Posts by Jon Hochstat

This week I thought I’d take everyone on a visual tour of what I feel is a neglected foodie area of New York City for some people – Lexington Avenue from 96th Street to 104th street in East Harlem. There is a great diversity of foods available on this eight block stretch which also happens to be right on the 6 line with stops at 96th and 103rd street. Live on the Upper West Side? The M96 crosstown bus goes right there.

Here are some of my favorite places to eat in the area:

1) Little Luzzo’s – 119 E 96th St 212.369.2300

Yes, this is the same owners as Luzzo’s on 1st Avenue in the East Village except this one is much smaller and has counter service only with tables to sit and eat but no waiters. While the downtown Luzzo’s has great Neopolitan (round) pizzas, it’s the Siciliana slices at Luzzo’s that I go for. My favorite is the Potato & Gorgonzola which also has mozzarella cheese but no tomato sauce. Other Siciliana options available are Margherita, Sausage, Sausage & Broccoli Rabe, Artichoke, White Pizza, Vegetarian and the Michele (which contains Mozzarella, Prosciutto, Mushrooms, Truffle Pate & basil but NO tomato sauce). Not much ambiance but worth it for the slices.

Here is a picture of the Siciliana display case I took recently.

READ ON for more of this week’s Friday 4 the Foodies…

When I am putting together each posting, I usually look for what’s opening soon, what’s new, what is there to do. Every now and again I read something that is the polar opposite, a well-known and well-loved restaurant closing. This week, Grub Street posted a story about the possible closing of Café Colonial on the corner of Houston & Elizabeth Streets here in NYC.

It is worth reading the whole article to get an understanding from an owner’s perspective of how the economy is affecting small businesses, especially restaurants. Here is one excerpt from the Grub Street story that really hit home with me (Gilian is Luciane Gilan, the owner):

When Gilan spoke to Grub Street just now, she sounded like she had all but given up: “Our city is giving us more laws and regulations,” she stammered. “Everything’s harder. People are more mean. It’s just not fun anymore.” Gilan believes her rent tripled thanks in part to new neighbor Keith McNally, and she may just retire when her lease expires May 31. [Grub Street]

This closing reminded me of when the 9th Street Market suddenly closed in May of 2008 after 14 years in business. At the time, someone asked the owner why he closed after 14 years and his response was “he just got tired , did it quietly (not a rent raise situation?), doesn’t know what’s coming next.” (as per the Eater article from May 27, 2008)

Even in a bad economy, if we are not going to our favorite small, local places every now and again, don’t be surprised if one day you decide to go and it’s closed. One of my first mentors in the restaurant business asked me once what the most expensive thing was in a restaurant. The correct answer was, an empty chair. READ ON for a list of this week’s openings…

By now one can assume that everybody knows about Twitter as a great resource for instant information. Some of it useful, some of it TMI. I have learned in the last two years that if you follow people that provide you with the information that YOU want, Twitter is a great resource. On my Twitter feed, I follow a lot people in various areas: food, music, travel, news et al.

I thought I’d share some recent tweets that piqued my foodie interest. Whether it was an event, restaurant, chef, mixologist or market that I may not have heard about.

The first batch comes from the @NewYorkology/nyc-food-drink-sweets Twitter List, which contains my feed among others…

MichelinGuideNY enjoyed the new spring menu at Kajitsu from start to finish… understated excellence

thefeednyc Cheap eats: Taste your way through the World Financial Center for less http://bit.ly/a20jgH

nytimesdining Japanese Master of the ‘Hard Shake’ Comes to Town http://nyti.ms/afYqHl

jacquestorres Check out my Bean to Bar tutorial on seriouseats!! http://tinyurl.com/yz6k38r

READ ON for more tweets of interest to foodies…

If you live in New York City, there are some cool new food spots you may – or may not – have heard about that opened within the last few months that are fun, cool and well within anyone’s budget.

[Photo by Robyn Lee from Serious Eats review of Sigmund on 11.5.09]

First up is Sigmund Pretzel Shop located at 29 Avenue B in the East Village. Sigmund has been open since early November last year and has been featured on The Martha Stewart Show and written up by Serious Eats, The NY Times, Blackbook, and The Village Voice amongst other publications. According to the Village Voice article…

The shop is the brainchild of Russian-born pastry chef Lina Kulchinsky who learned classic Viennese pastry under Alex Grunert when they were both at Bouley (he’s now at Blue Hill). Kulchinsky says she always had a fascination with German and Austrian confections and breads. Instead of baking traditional Bavarian pretzels, Kulchinsky explains that she’s making pretzels that are in the German style but also “very New York.” That’s because an old-school Bavarian baker would probably balk at flavoring pretzels with ingredients like gruyere and smoked paprika, caramel and pecans, or cheddar and jalapeno, as Kulchinsky does.

As I work in the East Village, I made a trip over there last Tuesday and can say Believe the Hype! Our office has tried the sandwiches: Roast turkey with gouda and apple, Ham with greens and gruyere (both served hot and heated IN AN OVEN, not a microwave) as well as the Smoked salmon with dill cream cheese. For $7 , they are filling and a great value. The pretzels are also great just noshing and dipping into any of their sauces (whipped butter, wholegrain mustard, honey mustard, beet-horseradish mayo, herb goat cheese, cream cheese and nutella). The best thing they sell though is their Chocolate chip cookie which now has risen to easily become one of my favorite NYC cookies.

READ ON for more of this week’s Friday 4 the Foodies…

It’s been a while since I did a round up of food events taking place in New York City so I thought I’d take a break from the travel postings and let our New York readers know what is going on and worth checking out.

From Time Out New York:

FRI 19 FRIED CHICKEN NIGHT
Harlem soul-food ace Charles Gabriel brings his act to midtown for this weekly special. Twenty-five bucks buys three pieces of fried chicken, two sides, corn bread and banana pudding. Music from honky-tonk piano player Benjamin Healy sweetens the deal. Aretsky’s Patroon, 160 E 46th St between Lexington and Third Aves (212-883-7373). 5–11pm, $25.

SUN 21 HUNGRY IN AMERICA
Join Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio at a star-studded fund-raiser for the Hungry in America Project, a multimedia campaign (including a forthcoming documentary produced by Colicchio) to raise awareness of the 49 million Americans who must struggle to get food. Rub shoulders with Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore as you munch on canapés and small plates from the Colicchio & Sons kitchen. Tickets are available at thefeedfoundation.org; if you shell out a grand, you’ll be invited to an exlusive Colicchio-cooked meal at the restaurant from 6 to 7pm. Colicchio & Sons, 85 Tenth Ave between 15th and 16th Sts (212-400-6699). 7–9pm, $250–$1,000. READ ON for more happenings for foodies in NYC…

On part 1 of this series a couple of weeks ago, I started talking about the day I spent in Pontarlier, France. The reason I went was to tour the distillery of Emile Pernot which was founded in 1890. This posting will be all about my day inside the distillery.

During the course of my Paris trip, I had the chance to meet some amazing people in the spirits industry (there was a bar show in Paris when I was there). One of the people I met while I was there was absintheur Peter Schaf. If you are a fan of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, Peter was the American at the absinthe bar in Paris who turned Tony on to absinthe (from the No Reservations Pilot episode).

Below are my photos, thoughts and recollections from my trip inside the absinthe distillery. Things got hazier as the day went on…

Entrance to the Distillery Les Fils de Emile Pernot, founded in 1890.

READ ON for more of this week’s Friday For the Foodies…

This past May I went to Paris. It was my first time returning to the City of Lights since having lived there all of 1992 when I was part of the opening management team for Disneyland Paris. In the coming weeks, I plan on putting together a few postings about my food experiences from the trip.

The highlight of the Paris trip, though, was the day I took the TGV from the Gare du Nord in Paris to Pontarlier, which is near the Swiss border for a tour of a working absinthe distillery there.

Staring at the departure board in the Gare du Nord, looking for what platform my train was on. It was #17, all the way on the other side of the station

3 1/2 hours later, we were in Pontarlier.

READ ON for more of Jon’s trip to the Epicenter of Absinthe…

Well now that I have shared most of the great food experiences I had in Vancouver in part 1 and part 2 of this series. Part 3 is the wrap up of some other food stuff from the trip. Next foodie city trip is Montreal, hopefully.

Part 3 features more photos & stories from my fun, short trip to Vancouver.

If you are a foodie and you are in Vancouver. The one place you MUST make time for is the Granville Island Public Market. It is part retail, part separate food stores and a real big part open air market. If I lived in Vancouver it would be near this market so I could shop there for everything.

There is also a bread store:

READ ON for more on Jon’s foodie trip to Vancouver…

Hope everyone enjoyed part 1 of my Vancouver trip. The fish & chips and sushi covered in part 1 were a great introduction to Vancouver seafood. Things however we about to take a turn towards Pork Nirvana in a BIG way.

My friend took me to a very small meat store called J,N & Z Deli Smoked Meat located at 1729 Commercial Drive in Vancouver. Quite simply put, this small space is the best meat store I have ever been in anywhere, which includes Biltong stores in Cape Town, South Africa. The Viktualienmarkt in Munich and countless Boucheries in Paris and other parts of France.

I knew this place was gonna be cool when I caught Santa selling hand painted wooden eggs in front while smoking a hand rolled cigarette.

When you step into the store, it is like taking a step back in time. The staff is very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about everything in the store.

READ ON for more of this week’s Friday 4 the Foodies…

A few weeks ago, I took a four-day weekend and went to Vancouver. The trip was part business, part seeing old friends & meeting new ones, part my birthday weekend and a big part…FOOD!

On Friday night, my friend and I went to a very under-rated & under the radar Sushi Restaurant called Lime on Commercial Drive. I was told this place was a great combination of quality and creativity and that their sushi chefs both left another place in Vancouver to work at Lime. We decided to do the Omakase.

Before the Omakase started the chefs gave me a taste of their fresh Albacore tuna. I put it in my mouth and it literally just broke apart.

Next up was the Tuna Tataki, Lightly torched local albacore sashimi with garlic sesame sauce and sliced onions according to the description on their site.

READ ON for more of this week’s Friday 4 the Foodies…

As many of you read last week, I talked about some of the great old-school restaurants around my hometown of West Orange, NJ that have been around for decades. Funny thing is the same day I post this story, a friend sends me a picture of him and Buddy – aka The Cake Boss at Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken. My friend Jeff and I go back to when were kids. I asked him if it was worth taking a day trip out to Hoboken in the rain on Saturday. He said yes, but not to go to Carlo’s but to Fiores’s at 414 Adam Street.

The reason why Saturday was the right day is that every Saturday (and Thursday) they sell their special roast beef sandwich with their famous homemade mozzarella and topped (and dipped) into gravy. There was a “right way” to go about getting your sandwich. The Hoboken Guy who like me was a “Fiore’s virgin” documented his experience so well. Read his posting, it is a fun food trip. Along with my sandwich (pictured below)

I also got a pound of their homemade roasted peppers with garlic & one pound of the hot cherry peppers stuffed with provolone & prosciutto (sorry no pix of these, but they are to your left when you walk in). They also do amazing sundried tomatoes. It is about a 15 minute walk from the PATH Station but so worth it. READ ON for more Friday 4 the Foodies…

Hey everyone. I know it seems like I fell off the face of the earth. I am back now and hope to post as often as possible. I’ve decided to make my comeback posting a story about places I grew up eating in when I lived in West Orange, NJ as a kid.

Many of you have seen my posts extolling the virtues of both The Millburn Deli and Town Hall Deli sloppy joes. Recently I received a single picture from my old West Orange neighbor with a two word question with the picture: Guess where?

[Photo by Marc Millman]

Although I drew a blank on the name, I replied without hesitation “The bakery at the bottom of the hill on Main Street in West Orange.” He responded “the bakery, you mean THE bakery, Supreme!”

Photo by Marc Millman

READ ON for more of this week’s F4tF…

Over the last couple of weekends, I have been exploring different parts of Harlem, taking in the nice weather and heading to parts of the neighborhood that I hadn’t been to in a long time. One of the streets that I have been enjoying walking up from Central Park North (110th St) is Lenox Ave aka Malcom X Boulevard. As I was walking, my hunger started building up and it was then that I stumbled upon a hidden treasure, Edmonds Cafe.

The number 1966 in the top left corner is NOT the address of the restaurant, it is the year that this small family owned and run business opened in Harlem. Sure, when you think of Soul Food in Harlem Sylvia’s and Amy Ruth’s come to mind. Those two places are well known, with a large following amongst locals and tourists alike and most times have lines of people waiting to get in.

However when it comes to the real deal, you know the kind of place that people stop in after church or for a quick family meal, my money, palate and hunger keep on bringing me back to Edmonds. My last two trips to Edmonds were both on Sunday afternoons and it was nice to see most of the people who were coming in greeted by their name with the staff/family who own and run it asking questions about their guest’s families, treating them like they are part of the extended Edmond’s family. READ ON for more…

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to attend the 2009 NYC Wine & Food Festival Burger Bash. At the South Beach Burger Bash earlier this year, Spike Mendelsohn (formerly of Top Chef) and owner of Good Stuff Eatery in Washington DC swept the competition, taking the People’s Choice, Judge’s Award, and the Best Dressed Burger. Last year’s NYC Burger Bash winner Katie Lee (Billy Joel’s ex) was also entered, expecting to retain her crown.

The man, the myth, the Flay!

Other places entered were: Bobby’s Burger Palace, City Hall Restaurant, DuMont Burger, Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine, Fatty Crab, Gus and Gabriel, Lure, Minetta Tavern, Mullanes Bar and Grill, Old Homestead Steakhouse, Shake Shack, The Spotted Pig, Wall Street Burger Shoppe, Wildwood Barbeque and Wollensky’s Grill.

The party started at 7:00 PM and went until 10 PM. Anyone and everyone from the Food Network was there: Duff from Ace of Cakes with his team, Tyler Florence, Robert Irvine from Dinner Impossible, Giada De Laurentiis, Big Daddy, Bobby Flay, Rachel Ray, Guy Fieri, Chef Morimoto. Some major NYC food personalities were also seen floating through the crowd: Chef Michael White of Alto, Marea and Convivio, Martha Stewart, Mark Pastore of Pat LaFrieda Meats, Jeffrey Chodorow and even Rocco DiSpirito. Non foodies spotted included Nick Mangold of the NY Jets.

READ ON for more about the NYC Burger Bash…

I am sure there are many readers of this blog that either hail from, went to school in or have been to Chicago. Other than deep dish pizza, the other food that Chicago is known for is the Chicago Dog (hot dog).

A Chicago Dog according to Wikipedia:

“Is a steamed, boiled or grilled – but never broiled – all-beef hot dog on a poppy seed bun, originating from the city of Chicago, Illinois. The hot dog is topped with mustard, onion, sweet pickle relish (usually a dyed neon green variety called “Nuclear Relish”), a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt; sometimes, but not always, cucumber slices. Ketchup is never used on a Chicago-style hot dog.”

There is one place in Chicago that has taken the Chicago Dog to a whole other level, that place is Hot Doug’s.

(Picture taken during my trip to Chicago April ’09)

There is only one Hot Doug’s location which is open from Monday to Saturday 10:30 AM to 4:00 PM (closed Sundays). Also his website has this additional comment regarding the hours ” We also take a whole bunch of holidays off, so give us a call to make sure we’re open (if it’s a holiday).”

READ ON for more of this week’s Friday 4 the Foodies…

Wednesday night I had the opportunity to attend the first public screening of a documentary about the life and background of Chef/Restaurateur Daniel Boulud called Un Certain Goût de L’Amérique. The screening was held at NYU’s Cantor Film Center and sponsored by NYU’s La Maison Française.

The film was shot in 2008 in French (with English subtitles). It traces Daniel’s background all the way back to his family’s farm in France, to his internships starting at age 15, through his moving Washington DC and eventually to New York City. It is a fascinating look at someone who knew early on what he wanted to do and set about working to be the best at his craft.

Since I have previously lived and worked in France, I followed the film in French rather than reading the subtitles. It was inspiring to see French culinary legends such as Paul Bocuse, Jean Georges Vongerichten and Joël Robuchon speak about their relationships with Daniel. Paul Bocuse for example met Daniel when Daniel was 15 and starting his first apprenticeship in Lyon at Restaurant Nandron. READ ON for more…

In case you haven’t heard, Motorino Pizza of Williamsburg just opened a Manhattan outpost in the East Village on 12th Street just off of 1st Avenue in the space previously occupied by Una Pizza Napoletana.

I decided to wait a few days while all of the food bloggerati, diehard foodies, pizza lovers and East Village hipsters descended upon the space. I stopped in on Thursday night right as they were opening at 5 PM. The first thing that hits you upon entering is the simplicity of the space, small with about 25-30 seats, a pressed tin ceiling and the obligatory East Village iPod mix blasting through the speakers.

The menu (shown below) is very simple and straightforward. My waiter told me that the menu will be seasonal, driven by what is currently available and fresh for that time of year.

READ ON for more of this week’s Friday 4 the Foodies…

Hey everyone, I was on vacation last week enjoying the unofficial end of summer. This week, I thought I’d bring everyone up to date on foodie related stories and events happening in NYC soon.

The 2nd annual NYC Beer Week starts today. Check out the events schedule and pick up a passport to get all of the amazing discounts. (via Beermenus blog)

The new Motorino Pizza opens in the East Village on Monday at 349 E. 12th St., nr. First Ave.; 212-777-2644. Grub Street previewed the new menu yesterday.

Do you cook? Here is a recipe for Make-Ahead Meals: Asian Dumplings (via The Kitchen)

READ ON for more of this week’s Friday 4 the Foodies…

Well, since we started a debate recently about the best sloppy joe, I figured it was time to talk about my favorite NYC bagel store and favorite thing to get when I go.  My favorite bagel store in NYC is Hot Jumbo Bagels on the east side of the street on 2nd avenue between 57th […]

This past Wednesday – I – like many other readers of this blog, headed out to The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ to see Gov’t Mule. What I don’t think many of the people who went to the show did beforehand was to take the express NJ Transit train to South Orange and walk to The Town Hall Deli for Sloppy Joes from the deli that invented them.

I know when I did my Millburn Deli posting a few people stood up for Town Hall as the better of the two. After not having a Town Hall Joe in a while, I have to agree. I got 2 Joes (for the office, really). One was “the Favorite” with Roast Beef, Turkey and Swiss. The second was with Corned Beef, Pastrami & Swiss ($2 extra for the pastrami btw). I have to say, the originator of the Sloppy Joe is still the best. Below is their “Joe” menu and a few pictures of the making of a Town Hall Sloppy Joe.

READ ON for pictures of the making of a TH Sloppy Joe…