Review – Bierkraft

As half of the name suggests, this place is all about beer. Despite its name, it’s not just German beer but an international place of happy drinks. One part of the locale is a store where you can peruse a wall of beers you can take home, and the other half is an indoor-style beer garden (very small), with long wooden tables and benches providing an excellent atmosphere for chilling with friends while enjoying not only a cool glass of beer but also delicious sandwiches or smorgasbords of meats and cheeses.

We shared a jug of dark beer with a couple of friends and my husband and I chowed down on their Italian sandwich (ham, sopressata, prosciutto, pecorino, arugula, tomato, onion, roasted peppers, oil and vinegar) and our friends shared the Serrano sandwich (Serrano ham, manchego cheese, fig spread, arugula, oil and vinegar). They were delicious and definitely big enough to share. Besides ordering their signature sandwiches, you can also create your own, kind of like Subway but on a more gourmet level. Their sandwiches cost about $10 so it’s not too much more than Subway anyways.

The rest of the crew indulged in a second jug of beer which I had to skip because the sandwich had done a number on me.

I think on Tuesdays they also have beer tastings in the evenings which we have yet to check out. Seems to be a popular spot though so I’m sure the tastings are crowded too. If you go, be prepared to share your table and bench with locals and don’t be shy, make new friends.

Street Vendors

New York being the big city that it is has of course plenty of street vendors to go around. If you indulge in their offerings in busy tourist areas, you’ll pay a lot more than in quieter neighborhoods. Regardless though, their food is usually pretty good anywhere. Keep in mind however that if you buy food from a vendor who hasn’t been very busy, you might get food that has been kept warm for a while, so maybe you’d rather pay the extra buck to get something piping hot.

My favorite thing to indulge in are the honey-roasted peanuts. I highly recommend them as a perfect small snack to hold you over while you are shopping or sightseeing. As long as you are not allergic to nuts, you should definitely give these a try.

There are vendors who sell soft drinks, sandwiches, kabobs, gyros and entire plates of meats and sides, such as marinated beef with rice. If you are not sure what to buy, always go with what smells good as you pass buy. If you walk by a vendor and there is no yummy smell emitting from his cart, don’t buy anything there.

As I’ve had the chance to travel a bit, I always like to see what vendors in other cities or countries have to offer.

In Greece we stuffed ourselves with gyros that were only $3 and were the best we’ve ever had. Naturally, it’s Greece. In Austria, as soon as it gets cold outside, you can buy roasted chestnuts, roasted potatoes or hashbrowns smothered in garlic butter. Jeez, I’m drooling at the thought.

In France, we ate nothing but crepes the whole time. Savory (stuffed with cheese and ham) and sweet (Nutella or chestnut paste). In Amsterdam, we had of course the Belgian fries with mayo. Not a good combination in my opinion, but when in Rome….

When my husband went to Taiwan, he said every vendor he came across was selling all sorts of dumplings. You even got to pick the ones you wanted and tell them how to cook it (see below). Choices, choices.

So when you are walking the streets of your hometown or visiting a city, try their local fare and share with us what you found.



Romanian Meatball Soup

Ok, so I’ve already somewhat provided the recipe in an earlier blog but here’s something more exact. This is my family’s favorite soup (or is it just my favorite?) and it’s very easy to make.

Serves 6-8

8 cups of water

½ pound of ground beef

1/3 cup of uncooked white rice

1 egg

1 teaspoon of dried herbs (parsley, basil, etc.)

½ teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon of paprika

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

1 small onion, diced

3 dried bay leaves

3 beef bullion cubes

1 can of crushed or diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

Add the carrots, onion, celery, and bay leaves to the water in a soup pot and heat over high heat. Once the soup comes to a boil, add the bullion cubes. In the meantime, mix the meat, egg, rice, salt, paprika and dried herbs in a bowl. Form golf ball size meatballs and place on a plate until they are all formed. You should get about 15 meatballs, depending on how big or small you actually form them. Turn down the heat to low so the soup stops boiling completely. Gently lower each meatball with a long spoon (I use a wooden spoon) into the soup, careful not to burn yourself. Once all the meatballs are in the soup, turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the can of tomatoes and tomato paste and simmer for at least two hours. Check the seasoning and add more salt if necessary. During the cooking process, skim off any fat that may rise to the surface.

This soup is great served right away and even better the next day when some of the rice from the meatballs has become loose and thickens the soup a bit. In Romania, people serve it with a dollop of sour cream as well, but that’s a matter of preference.

Observed NY Food Trends

Since moving to NY a couple of months ago (can’t believe time flew by so fast), I’ve noticed the following food trends in the city (Manhattan and Brooklyn so far).

Red Velvet Cake – this is everywhere!

Octopus salad – unlike Ceasar Salad that I found on every menu in San Diego, this salad seems to make many appearances in NY.

Pulled Pork Sandwich – it’s delicious, I’m not complaining.

Breakfast served all day – for those too lazy to get up in the morning.

Cupcakes – yes, these suckers are everywhere just like the red velvet cake. Sometimes you can even find a combination of the two – a red velvet cupcake.

Super size cupcakes/muffins – I felt it necessary to create a separate category for this just because the huge muffins are outrageous in size. I guess they are meant to be shared or promote obesity.

Coffee – ok, so this seems like a no brainer and I was certainly expecting much coffee to go around here but I thought it would be more in the form of Starbucks. That’s not the case at all though as we’ve stumbled upon numerous mom and pop coffee shops. They are awesome places to hang out and work or get homework done. Some even have live music performances in the evenings.

Lots of Cuban food – makes sense since there are a lot of Cubans here.

Specialty restaurants – places that specialize in only one type of food, such as pork sandwiches, desserts, meatballs, fries, etc..

Beer tastings – guess the wine needed some competition.

Asian Fast Food

This title might be a bit deceiving. I’m not referring to fast food as in junk food, but to food that is cooked fast and served in small portions. I specifically thought of Asian food that is served in small portions for everyone to share. If you’ve ever had Dim Sum or been invited to dinner at an Asian person’s home, you know what I mean. There are several dishes laid out offering different types of vegetables, meat and starches and it’s kind of like a buffet where everyone helps themselves to whatever. Love that kind of eating since you get to sample a bunch of different things and not be stuck with one dish you might not like.

Other cultures enjoy this communal eating as well such as the Spanish with their tapas. The Greeks fall into the same category I found although they do a bit of both (small dishes to share or you can order large individual ones). Trying to think of who else does that…Not speaking from personal experience but saw on Travel Channel a few episodes of Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern going to the Middle East and they apply the same concept. Many small dishes spread out on one table or blanket to be shared by all.

If any of you have enjoyed this type of communal eating, feel free to let me know what your experience was like. I get inspired of course and oftentimes want to try cooking some of those dishes myself at home. The good thing about cooking that way is that you are cooking small portions so you don’t have to slave away in the kitchen all day. That is as long as you don’t decide to cook enough dishes to feed an army. I usually make about 3-4 for my husband and I, so for example a bowl of sautéed chicken bites, a separate plate of sautéed vegetables, stir-fried rice and maybe a plate of pickled vegetables (pickles, cabbage, bell peppers or tomatoes). Of course if you put all those things onto one plate, you pretty much have a normal dinner plate but I guess it differentiates itself by the way you present it. Take for example the pictures below. You’ve got soup, vegetables and tofu in one picture and rice, vegetables and clams/mussels in another. Put all those things together and that’s a good meal but they are served separately so everyone can decide what they want to eat and how much. Love the concept of people helping themselves. It makes for a much more relaxed and fun eating atmosphere where your guests are involved as opposed to sitting stiffly at the table waiting to be waited on. Think about serving dinner or lunch or even breakfast this way next time you entertain or just cook for your fam.

Folding Omelets

Omelets apparently are a big deal in the culinary world. The French are snobs about making the perfect one and Julia Child’s mission was to teach the Americans how to imitate the French. I agree that an omelet can either be good or rubbery if not made well. I’m no master as I’ve had my share of kitchen disasters but just wanted to show you picks of my non-pretty omelets and let you know that it’s not that intimidating to make.

I cook the omelet slow on low heat on the stove and it practically cooks itself. Before I fold it, it looks like a funky pizza look-alike (depending on your toppings of course). After it’s folded it thankfully is presentable. I’m not going to provide a recipe since I think I already did that a few blogs ago however I encourage you to try adding different ingredients to the omelet such as herbs, cheeses and even veggies. If you don’t fold the omelet and let it cook open-faced, you can turn it into a frittata (Italian open-faced omelet is what I would call it).

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Amsterdam’s Palette

Amsterdam is a really cool city that I only enjoyed for a couple of days. It seemed to me that it was the most crowded city I’d ever been to. It’s not bigger than many other international cities however there were so many people walking around day and night, it never let up. It seemed like Christmas time, when people walk and shop and enjoy the city lights. Of course there, people were enjoying plenty of eye candy in the infamous red light district.

There are so many things to check out and the city offers great public transportation so you can do a lot in a short amount of time. You can even rent a bike and ride/live dangerously along with the locals, who by the way don’t give a hoot for pedestrians. Walk at your own risk there.

I’m getting sidetracked – I’m supposed to be talking about food…

Since I was only there for two days, I can’t say that I had many chances to explore the city culinarily (is that a word?) but whatever I did indulge in was decent. I remember the prices being outrageous though and both my husband and I, as well as my accompanying cousin, were on a budget. So we did what we do lots of times, eat at local small places or hit up the street vendors.

Let’s see, we had Belgian fries of course with a disgusting amount of mayo. It’s a specialty there and I know many folks here eat fries with their mayo (or vice versa), however my husband Mark and I weren’t buying it. Next time, we’re sticking to ketchup or whatever else is available.

We also had Chinese food, or was it some other Asian category? Can’t remember but I had stir-fried rice and hubby and cousin had brothy noodles. This was ok, nothing to write home about. I think we just picked the place because we had been sightseeing the whole afternoon and were close to strangling each other – you know, once hunger kicks in…. So we walked around totally undecided on what to eat and after passing at least a dozen joints, we settled on the Chinese place that was at least cheap.

We also had the chance to go to a bar and drink local beer, but alas, missed out on pub grub. Speaking of pubs, stopped at one for lunch the second day and always wanting the local stuff, I ordered bitterballen, a mixture of ground beef, spices, breadcrumbs, egg and milk, which is deep-fried. This was funky, funky. It kind of melted in your mouth but you could not detect any meat. Probably my first real mystery-meat dish. I also had the most traditional thing on the menu, pea soup. Thought this would be somehow different than regular pea soup I have at home but no, it’s pretty much the same darn thing. Maybe theirs had a tad too much pepper in it. So my advice, skip it if you go.

Other than that, can’t remember what else we ate but we walked around so much and did the usual Eurotrip (non-stop sightseeing and photo taking) that I’m sure we didn’t fuel up as much as we should have. I’d love to go back and try their waffles, herring and Indonesian food (history and politics again).

Fries and a tub of mayo

Waffles 

One of many beautiful canals