April 13, 2008
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Food, General, Humor, Links, Media, New Jersey, New York City | Tagged: Jewish Cuisine, Manischewitz, New York Times, passover, Tam Tams | 
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Posted by offthebroiler
November 25, 2007
Porter House New York
Time Warner Center, 4th Floor
10 Columbus Cir, New York, NY
(212) 823-9500
Web Site: http://www.porterhousenewyork.com
Michael Lomonaco is the kind of guy who is just eminently huggable and who is one to make you feel at home no matter which and what kind of restaurant he runs. A true proponent and practitioner of restaurant hospitality, he’s cheffed at some of the city’s most iconic restaurants, including The 21 Club and the late Windows On The World, which was destroyed on September 11, 2001. Following his career as the last chef at Windows on The World, he briefly acted as consulting chef at both Guastavino’s and Noche.
Not to be beaten down by personal tragedy, in 2006 Michael opened what may become yet another iconic restaurant, in the country’s most haute food court in the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle, putting it in the company with such notable restaurants as Pe Se, Bouchon, Cafe Gray, Masa and Landmarc. Focusing on prime aged steaks, seafood and updated versions of classic steakhouse side dishes, Lomonaco has re-invented the New York steakhouse and revived the classic Porter House atmosphere that the city was known for in the late nineteenth centry.
We visited Porter House twice in 2007 — once during the late summer and most recently in October to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. On our second visit, we decided to focus on the restaurant’s fish dishes, which many diners might choose to overlook because of the restaurant’s steakhouse premise. I urge you to reconsider that notion right off the bat — Porter House is as much a fish and seafood restaurant as it is a steak restaurant. While other restaurateurs tend to segregate their restaurants by theme — such as Laurent Tourondel with his “BLT” group of restaurants (such as he is doing with BLT Fish and BLT Steak) Lomonaco is doing everything under one (albeit a very large) roof, and he’s doing it quite successfully.
Click on the photo collage above for a Hi-Resolution tour of Porter House New York (Second Visit, Seafood Dishes)
Click to listen to my chat with Chef Michael Lomonaco (52 mins)
Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more information about Porter House New York’s dishes.
Read the rest of this entry »
8 Comments | Food, General, Media, New York City, Podcast, indepth | Permalink
Posted by offthebroiler
September 11, 2007
This was originally posted one year ago, but I thought it was appropriate to revive it given my recent podcast with Michael Lomonaco (click for related OTB post) at Porter House.
Windows on The World Remembrance Site: http://www.windowsontheworld.us
It seems to many of us that September 11, 2001 will always bring us to tears and anger. For so many who worked at the famous Windows on the World, 9/11 was an ending … but for their families and friends, some fragments remained behind. A very few of these appear here:
Bearing Witness To History: Windows On The World Part 1
Bearing Witness To History: Windows On The World Part 2
But what of the remaining survivors? The rebirth came in the form of a new restaurant called Colors …
When the World Trade Center in New York was destroyed five years ago, the Windows on the World restaurant on the 106th floor lost over 70 of its staff. Now the survivors have opened Colors, and would rather you enjoyed your meal than offered your condolences.
On the wall of Colors, a new and decidedly more modest restaurant a few blocks away from what is now known as Ground Zero, a simple black plaque serves as a permanent memorial to the Windows staff who were on duty the morning of 11 September 2001.
Steaks, Not Sympathy (The Independent, September 10 2006)
Michael Lomonaco was Executive Chef, Jean Emy Pierre was Sous Chef and Kevin Zraly was Sommelier and Wine Director at Windows on The World on that fateful day. USAToday.com has an article about what these culinary professionals have done since September 11, 2001.
World Changes For Windows Veterans (USA Today, September 7 2006)
2 Comments | Food, General, Links, Media, New York City | Permalink
Posted by Melissa Goodman
September 10, 2007
I’ve just been notified about the revamping of the WorldTable site, the culinary travel blog started by Robert and Esilda Buxbaum, two of my closest foodie friends.
Robert, or “Bux” as everyone knew him, succumbed to cancer early this year. Esilda, who has over 40 years of experience as a travel industry professional, specializes in Art and Culinary tourism planning for groups and individuals. The Worldtable site has in the past chronicled Bux and Eslida’s travels in France and other parts of Europe (which can be read in the site’s archives) and will now cover Esilda’s travels and the travels of others in the same tradition. Bon Voyage, Esilda.
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Posted by offthebroiler
September 2, 2007
Arthur’s Landing
1 Pershing Rd, Weehawken, NJ
(201) 867-0777
Web Site: http://www.arthurslanding.com
Related OTB Post: Casual Dining Options at Arthur’s Landing
This evening, Rachel and I attended the very first clambake at Arthur’s Landing, an event which will be the first of many special dinners and annual events to be held at the restaurant. Held buffet style, it featured a vast array of raw bar and cooked offerings, including oysters, shrimp, clams, mussels, Maryland blue crabs, fried clams, clams casino/oreganato, hamburgers, hot dogs, Italian sausage and peppers, two types of ribs, and BBQ chicken. The weather was about as ideal as anybody could hope for, making the very most of the restaurant’s unparalleled view of the Manhattan skyline.
The First Annual Arthur’s Landing Clambake was a huge success. Click on the photo collage above for a complete slideshow in hi-res.
3 Comments | Food, General, New Jersey, New York City | Permalink
Posted by offthebroiler
August 20, 2007
In just a matter of days Rachel and I will be heading to points South — Atlanta and then New Orleans for a much needed vacation (where we will keep everyone up to date on where we eat, of course!)
At this post on Hedonia, I was reminded of one of my favorite sandwiches from New Orleans, the Muffuletta, which is served throughout the city (and mail order at Progress Grocery) but has made its mark at Central Grocery on Decatur Street in the French Quarter.
The muffuletta is essentially an Italian cold cut sandwich, served on a special round loaf baked specifically for muffulettas. It’s got alternating layers of cheese and different kinds of ham and salamis, but what makes it particularly special is Central Grocery’s Olive Salad which you can also buy by the jar. It’s a secret recipe of different kinds of pickled vegetables including both black and green olives, cauliflower, carrots , roasted red peppers, garlic, oregano and other seasonings.
Two years ago, for the 4th of July, we decided we were going to make a muffuletta of our own, but “Jersey style”. This would be an utterly gigantic sandwich meant to serve six people for a picnic at our local park while we watch the fireworks. The “Sangweech” as it became to be called was an entire Ciabatta loaf that was hollowed out and utterly filled to the brim with six types of Italian cold cuts, provolone and mozzarella cheese, artichoke hearts, preserved roasted red peppers, arugula and basil, dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then compressed with a heavy weight overnight in the refrigerator while sealed in a plastic bag.
A closeup of the Sangweech.
The Sangweech. Notice how it takes up almost the entire chopping board and is sitting next to the knife block for approximate scale. It was MASSIVE.
A slice of the Sangweech after being compressed overnight with a heavy weight.
My buddy Andy Kim attempting to eat a piece of Sangweech. Andy and his wife, Lin, have now moved out to Los Angeles. We miss them so, if not because there are few opportunities now for making Sangweeches.
7 Comments | Food, General, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York City, Recipe | Tagged: "real food", Recipe | Permalink
Posted by offthebroiler
August 13, 2007
Okay, so maybe you got left out of the Ultimate BLT post because you don’t eat bacon. Not to worry, my Kosher, Halal and porcine-averse friends. Do I have a sandwich for you!
Fry up some pastrami in a cast iron pan until it becomes real crisp, just like bacon.
Layer onto your favorite fresh bread.
Add fresh lettuce and tomato per Ultimate BLT guidelines. Use a combination of spicy deli mustard with mayo, or just use mustard if you’re afraid of getting hit by a bolt of lightning.
15 Comments | Food, General, New York City, Recipe | Tagged: "real food", Recipe | Permalink
Posted by offthebroiler
August 5, 2007
Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries
138 Montague St, Brooklyn Heights, NY
(71 
797-9380
132-01 14th Ave, College Point, Queens NY
(71 767-6500
450 Hackensack Avenue, Hackensack NJ
(201) 343-5GUYS
Web Site: http://www.fiveguys.com
Related Post: Matt Jacobs’ Five Guys review at New York Metromix
Like many Americans, I’m in love with hamburgers, and whenever I see a new hamburger place I’m ready to pounce. This weekend, the DelMarVa/Washington DC chain Five Guys, which has 180 stores nationwide, opened up two new locations in the NY Metro area, one in Brooklyn and one in Hackensack, NJ. Five Guys is known for their simple, no-nonsense burger menu and excellent French Fries (sorry, no shakes or onion rings, folks.)
The Five Guys store, opening day on July 1, 2007, at the Home Depot/Pathmark/Staples Shopping Center in Hackensack.
Five Guys is pretty no-frills in terms of decor or branding — its a simple, old school, clean, what you see is what you get kind of a hamburger chain. Five Guys is also not in the practice of advertising whenever they enter a new market, its success as a chain has been almost entirely by word of mouth.
Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more 5 Guys Burgers and Fries.
Read the rest of this entry »
32 Comments | Food, General, New Jersey, New York City | Permalink
Posted by offthebroiler
August 1, 2007
Gramercy Tavern
42 E 20th St, New York, NY
(212) 477-0777
Web Site: http://www.gramercytavern.com
Gramercy Tavern is one of my favorite New York City restaurants — its warm, inviting atmosphere combines the very best of casual dining with a cuisine that often exceeds its 3-star cousins. Many well-known chefs from all over the city — and all over the country — have sharpened and perfected their cooking and hospitality skills here before heading out on their own and opening their own restaurants. It exists as something of an enigma in the New York restaurant scene, both a place for locals just to “go out and eat” with a very approachable and comforting Tavern menu and convivial bar atmosphere, and also as a destination restaurant with its gorgeous wood-accented dining rooms and fine dining menu. Back in February of 2006, the restaurant began a makeover in the form of a new Executive Chef, Michael Anthony, previously of the highly acclaimed Blue Hill and Blue Hill Stone Barns restaurants that he started with his former partner, Dan Barber. Known for his use of local and sustainable cuisine and his patronage of the New York Greenmarkets, his laser focus on quality and bringing out the best in top quality ingredients has renewed a place for Gramercy Tavern in the very top of the New York restaurant food chain.
Click on the photo collage above to see a Hi-Resolution slide show of the tasting menu Rachel and I were served at Gramercy Tavern.
Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below to read more about Gramercy Tavern’s dishes.
Read the rest of this entry »
4 Comments | Food, General, New York City, Podcast, indepth | Permalink
Posted by offthebroiler
July 31, 2007
Tal Bagels (click for other locations)
977 1st Ave, New York, NY
(212) 753-9080
Full of burger meat from the Gothamist/AHT QBQ and heading back over the Queensboro Bridge from Long Island City, my thoughts centered around what we were going to eat for breakfast the next morning. Determined to try every iconic appetizing store in New York City, I decided to stop for bagels. Fortunately, I didn’t have to go far. Only two blocks from the Queensboro Manhattan exit is Tal Bagels, arguably one of the best appetizing stores and bagel shops in the entire city.
The Tal Bagel store on 1st Avenue. I’m not sure if this is their original location but this is as old school as appetizing stores get. This particular Tal branch is open until 11:00 at night.
You want tight? You want chewy? You want crusty? Oy, such demands. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below, you meshuggener.
Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by offthebroiler
