An Online Food Journal

The hustle and bustle of the New York City food scene, with its artfully decorated plates, foreign fusions, unpronounceable ingredients, and ever-changing fads, though usually exciting and innovative, can at times feel trite and disconnected. Don't get me wrong.  I'm one of the biggest proponents of adventurous eating and inventive cooking, but there are times when I crave something local, something humble. When I talk about New York, I usually talk about the city, which I love unabashedly and fervently.  However, my near-obsession with the city causes me to make the unforgivable mistake of forgetting the great upstate, specifically the Catskill Mountains, a southeastern portion of New York state that holds some of the richest natural resources, making it an agricultural paradise. I would not know of the Catskills' beauty and bounty if it were not for the recent food festival The Catskills Comes to Queens at Flushing Town Hall.  It was an event that showcased 20 renown c...

Summers are lovely in Boston.  While I would never want to brave the city's winter cold, the warm and inviting summer days are perfect for strolling through the cobblestone streets or dining in the open air.  Although I spent my early childhood in the suburbs of Boston, I was too young to understand or appreciate this historic, yet ever-changing city.  Foodwise, I was craving stereotypical New England cuisine, as in hearty fried seafood, raw oysters, and of course lobster rolls, lots and lots of lobster rolls. With only two short days, it was impossible to get the full Boston culinary experience, but what we did get was good, very good.  Here are some of the trip's highlights: The Daily Catch: North End, the city's oldest residential community, holds Boston's Italian American population.  Coming from New York, I expected North End to be similar to Little Italy, a tourist trap with kitchy street lights but mediocre at best restaurants. What I didn't expect was...

Although I'm a New Yorker, my knowledge of Jewish cuisine is embarrassingly narrow.  Sure, I've tried the pastrami sandwich at Katz's Delicatessen (which is kosher style, but not actually kosher), enjoyed the bagel, cream cheese, and lox at Russ & Daughters, and had my fair share of Israeli salad at the Jewish community center I used to swim for, but I've never actively explored this ever-changing, multicultural cuisine.  What fascinate me most about the food of the Jewish diaspora is that, unlike most cuisines, it is not bound by geography. This is why in my opinion Jewish cuisine is probably the greatest culinary fusion to have existed; there are the Ashkenazi Jews who bring the foods of Eastern Europe, while the Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews respectively carry the tastes of the Mediterranean and Middle East. It may seem ironic that my exploration is beginning in Philadelphia instead of New York, but it's all due to the genius of Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook...

Nothing makes me happier than good pasta  —  pasta that is freshly made with the right chew and pull, cooked al dente, covered in a sparing amount of sauce, and sprinkled with shaven cheese.  Few places  can cook true pasta and Ai Fiori is most definitely one of them.  We decided to go with the four course prix fixe, which includes per cominciare (appetizer), pasta or risotto, pesce or carne, and dessert. Before we began with the prix fixe, we were treated with an amuse bouche of carrot puree.  Light, savory, and slightly sweet, it was a refreshing start to the meal.  For appetizers, we ordered the Crudo di Dentice, a red snapper crudo on top of garlic crema, topped with crispy shallots and salmon roe.  The red snapper was delicate and fresh, while the brininess of the roe complemented the slight sweetness of the shallot crisps.   There was also the Granchio, a dish composed of fried semolina dusted soft-shell crab with acq...