Eating my way through Fajardo, Puerto Rico06.16.13
What started out as a girls’ trip to the Caribbean ended up being an excellent opportunity to check out the food scene in the eastern coastal town of Fajardo, Puerto Rico. We sailed a catamaran and snorkeled in clear blue water, spotted a baby lemon shark swimming on the shore, and fell asleep to the lullaby of the native coqui frog. However, we also tasted Puerto Rican mofongo and alcapurrias, and talked to Brooklyn transplants Chef Kevin Roth and his wife Idalia about their five-year-old Nuyorican restaurant La Estacion. Stay tuned for my upcoming story in The Latin Kitchen about how this couple is turning Puerto Rican food on its head. In the meantime, these are some outtakes from the trip.
The sparkling Caribbean behind us
Biking to Vietnam (and coffeeshops with awesome cookies)06.05.13
Chocolate Peanut Butter cookie at Mojo
I had high hopes for NYC’s new bike-sharing program from the first day I laid eyes on that silver rack by my house. Thrilled by the possibility that NYC was becoming a little bit like Paris, instead of riding through the dreamy Jardin de Tuileries, I imagined getting lost in glorious Central Park. Who needed to bike to the Louvre when one could bike to The Met? Gone would be the days of standing in a crowded bus with an armpit on my face. Or sitting in the back of a cab fearing for my life. My vibrant, passionate, and at times brutal NYC life would be made just a teeny bit easier with this new mode of transport. Plus, $95 per year for unlimited use of bikes without having to worry about someone snatching it or where to park it? Sounded good to me!
This past weekend, we rode downtown from Hell’s Kitchen with the wind on our backs, via Hudson River Park to Greenwich Village, Tribeca, and eventually one of our favorite Vietnamese spots in Chinatown. We stopped for Earl Grey ice-cream, discovered Garson Yu’s T.I.N.Y. installation on Pier 57, and walked through Lispenard Street. During our four-hour bike tour, we only had one setback. We had to return the bikes every 30 minutes, which made it a bit of a race against time.
A Royal Soufflé06.03.13
Mom was the queen of soufflés. She could whip them up in a snap, creating a velvety béchamel while she talked on the phone. She whisked egg whites to perfection, achieving a cloud-like consistency she delicately folded into the shiny batter. This was one of her signature dishes that would brighten up any special occasion at home, as well as our weekly Saturday family lunches on the terrace.
On the table, the fluffy soufflé was the perfect foil to a salty tenderloin filet or juicy skirt steak seared and cooked on the nearby grill. (I was in charge of the Caesar Salad, which I tossed with tangy anchovies in an enormous bowl large enough to feed a small village.) There was crusty bread, Spanish red wine, Dad’s smooth jazz, and a lazy fan circling above us. We ate, listened to my Aunt Tiita’s gossip, talked, and laughed. We ended these long and sweet afternoon meals with a spongy and cool Tres Leches picked up at a nearby repostería and a Dominican cafecito. more »
Yardbird Southern Table: A Reason to Skip the Beach05.25.13
Deviled eggs topped with "redneck caviar"
The Miami food scene is changing fast, and I witnessed it this past weekend with an unforgettable meal at Yardbird, chef Jeff McInnis’ ode to Southern cooking.
Since supper reservations were pretty impossible to get, we ended up going for a late Friday lunch. The restaurant was friendly and warm – picture a BBQ joint in a Brooklyn loft – with a high exposed ceiling and industrial light fixtures. Chalk art lined the wall above the open-style kitchen, the place where all the magic happened.
We settled into a great table by the window and ordered cocktails. With their extensive Bourbon list, I decided to try one of their signature drinks, the Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade. Made with bourbon, lemon juice, blackberries, cardamom, and sparkling wine, it was slightly sweet and refreshing, and transported me to summer in South Carolina. It turned out to be an ideal compliment to all of the dishes we ordered. The restaurant recommended that we order family-style, and that’s exactly what we did. more »
A Nuyorican at Better Being05.16.13
Whenever you fantasize about comida casera, now you can get the flavors of Puerto Rico in a killer sandwich at Better Being 940, the newest midtown outpost from the creative force behind downtown’s Better Being Underground.
The sunny spot, which opened November 2012, is energizing the area’s food scene with its colorful market-driven menu, funky art, and downtown vibe. But the real headliner, to this Latinfoodie at least, is The Nuyorican, inspired by the Puerto Rican flavors of the Lower East Side and one of the restaurant’s most addictive sandwiches. more »
Coq Au Vin is (almost) like Pollo Guisado05.08.13
Coq au vin is the French man’s version of one of my favorite Dominican dishes, pollo guisado. If you grew up in the Caribbean you, like me, have fond memories of the tangy creole chicken stew seasoned with sour oranges, oregano, tomatoes, and smoky sweet ajicitos (which grew in my backyard, by the way). So what to do when half of the ingredients that make up this flavorful dish can’t be found without having to schlep to a mercadito in Washington Heights or a remote part of Brooklyn? You have to get creative.
Enter Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I’ve been staring at the elegant fleur de lys-stamped tome for the past three years, dog-earing classics like Moules a la Mariniere (mussles with wine) and Navarin Printanier (lamb stew with spring vegetables), but never once having the courage (or the time) to dive into one of these elaborate dishes. This week, however, whether spurred by the rainy forecast or the ridiculously decadent meal I recently had at Daniel, I felt inspired. more »
Cinco de Mayo: The Perfect Margarita05.04.13
Cinco de Mayo: The Perfect Margarita from Karina Taveras on Vimeo.
We’re celebrating Cinco de Mayo, the day in 1862 when our Mexican friends beat the French in the Battle of Puebla, with what else? Margaritas! Cindy B., all-around cool chick and mixologist extraordinaire from NYC’s Tao Restaurant is here to share her easy and delicious margarita recipe. So mix up a few and take your friends up to the rooftop. It’s time for alfresco cocktails! All you’ll need is: your favorite tequila, orange liqueur, rose’s lime juice, limes, and if you’re feeling decadent, some St. Germain.
Enjoy and Happy Cinco!
Surfing for Food in Jaco Beach, Costa Rica – Part 204.25.13
Fruit stand on the road to Jaco Beach
All this adrenaline made me hungry. Fortunately, the food in Jaco was consistently fresh and delicious, premium grade fuel for body and soul.
Every morning around seven, I would leave my room to be greeted by majestic waves rumbling beneath our balcony. I would cut up some fruit – whether papaya, watermelon, mangoes, plums, or a native fruit called guaba – to find they were always ripe with sweetness and juice. We had purchased the brightest ones at a dusty fruit stand by the side of the road on our way to Jaco, where we picked up pipa fria, cold young coconut, to sip on our way to the beach. For breakfast, I would crack some eggs, mesmerized by their plump orange yolks, and fry them into omelettes to create a hearty egg sandwich or serve them with mashed plantain, fresh local cheese, and avocados. A rich cup of Costa Rican coffee with its smooth notes of nuts and fruit would end our feast.
Surfing for Food in Jaco Beach, Costa Rica – Part 104.22.13
Hitting the waves at Jaco Beach
I’m not an adrenaline junkie. Except for one crazy experience at 18 that involved hanging upside down over the Atlantic Ocean from a Hammer ride in Santo Domingo, I generally get a kick out of the swirling teapots at Disney World.
But suddenly there I was, in my 30s and having left a cushy corporate job, carrying a surf board into the wave factory that is Jaco Beach, a Costa Rican surf town located on the Pacific coast and a straight 1 ½ hour shoot west of San Jose. Though it’s close to noon and the sun beats down on my face and arms, the water is surprisingly cool. I strap on my leash and start piercing the incoming waves with the front of my board until the water reaches my chest. At this point, I jump on the board and start to paddle.
Latinfoodie Goes Farm to Table (and needs your help!)11.12.12
We’re down to the last two weeks of our CSA delivery, which means only a few days left to create some scrumptious farm-to-table dishes. This year has proved to be a wonderful one, at least for the produce of Stoneledge Farm, which was spared from disaster of both the hurricane and winter storm that swept across the area the last couple of weeks.
Personally I’ve been trying to keep calm amidst the chaos. Every Tuesday evening I leave work and take the train downtown, pick up my load of fresh veggies, and walk home. When I get home, I sort the produce, decide what to prepare that night, and plan menus for the week. One of the tools I use on a regular basis now is Foodily, a handy food app that helped me find uses for less common ingredients like celeriac and turnip greens, as well as supplied excellent ways to prepare simple soups and stews. Most nights I find a cool recipe on Foodily, prepare it, and end up instagramming the heck out of it:) more »
Food For Thought