Oysters

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Nicole Delengos

This past weekend my family and I, went for a mini getaway to Atlantic City for the weekend. Once we arrived, we were all so hungry so we rushed to the first restaurant we came across. This restaurant was called Izakaya, and it had a modern Japanese cuisine. We were seated and one by one we began to order. When it was my mom’s turn to order she asked for oysters, I immediately looked at her like she had ten heads. I had never seen my mother order or eat oysters, and I had no idea she even liked oysters. When the waiter brought the oysters out my first response was “Oh my god these are gross”. Theses oysters looked so slimy that I was skeeved out just by looking at them. As gross as they seemed, in the back of my head I kept hearing Dr. Smith’s voice saying how delicious oysters are. My parents and siblings were begging me to try them a images nd so I finally gave in. I was so confused as to how one eats Oysters. So I decided to use a fork instead of slurping it out of the shell, yes I was the only one in the whole restaurant using a fork to eat oysters. After trying oysters for the first time, I could not believe how good they tasted. I’m happy I was open to trying them and learning how delicious they are. I forgot to take a picture of the actual oysters I ate, but I found an image that looks exactly like them. I highly recommend anyone who has not tried oysters to go out and order some and give it a shot because I can guarantee you will love them.

Food Cues at a Halloween Festival

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Angelika Paczkowski

A few days before Halloween, I was able to experience the Halloween Festival sponsored by The Polish And Slavic Center located in Greenpoint. This festival took place on Manhattan Ave and was many streets in length. Th Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 11.45.03 AM e Halloween festival had many stands that sold a variety of stuff, including food, beverages, toys, clothes, bedding, and a multitude of little knick-nacks. There were also plenty of games and performers that allowed the children of the community to participate.

The food stands in the Halloween festival sold different cultural foods. Some of the cultures represented were Spanish, Polish, Jamaican and Italian. Yet, the festival included a lot of deep-fried American favorites such as funnel cakes, fried Oreos, fried pickles and churros. There was an enormous presence of food in this Halloween Festival. Spices and sugary treats were also available for purchase.

There were plenty of food cues in this Halloween Festival. Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 11.56.38 AM All of the different stands created their own aroma. All of these various smells drifted into the center of the avenue where the crowds of people were located. These smells influenced the people to become interested and attracted tot he different foods that were being sold. The various stands with vibrant colorful signs caught the attention of the community. There was one food cue that influenced me to buy a cold, refreshing lemonade. I enjoyed the Halloween Festival in Greenpoint and I am interested to see what other events the Polish and Slavic Center coordinates.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Shannon Bailey

One of the most interesting things I’ve seen lately was the documentary, “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”. It is about the life and work of a sushi chef in Japan. Jiro Ono is the owner and head chef of Sukiyabashi Jiro, one of the highest rated restaurants in the world.

Jiro Ono in front of his restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro.

The Michelin Guide awarded the restaurant 3 starts. What makes Jiro’s restaurant so unique is that it a very small place, but it sticks to the discipline that it needs to in order to provide the best product to their customers.The dedication to detail and to upholding their standards is inspirational. These sushi chefs spend years of their life and many early mornings working hard to please their teacher, Jiro. Before they create some of the best sushi in the world, they must learn from the man who does it best. The first few months of their apprenticeship is spent cleaning the kitchen and doing everything possible to stay in Jiro’s good graces.

Daisuke Nakazawa

At four months, you may be allowed to handle fish, or take care of preparation in the kitchen. After about five years, the apprentice moves up to working behind the sushi bar, assisting the other chefs, assuming they have proven their ability. For Daisuke Nakazawa, this process seemed as if it was taking forever. He was set with the task of mastering the preparation of tamagoyaki or, “grilled egg” which is a type of Japanese omelette made by rolling several layers of cooked egg. Occasionally they include shrimp puree or grated yam. Nancy Leson of the The Seattle Times reports that, “under the stern eye of Jiro Ono: months of failure, 200 rejections and, finally, approval.”

Below is a small clip from the documentary that I couldn’t figure out how to embed on to this post.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFP5xD2l3ro

In the documentary we also see Jiro’s oldest son, Yoshikazu, travel to the fish market. This is a process that takes place every day in order to make sure that the ingredients are fresh. When watching this documentary you learn all about the Japanese fish market, as well as the way in which they find the best fish. As they go though the market, they talk to each of their vendors. These are individuals which Jiro has deemed masters in their field. The most impressive thing to me was that the process of buying tuna is set up as an auction. Although I couldn’t understand what they were saying some of the time, it was interesting to hear the men who were in charge call out numbers and write down names as if they were trying to auction off an antique lamp.With the best fish their vendors could find, Jiro makes the night’s menu based off of what was available that morning.

I recommend this documentary because it is interesting to see how one of the best restaurants operates. It is available on Netflix and the running time is 1hr 23min. Do you have what it takes to work for Jiro Ono? I sure don’t.

Shannon Bailey

Sunset Park

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Nicole Delengos

This past week my two teammates, Olivia and Vincent, and I visited Sunset Park for our neighborhood project. Living in Bay Ridge I’ve been to Sunset Park many times, but I never actually paid attention to my surroundings. I was too busy screaming and yelling about all the traffic. Sunset Park is located between Bay Ridge and Gowanus. This neighborhood is home to a large Chinese population. From visiting this area, I realized it is extremely overpopulated and congested but what I found most interesting is that the people living there had no problem with this issue, it seemed normal to them. They had their cars double parked, and corners were overpacked; you could barely move. Besides all of these negative aspects, there were many positives. Chinatown is filled with a variety of food stands with fresh fruit and goods. These food stands were mainly on corners and outside that caused this congestion. Reading before visiting Sunset Park, I read that Chinatown is famous for its dumplings. Thanks to Dr. Nolan, he recommended a Chinese restaurant that served delicious dumplings. Once we reached the restaurant, I was a bit unsure. The restaurant from the outside did not seem very appealing. We proceeded inside and ordered dumplings. I was amazed as
to how delicious these dumplings tasted. They were so fresh and hot. It was an enjoyable experience visiting a new neighborhood and seeing how one culture can dominate an
area. I’m excited to visit Sunset Park again and learn more.

Ethiopian food in NYC

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Amanda Akaliza

My mother lives in Eritrea a country that broke off from Ethiopia in the 1900s due to political issues and a few cultural differences. But although the two countries are no longer together they still share the same kinds of foods one of which is a dish called Injera, a large flat sourdough made from fermented teff flour, its around 20 inches in length and it is in a round shape. There are different types of sauces and vegetables on can add to it to give the dough a better taste such as cubed meat with a sweet kind of curry sauce or spicy thick meat sauce with egg. I personally love to eat the spicy sauce and meat whenever i go to see her and that is exactly what I went looking for in the streets of Manhattan. So, this weekend I spent sometime with a family member trying to find a good Ethiopian restaurant and we did, it is called Zoma, located on Fredrick Douglas blvd, a warm intimate restaurant that serves delicious injera. injera What i loved about this restaurant is that they used the same ingredients from home with very little genetically modified ingredients. And the services were quick and the people spent very little time on one table when they served. And comparing the services in America to the services I received in Eritrea was quite interesting. I noticed that, because Eritrea is a laid back country with people who appreciate taking their time, waiting for a dish will take up to 30 to 45 mins. Where as in Manhattan, where things happen at a fast pace the serves, although they are native Eritreans or Ethiopian, they brought in their dishes within 15 mins or less. So i noticed the cultural change just from the way i was being served. However, no matter how fast or how slow the food was coming I admired how the chef still stuck to his roots while making the dish, if i tasted both dishes, from Eritrea or Ethiopia and Manhattan I would not be able to tell the difference, the people themselves may change but the dish still remains the same.

Dining Hall

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Jessica Aletta

For the First time in about a month my friends and I went to Dining Hall to eat at dinner time. We never get to do this because we usually have practice until late at night when dining is closed. While at dining I looked for habits of people just like we discussed in psychology class. I also thought about what i do when I am in dining hall and where i go first and last. There are many different routes to many different stations that people take when in dining hall.

The first thing i go to when i am in dining hall is to get my drink and look at the line for the sandwich station. If it is too long of a line i will not wait to get a sandwich i will move to the salad station and the main station with the main courses but i did not waste my time at the sandwich station because i got my drink when over there. My last option if I don’t find anything is the hot station but that is my last option.

I find my own choices interesting because i try not to waste energy from going to stations that i won’t obtain anything from. I try to get energy back from all the stations i visit. This is why I go to the hot station last because it waste the most energy going there because we never sit by that side of the cafeteria. This goes back to psychology class because we talked about how people do not like to expend more energy than they are going to get back from the food. This is not just for walking around and how far each station is but also how much energy you are going to waste in the sandwich line as well. I noticed many people grabbed something at the station they were at never really walking away form a station empty handed. Many people act the same way in dining hall just as I do.

Trip to Astoria

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Ilana Levich

This past weekend my group and I visited Astoria, Queens. We didn’t really know what to expect driving into the neighborhood because we have heard and researched so many mixed reviews about it. However, we were definitely taken back while exploring all the different cuisines, beer gardens, and amenities that Astoria had to offer.

Before coming to Astoria we had researched that there was a scarcity of garbage disposals and trash cans in the neighborhood. While driving down 24th Ave, we noticed that between 31st and 26th street there were less than about 5 trash cans spreading across those 5 blocks. We were appalled by that how such a lively neighborhood and street can have such little waste disposal. Due to this, it contributed to the littering that took over the streets. But what struck me most wasn’t the power plant, or the littering, or the projects that we saw, but the vast variety of cuisine that was offered in the neighborhood. In just one block we saw a French and Italian bakery, a Greek restaurant, and much more. During our visit, we decided to stop by a little greek restaurant called BZ Grill. We read reviews about it which stated that this is the most authentic and delicious greek food in the whole neighborhood – and it definitely lived up to its word.

This is what BZ Grill looks like.

Its a very small place that has about 4 tables inside. The kitchen is right outside for all the customers to see and the meat is fresh and cooked right in front of you.

It was crazy to see that this lamb was cooked and roasted on the skewers right in front of all the customers. My group and I decided to order gyros along with Greek fries that had feta cheese on them. To say that the meal was delicious would be an understatement. It’s safe to say that it was probably the most authentic Greek food I have ever indulged in.

Flushing, Queens

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Ariana Gargano

When I first got to Flushing, I did not realize how big this part of Queens was. I started out on main street where it is mostly Chinese immigrants that populated the area. Everything was in Chinese, the signs, menus, prices and the writing on the products. The thing I found most interesting about this area of Flushing was the stand of all different kinds of food, hot food, fast food, fruits, vegetables, fish and meats and a lot of things that I have never seen before. One of the mini supermarkets that I went to on Main Street had an enormous variety of Chinese candies mostly hard candies and chewable candies like starbursts shaped and flavored all differently. The drinks were even foreign to me, mostly the types of soda. The soda sold in the markets along main street and the Hong Kong supermarket are not like coca cola or sprite the colors of the drinks are even unique, there was bright green, purple, red, pink in thick glass bottles that had this little ball in the cap that had to be pushed through into the bottle so it could become carbonated. The food was not entirely strange to me. A lot of the Chinese food was the common things we see in Chinese restaurants around Staten Island, but there were a lot of things I did not recognize. The different kinds of fish cooked in various ways I have never seen before was this fish I saw at a street vendor was the whole fish just grilled on a stick.

Ten minutes away from Main Street, Flushing turns into an entirely different place. By Kissena Blvd, it becomes populated with Jewish families and a lot of Muslims. Around this area, there are only about three supermarkets that sell fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats. Compared to Main Street there were markets that sold all different kinds of food everywhere. This part of Queens had mostly fast food places to eat with a couple pizzerias, one of which I went to called Valentino’s and a lot of food stands and restaurants that sold Hallah food because the area was highly populated with Muslim families. Another thing I found most interesting was the parks; there are tons of parks by Kissena Blvd. The people who live in this area hang out in the parks more often then people in my neighborhood of Huguenot does with a park being right down the block from my house. The park was crowded with all different kinds of people; some people seemed like they were just talking a walk through the park if they had nothing to do. I asked people in the parks if they had any other information about Main Street, but they all said the same thing “it’s full of Chinese people” and that’s all they had to say. One thing I found funny was that one person told me they call the area where Main Street is “chino main” because of all these Chinese people and that you can only buy Chinese food and products there.

“Best Gyro In New York City” ?

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Kathleen Leavey

This weekend while touring Astoria, Queens, my group and were immersed by many different cultures and cuisines. Since most of the population of Astoria is predominantly Greek, we felt it was imperative to visit a Greek Restaurant. We have never been to Astoria, so we were unsure of where to stop; however since there was such an abundance of restaurants, we stopped at the closest one. One that claimed they had the “Best Gyro In New York.”

I have always been a fan of Green food so I was very excited to try it. When we walked into the BZ Grill, it was a very small place, but smelled delicious. The first thing we noticed were large pieces of meat on a stick in which the chef was shaving meat off of. When we sat down my friends and I all ordered different types of gyros: chicken, kebab, and pork. We saw a plate of french fries also pass our table so of course, we were prompted to order an order of those as well.

Greek french fries

When I first tried my gyro I thought it was really delicious. I have not had too many gyros in my life but it was definitely comparable to ones I have eaten and enjoyed in the past. The one I had contained pork, tzatziki sauce, and vegetables. The french fries we ordered were a non traditional type: Greek french fries. These fries had feta cheese and oregano on top of them, which was very delicious.

Gyro from BZ Grill in Astoria, Queens

Although this small restaurant claimed to have the “Best Gyro In New York,” I would definitely have to say that even after trying this, my favorite Greek restaurant is in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn called Spartan Souvlaki. I have been going to this restaurant ever since I was a child with my family and we always order the same exact thing every time we go: a gyro meat platter with extra tzatziki sauce and pita bread on the side.

Student Athlete

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Maria D'Amico

For my Oral Tradition and Readers Theatre class I wrote a speech about being a college student-athlete. In this speech I touched upon the things I eat throughout my extremely busy days when I have class (Monday- Thursday). Usually in between classes I grab a bar to replace a meal and hold me over. I usually switch from different brands of bars every once in a while just to switch it up a little bit and not get sick of the same thing everyday. This past week I have been eating “KIND Healthy Grains” bars. These are small 35g bars unnamed-1 that are supposed to replace my appetite and “hold me over” until I can eat a meal. Little did I know, the bars have too much saturated fat in order for them to be considered “healthy”. The bars reportedly have 1.5g (8%) Saturated Fat. I thought I was eating “healthy” foods that were low in fat the whole time, meanwhile, I was wrong. This can go along with the topic of the “Freshmen 15” an unnamed d how it is also false and mislabeled similar to KIND bars.

Citizen Appetites

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