"manhattan" news and stories

This past Monday was the beginning of autumn, which in years past been somewhat of a sad time for my meat and fire loving alter ego, Joey Deckle, because it marks the end of the competitive barbecuing season. But not this time around. For in addition to being the start of fall and the autumnal equinox, Monday was also Il Buco's fifth annual Sagra del Maiale, or pig festival. There's nothing quite like an afternoon spent on a downtown Manhattan street eating roast pork with a bunch of like-minded carnivores to cure the end-of-summer blues.

This wasn't just any old roast pig though, it was a heritage breed called a Farmer's Cross, or Crossabaw. For those of you not up on heritage hogs, a Crossabaw is breed based on the Ossabaw blood line, the very pig Peter Kaminsky praised in his book Pig Perfect. It yields exceptionally rich moist meat and luscious fat. Lest I forget, it wasn't exactly a tiny pig either, it weighed in at 200 pounds. Such a beast would take a good 24 hours if it were to be cooked over smoke. When I asked Chef Ignacio Mattos how long it would take, he responded, "That's a good question. Hopefully about six-and-a-half hours. It's going on at 6 a.m."

The reason behind such a relatively short cooking time for such a large hog? A cooking method known as infernillo, literally little hell. When Chef Mattos told me that it took some 400 pounds of fuel, including lump charcoal and oak and cherry wood to cook the beast, I thought it sounded more like a big hell. Infernillo, is an Incan method of cooking that Chef Mattos learned from his mentor, the Uruguayan chef, Frances Mallmann. Essentially it involves roasting the pig on a shelf with an intense wood fire above and another below. Chef Mattos butterflied his Crossabaw and then seasoned it with rosemary, fennel pollen, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. The intense heat yielded some incredibly crunchy skin.

On June 29th, 2007, Mark Malkoff, a filmmaker and comedian out of New York City, did one of those things that people do mostly to prove that it can be done. He went to 171 Starbucks in Manhattan in a single day and made a short film about it.

Mark purchased (spending $369.14) and consumed food or drink at every one of those Starbucks and has the receipts to prove it. He traveled around the city on bike for the first 14 hours of the tour, but became so dehydrated and disoriented from the caffeine that the film crew brought a car in to help him finish the day. He first developed the idea while passing multiple Starbucks on his way to work.

David Wondrich, the drinks guy at Esquire, wrote one of the best cocktails books in the past quarter century, Esquire Drinks, and he says that if you want a proper Manhattan, you have to skip the cherries and add more Vermouth. After the jump, his recipe.

• Add wine to your weeknight meals, including Glazed Carrots, Red Wine Chicken, and Fruit Soup with Port.
• Check out what Jewel keeps in her tour bus fridge.
• Even your pet wants a special meal on St. Patrick's Day.
• The decorator from Extreme Makeover shows you how to make an interesting centerpiece.
• The Burger of the Month: Cordon Croquettes.
• What does Muhammad Ali eat every day?
• Mmmm...Spaghetti Burgers!
• Hosting a poker game? Try out these cool drinks and finger foods.
• More recipes: Chocolate Pudding Parfaits, Pizza Pockets, and St. Paddy's Corned Beef and Cabbage Stoup.

The Manhattan Trader Joe's location has been open for about 7 weeks now and Manhattanites have been acting like kids with a candy store, talking excitedly, lining up to get in, etc. It has been all over the papers, the news and the blogs and, believe it or not, we all know it's there.

Well, not all of us. Alex Kuczynski, of the New York Times, wasn't going to let the opening - already old news - go by without tossing yet another 2¢ into the paper. She missed the grand opening and only recently was able to check out the store. This would be fine - great, even - if she picked up on new products or a new trend. Unfortunately, she didn't and we were treated to an account of the fact that bought almonds, the cheese crunchies, spinach artichoke dip, double cream brie and cheap wine. Congrats, Alex. You figured out that Trader Joe's has good products at good prices.

Now, please, tell us something that we didn't already know.

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