Dinner 2024

[Tempest63]

Easy dinner tonight. A venison korma and a green lamb curry, both previously cooked and frozen. Pinged basmati rice and a dollop of mango chutney. Easy peasy Friday night dinner.

 

[weinoo]

What we call old-school Italian restaurants, which were a mainstay of Italian dining in NYC for many decades, have all but disappeared. A few remain, however, and last night a group of 6 of us took a trip out to Corona, Queens to what I think is the best of the remaining ones: Park Side Restaurant.  It has an interesting history, as the stories go:

 

https://www.cosanostranews.com/2022/11/rip-tough-tony-sources-say-elusive.html

 

 

 

 

 

Baked clams - Fresh littlenecks, and some of the best in the city.

 

 

There were 6 of us; so an order and a half of sautéed soft-shell crabs, one for each, were simply delicious.

 

My main...

 

 

The classic chicken scarpariello, on the bone, with sausage. As good as mine (maybe even better).

 

 

And the always included side of spaghetti - how you like it

 

The pro move, of course, is to then walk down the block for ices, at the also classic Lemon Ice King of Corona! We did.

 

Edited August 3 by weinoo (log)

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

What we call old-school Italian restaurants, which were a mainstay of Italian dining in NYC for many decades, have all but disappeared. A few remain, however, and last night a group of 6 of us took a trip out to Corona, Queens to what I think is the best of the remaining ones: Park Side Restaurant.  It has an interesting history, as the stories go:

 

https://www.cosanostranews.com/2022/11/rip-tough-tony-sources-say-elusive.html

 

 

 

 

 

Baked clams - Fresh littlenecks, and some of the best in the city.

 

 

There were 6 of us; so an order and a half of sautéed soft-shell crabs, one for each, were simply delicious.

 

My main...

 

 

The classic chicken scarpariello, on the bone, with sausage. As good as mine (maybe even better).

 

 

And that side of spaghetti I mentioned!

 

The pro move, of course, is to then walk down the block for ices, at the also classic Lemon Ice King of Corona! We did.

 

How were the clams done?  Were they chopped or whole?

[weinoo]

38 minutes ago, KennethT said:

How were the clams done?  Were they chopped or whole?

 

They're fresh, done whole with a little breading stuff on top!

[rotuts]

@weinoo

 

gee wizz .  you8 had to post this so I could see this now , 

 

( w evolving better vision , even ! )   @ 10:30 PM.   that means

 

' Im not going to sleep at all tonight '

 

that's my style of restaurant.  period .   I understand there are all sorts of stars , awards , plating and the like.

 

that's fine.

 

but Id take this style of restaurant , in all there many ethnic styles , over any other

 

every day .  day in and day out.

 

this reminds me of that Finest of Finest movies

 

( and it only coincidentally is also ethnically Italian )

 

The Godfather.    there is an Italian restaurant a group goes to .

 

Michael then shoots the Cop and the  Mod boss.

 

would give a lot to have eaten in that restaurant , or a restaurant of similar background and style.

 

why was the Godfather such an outstanding movie ?

 

the corrupt captain , not an Italian , asks " Hows the veal ?

 

or that's how I choose to remember it .

 

seems like your choice of a restaurant is similar.

 

you might generically ask as you sit-down in any restaurant :

 

" how's the food "   suggesting you are an ignorant dumb-ass

 

but asking in a certain style of Old School Italian restart " how's the veal '

 

is fat more insulting.and coming from ignorance .

 

so I should give @weinoo a Kudos or ever two.

 

but simply can't.   maybe a doz. Anti-Kudos is more appropriate 

 

why ?   

 

didn't get my Invitation  to join the group.

 

Rats

 

P.S.:   the interview 

 

https://www.cosanostranews.com/2022/11/rip-tough-tony-sources-say-elusive.html

 

is a must see :

 

note the shots of the hand gestures .  impressive interview.

 

 

[Honkman]

Simple potato salad with Dijon mustard, shallots, honey, olive oil and cider vinegar - Finished with crumbled bacon and chives. Served with the obligatory “Wiener Wuerstchen”

[dcarch]

14 hours ago, weinoo said:

What we call old-school Italian restaurants, which were a mainstay of Italian dining in NYC for many decades, have all but disappeared.

 

I had the luck and pleasure of having been invited to enjoy some truly rare authentic old school Italian cuisines at these unique NYC establishments:

 

 Il Vagabondo, now closed. It had an indoor bocce court in the dining room.

 

Tiro a Segno: Still in operation. Known as the “Privatest of all private clubs”. It actually has an indoor shooting range. A typical lunch or dinner takes at least four hours, not because they have slow workers.

 

https://nypost.com/2024/05/17/us-news/inside-tiro-a-segno-the-private-nyc-club-with-a-gun-range/

 

dcarch

 

Edited August 3 by dcarch (log)

[Kerala]

Is this healthy?

I'm trying... a bit. Lamb with hummus, tomatoes, radishes, onion, indeterminate supermarket salad leaves. I sauteed a clove of garlic ( seen at 2 o'clock) before doing the lamb, and the pan juices were the dressing. 

 

[Maison Rustique]

@Kerala, I see nothing terribly unhealthy about it!

 

@weinoo I was hoping you'd ordered a veal chop because my eyes went right to the veal on the menu. I can't remember the last time I saw a menu with veal chops on it!

[weinoo]

13 hours ago, rotuts said:

The Godfather.    there is an Italian restaurant a group goes to .

 

Michael then shoots the Cop and the  Mob boss.

 

Louis' Italian American Restaurant, in the Bronx (fictitious name, of course). McCluskey (the cop) and Sollozzo (The Turk) didn't get to finish their meals!

 

And "Tough Tony" (Federici) was always at Park Side, working the door, before he passed away.

 

2 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:

 I was hoping you'd ordered a veal chop because my eyes went right to the veal on the menu. I can't remember the last time I saw a menu with veal chops on it!

 

Significant Eater did have veal, but it was the veal parmigiana!

[mgaretz]

Grilled pork chop with corn (frozen, from the field behind us) and Blasphemy Cole Slaw.

 

 

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

@Kerala

Can't see anything 'unhealthy'. Lots of vegetables and lamb.

 

 

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

I picked up a side of salmon yesterday most of which went to replenish my supply of gravlax.

So yesterday's dinner was pan fried salmon 'trim' (and some held back for tomorrow's breakfast, corn with garlic butter and garden bush beans.

 

[Norm Matthews]

Today is Charlie's birthday party. I have been preparing for a few days. I converted my smoker into a grill to have enough surface area for everything. I grilled hot dogs. They are keeping warm in the slow cooker in the corner of the  picture with scotch eggs and condiments.  I cooked two kinds or bulgogi from scratch because buying that much ready to cook would have been too expensive. Charlie said not to tell  mom but it was better than she makes (because she is always trying to make it healthy instead of good) Sides will be kimchi, vinaigrette coleslaw, and baked bbq beans. There are also  a few Scotch eggs 

Edited August 4 by Norm Matthews (log)

[Shelby]

30 minutes ago, Norm Matthews said:

Today is Charlie's birthday party. I have been preparing for a few days. I converted my smoker into a grill to have enough surface area for everything. I grilled hot dogs. They are keeping warm in the slow cooker in the corner of the  picture with scotch eggs and condiments.  I cooked two kinds or bulgogi from scratch because buying that much ready to cook would have been too expensive. Charlie said not to tell her mom but it was better than she makes (because she is always trying to make it healthy instead of good) Sides will be kimchi, vinaigrette coleslaw, and baked bbq beans. There are also  a few Scotch eggs 

It all looks delicious!  You did a great job.  I hope you are now relaxing and having a cold beverage.  It's hot!

[Norm Matthews]

35 minutes ago, Shelby said:

It all looks delicious!  You did a great job.  I hope you are now relaxing and having a cold beverage.  It's hot!

I just happen to be having a cold brew. Thank you.

 

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, Norm Matthews said:

I just happen to be having a cold brew. Thank you.

 

I meant to comment again on your scotch eggs.  They look soooo good.  I need to get brave and try to make some.

[MaryIsobel]

2 hours ago, Norm Matthews said:

Today is Charlie's birthday party. I have been preparing for a few days. I converted my smoker into a grill to have enough surface area for everything. I grilled hot dogs. They are keeping warm in the slow cooker in the corner of the  picture with scotch eggs and condiments.  I cooked two kinds or bulgogi from scratch because buying that much ready to cook would have been too expensive. Charlie said not to tell her mom but it was better than she makes (because she is always trying to make it healthy instead of good) Sides will be kimchi, vinaigrette coleslaw, and baked bbq beans. There are also  a few Scotch eggs 

What a feast! Happy Birthday to Charlie and kudos to Dad for putting on such an amazing spread. I need to make some Scotch Eggs one of these days. Those and oatcakes and date squares are what my Dad always requested in his twilight years. I made them so much that I haven't made them since he died a couple of years ago. His birthday was August 4th, so perhaps I will make some of his favourites in his honour.

[Norm Matthews]

42 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I meant to comment again on your scotch eggs.  They look soooo good.  I need to get brave and try to make some.

The recipe I have used lately is baked instead of fried and came from  a cookbook titled Irish pub food.  The trick to getting the sausage to stick to the egg is to not try to get it to stick to the egg but rather to use enough sausage to make it wrap around the egg and get the sausage to stick to itself on the other side.

[MaryIsobel]

4 minutes ago, Norm Matthews said:

The recipe I have used lately is baked instead of fried and came from  a cookbook titled Irish pub food.  The trick to getting the sausage to stick to the egg is to not try to get it to stick to the egg but rather to use enough sausage to make it wrap around the egg and get the sausage to stick to itself on the other side.

I love the idea of baked vs. frying. The frying is what holds me back.

[liuzhou]

To dinner last night with three friends. We went to a favourite Hunan restaurant specialising in frog – Kung Fu Froggy, by name. We chewed down on:

 

长沙陈坛剁椒肥肠蛙 (cháng shā chén tán duò jiāo féi cháng wā), Changsha earthen jar chopped chilli pig’s intestine and frog hotpot as one does, Changsha being the capital of Hunan. Extremely spicy.

 

脱脂爽口鱼皮 (tuō zhī shuǎng kǒu yú pí), Skimmed and refreshing fish skin. Even spicier.
 

老长沙冰粉 (lǎo cháng shā bīng fěn), Old Changsha ice jelly. The dessert like dish, in true Chinese style, arrived first. No spice.

 

 

Rice and greenery were also served.

 

 

 

Edited August 5 by liuzhou (log)

[Shel_B]

27 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

To dinner last night with some three friends. We went to a favourite Hunan restaurant specialising in frog – Kung Fu Froggy, by name. But we didn’t eat frog, for a change instead we chewed down on:

 

长沙陈坛剁椒肥肠 (cháng shā chén tán duò jiāo féi cháng), Changsha earthen jar chopped chilli pig’s intestine hotpot as one does, Changsha being the capital of Hunan. Extremely spicy.

脱脂爽口鱼皮 (tuō zhī shuǎng kǒu yú pí), Skimmed and refreshing fish skin. Even spicier.

老长沙冰粉 (lǎo cháng shā bīng fěn), Old Changsha ice jelly. The desert like dish, in true Chinese style, arrived first. No spice.

 

Rice and greenery were also served.

I really appreciate your descriptions and images of Chinese food.  Compared to what I've been exposed to, the food you present has far more interesting ingredients and is much more vibrant.  Thanks for taking the time to post about your meals.

[liuzhou]

15 minutes ago, Shel_B said:

Compared to what I've been exposed to, the food you present has far more interesting ingredients and is much more vibrant.

 

It is indeed. Real Chinese food bears little resemblance to what passes in the west for Chinese food, most of the time.

[C. sapidus]

Cooked dinner for friends at a campground: Thai steak salad, grilled zucchini, and grilled pineapple. No pictures, sadly.

 

Ribeye and NY strip steaks were marinated in soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, and olive oil, grilled, and then sliced. Salad was butter and red leaf lettuce, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, scallions, and cilantro. Improvised the dressing with lime juice, palm sugar, fish sauce, cilantro, scallions, and chile crisp.

 

Zucchini was marinated with soy sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, and black pepper before grilling.

 

Also had smoked fish from Madeline Island and delicious liver sausage made by a friend.

[Neely]

Dinner was a pork fillet and zucchini, mustard and gravy with roasted cauliflower sprinkled with harissa.

 

 

 

 

I made a free form apple and raspberry tart for a seldom eaten dessert.