eG Foodblog: Pan - How to stop cooking and love life

[Pan]

Fun blog, Pan. And nice to know that there's somebody out there that actually dines out more than me 

The dining out vs dining in approaches are complementary: sometimes we want the surprise and no work aspect of dining out, sometimes we want the control and creative pleasure and certainty that we're getting exactly we want of dining in.

After this week I feel like I need to eat a lot of salad.

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True, I don't eat salad all the time, though I do try to get some vegetables, either in vegetable dishes are as part of the contents of dishes with meat in them.

The blog isn't quite over yet.

I'll be posting about my breakfast and my lunch, and dinner remains to be eaten a good deal later.

Ed, thanks for the corrections.

[Pan]

Breakfast:

A cheese danish from Moishe's. See it and weep.

[Susan in FL]

Great blog, Michael... I have enjoyed it. A week or two of eating out as you do is one of my fantasies!

Cheers,

[Pan]

My standby for lunch when I'm teaching at Brooklyn College is the local branch of Golden Krust, on Nostrand Av. just off the corner with Flatbush. Golden Krust is a good Jamaican-style chain. I believe the ingredients are trucked in from a central location. After that, every bakery has its own ovens and bakes patties on site. Is it deluxe? No. But it's cheap, filling, and I certainly think it's damn good for a chain.

Here's their awning:

And here's a view into the shop:

I got a chicken patty (on the left) and a vegetable patty (on the right):

The chicken patty is fairly spicy and is something like a curry puff.

The vegetable patty is somewhat less spicy on average and contains a mix of various vegetables.

See, I am getting vegetables in my diet!

These are baked goods, though, and have a fair amount of fat in them, which somewhat counteracts the roughage in the vegetable patty. Still, for a quick, decent lunch for about $3, I will and do take it frequently.

Alright, folks, I think I'll take a rest for a while before getting ready to go to my tai chi class.

[Hiroyuki]

Such a funny beer ad! Can someone please translate it? Will the translation make it less funny?

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I think you are satisfied with Helen's descriptions, but just in case you aren't,

祝 shuku (top left corner) means congratulation.

大入 ooiri (top right corner) means packed house. It literally means "a lot of (people) are in."

生 nama (center) means raw or draft.

宝船 takara bune (middle) means treasure ship.

サッポロ生ビール Sapporo nama bee-roo (bottom) = Sappro draft beer

I congratulate you on the 'ooiri' of your blog.

[mizducky]

I have to go to Brooklyn College tomorrow to teach a flute lesson from 12-1:30. I don't know what I'll do for lunch, but I want you to see some pictures of that institution. Brooklyn College is a truly beautiful campus, and it's no exaggeration to say that one of the reasons I enjoy teaching at Brooklyn ever Saturday, even though I have to get up early to get there at 9 A.M. during the regular school year (it takes me about 1 hour to get there by subway, and the trains aren't too reliable before 9 on Saturdays), is that I get so much joy from just walking on campus and looking at the beauty that surrounds me. I've taken many photos of Brooklyn College over the last two years. Here are some of my favorites.

[Photo links snipped to preserve bandwidth...]

I have a great boss at the Prep Center (Preparatory Center for the Performing Arts) at Brooklyn College, and I like the students and the subjects I teach there, so those would be sufficient reasons for me to want to work there, but looking at views like these is a really big bonus. Don't people understand that ugly architecture and surroundings are enervating and beautiful architecture and landscaping promote happiness, harmony, and an enthusiasm for living? I feel sure that the feeling of peace and wonder in the Creation that is elicited by all the beauty and harmony in the artistic composition of the campus helps BC to maintain its identity as a college where teachers enjoy teaching and students enjoy learning. New Yorkers don't have to rob Fort Knox and go to Yale to find a good college with a lovely campus, and I'm happy to be a small part of that.

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Wow--I'd never been out to Brooklyn College, so I had no idea. If you'd posted those photos without identifying info, I would have assumed they were from some part of Harvard's campus I wasn't remembering. Definitely gorgeous. And yeah--environment does make a difference. Doesn't have to be expensive, it just has to be not-ugly, is all. I've taken classes at some schools that shall remain nameless, that went with a lot of souless architecture and paved-over public spaces, and found them distressingly soul-numbing.

Understanding the parody aspects of that treasure-boat beer poster is really delightful. Now I'm wondering if there isn't an anime commercial of those seven merry beer-swilling gods running on Japanese TV somewhere--I can just picture it.

Pan, thanks loads for the New York food extravaganza! It really has been years and years since I experienced anything like that myself in "the city", and now I'm all nostalgic for the joys of exploring the little joints and food carts and street festivals and whatnot.

[purplewiz]

Breakfast:

A cheese danish from Moishe's. See it and weep.  

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*whimper*

It's been great reading your blog over the week - and I'm so glad a cheese danish made an appearance!

Marcia.

[Pan]

Thanks for the further explanation, Hiroyuki, and thanks for the kind words, everyone!

I will be posting pictures of dinner soon.

[mascarpone]

For he's a jolly good fellow, . . . which nobody can deny!

[Pan]

For he's a jolly good fellow,  . . .  which nobody can deny!  

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Thanks, pal.

And thank you all for your patience.

I had dinner tonight with a dear friend at one of the newer good-value Italian restaurants in the neighborhood, Poetessa, which is in the former location of East Post at 92 2 Av. betwen 5th and 6th Sts. This friend is not an eGullet Society member but really enjoys her food and is a pleasure to dine out with.

It was dark enough at our table that I couldn't really see what I was photographing through the preview window, so I gave in and used flash, especially as we weren't so close to other customers that it would have bothered them.

We started with two appetizers.

This is creamy polenta with wild mushrooms, a dish I had the previous time I visited this restaurant. It's slightly salty but has a wonderful mushroomy taste and met with the approval of my friend, who has gathered a lot of wild mushrooms over the years (as her mother did before her).

These mussels were steamed and are in an excellent white wine sauce which was clearly made from a generous quantity of good white wine (for this price point). I am often wary of mussels, but this is a place to get them.

We then had primi piatti. I considered the idea of getting a half portion for half price and ordering a secondo as well -- an option which is available at various Italian restaurants in this neighborhood -- but I decided that I was more interested in the primi than the secondi and might want to leave room for dessert later.

Penne con ragu. This was a very good ragu, and it had an interesting and somewhat unusual earthy taste neither of us could identify. We thought it was mushroomy but when we asked the waiter, he said there were no mushrooms in it but the chef would never give away the secret we were asking about.

This is a very good rendition of linguine con frutti di mare. I'm not sure there's much more to say about it, except that the seafood was all good. My dining partner is a longtime resident of the East Village, and I reminisced with her about the days when Frutti di Mare (a restaurant on the corner of E. 4th and 1st) was what passed for a classy, romantic Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. I liked their linguine fra diavolo, but their mussels were seldom anywhere near fresh enough to eat, so I had them hold those, and the clams were also dodgy. This neighborhood has come a long way since then.

I wanted the tartuffo for dessert, but they were out of that. Our waiter convinced us to get this:

Yes, that's a molten chocolate cake, along with the cherry preserves (or whatever precise term should be used for this), vanilla ice cream, and mint which was in fact an integral part of the dessert, we thought (mint goes well with chocolate). Yes, I know some of you are sick of molten chocolate anything and would prefer never to see any more such desserts in your life. Then don't have them. I have a dessert of that type every few months, at most, so it's not a tired cliche to me, especially when it's good -- and this dessert was very good.

Total cost for two: Just over $60 plus tip.

It's been a lot of fun sharing a week of eating with you. By all means, keep cooking! But if you ever wondered how it is possible to live in New York and be happy without cooking and without being a millionaire, now you know.

As I close this chapter, I do not bid you adieu, but instead wish you a hearty buon appetito and drink a cup of hibiscus tea to your health.

See you on the boards.

Michael

[rjwong]

It's been a lot of fun sharing a week of eating with you. By all means, keep cooking!   But if you ever wondered how it is possible to live in New York and be happy without cooking and without being a millionaire, now you know.

As I close this chapter, I do not bid you adieu, but instead wish you a hearty buon appetito and drink a cup of hibiscus tea to your health.

See you on the boards.

Michael

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Thank you, Michael. I enjoyed this vicarious vacation of sorts. I'll definitely continue to cook, as well as eat out. Just call it planned spontaneity ...

Ting Ting Jahe candies will be waiting for you when you arrive in Los Angeles later.

Nice photo of you, Michael. Add a flute and that can become a great jazz flute album cover, a la Rampal ...

See you later,

Russell

[Pan]

Thanks, Russell.

And I thank everyone who read this blog and everyone who participated. Special thanks of course to those who helped make the blog better by sharing meals with me this week.

[Lori in PA]

Thank you, Michael, for letting me glimpse your life. As a new member of eGullet Society, I'm thoroughly enjoying spending a bit of time with generous writers/eaters from England, Japan, Canada, Atlanta, and more. Some experiences I relate to, some not at all, but from all I learn and grow.

And now, no blog for a week? My days will have a little hole in them, I fear.

[Dejah]

For he's a jolly good fellow,  . . .  which nobody can deny!  

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This is a very good rendition of linguine con frutti di mare. I'm not sure there's much more to say about it, except that the seafood was all good.

Michael

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Michael,

That's a delicious looking dish..................of linguine con frutti di mare. I love all that seafood. What a great finish to our virtual food tour!

Thanks also for the glimpse of you. It's always great to be able to match the smile with the food.

Lori: Just go into :

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=42329

and read all the other great blogs that have gone before. There's lots of great eating there.

Edited July 19, 2005 by Dejah (log)

[helenjp]

Thanks for the blog, but I don't think much of your photo - I was hoping to check the shape of your upper lip , part of my private research into whether any people with teardrop embouchures manage to become good at flute!

And by the way, if you like a fairly "round" beer, Sapporo is probably a good choice. They have an even fuller-tasting beer, Ebisu, which also comes in a "black" (stout-like) version, but all the Sapporo beers are fuller tasting than Kirin. Kirin beers are based on a lighter American concept of beer, though their line-up has a few exceptions to that rule. As for Asahi, I call it "Aspirin beer" and never drink it!

[Carrot Top]

Add my thanks to your bundle, Michael. I am always awed at the time and attention it must take to do this for an entire week. . .and awed by the people that somehow manage to do these blogs.

I agree with "whomever it was" that said you should do reviews. Your writing has a certain personality to it that draws the reader in and invites them to see, taste, think.

As to how this week of seeing NY in photos has personally affected me, it has most likely given me the impetus to grab each of my children tightly by the hand, as I did when we zoomed through the subways and streets several years ago, the first time they visited what feels like my "home", and to definitely make the trip again very very soon.

Alright, I'll stop before breaking into song. "New York, New York" of course, and who wants to hear that another time.

Be well.

Karen

[Becca Porter]

I just want to add that this girl from Louisiana enjoyed your insight. It was extremely interesting to see into your life, it seems like a good one. I also loved the picture of you, thanks for including it. This is the first blog that I've followed from the beginning, you can be certain I'll continue. Thanks again!

[TheFoodTutor]

Marvelous blog, Pan. You're looking very sly in that picture.

You did a wonderful job at showing us a slice of what's available in the Big Apple, with all of the different ethnic foods. Thank you for all the lovely photos.

[JustKay]

Wished I was here earlier. Wonderful blog! I absolutely enjoyed it. Thank you.

Edited July 19, 2005 by JustKay (log)

[SobaAddict70]

Some of you are probably going into Foodblog withdrawal.

Never fear! We're working on an installment that'll begin tomorrow morning and run till next Wednesday. I guess you could say it's a miracle.

Next: A taste of small-town summer, on the shore of Lake Ontario.