"new york" news and stories

Sweet corn custard. Photo: High/Low Food/Drink.

First, we were reminiscing over cartons of fresh-picked berries. Now we're swooning over seasonal sweet corn custard. That a typically savory grain could be made into such a sweet-sounding dessert is not unusual. (After all, who hasn't -- knowingly or not -- indulged in a little high-fructose corn syrup?) But the fact that it was whipped into such a smooth, butter-colored custard is a rare treat, indeed.

This multiscoop serving was captured by Andrea from High/Low Food/Drink after a late-night run to pick up a pint from restaurateur Danny Meyer's iconic New York Shake Shack. Though Andrea admits the yellow kernels were added at home "for artistic effect" only, they pop beautifully against the blue bowl, making the sweets look all the sweeter.

[Via High/Low Food/Drink]

Photo: La tartine gourmande, Flickr

Those perplexed by this season's tomato blight, aka "late blight", or simply wondering why the heck the price of the beloved ruby-hued edibles has gone through the roof of late would do well to read this piece by chef/ restaurateur/ locavore Dan Barber in Sunday's New York Times.

Barber reveals that Stone Barns, the farm that is part of his restaurant north of New York City lost half its tomatoes in the span of only three days due to the "pernicious" blight sweeping the northeast. Many organic farmers have been forced to spray using pesticides, losing their organic certifications in the process.

Evidently the spring's wet weather has proved a "four-star hotel" for late blight. Americans looking to save money this year -- seven million more of us investigated home gardening this year -- unknowingly bought starter plants infected with blight from large industrial stores. Ironically, this helped create the problem, as tiny "Trojan horse" vines popped up on windowsills and in cages along the eastern seaboard.

Has late blight made an impact on you yet?


[Via the New York Times]

Photo: Bobbique

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly establishments across the country.

In New York City, August struck for real last Saturday. With the last bastion of summer upon us and only a few more weeks of heat before the weather starts to cool off, all the remaining weekends are "getaway day" musts!

For America's largest city, getting away often means heading to the shores of Long Island. In the waterfront village of Patchogue, patrons at Bobbique can grab great barbecue and great beer all in one spot ... and hear live blues music on the side. Brews, blues and barbecues: If those things don't say summer, what does?

Still, according to manager Jessica Higgins, "Business booms all year round. We have such a diverse selection of beers; we attract a lot of locals." And local patrons like local beers. "We try to stock at least one Blue Point on draft, which is extremely local," Higgins says, referring to the Long Island brewery located less than a mile from their door. "We keep some Brooklyns on too, but we also like to showcase a lot of beers you can't get anywhere else."

The draft list, after the jump.

Pat LaFrieda. Photo: Nick Solares.

Haute Burger. The idea seems silly of a food that was once so simple. (Grind meat. Form patty. Grill. Dress. Eat.)

That's no longer the case. Proprietary patties are big business, with big money to be earned in creating a mouth-watering blend of ground cow. A masterful mix could earn a chef the coveted crown of Burger King at one of growing number of cook-offs, such as the Feedbag's first annual cook-off in Summit, N.J., last weekend.

In New York, when a chef wants a custom burger, he often turns to third-generation meatman Pat La Frieda, whose family has been making burgers for nearly a century. He and his staff spend up to two months creating the right mix of meat for a chef.

"For the Shake Shack we made almost 30 different blends," La Frieda told us. "For Minetta Tavern's Black Label Burger, it was probably just as many. We tried different styles of meat, different weights. It was a process. I was eating burgers everyday."

We caught up with LaFrieda to get the juice on his family, the growing list of big name chefs trafficking in burgers and his decision this month to finally make three types of patties available to home cooks through Fresh Direct.

Chorizo tacos at Austin's Arandas #3. Photo: Jessica S. Ralat

A whopping 69 percent of poll respondents told this recent Brooklyn-to-Austin transplant that the Lone Star State's tacos were the best in the nation and relayed some excellent suggestions. We were able to sample some 40 tacos around Austin, setting them against the closest Sunset Park, Brooklyn, counterparts we could find. Here's one taster's subjective opinion. (Austin is growing on him.)

6. Austin's Arandinas (suggested by Slashfoodies Lacey and LP) pork taco vs. Brooklyn's Matamoros cabeza taco:
Arandinas' juicy, eminently scarfable pork taco went head-to-head with Matamoros', uh, cow head -- and triumphed.
Winner: Arandinas, Austin.

5. Austin's Mi Madre's Restaurant (suggested by Jodi and others) Pork Adobado vs. Brooklyn's Matamoros Enchilada taco:
Anticipating a chili steam engine from this red-sauced breakfast taco, we instead found spiceless goop in a flour shell ill-matched to its flurry of onions and avocado slices. The slightly spicy red enchilada taco at Matamoros is still the one we hold dear.
Winner: Matamoros, Brooklyn

Four more, including the winner, after the jump.