Stan’s Place feels the way my romanticized New Orleans does. With its high ceilings, creeping plants, warm brick and dark wood accents, and the sunlight playing off the warm copper bar, diners enjoy a lolling blues and jazz soundtrack with classic versions of French, Creole and Cajun cooking. The phrase painted on the back wall of the restaurant says it all – “Slo’ Down, Relax & Enjoy.” And it would be hard not to. The vibe at Stan’s Place is one part Cajun roadhouse, one part Vieux Carré and one part “drop by and stay awhile.”
Chef Rob McManus, a Katrina survivor, specializes in “authentic Creole and progressive (more…)
When I hear descriptors like “restaurant row” and “trendy dining mecca” applied to eating out in Brooklyn, it sometimes makes me want to stay home and make myself some cereal. While Smith Street is populated by many well-known, fantastic restaurants like Saul and The Grocery, one of my favorite places doesn’t usually make local magazines’ “Top Eats” lists. It’s El Nuevo Cibao, a no-frills Dominican restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
My top eats at El Nuevo Cibao include the delicious roast pork sandwich on a fresh hero roll with a bit of Jamaican Parrot hot sauce on the side, as well as the pork chop sandwich; two deboned chops on a thin roll fried and flattened using a sandwich press. They offer a solid Cuban sandwich – layers of pickles, roast pork, ham and cheese, but the pork and chop sandwiches are what keep me going back. (more…)
I thought I had coined the term “phonatic” to describe a person who was wild about the soup pho, but was disappointed to find it was already common parlance among the world’s pho lovers. Still, people are wild about pho, the delicious aromatic beef broth that is the national soup of Vietnam. Pho (pronounced “fuh”) is like a warm nap in a faraway, exotic location. The dish has a curiously dedicated following outside of Vietnam, particularly in light of the culinary challenges (dogs, embryonic duck eggs) that Vietnamese cuisine can present to the Western diner. But pho is a different story altogether. I attribute pho’s popularity partly to Americans’ desire to “have it your way.” When pho is served, a variety of ingredients arrive alongside the bowl of hot broth. These typically include different types of meat (raw and cooked), purple basil, cilantro, scallion, thin strands of white onion, bean sprouts, lemon or lime, noodles, hot sauce or jalapenos. You assemble your own dish to taste. Hate cilantro? Just don’t put it in. In the U.S. an order of pho comes in a bowl the size of a baby pool (more…)
“Doughnut” was one of the first words I uttered as a child. My pronunciation was a little off, and it sounded like I was saying “da-deeee.” But my parents quickly learned as I pointed to a doughnut that either I was attempting to say “doughnut,” or I believed that a doughnut was my father. Doughnuts remain one of my favorite foods of all time. It’s partly the childhood memories of my doughnut, I mean…father, bringing home doughnuts as a treat on weekend mornings, as I dreamed of one day working in a doughnut shop. But maybe it’s the way the doughnut holds its shape just right; not quite letting on its airiness, so that when you take a bite, it deflates, allowing you to fit a good half doughnut in your mouth when you didn’t think you could fit nearly that much.
The history of doughnuts in America begins with Washington Irving describing Dutch settlers’ doughnut-like dish in New Amsterdam (that’s New York) in the early 19th century. (more…)
I’ve lived this long without ever trying Turkish delight. I assumed it was something like marzipan – either you love it or you hate it. So I decided to visit Gullouglu to pick up some of their world famous signature baklava and try some authentic Turkish delight.
From this gracious, family-owned bakery and shop I picked up an assortment of fruit-flavored Turkish delight, also called lokum. Turkish delight is made by slowly cooking a mixture of sugar syrup and cornstarch for several hours, then letting the mixture set and cutting it into cubes. (Think Jello shots). The squares are then rolled in a light dusting of confectioner’s sugar. Common flavors include rose, orange, (more…)
