Emirates 380 Lands in Toronto: Plane Food Porn

The Airbus 380 is the new 2 story airplane. It recently landed in Toronto and a friend of a friend was on the flight and took these pictures.

This is all first class and business class food. The cheese plate looks kind of tired, but for the most part it is very impressive for airplane food. I love that they have a bar. The first class bathrooms have showers! Although I have to say the faux burled wood and gold motif of the first class pods is kind of tacky, in that suburban fancy way that you expect to be covered in plastic.

Emirates is based out of Dubai, a place I have no interest in seeing nor is it an airline I would choose to fly because of their homophobic policies. Still it is nice to catch a glimpse of how the other half lives.

Sunset Over Williamsburg

Taken by our friend Kurt on our way to Marlow & Sons for dinner

Bouillabaisse Anyone?

I was on a walk about yesterday in Williamsburg, my favorite place to go these days to explore.

So much of the the most creative and interesting food in the city is here. With an inordinate amount of young, creative, people dedicated to using local, organic and sustainable ingredients. Spearheaded by the creative crew behind Marlow & Sons and Diner.

When I walked by Fada I was taken by the look of the place. It was very open and done in a very authentic style of french bistro. It has a nice warn in feeling about it.

At first I thought: Oh just another stylish French Bistro.

Yet I couldn't tear myself away from standing out front so I decided to go in and investigate further.

It was bustling and I didn't want to bother anyone and didn't see a menu I could look at so I just grabbed a card and went on my merry way.

When I got home I check out their site and loved the whimsical old Renault car zipping about and the biker chick at the gas pump. Mostly I was intrigued by the Marseille (this is their spelling of Marseille my spell check tells me it's Marseilles Wikapedia agrees with them so...) theme, a place I have spent some time and really loved.

My guess is that the chef, Phillippe Chatenie, is from Marseille and is trying to share some of his home town food.

At first glance the menu looks very standard, Moules, Boudin Noir, Tart Provencial, Escargot and so on. Then in it's own special box is the real raison d'etre, the real Marseille aspect to the place: Boullabaisse. Not just any fish soup, but a market priced, book it a day in advance serves 4 people in two courses real authentic Boullabaisse.

The first course is soup with croutons, rouille and cheese.

The second is 5 different kinds of fish served with potatoes.

This has made me very excited.

All I need to do now is find 3 people to go with me!

Finally Waking Up to Monsanto

Credo the progressive phone company (formerly Working Assets) is doing an action exposing Monsanto's reprehensible business practices and asking the Justice Department to investigate them. I've just cut and pasted the body of the email below otherwise cut to the chase and please go here and sign the petition.

The Monsanto monopoly needs to be investigated.

Massive seed corporation Monsanto — through acquisitions and cut-throat business practices — has cornered 90% of the soy, 65% of the corn, and 70% of the cotton market, and has a rapidly growing presence in the fruit and vegetable market, all without government anti-trust officials raising an eyebrow. Not only that, but in order to be productive, the entire line of Monsanto's seeds all but require the use of Roundup herbicide, trapping all of their customers into buying it. And who owns Roundup? You guessed it, Monsanto. Monsanto has, it seems, cornered the market on abusive monopolistic practices as well. In the middle of a recession, while farmers' incomes are dropping, Monsanto recently announced a 42% price hike on its most popular genetically modified seeds. When in many areas of the country distributors carry nothing but these seeds, this sure looks like evidence of a monopolist abusing its market position. President Obama's antitrust chief Christine Varney has promised rigorous enforcement of antitrust law with a special focus on the agricultural sector. She should start with the worst of the worst, Monsanto.

Tell Assistant Attorney General Varney to open an investigation into Monsanto and its abusive business practices immediately. Clicking here will automatically add your name to the petition (see above).

The Guardian has a great piece on the reality versus the facts about Monsanto and how they lie to make themselves seem green, but are far from it.

Slow Foods: Time For Lunch Campaign

Things are gearing up at Slow Foods as they prepare for their September 7th day of eat ins. I posted a while back about this, but just wanted to remind you if you haven't already you can still sign up to attend an eat in, sign the petition or make a donation.

This action is all about bringing awareness to the horrid state of affairs in the school lunch rooms across the nation and to bring change by way of healthy foods to our children's lunches.

New Amsterdam Market

Mark you calendars, Sunday September 13th marks the start of the New Amsterdam Markets regular monthly market.

This past winter I went to a fund raising event for them and think what they are doing is very exciting. Unlike the green markets here in the city New Amsterdam is focusing more on artisanal food stuffs as opposed to produce. Which isn't to say that won't be selling things like Oysters and Garlic.

The season last until December.

Here's a list of their vendors:

Kruggerand Farm, Richfield, NY
Liddabit Sweets, Brooklyn, NY
Manhattan Meadery, New York, NY
Maple Hill Creamery, Little Falls, NY
Meatpaper, San Francisco, CA
McEnroe Organic Farm, Millerton, NY
Narragansett Creamery, Providence, RI
Native Flower Farms, Greenfield, NY
Organic Valley, Le Farge, WI
Pain D'Avignon, Long Island City, NY
Painted Goat Farm, Garrattsville, NY
Paumanok Vineyards, Aquebogue, NY
people's popsicle, New York, NY
Polymeadows Farm, Shaftsbury, VT
Porchetta, New York, NY
Premium Vineyards , North Fork, NY
Provisions, New York, NY
Queens County Farm Museum ,Floral Park, NY
The Ravioli Store, Long Island City, NY
the redhead, New York, NY
Regional Access, Ithaca, NY
Rick's Picks, New York, NY
Roberta's, Brooklyn, NY
Saltie, Brooklyn, NY
Saxelby Cheesemongers, New York, NY
Schoolhouse Kitchen, Brooklyn, NY
St. Brigid's Farm, Kennedyville, MD
Stella, New York, NY
Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, Pocantico Hills, NY
Sullivan Street Bakery, New York, NY
Summer's End Orchard, Unadilla, NY
Sweet Deliverance, Brooklyn, NY
Taza Chocolate, Somerville, MA
Twin Maple Farm, Ghent, NY
Valley Shepherd Cheese & Yogurt, Long Valley, NJ
Wave Hill Breads, Wilton CT
Wild Gourmet Food, Fairlee, VT
Yellow Green Brown Orange, New York, NY

Kruggerand Farm, Richfield, NY Liddabit Sweets, Brooklyn, NY Manhattan Meadery, New York, NY Maple Hill Creamery, Little Falls, NY Meatpaper, San Francisco, CA McEnroe Organic Farm, Millerton, NY Narragansett Creamery, Providence, RI Native Flower Farms, Greenfield, NY Organic Valley, Le Farge, WI Pain D'Avignon, Long Island City, NY Painted Goat Farm, Garrattsville, NY Paumanok Vineyards, Aquebogue, NY people's popsicle, New York, NY Polymeadows Farm, Shaftsbury, VT Porchetta, New York, NY Premium Vineyards , North Fork, NY Provisions, New York, NY Queens County Farm Museum ,Floral Park, NY The Ravioli Store, Long Island City, NY the redhead, New York, NY Regional Access, Ithaca, NY Rick's Picks, New York, NY Roberta's, Brooklyn, NY Saltie, Brooklyn, NY Saxelby Cheesemongers, New York, NY Schoolhouse Kitchen, Brooklyn, NY St. Brigid's Farm, Kennedyville, MD Stella, New York, NY Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, Pocantico Hills, NY Sullivan Street Bakery, New York, NY Summer's End Orchard, Unadilla, NY Sweet Deliverance, Brooklyn, NY Taza Chocolate, Somerville, MA Twin Maple Farm, Ghent, NY Valley Shepherd Cheese & Yogurt, Long Valley, NJ Wave Hill Breads, Wilton CT Wild Gourmet Food, Fairlee, VT Yellow Green Brown Orange, New York, NY

The Last of San Francisco

In San Francisco it's seems impossible to turn a corner and not discover some intriguing place selling some sort of food, beverage or grocery item. It would be impossible to list them all, but I did want to try and name a few highlights that I found and wished I could have explored more.

In no particular order here are some of my own personal highlights:

City Beer a little place on Folsom that had a bustling crowd the night I went in with tastings going and a vast selection of beers from all over, but with a particular emphasis on local ones it was like walking into a party. The highlight for me was how reasonably priced so much of it was.

One night on my way to Fire Fly restaurant in the Noe Valley I walked by the very bright and bustling Lahore Karahi a Pakistan Indian restaurant on O'Ferrell street near my hotel, just blocks from Union Square. With an open kitchen and nothing that you would call decor, a TV showing old black and white Bollywood the place may very well have been in Lahore!

The walls were filled with rave reviews from every possible web site and publication and all the tables were pretty much packed.

It called me in with the wonderful scent of spices and the appeal of a damn fine and incredibly cheap meal. I had Lamb Vindaloo which was the best I have ever eaten, it actually had chopped fresh coriander in it and lots of seeds which when I ask was told they were from bell peppers (I would have thought hot peppers) so the base for the Vindaloo was in part stewed peppers with lots of crunchy coriander seeds. The Lamb was tender and the heat of the dish was just right. The waiter asked me if I wanted it medium or spicy, I said spicy, which it was yet it was still complex not just chili pepper hot which can happen with Vindaloo. Bread, rice, Pappadom (the coriander sauce on the table was nothing like it is here in NYC, creamy with an intense coriander flavor and a real kick of heat) a side of mango chutney tax and tip the meal cost $14.

One of the things about San Francisco and Berkeley is their assumed dedication to quality, local and organic ingredients, it seemed to me on almost every menu was a a note about where the ingredients came from. At the Ferry Building there is a burger joint called Taylors: Automatic Refresher, the first thing on their menu is the word BURGERS underneath which is this statement:

We use humanely raised Niman Ranch beef, all natural, vegetarian fed, no antibiotic or added growth hormones (cooked medium well; a little pink inside when served).

On the back of the menu in the far corner it says:

This menu is printed on recycled paper.
A Burger is $6.99, Fries $2.69 and you can get a bottle of Main Street Merlot for $15.

My kind of place.

Similarly Kurt and I went to the new California Academy of Science over lunch we were told by one of the counter people that all the restaurants in the building were certified organic. I had
Chicken Pho (pictured below) it was a little on the bland side, but they had Sirichi to add to help perk it up. Kurt had a Goulash which was not as cook to falling apart tenderness as it should have been. Still all things considered the food was of high quality, the selection vast and interesting and the dedication to quality local and organic ingredients again given ultimate priority.


The last place I want to mention is 2223 on Market Street in the Castro. Before I go on I have to say the website for this place is a mystery to me, it has annoying disco music, voice overs and images that do no justice to the space, which the night I went was quiet, warm and cosy.

Kurt and I went the first night I was in town, and I had a pizza that blew my mind, everything about it was perfect. Figs, Pancetta and Gorgonzola with a pile of arugula on top. The crust was chewy, traditional pizza crust with that wonderful, warm white bread taste, the cheese had only a slight hint of blue but was mostly just sharp and creamy, the highlight was the figs, soft and warm from the oven and bursting with sweet ambrosial fig flavor. It was so big and rich I took it home so for $14 it provided two meals.

Every time I go someplace that grows figs I realize how shitty they are here in New York, where to my taste buds they never really taste right, they are always a disappointment, yet when I go to Spain, Italy or California they are this brilliant revelation.

Again here is this nice local neighborhood restaurant with another statement on their menu about the local and organic nature of their ingredients.

San Francisco isn't as big as New York and they may not have the diversity we do, but for consistency and quality of food it is hard to beat. In New York it is easy to over pay for uninspired, boring, low quality food.

In order to find a place that prioritizes local and organic you have to look and then you have to play 20 questions with the waiters because some of our best places here still do things like make desserts with high fructose corn syrup or beef suet or worse lard.

But I digress, ultimately if you enjoy eating it is worth while to spend a week in this food mecca and eat till your heart's content and your wallet is empty.

Maybe the best pizza I have ever had!

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck

After writing the post below about the Vendy Awards I felt like I had to single (for obvious reasons) favorite the very colorful and tasty Big Gay Ice Cream Truck.

Just for fun value alone he gets my vote. Also I thought it was funny that in the video he mentions candied bacon, so I sent him the link to the recipe I post here for candied bacon ice cream.

You gotta love New York.

Vendy Awards

Street food has certainly changed over the twenty years I've lived here.

It's gone from hot dogs and pretzels to gay ice cream, dumplings, and Indian food (to name only a few).

In the past few years it has been exciting to see it morph into something truly diverse and exciting, with so many clever people with a dream and a truck getting it together, and literally, taking it on the road!

It's nice to see that the Vendy Awards has come into being to help promote and support these intrepid four wheeled foodies by having an annual competition to promote street food.

It's a great site with video interviews of some of the finalists and information on how you can get tickets to the awards ceremony.

The Street Vendors Project, the organization that holds the Vendy Awards, is actually part of UrbanJustice.org both very worthy organizations worth checking out and supporting.

Here's the mandate of the Street Vendors Project:

The Street Vendor Project is a membership-based project with more than 750 active vendor members who are working together to create a vendors' movement for permanent change. We reach out to vendors in the streets and storage garages and teach them about their legal rights and responsibilities. We hold meetings where we plan collective actions for getting our voices heard. We publish reports and file lawsuits to raise public awareness about vendors and the enormous contribution they make to our city. Finally, we help vendors grow their businesses by linking them with small business training and loans.

The Street Vendor Project is part of the Urban Justice Center, a non-profit organization that provides legal representation and advocacy to various marginalized groups of New Yorkers.

Hubby Hubby

Fudge covered peanut butter Pretzels in Malt Vanilla Ice Cream with Fudge and Peanut Butter.

To celebrate marriage equality in Vermont Ben & Jerry's has renamed their Chubby Hubby to Hubby Hubby. Way to go!

Now if we could only convince them to stop using corn syrup....