eating in queens

Here comes the next stop on our NYC food tour...only three months after the first installment!  Better late than never?  


Oddly enough--and it seemed to strike New York residents as especially odd--we stayed exclusively in Brooklyn and Queens the first 2/3 of our week-long summer trip.  We didn't even make it across the water to Manhattan until the last two (food-filled) days.  Those photos will be coming along, hopefully soon.  It's not necessarily that we didn't want to go to Manhattan, but there was already so much to see and to eat in Long Island's boroughs.  So, without further ado, Queens!


Long Island City


We spent one hot day in LIC and managed to swing by M.Well's diner for brunch between "Warm Up" festivities at MoMA PS1 and just before the diner was scheduled to move from its location at that time.  (Not sure what the status is currently.)  M.Wells had just been named in the Bon Appetit list of Best New Restaurants in 2011.  So, it was justifiably very busy, but worth the wait.  All our food was amazing.  Would definitely seek it out again when we return to the city.

adorable diner car interior 

egg-sausage sandwich with cheddar, pickled jalapenos, and tomato

fish & chips 

simple, but rich hamburger 

custardy maple pie 

Flushing

After seeing Serious Eats writers repeatedly gush about the food courts in Flushing, I knew we had to go.  We took the long train ride out on a miserably rainy day and felt almost like we had left the states completely, the smells and sights were so fully Asian.

Here's a photo of the lovely food court at Flushing's New World Mall.

Here's a small corner of the food court where we actually ate something: Golden Shopping Mall's food court.

At the experts' insistence, we sought out Xi'an Famous Foods' cold skin noodles, a Chinese dish--and a combination of textures--like none I'd ever experienced before.  Hand-cut noodles with plenty of bite, cucumber, onions, and cilantro sit in a tear-jerkingly spicy sauce that's soaked up by spongey cubes of wheat gluten.  I want to go back to try stir-fried skin noodles, plus everything else on the menu.

Later on that evening, in sheer, wet exhaustion, we stumbled into a shabu shabu place called La Mei.  The kind couple sitting near us recommended the all-you-can-eat-in-two-hours option.  Even though we weren't all that hungry, we couldn't pass up the chance to dip a ton of different things in scalding pots of broth.  Seasoned buffet-goer Matt broke down during the last leg of our eating marathon, but I got a second wind when the fresh udon noodles showed up.  Oh man, I want some right now.

just some of the many things we tasted: fish balls, beef, napa cabbage, corn on the cob, pork blood rice cake, lamb, whitefish, cuttlefish, shrimp, spinach 

tasty little straw mushrooms

Check back for food tours of the Lower East Side and midtown Manhattan!

graham...crackers?

I happen to have a lot of Japanese posts to make lately, but in the interest of showing that I do not only eat Asian food, I'll post a good ol' American burger recipe today.  Actually, I'm just going to share the instructions for the onions.  If you're like me, you know how to make sandwiches and burgers.  You just need some ideas for different toppings sometimes.  Even my beloved chipotle caramelized onions get old.

bison patty with brie, quick-pickled red onion, garlic mayo, and greens on ciabatta

The onions atop Graham Elliot's Grahamburger are simple enough that I'll be making them many times in the future and flavorful enough that they stand out against a meaty burger patty.  The vinegar and oil marinade gives the onions a kick that actually makes them seem fairly fresh and bright.  The only change we'd make to this next time is to grill the top of the bun as well, a la the chargrilled lamb burger from The Breslin restaurant in NYC (no, we didn't take a trip there--I saw it on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Burgers").  The ciabatta bun was a tasty and substantial, but got a little bready on top and needed some crunch.

 

Quick-Pickled Red Onions

from Serious Eats

Follow the link above to see full burger recipe.

1 c apple cider vinegar
1/2 c olive oil
1 lg red onion, thinly sliced 

Mix vinegar and oil in a medium bowl and toss onion slices in the mixture.  Let sit for at least 10 minutes.  

Heat grill pan over medium until very hot. Pat marinated onions dry and grill until soft and colored, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to bowl. 

what's been cooking

Matt and I are heading to Tokyo on Saturday. That means the next several blog posts will be about Japanese food, hopefully while we're still over there. Before we go, I want to clear out my stash of recently-cooked meals, especially before all the spring/early summer ingredients are gone. The following are all recommended recipes--some have a link to a recipe and some just have the ingredients listed. Enjoy!

strawberry chicken club sandwich

potato frittata with bacon

burger with horseradish havarti, bacon, caramelized onions, mayo, and greens on pretzel roll

asparagus panzanella

grilled chicken fajitas

mixed green salad with strawberries, grilled chicken, avocado, spring onions, and Bolthouse Farms mango vinaigrette

three-cup chicken with green beans (no photo)

oh, lawrence

So this will be old news to Lawrence, Kansas residents. And it might be old news if you've been reading my blog for awhile, since I've posted about Dempsey's before. In any case, The Burger Stand at Dempsey's makes a great burger and fries.

Dempsey's was just a bar when we moved away from Kansas. Not a bad place to get a drink, but just a bar. When we went back for a visit last year, Dempsey's had brought in a chef to develop a menu and started getting what seems to be a lot more business. There are standards on the menu like the Kobe Burger (Matt's favorite), plus new selections occasionally (seasonally, maybe?). Matt got the Kobe again and I had a new one, the Fire Burger. Covered with habanero- cactus jam, my burger was surprising sweet and predictably spicy. Very good, but I'd try something new next time we go.

fire burger with habanero-cactus jam, avocado, & microgreens
poutine: fries with chunks of cheese & brown gravy

Yes, that is poutine in that basket. Dempsey's knows how to make some incredible sides as well as burgers, but the gravy on the poutine was overwhelmingly salty. Because of the gravy, the poutine didn't quite stand up to classics like the duck fat fries or truffle fries. It would be hard to choose between those two for my favorite fries there. Unfortunately, I neglected to photograph any other fries but my own. But take my word--they're amazing.

steak taco with chimichurri sauce & veggies
chicken taco with salsa verde, tomatillo sauce, & almonds
pork taco with mole rojo & pineapple pumpkin-seed salsa
(from left to right)

The crew that runs Dempsey's also opened a new Mexican place in Lawrence called Esquina. We ordered three tacos, all of which were creative and tasty, but none were standout. I preferred the chilaquiles (a favorite dish of mine anyway), which were topped with a fried egg instead of the scrambled that I'm used to. It also featured a thick white queso fundido plus queso fresco, which I thought was a very tasty addition. I also really enjoyed my taste of my friend's chicken enchiladas.

chilaquiles con huevos

chicken enchilada platter

Esquina has a considerably larger menu than what is posted online, including many special meat or enchilada platters. There were also some impressive-looking cocktails sitting at the bar when we walked in. I would definitely like to try Esquina again the next time we head south.

friday night burgers and fries

One meal we keep coming back to is some variation on burgers with oven fries. Since spring seems to have come early in the midwest (cross your fingers that it stays), yesterday was the perfect day to dust off the grill and cook some bison patties. Yes, the actual, fiery, outdoor grill. Not the George Foreman. We topped the burgers with our go-to topping, chipotle caramelized onions. I'm not sure whether these are caramelized in the "right" way (see here for a tutorial), but they always turn out very well.

Chipotle Caramelized Onions
adapted from Food Network

1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 - 1 chipotle in adobo, finely chopped, or about 1 tsp dried chipotle chili powder (go easy--you can always add more later!)
1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
1 tbsp beef broth, chicken broth, or water
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Place all ingredients in a medium saute pan and cook on medium, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and cooked down (about 30 minutes). If things begin to stick too much, add another tablespoon or two of water. These keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

bison burger with sharp cheddar, bacon, chipotle caramelized onions, and avocado

I also took the opportunity to try a new recipe for oven fries. The NY Times recipe involved preheating the pan in a very hot oven while preparing the mixture of sweet and red potatoes. This intrigued me. Could the hot pan make for crispier fries? I could not fit all of the potatoes into one pan and grabbed another at the last minute, thus unintentionally conducting a sort of experiment that compared a preheated pan to a pan at room temperature.

The results were varied. As I should have foreseen, the sugar in the sweet potatoes quickly caramelized and then scorched on the preheated pan (you can see some of them in the photo). They turned out better in the cool pan. On the other hand, I preferred the red potato wedges that crisped up in the preheated pan. I could have gotten the same effect in the cool pan if I left them in longer, but the high heat cuts the cooking time down from 40-45 minutes to 25-30. I would definitely recommend this method, but leave out the sweet potatoes.

Oven Fries
adapted from NYTimes.com
makes 4-6 servings

2 pounds waxy potatoes, such as red potatoes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt or coarse sea salt

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil, shiny side up. Place in the oven while you prepare the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into wedges that are 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick at the thickest point and toss with the olive oil and salt.

Remove the hot pan from the oven, and add the potatoes to the pan in an even layer. Be sure they don't overlap or they won't crisp. They should sizzle. Return to the oven, and lower the heat to 450 degrees. Roast 25 minutes or until tender.

Remove the pan from the oven, and loosen the potatoes from the foil using an offset spatula. Return to the oven and cook for another five minutes. Serve at once, seasoned with more salt if desired.

The Waldorf: turkey burger with arugula, dried cherries, blue cheese, walnuts, and Dijon mustard
orzo with mustard greens, lemon, and parmesan

Here's another selection from the Cheese & Burger Society website. I recommend you listen to the humorous voiceovers that accompany the burger pictures and descriptions. The only alteration to the recipe was to use a turkey patty instead of beef. The flavors worked very well with the milder meat, though I'm sure beef would be fine as well.

vegetarians beware

www.cheeseandburger.com

"The Roadhouse": burger patty with gruyere, onion ring, sauteed onion, bacon, and garlic mayonnaise

delicious

chipotle pork cheeseburger with tomatillo, cilantro, and avocado
marinated grilled spring onions

I made this recipe from Epicurious last week and stayed pretty true to the original recipe. I did make a couple of changes, including using pepper Havarti from our farmer's market instead of Muenster. I also just mashed the avocado so it would stay on the bun better.

My only complaints are that it could have used a heartier bun and you need to grill this quite a bit longer than it claims. This could definitely be made with ground turkey or bison as well. Or if you're feeling adventurous, you could try using veggie crumbles. All in all, a highly recommended recipe.

ks treats

Wow. It's been a month since my last post. I've been really busy with the end of the school year (almost done!) and traveling. We went to Kansas for a long weekend and had a great time with all our friends there. And we also ate A LOT.

Lunch: we tried The Burger Stand at Dempsey's. If you live in the Lawrence area, I very highly recommend you go there. We can't eat any other burgers for awhile. These were that good.

Matt's: Kobe burger with pickled red onions, truffle butter, and microgreens on brioche bun

mine: blackened patty with Maytag blue cheese, Granny Smith apple chutney, and microgreens on brioche bun

Truffle Fries: potato fries tossed in truffle butter and Parmesan cheese with roasted garlic/Parmesan sauce, homemade cherry-pepper ketchup, and guadillo chili dipping sauce

Everything was unbelieveable. We had amazing wine at our friend's family's vineyard in the afternoon. Then, dinner: THE best onion rings from Free State Brewery. We had been craving those for some time. Unfortunately, no pictures.

Dessert: one of our favorite Lawrence restaurants, Pachamama's, with one of my all-time favorite desserts.

Molten Brown Sugar Cake with seasonal berries, fromage blanc sherbet, berry coulis, crunch, and almond tuile

And this was all in one deliciously hedonistic day!

matt cooks

Poor Matt was left at home until almost 7 while I was finishing report cards at school. He made the entire meal, from searing and roasting chicken thighs to picking the meat off the bones. It was really great (both to eat it and to not have cooked it!). By the way, we did not make the salsa ourselves. The recipe was hard enough already.

New Mexico Style Hacked Chicken Soft Tacos with Salsa Verde, Queso Fresco, Onions, and Cilantro

Matt also grilled bison burgers for our first outdoor meal of the year (see Ollie sniffing in corner).

Bison Burger with Pepper Jack Cheese, Avocado, Tomato, Bacon, Onions, and Greens