and friendly banter going on, I would've loved to have been able to understand it.


Side note: after the above-mentioned feast, I staggered over to the Cobble Hill theater and caught a double feature of Half Nelson followed by Trust the Man. Half Nelson is probably in my top three movies of the year so far. Run out and see it now. Ryan Gosling better get nominated. I didn't have hugely high hopes for Trust the Man, but it was decent enough, and Billy Crudup, who I'm pretty non-committal about, was hilarious.

stinky flowers and seafood

Yesterday Traci and I went to see the smelly flower at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. (Isn't it funny how everyone calls it the 'botanical' garden? I do too, but I'm trying to stop, since apparently it's wrong.) It had bloomed a few days before, so the stink was gone, thankfully. It's amazing how many people came out to see the thing.

(Aside: I need to start taking better advantage of my Pratt ID. It was $5 to get into the BBG, and $3 for students, but when I showed my ID, the guy was like "Oh, Pratt students get in for free. Your guest, too." Sweet!)

After a few hours of flora and fauna (we saw an adorable bunny rabbit!), we had a few pints of Hoegarden at Union Hall before heading to Brooklyn Fish Camp for dinner. Yum. We split the chilled peel and eat shrimp to start and then I ordered the lobster roll and Traci got the bouillabaisse, which was chock full of clams, squid, lobster, and some sort of white flaky fish, all in a flavorful, buttery sauce. Everything was super-fresh and delicious. Then it was off to Great Lakes for more drinks. A long day, but all in all a great way to spend my first free Saturday in five weeks...

only a little bit about food

I just can't get enough of this picture of me and Baby J. from a few weeks ago. We're both so filthy, what happened?? I think maybe J. dipped his hands into my pina colada (hey now, we were on the water, tropical drinks were totally acceptable) and then hit me and/or clutched at my shirt, thus explaining all those attractive stains. He also has unidentifiable dirt all over his pants.

Anyway, the photo was taken at South St Seaport (hence the oddly creepy, fake-looking ship and Brooklyn skyline in the background), where we were seeing Benjy Ferree, who I highly recommend to the three of you reading this. He played a great set and was thoroughly charming and won everyone over.

I was heading to Southpaw later that night and had to choose between stopping home to change or eating a Bonnie's burger at Kris and Julie's. I'll take meat over cleanliness pretty much any day of the week, and so it was that particular day. (I did borrow a shirt to wear out, so it wasn't as nasty as it could've been, but I'm still not necessarily proud of my priorities.)

here I am

Between the New Yorker practicum (read: unpaid internship, for credit) on Mondays and Tuesdays, "regular" work Wednesday-Friday, and my maps class all day on Saturdays, the past five weeks have been thoroughly nutso. I did, however, manage to sneak in a quick but super-fun tour of pretzel factories around Lancaster, PA -- hmmm, "factories" isn't quite the right word, the two best (least touristy) ones were more like "ramshackle houses"...

peopled by hard-working Mennonites in sturdy shoes:

I'll try to post more details after Paul's article comes out -- look for it in the NY Times in the next few weeks, I'll post a link when it runs. But let's just say that I ate so many pretzels over the course of those two days (including a terribly disappointing pretzel cone that cradled a scrumptious scoop of butter brickle ice cream) that I didn't even buy any to bring home. Totally short-sighted of me, I know -- I'd kill for some of these right now:


(Also, to give credit where it's due: Paul took all these pictures. BUT -- I recently purchased My Very First digital camera, and am loving it so very much.)

more foodstuffs, briefly

I know I said this wouldn't be a food blog, and I'm standing by that claim, but I have to make a brief mention of the occasion of my very first Sparky's hot dog (at the Lafayette St location, not Williamsburg) on Saturday. It was perfectly scrumptious, 1000000x better than the dumb dog I had at Shake Shack a while back (which really wasn't even all that bad, just not good enough to justify not getting the burger.) Anyway, I ordered the #2, it came with shredded cheddar, (real) bacon bits, and a few slices of tomato. Add a dollop or two of ketchup and mustard, and...yum.

Then three hours later I had half a Bonnie's burger and some fries. Because a hot dog is just a snack, not a full meal, right?

two great tastes

Basically, over this most excellent long weekend, when I wasn't eating grilled meats (poor Mercedes had to pull the beer can out of the chicken's, uh, lower half) or making delicious salads with controversial combinations of ingredients, I was reading blogs, peering into the lives of friends, friends of friends, a few total strangers. I love the insight these little glimpses give, the tidbits revealed, the stories that could be mundane but are somehow fascinating. I know a lot of anti-bloggers whose chief complaint seems to be "does anyone really care what bloggy mcblogblog ate for lunch today"...yes, I do, I do! (Food blogs are awesome, especially this one. Mine won't be purely devoted to food, but I imagine I'll talk about it a lot, knowing me.)

Speaking of...the aforementioned salad went over well. It was the first time I'd made it, so I was a little nervous, but I stand by my "cheese makes everything taste better" mantra -- so why not watermelon? Plus, in a serendipitous turn of events, I came across pretty much the exact same salad at Sweetwater in Williamsburg on Friday night. I of course had to order it, and was happy to confirm that it was indeed delightful. So I made the salad yesterday morning and brought it to the cookout that afternoon. People were intrigued by the watermelon/feta combo, although a few wary souls were scared off by the olives (which I'd used sparingly, thinking that might be the case). It was light and refreshing, very summery, and the sweet/salty flavors were well-balanced. Gracious host Paul grilled up some tasty meats in his bucolic garden, and he also made a yummy salad with pistachios, mint, and a few other ingredients I'm forgetting. Between yesterday's festivities and Chris and Mary's BBQ on Sunday (I brought a celery/blue cheese/Tabasco salad), I've been very well fed this weekend.

And so ends my first post. Off to do some work whilst watching the Law & Order marathon. I totally have a weird crush on Dr. Emil Skoda.