CSA Week #15

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  Essentially, one purchases a ‘share’ in a local farm – much like the stock market, one then has a vested interest in seeing the farm succeed.  Dividends/pay outs come in the form of produce – vegetables and sometimes fruit.  Different farms do things differently; my farm happens to be also organic, and I pick up my box each week – Tuesdays for me – from a local location.  Join me on this journey – my inaugural season with a CSA – as I explore the various vegetables I receive and what I can do with [...]

Red Hook Ball Fields

Food adventures.  You know I love to have them. But you know I hate hype even more than I love adventure. A year or two (or more?) ago, the food world buzzed with the news of vendors that attended to the Red Hook ballfields. They talked about the authenticity, the low prices, and the wonderful food. Dominican, Salvadorean, Mexican, Colombian, and more. Everyone & their mamas flocked out to Red Hook. The New York Times wrote an article. The hype increased to fever pitch. Then, incredibly, some governing agency (DoH or DoP, I’m not sure) stepped in and decided that [...]

Chao Thai

I’d heard once or twice how great & authentic Chao Thai was, first from a few foodie friends, from a Thai friend, from reliable sources, but I just hadn’t been able to get over there yet.  I finally made my way with BFF for our semi-monthly-dinner… The place is really tiny.  After comically changing tables like 3 times (at the waitress’s request), we ordered Thai iced teas.  This becomes very important later.  Oh, they were good, not too sweet.  There are items listed on the menu with an asterisk by its name, indicating that it is a spicy dish.  We [...]

Banh Mi Bender: Final Thoughts

After trying banh mi from some of the top-rated places in New York (and some just thrown in there), I can honestly now say I feel comfortable giving an opinion about banh mi in general.  The bread is as important a part as the pate, the quality of what they’re putting inside your sandwich.  A good banh mi strikes the perfect balance: the bread doesn’t overwhelm nor take centerstage, but neither should any of the ingredients within; it truly is greater than the sum of all its parts, with each part being equally boosted by the others.  Having said that, [...]

Sau Voi Corporation (On a Banh Mi Bender)

Our last and final stop in the “cheap banh mi” category was Sau Voi.  (I’ve tried a place that had them for $3.25 but was so underwhelmed by it, I’d rather skip discussing that place entirely.)  I’d read that Sau Voi was also in a storefront, much like Saigon, except records instead of jewelry.  Lizz and I were both excited to try what is described as the first place in NYC to offer banh mi, and one of the best.  I was really excited because it’s much closer to the train station than either Paris or Saigon, though neither is [...]

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