Jeffrey Tastes

I know wolf was cried at least 2x before, but here is the final word from the final man of the RHBF, Cesar Fuentes…. Hopefully in the next six years they will be able to open up earlier in the year or be year-round.

Dear Friends & Supporters,

It is with great pleasure that we announce the official opening date of our affair on Saturday, July 19th, 2008.

On behalf of the Red Hook food vendors, I would like to thank everyone who has visited, patronized, shown interest and\or given support to this humble thirty four year tradition, that it may continue for six more -We dedicate this victory to you.

We encourage you to continue visiting our web page at www.myspace.com/redhookfoodvendors for more updates on the Red Hook food vendors, including additional dates, times & season ending of our affair.

Best & warmest regards,

Cesar Fuentes
Executive Director
Food Vendors Committee of Red Hook Park Inc.
PO Box 48
New York, NY 10159
http://www.myspace.com/redhookfoodvendors

Yo, I don’t know when theyre gonna start. I’m getting tired of false alarms. Just come to Roosevelt Ave for the best tacos on earth. Here’s the latest:

Dear friends:
Thank you once again for all your support, and inquires about our affairs. As We’ve promised in previous reply to keep you inform of any changes regarding our affair in Red Hook Park, once again we had some minor technical issue with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and push us back for an other week or two.
We are hoping they will work with us and return by July 12, the latest July 19. at Red Hook Park. We well post it once we have a definite opening date on our web http://www.myspace.com/redhookfoodvendors or feel free to contact us and we we’ll gladly reply as soon as we can.

Thanks for your support.
RH Vendors

You don’t have to go all the way to Montreal to have your Poutine. It’s real, a Poutine grows in Brooklyn.

Get down at Sheep Station in Park Slope and you can have your own poutine.

The cheese is squishy and not overwhelmingly plentiful here. It is fries with gravy and cheese curds. Not so strange. I remember we got cheese curds all the time at Wegmans. I bet we can recreate it here.

The picture could be better, but hey I wanted to eat it!

Later in the night we had loaded waffle fries from a bar, I have to say that I like the American version is better. Even though both are loaded with salt, the American version has more. That usually makes it better.

2008 NYC Restaurant Week

Enjoy special three-course, prix-fixe menus at participating restaurants.
Duration: July 21-25 and July 28- Aug 1, 2008 (Monday through Friday only)
Pricing: $24.07 lunches, $35.00 dinners

This year’s tagline is Eat Famously.

I don’t like the Eat Famously tagline. It’s like all us common folk are able to finally act like the wealthy people. Thank you for your scraps. Oh, a special menu?? You’re so kind. Can I have one truffle??

It reminds of Caddyshack when the caddies get their 20 minutes in the pool.

As usual, I probably won’t go to any because I work nights. Although a lunch trip could be in order…

The naysayers tell you it’s too crowded and the special menus are dainty compared to the normal menu. You may be baited into buying into a full menu. I say it’s okay. This is usually a great list of the best Manhattan restaurants. Take notice if you don’t go.

Links:
Official Site
Make your reservations online at Open Table
NYMAG Preview
Listing with links to restaurants with lots of additional info from GoNYC

Participating Restaurants:
2 West 2 West St., 917-790-2525 (Lunch)
21 Club 21 W 52nd St, 212-582-7200 (Lunch and Dinner)
5 Ninth 5 Ninth Ave., 212-929-9460 (Lunch)
Abboccato Ristorante 136 W 55th St, 212-265-4000 (Lunch and Dinner)
Above Restaurant (Lunch and Dinner)
AJ Maxwell’s Steakhouse (Lunch and Dinner)
Alfama 551 Hudson St, 212-645-2500 (Lunch and Dinner)
Amalia (Lunch and Dinner)
Amma (Lunch and Dinner)
Angelo and Maxie’s (Lunch and Dinner)
Anthos 36 W. 52nd St., 212-582-6900 (Lunch and Dinner)
Aquavit Cafe 13 W 54th St, 212-307-7311 (Lunch and Dinner)
Aquavit (Dining Room) 13 W 54th St, 212-307-7311 (Lunch)
Arabelle at the Plaza Athenee 37 E 64th St, 212-606-4647 (Lunch and Dinner)
Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro 2 Park Ave, 212-725-8585 (Lunch and Dinner)
Asia de Cuba 237 Madison Ave, 212-726-7755 (Lunch)
Asiate at the Mandarin Oriental 80 Columbus Circle, 212-805-8881 (Lunch)
Aspen (Lunch and Dinner)
Atlantic Grill 1341 Third Ave, 212-988-9200 (Lunch)
August 359 Bleecker St., 212-929-4774 (Lunch and Dinner)
Bar Boulud (Lunch)
Bar Milano 323 Third Avenue, 212-683-3035 (Lunch)
Barbetta 321 W 46th St, 212-246-9171 (Lunch)
Barbounia250 Park Ave. South (at 20th St.), 212-995-0242 (Lunch and Dinner)
Barolo 398 West Broadway, 212-226-1844 (Lunch and Dinner)
Beacon 25 W 56th St, 212-332-0500 (Lunch and Dinner)
Ben Benson’s Steakhouse 123 W 52nd St, 212-581-8888 (Lunch)
Bice Ristorante 7 E 54th St, 212-688-1999 (Dinner)
Bistro Milano 1350 Avenue of the Americas, 212-757-2600 (Lunch and Dinner)
Black Duck 122 E. 28th St., 212-204-5240 (Dinner)
Blue Fin 1567 Broadway at 47th St, 212-918-1400 (Lunch and Dinner)
Blue Smoke 116 E 27th St, 212-447-7733 (Lunch and Dinner)
Blue Water Grill 31 Union Square W @ 16th St, 212-675-9500 (Lunch and Dinner)
Bobby Van’s Steakhouse & Grill 25 Broad St., 212-344-8463 (Lunch and Dinner)
Bobby Van’s Steakhouse & Grill 135 W. 50th St., 212-957-5050 (Lunch and Dinner)
Bobby Van’s Steakhouse East 54th Street (Lunch and Dinner)
Bocca (Lunch and Dinner)
Bond 45 154 W 45th St, 212-869-4545 (Lunch and Dinner)
Brasserie 100 E 53rd St, 212-751-4840 (Lunch and Dinner)
Brasserie 8 ½ 9 W 57th St, 212-829-0812 (Lunch and Dinner)
Brasserie Ruhlmann 45 Rockefeller Plaza, 212-974-2020 (Dinner)
Bread Bar at Tabla 11 Madison Ave, 212-889-0667 (Lunch and Dinner)
Butter 415 Lafayette Street, 212-253-2828 (Lunch and Dinner)
Café Centro 200 Park Ave at E 45th St, 212-818-1222 (Lunch and Dinner)
Café D’Alsace 1695 88th St., 212-722-5133 (Lunch and Dinner)
Café des Artistes 1 W 67th St, 212-877-3500 (Dinner)
Café Fiorello 1900 Broadway, 212-595-5330 (Lunch and Dinner)
Cafe Society/CSNY (Lunch and Dinner)
Caffe Grazie (Lunch and Dinner)
Calle Ocho 446 Columbus Ave, 212-873-5025 (Dinner)
Capsouto Frères Restaurant 451 Washington St, 212-966-4900 (Lunch and Dinner)
The Carlyle Restaurant 35 E. 76th St, 212-744-1600 (Lunch and Dinner)
Carnegie Deli 854 Seventh Avenue, 212-757-2245 (Lunch)
Centovini 25 West Houston Street, 212-219-2113 (Lunch and Dinner)
The Central Park Boathouse E. 72nd St, 212-517-2233 (Lunch)
Centrico 211 W. Broadway (at Franklin St.), 212-431-0700 (Dinner)
Centro Vinoteca 74 Seventh Ave. South, 212-367-7470 (Lunch)
Chanterelle 2 Harrison St, 212-687-4600 (Lunch)
Charlie Palmer’s Metrazur Grand Central Terminal, E Balcony, 212-966-6960 (Lunch and Dinner)
Chez Josephine (Dinner)
Chin Chin Restaurant 216 E. 49th St., 212-888-4555 (Lunch and Dinner)
China Grill 60 W 53rd St, 212-333-7788 (Lunch and Dinner)
Chinatown Brasserie 380 Lafayette St., 212-533-7000 (Lunch and Dinner)
Church & Dey (Lunch and Dinner)
Cipriani Wall Street 55 Wall Street, 212-699-4099 (Lunch and Dinner)
City Crab & Seafood Co. 235 Park Ave South, 212-529-3800 (Lunch and Dinner)
City Hall Restaurant 131 Duane St, 212-227-7777 (Lunch and Dinner)
City Lobster & Crab Co. 121 W. 49th St, 212-354-1717 (Lunch and Dinner)
Commodore Grill Grand Hyatt, 109 E. 42nd St., 646-213-6999 (Dinner)
Compass 208 W 70th St, 212-875-8600 (Dinner)
Craftbar 900 Broadway, 212-461-4300 (Lunch)
Crema Restaurante 111 West 17th Street, 212-691-4477 (Lunch and Dinner)
The Cub Room 131 Sullivan St, 212-677-4100 (Lunch and Dinner)
davidburke & donatella 133 E 61st St, 212-813-2121 (Lunch and Dinner)
Dawat 210 E 58th St, 212-355-7555 (Lunch and Dinner)
db Bistro Moderne 55 W. 44th St. (betw. Fifth & Sixth Aves.), 212-391-2400 (Lunch)
Del Posto 85 Tenth Ave., 212-497-8090 (Lunch)
Delmonico’s Steakhouse 56 Beaver Street, 212-509-1144 (Lunch and Dinner)
Destino 891 First Ave., 212-751-0700 (Dinner)
Devi 8 E 18th St, 212-691-1300 (Lunch and Dinner)
Django 480 Lexington Ave, 212-871-6600 (Lunch and Dinner)
Dos Caminos Park 373 Park Ave South, 212-294-1000 (Lunch and Dinner)
Dos Caminos Soho 475 W Broadway, 212-277-4300 (Lunch and Dinner)
Dos Caminos Third Avenue 825 Third Ave., 212-336-5400 (Lunch and Dinner) Eleven Madison Park 11 Madison Ave at 25th St, 212-889-0905 (Lunch)
EN Japanese Brasserie 435 Hudson St. (at Leroy St.), 212-647-9196 (Dinner)
Esca 402 W 43rd St, 212-564-7272 (Lunch)
Estiatorio Milos 125 W 55th St, 212-245-7400 (Lunch)
Etcetera Etcetera 352 W. 44th St., 212-399-4141 (Lunch and Dinner)
F. illi Ponte 39 Desbrosses St, 212-226-4621 (Lunch and Dinner)
Fig & Olive Meatpacking 420 W. 13th St., 212-924-1200 (Lunch and Dinner)
Fig & Olive Fifth Avenue 10 East 52nd Street, 212-319-2002 (Lunch and Dinner)
Firebird Restaurant 365 W. 46th St., 212-586-0244 (Lunch and Dinner)
Fives 700 Fifth Ave, 212-903-3918 (Lunch and Dinner)
Fleur de Sel 5 E 20th St.(Broadway and 5th), 212-460-9100 (Lunch)
Frankie & Johnnie’s Steakhouse 269 W 45th St, 212-997-9494 (Lunch)
Frankie & Johnnie’s Steakhouse 32 W 37th St, 212-947-8940 (Lunch and Dinner)
Frederick’s Madison 768 Madison Ave., 212-737-7300 (Lunch and Dinner)
Frederick’s Downtown 637 Hudson Street, 212-488-4200 (Dinner)
Gabriel’s Bar and Restaurant 11 W 60th St, 212-956-4600 (Lunch)
Gallagher’s New York Steak House 228 W 52nd St, 212-245-5336 (Lunch)
Giorgios of Gramercy 27 E 21st St, 212-477-0007 (Lunch and Dinner)
Gotham Bar & Grill 12 E 12th St, 212-620-4020 (Lunch)
Gramercy Tavern 42 E 20th St, 212-477-0777 (Lunch)
Grayz 3-15 West 54th Street, 212-262-4600 (Lunch and Dinner)
Greenhouse Cafe 7717-3rd Avenue, Brooklyn, 718-833-8200 (Lunch and Dinner)
Grotta Azzurra 177 Mulberry St, 212-925-8775 (Lunch and Dinner)
Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano 60 Greenwich Ave. (at Perry St.), 212-924-8000 (Lunch)
Hatsuhana 17 E 48th St, 212-355-3345 (Lunch and Dinner)
Hudson Cafeteria 356 W. 58th St., 212-554-6500 (Lunch)
i Trulli122 East 27th Street, 212-481-7372 (Lunch and Dinner)
Icon 130 E 39th St, 212-592-8888 (Lunch and Dinner)
Il Cantinori 32 E. 10th St. (betw. Broadway & University Pl.), 212-673-6044 (Lunch and Dinner)
Il Giglio Restaurant 81 Warren St, 212-571-5555 (Lunch)
Ilili Restaurant 236 5th Avenue, 212-683-2929 (Lunch and Dinner)
Inagiku 111 E 49th St. at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, 212-355-0440 (Lunch and Dinner)
Indochine 430 Lafayette St, 212-505-5111 (Dinner) Isabella’s 359 Columbus Aveat 77th St, 212-724-2100 (Lunch and Dinner)
Japonais 111 E. 18th Street, 212-260-2020 (Lunch and Dinner)
Japonica 100 University Place, 212-243-7752 (Lunch and Dinner)
Jo Jo 160 E 64th St, 212-223-5656 (Lunch and Dinner)
Kellari Seafood Taverna 19 West 44th Street, 212-221-0144 (Lunch and Dinner)
Kittichai 60 Thompson St, 212-219-2000 (Lunch)
Kobe Club 68 W. 58th St, 212-644-5623 (Dinner)
La Goulue 746 Madison Avenue, 212-988-8169 (Lunch and Dinner)
La Masseria 235 West 48th St, 212-582-2111 (Lunch and Dinner)
Le Cirque 151 E. 58th St., 212-644-0202 (Lunch and Dinner)
Le Colonial 149 East 57th St, 212-752-0808 (Lunch and Dinner)
Le Perigord 405 E 52nd St, 212-755-6244 (Lunch and Dinner)
L’Impero 45 Tudor City Pl, 212-599-5045 (Lunch)
Lunetta 920 Broadway, 212-533-3663 (Lunch and Dinner)
Lupa 170 Thompson St, 212-982-5089 (Lunch)
Lure Fishbar 142 Mercer Street, 212-431-7676 (Lunch and Dinner)
Mai House 186 Franklin Street, 212-431-0606 Dinner)
Maloney & Porcelli 37 East 50th St. (Park and Madison Ave.), 212-750-2233 (Lunch)
Marseille 630 Ninth Ave, 212-333-2323 (Lunch and Dinner)
Maya 1191 First Ave, 212-585-1818 (Dinner)
maze by Gordon Ramsay 151 West 54th Street, 212-468-8889 (Lunch)
Megu Midtown 845 UN Plaza, 212-964-7777 (Lunch and Dinner)
Megu New York 62 Thomas St., 212-964-2171 (Lunch and Dinner)
The Mercer Kitchen 99 Prince St, 212-966-5454 (Lunch and Dinner)
Mesa Grill 102 Fifth Ave, 212-807-7400 (Lunch and Dinner)
Mezzogiorno Restaurant 195 Spring St, 212-334-2112 (Lunch and Dinner)
Mia Dona 206 East 58th St, 212-750-8170 (Lunch and Dinner)
Michael Jordan’s The Steak House NYC Grand Central Terminal, 23 Vanderbilt Ave, 212-655-2300
Moda 135 W. 52nd St, 212-887-9880 (Lunch)
The Modern (Bar Room) 9 W. 53rd St. (at Fifth Ave.), 212-333-1220 (Dinner)
Molyvos Restaurant 871 Seventh Ave, 212-582-7500 (Lunch and Dinner)
Montebello Restaurant 120 E. 56th St, 212-753-1447 (Lunch and Dinner)
Morimoto 88 10th Ave., 212-989-8883 (Lunch)
Mr. K’s 570 Lexington Ave, 212-583-1668 (Lunch and Dinner)
Naples 45 200 Park Ave, 212-972-7001 (Lunch and Dinner)
Nick & Stef’s Steakhouse 9 Penn Plaza at 33rd St, 212-563-4444 (Lunch and Dinner)
Nino’s Positano 890 Second Ave, 212-355-5540 (Lunch and Dinner)
Nino’s Restaurant 1354 First Ave, 212-988-0002 (Lunch and Dinner)
Nino’s Tuscany 117 W. 58th St, 212-757-8630 (Lunch and Dinner)
Nobu 105 Hudson St, 212-219-0500 (Lunch)
Norma’s 118 W. 57th St., 212-708-7460 (Lunch)
North Square 103 Waverly Place, 212-254-1200 (Lunch and Dinner)
Nougatine at Jean Georges 1 Central Park West, 212-299-3900 (Lunch and Dinner)
Ocean Grill 384 Columbus Ave, 212-579-2300 (Lunch and Dinner)
Oceana 55 East 54th Street, 212-759-5941 (Lunch)
Olana 72 Madison Avenue, 212-725-4900 (Lunch)
One If By Land, Two If By Sea 17 Barrow St, 212-228-0822 (Dinner)
Opia 130 E 57th St, 212-688-3939 (Lunch and Dinner)
Orsay Restaurant 1057 Lexington Ave, 212-517-6400 (Lunch and Dinner)
Osteria Del Circo 120 West 55th St, 212-265-3636 (Lunch and Dinner)
Palm 250 W. 50th St., 212-333-7256 (Lunch)
Palm West 250 West 50th Street, 212-333-7256 (Lunch)
Pampano 209 E 49th St, 212-751-4545 (Lunch)
Park Avenue Summer 100 East 63rd St, 212-644-1900 (Lunch)
Park Room 36 Central Park South, 212-521-6200 (Lunch and Dinner)
Patroon Restaurant 160 E. 46th St., 212-883-7373 (Lunch and Dinner)
Payard Bistro 1032 Lexington Ave, 212-717-5252 (Lunch and Dinner)
Peacock Alley Restaurant 301 Park Ave., 212-872-4837 (Lunch and Dinner)
Pera Mediterranean Brasserie 303 Madison Avenue, 212-878-6301 (Lunch and Dinner)
Periyali 35 W. 20th St. (betw. Fifth & Sixth Aves.), 212-463-7890 (Lunch and Dinner)
Perry St. 176 Perry St. (at West St.), 212-352-1900 (Lunch and Dinner)
Pershing Square 90 E 42nd St, 212-286-9600 (Lunch and Dinner)
Petrossian 182 W. 58th St, 212-245-2214 (Lunch and Dinner)
Pigalle 790 Eighth Ave, 212-489-2233 (Lunch and Dinner)
Porter House New York 10 Columbus Circle, 4th Fl., 212-823-9500 (Lunch)
The Post House 28 E 63rd St, 212-935-2888 (Lunch)
Primehouse New York 381 Park Ave South, 212-824-2600 (Lunch and Dinner)
Quality Meats 57 W. 58th St., 212-371-7777 (Lunch)
Rain 100 W 82nd St, 212-501-0776 (Dinner)
Rayuela 165 Allen St, 212-253-8840 (Dinner)
Redeye Grill 890 Seventh Ave, 212-541-9000 (Lunch)
Remi 145 West 53rd Street, 212-581-4242 (Lunch and Dinner)
Riingo 205 E 45th St, 212-867-4200 (Lunch and Dinner)
The River Café One Water St., 718-522-5200 (Lunch)
Rock Center Café 20 West 50th St, 212-332-7620 (Lunch and Dinner)
Rosa Mexicano at Lincoln Center (Lunch and Dinner)
Rosa Mexicano at Union Square 9 E. 18th St. (betw. Fifth Ave. & ; Broadway)
Rosa Mexicano on First Avenue (Dinner)
Roy’s New York 130 Washington St., 212-266-6262 (Dinner)
Ruby Foo’s Times Square 1626 Broadway at 49th St, 212-489-5600 (Lunch and Dinner)
Ruby Foo’s Uptown 2182 Broadway at 77th St, 212-724-6700 (Lunch and Dinner)
Ruth’s Chris Steak House 148 West 51st Street, 888-722-4315 (Dinner)
Safran 88 7th Avenue, 212-929-1778 (Lunch and Dinner)
Salute! 270 Madison Ave, 212-213-3440 (Lunch and Dinner)
The Sea Grill 19 W 49th St, 212-332-7610 (Lunch and Dinner)
Shelly’s Tradizionale 104 W 57th St, 212-245-2422 (Lunch and Dinner)
Shula’s American Steak House 270 W. 43rd Street, 212-201-2776 (Lunch)
Shun Lee Palace 155 E 55th St, 212-371-8844 (Lunch and Dinner)
Shun Lee West 43 West 65th Street, 212-595-8895 (Lunch and Dinner)
Smith & Wollensky 201 East 49th St, 212-753-1530 (Lunch)
South Gate 154 Central Park South, 212-484-5120 (Lunch)
Spice Market 403 West 13th Street, 212-675-2322 (Lunch and Dinner)
Steak Frites 9 E 16 St. 212-463-7101 (Lunch and Dinner)
Sushi Samba 7 87 Seventh Ave. South, 212-691-7885 (Lunch and Dinner)
Sushi Samba Park 245 Park Ave. South, 212-475-9377 (Lunch and Dinner)
Tabla 11 Madison Ave. at 25th St., 212-889-0667 (Lunch)
Tamarind 41-43 East 22nd St., 212-674-7400 (Lunch)
TAO Restaurant 42 E. 58th St, 212-888-2288 (Lunch)
Tavern on the Green Central Park at West 67th St., 212-873-3200 (Lunch)
TBar Steak & Lounge 1278 Third Avenue, 212-772-0404 (Lunch and Dinner)
Telepan Restaurant 72 W. 69th St., 212-580-4300 (Lunch)
Terrace in the Sky 400 West 119th St., 212-666-9490 (Lunch and Dinner)
Thalassa Restaurant 179 Franklin St, 212-941-7661 (Lunch and Dinner)
Thalia Restaurant 828 Eighth Ave., 212-399-4444 (Lunch and Dinner)
Tocqueville Restaurant and Bar 15 East 15th St, 212-579-0272 (Lunch)
Town 15 West 56th St, 212-582-4445 (Lunch and Dinner)
Trattoria dell’Arte 900 Seventh Ave., 212-245-9800 (Lunch and Dinner)
Tribeca Grill 375 Greenwich St, 212-941-3900 (Lunch and Dinner)
Union Square Cafe 21 East 16th St., 212-243-4020 (Lunch)
Vento Trattoria 675 Hudson St., 212-699-2400 (Lunch and Dinner)
ViceVersa 325 West 51st St. (8th & 9th Aves.), 212-399-9291 (Lunch and Dinner)
Victor’s Café 236 W 52nd St, 212-586-7714 (Lunch and Dinner)
Villa Berulia 107 East 34th St. (Park & Lex), 212-689-1970 (Lunch and Dinner)
Vong 200 East 54th St., 212-486-9592 (Lunch and Dinner)
Wakiya 200 East 54th St., 212-486-9592 (Lunch and Dinner)
The Water Club 500 East 30th St. (at the East River), 212-683-3333 (Lunch and Dinner)
Water’s Edge The East River at 44th Drive, Long Island City, 718-482-0033 (Lunch and Dinner)
Wildwood Barbeque 225 Park Avenue South, 212-533-2500 (Lunch and Dinner)
Yuva 230 East 58th St, 212-339-0090 (Lunch and Dinner)
Zoë SoHo 90 Prince St., 212-966-6722 (Lunch and Dinner)
Zoë Townhouse 135 E. 62nd St, 212-752-6000 (Lunch and Dinner)

Here is an email from Cesar Fuentes, the voice of the Red Hook Food Vendors:

Dear friends and supporters,

We have decided to pass in this exciting update for your information before its official press release or its official announcement.

Upon our last compliance hurdle being met -that is, the vendors’ food trucks and carts passing DOHMH inspection next week- our affair can finally open its season as early as the weekend of July 19th!!

While we are almost certain that most vendors will be compliant & ready to operate by July 19th, we have also set up a ‘rain date’ for the weekend of July 26th in case the majority of our vendors are required to further adjust their mobile food vending units to meet inspection standards.

While we will issue an official statement advising the specific start date soon, please feel free to spread word that our affair will definitely start on either date this month.

Thanks as always for your constant support & solidarity!

Best,

Cesar Fuentes
Executive Director
Food Vendors Committee of Red Hook Park Inc.

Perks of working at a television station: PRESS PASSES

2 friends and I got all-access press passes. It was awesome.

I went beyond the barrier and saw someone I met producing the Hot Dog Eating Promo in Westbury. “Did you eat yet?”
Trying to hold my smiles and my salivating friends back, “Nooooo. Where??”
“Back there.”
We went backstage through a hole in the wall and saw the competitors and staff prepping for the competition. They were laying out hot dogs on plates at blazing speed. Whip whip whip. All boiled. Plates of 5, just like Mike taught me.

It’s funny. The other press people were busy taking pictures of Kobyashi, Joey Chestnut, Sandra Thomas, and Badlands Booker. I was mystified by the preparations involved in making this massive event happen. The only star I got was an accidental picture of Sonya Thomas.

Next year I work for Nathans. My goal.

Joey Chestnutt wins in the first-ever 5 dog tie-breaking overtime matchup in Coney Island Hot Dog Eating history. I am a big fan of Kobyashi and I felt the 5 dog race was not in his favor. Oh well. Try again next year.

It seemed like professional wrestling from the beginning. With the introductions there were backstories and limitless nicknames to even the most mundane character with a mask. Some were given personalities when none came naturally. When Kobyashi come out on stage, the announcer told the crowd he blamed last year’s defeat on an inflamation in the jaw. On queue he started rubbing his jaw and then pounded the board with a thunderstick on Jeoy Chestnutt’s name. Very WWF.

When he lost, when given his trophy he snapped his fingers in a dang it motion - which I felt was a little peculiar. He was a great sport though, so let’s chalk it up to that. Him being peculiar.

Crowd Shots:

Coney Island Legend Rabbi Abraham Abraham

Expect a post this week about this man with the straw hat…

George Shea

Links:
My flickr set from the day of the competition

I met a new friend this week from Nathans Corporate. He is an expert at everything Nathans. One of his main jobs is going around to different Nathans restaurants and making sure everything is up to par with the expectations of the Nathans brand. What a great job!

Mike showed me the proper way to stack and count how many hot dogs are eaten in a big competition. It’s too inaccurate to try and count every single dog eaten when people are eating 12 hot dogs in a minute. Through decades of research, here is what they came up with:

The 5 dog stack. This allows them to count by five how many hot dogs they’ve eaten. Genius.

Got a bulk hot dog eating tip from competitive eating legend “Hungry” Charles Hardy. Before the taping, I saw him open up a packet into his drink.

“What’s that??”

He made one 32 oz. cup of crystal light (looked like iced tea) and one 32 oz. of water for dipping the buns.

His explanation made total sense. After eating a few dogs, you get that fatty, greasy film in your mouth. The Crystal Light cuts the grease and gets your mouth fresh - ready for more dogs.

Fresh from last night’s newscast.

Appearing in the story is sports anchor CJ Papa and competitive eating legends “Hungry” Charles Hardy and Eric “Badlands” Booker.

CJ Interviews both eaters at Nathan’s Famous in Westbury, Long Island about the sport and what it takes to eat competitively. Here they are facing off:

We had the shoot today promoting the Nathans July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island. It went great. I met some interesting people and I learned so much about the hot dog business.

Working for a news show has its perks. One of them is having access to putting on television things I am passionate about. I have always been a fan of the competition and have been dragging my friends here since High School. It’s great to be involved in it any way I can.

At 3pm everyone assembled in Nathan’s of Westbury to do the shoot. This turned out to be more of an exhibition of the art of competive eating than a contest. We had interviews before the eating with both competitive eaters. We were given access to the backstage area of Nathans to film also - very clean and efficient. The kitchen is exposed and those hot dogs grilling look so delicious. It’s amazing how good a Nathan’s hot dog is. Still my favorite food.

I met with the owner and the managers of the restaurant last week and today. What a great bunch of people. They were even more excited than I was about having an event here. Everyone was very accomodating and said yes to anything we asked of them. They even put up streamers on the outside of the building and set up a staging area for us to film. Before the eating began, they opened up the area and got customers and staff to watch and be active in the shoot. The staff from the Westbury Nathans, the representative from IFOCE, and the consultant from Nathans Corporate were extremely helpful in creating this event. They made this into the great event it was.

Competitive eating legends “Hungry” Charles Hardy and Eric “Badlands” Booker came out to promote the Coney Island event. They gave us a pretty good taste of their world by facing off against CJ Papa exhibiting their talents. CJ ate a couple, but the guys downed 10 easily. What’s amazing, after the filming was over, they both kept grabbing for dogs. I was like ‘you know, you don’t have to keep eating.’ They kept putting them down though, like they were peanuts.

Badlands Booker - what a nice guy. This guy is huge. Looks like a 400 pound anvil. Listen to him talk though, and you will think he’s the sweetest guy on the planet. haha, he might not like that coming out about him… I like his music a lot. It’s mainly about food and competitive eating, but he manages to make it not gimmicky at all, the rapping is smooth and the beats have a pumping sound to them. Hey, people write about what they are surrounded by. Booker happens to be surrounded by food; that’s what he sings about. It’s real. If you look in the liner notes, it’s a bunch of dudes from the competitive eating world rapping with him and doing little intros and outros on there. Very fun stuff and well produced.

Hungry Charles Hardy - so friendly and happy to be around the competitive eating world. He has been retired for a few years but is now the Commissioner of the International Federation of Competitive Eating - and has the awesome tattoo to prove it - I wish I got a picture. He a big guy, but he told me he dropped a 100 pounds since his more hungry days. I remember he had some generous stomach clout 5 years ago - looking good, Charles.

Before the shoot, everyone was standing around just talking about the biz. They were buzzing about what’s happening this year and who is coming up in the ranks, possibilities for new competitors from strange backgrounds and foreign countries. It seems like everyone keeps getting more and more excited about the event and the sport. Great environment with smiles all around. It is definitely a family brought together by these glorious hot dogs.

Leading up to the July 4th event, I will have at least 1 post every day about the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Competition. From this experience, I gained all of these little factoids and secrets. This won’t get boring - I am excited to go to the contest on Friday, will I see you there?

Video of the event will be up tomorrow.

Links:
Badlands Booker’s Myspace
All of my pictures from the event
IFOCE

In very related news, I will have news about the Long Island/NYC restaurant scene next week.

Here’s the news:
I am producing a promo event for the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Competition on June 30th for WLNY-TV’s News at Eleven. I have always been a fan of the event and I am thrilled to be a part of the promotion.

WLNY-TV News at Eleven’s CJ Papa and eating legends Hungry Charles Hardy and Badlands Booker competing in their own hot dog eating competition to promote the July 4th Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Monday, June 30th at 3pm

Nathans Famous
1530 Old Country Rd
Westbury, NY 11590
(516) 832-8900‎

This location is east of Meadowbrook Parkway. It is a big Nathans/Burritoville/Arthur Treachers/Famous Rays (down the block from the main Nathans Headquarters). Come down to watch if you want to be a part of the show.

The segment will be shown on TV10/55 News at Eleven’s sports report at 11pm on June 30th or July 1st.

I am meeting a lot of interesting people doing this. It’s great to be more involved with the food business. Hopefully this will be a success and I can get more exposure in the future.

Links:
Coney Island Hot Dogs Nutritional Information from Gothamist
Badlands Booker Website
Competitive Eating Legend Hungry Charles Hardy

I will have a huge surprise tomorrow night concerning this event, but for now…

From a random message board about the contest:
“Eating contests are repulsive. There are starving and malnourished people in this world, and we have contests where people jam so much food into their guts that they vomit.”

The annual July 4th Nathans Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest
Is there a better way to spend Independence Day?

Last year there were over 50,000 people there to witness the stampede of Nathan’s Famous into competitors’s mouths.

Will Kobayashi regain the title?
Can American hero Joey Chestnut prevail again?
Will I see you there?

Nathans Famous
1310 Surf Ave
Brooklyn, NY
( 718 ) 946-2202

Links:
Nathans Contest Page

I just registered a new domain:
SushiForNewbies.com

I figure sushi is growing so much now across the United States, that there will be (or is currently) a tremendous need for beginner sushi information. I think some people could use a ramp to learning how to eat sushi.

I am a good example of someone who knew very little who became someone who is very comfortable in a sushi bar. I figures I could impart some of my knowledge to people who want to know more about it.

I imagine it to be a primer for people interested in sushi. Your suggestions are appreciated.

Some good sushi sites for inspiration:
SushiLinks
Japan Guide - Easy picture show of sushi items
Sushi Terminology
Good example of a sushi learning website - with a great blog

I see I cannot have a comprehensive guide to sushi. I figure my best bet is having an extremely user friendly experience where we concentrate on gaining an affection for sushi. The details I will leave to you.

When I first moved here, between the hours of midnight and 4am, I regularly went to the taco carts under the 74th street station (regarded by many as the best tacos in the city). I was so happy then. But of course my mind wanders…

I drive through Elmhurst every night on my way home from work. It’s after midnight, and I’m usually getting hungry again. I’ve been passing these small restaurants - lights on, half-filled glistening wood rooms, awnings with huge chinese lettering on with no English except the abbreviation TEL. Do I need to tell you my interest was piqued?

Last night I stopped my car and went in.

This is some legit stuff. Elmhurst is Queens’s second Chinatown. Right down the block from my new abode. I am so happy.

First of all, there are over 500 items on the menu. It looks like a page out of the telephone book. There are two menus in English and two more in Chinese with a visibly different pricing plan. One of the English menus has green lettering with lunch specials, combination platters, sesame chicken, and chicken with broccoli. It made me realize that white people like to order by number. Hey, I even got a combo when I went - it’s in my blood. Then there is a smaller in size blue menu which is clearly for the ESL students.

Let’s pull a few items letter-for-letter from the menu to display how legit it is:
Salted Mustard Pork Over Rice
Frog’s Casserole
Pig Leg Casserole
Sauteed Chinese Snail
APPERTIZERS
Stew Turtle
Elephant-Nose Conch Served w. Two Ways
Stewed Cruian in Brown Sauce
Cattle’s Viscera w. Rice Noodle Soup
Dry Squid w. Glutinous Soup

Then there is the glorious “Other” section. I am completely enamored by this. Here are a few selections:
Beef Stomach Any Style
Sauteed Boneless Duck Hand
XO Sauce w. Duck Tongue
Ribbit wtih Foo Chow Sauce
Sauteed Assorted Duck Viscera

The menu in full

It is amazing the amount of items available here. I have never seen anything like it. There are a few other similar looking places along Broadway in Elmhurst. Are all of them like this? Is this even a special place? They claim on the front “The Best Chinese Restaurant in the Area.” It has to be, right?? I will find out. I’m the Christopher Columbus of NYC cuisine.

I decided I cannot save money by restricting my eating experiences here. I can do without a real bed, without cable or the Internet at home. I can live on tap water and convince my friends to cut my hair. I can drive slower and return aluminum cans. I will do whatever it takes to say YES to discovering exciting new foods and cultures in NYC.

Hua Rong Chinese Restaurant
8323 Broadway
Elmhurst, NY 11373
(71 760-1027

Being the week of Father’s Day, I am giving thanks to my father.

My father was never afraid of eating anything. If someone were to present him with a new food no one’s ever seen, he would always say ‘what the hell’ and try it. Plenty of disregard for what is traditionally called food. The only things I’ve ever seen him refuse was a slice of pizza because he is lactose intolerant or something spicy because he is just intolerant in that way.

I am realizing lately that I take after my father. This blind eye to whatever goes in my mouth. The Always Say Yes attitude. Blanketedly accepting of any culture’s food. I havan’t tested him lately, so maybe it’s just a son looking up to his dad. Last year, when I told him about the circus, I was surprised to hear him say he didn’t like the tight rope walkers because it’s scary. What a mindflip for me to hear that my father was scared of something. Everything is different in your adult life. Could he compete with me now? Have I surpassed him? I’d like to see if he would eat a shrimp head.

I definitely don’t take after my mother, who, while culturely accepting, refuses to have shellfish (because she thinks she had an allergic reaction to a shrimp 40 years ago), anything spicy, anything raw, or even anything medium-rare. She is squeamish. Squeamish is she.

Thanks Dad. For making me open-minded to putting weird things in my mouth. I ain’t afraid of nothing!

I think I’m spoiled. In past 6 months I have read 2 books on sushi, Sushi Economy and Zen of Fish, have been challenging myself, and trying to majorly up my game in sushi. I now realize I have been blessed by having excellent sushi by my house (Sapporo in Wantagh and Akari in Merrick) and near my work (Kohaku of Huntington, Robata and Kumo of Plainview). My more recent ventures in Queens and Brooklyn have generally had more of an assembly line feel to the fish and more sterility to the atmosphere (even though they generally have louder pop on the PA). Is this what I can expect?

There is a new sushi restaurant in my new neighborhood. Rave reviews, especially because of the cheap prices ($1 sushi, woah!). I decided to give it a shot, of course. Walking in, everything was very clean. Waitresses were pleasing to every sense of a dining experience. The chefs were cutting up the new day’s fish when I came in. Operationally, they ran it well. Fish taste and experience did not click with me.

I sat at the bar and asked the chef to give me 8 pieces of whatever he wants - giving him a chance to show what they are good at. The waitress overheard and translated what I said into Mandarin. He gave me tuna, salmon, yellowtail, fluke, white tuna. Only the white tuna made me stop and appreciate life, but from my experience it is pretty hard to mess white tuna up. Everything else was fresh, but really was not any good. Sterile pieces of fish - no character at all. The sushi rice was plain jane, and wasabi wasn’t even considered on my by the chef - not even a light finger run!

Next time I will hold the chef’s hand to get the real experience. I already have my choices picked out. I will have to run them through the ringer with toro, 2 types of roe, mackeral, tomago and others (I don’t have my list here). I plan on giving them a bit of a challenge before I make my decisions and review it for everyone to see. You know, a JO bad review basically guarantees going out of business.

A sushi bar is supposed to be like an actual drinking bar. You are supposed to gain some comradery with the bartender; he should challenge customers to try new things and get excited to meet new people. There should be regulars and the sushi chefs/bartenders know their names. I’m telling you, the evolution of America’s sushi bars is Cheers. It should be if it isn’t. This is something I want to be involved with.

Links:
My review of The Sushi Economy by Sasha Issenberg
My review of Zen of Fish by Trevor Corson - JO Endorsed
Tomo Sushi in Jackson Heights

There were 3 vendors at Coffey Park on Sunday, June 15th.
Next week, “the third week in June”, they are supposed to be in full force at Red Hook Park. We will see what happens.

Word on the street is that the Red Hook Ballfields’s Food Vendors are open today!

check it out! We need confirmation

for the love of papusas - we are early!

Continuing my sushi education from Trevor Corson’s Zen of Fish, I read Sasha Issenberg’s The Sushi Economy. This book was centered on the history and future of global production and consumption of sushi - centered on Tuna.

Issenberg gave a very detailed history of tuna hunting. I was intrigued by his proclamation that tuna fishing is the last hunter industry. Think about it - where else do people find their food in the wild by a global scale? The world is changing. Within the last few years, more and more tuna is being farmed. There are companies creating new grand scale methods to farm the previously unfarmable. He detailed regulated and unregulated areas of the world which have created a complex market for sushi fish.

I also learned tuna are awesome. They are huge and so fast. They are kings of the sea. No one effs with a tuna. Tuna can be over 500 pounds. One tuna sold for over $170,000 - Not only for the fish but for the bragging rights of buying on the first day of the year of the sushi market in Tokyo. It showed some real machismo to get this fish.

Filled to the brim with information, I get the feeling the author was overloading from trying to fit everything in there. There were many instances where Issenberg jumped forward and back in time to describe his situations within the same few paragraphs. More than a few moments, I stopped and said to myself “Wait, what?”

The way sections in chapters were broken up did not always make complete sense. The breaks seemed like an afterthought and revisions to make sense of them were never completed.

Assembling this book was a tremendous feat. I look forward to a second printing, to give Issenberg and the editors some time to go over the material. I can imagine a revised edition being highly improved. I recommend the future revised edition.

From National Geographic

Links:
Official Website
Issenberg’s extinct blog - you can’t even comment on there. Lame.
About the Tsukiji Market Official Site
Story of the most expensive fish ever