New York

Food & Drink
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05/20/13 3:00pm

Potala Fresh Momo: Tibetan Food Cart in Jackson Heights, Queens

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New York
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Cart_Potala Fresh Momo_Jackson Heights_New York_Untapped Cities_Matthew Dorian Corbin

The momo, the Tibetan dumpling, could be considered the unofficial “spokesfood” of Tibetan Cuisine. You might feel inclined to dismiss these as merely ubiquitous dumplings within our fine metropolis but the difference is in the details.

Taking its name from Potala Palace, former home of the Dalai Lamas of Tibet, Potala Fresh Momo in Jackson Heights, Queens is a symbol of the fairly recent rapid influx of Tibetan, Nepalese and Himalayan people making the cultural blend even more complex. It’s one thing to see a sit-down restaurant in an area, but when something as casual as a food cart appears, you know that the culture has a stronghold in the neighborhood.  (more…)

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05/17/13 2:00pm

Smorgasburg’s Culinary Delights

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Food & Drink, New York
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smorgasburg brooklyn bridge park

Brought to you by the same people who run Brooklyn Flea, Smorgasburg, is a gastronomic delight. Smorgasburg is open, rain or shine, from 11:00AM to 6:00PM on Saturdays, in East River State Park (Kent Ave. and N. 7 St. on the Williamsburg waterfront), and on Sundays it is located in the Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The vendors feature packaged and prepared foods, beverages, and more from purveyors from New York City and across the region, for a total of 75-100 vendors. We recently interviewed Jonathan Butler and Eric Demby, the creative minds behind Smorgasburg.

Below are a sample of the artisinal (and hipster) culinary delights that await you at Smorgasburg:  (more…)

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05/17/13 1:00pm

The Transformation of the Upper West Side: From Food Desert to Food Destination

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Food & Drink, New York
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Jacob's Pickles

Back when New York was the Naked City with 8 million stories, the Upper West Side was a food desert. Sure, giants walked the earth—Isaac Bashevis Singer, Duke Ellington, Hannah Arendt, and many more—but they mostly ate in dingy diners (exception: Barney Greengrass) or, if they wanted a decent meal, sprang for an expensive cab ride to a better neighborhood.

Today, New York has some 8.25 million people and the Upper West has renowned restaurants of just about every type and for every income level. The industry has become so successful that it is able to support a remarkable food festival—New Taste of the Upper West Side—sponsored by the Columbus Avenue BID.  (more…)

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Food & Drink
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05/13/13 3:00pm

Nocturnal Halal Mania: The Halal Guys’ Reign of Lamb and Chicken

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New York
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Exterior_The Halal Guys_Midtown New York_Untapped Cites_Matthew Dorian Corbin

The Halal Guys, alternately known as 53rd and 6th Halal Cart has had a lot of buzz about the sheer amount of food you get for your money, balanced by its quality. It’s located in a part of midtown associated with children screaming outside of Carnagie Hall and sickly horses carrying people who learned intimacy from movies starring Matt LeBlanc.

Halal is the word in Arabic for that which is permissible in Islam to consume. (more…)

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Food & Drink
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05/07/13 2:00pm

First NYC Public School With Only Vegetarian Lunch

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New York
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Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott and student Arianna Francisco have a vegetarian meal together on Tuesday at PS 244. Photo credit: NY Daily News.

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott and student Arianna Francisco enjoy a vegetarian lunch at PS 244. Photo credit: Kendall Rodriguez.

The United States might be the country with the highest number of obese people, and especially children are increasingly concerned, but it is definitely also the country with the most innovative ideas to resolve that problem. Healthy nutrition has been a priority for the Obama government. More locally, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is known as a fervent supporter of more or less aggressive health policies, his latest controversial decision being the ban of soda drinks. So it is almost no surprise that this week the first all vegetarian school lunches have been introduced in the U.S., more precisely at PS 244 in Flushing, Queens.

(more…)

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Food & Drink
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05/06/13 3:00pm

True Street Meat: Xinjiang Barbecue in Flushing

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New York
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Cart_Xinjiang BBQ Carts_Flushing New York_Untapped Cities_Matthew Dorian Corbin_new

Traditional Xinjiang Barbecue is the original and most popular of five Xinjiang BBQ carts in Flushing. The location on the corner of 41st and Kissena is prime too. Protip: within 100 feet: $40 RX eyeglass lenses, massive library, Kung Fu bubble tea, last remaining Irish pub.

Charcoal_Xinjiang BBQ Carts_Flushing New York_Untapped Cities_Matthew Dorian Corbin_new

Don’t be scared. All those who operate these BBQ carts in the area wear those spooky nameless-killer-from-late ’80s-Japanese-low-budget-torture-film doctor masks. What do you want from them? They’re standing over charcoal all day. Real charcoal.

Unlike a typical food cart griddle, which would sear everything into a single compressed layer, the hardwood charcoal doesn’t come in direct contact with the meat, so it’s slower cooking. The smoke brings the juices out and some drips onto the coals creating a second smoke specific to the meat, which really seals over the spice mix (which we’ll talk about in a moment) without really forcing it.  (more…)

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