Today being Memorial Day, I am writing on The Ideal Barbecue Food as suggested by a reader. While I don't have outdoor space for a grill presently (though I'm thinking about getting a small grill for the roof of my apartment building), and hence had rotisserie chicken for dinner instead, I can still reminisce about the best food to marinate and slap on a hot grill. To keep you, the current reader, in suspense for a few more seconds, my hint about this item is that my vegetarian friends can enjoy it without reservation.
The Ideal Barbecue Food is...the grilled mushroom. This can be a white or crimini mushroom tossed on the grill as an afterthought, a marinated portabella mushroom, or, if you want to get fancy, shitakke or other exotic mushrooms from the market. The earthy, smoky taste of the grilled mushroom, along with its lack of cholesterol, and the element of surprise and sophistication it can add to summer dishes, is why I have chosed to elect this charred fungus to the prestigeous title of Ideal Barbecue Food. Served alone, on a sandwich, or with rice, grilled meat, and a squirt of Sriracha hot sauce, the grilled mushroom is incomparable.
Monday, May 30, 2005
Friday, May 27, 2005
14th Street Tacos
Editorial note: I realize I've been neglecting this blog for the past month, but weddings and banquets and Maui have kept me away from the computer. I'm back, though, and will be posting on a (more) regular basis. Still planning to officially "re-release" The Gourmet Gazette in all its blog-glory within 1-4 weeks. Below is a post I started working on in April...
On 14th Street between 8th and 9th in Manhattan, several women set up a taco cart on Sundays. This cart is the same one that sits near 97th Street on weekdays. Two dollars bought me generous serving of carne asada (grilled steak) on two soft corn tortillas. Metal containers hold condiments: avocado-cilantro salsa, salsa roja (the spicy stuff), pico de gallo (a mix of tomatoes, onions, and cilantro), and lettuce. Other choices are tacos with other meat such as chicken and pork, quesadillas, and gorditas--all sold for the same low price. A gordita was freshly fried and served with crumbed white cheese (queso fresco?) and bits of fried pork, which I promptly doused in avocado-cilantro salsa and a shower of lettuce. Nearby are other intriguing food vendors--a man hawking churros, women in front of glass pitchers of horchata and aguas frescas, and piles of tamales next to assorted odds and ends for sale. I plan on returning another Sunday morning for a two dollar taste of heaven.
On 14th Street between 8th and 9th in Manhattan, several women set up a taco cart on Sundays. This cart is the same one that sits near 97th Street on weekdays. Two dollars bought me generous serving of carne asada (grilled steak) on two soft corn tortillas. Metal containers hold condiments: avocado-cilantro salsa, salsa roja (the spicy stuff), pico de gallo (a mix of tomatoes, onions, and cilantro), and lettuce. Other choices are tacos with other meat such as chicken and pork, quesadillas, and gorditas--all sold for the same low price. A gordita was freshly fried and served with crumbed white cheese (queso fresco?) and bits of fried pork, which I promptly doused in avocado-cilantro salsa and a shower of lettuce. Nearby are other intriguing food vendors--a man hawking churros, women in front of glass pitchers of horchata and aguas frescas, and piles of tamales next to assorted odds and ends for sale. I plan on returning another Sunday morning for a two dollar taste of heaven.
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