Hosive

when people come into the city, we are always surprised by where they want to visit or to go eat. they are equally surprised that we do not frequent those places or want to go eat there. no. i do not want to eat at ruby tuesdays , bennigans or tgifridays in times square. then they ask where we go……so here are the places we like…not the best or the cheapest or whatever category….just where we go and go on a regular basis…and over the next few weeks, i’m gonna cover some spots where i get good southern eats and bbq.

just as i arrived back into the city a few years ago, there was a surge in bbq culture in new york. before that, bbq was on the equivalent of panda express chinese….corporate and average to below average. but then pitmasters arrived on the scene to see if they can make it here….y’know how that goes…

the true test are people who grew up with real bbq….and when i want to know what good bbq is, i ask my houston/dallas/texas friends like elder harvey in the foreground. and not the goobers from cali and nj in the back(though my goober friends are darn cute….sorry, both taken and one is with child much like theresa).

my texas friends think this place is pretty good. while my tastes are not as refined in the realm of bbq…..as a commoner i can declare that i like this place a lot. here’s what to order:

sweet tea: here, another reliable source of texas bbq knowledge, patrick yip, slurping one down. a rarity in the city is found here…free refills on most soft drinks including the southern tea specialties! i usually down 3 or more cups when we eat in.

wings bbq style…pretty tasty appetizer…look at that color and the charred goodness….

pork ribs, a must here at R.U.B.: smoky and tender! i am told that good/great bbq does not need sauce to hide inferior smoke and skill. these ribs are terrific without sauce….definitely passes that test.

i bought my boy justin here too and here is a sampler plate with smoked turkey, burnt ends which are fatty pieces of brisket and a hot sausage. all excellent meats.

theresa ordered from here last year for my birthday. super yummy. we had duck that time which i thought was ok but theresa liked much more. and there are other meats that i have not tried yet but what i’ve shown should get you started. its nice to have the real thing in the city!

of course, the big difference between eating authentic bbq in nyc and in texas is price….its three times as expensive here in manhattan! or since we have been going to texas often, its 1/3rd the price in dallas or austin or san antonio. so be prepared to pay…but also be prepared to feast!

when people come into the city, we are always surprised by where they want to visit or go eat. they are equally surprised that we do not frequent those places or want to go eat there. no. i do not want to eat at ruby tuesdays , bennigans or tgifridays in times square. then they ask where we go……so here are the places we like…not the best or the cheapest or whatever category….just where we go and go on a regular basis:

people ask where we go for chinese food…..this is one of the places…

…..one of theresa’s favorite, favorite restaurants period. maybe because they advertise one of their specialties as being chinese bibimbop. that’s the way to appeal to koreans. but the way to pack your place with actual chinese is to serve authentic stuff.

my mom used to pick stuff up from here and transport it on the chinatown bus all the way to maryland. the food was good warm but its best served piping, piping hot.

yummy noodles is located at the corner of bowery and this alley. no joke. this alley is home to many hole in the wall joints. it looks understandably scary to tourists…so the places attract many locals and tourists in the know. or those who are lost. sometimes its better to be lost than lucky. if you need a better cross street, its closest to bowery and canal.

there used to be a japanese toy store here in the 70′s that had power rangers and voltron figures way before america discovered them. i used to come and lust after these magical figures that were way too expensive for our middle class budget. but when the products became mainstream and i actually had cashflow of my own, i lost interest. lust sometimes is about wanting what you can’t have.

the place has standard chinese fare that is very tasty…a lot of regular chinese people come and dine which is a good sign…its THE sign for a chinese place. if you see too many outsiders, the place maybe closer to panda express than what real chinese eat.

another good sign: my uncle who is a filthy rich doctor channels his inner ghetto and comes down and eats in this moderately sanitary joint.  that’s a compliment when the upper class come and hang with the masses because of the eats.

the prize specialty ironically is not a noodle dish but are these rice dishes cooked in clay pots at extreme heat. you can add chicken, pork, sausage, veggies, mushrooms, eggs….then its steamed to yummy perfection.

just ask my wife!

Posted under new york, new york eats, some favorite(NYC)things

when people come into the city, we are always surprised by where they want to visit or go eat. they are equally surprised that we do not frequent those places or want to go eat there. no. i do not want to eat at ruby tuesdays , bennigans or tgifridays in times square. then they ask where we go……so here are the places we like…not the best or the cheapest or whatever category….just where we go and go on a regular basis…

sometimes they ask us where we can get some nyc pizza. having only tasted dominos or papa johns, maybe pizza hut, they want to see what the big deal is. a lot of italians will tell you that the secret to nyc pizza is….the water? especially in brooklyn, they swear that water does something to the dough. most outsiders don’t know that nyc and ny state has one of the finest tap water systems in the world. in md, there was an italian store that shipped slices of pizza from nyc and sold them out of their freezer. the owner also said that the unique flavor was because of the h2o.

we go to the local koronet, right by columbia university. we can walk over from where we live….its famous for its two handed slices. that is not an optical illusion. that slice is the length of my waist.

if you don’t believe me, check out jeremy using two hands on that one slice behind the snapple. and dok ok posing with his monstrous olive and anchovy cheezy, doughy goodness. speaking of waists, this is how generations of columbia alumni have fattened up over the years.

i will concede that they are better pizzas…every pizza place in nyc does things differently with their own secret recipes handed down from the motherland or maybe just their mothers. and i think the best pizzas are out in brooklyn…..but that’s too far for us to go for a slice. if you come visit, we’ll walk a few blocks over for a pretty satisfying nyc pizza experience.

when people come into the city, we are always surprised by where they want to visit or go eat. they are equally surprised that we do not frequent those places or want to go eat there. no. i do not want to eat at ruby tuesdays , bennigans or tgifridays in times square. then they ask where we go……so here are the places we like…not the best or the cheapest or whatever category….just where we go and go on a regular basis:

this one’s for my friend, wilson: the shake shack

sometimes people dismiss this place as hype or even touristy…but i have never had a tourist ask me to take them here. i always have to suggest it. regardless of the detractors, this place has the best damn burger in the city. it is made with fresh steer meat and crack. on top of that, i can get a shake with crazy flavors like spiced cherry, raspberry lemon, salted caramel, raspberry jalapeno, blueberry…even basil? new flavors every month. check out their menus online: http://shakeshacknyc.com/menus.html

also online is a line cam as the line can grow pretty nutty at peak times. like a half an hour or more wait.

they don’t just have burgers…there’s brauts, chicken, hot dogs and veggie fare too(i’ve read). check their menu out as you wait on the mind boggling(long) line. but i go for the burgers and shakes….just ask wes what he thinks.

an outpost is going to open up on the upper west side…i’m looking forward to not having to always trek down to madison square park.

a flu wiped me out at the wrong time so i’ve been behind on blogging ever since……let’s catchup…..

we said good bye to our good friends liz and leonard as they headed back to la with a meal at one of their hidden treasures in nyc. its a steakhouse right above the fairway around 72 and broadway. fairway is a regular(but very good)supermarket in nyc and inexplicably they also cook steaks. big honking steaks at reasonable(nyc)prices. we had a great time eating meat….which t and i have given up for lent….we’ll likely break lent at some point using the gift certificates for the all you can eat meat-arama that leonard and liz got for my ordination…….

we miss our friends dearly.

christmas eve and christmas day were spent at da sto. my in-laws have random shops….jewelry, pool hall, beauty supplies…..booze. its not the holidays unless……..

i spend the day catching up on dvds……futurama, alien nation and blade runner. theresa spent it helping sell 40′s and lottery tickets. the program is set up so that koreans can operate it easier.

the official name of the store is called vision! its nice to know that my faith is having an impact on the family. so when people ask me what i did at christmas, i say i spent it at vision!

we proceeded to philly to actually have a more spiritual christmas at chinese mission 2007. i did workshops. t did sound. steff did art. peter did the big talks. LT did everything.

i have done this conference every three years since 1995. but mayhaps my time with youth are drawing to a close. i can still tell some funny jh jokes. maybe that’s the only kinds i can tell.

finally, we wrapped up with a week with the tsangs before the new year! more like the brownings and the tsangs. but life was dreamy and slow…the way christmas used to be

life is good and content. then we all caught the flu. boo flu. yea, u2.
i got my u2.com fan club t-shirt as part of my dues. it also came with a double cd set of a dvd i already own. eh. the real prize we hope are access to concert tickets. i was part of the original fan club, propaganda….and they rewarded me with double access to tickets last time around. hoping to keep my status. i’m also part of the killers fan club and we are part of the hallmark ornament club which used to have two good selections per year but lately, only one. but its the club that allows us to keep collecting the christmas windows ornaments that mark our anniversary each year. more about that in may.