More so than many other foods, people tend to get very personal and protective when it comes to tuna fish and what they mix into theirs. I made myself a melt lunch today and the way I prepare mine is with Hellman’s mayo, chopped celery, garlic salt, a dash of ranch dressing, Tabasco and dill pickle juice. Been eating it this way since I was a kid, although the ranch was an addition I made in high school.
Much like latte art, “grated daikon radish sculpting” has become a thing now, and this is possibly the most brilliant version I have seen yet!
Mutsumi found this online so not sure who to credit for it, but a big “bravo” to the cook/artist who created it.
There’s a long, storied history surrounding Chicago deep dish pizza, and I’ve done my fare share of “research” into it over the years. While Pequod’s is a personal favorite, I’ve always enjoyed the pies at Lou Malnati’s as well, which many of my friend’s feel is the best. But just last week I discovered that there’s another Malnati, Rudy Malnati Jr., who runs a small chain of Pizano’s Pizza restaurants around the Windy City!
With one shop just a short walk from the McCormick Convention Center, I popped in with a few colleagues for a Meat Lover’s deep dish…
Packed with sausage, bacon, pepperoni and Canadian bacon, the spinkle of dried oregano on top was a nice touch.
The menu also claims that Oprah herself voted Pizano’s thin crust pizza the best in Chicago, so we ordered and enjoyed a sausage and mushroom pie…
Everything was delicious, the staff was delightful, and we had a lunch to remember. Pizano’s definitely lives up to their legacy, which you can read about here: https://www.pizanoschicago.com/about-pizanos/
PIZANO’S PIZZA
2106 S. Indiana
Chicago, IL, 60616
As a special for Valentine’s Day this year, Big Gay Ice Cream has created a soft serve that’s flavored to taste like pink Starburst…
Called “Big Pink”, it’s available through the holiday at all their NYC locations…
And ti really does taste like the fruity candy!!
While we were there, we also got my “usual”, a Salty Pimp cone…
Vanilla soft serve “injected” with dulce de leche, sprinkled with salt and dipped in chocolate!
Happy Valentine’s Day!!
Creature of habit that I am, I usually order the same thing whenever I visit The Palm Steakhouse in NYC… the rib-eye or the prime rib, if available. But I decided to change things up last week and go for one of their seasonal specials, the Veal Chop Valdostana…
Although you can’t see it in this image, the chop is stuffed with prosciutto, Boursin cheese and basil, and topped with, as you can see, a Barolo wine reduction. Just wonderful!
Also had the pleasure of trying another of the Palm’s menu items I’d never had before, their New York Steak “al la Stone”…
A perfectly grilled piece of beef, sliced and served over fried onions and roasted red peppers. A lovely preparation.
And even though I changed up my main course selection, I just could not alter my choice of appetizer, the Shrimp Bruno…
Three jumbo shrimp française sautéed in a dijon mustard sauce. Always a winner!
The biggest surprise of the evening was discovering that the painting of the Marvel characters Joe Quesada did for The Palm’s 80th Anniversary in 2005 was now on display in one of their private dining rooms here…
This piece was originally painted on the wall of their original East Side location and we thought it was lost forever when that building was sold and destroyed recently. But the manager explained they actually cut the sheet rock wall around the original art to preserve it and had it framed to display here. Joe, who was with us at dinner, was stunned and touched by their efforts!
The Palm West Side… go for the great food, stay for the amazing art.
THE PALM WEST SIDE
250 W 50th St.
NY, NY 10019
212-333-7256
https://www.thepalm.com/restaurants/new-york-city-west-side/
I’ve
had Bad Sons beers on numerous occasions at various locations around
Connecticut, but last weekend I finally made it out to their brewery to
enjoy it right from the source, which is located inside a renovated die
factory in Derby…
The centerpiece of the bar is an enormous old die-casting press, a nod to the original business housed here…
The Bad Sons use the facility to brew, can and pour a wide range of beer selections…
A colorful flight, their Violet’s Demise blueberry sour, at the bottom left, being my favorite…
They’re big on branding here at Bad Sons, letting the hop head logo speak for itself on all kinds of merch and cans…
I also enjoyed the Little Lupe hazy IPA, which I’m not usually a fan of…
There’s no kitchen so no bar menu at Bad Sons, but local food trucks are always on hand in their parking lot…
I went with six spicy Buffalo wings from “Wing It on Wheels”…
They
were excellent! Really impressed by the fry of the chicken and taste
& tang of the hot sauce. Looks like the Dew Drop Inn, which is right
down the street and offers some of CT’s best wings, has some
competition…
A quick look at their brewing operation…
I also appreciated the fact they left the old factory sink in its original state for folks to wash their hands in…
I’ll end with a fun fact I learned when we visited… the owners created the brewery name, Bad Sons, by combining first letter of each Naugatuck Valley town; Beacon Falls, Ansonia, Derby, Shelton, Oxford, Naugatuck and Seymour, which I found pretty cool!
Definitely worth popping in to Bad Sons for a few good brews if you’re ever in the area.
BAD SONS BEER CO.
251 Roosevelt Dr.
Derby, CT 06418
203-308-2654
Congratulations to my friends Chef Yoshiaki and Akiko Takazawa on the “opening" of MARBLE by Takazawa! A pop-up of sorts inside their own renowned Takazawa Bar in Tokyo, they’ll be serving an exquisite Japanese curry rice dish featuring famous Numamoto beef. Hours and servings are limited, but it will be available January 23rd & 29th to 31st from 11:30am to 1:30pm, while supplies last.
You can find more info and the schedule here, but mostly in Japanese.
If you’re in Tokyo, I highly recommend trying to score a seat!
MARBLE BY TAKAZAWA
Takazawa Bar
3-6-10 Akasaka
Minato-ku,Tokyo
107-0052
I’ve really enjoyed spending time at the new Craft + Carry bottle shop and tap room on St. Mark’s Place in the East Village! My friend Ayano turned me on to it when they opened, and now, whenever I’m in the area, I pop in to see what interesting brews they may have on tap or in their multiple coolers.
The feature 16 different rotating beers on tap from around the country…
Thin Man’s ‘Twilight Sparkle’, a dry-hopped boysenberry sour, was tart and tasty…
Edmund’s Oast’s ‘Something Cold’ was a refreshing blonde ale…
They offer these outstanding Lillie’s chips as snacks to pair with your pints…
Finding The Bruery’s “Tweleve Drummer’s Drumming” on tap here was a surprise as I thought they were only up to 11, which means I have two missing bottles to find…
And the owner is a huge B-movie and VHS fan, so there’s always something interesting playing at C+C (Critters 2 yesterday!) and the bathroom has lots of crazy, classic art to enjoy…
I forgot to take pics, but they also have a wall of big beer fridges chilling hundreds of domestic and internartional cans and bottles, so if you’re ever down in the area, drop by to take something home or sit down and pound a pint or two. They’ll always have something you’ve never heard of to enjoy!
CRAFT + CARRY
116 St Marks Place
NY, NY 10009
917-265-8078
KFC Singapore started selling chicken skin today at 20 select locations around the country! Only available in limited quantities for a limited time, reports of sell outs have been widespread, so it looks like they just may have a Popeye’s chicken sandwich situation on their hands. Now even more bummed that I’m not heading to Singapore Comic Con.
Images courtesy of kfc.com.sg
The funky flavors of Kit Kats now extend far outside Japan, like this new Caramel Popcorn KK that just went on sale in the Philippines! Thanks to Gerard Poa for the heads up and image.