It’s 7:00 pm. I’ve just gotten off the train in Queens, and walk the 7 “short blocks” (as my real estate broker called it) to my apartment. In the rain. It’s the kind of rain that soaks your jeans so they cling cold to your legs. It’s raw. There’s a pool of backed-up drain water I awkwardly and unsuccessfully leap over. One side of my yellow umbrella feebly hangs slack due to a broken rib and sends a steady stream of water down the back of my new wool coat.
Labor day is only a few days away, and that means that lobster season is waning.
This summer, come the end of July, I was dying for a lobstah roll. I was on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard with my family and I had been appointed the duty of cooking dinner. I had no problem with this responsibility—ever since starting my new job, I had no real time to cook. One day, my dad and I were planning our epic annual sunset picnic on the western coast of the island, trying to think of a meal that didn’t require utensils. Then it hit us: homemade lobster rolls.
One of the most delicious way to prepare summer veggies is on the grill. Simply brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, skewer and grill until lightly charred. Nothing beats that smoky grill flavor on sweet squash. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and a glass of Albariño.
*Note: The vintagey feel to these photos is a tribute to the endlessly hilarious Weight Watchers recipe cards. Browse these when you’re feeling like a terrible cook.
Anyway. The eggplant. A vegetable that is inedible when raw, but divinely sweet and creamy when cooked. It’s one of those rare substitutes for meat (I think eggplant parmesan is superior to the chicken or even veal variety) and when roasted, sauteed, fried or even grilled, can round out a dish. But isn’t it weird looking? Let’s gawk for a moment:
Still to this day, I have never met anyone more adept at making fried eggplant than my grandma. It’s always crunchy and breaded to perfection, and never too oily. She recently shared two of her secrets with me: 1.) She peels the eggplant so the entire piece of fried eggplant is the same texture, and 2.) She uses smaller eggplants because they don’t have as many pesky seeds as the ginormous ones. Still knowing this information, I still can’t compete with my greasy and bland fried eggplant, so I’m using it in a different way: In a sauce, in the rustic Italian dish Pasta alla Norma.
My fellow intern at NYMag.com, Emily Watkins, has posted her picks for best St. Paddy’s Day drink specials, so I thought I’d share some not-so-traditional spins on the traditional corned beef and cabbage coming up in some restaurants around Manhattan. If you love lamb, BBQ, quesadillas, and pot stickers, you’ll love these interesting takes on corned beef and cabbage, all served only on St. Patrick’s Day.
Highpoint Bistro
216 7th Avenue S.
646-410-0120
The Twist: Corned Short Ribs with Braised Green Cabbage, Thumbelina Carrots, Butterball potatoes, Horseradish Creme Fraiche, Pickling Spice
Price: $19
Lyon
118 Greenwich Ave., nr. Jane St.
212-242-5966
www.lyonnyc.com
The Twist: Corned lamb with brussels sprouts and cabbage sauerkraut
Price: $25
*Will be served until Sunday, March 20th.
The Red Cat
227 10th Avenue
212)-42-1122
http://www.redcatrestaurants.com/
The Twist: Barbecue Corned Beef Sandwich on pumpernickel bread with gruyere and sautéed onions
Price: $14
Ruby Foo’s
1626 Broadway, nr. 49th St.
212-489-5600
The Twist: Corned beef and cabbage pot-stickers with chinese guinness mustard sauce
Price: $9
SouthWestNY
225 Liberty Street
212-945-0528
The Twist: Corned Beef Quesadilla, a rye tortilla filled with swiss cheese, sauerkraut and corned beef served with a chipotle Russian dressing with avocado and caraway scented crema
Price: $13.17
Becky enjoying ice cream, prepping us all for spring. I better get myself down to Sundaes & Cones.
Elise and Samantha lovin’ them some vegan cajun.
Which reminds me, Fat Tuesday is in a week! Maybe a recipe for Jambalaya is in order.
Photo: Nick Wolf
There’s my gal, looking beautiful while noshing on a slider at a Refinery 29 Oscars party at the W. If that’s not WENYC, I don’t know what is.
Eating in the face of fashion!
On another more terrifying note, I have discovered the likes of pro-anorexia blogs. These horrifying things do exactly the opposite of Women Eat NYC: encourage girls to NOT eat, to lose any trace of womanhood and vigor for life, and some even encourage death. Why hasn’t something so scary and so death-dealing been exposed and outraged? This is scary. It also breathes new life into this blog.
This is a call: ladies, send me some pictures of you or your wonderful friends enjoying some food. They’ll be posted immediately. Email them to dmwalsh07@gmail.com
This is a pro-eating blog.
Imagine: It’s a stormy, snowy night. No, let’s make it freezing rain. You’ve just walked fourteen blocks without an umbrella and your hip knit scarf from Urban Outfitters has become a sponge around your neck. Your water logged shoes make a sickening squishy squeak as you climb three stories up the stairs, fumbling in your pocket for your keys. As you enter your apartment, you smell the most amazing smell of mushrooms, onions, garlic, and sherry. Behold! Your amazing roommate has made you the most comforting, delicious dish she’s ever made! And it has not one ounce of meat in it.
Ok, sorry for the self-aggrandizing. But seriously, this is one of the best dishes I’ve ever made, and here’s why.
Those of you who are Smitten Kitchen fans probably recognize a similar post about two weeks ago. As I was trolling the internet at work the other day, I stumbled upon this delicious recipe for homemade meatball subs and decided to make it on my day off. 
Working for nymag.com has been kind of a dream internship-I’m reviewing restaurants, updating their listings database (which means I find soooo many awesome restaurants), writing short posts for Grub Street, and a slew of other lovely responsibilities. Not to mention that the peeps at NYMag are ridiculously cool. I suppose they have to be to do the job they were given: tell people what’s cool in New York.
