VittlesVamp

Food Porn Week - A Double Dip Of Dumplings

I was remiss in posting yesterday, so it only seems fair to provide not one, but two delicious images in this entry. Both pictures capture the glorious gluttony that is a plate of dumplings.

Up top, pan-fried lovelies from Macao Trading Company alongside a salty, spicy dipping sauce. Marvelous.

Below, slurp-worthy pork soup dumplings from Famous Sichuan in Manhattan's Chinatown. Eaten with a traditional drizzle of tart vinegar and slivers of fresh ginger, dumpling goodness doesn't get much better.

Food Porn Week - Cheesecake Snapshot

The Golden Girls never got here, but they should have - Galatoire's in New Orleans for a slice of their moan-worthy Sweet Potato Cheesecake. AARP beefcake seemed to be in the girls' sights too, but cheesecake always won out in the end.

Food Porn Week - The Timeless Torta

Egg and sausage are just the beginning when it comes to this gargantuan Mexican sandwich, better known as a Huevos y Chorizo Torta. No place makes this hot, spicy, dripping off the bun delicacy better than Sunset Park's 24-hour bakery/counter service hot spot La Flor. The place is a grungy mess filled with garishly decorated cakes -- and some of the best, cheap Mexican grub in the area.

Food Porn Week - A Study In Hot Dog

Let's be honest. This year sucked for many. Well, sucked for most. So, I propose something fun and fabulous to ring in 2010 - a week of food porn VittlesVamp-style.

First up, a beautiful hot frankfurter - from Bark in Park Slope, Brooklyn. This is the hot dog shop's Slaw Dog, plump and beefy, stuffed into a butter toasted bun and topped with sweet cabbage slaw.

And, let me just say, it is no surprise to moi that this high-end weiner establishment is located up the street from Babeland. Clearly, this block of Bergen is the new weiner go-to on several accounts.

Coppa Lust

Otto knows how to do Coppa. Paper-thin slices piled high. Italy's salumeria answer to Jewish deli Corned Beef, I find it completely addictive. And, as of late, I'm am completely unable to sidle up to Otto's marble bar without ordering a plate of this well-marbled meat treat.

Then again, I'm also obsessed with the restaurant's Truffle Honey, Cavolo Nero with Ricotta and Olive Oil Gelato.

Hmm...

Maybe I'm just a bit besotted by the bar at Otto.

Holiday Treat

For those of you not familiar with the Italian Christmas bread Panettone, I highly recommend you get familiar -- very familiar - right quick. A Milanese creation, this sweet, eggy, buttery, yeast bread is scented with vanilla and dotted with golden raisins and candied citron.

Luscious to say the least, I think it's right up there with Giorgio Armani and La Scala as one of Milan's greatest contributions to society.

I'm one to slice it up for ambrosial French Toast, but the pure play version I ordered at the West Village's Gottino -- a thick, warm, toasted slab showered with confectioners sugar and topped with whipped, creamery butter -- was a revelation in simple Panettone bliss. (Said "bliss" is pictured above.)

It makes one wish that it was Christmastime all year long. And, while I'm making wishes, I'd appreciate a ticket to Italy too.

When Good Dinners Have Bad Neighbors

The birthday partying continued. Regrettably though, there was an unfortunate theme that infiltrated two excellent dinners -- bad dining neighbors.

First there was a festive dinner at Bar Breton with Laurel, where we planned to celebrate both our b-days in fabulous French brasserie-style. As evidenced by the exquisite appetizer of Tuna Tartare pictured above, the food was indeed fabulous. The meal also included the restaurant's much-lauded BB Burger, medium-rare and juicy, composed of house-ground brisket and short rib, as well as warm Nutella Crepes for dessert.

Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

Well, the food and service was lovely. The view -- of a canoodling couple -- was not.

I'm not a prude, but there are times you just want to shout "GET ROOM!" This was one of those times. Especially, since the couple in question hadn't asked for a secluded corner table and instead sat smack dab in the middle of the well-lit dining room. I could see that the man was clearly twice the age of his blonde companion, so perhaps he wanted to show off a bit, but c'mon. No need to be unappetizingly amorous in public.

Next up was Saul with my pal Sandra. As always, the food was masterful, starting with a Cauliflower Soup that amazed and delighted...

Moving onto Aged Rib Eye Steak with Slow-Cooked Beef Shortribs, Garlic-Scented Potato Puree and Bone Marrow Butter, followed by a triumphant Baked Alaska for dessert, it was a truly divine birthday dinner.

Divine except for the newly engaged couple seated to our left. Seated only half a foot to our left.

The "he" in the couple had popped the question and given the ring at the entrance to the small, low-key restaurant and then "she" proceeded to gush about the ring at the table ad nauseum with stops for the requisite PDAs throughout the meal.

This really would have been okay, had they not been plunked down within easy earshot of Sandra and I, a mere six-inches away from our table.

I realize that I probably sound like a curmudgeon with this posting. But, is it too much to ask that these overtly ardent couples find more private tables? Both establishments had enough room and table options to satisfy that sort of request. Yet, neither couple made a move. And, if it is way too much to ask, can they just keep it to hand holding and a game of footsie, until they get home?

Yup. Guess I'm a curmudgeon after all. That's was you get for turning a year older!

And, maybe next time I'll simply ask for the secluded table.

B-Day Dinner In Billysburg

Corralled part of my posse for a Saturday night advance birthday bash at Williamsburg's own stylish saloon, Marlow & Sons, for a healthy helping of hipsterdom, oysters, cocktails and more. Tucked away in a corner table in the rustic dining room, we had a bit of trouble getting the waiter's attention, but once we did it was a damn fine dinner with the gals.

The East Coast oysters (pictured above) from the Virginia coast, were plump, briny and, splashed with a bit of mouth-puckering mignonette, slid down nice and easy. A bottle of vino went down nice and easy too.

Frankly, everything was whoop-worthy good. A bowl of house-crafted Pappardelle with a hearty Bolognese Sauce and slivers of sharp Pecorino drew oohs and aahs. The Chicken-Under-A-Brick elicited moans of pleasure and applause from a steak-fiend friend who usually shies away from the cluckers. And, the bird I ordered, a Pheasant with Potato Latkes (just in time for Chanukah!) was delectable...

Next to arrive was a slice of silky smooth Chocolate and Caramel Pie graced with a smattering of sea salt -- followed by a couple of other sweets for a full-on threesome. Of course the ladies at the table had dismissed the notion of having more than one dessert, but attacked the three beauties as if they'd been without food for a week.

That's what a great meal can do to good women: make us ravenous for more.

And, it goes without saying that after eating at Marlow & Sons, I'm most definitely hungry for more

Let The Birthday Culinary Cavalcade Begin!

It's that time of year again. The time when I get a year older, look a year younger and enjoy celebrations galore. The big day isn't until next week, but already the festivities have been underway with a series of pals and such.

From the Watermelon Margaritas and Guacamole with Leah and Shaun at Hell's Kitchen to the Salad Rolls and Pork Belly with Sir and Lady M at An Choi, it's been a great start to this annual month-long dining extravaganza.

But, the meal thus far that truly made me feel all sortsa special was at a place in Midtown called Isle of Capri (pictured above). This classic Italian-American dining haunt is a hop, skip and a jump away from Bloomingdale's and has been kickin' it old school since 1955.

The room was colorful, crammed and comfy, evoking a 1970's sensibility of Italiano trattoria elegance. The waitstaff -- although most definitely not Italian -- were well-equipped with the occasional"grazie" and "prego."

Sitting down with Missy K and her parents in from LA, it felt like we found a hidden, fading gem, as we opened the menu to descriptions of traditional fare like Pasta e Faglioli, Lasagna al Forno and Trippa alla Calabrese.

The foil-wrapped butter pats arrived, as did the the middling bread basket, saved only by sticks of crisp Grissini. Little Bruschetta landed on the table as well, deliciously garlicky, making up for the bread basket disappointments. Then we ordered.

The monumental platters arrived -- Potato Gnocchi in Bolognese, Manicotti slathered in red gravy, the aforementioned Lasagna al Forno, a platter of housemade Paglia e Fieno, and the king of old-fashioned Italian-American cookery - Veal Parmigana.

It was marvelous. It was like someone's Nonna from South Philly or Bensonhurst was cooking in the back. Missy K was delighted, as were her Italian-American parental units. Smiles all around the table - except for her Dad, Tony.

"Why didn't we get some of the lovely sausages from upfront on the antipasto table?!"

He eyed them lovingly as we started to exit, when a waiter approached, cut one off of the rope of coiled beauties and handed it to Tony as parting gift.

"Grazie"

"Prego"

A perfect ending for a perfect pre-birthday dinner.

Once The Leftovers Are Over

Once I've packed away all the leftover Thanksgiving fixings, from the stray drumstick to the Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes, it seems time for a fast. And, if not a fast, at least a slow down until the one-two-punch of my mid-December birthday and the onslaught of holiday parties.

So, it was refreshing to peruse a lighter, brighter food-related book, when the refined "Sushi: food for the eye, the body & soul" landed on my doorstep. A veritable bible exploring the world of sushi, the book evokes a calm precision and unfettered beauty that quiets the over-saturated mind and growling stomach after one too many helpings of Currant & Pinenut Stuffing and Pumpkin Gelato.

Making it all the more engaging, the book was written by a Danish professor of biophysics with a long-standing interest in gastronomy and its scientific basis.

Hmmm...From Denmark, eh?

Sushi followed by Ebelskivers! Might be just the ticket!

Oh my. Guess that whole "lighter, brighter" thing didn't last too long.