An Englishman In New York

[elyse]

I have an active imagination.

[Andy Lynes]

Sunday - With steely nerves, iron stomach and a razor-like wit, he travels the world and eats whatever he finds in it. No, not me, but the one and only Anthony Bourdain. I didn't get the chance to meet him (he was in Spain at the time I believe) but did finally have the opportunity to watch an episode of "A Cooks Tour".

Bourdian somehow manages to front the show, be consistently funny and still make it all about the food and the location. Someday all food TV will be made this way. Why the sight of Bourdain eating rotten fish, popping the eyes out of fish heads and discussing the supposed merits of chicken bile with Jerry Hopkins didn't put me off my breakfast I don't know, but I was more than ready for the huge plate of Huevos Rancheros at the Mexican diner close to my host's home.

This version, which I took to be an authentic one, included eggs, re-fried beans, Mexican sausage and rice. I agreed with Jason when he nominated it as his favorite egg dish. We of course couldn't leave without trying a genuine taco. Two soft tortillas, some salty aged beef, a little sauce, cilantro and that was about it. Excellent.

Two shopping trips followed: the first around the local Indian & Latin food stores to stock up on various chili sauces and fine drinking chocolate, then on to the mall to purchase gifts for the family. It was all that stood between a late breakfast and an early dinner at Roberto's near to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. But first a light snack. Being a Sunday, many of the food shops were closed but thankfully not the Madonia Bakery.

You may be under the impression that a visit to New York would not be complete without a trip up the Empire State building, or a journey out to Liberty Island. Wrong. You're on the top of a tall building. What can you see? The tops of other, slightly less tall buildings. You're on an island, oh look, there’s a big green statue, and it’s not as big as you thought it would be. The End.

If you really want to be impressed, my advice would be to get yourself down to Arthur Avenue and revel in the sight of your cannoli being filled to order at Madonia Brothers. It’s just a crisp pastry tube filled with a mascarpone cheese mixture. Well, that’s all they're going to tell you there is to it. In fact, it's closer to a religious experience. Despite popular belief, God didn't rest totally on the seventh day. Before a light nap, he found a few moments to jot down the recipe for cannoli and passed it on to the ancient ancestors of the Madonia family.

There are some wonderful photos of Arthur Avenue in full swing on this thread including the hallowed cannoli.

My last New York supper at Roberto's was yet another revelation to me, this time of how good honest Italian cooking can be. The room is very rustic, farmhouse in style, as is the food. Portions are enormous. A delicious starter of sausage, broccoli rabe and beans would have fed a family of 4 for about a week. Equally the pasta with vegetables cooked in Cartoccio, a variation of the restaurants signature seafood dish, was more than generous in both quantity and flavour. Roberto's also supplied the best bread and coffee of my entire visit by a very long way.

Then it was only airline food to look forward to. Luckily I had a pound of Madonia's finest biscotti to see me through the long trip home.