Food just tastes better when it’s made outside

I was recently paid a visit by my friend Sami from LA. Like any good tour guide I immediately made a list of NYC’s must eats. It was a week of gluttony and mayhem. While I will not bore you with all the mundane details of our eating I will share with you the highlights.

Our first stop- Frankies 17 in the LES. It remains the only place I know of in New York City where you can get authentic Italian food for a decent price. Once taken here on a date on which I became embarrassingly drunk off of two glasses of wine, I returned to Frankies in hopes of reclaiming my dignity and more importantly, to reacquaint myself with its delicious cuisine. I ordered the sweet potato ravioli, which was smothered in what I can only describe as a heavenly butter sauce. I asked the waitress to refill our bread twice just so I could sop up the drippings. The only thing preventing me from slurping the sauce as if it were cereal milk was the couple sitting in the corner on what I assume was a romantic date. Sami had the sausage and peppers over polenta. I should probably mention, until Frankie’s Sami’s only understanding of Italian food consisted of Olive Garden, something I hoped to remedy during his trip to NYC. Within his first bite I knew Frankies had changed forever Sami’s understanding of Italian food. The smile on his face when he spooned the first bite of sausage, though he not a red meat or pork eater, was priceless. Even more adorable was that he waited until he was halfway done with his meal to ask me- what is polenta and where is it in the dish? All in all, it was a successful introduction to Italian food and the city.

Sadly, not all of our meals were successful. Insisted upon by a friend of Sami’s, we checked out a newly opened douchery (Douche+ eatery) in SoHo. I knew it was going to be a terrible eating experience the minute we stepped inside, for as we entered who should be leaving but Kelly from NYC Real Housewives. A woman whose palate I’m sure is completely depleted from years of cocaine and meth. The décor is what I have come to coin as “urban rustic.” Think exposed wood, giving the place a natural or rustic feel, with metal tables to provide a clean, almost sterile minimalist aesthetic and thus achieving an urban quality. Throw in a few taxiderms, dim lighting, and you have yourself your own urban rustic eatery. There is little more to say about this place except to caution, unless you crave overpriced cafeteria slop posing as chic comfort food, avoid the urban rustic scene altogether.

This takes us to my number one epiphany from the week of gluttony which is- food tastes better when it’s outside. I have lived in Brooklyn for 2 almost 3 years now and have only recently discovered the Brooklyn Flea. Open every Saturday it features amazing artisans and food vendors. Though there is not a wide selection of food, I for one prefer quality over quantity. For what is there is some of the best Mexican food I have had in the city and I’m FROM CALIFORNIA, I know good Mexican. The food is cheap and the line to get it is long which tells you I’m not alone in my admiration. I had two spicy pork tacos on corn tortillas with the works. Sami had a Mexican dish neither of us had ever heard of but was big, tasty, and $5. What more can one ask for? Next to the Mexican stand is a Pupusaria. Pupusas are an El Salvadorian food I have never tried but desperately want to sample. Every culture has some form of stuffed fried food, the dumpling, ravioli, pierogi, samosa, I have yet to meet one I don’t love. If there had not been a monsterous line and I starving, it would have been fair game. Sadly, the pupsa will have to wait until next Saturday.

Either way, I decided that eating food that was made in the outdoors, even if it is a school basketball court because hey it’s Brooklyn; just makes food better. It was cold and the wind was blowing food into my hair but none of this mattered because it was cheap and it was damn GOOD! As anyone who loves to barbecue can attest, the ability to simply watch the food you are about to eat be prepared in front of you is priceless and only adds to the flavor. With this I will say, go to the Brooklyn Flea before it gets too cold, you won’t be disappointed. Maybe I’ll see you there.