WNY’s best barbecue

The best spare ribs, besides mine, that I found in these parts
My beloved employer, The Buffalo News, sent me on a hunt for the best ribs, brisket and pulled pork around. I gasped, having never considered I could get paid to do something like that.
Now if I can only get the bosses interested in “Best [...]

Sunday roast: marinated swordfish stew

Looking at the slab of swordfish, I had an inkling of what Captain Ahab had for supper
Swordfish was once my go-to summer fish. A hot grill and a deft sense of timing – plus a spoonful of mango salsa, chunky pesto or Dijon cream – was all it took to hit the spot. Ka-boom, target [...]

Noodle pilgrims

Slices of beef shank, simmered until they’re tender as pot roast, top a stunner of a bowl
Eldridge Street starts out in an out-of-the-way corner of Manhattan’s Chinatown, practically in the shadow of the footings for the Manhattan Bridge. This isn’t the Chinatown the tourists come to, for Prada knockoffs and egg foo yung.
My friend Deborah, [...]

Fish tale

Looking unnervingly like bombs, frozen tuna await their buyers at Tsukiji. Photo by raphaelfranca1618.
Writing in Vanity Fair magazine, Nick Tosches – one of the better feature writers around – digs into the life and times of sushi, centered around an exploration of Tokyo’s Tsukiji seafood market.
The article is a tome – it must be 10,000 [...]

Here’s the beef

This might not be her best side, but she sure is pretty
When I wrote about local meat producers a few months ago, I decided to stick a fork in the higher end of the market and see what I found.
I already get my pasture-raised beef by the quarter-cow and free-range pork by the half-pig, so [...]

Berry season

I saw the equivalent of these beauties for sale in a Manhattan greenmarket for $7 a quart. Chalk one up for Western New York.
The first strawberries of the year came with the share this Thursday. A blind man could tell the difference. Your California strawberries, bred for shipping qualities, smell like nothing.
Put a quart of [...]

Hail Caesar

Despite appearances, the yellow mesh thingy with the cute pink ribbon is not an Easter treat
I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for a Caesar. I see the Caesar salad on a menu, and I’m more than likely to order it, if I’m having greenery at all.
Oh, do I hate myself afterwards. Dressing out of a [...]

Crimson cukes

The Kool-Aid pickle, from The New York Times, posted by ljc
This just in from the Just-Because-You-Can-Doesn’t-Mean-You-Should Dept.:
The Kool-Aid pickle. Straight out of the Misssissippi Delta, where it’s sometimes known as the “koolickle.” Pour out half the brine from a jar of pickles and replace with your favorite flavor of sugared chemical dye. Let seep for [...]

Spears of spring

They look a bit burly, but they’re tender as can be
The asparagus I brought home from the Native Offerings share was mostly thicker than the stuff you get at the store. Some stems were half an inch thick. But it had only been picked a day or two earlier, and that made all the difference.
Over [...]

The share begins

Clockwise from top right: Arugula, tatsoi, mizuna and mustard, asparagus, leeks, celeriac.
Tatsoi? What the hell is tatsoi?
You know, buying a share of an organic farm’s annual output – a concept also known as “community supported agriculture” – sure sounded like a good idea when I first heard about it.
Get organic vegetables at good prices, grown [...]