Best Bites from the Global Bazaar

This weekend, I was lucky enough to attend the Travel & Leisure Global Bazaar. From the moment I stepped into the Lexington Armory and was handed Biscoff biscuits from Delta flight attendents, I knew we were about to be taken on an adventure. We were greeted with belly dancers and bhangra and brass bands, there was reggae and Rapa Nui, flamenco, salsa, and even a Chinese lion dance. A great way to experience the world, through dance and culture. And I loved every minute of it. There were make-your-own mojitos with personalized muddlers, you could pick an Indian bangle from a tree, get a bindi, take a picture in front of your very own Hampton's beach house, even learn to play a ukelele. All that and much more made the event incredibly fun. But I was really there for the food. Here are some of my favorite bites of the weekend. [Photo Credits: José Gonzalez]

Scott Conant was passing out this Ricotta ravioli with parmesan froth and truffles.

Black River caviar and blinis

Johnny Iuzini put together this grilled pineapple, curry cream, cumin meringue, cilantro

José Andrés had his liquid olives 'Feran Adria' An olive that isn't quite an olive, but a briny olive liquid that bursts in your mouth.

A closer look at the 'olive'

This picture does not do justice to Tim Love's (of The Lonesome Dove in Texas) Elk sausage sliders, with seared foie gras, and blueberry jam

Park Hyatt Masters of Food & Wine Chocolate praline tart, port confit fig, tangerine scented mascarpone

Masaharu Morimoto was serving this pork belly kakuni with congee and soy scallion

Michael White was on hand with his dish, Astice - Nova Scotia lobster, burrata, and pickled eggplant

Floyd Cardoz's Roasted Beet Salad with homemade orange ricotta and grilled bread

Marriott Hotels offered this Blues Creek Lamb with Pine nuts & Currants Cauliflower Espuma

The Delta Lounge had this take-home treat by Michelle Bernstein, a peanut butter moon pie. One dish that I loved but for some reason did not get a picture of was Chef José Garces' Esquites - Sweet white corn, fresh jumbo lump crab, chipotle, queso fresco, lime, chile de arbol.

Spices in the Moroccan tent. It is hard to express just how much was packed into one weekend. It was an interactive event designed with cultural exploration in mind, and though the armory was bursting with people, the energy was fantastic. From the saiboat in the center of the space, to the wall of Patron cocktails, and the zipline(!) running through the back of the hall, there was just so much to take in, to see, to drink, and eat. A great event, done well, and I am so happy that I got the chance to do it all. Travel + Leisure Global Bazaar September 28-30 The Lexington Armory, NYC

Real Cheap Eats!

It's been hard lately to get much done, but I am starting to get back into things. I'm trying to take the baby out on food adventures, and she seems to really like it. And by really like it, I mean she falls asleep. She is actually great in restaurants, I think she finds the clattering and clinking noises comforting. I've trained her well. So yes, slowly I am making my way around Queens again, only this time with a stroller. It seemed like a good time to start writing again when James of The Eaten Path came up with the great idea of getting a group of food bloggers together on one website to celebrate the abundance of cheap foods to be found all around New York City. I was so excited to be a part of it, and although I wasn't able to contribute as much as I would have liked, it was a fun experience. Take a look!
http://realcheapeats.com/nyc/

Here are my contributions.
Two of my five posts are on Roosevelt Ave.

I would love to start writing regularly again, I will keep you posted.

The Reason Why I Haven't Written Any Posts For the Past Few Months

Our new baby!

The Year is Over/Back to Sunnyside

I intend to dine out at as many restaurants and street vendors that are located under the 7 train in the borough of Queens in the city of New York as I can (and can afford while jobless). This is to take place in the year 2010 and I will write about each experience. The parameters are strict: I must travel from west to east, beginning at Sunnyside, where the train is still over Queens Blvd, and continuing on Roosevelt Avenue, as the street numbers rise through Woodside, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and Corona, to the final destination of Flushing, where it meets Main Street...The minimum number of meals to be eaten is 60...What I aim to do is expand my own knowledge of food, and write about what I learn.
Look at me, back in January. I had such hopes for 2010. How much a life can change in a year. I didn't make it to Flushing, I barely made it to Corona, but this is an endless, ever-changing project. One thing that hasn't changed is my job situation. Lack of funds was one of the biggest factors for the tapering off of the posts as the months passed, with a few other road bumps thrown in. On the plus side, I ended up with 68 posts, so I did reach one goal. And I expanded my food knowledge, absolutely. Check that one off too. I also met some great people, had some amazing experiences, and ate some really good food. So I'm not going to feel bad about what I haven't done, because I know it can be done in the future. And if it isn't, so what, it's been great so far, and we'll just see where else it leads me. As I was thinking about all of this today, with New Year's just days away, not to mention a ridiculous craving for a burger and fries, I decided to take a trip (my first trip out into the still unplowed streets of my neighborhood) to Sunnyside, where my journey began. Remember this burger?


I first went to PJ Horgan's way back in February, and loved it. Loved the dark pub, the wooden booths, the tiffany lamps, the Irish accents, and the food. This visit was the same, with the addition of pine boughs and twinkling lights, making the place somehow even more warm and inviting when stomping in from the slushy, snow-filled streets. The Sunnyside Burger was just as good as I remembered, and looked exactly the same, except that this time the plate came with three pickle chips instead of two. Again, even better. I won't re-describe the burger, but it was exactly what I wanted. It all felt so familiar, back in Sunnyside, where I spent nearly every day for those first few months of the year, exploring, in the cold. And tonight, for dinner, it was the two of us. Jose and me, sitting in the same booth, nearly a year later, with his favorite Guinness in hand, me stealing fries off his plate once mine were gone, thinking about how much has changed in a place that stays the same. It's been quite a journey. The past year has brought all kinds of joy and sadness, and the year to come will bring even more life changes. For 2011 I wish for more happiness than grief, more love, more knowledge, more adventures, and as always, more great eating. Happy New Year, everyone.

La Abundancia

It's the last day of November, and yes, I went another two months without writing, and without much eating, and I do have some good excuses, I swear, but not going to get into them now. The important thing is that I did actually make one tiny little stop on Roosevelt Avenue during the month, and am finally sitting down and typing it up. After a filling and very cheap dinner at Lao Bei Fang Dumpling House (write-up to come) in Elmhurst with some fine eating companions (Rachel, Stella, and Helena) we were still looking for a little something sweet, as usual, and made our way down Broadway towards the corner of Roos and 75th, to the large, brightly-lit, green-tabled oasis that is La Abundancia Colombian Bakery for a slice of dulce de leche cake.


The roulade was a surprising dessert. I was expecting it to be dry and overly sweet, as roulades covered in dulce de leche can sometimes be. But the cake was dense and moist, the dulce was not cloying or overpowering, and the shredded coconut exterior added a nice textural contrast to the softness of the cake, saving it from becoming boring. But, you may be asking, how do four girls who have the capacity to eat as much cake as we do (see cake-off here) share just one slice? Well, we did get a few other desserts.

Flan, which we quickly concurred was far too eggy and a touch overcooked.

And a sweet bread that was filled with guava. A thin and crackly crust, then an even thinner layer of guava surrounding a sweet ball of dough. If we had a cup of coffee to dip into, it might have been more satisfying, but not our favorite.

The steam tables with daily lunch and dinner specials look tempting, with stews and rice and beans and that sort of stuff. The empanadas and other fried snacks looked tasty as well. But I went to La Abundancia for the dulce de leche cake, and stayed for the company, and the green tables. I love those tables.

La Abundancia Bakery
75-02 Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights

September

September has not been the best month for the blog. Ok, it's been the worst month for the blog, as this is the first time I am writing anything since August 29th. There are all sorts of reasons why I was not able to do any posting this month. Lack of finances plus not feeling well, add the high holidays and lots of family visiting, and that does not equal any eating under the 7. I've barely managed to get any writing or eating done at all this month, and I feel terrible about it, but life does not always work out the way we want it to, does it? I will continue along the path I made for myself, obviously I will not reach Flushing by January, a year into the blog, but I never really thought I would anyway, there's just too much to cover. I am thankful for what I've been able to do so far, and here's hoping that come October, I'll be hungry, healthy, and have enough to keep the project going.

Nieve Making at Viva Puebla!

I don't think that I can write often enough about how obsessed I am with the nieves at Viva Puebla, which I wrote about here (as well as their chicharron preparado, which I wrote about here).

So far I've tried the guava (my favorite)


then watermelon and lime together -


And today, I got the melon (canteloupe)....


and a chance to watch the nieve being made!


A very slow process in which the sweetened fruit base is placed in a barrel full of ice, and spun round and round, with periodical scraping, until the liquid becomes a smooth, sometimes creamy, sometimes icy, snow.
Once the summer ends there will be no more homemade nieve. A relief for this man, perhaps, but a sad day for me.

Viva Puebla
89-16 Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights