And the winner is....

It's a tie! Grilled Cheese & Ploughman's each tied for first with 4 votes.

Ploughman's is not usually grilled - just some slices of cheddar cheese and Branston pickle. But in the spirit of the tie, I decided to make a cross between the two sandwiches - a Grilled Ploughman's.

I was able to pick up a jar of Branston pickle at the Key Food in Park Slope (they have a small section of English foodstuffs).

Branston pickle is a basically a bunch of vegetables with spices (Carrots, Cauliflower, Gherkins, Marrows, Onions, Rutabaga, Tomatoes, Sugar, Vinegar, Dates, Salt, Apple, Modified Starch, Lemon Juice, Colourant, Spices, Garlic Extract).


I cut some good ol' Cabot Extra Sharp cheddar cheese and spread some Branston pickle on a piece of Arnold Country White (whole grain) bread.


Then I melted some Breakstone's butter in a pan and fried up the sandwich.


It tasted...surprisingly good, kind of sweet and tangy, which was a good complement to the melted cheese. Tim and Gina were there to try it with me. They both liked it. Tim said that it tasted a bit like pickled walnuts. Gina liked it, too, but wasn't sure if she would like it if it wasn't grilled. I think that I will get to like Branston pickle as much as I like Marmite.

The full results of the Sandwich Poll are below. The Reuben, Fresh Mozzarella, Breakfast, Tuna Salad and Bahn Mi sandwiches tied for second with 3 votes each, and Peanut Butter & Banana came in third with 2 votes.

Congratulations to Grilled Cheese and Ploughman's!

Results:

Reuben	3 (9%)
BLT	0 (0%)
Croque Madame/Monsieur	1 (3%)
Fresh Mozzarella	3 (9%)
Tuna Melt	1 (3%)
Chicken Salad	0 (0%)
Peanut Butter & Jelly	0 (0%)
Fluffernutter	0 (0%)
Peanut Butter & Banana	2 (6%)
Philly Cheesteak	0 (0%)
Grilled Cheese	4 (12%)
Breakfast (any combination of egg/cheese/sausage/bacon)	3 (9%)
Turkey Club	0 (0%)
Oyster Po' Boy	0 (0%)
Tuna Salad	3 (9%)
Sloppy Joe	0 (0%)
Cuban	1 (3%)
Ploughman's (cheddar cheese & Branston pickle)	4 (12%)
Falafel	1 (3%)
Bahn Mi	3 (9%)
Tofu	0 (0%)
Egg Salad	1 (3%)
Veggie & Hummus	1 (3%)
Monte Crisco	0 (0%)
Cucumber	0 (0%)
Ham and Cheese	0 (0%)
Italian	0 (0%)
Meatball Sub	0 (0%)

What we can learn from spaghetti sauce

I'm currently working on a long post, which will be up in the next few days, but thought I'd share this with you now.

I just discovered TED Talks, which is a conference that brings together people from the Technology, Entertainment, Design industries to give talks. I have listened to a couple already and they are all really interesting and engaging.

One that I found particularly interesting (and food-related) is Malcolm Gladwell's talk, "What we can learn from spaghetti sauce" which focuses on Howard Moskowitz, an experimental psychologist and food industry consultant who "reinvented spaghetti sauce." Gladwell talks about the food industry trying to find out what customers really like, and how Howard Moskowitz uncovers that secret.

City Feed Sandwiches

Ever since moving to New York, I haven't found a favorite sandwich place that measures up to City Feed and Supply in Jamaica Plain, MA.

City Feed is a small grocery/take-out place on a corner of a residential street (it seems like I have a thing for the corner-residential establishment). What's great about the place (besides their sandwiches and coffee) is that even though it's small, you feel as if there are a lot of options for groceries (maybe it's good feng shui?). They have lots of healthy and organic foodstuffs plus a small produce section which features vegetables from local farmers. Plus they have scratch pads hanging off of the aisles for people to suggest additional items for the store to carry. And City Feed has a nice candy and chocolate section by the cash register.

But the best thing about City Feed are its sandwiches. I have tried several of the sandwiches, but my favorites are the #1, which is turkey, cheddar, lettuce, marinated red onion and this really great red pepper relish on a brioche roll, and the #9 "Farmer's Lunch," which is cheddar, green apple, pickled green tomato, lettuce, grain mustard and mayo on this gigantic-too-big-to-fit-in-your-mouth roll. Although this past weekend when I had the Farmer's Lunch, the roll was too much for me, and I have decided that in the future, I will request it on the brioche roll. In addition to these specially designed sandwiches, you can create your own. And for you non-meat eaters out there, City Feed's ingredients are very vegetarian and vegan friendly.

Sadly, the sandwich menu has changed, though; the #2 is gone (who really likes Tofurky deli slices anyway?), but City Feed is having people who come into the store vote for a new sandwich to replace it.

Which got me thinking, what is your favorite sandwich? So I added a poll (thanks for the suggestion, Dirk) so that you can vote for yours. I tried to make a fairly comprehensive list without it getting too ridiculously long, but if you don't see your favorite listed, submit a comment to this post about your favorite sandwich.

Which brings me to, while I was researching for different sandwiches to put on the poll, I found the site the Sandwich Project, a forum for people to submit their favorite sandwich recipes. You can search the archives and find a new sandwich to try!

Also, please note that I will be on vacation for the next week and a bit so I won't be posting, but I will be sure to report back any interesting food places I visit.


City Feed and Supply
66 Boylston Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
617-524-1657

http://www.cityfeed.com/home.php

Fish Tacos and The Salmon Dance

I first tried fish tacos out in San Diego 9 years ago. I was actually kind of disgusted by the idea, but my Californian friend said that they were really good, and they were.

So now back on the East coast I try to sample fish tacos whenever they are offered at a restaurant, the latest sampling taking place at Bonita in Fort Greene.

I was amazed at the crispiness of the batter and its contrast to the flakiness and softness of the fish meat inside. It was cooked perfectly, not too greasy and not at all overdone (I hate when fish is overcooked and then it's almost like chewing gum!)

Also of note is the red cabbage and chopped bits of radish on the top of the taco (very nice crunchy touch). The mayonnaise-y sauce was alright - I wished it was a bit saltier and spicier. But the tortillas were soft enough to fold the tacos in half easily, which is always a plus. Overall, this may be the best fish taco I've had yet (other than the ones in San Diego of course).


****Also, in other fish news, everyone should check out the Chemical Brothers new music video "The Salmon Dance" (click on "QT & Credits" underneath the video stills to view the video)


Bonita
243 Dekalb Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
(718) 622-5300

also at

338 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 384-9500

www.bonitanyc.com

A Case of Graphic Design Gone Wrong

image courtesy of http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2163652270026551357BYisaG
I didn't have my camera and was lucky enough to find this on the web.

While walking in the West Village the other day, I looked up and saw this restaurant. I couldn't believe my eyes - a restaurant called Cummy? What would they serve there? Then, on the other hand, I was in the West Village.

It wasn't until I noticed that there was a Y within the C shape, that it was actually called Yummy. Ahhhh......so why the confusing C?

And while we're asking questions, why did they use the adjective "shawarmy?" Are they implying that their restaurant is like shaving meat off a skewer and putting it in a sandwich?

Comments?