A Few Of My Favorite Things - Fresh From The Farm

This is one of the best meals I ever ate...

Beef - from a cow raised and slaughtered on my wife's family farm

Eggs - Laid that morning on the very same farm

Cheese - Made on the very same farm

Cream - You guessed it

Tortilla - Made from masa produced most likely not far away from said farm

I will say this, in spite of the fact that I am quite proud of the butcher cuts and dry aged steaks we carry at our butcher shop, there is nothing quite like fresh from the farm produce. Unpasteurized, gamey and flavorful, each bite is like teleporting to a simpler life.

I Miss It Bad

So for the next 4 months, I will be writing with a hungry heart. Dedicated to a diet challenge (influenced by a wake up call from my doctor) I will be abstaining from pretty much everything I love to eat. Now, I am not complaining, but I have experienced a phenomenon. I cook at the shop two nights a week. This is in addition to the other responsibilities I hold there. During those nights in the kitchen, I had developed a tolerance to the wonderful smoked BBQ that we pump out, it was not as appealing as it had been in the past.

But absence makes the heart grow fonder. Just as a blind person's other senses become heightened, I began to notice each cut of meat as it cam out of the smoker. The pork, the brisket, the shanks...the bacon! Oh the bacon! Double smoked, thick cut bacon that I never really paid attention to. It emerged from the smoker with a waft of sweet, glazed ham essence, calling me to grab a taste. I held firm, knowing that if I broke just a little, it would be all over. So now I count the days, the weeks, the months, until I can experience what I had taken for granted for so long.

Trial..and Error

I had the opportunity to taste the new Doritos Locos Taco from Taco Bell, and while I am partial to the delicious pulled pork tacos from 3BROS, I did my best to base my opinion upon my love of the bell alone. I can sum it up in one word...gimmick. All of my expectations led to disappointment as I took that first bite. The shell delivered on the orange finger phenomenon that results from consuming Doritos, but when it came to taste, I would have been better off adding crumbled chips as a topping. Believe me, I would have considered developing a Doritos taco shell to hold my BBQ taco contents as a test run, but if this is the best that a juggernaut like Taco Bell can offer, there is very little that I can see to warrant a venture down that road.

Hot Damn That Is Some Lamb

The Easters are over, and I am sad to say that with the exception of some exceptional rack that my brother made, I did not get nearly enough lamb. For the most part, I regard holiday meals with a hearty "meh," including those prepared by my very talented mother. I can live without Thanksgiving turkey forever, I hate lasagna, and baked ham reminds me of Don Ho. However, there are two exceptions to this rule. One is the Christmas Eve feast of the seven fishes. Admittedly, I don't adhere to the seven fish thing and it is usually an excuse to gorge on my favorite seafood delicacies. The other exception to holiday food boredom is lamb. Studded with garlic and Parmesan like my mother makes it, whole roasted like my Greek friends prepare or anyway it comes to me, I love the gamey rustic flavor of it. This year I didn't get enough, struck down with a stomach flu, I was forced to observe as the holiday roast was slowly consumed over the course of the week. I didn't even get any for Greek Easter. Good thing about not caring about holiday meals though, I think I will declare this weekend "Joe's Easter" and prepare a leg of lamb for myself.

Baseball Swings Into Town

Sports have been good to us this year, the Giants winning the Superbowl, Jeremy Lin reigniting the Knicks and the Rangers storming into the NHL playoffs. And now baseball is back, with the Mets fielding a team full of questions and the Yankees rolling out a team of veterans that may be looking for their last hoorah. Unlike the drama surrounding the other New York sports teams, baseball seems mild, and it is promising to be a long season of blah. But not for the shop...if it is anything like last year, good times are guaranteed. Barbecue and the butcher shop are tailor fit for baseball, whether it means grabbing a bite on the way to the Stadium or Citi Field, celebrating on Bell after a win or setting up the grill at home. One thing is for sure, baseball season is good for families and friends, fathers and sons (or daughters) and neighborhoods to get together to enjoy good food and our national past time.

Yup It's An Edsel!

Caught sight of this at one of my favorite restaurants, Major's Steakhouse, in Woodbury. I snapped off some photos and promptly sent one to my dad. To my surprise, he didn't recognize it. Chalk it up to his ancient phone if you will, but the fact remains that even with infamy, a brand that dies disappears from people's minds. For any business owner who cherishes their legacy (and most do, given the fact that most are not still in it for the money) should take this lesson. You can do everything right...or so you think, and end up doing everything wrong, vanishing in the process. I pondered this as I enjoyed my ribeye steak, thinking of my own shop and legacy.

Autism Awareness Now

Everyone should be aware that April is Autism Awareness Month. My wife and I have both been touched by autism through work and through family. It is critical that we come together as a community to fund research and awareness campaigns to support the children, adults and families that are affected my this disorder. Realizing that in lieu of a cure, therapy, especially early intervention therapy, is critical to helping children who are on the spectrum lead more enriched lives. Education, awareness and fundraising can only be accomplished with the participation of communities and organizations.

Umami Burger Test Run

I love umami. This otherworldly flavor experience that stems from glutamate rich foods is a taste that I can't get enough of. So while reading about Umami Burger in California, I had to give it a try. Our burger meat is ground daily, providing a perfect foundation for my experiment. A quick search on the internet provided the recipe and I was on my way. As I added fish sauce and truffle oil  to my burger and ketchup, I kept thinking.. "No way this will fly in Bayside." So I was making it for myself, good enough. Topped with a Parmigiana Reggiano wafer, and this was a knockout. I am anxious to try the real thing when I get a chance.

My Kind of Whopper

Ft Lauderdale, circa 2008. I was too drunk to remember the name of the restaurant. All I know is that I ordered a six pound lobster. I was celebrating life with my best friend and future wife and decided that you only live once. Sure I felt bad about eating this old beast, and yes, I did feel guilty when I ruined everyone's meal by upstaging their 1.5 - 2 pounders. But I have to tell you, it didn't stop us from enjoying the heck out of that lobster. I think we ate lobster salad sandwiches for breakfast for three days after.

Vindication

Giants advanced today, thrashing the Atlanta Falcons in true blue form. Running the ball like Giants teams of years gone by, it was a pleasure to watch while eating reheated sausage and peppers from the comfort of my brothers couch. The last time the Giants were in the playoffs, my brother and I were at the game. Great tailgating, old stadium, interview by NY1 and ultimately a loss. So this time around, the humble simplicity of starting the day barbecuing for business, then running to a tv to catch the game was a blue collar return to basics, just like the game plan that produced the win. Next week is Rodgers and the Packers, slightly reminiscent of 2008, I can't help but feel superstitiously optimistic.

A Little Change

I decided to change the focus of this blog. Although I love blogging about Barbecue and my shop, it has become obvious that I need to loosen up the content a bit. Spreading out my contributions will hopefully lead to more posts. Plus what better place to deposit the random crap that I stumble upon. So the first few new entries may be some old bits of interest that I have in my archives. They may be a couple of weeks old, they may be a couple of years old. Either way, they were interesting at one point, and needed to be noted by me.