NYC/NJ Dining: Yolato

June 17, 2007

Yolato

Web Site: http://www.yolato.com

West Village
120 MacDougal Street (W 3rd St.)
New York, NY 10012
T: (212) 228-6303

Upper West
2286 Broadway (W 82nd St.)
New York, NY 10024
T: (212) 580-1635

Chelsea
168W 27th St.
New York, NY 10001

Midtown
125 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017

New Jersey
725 River Road (Next to Binghamton Boat)
Edgewater, NJ 07020
T: (201) 943-7799

Click for Hi-Res Slide Show

In my earlier post about Pinkberry I talked about a new Asian-style of frozen yogurt which is now becoming popular in the United States, a kind which actually tastes like yogurt culture as opposed to soft-serve ice cream. It’s becoming so popular in fact that its not unusual to see hour-long lines at the various Pinkberry locations in NYC.Fortunately there is an alternative, and it is Yolato. A similar product, Yolato is also a soft-serve lactobacillus culture-flavored frozen yogurt which is also topped with fresh fruit. I find that its not quite as dense and custardy as Pinkberry’s product, but it is very, very similar. It’s maybe slightly sweeter than Pinkberry and not quite as tangy but still better than most frozen yogurt products out there.

Yolato also offers gelato, and is in partnership with the Piccomolo gelato chain as a franchise. Click here to read about the former Piccomolo location in NJ.

Tiramisu Gelato over Blueberry Sorbetto.

Yolato is topped with a selection of fresh fruit.

The NJ store offers a lounge area where you can watch TV, play board games, and use their WiFi Internet.

Yolato with Strawberry, Pineapple and Kiwi

Yolato with Blackberry and Raspberry.


Blogroll: Always Hungry

June 16, 2007

I’m not in the practice of adding blogs to my blogroll when the paint isn’t yet dry on them, but in this case, I’m going to make an exception — because the first post is a literal treasure trove of guidance to Palisades Park, the Korean food Mecca of Northern New Jersey. Always Hungry, written by Snoh, was a direct response to my “Calling all Koreans” inquiry a few weeks ago, and it looks like he’s off to a hell of a start  — he’s written descriptive summaries of about two dozen restaurants and food-related businesses that should keep any Korean food-curious diner busy for weeks if not months. I’m really looking forward to his other posts about food.

 


I Don’t Think the Suits at McDonalds Are Gonna Like This

June 15, 2007

This UK-based site, apparently run by McDonalds, is a customer service interaction site where customers can submit their questions about everything from business practices to burger ingredients. Over 7000 questions have been answered so far and many of these questions are insanely hilarious and off-color, with deadpan, corporate-style answers.

The site appears to be created by a French company called Duke Interactive:

Founded in 1999, Duke helps clients position, define and implement their brands online through an integrated use of strategy, marketing, design and technology. The agency’s innovative client work was recently honored with three Cyber Cristal awards at the distinguished Miribel Advertising Festival, a Cyber Lion at the International Cannes Festival for the Sony (PSP) PlayStation launch and Best Interactive Agency of the last 20 years for CB News Magazine. Clients include Nissan, McDonald’s, Nike and Procter and Gamble, among others.

Duke is owned by Razorfish/Avenue A, a well-known American marketing company.

I suspect that McDonald’s US had no idea this site was operating for over a year, and I’m not sure McDonald’s UK fully authorized it either. My hunch its a rogue department with a rogue discretionary budget. Go check this out before Mickey-D yanks it off the net!

Some prime examples:

are your baconburgers kosher?

It sounds like you may be referring to the Bacon Cheeseburger. This item is not Kosher for two reasons, firstly the Torah classifies pork is unacceptable to eat, and secondly the rules of Kashrut say that meat may not be eaten in conjunction with diary products such as cheese.

I love McFlurry, but whenever I eat it, my skin turns red and chapped, my mouth stings and I have difficulty breathing. The problem seems to be getting worse. Should I continue eat it in the hope that I might harden myself, or is there some other explanation? Do you put poison in McFlurry?”

There is absolutely no poison in the McFlurries. If you are having some particular kind of reaction when you eat a McFlurry, then it would be advisable you discontinue purchasing and eating them immediately, and speak to your doctor about the symptoms you are having.

Why did your emplyees ejactulate into my grandmother’s milkshake?

“Any rumours and stories about this sort of behaviour have never been found to be true and are regarded as urban myths. If McDonald’s receive any allegations about bodily fluids in food these claims are fully investigated. If something like this were to happen any employee acting in this way would be dismissed.”

My Wife and I often visit New York and, whilst waiting at Newark Airport on the homeward leg, i often have a McDonalds, very nice it is to. Could you tell me why the Burgers in Newark actually taste like Beef whereas those we get at home in the UK taste like nothing even remotely animal falvoured? Surely meat is meat…or is it?

All McDonald’s hamburger patties are made from 100 percent beef. Whole cuts from forequarter and flank are used (the same as any good mince you may buy at the supermarket), with a pinch of salt and pepper used after cooking for taste. McDonald’s UK has a policy to source all its ingredients locally whenever possible.

Why does your food suck so much? It’s like all you do is come up with the most disgustingly unhealthy food products and server it out of the some of the most unsanitary restaurants I’ve ever had the misfortune to vistit.

McDonald’s uses free range eggs for its breakfast menu items. The shell eggs are cracked open and cooked on the hot grill using a poaching cylinder to give the eggs their shape. In addition, the eggs for the Big Breakfast are scrambled in the restaurant using a liquid free range egg and milk mixture. The liquid egg is 80 percent free range egg and 20 percent milk. The eggs in the bagel are cooked on the hot grill and folded, again using a liquid free range egg and milk mixture.


Evaluating Hot Dogs

June 14, 2007

Recently Consumer Reports published the results of its 2007 summer Hot Dog roundup, in which Hebrew National Hot Dogs (now a subsidiary of industrial foods giant ConAgra) took the prime spot.

Somewhat surprisingly, this is in complete misalignment with my own personal rankings of the major hot dog brands, and what other critical palates regard as well.

Back in 2004, I did my own hot dog roundup, and the results may surprise you. I still think much of what held true 3 years ago still holds true today.

NOTE: a much more updated version of this report, conducted in July 2007,  can be found here (click).

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry link” below to read the 2004 Hot Dog Executive Summary.

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Blogroll: GirlsAtTheGrill.com

June 14, 2007

Elizabeth Karmel is a grilling and barbecue expert whose work I discovered at Hill Country NYC, where she is acting as Executive Chef. Not only does she know what to do with her grill, but she’s a wizard at sides (oh man, her mac and cheese and her green bean casserole is to DIE for) and her desserts (banana pudding!) are truly awesome as well. GirlsAtTheGrill.com is her personal web site where Liz has all sorts of recipes to try, tip and FAQ sheets on grilling, as well as discussion forums where you can ask her all sorts of grilling and cooking questions. It’s a veritable tome of grilling advice.

And guys, you can hang out there too. Its not just for girls. :)


NJ Dining: Mandoo Bar II

June 14, 2007

Mandoo Bar
476 Bergen Blvd, Palisades Park NJ
(201)944-8778

Click for Hi-Res Flickr Slideshow!

A few months ago, when I heard that a New Jersey outpost of the 32nd Street/Koreatown restaurant Mandoo Bar (click for previous post) was going to be opening in Palisades Park, I was overjoyed. While there are numerous Korean restaurants here in Bergen County, few are as friendly to non-Koreans as Mandoo Bar is, and there’s something about its dumpling-focused menu that I find incredibly appealing.

Mandoo Bar storefront on Bergen Blvd.

Signage on Bergen Blvd.

Koreatown color-coded dumplings come to Bergen County. Now all we need is a Pinkberry and we’re all set! Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

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NYC/NJ Dining: The Great Korean Fried Chicken Round-Up (UPDATED)

June 13, 2007

Recent updates: Kyedong Chicken in Palisades Park NJ, and 3 branches of Kyochun open up in Queens.

It was a sticky, spicy job, requiring multiple road trips and multiple visits to restaurant locations in the in New York and New Jersey metro areas. It took six months, a new Nexium prescription and several bottles of Shout! stain remover (Rachel recommends Shout Ultra! Gel with the scrubby top) but we did it — we managed to try all the major variants of Korean Fried Chicken, so that you, our readers, will benefit from our research.

Ready for some spicy, sticky, crispy Fried Chicken with an attitude? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

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NYC Dining: Shake Shack (UPDATED)

June 12, 2007

Shake Shack (click for website)

Located in Madison Square Park, Manhattan

The Big Apple Barbecue Block Party represents one of the few opportunities I have during the year to visit what I would qualify as one of the very best fast food establishments in the entire city, if not the best, bar none. For Manhattan residents, the Shake Shack represents an obsession, where at during prime lunch hours, you can expect to wait in line for close to an hour just to have one of its highly coveted hamburgers. Why the craziness? Well, just like any other of the Union Square Hospitality Group’s establishments, it’s got the seal of goodness from Danny Meyer himself, and they use nothing but the very best ingredients and pay extreme attention to detail to even the little things that make a difference in the quality and presentation of the end product. With something as simple as hamburgers and shakes, that means everything.

This is probably the shortest line for the Shack that I’ve ever seen. It was just past 11AM on Sunday.

The Shake Shack needs no introduction. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more!

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NYC Dining Events: First Annual NYC Food Film Festival

June 12, 2007

The NYC Food Film Festival should be a blast, with video food porn and matched dishes to eat. Click on the photo for more information.

If you live in the New York City area, the First Annual NYC Food Film Festival, which is to be held in three installments at Water Taxi Beach in Long Island City during the summer — From June 14th thru the 16th, June 21 thru the 23rd, and September 6th thru the 8th, will be featuring a whole boatload of independently produced food movies, along with selected paired dishes to go along with them.

The NYC Food Film Festival is brought to you by George Motz, of Hamburger America fame, and Harry Hawk, proprietor of Harry’s At Water Taxi Beach.

If you managed to miss A Hamburger Today/Gothamist QBQ last year at Water Taxi Beach, and you kicked yourself in the head for missing out on those great burgers, make sure you go this weekend.

As a reminder, here’s some video footage of the QBQ party and the burgers, many cooked by Harry Hawk himself. Oh the burgers.


The Mango Mafia

June 12, 2007

Tabla
11 Madison Ave at 25th Street, New York, NY
(212) 889-0667

Click here for previous Off The Broiler post on Tabla.

Click here for hi-res slide show of the photos!

After many years of demand, the US Department of Agriculture recently approved the importation of mango fruits from India, due to the fact that the Indian government recently procured irradiation equipment that kills all the bacteria and other harmful organisms that would otherwise threaten our domestic crops and make people sick. Unlike other pest control treatments such as cold and heat, fruit irradiation does nothing to affect the flavor and texture and aroma of food products, so its ideal for mangoes.

If you’ve never had an Indian mango, you really do need to go through every effort to procure one. While they are very expensive — currently at about $35 to $40 per case and about $3-$4 per fruit — they are one of the few luxury fruit items that actually deserve to command that price. Because they are perishable and India is so far away, they have to be flown in by air. The aroma and flavor of Indian mangoes, which have a yellow skin and bright yellow flesh as opposed to the kind we typically get with mottled red and green skin with a orange flesh, are nothing like their Latin American and Caribbean counterparts — they have a exotic floral and spicy aroma and yield a lot more juice from the meat.

Unfortunately, because of the high demand, the mangoes are very difficult to find now. They get snapped up as quickly as they land in the states, and many end up in the hands of upscale restaurants. One such restaurant that is in the possession of huge quantities of these mangoes is Tabla, off Madison Square Park in New York City.

Floyd Cardoz, Executive Chef at Tabla. Listen to Floyd talk to me about Indian Mangoes at the 2007 Big Apple Barbecue Block Party by clicking here.

Is this the man who leads the Mango Mafia? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

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