“The best way to die is to sit under a tree, eats lots of bologna and salami, drink a case of beer and blow up.”
— Art Donovan, former defensive tackle, Baltimore Colts
My on-camera debut: five seconds of awkward background slurping in CHOW’s latest video report, filed from Cafe China. My buddy/ host Pervaiz Shallwani fell hard for the Sichuan restaurant’s braised pork belly, which is one hell of a lot more complex and sophisticated than its name implies. I’ll let him tell you how they make it (spoiler: braising, deep-frying, and steaming are all involved), but be on the lookout for a lady in a grandpa sweater sweating it out over some Sichuan peppercorns on stage left.
Holy cats, this is the most brilliant invention on the planet: Ég gæti borðað heilan hest (Icelandic for “I could eat a horse”) spaghetti measuring tool. (via From Scandinavia With Love )
“Whiskey is made by wizards; gin comes from scientists.”
—
The Entirely Defensible Fad for Limited-Edition, Barrel-Aged Gin; The Atlantic
The most comprehensive infographic of interconnected sandwich genetics currently in existence
One of my favorite publications, Meatpaper, (tagline: “The Journal of Meat Culture”) just launched a sister pullout, Sandwich.
Per the press release: “SANDWICH examines the relationship between sandwiches and Renaissance architecture, the role of sandwiches in a much obsessed-over Radiohead song, the cross-cultural origins of the Vietnamese Banh Mi, the Earth Sandwich experiment, and what sandwiches have to do with falling in and out of love.”
Consider my subscription renewed.
Eating to infinity and beyond
From author Mary’s Roach’s “Packing For Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void:” a discussion of scientist’s thoughts, circa 1960, on how to create a space diet for a 3-year expedition to Mars:
[Martin Marietta Company scientist D.L] Worf was big on thinking outside of the box, and then eating it. “Food may be processed by many of the same techniques that are used to fabricate structures and shapes from plastic.” Worf did not limit this thinking to food containers but included spacecraft structures normally jettisoned or left behind when preparing to return home. In other words, instead of abandoning ht Lunar Module on the moon, the Apollo 11 crew could have broken off pieces to take along and eat on the way home. Thereby needing to carry less food in the first place.
Pig Party in the USA
Yet another post about unhealthy amounts of meat:
For M’s birthday last week, we literally went hog-wild (ok, sorry. I had to) with the whole pork butt dinner at Hell’s Kitchen BBQ standby Daisy May’s. The joint is owned by Adam Perry Lang, a protégé of Daniel Boulud, who worked in several high-end fine dining establishments (Daniel, Le Cirque) before turning his hand to the pit. His pork recipe won 1st place at the Kansas City World Series of BBQ a few years back, and it didn’t disappoint. The butt itself, slow-cooked and torn to saucy shreds, feeds about six—but this being M’s birthday, we had twice as many people, so meaty reinforcements were called into order, in the form of ribs, brisket bits, barbecued chicken, and burnt ends in giant plastic bowl. Oh, and did we mention that we also got macaroni and cheese, Texas toast, collard greens, baked beans, and coleslaw? Because we ordered that, too. And beer. We are by no means peckish eaters, but this was a lot, even for us. The pork butt was served in its own chafing dish, complete with a Sterno burner underneath to keep it warm and juicy. Everything else came out picnic-style, on giant platters with plastic utensils. (Highlight? Burnt ends. Why are these not the next faddish food trend?) The only thing missing was a bib.
Daisy May’s BBQ USA
623 11th Ave. (corner of 46th St.)
212-977-1500
