Let's Play NYC

We live in New York City, we like to play golf, and we chronicle our adventures. We'll be your guides. We're @hoarse_radish, @ArdenNicoletta, and @scottthelew.

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Meatballs and mashed potatoes in #ElBarrio.

Instead of a meatloaf I made a dozen meatballs. They started on the stove and finished in the oven. Creminis went along for the ride. The drippings and stock reduced to become a pan sauce. Potatoes and butter were the vehicle.

#foodie

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

The moment @SNYtv went Spanish. At this point I’m willing to try anything. #LGM

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Strawberry shokupan in #ElBarrio.

These berries were dehydrated before going in the dough. Fresh fruit in Japanese milk bread is a potential disaster. The water can lead to a dramatic rise—and epic collapse—that will leave your bread and psyche in shambles.

#foodie #sourdough

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Beef gyoza in shoyu broth in #ElBarrio.

Gyoza are Japanese dumplings. The wrappers are thinner and more delicate than what you would find on a typical Chinese dumpling. I am pointing this out because my wrapping was horrendous, and that fact is…how you say?…an excuse.

#foodie

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Soppressata and pesto pizza in #ElBarrio.

Pesto subbed in for tomato sauce, so this #pizza swings herbal and garlicky. Soppressata is like pepperoni but the grind is coarser and the result is more rustic. In our house, we’d call soppressata the fobby cousin.

#foodie #sourdough

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Crispy Sichuan pork belly in #ElBarrio.

These golden surprises were cured, slow-roasted, and fried skin-side down in their own fat. Then they were hacked into cubes and tossed with chili oil and toasted Sichuan peppercorns. And that’s how I #chicharrón-ified pork belly.

#foodie

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Chocolate chip brioche in #ElBarrio.

If the multiverse is real, in no dimension am I a pâtissier, despite my penchant for pastries. These are golf ball-sized nubbins of brown sugar #brioche stuffed with chocolate. It’s the unschooled baker’s pain au chocolat.

#foodie #sourdough

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Beef merguez and fennel pizza in #ElBarrio.

Topped with #merguez and fennel, this is a play on #lahmacun, the Turkish hawker snack. I can't say I've had it on the streets of Türkiye (I've never been there), but I can say I've had it on the streets of Queens!

#foodie #sourdough

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Fusilli Alfredo with sausage in #ElBarrio.

When I got my license my first trip was to Olive Garden (I'd never been). I learned fettuccine is not my preferred pasta for Alfredo sauce. It relies on length to carry cheese. I like spiraled fusilli because it's all crannies.

#foodie

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Roasted radicchio in #ElBarrio.

Seasoned with salt, pepper, honey, and olive oil, these #radicchio wedges were roasted hot. The cut surfaces charred, and the result was mellow and sweet. Radicchio are not in the brassica family, so this is not a foray into cabbagecore.

#foodie

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Pan-roasted halibut in #ElBarrio.

This is my maiden voyage with halibut. My family is full of anglers, so I have caught and and cooked fluke, a cousin of halibut. Both are firm, flaky, and sweet white fish, so I kept these fillets simple with butter, lemon, and parsley.

#foodie

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Mezzi rigatoni with beef ragù in #ElBarrio.

Beef was browned then mirepoix and tomato paste were added before wine and diced tomatoes deglazed the pan. The ragu braised for hours and was served with ridged cylinders that hold ragu on the inside and sauce on the outside.

#foodie

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Ribeye and shishitos in #ElBarrio.

My #steak procedure is: dry-brine, sear, butter-baste. The shishitos went in as the pan heated up. When they started smoking and blistering, that was their way of asking me, in the voice of an old school Wendy's ad, "Where's the beef?"

#foodie

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Breakfast focaccia in #ElBarrio.

This is a food cart sammie as focaccia. The dough and tomatoes were par-baked then finished with breakfast sausage, scrambled eggs, and American cheese. The full experience includes a Greek-looking cup full of Cafe Bustelo.

#foodie #sourdough

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Miso-sriracha trumpet mushrooms in #ElBarrio.

Trumpet #mushrooms, triple this size raw, were marinated then pan-roasted. They were saturated, so high heat was used to drive off moisture. The result was concentrated with a texture like scallops. That’s Hollywood Magic.

#foodie

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Bacon and black pepper pizza in #ElBarrio.

Making New York-style #pizza in my oven is a challenge: it's smaller and less powerful than a pizzeria oven. I used a thin crust, "dry" toppings, and a preheated oven (and pan) to compensate for the wrong apparatus.

#foodie #sourdough

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Cherry and white chocolate shokupan rolls in #ElBarrio.

My favorite part of baking is oven spring. You never know what you’ll see when you watch bread rise in a hot oven. These milk bread rolls—enriched with extra butter and brown sugar—grew like stalagmites.

#foodie #sourdough

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Busiate with spicy sausage and broccoli rabe in #ElBarrio.

This is a spicier version of orecchiette with #sausage and broccoli rabe. The twisty #pasta, called busiate, is akin to fettuccine rolled into a tube. Spicy Italian sausage and Fresno chilies bring extra heat.

#foodie

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Pepperoni pizza two ways in #ElBarrio.

One is "New York-style," the other is Detroit-style. I'm using scare quotes because New York-style means cooked on the oven deck. The thicker Detroit-style #pizza was well-done, giving the pie a golden surprise exterior.

#foodie #sourdough

[Bruce @hoarse_radish]

Lemongrass drumsticks in #ElBarrio.

After marinating in lemongrass, garlic, and oyster sauce, the chicken was baked then finished under the flame of the broiler. Typically grilled, this dish is from Laotian Food 101, the section called Fobby Fowl in the Western Kitchen.

#foodie