Daniel

This is so interesting.. Cant wait to read more Adam!

As I stated before, I am really upset I will be missing Suvir Saran,Hemant Mathur with Pastry Chef Surbhi Sahni.. Luckily, they arent too far away.. But i would love to hear his perspective. http://www.jamesbeard.org/events/2005/08/015.shtml

Homaro Cantu,Barry Dobesh, and Pastry Chef Ben Roche will be cooking at the Beard House in New York next week.. Sorry Chicago, but I dont think we are going to let them leave.. Just wanted to tell people to enjoy them while you can..

I havent seen a Topic for dinners at the Beard House.. I was excited to see the Chefs from Moto will be there on the 9th.. I will post my dinners here as I hope others do.. http://www.jamesbeard.org/events/2005/08/004.shtml

The bottom line is, I would have a hard time sitting back on a team...watching some shmuck put chinese sweet and sour sauce on ribs he wrapped in tin foil and grill steamed for 4 hours.. Most likely I would want to throw some smokey Memphis dry rub in their mug and tell them to chill. Honestly speaking, I would like to put together a team of egulleters for next year.. Someone pm about the paperwork, me and my girl would love to do it..Do we compete or do we make more money and feel better about being the busiest vendor in the whole damn place?

Woodburner, I know exactly what you are saying and frankly it sucks.. It sucks if the guy bbqing has to worry about getting in trouble for handing out some of his left overs, from what he presented.. It goes against everything that bbqing is about really.. People hanging outside all chowing on massive amounts of meats that they have all been eagerly watching for hours.. I mean lets face it, BBQ isnt a spectator sport... You need to taste, smell, and watch it.. And if you cant try the BBQ its kind of lame..

So none of my jersey peoples went here this weekend.. This was Jersey shore trying to get something going and it seemed a little pathetic. Whats preventing this from being an amazing event?>

Went yesterday and had a great time.. I have never been to Asbury Park before but was happy to discover it was just a short ride from the city.. We arrived around 11 am to find the place pretty much empty. We paid the 10 dollar cover charge, since it was only 11 and didnt feel like eating bbq for breakfast, we quickly hit the bar.. After a few beers we decided to look at the bbq offerings.. We were really disappointed to see that the competitors werent serving bbq.. They only had a couple of stands offering food.. First place we went to was Smoke Dudes.. I dont know what the smoke dudes were smoking, but it certainly wasnt meats.. We ordered a pulled pork and a full rack of ribs.. The bbq pork was decent.. Had crispy pieces mixed in, but the pork was void of all smoke and the sauce was way too sweet.. The ribs might have been made in an oven.. These were just soggy ribs with an overly sweet sauce.. Blah This was the next place.. Dont remember the name, but the food was ok.. We got another rack of ribs from here. These ribs were really smokey.. However the glaze on top was ok... Tasted of Teryakki, almost jerkied. After a few more beers, we decided on hitting the last rib place.. Ahh the champagne of beers: Jack McDavid's.. This was the only place we felt got it right.. I got a pulled pork sandwich here and a sausage.. The pork was really good.. It had the crunchy smokey bits, and a spicy vinegar sauce on them.. Thought it was very good.. Liked the cubed potato salad.. Hand spun fries.. Lots of cheese and a little vinegar.. There was a guy selling hot sauce.. I didnt realize the meaning behind the label until we left the festival.. The hot sauce however was excellent.. Its a spicy jalepeno blend.. Always happy to find a hot sauce.. From Asbury Park it was a short drive to Belmar Beach.. There we had a couple more beers and some clams.. It was a real pretty day at the beach.. I just had to add this photo cause I thought its really cute.. On the way back I took a couple of my friends over to a Jersey Classic.. Overall it was a fun day.. I was upset to see so few bbq places.. The competitors werent really handing out any of there food.. I tried a piece of brisket from this one guy and it was horrible.. I enjoyed seeing Asbury Park, but more importantly I hung out with friends I hadnt seen in awhile.. It was a great day.

Thanks Fatguy for reporting on this place.. Went to Havana Central with a lot of skepticism.. We have gone to Cuban places in Manhattan and have always been disappointed.. Being that my girlfriend is Cuban, there are a lot of Grandmother recipes and family experiences that cant be competed with.. Tonight we were pleasantly surprised.. We started with the three empenadas.. We got two Picadillo and one Chicken Sofrito.. The Picadillo was really good. Enjoyed the eggroll like shell they used.. The Sofrito was tasty as well. There was some confusion with the next appetizer.. We ordered ham croquettes and they brought chicken chicaronnes.. The waitress was gracious, "my fault, sorry no problem", she brought out the croquettes.. They were a completely frozen in the middle.. I did have a chance to take one bite and was dissappointed.. First it was shaped in a mozzeralla stick form, they served some mayo dipping sauce, the whole dish seemed too cross overy.. A bad version of a popper. They were taken off the bill and we decided the croquettes werent meant to be that night... Next we ordered the Ropa Vieja,which came with white rice and black beans.. we then got a corn, and the steamed Yuca.. The Ropa was excellent.. It wasnt as stewy as I am use to but it had a lot of spice, and was very moist.. If squeezed the plate would have been a soup, but the pork retained all the moisture.. Very good.. The rice was fluffy and prepared well, the black beans were average.. I would just say bland.. The Yuca however was excellent.. With onions and garlic it was the perfect texture, flaky, and filled with flavor.. I think the corn deserves its own paragraph.. This is the best corn I have ever had. The way Daisy May BBQ has the chili trucks, this should be sold everywhere.. Deserving of a patent, its outstanding.. With cheese and spicy, its just amazing. For dessert we got the Guava and Cheese Empanada and the Tres Leches.. Now my girl makes the best Tres Leches I have ever had and she still does.. I was really impressed that they used a Meringue frosting, but I didnt like the cake so much.. The Leches were sweet and I liked the caramel drizzled over top. The Guava Empenadas are a bad version of a McDonalds apple pie.. The used a jelly and some type of cheese.. Didnt work.. I would have preferred guava paste and cream cheese on saltines.. But thats the best thing ever IMO. The mojitos were good.. Liked that they had sugar cane in them.. I thought this place was a above average for Manhattan.. I will definately go back some time..

Definately going tomorrow.. I am pretty excited for it.. I sure hope its not crowded.

Can you tell me about Dougies BBQ?

So today I felt I wanted to show the place where i normally eat when I have a lot going on that day.. Its about a 2 minute walk away from my office, just through that hole in the buildings.. The place is called Georges Lunch.. We affectionately call it (Hor-hays) The place is a little box of a place.. I think they also have two or three lunch trucks that drive around town.. Its really not a place anyone should go to..Its really cheap and they have really good coffee. They have frozen patty burgers where the buns are too big. They have processed veal parm patties, they use the microwave a lot.. The chicken soup in the winter is homemade.. They have a decent gyro.. And cheap roast chicken with beans and rice. I am gearing up from my 11 day eating frenzy road trip so I am dieting.. I am taking trim spa, eating dry turkey sandwiches on rye and cutting out beer. Even the monkeys cant believe I am eating this crap..

Wow.. My girl and I were looking for places to go this weekend.. We were very excited to come across this piece of news.. Looks pretty serious with 10 grand in cash on the line.. Has anyone been here? http://www.guitarbeque05.com/

Am so upset I am going to miss Suvir, Hemant Mathur and pastry Chef Surbhi Sahni at the Beard House August 25th cause of my roadtrip.. I wish them the best of luck

Yup we parked on Elm.. We were more then excited to see our car still park outside after dinner. On Elm, we smelled charcoal burning from what was most likey a Portugese BBQ place. On any other night I would have walked around to check out what was going on.. Damn you trim spa!!! The Iberian Pennisula looked a little too classy for what we were dressed for.. It has like a wedding catering classy place feel to it.. But again, that was my take from the outside. Casa Vasca seems like my next place to go to.. That would be great to meet people there..

Yeh Awash does not deliver to me, but Flor De Mayo has a good chicken and its inexpensive.. I love that tomato, vinegary sauce they give you with it. I am new to the area and have only gotten food twice both times ordered by my girlfriend... Recently I went to take a look at their menu and was shocked to see they actually served Chinese Food too.. Very funny, not funny enough to try their Chinese food, but still funny

I concur. We brought Mr. and Mrs. Mayhaw Man there recently and we had some wonderful food there, as usual. Its been the consistently best Iberian restaurant we've been to in the area in the last 4 years. ← Does Casa Vasca have a broader menu?

Thats funny you should say that because we actually got lost.. I pulled off the turnpike 15w.. And we were completely confused, thanks Mapquest, another fine job.. We drove around stopping at several different places and several different people and no one knew about it.. Finally I stopped by the Iberian Penninsula, which looked pretty good bye the way, and a waiter smoking outside finally gave me directions.. We ended up not seeing the parking lot and parked like three blocks away on ELM St.. I wish I saw those suckers.. The dish we ordered in English was like Seafood Feast in a spicy garlic tomato broth

Ok, ok.. So I didnt take anyone's advice and ended up going to the Spanish Tavern last night.. Scale of one to ten, I give it a 5.. The place wasnt terrible, but certainly wasnt too exciting.. We left Manhattan around 7 and arrived a little after 730..WAlked in to see a crowded room.. We were quickly seated at a comfortable table in the back and were able to talk and feel alone even in a crowded room.. We looked over the menu and was surprised to see such a small choice of things on the menu.. For appetizers, you have the choice of getting chorizo, garlic shrimp, clams either fried, or steamed, and mussels in either a red or green sauce.. Rather boring.. So we ordered garlic shrimp and spicy chorizo with of course a large pitcher of sangria.. With your meal out comes a complimentary bowl of soup.. The soup happened to be really good. Lentils in a brown soup with a strong celery flavor.. This is the garlic shrimp.. It was tastey.. A lot of shrimp.. At one point in my life this was exotic i guess.. I remember loving it here, I remember driving from East Brunswick as I child and this being a treat.. I have since had it in many places and find this to be on par with an average place.. I can get a better cheaper version in many lunch places I go to in Elizabeth during the work week.. The spicy chorizo was really good.. It was crispy on the outside, it snapped when bitten... It was really smokey and had a little spice to it.. This was on the specials menu.. Which something tells me doesnt change too often.. Again, can I get better chorizo, sure.. Do i consider a plate of shrimp and some chorizo a good start, not really.. After seeing the huge amount of food people were getting and all the brown bags they were taking home, we decided to split an entree. We went with mussels, shrimp, clams, scallops, and lobster tails in a spicy tomato broth.. This came with a huge plate of yellow rice on the side and fried potatoes slice thin... This happened to be really good.. How could it have been bad.. It was 23 bucks and could have fed another person... The rice was great, so were the crispy potatoes. The broth was garlicky, the flavored with all the seafood.. As good as I remembered it.. We ended with a great creamy flan and my girl ordered a spanish coffee and I had a double espresso All in all the place was average.. I wish there was more choices for appetizers.. The menu seemed geared torwards less adventurous eaters.. However, the entree we got was really good.. We had a great time and will go back to Newark and try some other places.. EDIT TO ADD: Didnt speak about the Sangria.. It was a very gringoed version.. There was way too much orange juice and really no fruit.. I would ask them to relax with the OJ if I ever go back..

Which place Casa Vasca or Adega?

I live on the UWS 80's.. Dont really get take in or delivery too much.. When we do its either Indus Valley for Indian, Lan for Thai, Celeste for Italian.. I have two pies from Patsy's and two from Lombardi's in the freezer.. In case I dont feeling like using one of my frozen doughs I made. Really dont enjoy any pizza in my hood. Every now and then I will get something from Deli Casbah, Saigon Grill, Haru, Flor De Mayo or stop by Dinasaur BBQ on my way home driving from the George Washington Beidge.. If there is any other place that delivers to west 80's i would appreciate it..

Glad I read this thread.. I want to go to get some Spanish or Portugese food in Newark tonight.. In my office one person said Iberia, another said Spanish Tavern... Are there any new stars in Newark... If not, where do i go.. Also i was told the Seabras is not Spanish, but Brazilian.. Is this true...

What direction are they going in.. Setting up locations nation wide, a la Godiva.. Or will they sell their bars in gourmet shops.. And whats the next place that will arise and fill up the "keeping it real" genre before they sell out..

I dont know.. I thought that said a lot .. I mean, if your family doesnt know your dish. do they know you.. Or what does that say about your cooking.. Shouldnt it be a reflection of you.. I thought that part was meaningful.. If you couldnt guess that your Frank(or whatever the older guys name is) made the freaking filet, then I dont know what..

Yikes!!! I am trying real hard to see something positive in it for me....