Today’s post is not about a restaurant, but it IS about a dish that all restaurants should have. I dont care if its a soul food, spanish, korean, japanese, chinese or indian restaurant. I think every restaurant should have guacamole on the appetizer menu. But only if they make it right! Dont be trying to be creative and throwing dubs on it! Putting curry, squid, chocolate chips, or grapenuts or whatever the hell your creative/evil mind can think up.
Guacamole is essential to ANY party or gathering, especially a gathering that I’m attending! It’s more important to me than drinks. But thats probably because Im not a drinker. I dont drink, I EAT! I think people who know Im coming to their party should make a separate bowl of guacamole just for me and then make another bowl for everyone else! I can eat it all day! Just give me some chips and a bowl of guac and Im good to go! My mom doesnt even wait for the chips! She eats it with a spoon! and you think I’M WEIRD!
Everyone should know how to make guacamole! Its the easiest, tastiest thing to make! It requires no cooking and can be made in 5 minutes or less depending on how sharp your knife is! The most important thing about guacamole is the avocado! If you dont know how to pick your avocado, that’s a disaster waiting to happen! I learned that the hard way, when I tried to mash it and the fork bent!
So below check out this cool youtube video of Chef Jason Hill telling you everything you need to know about making guacamole! Check out the tip at the end about leaving the pit in! WHO KNEW!? Also, my own personal tip, dont put too much cilantro! Im cool with leaving it out all together but thats just ME! Too much cilantro can ruin any dish!
Now, get ready to be the QUEEEEEEN PARTY PLANNER (how YOU doin!). You can have a hit party! All you need is some six packs, a giant bowl of guacamole, some chips and dance dance revolution and youre good to go! (Hey! I never said I wasnt dorky!)
Whoever says living in the hood is a bad thing has been misinformed. Sure there may be a shoot out here, or a robbery there. But if there has never been a shooting or a robbery in or near your New York City neighborhood, RAISE YOUR HAND! Yeah…thats what I thought. EVERYONE who lives in New York City, lives in the ghetto! lol Some neighborhoods are better than others. But I’ve learned the better the neighborhood, the worse the food and there is NO BETTER PLACE to grab a bite to eat than the good ole hood.
Not only is the food about half the price as foods in fancier areas, but the food is also more delicious because it has an authentic “home cooked” taste. Most of the ethnic restaurants in inner city neighborhoods are family owned and operated. Therefore when you walk into their store its like walking into their home (Minus the bad ass kids and drunk uncle. Oh who am I kidding sometimes theyre there too!).
One of my favorite spots to go to is Bed Stuy Fish Fry! Theres nothing better than a crispy piece of fried fish right out of the oil! You havent had a fish sandwich until youve had a whiting sandwich! And Im not talking about the fried whiting sandwiches that they make at the fish market. Thats not a REAL fish sandwich! The difference between these sandwiches is, the fish from the fish market is fried with boxed seasoning. The fish from an authentic soul food restaurant is seasoned with their own mixture of spices and seasoning salts! You can definitely taste the difference. In addition to the fried fish sandwiches they have a full menu that will test your willpower! When I go in there I have to fight myself not to order ONE OF EACH!
Luckily, they have a fish and shrimp combo. For only $6.50 you’ll 3 pieces of fried whiting and 6 shrimp and thats a MINI combo! In the full sized combos, they give you so much food its enough for 2 or even 3 meals! The picture above was taken of my food after I ate enough to fill me up. Their shrimp are fresh and crispy, and they add something extra to them that gives a tiny hint of sweetness that makes you grin every time you take a bite.
Their seasoned fries are magic! I say this because these are the only fries that Ive ever had that can be reheated and still taste good and have a good texture. HOW DO THEY DO THAT?! And dont let the name “Bed Stuy Fish Fry” fool you! That may be their specialty but thats not all they have. If you like Mac & Cheese, Collard Greens, Baked Chicken and Peach Cobbler, you’re in luck! Sometimes I order things I dont even want because I know that I will want it later (and by things I mean Peach Cobbler). If you EVER see peach cobbler, just get it! You want it, even if you dont know it at the time. *Chronicles of a fatty*
If you dont live in the hood, you wont have fish like this within walking distance! All you’ll have to go to A Salt and Battery. Thats not REAL fried fish! I went to A Salt and Battery and they didnt even know what Old Bay seasoning was! It tasted like fast food. How can you call yourself a seafood restaurant if you dont even know of Old Bay!? They ought to be ashamed of themselves!
The only disappointment I have with Bed Stuy Fish Fry are their chicken wings. I bought an order of fried hot wings from there and thats just what it was. HOT WINGS! Like the hot wings you get from the Arab Chicken place. I LOVE hot wings from the chicken place, but when I order chicken wings from a Soul Food restaurant, I want SOUL FOOD CHICKEN! WITH SOUL FOOD SEASONINGS! NOT NO DAMN MAMA’S FRIED CHICKEN HOTWINGS! GET IT TOGETHER! Thats like going to a mexican restaurant for tacos and they give you some Taco Bell! WTF!? But since all of their other food that i’ve had is great I will let them slide.
As far as the atmosphere. It’s cool. They keep it clean. It’s kinda cute inside and you can tell theyre trying to make it “to-stay friendly” but it’s a small place. You can sit in there and eat if you dont mind traffic. There are people going in and out all the time, and though they have a couple of nice tables, chairs and a counter with stools, to me its not really a sit down restaurant. Theres no wait staff. You order your own food and pick it up from the counter. One incentive to get your food to stay is that they have a nice flat screen tv that plays VH1 Soul! Thats a plus in my book! But you dont have to stay, you dont even have to GO because they deliver! Thats a rarity in Soul Food Restaurants! So lets give them a round of applause! And they actually show up within a reasonable amount of time!
So if youre a Bed Stuy resident, or frequent the area lets show our support and keep the business coming! We need places like this in our lives.
SoHo is a great place to go for shopping. Lots of great boutiques and stores…clothes and shoes galore! Its not really a place to spend extended periods of time. You get in, buy your stuff and get out(unless you’re rich)! I mean…what if you get hungry!??? At first glance, there isnt really much to choose from aside from a deli or two a self serve bar (some people find those sketchy), a couple of fast food restaurants, and a bunch of places that are way too expensive to get lunch from every day. In other words, if you work in the SoHo area, and you like GOOD food, you’re screwed! Well, you WERE until you met me!
I was walking down Lafayette one day and I walked through the unmistakable aroma of home cooked spanish food. I had to stop in my tracks! I mean this was SoHo! Home of the fancy. I had to figure out where this smell was coming from. Something smelling this good must cost a million dollars! But I had to investigate. So I “Toucan Sammed” it up the block and stumbled upon this raggedy door in a graffiti adorned brick wall beside a steamed up window! The smell was coming from in there! So being the adventurous person that I am, I ventured inside.
THAT PLACE IS HEAVEN!!!! (disguised as HELL!)
If you close your eyes you smell the aromas of baked chicken, fried pork chops (my favorite!), beef stew, roast pork, rice (white, yellow and brown) and beans (black and red), and all of the spanish seasonings you might smell when walking the the streets of Bushwick or Spanish Harlem! When you open your eyes, you see what looks like a former dark alley, dolled up (and I use that term loosely) with stoves and a counter! That place is a hot ghetto mess and I LOVE IT! The food is some of the best spanish food I’ve ever had! The rice is fluffy, the beans are smooth and well seasoned, the pork chops melt in your mouth and the ONIONS! Dont forget the onions! I have waited an extra half hour for my food just to get the onions. Theyre not just onions, theyre an EXPERIENCE! Marinated in some kind of secret dressing seasoned with what I believe is vinegar, and light flakes of cilantro. Those onions are so good that I have scheduled my whole lunch break around them. For some reason theyre not always there. The guy who makes them, doesnt make them until 1 oclock. WTF! That taught me not to go to lunch at 12:30.
The line is usually so long, that everyone doesnt even fit into the store. It trails out of the door onto the sidewalk and almost into the street. Luckily they have a system! So the line moves fast. A large tray of food is only 7 dollars and you can get whatever you want! Mix and match! If it fits, you can get it! Theres no set MENU that you have to stick to! Ive actually seen people get their dishes piled high with ox tails, rice and beans, spaghetti, chicken, and plantains all on one plate (ew I know)…but I just love the fact that you can be creative there. Dont worry if you dont know what some of the foods are called. Most of the food is on display (behind glass of course) so you can just point to what you want. They give you so much food that sometimes its enough for lunch AND dinner.
That is one of the best places to grab lunch if youre in the SoHo/Village area (even if youre NOT in SoHo! Thats what trains are for! When my company moved to midtown, I was tempted to hop on the subway to go there for lunch)! Just make sure you have somewhere to eat it. There is a counter that fits about 2 or 3 people during the lunch rush but its pretty cramped. Plus, that place is so shabby, you’d be better off eating on the subway. Dont get me wrong. Im not saying its dirty. They keep it very clean, its just BEAT UP! Why is it that the most beat up places have the best food?
Ive been to upscale restaurants that have three month waiting lists just to make a reservation…and nothing at those restaurants can even come CLOSE to comparing to the food Ive had at La Nueva Conquista. You dont have to starve in SoHo any more. You can have a home cooked meal EVERY DAY! But if I were you, I wouldnt eat there EVERY day, unless youre trying to get that rice & beans booty. Theres nothing wrong with that, but dont say I didnt warn you!
314 5th Ave., 2nd Fl
(between 31st St & 32nd St)
New York, NY 10001
(212) 221-2222 www.madforchicken.com
This is one of my new favorite places! Not only is the food good, but the atmosphere is really cool! Located in Korea Town, this place is one of NYC’s best kept secrets and I think maybe they prefer to keep it that way. You wont find this place if you dont know about it. Strangely enough, it’s always packed! Word of mouth is a powerful thing.
To get here, you have to go through the lobby of an office building, up a staircase to this blank door, then a big dude slides a window open and asks you “what’s the password?”. The password is BON CHON!
Just kidding. The password dude doesnt exist but thats the only thing missing. The place is so discreet it seems like you would need a password to get in.
Once youre in, its a really cute bar/lounge place with gorgeous wait staff and cool trendy people happily crunching on their Bon Chon Chicken. Bon Chon Chicken is Korean fried chicken…claimed to be twice fried to add to extra crispiness outside and moist juiciness inside! You can get either sweet garlic sauce or spicy hot sauce. I recommend the garlic if you actually want to taste your food. The spicy sauce is so hot it will singe your taste buds right off your tongue.
Prices are pretty reasonable! 14 bucks will provide a generous amount of chicken for 2 people possibly with a little extra chicken left over (but force yourself to eat the extra chicken. It doesnt taste the same if its left over..and its too good to let go to waste). They give you so much that you really dont need any side dishes. That chicken is so good, it almost makes you forget that side dishes even exist.
You can have a choice of wings, drum sticks or a combo of both. I prefer the wings because theyre more petite, and since theyre petite theyre much crispier. The drum sticks are a little too meaty for me.
This is a great place to go with a group of your friends for a fun filled evening with drinks and laughs, or cozy little date. They even have little rooms sectioned off for more intimate gatherings. One thing I will say about the service is make sure you eat before you get there because by the time your food comes, youll be hungry again. They take so long to bring your dinner, you’ll have to eat it for breakfast. With that said, its worth the wait! Just grab some drinks and some appetizers and have a good time! And while you’re at it, check out that weird beer contraption they have. Click here to see video
Aside from soul food, this is some of the best fried chicken you may ever have.
My only issue with this place is the name. “Mad for Chicken” is the stupidest most ghetto name I have ever heard. Maybe its translated, and sounds much better in Korean? I sure hope so. But honestly they need to change it back to Bon Chon. I read somewhere that they changed it because they felt people would have a hard time pronouncing “Bon Chon”. HUH? I know people are dumb..but they’re not THAT DUMB! The new name doesnt do it justice at all. Instead of a trendy bar/lounge, it makes it sound more like some fast food take out joint where the staff wears chicken suits.
