Podcast #42: Bacon, Lettuce and TomatoCAST

Back by popular demand and Saveur.com is our Ultimate BLT post from 2007!

My dear friend Christine Nunn, who helped me with this project has since opened her own restaurant in Fair Lawn, New Jersey — Picnic, The Restaurant, where you can get the Ultimate BLT as an appetizer for a limited time or while summer Jersey tomatoes run out!

Click Here To Listen to the Bacon, Lettuce and TomatoCAST!

Click Here for a Hi-Res Slide Show with More Photos!

Related OTB Post: No Bacon? “P”, L and T

Ah, the BLT. In many ways, it is the ultimate and perfect expression of the sandwich, simple and yet one of the best possible sandwiches that you can eat. Still, the perfect BLT can be elusive, as most restaurants and people do not take the exacting level of care in order to construct the best BLT possible. Skimp on any of the ingredients, or use a component that is substandard in any way, and the entire sandwich fails.

In order to build the Ultimate BLT, one must be committed in Zen-like fashion to go to great lengths to source pristine ingredients. Indeed, an entire afternoon could be spent in trying to get all the right components, at considerable expense. It is neither a cheap nor an efficient affair, but it is well worth the effort.

To build the Ultimate BLT, I collaborated with CIA-trained chef Christine Nunn of Picnic Caterers in Emerson, New Jersey, who came up with some great ideas, sourced some fantastic bread and tomatoes for us and assembled the incredible sandwiches you’re about to see.

Do you want to see how the Ultimate BLT is constructed? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Podcast #16 and #17: Tony Bourdain

Note: This interview took place in 2006, but I’m bringing it to the foreground because it might be of some interest to our readers. It’s a private side to Tony that you might not otherwise get a glimpse of on his TV show.

Click Here to Listen to the Tony Bourdain Off the Broiler Podcast (Part 1)

Click Here to Listen to the Tony Bourdain Off the Broiler Podcast (Part 2)

What they use to hunt wild boar in Ghana

Tony’s not giving up on smoking, even if he has to leave the country to do it.

Miami Ink tattoo #1

Miami Ink tattoo #2.

A dime bag of Hua Jiao, Sichuan Peppercorn.

(UPDATE) NJ Dining: Picnic Caterers

Chef Christine Nunn announced some Good News / Bad News last week. First the bad, Picnic in Emerson will be closed for lunch effective immediately. They will still be doing catering out of a professional kitchen, so all scheduled parties will not be effected, and you can continue to book parties as well (call the number, below). This is all to make time in Chef Nunn’s life for the GOOD news: Picnic, The Restaurant, will be opening at the Radburn Building in Fair Lawn, hopefully in June. Stay tuned for more about Picnic, The Restaurant, as Off The Broiler learns about it.

Picnic Catering
(201) 321-3213

You’ve heard my praises about Christine Nunn and her wonderful little catering operation in Emerson before (click for podcast and previous photos). However, as of last week, Christine and her merry elves at Picnic have been doing dinner take-out orders. I recently had a chance to sample some of the dishes, and if you’re not inclined to cook for yourself this evening or some night in the future, but you want a restaurant-style meal to take home that will knock your socks off, get a good look at some of these:

Picnic’s Chef Christine Nunn, with an abundance of chanterelle mushrooms.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry linked below” for more.

Tony Maro, Linux Superhero

Tony Maro, CIO of EvriChart, a hospital records management and archiving business, successfully migrated his company’s Windows-based line of business document management extranet application and his employees’ 40-odd Windows-based desktops to a 100 percent Linux-based server and desktop infrastructure.

Read the rest of this article at ZDNet Tech Broiler.

Summer Doldrums? Listen to the Frugal Tech Show!

While Off The Broiler is primarily focused on food, as many of you know, I also write technology articles for ZDNet, CBS’s technology news site. Over the last few months I have been teaming up with Linux Magazine and DaniWeb columnist Ken Hess, where we broadcast live on BlogTalkRadio every Friday at 6:30PM EST on leveraging technology to save you and your business money. The format of the show is news and commentary for the first half hour, with the second reserved for special guests from the technology industry. This summer we are going to be featuring a lot of Linux and Open Source guests, so be sure to tune in.

The replays of all the shows are available at www.frugaltechshow.com, just in case you miss them.

Podcast: Victor Sasson’s “Do You Really Know What You’re Eating?”

Victor Sasson’s Do You Really Know What You’re Eating? Blog has a focused mission on finding the best chemical and additive-free meat, fish and produce in Northern New Jersey.

When most people retire, they play golf, they go to the Senior Center, they join Facebook and post pictures of their grandchildren, they crochet, or they do various things that don’t involve actual work. Not Victor Sasson.

I’ve known Victor for a number of years, and before he retired from a long career as a professional journalist only about a year ago, he was a food writer  for the Bergen Record. Now, like a travelling culinary rogue, he hunts down the very best places to buy groceries and meat and fish and all sorts of things in Northern New Jersey for you to cook at home, with a focus on natural, organic,  hormone and chemical-free foods. Victor has only been blogging since late March, but he’s already amassed over 50 posts on various shopping venues in the local Bergen County/North Jersey area. It’s going to take me a while to catch up.

I recently had a chance to meet up with Victor over lunch at Whole Foods in Paramus’  Bergen Mall. Click Here to listen to Victor and I talk about the changing New Jersey restaurant scene, and his love for Middle Eastern and Korean cuisines.

Off The Broiler Podcast: Victor Sasson

Victor may be retired, but he’s definitely not tired — definitely check out his blog.

EPIC iFAIL in Fort Lee

My wife Rachel has been awaiting the iPhone 3G for several months. Even though I am wedded to my beloved BlackBerry, she wanted to be able to carry a single device to play her music, act as a phone, and to be able to check her email. At the $199 price AT&T was advertising it at, it seemed like a no-brainer. So despite my usual reservations against buying Apple products, we headed to the AT&T Wireless store today on my lunch hour to see if we could pick one up for her.

Click here to read the rest of this article on ZDNet Tech Broiler.

Podcast #50: Chatham Fish Pier and Nickerson Fish and Lobsters

Nickerson Fish and Lobsters
Chatham Fish PR, Chatham MA 02633
(508)945-0145

May 22nd was the first day of the season for Nickerson Fish and Lobsters, the premier boutique seafood retailer and wholesaler in Chatham, Massachusetts, which resides on the famous Chatham Fish Pier, only 50 feet from the docks where the fishing boats bring in their catch. Over Memorial Day weekend we had the rare privilege of eating the best fresh seafood a single consumer will find anywhere on the Atlantic coast, and talking to Tom Riley, the proprietor of the business, as well as local Lobster and Scallop fishermen.

Click here to listen to the Chatham Fish Pier and Nickerson Fish and Lobster podcast (58 min running time).

Click here for a hi-res Slide Show.

Click here to watch a Flickr Video of how to properly crack a lobster.

Click here to watch a Flickr Video of some very aggressive seagulls.

Related News Article: 5/31/08 — 60,000 lbs of Lobsters destroyed in Boston Fire

Chatham, MA. The center of the universe for Lobster and Scallops on Cape Cod.

The Chatham Lighthouse.

Nickerson Fish and Lobsters, in Chatham, Cape Cod MA. One of the oldest and most reputable seafood purveyors in the entire country. Situated directly on the Fish Pier, it is only 50 feet away from where the Lobster Boats and the Scallop Trawlers leave and return from their daily fishing trips. Nickerson buys directly from the source (and in the case of scalloping, it has its own boat to fill some of the demand) and has a huge seawater tank with sand filtration system to keep shellfish at the absolute apex of freshness.

Scallop and Lobster boats on the Chatham Fish Pier, at around 7:30am, just before leaving for the day.

If you’re craving lobsters, you’d best not click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below.

Podcast #48: An Edge in the Kitchen by Chad Ward

Click Here to listen to the Chad Ward / An Edge in the Kitchen podcast

Related Link: Click here to go to Chad’s website, Chadwrites.com

HarperCollins author Chad Ward, in his Raleigh, North Carolina kitchen.

An Edge in the Kitchen will be available in bookstores on June 10th, 2008. Click on the photo above to buy it on Amazon.com

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

NYC Dining: 2008 Big Apple Barbecue Block Party Web Site Launches

The 2008 Big Apple Barbecue Block Party Web Site has now launched. You might recognize some of the photos used here, courtesy of Off The Broiler :)

We will be returning to this year’s event as usual, with some spare tasters in tow. Atkins baby, Atkins. Until then, have a look at last year’s photos and podcasts.