The sriracha sauce market is completely dominated by the very popular and much-loved Huy Fong sauce. It’s a staple on the table at any stateside Vietnamese restaurant, and it is fast becoming as household-common as ketchup in the US.
Many companies have tried to jump on the sriracha bandwagon to produce this particular style of hot sauce, desperately trying to compete with the monopoly that Huy Fong enjoys. Most are a miserable failure, and many are blatantly bordering on trademark infringement with the use of roosters and other shit that’s really similar to Huy Fong’s logo, look and bottle style.
Fix is not one of those competitors. They have embraced their own bottle style and logo. But more importantly, they have created a taste that rivals Huy Fong, if not matches it completely.
This stuff is good. It has a pleasing taste, with a good, strong, lingering heat. It’s not too salty or garlicky, and the bottle style is great because the sauce doesn’t get gunked up in the nozzle the way it does with Huy Fong. Fix’s wider opening allows for easier, non-squirt bottle pouring. The wider dispenser is welcomed, too, because we all love to douse our food with this shit. But the cool thing is that it simultaneously solves the problem of getting rid of the sauce crud build up that is so common with Huy Fong.
One could even go so far as to say that it “FIXes” the problems that consumers have with Huy Fong. Get it? Wow. I’m good.
Finally, another benefit you get with Fix is the fact that their stuff is made with organic peppers, without artificial ingredients and without processed foods. You can count the ingredients on one hand! Not that it matters to me, because I don’t care about that stuff… but like I said, the flavor is on point, so if this stuff matters to you, then Fix is a product upon which you should keep your eyes.
In any case, I recommend this product if you’re looking to avoid the Huy Fong price surge that’s been happening, or if, like me, you aren’t a big fan of the Huy Fong bottle style and dispenser. You can get your fix with Fix. Hayooooo!
This joint came on my radar when I learned that it was serving a “Chopped Cheese” sandwich. Made popular by Bronx bodega operators, the “Chopped Cheese” sandwich is a cross between a burger, a cheesesteak, and a NY-style breakfast sandwich (minus the egg and bacon – in fact, it is mainly just likened to a NY bacon, egg and cheese sandwich because of the poppy seed sandwich roll).
The sandwich has been trending hard among food folk in the last few months, and it’s now making its way to the upper crust. Elite restaurateurs must be rejoicing, silently thanking the griddle kings who collectively invented this sandwich, for which they can now charge $11 to residents of the Upper West Side.
Mine was pretty good. There was a great crisp on the meat, which seemed to consist of a mix of chopped meat and thinly sliced steak. There was a ton of cheese, and some really nice pickles and peppers folded in. It was a bit salty, however, and after an hour it will certainly make you want to buy stock in Tums.
We also tried the roast beef sandwich for $8.
The quality of the beef here was incredible; there just wasn’t enough of it. The sandwich needs double the meat, lettuce and horseradish cream sauce. The bread just kills the ratios. Otherwise this sandwich was excellent, especially with the pop you get from the pickled red onions.
The cool thing about this joint is that it also serves as a butcher shop, where you can buy a variety of nice cuts like culotte and bavette.
WHITE GOLD BUTCHERS
375 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024
My wife and I came here for a special preview dinner that was hosted for friends, family and influencers on the night before the official opening. I really enjoyed the meal, and I plan on coming back again soon to try more of their steak selections.
Flavor: 9
My wife and I split the cote de boeuf for two.
This massive tomahawk rib eye is 36oz and comes with some nice roasted marrow bones and a bordelaise sauce.
The steak comes out pre-sliced and ready to rock, served in a beautiful pan, atop a bed of roasted veggies.
The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare, it was well-rested before slicing, and it had a good crust on the outside.
Okay I took a shitload of photos of this thing… My wife said she ate a few slices that had a grainy texture. I didn’t notice it, so I pretty much enjoyed it immensely. Even the fat was really soft and edible. Like a beefy Jell-O. We also carved off the awesome crispy meat that sits along the rib, which was spectacular.
On a second visit, however, this wasn’t quite as good. The meat lacked seasoning (as did several items that night – maybe they ran out of salt or something), and when tasted side-by-side with the other meat items we tried, it just didn’t hold up. 7/10.
The strip steak frites, however, was absolutely delicious.
This one was seasoned well, in fact it was almost too salty, but I didn’t mind.
No waste, all pink, great sauce and peppercorn flavor. 9/10.
Their bone in strip was slightly overcooked and dry when I tried, but it still had great flavor. 7/10.
The filet mignon was also a nice 9/10. It would have been a 10 if they didn’t go slightly over on one end, but ver all it was really juicy and nicely seasoned.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9
Most of the cuts here are dry-aged, but there is no indication on the menu about how long they are aged.
It could be that they age them in house, continuously, as there seemed to be a good amount of space and massive stainless steel appliances.
There are two types of strip, a filet mignon, a chateaubriand for two, a hanger steak and a cote de boeuf rib eye for two on the menu. They lack a proper porterhouse, but this is a fun menu because there are plenty of other meats to choose from as well.
Portion Size & Plating: 10
Portions here are massive. I suspect the sizes of some of these items may come down a bit after they get on track in the kitchen, but every dish we tried was large. As for plating, you can see how beautiful the pan of steak looked above.
Price: 10
The menu prices are pretty normal here, and given that the portion sizes are all generous, I had to conclude that you get a good value for your money here. As such, I will leave this scored at 10/10 until I visit again for a better perspective on the pricing.
Bar: 10
The bar is a beautiful and impressive stretch along the side wall, adorned with absinthe drinking tools and proper glasses for enjoying the spirit.
They offered just a pair of signature cocktails, which I imagine will change often since one was overly summer-themed, for some reason, and both were made with absinthe. But the bartenders definitely know what they’re doing. They mix a mean old fashioned.
Specials and Other Meats: 10
The non-beef selection is pretty great here. Well, there’s veal too, which is baby beef: veal porterhouse, if that’s your thing. And there’s tripe too; alterna-beef! There’s also a rack of venison, which was amazing.
They first coat it in honey, and then crust it with mustard, breadcrumbs and garlic before searing.
And finally, there’s duck, chicken, and even some rabbit in a pasta dish. This lacked seasoning but the meat was tasty and tender. Also the pasta was cooked perfectly.
I also tried the lamb shank with cous cous, which was a new addition to the menu from my last visit. This, too, needed a hit of salt, but the meat was spectacular.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
We only tried apps and sides on the first visit. Since the place was pretty slammed with their friends and family extravaganza, we figured we would clear out before dessert so that some other people could get a seat to eat. Here’s what we tried:
Blood Sausage – not everyone’s cup of tea, I acknowledge that. But this was one of the best versions I’ve had. There was no grainy, mealy texture to it, and no overly iron-flavored bites involved. A few spots contained some chew, but nothing repulsive.
The serving size was massive, and it was plated with roasted apples and a potato puree. If you split a salad with your dinner-mate, this could easily be ordered as an entree.
Steak Tartare – I love meat, so the idea was to try as many meat items as possible before ordering a meat entree. This tartare was great, and also a very big serving size. In fact, it was so big that it really could have used three quail eggs, if not a full chicken egg.
The texture was smooth without being too fine, and it had a good pop of flavor from the capers and herbs within.
Our sides unfortunately came AFTER our entree, but to be honest we didn’t mind. The table would have been a bit crowded with everything on it, and my wife and I actually felt a little bad for how slammed the staff was for such a massive preview night with so many guests piling into the dining room all at once.
Fries – Hands down the best French fries I’ve ever eaten. Unreal. I mean, crispy outside, and like mashed potatoes inside. Perfectly seasoned as well. They just needed a mayo or something for dipping.
Creamed Spinach – Full, sauteed leaf spinach that’s really just served with a cream sauce at the bottom, to be mixed up with the spinach. Not bad. I’ve had better, but this was certainly not a bad item.
We tried a few other sides on a second visit. Frisee salad with egg and bacon. Very French and very good.
French onion soup:
Mussels with bacon. A very nice creamy sauce was going on here too. Great with bread.
Fois gras pate. Incredibly smooth.
Ratatouille:
Escargot. These are not served in the shell, but each divot on the plate has two snails within, so looks are deceiving on this:
Tuna Tartare:
Profiteroles:
Chocolate mousse cup:
Crepes Suzette:
Seafood Selection: 8
You are dining at a place where the name, in French, means Butcher. Why would you even consider seafood as a possibility? If, for some fucking retarded reason, you’re considering eating something from the sea here as an entree, they offer halibut, trout and salmon. Since I didn’t try any, I can’t really comment.
Service: 10
Since this was a preview event that was incredibly swamped, you shouldn’t rely on the numbers here. We experienced a few missteps, but nothing that we didn’t expect given how packed it was. We had very slow service, and sides coming out after the entree. Some people, however, had some horrendous issues, like never getting their food. I’ll give this place a chance to officially open and sort itself out for a few weeks before I come back and give it an official score. For now I’ll stick with a general 7/10 as a place holder.
Oh yeah… the table bread comes with both meat and veggies; that’s pretty amazing. A slice of country ham with artichoke heart, pickled eggplant and bread:
On my third visit, these things didn’t make it out to the table. Service had improved a bit, but there were still a few minor missteps, like not bringing a spoon out for the soup, or not bringing condiments out for the burger and fries. Not a big deal though.
Ambiance: 10
What an amazing space. Wow. I mean, my photos didn’t do it justice, so I passed on sharing them here. But the place is located at the old Garage Bar spot, where you have 20ft wood-beamed ceilings overhead and a skylight. Also, the decor they went with is astoundingly gorgeous.
BURGER REVIEW
They offer a Pat LaFrieda dry-aged burger that’s topped with melted gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce and tomato. At $29 it’s a bit pricey, but the patty is thick and tasty.
It comes with fries, so that’s a plus. The only negative was that my bottom bun sort of sogged up and fell apart. Maybe a slick of mayo on there would help create a vapor barrier on the bun.
LAFRIEDA PARTNERSHIP
Boucherie partnered with LaFrieda to offer special “cut of the week” steaks that will change up bi-weekly. I was invited in to try them out and shoot photos. Since there aren’t sticking on the menu for good, I’m not including them in my official cuts pages. I am, however, going to score them out of 10 points for you based on flavor.
Round 1: Snake River farms 12oz wagyu sirloin. 9/10
Round 2: 120 day dry-aged bone in strip steak. 9/10
The concept behind Bespoke Kitchen is a totally custom dining experience that’s different every time. The idea is simple: aside from about a dozen starter items, you choose from four proteins and whether you want your protein to have rich or light flavors. The alternative is to leave the entree completely up to the chefs with a secret protein. There are several chefs, too, by the way. All have different culinary backgrounds, but all are incredibly talented and well-experienced.
When I was here for an influencer event via their PR group, NYC Restaurant, organized by The Dishelin Guide, the available proteins were rib eye, branzino, sea bass or duck. The secret protein turned out to be lamb on this night, but I didn’t get to try any. It did look beautiful though:
Let me get back to the starters though. We tried a bunch, so I will just fire them off with some commentary to go with each.
STARTERS
Diver Scallops:
These were pretty good. They were halved scallops served atop a bed of spaghetti squash, hen of the woods mushrooms and pine nuts. The outside was seared and caramelized just right, leaving the meat supple and juicy inside.
Bacon Tasting:
Thick cut belly, maple bacon and lamb bacon graced this beautiful natural wood platter of pork. My favorite was the lamb, not only because it is delicious but because it is a rare gem to find on any menu here in the city.
Bacon Dumplings:
Lobster cocktail:
Why the fuck not? These were like cheddar and bacon Totino’s pizza rolls, only elevated and in a nicer wrapper.
Mixed Ceviche:
Light and refreshing, this bowl contained fluke, octopus and shrimp, with a side of sweet potato chips.
Tuna tartare:
Short Rib Gnocchi:
The gnocchi were light but with a crispy coating on them, and the short rib was rich and extremely flavorful. Big fan of this dish.
Grilled Octopus:
This was really well executed. The tentacle was very tender, and the squid ink balsamic on the plate was perfect for smearing onto the purple potatoes. Check out my buddy Ben’s awesome shot of it:
I ended up going back another time and shooting this again. Check it:
ENTREES
Each protein comes as a fully composed meal, complete with a starch and a veggie. Naturally, I went with the rib eye. I also tried some of the duck.
The rib eye was really juicy and succulent, with lots of nice beefy flavor. While there wasn’t much cap present, the eye was delicious. I score it at a nice 8/10. Two other rib eyes were ordered in our group, and each one was plated differently, with different veggies. One even had a poached egg on top!
But check out this duck!
Beautiful tuna plating.
The fat could have used some better rendering, to get that rubbery quality out completely, but that is a tough challenge to accomplish on a breast while still maintaining a good medium rare cook temperature. I was fine with trimming the fat away and munching on that beautiful pink breast meat.
DESSERT
Burrata Cheesecake:
This delight is made in house, which is very impressive being it is a burrata cheese. It was super creamy and light, served with graham cracker crumble and an apple caramel. It was simple and delicious.
Cinnamon Bun:
This was really tasty, and my favorite of the desserts. It was a soft cake inside, some good crisp outside, and lots of ooey gooey dolce de leche glaze on top.
Chocolate Pudding:
This lacked sweetness, and almost tasted as if it was sugarless or “diet” – not fake sugar, but NO sugar, or LOW sugar. I didn’t mind so much, since I don’t have a huge sweet tooth to begin with, but some other diners expressed dissatisfaction. I did get that cocoa flavor from it, though, and the texture was nice and smooth.
Butternut Squash Ice Cream:
This was really interesting, and at first I didn’t think I’d like it, based on the description. Imagine candied yams in an ice cream format, but without that horrible starchy texture. It was similar to that flavor. I was oddly attracted to this, so I just kept going back to it over and over. That must mean it was a success.
I definitely recommend coming to this joint. Every meal you eat here will be different, even if you and your table-mates order the same exact thing at the same exact time. It’s kind of fun, new, exciting and adventurous. I’m happy to see something unique like this in NYC.
Meet Your Meat posts are a new way for me to introduce my readers to the people responsible for raising and producing our food. Farmers, ranchers, processors, butchers, etc. You get enough chef info in my restaurant reviews, but it’s high time that I start focusing on the people who actually supply restaurants with their delicious beef proteins.
That experience is the subject of a whole other post, so I won’t get too deep into it here, but the point in mentioning it is to anchor your understanding of why I’m choosing Anne Burkholder to be the first person that I spotlight in this new “Meet Your Meat” endeavor. Anne was an instructor at the Top of the Class, and over the course of the two day training program, I got to know her and was inspired to write about her journey.
https://feedyardfoodie.wordpress.com/
Since I and most of my readers are from the NYC metro area, many of us don’t know a lot about farming, or we take it for granted. Most of us are probably still in the dark about what it takes to bring beef to our plates every week. We just don’t get exposed to the process often enough.
Anne represents all of us urbanites and suburbanites. She grew up in urban Palm Beach County, Florida. While anything “Florida” may sound like a sprawling paradise to us NYC folks, urban Palm Beach is certainly not a farming community; it’s a city!
Smart as a whip and with incredible athletic pedigrees in both cross country running and swimming, Anne attended an ivy league college. She met her husband Matt there, and they later moved back to Matt’s home town in Nebraska.
Matt’s family owned and operated a diversified farm business. What is a diversified farm? Essentially it’s when a farm produces a variety of crops or animals, usually both, with the crops feeding the animals that they raise, in an effort to create a self-sustained farm with little waste or reliance upon other operations. You may recall that Walbridge Farm is like this as well, where they grow sunflowers and raise cattle, with the sunflowers being used to produce both sunflower oil and cattle feed.
Okay so back to Anne. Soon after graduating cum laude at Dartmouth, she was putting on boots and blue jeans to work at her and her husband’s cattle feed yard, Will Feed, Inc. This is where cattle get fattened up, so to speak, before going off to market. Check out this short video that explains what she does:
See how much space these animals have? Just goes to show you how bogus those myths are about “factory farming.” But anyway, I digress…
Nearly 20 years have passed since Anne moved out to the country, and she still loves what she does. Apparently the beef community loves what she does as well:
In 2009, she was awarded the Beef Quality Assurance Producer of the Year Award for her volunteer work in beef farmer education concerning animal welfare and food safety. In 2013 she was voted to Vance Publishing’s 40 under 40 in Agriculture, and in 2014 she was awarded Beef Magazine’s Trail Blazer Award. Both awards were given for her work in consumer outreach through her blog, Feed Yard Foodie.
She’s a member of the Tyson Fresh Meats Animal Well-being Committee for Farm Check, the National Beef Quality Assurance Advisory Committee, a Director of the Nebraska State Beef Council, and an avid advocate for the cattle industry. She’s constantly and actively improving cattle welfare and beef safety. She is an irreplaceable asset.
The best part is that Anne’s operation is a family farm, and she loves the personal responsibility that her three daughters learn from taking care of their land and animals. So not only is Anne working to improve all-things-beefy, but she is setting a great example so that the next generation can do so as well.
In addition to running cattle on grass in the spring and summer, Anne is soon to start a new job with Beef Marketing Group and Innovative Livestock Services. Her role will be in communications, and she will also be helping take on various animal welfare projects for four Nebraska feed yards. She’s looking forward to implementing her animal care ideas to impact a larger number of animals.
I encourage you all to follow her blog and check out her insightful posts. She’s a wonderful person and an inspiration.
My wife signed up for some crazy credit card that rewarded her with a free five day stay at Atlantis in the Bahamas. Then she used some of her frequent flyer points to secure us our flights. It was just a matter of paying for food at that point.
I’m sure you have no interest whatsoever in seeing my amazing vacation photos, so I’ll share with you, instead, some pics of the food we ate at the resort.
This resort is known for having very expensive food. We tried to avoid that a bit by hitting some of the cheaper joints for lunch, and supplementing hunger pangs with the assortment of snacks that we packed into our suitcases. This place is indeed expensive, with some joints even costing more than what we are accustomed to, even as NYC food lunatics.
Murray’s Deli
This is a classic NYC style Jewish deli. We had a massive loaded baked potato and a pastrami/corned beef open faced sandwich. We just couldn’t get enough in New York, so we had to eat some while in the Bahamas.
Oh and the pickles…
This place was pretty good.
Burger Shack
Classic American style diner with burgers, dogs, fries and other comfort foods.
We actually ate here twice because the place we intended to visit prior to our second trip (Bimini Road – Bahamian food) was closed.
First Meal:
The burgers were pretty good. I can tell they use more fat in their patties than we do here in the states. That made for a more robust flavor but with a slightly less desirable texture. Either way a satisfying burger.
The banana nutella shake was on point, by the way.
And I’m sure you saw those fries creeping into the frame in the shots above. We actually ordered the combo of onion rings and fries.
Fries were solid. Onions rings, not so much.
Second Meal:
Goombay Punch, essentially fruit soda (pineapple, mainly), is big down here. And sweet. We tried two varieties during the course of our vacation, and this one was superior (the other was called a “fruit champagne” and it sucked balls).
Hot dogs are split and grilled, which I consider to be the best method for grilling dogs. We covered ours with mustard, ketchup, mayo and Tabasco sauce.
Say hello to the Vitamin B: mac and cheese with blue cheese, chopped up hot dog, BBQ pork, and bacon. Insanity.
Nobu
We had some free sake and sushi sampler platter to use at Nobu, so we figured we would eat a meat there.
The sampler platter kinda sucked. I can’t believe they normally charge $40 for that. But we did redeem the meal a bit with this conch sashimi:
And this crispy pork belly dish:
This small bowl of spicy seafood soup cost $19, which was a total rip off, but it was in fact tasty.
Unfortunately I was still hungry, so I ordered a noodle dish in hopes that the starch aspect would fill me up. Green tea soba noodles:
These were actually pretty good. And of course Katherine lifted them for my Instagram feed.
77 West
This was probably the best meal of the trip. We went for lunch, so kept it relatively light, but everything was excellent.
Good cocktails for the ambiance – not too sweet, just right.
Probably one of the best tuna tartare dishes we’ve ever had; served in a spicy coconut curry style broth that really popped.
And why not have another burger? This was much better than the ones at Burger Shack, and it came with fries or a salad for the same price, pretty much.
I kept it light with a salad instead of fries, and that was a good move. The salad was actually really great and fresh.
Seafire Grill
Of course we had to try a steakhouse. We pretty much shared a meal for one, since we didn’t want to break the bank.
We tried two cocktails (since we had credit for two free drinks): one was too strong and lacked finesse (the 1888 Rum Old Fashioned), but the other was perfect – a bourbon lemonade.
We started with this horrible crab cake. I’ve had better out of the freezer section of Shop Rite.
After dining at over 100 steakhouses, some of which are not NYC-based, I’ve learned my lesson: If there is no prime or aged beef on the menu, I should probably stick with a filet. You’re rolling the dice on quality with any other cuts – especially when you’re outside of the USA. Additionally, since a filet had very little fat content to begin with, you don’t have to concern yourself with marbling quality or things like prime and choice. Furthermore, I also took a peek at the butcher shop area of this restaurant (you can buy steaks to grill on your yacht at the marina), and I was not impressed with the strip and rib eye offerings. Filet was the way to go.
It was decent. I’d say 7/10. It was super tender. It lacked some juiciness and outer crust, but it was cooked perfectly medium rare from end to end. If I weren’t such a steak snob, being spoiled by the selections in NYC, this would have been an outstanding cut.
But at $58 for 10oz, however, this was incredibly overpriced. In NYC it’d be maybe $50, and that’s already pricey since its fucking NYC.
On the side we had some asparagus with Bernaise sauce. These were perfectly cooked, and they even shaved down the woody bottom part with a peeler.
As always, I have to talk about the table bread in some way. Here, it was lame. A little mushy, kinda like tan Wonder Bread. Not warm.
The ambiance and the bar were nice though, and it reminded me of something like Capital Grille in midtown. Rich and dark wood tones. If this joint were in NYC I’d probably score it in the high 60s or low 70s. Let’s just go with a 70, for the sake of ease, and because we really only tried three items.
Olives
Olives is a Todd English joint and it is directly connected to the casino at Atlantis, so the place has some standards to live up to. We weren’t planning on dining here, but when the entirety of Paradise Island lost power, we were unable to dine at the only Bahamian restaurant at the resort, Bimini Road, yet again. First time it was closed (peeve about the resort – random closures of restaurants on random days for random reasons), and the second time, which was our last night there, it was shut down because of the power outage.
Anyway, we ended up having a really nice meal at Olives. We had credit for two free cocktails (which we actually used after eating at Nobu earlier in the week).
That same day we tried the tiramisu flan, which was really delicious and unique, since Nobu was insanely overpriced and the dessert menu looked dumb there.
We split the rigatoni bolognese, which was really nicely cooked with sausage and ground meat.
Since we were intending to eat Bahamian food but got denied, we tried the conch ceviche, thinking it would be stellar, made from a local catch. It was just okay. The conch sashimi at Nobu was better.
On the side we had some of the free focaccia bread (which was nice) and this bland, flavorless broccolini.
My wife scored a crazy flash deal for KBBQ here at Miss Korea. The regular price was $95 but with additional coupon codes, she paid something like $70 for this BBQ barrage. We went above and beyond, though, when we started with this bowl of makgeolli (slightly bubbly, unfiltered rice wine at about 6% alcohol that drinks as easily as soda). I love this stuff.
First was a simple salad to get the juices flowing.
Then a bowl of rice porridge with dried fruits and nuts. This was refreshing and light.
Next up was a trio of Modeum Jeon pancakes: corn, kimchi, spinach.
These were amazing. Usually they’re thin, greasy and too crowded with scallions. Not the case here. These were thick and light.
Holy shit this thing came out next… Tuna tartare. But look at how vibrant the color is on this!
It had a perfect sear on the outside, nice and peppery. I could eat this all day long.
Next up was this spicy Sinseollo hot pot that had chestnuts, soy beans, veggies, beef and fish mixed in.
Very soul-warming, satisfying, and totally unique.
Then came the onslaught of banchan: small dishes and bowls of pickled items (kimchi) and veggies.
These are used to dress up your lettuce wraps, in which you place the finished BBQ meat after its all grilled up nicely.
Then you wrap it up and eat it.
But wait.. I skipped the best part. The MEAT! Our meal came with a plate of four meats: thick cut pork belly, spicy pork bulgogi, boneless beef rib and beef short ribs. Look at this fucking short rib…
That marbling… Holy shit! I was so captivated that I didn’t bother shooting the other meats. Just perfect. My order of preference: short rib, belly, bulgogi, boneless rib.
We also had a braised salmon dish. This was a bit dry and overcooked for my liking. In fact we threw the salmon meat into the hot soup dish for the next course, but I really enjoyed the sauce and radish that came with it. It was topped with a slice of lotus root too.
Next course: noodles. I couldn’t believe we were each getting a bowl here. We picked Haemul Kalguksu: spicy seafood noodles (hot); and Mul Naengmyeon: green buckwheat noodles (cold). Both were tasty but we seriously had no more room left in our stomachs! We brought these home, but not before my wife lifted the noodles for an Instagram pic.
That cold soup (green noodles) had some sweetness to it from the shaved winter melon within.
And then there was dessert. Little puffy, sweet and soft logs of fried dough with a cup of cold and sweet rice juice.
Between tax, tip and drinks I dropped another $50 on this meal, but for an all-in grand total of $120 (including the $70 we paid for the flash deal), this was a steal. I highly recommend this joint.
I was recently invited to the French Cheese Board by Peachonomics and The Baddish Group for a cheese tasting. I ended u learning a lot about cheeses, and since we were eating all cow’s milk cheeses, I figured it was worth a write-up on here.
I had no idea that certain cheeses were meant to be cut and eaten in specific ways depending on their shape and size. Check out these charts:
Pretty interesting. And this chart of cow breeds shows which cheeses come from which cows:
What I found interesting is that, much like our Beef Check-Off system here in the States, Cheeses of Europe acts as a marketing tool and advocacy arm of the cheese industry across the pond. They organized this event as a way to educate foodies in NYC about French cheeses. I’m actually looking forward to learning more about cow’s milk cheeses. Maybe one of these days I’ll organize a beef and cheese pairing event, as I’m sure certain cuts of beef or methods of preparation would pair nicely with certain cheeses.
Not only does the French Cheese Board sell cheese, but it also acts as an art gallery and food lab as well, where students can intern and learn about cheese.
We tried a bunch of really diverse cheeses. My two favorites were the Brillat Savarin and Pont I Eveque. Both were softer and creamier than Brie.
They served us some nice wines that went with the cheeses, and even put together some plated cheese hors d’oeuvres.
I definitely recommend hitting this spot to try out some cheeses. The prices are very reasonable.
THE FRENCH CHEESE BOARD
41 Spring St
New York, NY 10012
A whole crapload of unnecessary freaking out has happened over ranchers’ use of antibiotics in the raising of animals for human consumption. While some of the alarmist stuff out there might sound scary, in reality it isn’t. So I feel the need to ease some tensions here with this beef advocacy post.
It’s Humane
The judicious use of antibiotics is the humane thing to do for animals that are in need of care. Just like humans, animals need help every so often to fight off a bug. When sick, their ears droop, they cough and have runny noses. They separate from the herd and go off by themselves. Some diseases can be avoided through the use of vaccines, and illnesses can be prevented and combated with the use of vitamins and antibiotics.
The Law
By law, producers must wait a certain amount of time after administering an antibiotic before an animal can be slaughtered for consumption, to ensure that no traces of the antibiotic remain within the animal. These “withdrawal times” are strictly monitored and vary from 0-60 days based on the substance being administered. That means you can be confident that there are no antibiotics in the meat you buy at stores or order in restaurants. Once the withdrawal time is tolled, that basically means the antibiotic has been completely metabolized and has worked its way out of the animal’s system.
Ranchers must carefully follow directions for administering the proper amounts of antibiotics to their animals, and the FDA tests for traces of antibiotics in meat products as well. There is a mess of paperwork, regular federal inspections and tedious record keeping involved in this entire process. It really is a tightly run ship.
Let me unpack those generalizations a bit here: Under new FDA guidelines, there are very specific, detailed measurements that are set for antibiotics in feed – authorized by veterinarians – that are called “veterinary feed directives.” These directives outline exactly how long an antibiotic can be used and which illnesses can be treated. They also specify the number of animals that can be treated.
Again, these drugs will only be used to treat, prevent and control disease with the oversight of a veterinarian. Farmers and ranchers will be required to form even stronger relationships with licensed veterinarians in order to receive authorization for the appropriate antibiotic for a specified illness, and for a specific time period. I’d say that creates a pretty well regulated and closely monitored situation.
Additionally, new laws require that little to no antibiotics given to the herd can be in the same class as human medicines. This is done to prevent any potential reduction in the effectiveness of antibiotics that are needed to treat human diseases.
Even something as simple as a vaccination carries with it a host of guidelines. For example, no shots are allowed in the hip or thigh, as this can damage the sirloin or round cuts of beef.
Ionophores
This is a good time for me to talk about ionophores, actually. Ionophores are a class of antibiotics that are not involved in human health because they work specifically in the rumen (a digestive organ which we do not have).
Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease in the intestinal tract of animals caused by coccidian protozoa. Ionophores combat these organisms, so they’re technically “antibiotics” from the US standpoint.
In Europe, these ionophores have a different term (anticoccidials), and are not classified as antibiotics like they are here. You may have heard that Europe has much lower antibiotic use in their beef industry. That’s misleading, mainly because Europe does not consider the ionophore to be an antibiotic.
Hormones
Hormones and steroids are often used for growth promotion, digestive aids, and to prevent illness and the later need for antibiotics in a herd. Small pellets are implanted behind the animals ear, under the skin, to release these aids into the animal’s body. Many don’t realize that these are completely metabolized and no traces are found in the beef products at the point of consumption.
The FDA and USDA enforce rules on these things, and scientists have tested them for safety. Additionally, once the use of a hormone has been reviewed and approved, it’s continually re-tested, annually, and reevaluated. It will only stay on the market if it continues to pass all FDA and USDA testing. So this stuff may sound scary, but in reality it’s completely safe according to all scientific testing.
Niche Labels
Despite these numerous safety assurances, U.S. consumer concern about using antibiotics in animal feed has led producers to create niche markets for products with specialty labels. “Never ever” means that the animal was never given an antibiotic, for example, throughout its entire lifetime. Other labels tout the fact that the animal was not given any antibiotics in the last 60 days of it’s life, or from various points of its life cycle onward (for example, no antibiotics administered once the animal is sent to the feedlot).
The USDA makes no claim about these products being safer. They are, however, more expensive to produce, and, therefore, more expensive to buy at the consumer level. Here are a few more:
Natural: minimally processed with limited additives.
Naturally Raised: No antibiotics and no hormones except for ionophores.
Certified Organic: No hormones, and raised on 100% organic feed, which means no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers were used to grow the feed.
Conclusion
While our beef producers are wonderful for creating new markets and catering to the odd and unique demands of a diverse population, I felt obligated to set the record straight on the issue of antibiotics with this post.
In general, the use of antibiotics is more an issue of animal health than human health, but it’s still an important topic to know about.
Remember, beef producers have a vested interest in raising healthy, safe and nutritious food, because they feed themselves and their families with the same beef that you and I eat. They understand that antibiotics are vital for the health of the herd, and administering them is a humane act to safeguard their animals.
Farmers and ranchers are dedicated to providing safe products to the market. It’s their livelihood, after all. Implementing new antibiotics guidelines and working closer with veterinarians are just a few examples of how farmers and ranchers are continuously improving the cattle industry.
There’s really nothing to worry about. US beef products are safe, nutritious and delicious. There are safeguards put into place at every step of the beef life cycle, and even afterward at the slaughterhouse and packing plant, to ensure our safety.
I’m not really big into the whole artisan ice cream fad that’s sweeping NYC. Don’t get me wrong: I, too, will “scream for ice cream” now and then. As you probably have figured out, I’m more of a savory guy than a sweets guy. But who doesn’t like ice cream, right? It’s just that my soft spot when it comes to ice cream is soft serve. Typically vanilla, and Carvel if possible; no sprinkles either, and in a cheap-ass wafer cone, too. I know, I know. That’s boring crap. But it’s my boring crap. It’s what I like.
Anyhow, with a set-up like that I you might get a sense that I am super critical when it comes to scooped ice cream, because I generally don’t dig it the same way everyone else does. And then once you trust me in my ice cream criticalness, I could tell you something like “HOWEVER, AFTER TRYING VAN LEEUWEN, I AM A CHANGED MAN,” and you’d lick it up, thinking “Well, it must be good if the guy who hates ice cream even likes it.”
Well, that’s sorta what I’m doing. But I’ll be honest: I’m not really a changed man, per se. I will still choose soft serve vanilla Carvel over the best ice cream in town, but I now understand the draw to these new artisan ice cream joints.
We tried an array of scoops. Six, I believe. The lemon meringue, butternut squash, and sour cream apple flavors really stood out as amazing. (Those are my wife’s cake balls that we put on top)
And a few of these were even VEGAN! They pull it off. You’d never know you were eating hippie food.
I actively disliked Morgenstern’s, but I truly enjoyed Van Leeuwen. But get this: I was there with ice cream aficionado JustAFoodieNYC. This guy is legit. He eats more ice cream than anyone I know, and he’s been at it since he was a kid. A true ice cream enthusiast. I trust his judgment; he is to ice cream what I am to steak. Anyway, Van Leeuwen is one of his top picks, but he tells me that Ice & Vice is even better. So I will have to give that shit a try soon.
