Art Cake

I found this great collection of pop culture-themed cakes on Flavorpill today. One of them was just so great that I had to publish it here:

It's a Mondrian rainbow cookie! I really want to try making this myself...

Oh, and here's the full article: http://flavorwire.com/123229/50-pop-culture-cakes

vitamins for drunks

"drinkwel is the first multivitamin specifically formulated for people that drink alcohol."

WTF??? I mean, it's basically just a regular multivitamin with some trendy additions like superfruits and antioxidants, but seriously?? And would people who drink to excess really invest in new-agey vitamins?

This whole neutraceuticals thing has really gotten out of hand. Just eat real food, people! And practice moderation! It's really that simple.

Bacon Ice Cream!

For those of you not in the know, Shake Shack is something of a New York institution. It's a stand (or shack, if you will) that sells milkshakes (and burgers, fries, and frozen custard), and is known for its regular wait of an hour or more. It started with one location in Madison Square Park, and expanded not too long ago to an indoor spot on the Upper West Side, and more recently to Citi Field. There will also be two new openings this summer, according to the Shake Shack website. Though the UWS spot tends to have shorter lines (and it's open all year-round and you can feasibly eat there when it's raining), the Madison Square Park location is still king. Plus, after eating burgers at dozens of places in NY, I think Shake Shack's are the best in the city. But that's another story--the frozen custard is the focus today!
Shake Shack has a rotating roster of unexpected frozen custard flavors. You get a different one each day of the week, and the schedule changes each month. This month, flavors include such yummy-sounding fare as "milk & honey" (Thursday) and "carrot cake" (Sunday). I was there on a Saturday, for which the flavor was--ready for this?--"pancakes & bacon."

Seriously?

Skeptical as I was at first, I simply had to remind myself that I love bacon. I love it in drinks (the Spotted Pig's bloody Mary, made with bacon-infused vodka, is to die for), I love it in chocolate (try Vosges Haute Chocolate's dark chocolate bacon bar), and I certainly love it nestled next to a plate of pancakes at brunch--so why not as a custard flavor? I tried a sample of it before totally taking the plunge, and, much to my surprise, it actually tasted like pancakes and bacon! I don't know what kind of weird lab-grown chemicals went into the making of this stuff, but at that point I didn't care. I got a Concrete (custard blended with toppings of your choice), and kept it simple with chocolate fudge sauce mixed in (I said I love bacon with chocolate, didn't I?) and whipped cream on top. It was amazing. The sweet chocolate tempered the pancake and bacon flavor quite a bit, but you could still get a hint of bacon coming through, which is usually all you really need anyways.

I sat in the park eating my bacon custard and watching squirrels for a good half-hour, enjoying the fact that summer is finally almost upon us. (And it just wouldn't be a NY summer without a few more trips to the Shack to come!)

Zenkichi Restaurant: If Only the Economy Weren’t Doing So Poorly, I would Eat Here Every Week

Tuesday night, the boyfriend and I attended the press-only opening party for Zenkichi restaurant, located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was superb.

Zenkichi has actually been open since November 2006, so I’m not sure what last night’s festivities were supposed to be celebrating. In any case, the joint is classy. There is only a tiny, unassuming sign designating its location from outside. Rather, it looks like just a long, plain, wooden wall. Now, normally I’m anti-unlabeled establishments. I find the concept pretentious and unnecessarily highfalutin. But Zenkichi was so cool on the inside that I’ll forgive it this trespass.

There are three floors in the restaurant. The first floor is the “winter garden.” It’s full of bamboo stalks, stones on the floor, and a glass roof over which extends a leafy tree (outside). It definitely shoots for the “zen” look. There are also a few of their signature intimate booths in this area. The booths consist of tiny tables, for no more than three people (though two is really best), with dark wood paneling surrounding each and every little bungalow. It really allows for comfortable, private conversation. It also gives off a very romantic feel. This is the best date spot I’ve come across in some time.

The second floor had more of the bamboo stalks, plus many more private booths, all set up in a snaking maze of a layout. This, again, creates a deliciously intimate atmosphere. The third floor was roped off, but we took a peek, and found a banquet room, with what looked like more rooms cordoned off away from the staircase. I imagine it’d be a nice place for a special, relatively small celebration, like a milestone birthday or an engagement party.

As for the food, it goes way beyond sushi. In fact, they don’t serve sushi at all—rather, offerings consist of “Tokyo-style small plates.” Zenkichi also utilizes seasonal ingredients, so the menu changes every few months. The restaurant places highest emphasis on the “Omakase,” or chef’s tasting menu, which changes every five weeks, though individual items are available too.

Tuesday night, Zenkichi served a selection of cold items, warm ones, and dessert, as well as a lot of sake. My favorite cold item was the Sweet Duck Salad. I usually hate duck, but this dish was a definite exception. A thin piece of slightly sweet medium-rare duck was wrapped around a portion of shredded raw vegetables. I wouldn’t exactly call it a “salad,” because the duck was really the strongest flavor, but either way, it was flawless. The boyfriend’s favorite was the Maguro Carpaccio, which was actually pretty similar to the duck. A piece of raw tuna was wrapped around more shredded raw vegetables. Again, delicious.

As for the warm options, both of us adored the Pork Kakuni, a piece of seared pork belly so good that I don’t even remember what else was stuck on the toothpick with it. This salty little morsel practically melted in your mouth. Kind of a disturbing description considering that it’s a hunk of fat, but trust me when I say it is damn good. A close second was definitely the Saikyo Miso Black Cod, a piece of black cod in a really tasty marinade.

As for the sake offerings, we tasted four different kinds. I’m not usually a big sake person, but after last night, I think that’s only because I’ve never had any good sake before. My favorite was the unfiltered one, of which I don’t remember the specific name, but I could have sat there sipping it all night if not for the fact that I’m a total lightweight.

So final impression: Zenkichi is one of the rare restaurants in New York City that I think is worth its prices. The Omakase menu costs $48 per person, and that doesn’t include drinks; but even I, who have elevated scamming free food and drink to an art form, will be returning. And I recommend that next time any of you are in Williamsburg, and can afford it, you ought to do the same.

Zenkichi is located at 77 North 6th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Check out their website at www.zenkichi.com for more information.

kiwiberries

I was in my neighborhood overpriced health food store the other day (I needed Japanese buckwheat noodles and Chinatown is too far away for a grocery run). And they had these weird fruit that I'd never seen before called kiwiberries. Here's a picture:


(from nzkiwiberry.com)


And here's a photo from phronesisaical.blogspot.com that shows their size:



They look like mini hairless kiwis. I assumed they were a hybrid of kiwis and grapes, but it turns out they're a real fruit, just some cousin of the furry kiwi I'm used to. They're also apparently really good for you. Check it:

(from kiwiberry.com)


I thought they were a bit steep at $4.99 (you only get 8 or 9 in a package), but you can just pop them in your mouth like grapes and the thought of eating kiwi without having to peel it really appeals to me, so I bought them anyways. But blech! What a disappointment! They're much more squishy than a regular kiwi--they feel like an overripe peach in your mouth. And all the delicious tart that kiwis have is completely nonexistent. These things are way saccharine. I'm going to stick with my 4 for $2 hairy kiwis.

gross

So I know this is totally old, but it's so messed up that I had to post about it. I was surfing around dlisted.com and found a post from this past February about a London restaurant, Bumpkin, which was offering free meals to size zero models with a BMI under 18 if they presented their model card. Bumpkin only gave free food to size zero models--no size one fatties allowed!

Are you KIDDING ME??? These are women who choose not to eat! Even though I doubt any models who are that skinny would even take advantage of the offer, it's still ridiculous. Why are models being rewarded for being morbidly thin?? I've also (sadly) been watching the new season of America's Next Top Model, and the judges called the one girl who's not skin and bones (she's maybe a size 7/8) "almost plus size." WHAT??? I used to really like high fashion (not that I can afford it, but it's still fun to follow it), but it's gotten to the point where I just can't stand anything remotely related to the world of high fashion anymore. The New York Times Style Magazine, which has become my main source of fashion reading, drives me insane--every article is written in this pompous, pretentious tone of voice, as if owning ridiculously overpriced clothes is the true mark of success in life. Most women's magazines do the same thing, as well as presenting a new "must-have" list every few months. And god forbid that a "fashionista" wear something from (gasp!) last season. How important can any of these clothes be if no one wants to wear them again three months down the road??

And this obsession with thinness is completely out of control. While walking down the street with a male friend recently, we passed a really tall, ridiculously skinny blonde girl wearing a short black dress, and my friend made some comment about how hot she was. I said, "Are you kidding
me?! She has no boobs or butt!" and he responded by saying that she looks good that way because she's so tall or something. Then some random guy behind us was like, "Yeah, man!" and the two of them laughed it up about their shared observation. I don't understand how a woman in her 20s having the body of a twelve year old boy is attractive or, more importantly, healthy. And these designers who claim that clothes "just look better" on thin women are ridiculous. How many designers are that thin? Where do they buy their clothes? (P.S. If you make clothes to fit someone that thin, then, yes, it is going to look better on a skinny-minny. It's no different than plus-size clothes looking better on plus-size women. It's not that clothes in general look better on super-skinny women, it's that everyone looks better in clothes that are designed for their specific body type! Sheesh!)

And this restaurant thing--why don't they give free food to people who don't eat because they legitimately can't? There is rampant starvation around the world and they're donating food to people who choose not to eat, to the point that some of them are actually dying. Disgusting. It's gotten to the point that I just don't understand how anyone can embrace or enjoy high fashion anymore. Designers suing cheap chain retailers for copying their admittedly unoriginal designs (http://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0739,yaeger,77905,15.html), aestheticizing morbid thinness, and the exclusivity and whole annoying aura of self-importance in the fashion industry... it just disgusts me. I can't even enjoy Betsy Johnson and Vivienne Westwood anymore, and I've loved their clothes since forever.

On a more positive note, here's today's moment of surreality: Last night, I walked through Abingdon Square Park on my way to The Spotted Pig, and there were three clusters of three massive gourds (maybe 16 inches long and 9 inch diameter at the widest part) in the bushes in the center of the square. It was dark and I didn't get that good of a look, so I don't know if they were real or not, but it was still pretty random. And if they were real, then that is some serious genetic modification going on.