Not exactly breaking news, but I was trying to go there and couldn't find it - I kept finding another El Dorado I had never known existed. Doing a little research, the family owned a mini-diner empire and got pushed out for a Honda service center. Very sad times.

Labels: food, local

My favorite place to eat has been disappearing at an alarming rate, and it looks like it's going to continue to get worse, alas.

Labels: food, local, New York

Papaya Dog was the spot of spots.

Labels: food, local, New York

There's another one up the street, but it's not as good. Alas.

Labels: food, local, New York

I ate at this deli many times during my brief tenure at NYU. Alas.

Labels: food, local, New York

Inspired by the Slice Harvester's visit, I went to check out the weirdness and dragged along an exceptionally indulging lady. A slice of pizza, egg drop soup, and a pair of sandwiches, how could you go wrong? Pizza was decent, maybe 6/10. Soup was tasty but lukewarm. Sandwiches were very tasty, french fries were lukewarm. Coffee was good for a diner. Will be returning.

Just posted this on Yelp as well.

Labels: food, local, New York

Went to Caffe Reggio on Saturday night for the first time since before Christmas. Had a sfogliatella, a favorite of mine. Go there before it turns into a Starbucks.

Labels: food, New York

I do wish the modern coffeehouse was more like the London one. Slave to the Grind comes closer than most, I think, as a place where ideas can be debated.

Labels: food

I'm not too familiar with Grist, but it seems, as NPR reports, that a dude at the site did an in depth study of GMO crops and concluded that there are pros and cons. He got to this conclusion by reviewing scientific literature. The response from some:

"I've got news for Johnson," Claire Robinson, from GM Watch. "Misleading the readers of an until-now respected publication like Grist doesn't make him exciting, creative or cool. It just makes him an unreliable source." Instead of being, as Grist's slogan promises, a "beacon in the smog," Robinson accused the site of "operating more like a smog machine."

Science - unreliable. Your preconceptions - reliable.

Labels: food, science, trends

Gray's Papaya is down to one location in NYC, after the one by NYU closed. And Cafe Mozart by Lincoln Center closed, leaving just the one in Westchester. I really am running out of places to eat. At least Cafe Reggio is still around.

Labels: food, local, New York

Because it's lame now, only from 11 am to 7 pm. Still my favorite holiday though.

Labels: food, fun, public service announcement

You can say this about your neighborhood dining options:

Tonight was the opening of Miami-based Colombian restaurant Los Verdes. This is their first and thus far only location in New York (at the corner of Greenpoing and 46th Street). The restaurant replaces the long-vacant storefront which previously housed Manolos (which specialized in great cocaine and mediocre Mexican food).

On a side note, that's supposed to be "Greenpoint" not "Greenpoing". Yes, I am surprised that Greenpoint avenue has a Yelp page as well. I wonder if all of the major streets of Queens do?

Labels: food, humor

It seems Hostess will soon be listed on that stock exchange in the sky. I will certainly miss Drakes "fruit" pies. The hearing where they are seeking liquidation is today at 2pm.

Labels: food

That seems to be the rumor. I shall have to fit in a few visits this week instead of my usual biweekly cycle. A sad story, it is a fine establishment.

Labels: food, New York

Also known as making respectful use of all of the animal. Oh, and onions and cheese have more ammonia content.

Labels: food, science, trends

A Taste of Heaven: A Guide to Food and Drink Made by Monks and Nuns,” by Madeline Scherb, those tourists may head for the gift shops first, to stock up on the wines, spirits, beers, cheeses, condiments and sweets, often from centuries-old recipes, that are made at many monasteries.

Ms. Scherb tells you who makes what at two dozen religious retreats in Europe and the United States, and includes recipes, like an unusual pear clafoutis baked with caramels from Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey near Dubuque, Iowa, and a hearty bacon and potato salad with tripel, a bitter ale, from Westmalle Abbey near Antwerp, Belgium.

I've had some pretty tasty food with religious, but usually in the quest of vocation, not vacation.

Labels: food, religious life

Ah nice the EU is making someone throw away 5000 kgs of kiwis because some of them are up to four grams too light. Wow that's about two paper clips. The thing that mystifies me is that fruit is usually sold by weight, so how does it matter how much they weigh?

And of course he's not allowed to donate them, because a 58 gram kiwi is unfit for human consumption, though a 62 gram kiwi is fine.

Labels: food, politics

Americans have been getting fatter for years, and with the increase in waistlines has come a surplus of conventional wisdom. If we could just return to traditional diets, if we just walk for 20 minutes a day, exercise gurus and government officials maintain, America’s excess pounds would slowly but surely melt away.

Scientists are less sanguine. Many of the so-called facts about obesity, they say, amount to speculation or oversimplification of the medical evidence. Diet and exercise do matter, they now know, but these environmental influences alone do not determine an individual’s weight. Body composition also is dictated by DNA and monitored by the brain. Bypassing these physical systems is not just a matter of willpower.

Labels: food, science

Confession: In many ways I'm a cliché. Yes, I went to Sarah Lawrence College, am now vegetarian (vegan for Lent!), and have chosen a commune type lifestyle in which I make little money. I eat organic when possible and care about where my food comes from. I am trying to switch from driving to biking to work, and I am about to buy into an organic coop. What next? I've been dreaming of moving to a farm for years. I've thought of going to work on my brother's girlfriend's family farm in Iowa, or going to a Catholic Worker farm in upstate New York. One of my current housemates is from a farm outside Baltimore and I'm tempted to volunteer my hours there this summer. It seems I am just one of the many young urbanites seeking to work with the Earth. Lately I've been discovering more and more how I value practical knowledge and working with my hands. It is so gratifying to cultivate or create something tangible. To take raw elements and work them into something delightful to the eye, mouth, or touch and also nourishing or functional has been an evolving theme for me this year. As I learn to repair bikes, knit socks, cook dinner, and grow a vegetable garden, I'm learning how empowering these tasks can be. It's nice to be able to do it for yourself and know the craft and skill that goes into these things. Besides, you learn so much by taking matters into your own hands.

This year I'm leading an organic gardening club at the school where I teach. Let's see if I can even maintain a garden patch before I start dreaming about having my own farm.

Labels: food, trends

We've all heard the idea that regular family meals together help to keep families together and can help individuals lead healthier and happier lives. Today Fr. Leo came to my church (St. Rose of Lima) and spoke about this. He also reminded us that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and we should ask ourselves what gift are we giving Him. He had some suggestions based on today's readings. He was also promoting his website (linked above) and his new book full of recipes and ideas for how to have meaningful family conversation.

In my family meals have always been an important time together. Sometimes this can come across as a negative, or a means of control, (you must be home for dinner on Sunday!) And sometimes our dinner conversations were dominated by the parents and their investigations on me and my brother. They wanted to be sure we were doing everything right in our lives and used this time to drill us. Those dinners sometimes became disasters and unpleasant memories. However, there have been good times in which we all simply relaxed and enjoyed each other's company.

Dinner together as a family can be great, but man does not live on dinner alone! As with everything the motivations you bring to the table will determine how pleasant that family meal is. Eating together should be a time to really check in (not check on) your kids. I think if you suspect there is an issue that needs to be resolved you should do that with the child individually later. Eating together should be a cause for celebration and a time for thanksgiving. I think my parents often felt pressured to drill my brother and I because we had so little time together that they worried if they didn't bring up certain things over dinner, we would slip away and the topic wouldn't get discussed.

Now my housemates are my surrogate family. I live in a former convent with eight other women. We eat dinner together every Sunday and we try to eat together (schedules permitting) Monday through Thursday. I try to make it to every dinner, because I know this is usually the only time in the day I'll take to enjoy the company of those I live with. If it weren't for these dinners I wouldn't have such good bonds with some of them. Of course there are those housemates who are unable or choose not to come to the majority of dinners. We lament that they chose not to join us and that they miss out on community life, but you can't force people into spending time together.

Labels: family, food