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WTF [Weird Things Food-Related]

By Khushbu Shah on March 29, 2013 / No Comments / Categorized Featured, Underground Eats, WTF (Weird Things Food-Related)

The phrase “foodie vacation” has been taken to a whole new level with the creation of the world’s first edible hotel room. British sugar brand Tate & Lyle brought Willy Wonka to life in London with eight separate themed rooms made from very edible elements. There was everything from an intricate rug crafted from 1,081 meringues to ruffled pillows made of vanilla sponge cake that guests were encouraged to consume.

Boobs and alcohol have had a long-standing relationship. A German company has taken that relationship to the extreme by offering boob-filtered vodka. What do we mean by boob-filtered? They pour alcohol over a model’s bare breast before finally bottling it for sale. Unfortunately (or fortunately) you have to travel to Germany to get your hands on a bottle – or you could always go for the DIY route. A NSFW video here.

Nothing screams “Yes, I must get a vasectomy today!” like the temptations of free pizza in lieu of March Madness. A clinic in Cape Cod is running a promotion promising men slices of pizza in return for getting it snipped employing the logic that because the procedure requires a 1-2 day recovery, why not sit at home watching the game eating free pizza? You’ll walk out of there without the ability to conceive any kind of baby, except for a food baby.

The dudes over at Epic Meal Time have created an all-chocolate-everything breakfast that clocks a casual 8,724 calories and 380 grams of fat. It includes sugared up concoctions such as Nutella French Toast, Chocolate Taters, and even chocolate eggs. Breakfast of champs. Find proof of its existence and see the method behind the madness here.

What is a weird food list without the presence of at least one bacon entry? Just in time for April is the Bacon Easter Egg. This is essentially the ultra manly version of a Kinder chocolate surprise egg seeing as it’s filled with a full English breakfast including sausage and fried black pudding. Mmm.. grease.

Who doesn’t love some latte art? Pretty leaves and swirly patterns made of aerated milk make coffee even more delicious. How about a cup with your face made of foam? Dubbed the Barista Bot, the device made an appearance at SXSW and scans customers’ facial features and replicates it on to their latte. Nothing like starting off the day with a big cup of narcissism.

Justin Warner's Rebel Eats will air on the Food Network this Saturday at 10pm
Justin Warner of Do or Dine, the latest winner on The Next Food Network Star
Justin Warner and his Do or Dine partner in crime George McNeese
Do or Dine in Bed-Stuy is known for dishes like foie gras donuts and their "A Fish And Some Chips" with snapper, yuzu-frites, shallot

What Does It Take to Be a Culinary Rebel? UGE Interviews Next Food Network Star’s Justin Warner

By Underground Eats on March 28, 2013 / No Comments / Categorized Celebrity Chefs, Featured, Food for Thought, Interviews, Underground Eats

Our favorite culinary rebel, rapper, and winner of the last season of The Next Food Network Star is ready to celebrate the long-awaited airing of Rebel Eats, a one-hour special on the Food Network on Saturday night. Rebel Eats follows Do or Dine Chef Justin Warner as he jumps in his minivan(?!) and hits the open road in search of fellow rebels from far and wide. This week we caught up with the man whose culinary contributions include foie gras-filled donuts, hamachi with a Cool Ranch Dorito crumble and Spherickels (pickle back shot meets molecular gastronomy) to chat about everything from the making of the show to why NYC is killing ramen to Eddie Huang’s rebel status and he weighs in on horse meat.

What makes someone a “rebel”?

There are a lot of things. But really it’s just doing what you want to do regardless of what other people do, say, or think. As long as you’re not harming anybody else, you might as well go for whatever makes you happy. A lot of people don’t live their lives like that. A rebel is the kind of person who is like, “Hey this is what I want to do, it’s my life, and this is how I want to live it.”

Tell us a bit about the process of competing on The Next Food Network Star. Were you surprised by the outcome?

Yes, I was surprised. When I signed up I had no real confidence that I would win. There were so many more people with more experience than me, and they were formally trained. As it went on, Alton Brown, my mentor, said one day, “You know what? Let me just get out of your way.” For him to say that is such a ringing endorsement, that it was easy to kind of toughen up, be confident and take it home. About three-quarters of the way through taping I thought, “Ya know what? I have a chance of winning this.” I’m still surprised to this day. When I came home with the victory, about eight months ago, it just really opened up a whole new world. You know when the Millenium Falcon jumps into hyperspeed and all the stars turn into bright white lines? That’s what it felt like.

What did you learn from the process of concepting and creating a show?

The number one thing I learned was patience. But nothing good moves quickly. Pot roast, short ribs- you cook it slower and it tastes better. And the same thing goes for TV. Alton and I really wanted to figure out how to package and deliver me to as many people as possible. So over the course of weeks and months we tried coming up with the best concept that would work for primetime TV. It took a lot of traveling between LA and NYC and meeting a lot of people and getting input from everyone.

Just asking – but does a minivan (which he sports in Rebel Eats) seem to be the most rebellious ride?

I guess the most rebellious ride would be a motorcycle but that’s what everyone would be expecting. The decision to have the terrible vehicle was entirely mine. I just wanted to be different. So I went for the minivan. The soccer mom with a culinary cause.

Brushes with Greatness: Underground Eats’ Connection to James Beard 2013 Finalists

By Mikaela Flynn on March 22, 2013 / No Comments / Categorized Featured, Good Reads, James Beard Awards, Underground Eats

Since launching Underground Eats in February 2012, we have been honored to work with some truly outstanding culinary talent. From fairly unknown rising stars to world-renowned celebrity chefs, we have had the extreme pleasure of collaborating with incredible chefs who enjoy sharing their pure love of food as much as we love sharing the art of alternative dining with our members.

This week when the 2013 JBF Award finalists were announced, we were not shocked, but rather humbled, to discover how many chefs and friends we’ve worked with were nominated for a prestigious James Beard Award. While we are proud of and have tremendous respect for every chef featured on Underground Eats, we would like to take this opportunity to say a big CONGRATULATIONS to all those who were nominated this year! Below is our line-up of finalists who we have had the honor to collaborate with on past UGE events:

Chef: April Bloomfield

Nomination: Best Chef: NYC, The Spotted Pig

Events with UGE: Breslin Butchers Ball, Meatopia

Why we love her: The girl knows her pig and has a great sense of humor. What more could you ask for? Plus- the burger with roquefort cheese & rosemary shoestring fries at The Spotted Pig has got to be one of the best in the city.

Chef: Sean Brock

Nomination: Outstanding Chef, McCrady’s

Events with UGE: The Supper Bowl

Why we love him: Not only can this guy cook- but he’s an all-around easy going dude who will fly all the way up to NYC from South Carolina to do a crazy one-night-only event with UGE! Oh and his fried chicken skins at Husk are one of our favorite snacks of all time.

Chef: Mark Ladner

Nomination: Best Chef: NYC, Del Posto

Events with UGE: Taste of Tuscany

Why we love him: Chef Ladner has helped raise the bar for Italian cooking in NYC.

Name: Garrett Oliver

Nomination: Best Beer/Spirit Professional, Brooklyn Brewery

Events with UGE: The Godfather Part II at Nitehawk Cinema

Why we love him: Not only does he brew excellent beer but he’s also a great entertainer and lecturer. If you ever get the chance to hear him speak, we recommend you jump on the opportunity. (That is, if you love beer as much as we do.)

Chef: Jonathan Waxman

Nomination: Best Chef: NYC, Barbuto

Events with UGE: Charity Dinner at North End Grill

Why we love him: His legendary roasted JW chicken.

Chef: Brooks Headley

Nomination: Outstanding Pastry Chef, Del Posto

Events with UGE: Taste of Tuscany, The Philharmonic Taste with Lidia Bastianich

Why we love him: The Box.

Chef: Michael White

Nomination: Best Chef: NYC, Marea

Events with UGE: Meatopia, The Greatest Meal Ever Cooked, NY Loves Emilia Romagna

Why we love him: His bistecca at Marea- grilled creekstone 50-day dry aged sirloin, braised romaine, with bone marrow panzanella. Drooling yet?

Restaurant: Del Posto

Nomination: Outstanding Service

Events with UGE: The Philharmonic Taste with Lidia Bastianich, Taste of Tuscany, The Art of Pasta Cooking Class Series

Why we love them: When dining at Del Posto’s “10 Champagnes You Should Know” private dinner, we were absolutely blown away by the level of service we received from the restaurants’ warm and professional staff. This nomination is not at all surprising, and neither would be a James Beard Award win.

Passover Ideas You Shouldn’t Passover

By Khushbu Shah on March 21, 2013 / No Comments / Categorized Featured, Food for Thought, Pop-Up Dinners, Underground Eats, Unique Dinners, Video

Tradition is great and all, especially if it includes your bubbie cooking up a crazy feast for Passover. But if you are in charge of Seder dinner and don’t have bubbie’s deft hand when it comes to making all matzah everything- don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Avoid being a schmuck this Seder by embracing the alternative.

Gefilte fish may be hard for Chris Tucker to pronounce:

… And even harder for some people to stomach. Guzzy up gefilte for passover by transforming it into a sexy smooth pate.

Perhaps you should try to step up your Tzimmes game. Tzimmes loosely translates to “a fuss over something,” which is exactly what is going to happen to this dish if you get fancy and serve your guests Sweet Potato Matzo Ball Tzimmes with Apricot Sauce.

For folks with lusher tendencies or are on an “all liquid diet” it’s possible to have a traditional Seder plate in cocktail form. “It’s as if they put Passover in a juicer and served it up straight.” — direct quote from the website Sippable Seder.

If you have a bit of a sweet tooth and are interested in throwing a completely chocolate kosher Seder dinner, than by all means- go for it! You can even trade four glasses of wine for four glasses of chocolate milk. Find complete instructions here.

For dessert, grab a couple of pints of Chozen (a.k.a ice cream for the chosen people). They come in flavors like rugelach and matzoh crunch.

Or let our favorite latke-making, dreidel-spinning, menorah-lighting gang-bangers show you how to do Passover munchies in style.

If you’re better at eating than cooking, and happen to live in or around NYC, here are some excellent alternative Seder dinner options.

Chow down on a traditional Seder dinner with some untraditional Spanish cider pairings at Jimmy No. 43′s. Get your tickets here.

If fusion food is more your style, head over to Louro for Passover dinner where they’re going south of the border with Mexican twists on classic Seder dishes. Louro’s Chef David Santos is teaming up with La Newyorkina‘s Fany Gerson for a special guest chef dinner celebrating the holiday with a unique Mexican twist. Yes, that includes Mexican-style matzoh ball soup. Tickets for this dinner can be found here.

On March 28th BoozeMenus.com is hosting a private Passover cocktail party at Kutsher’s Tribeca. Rather than being stuck around family members drinking kosher wine, hang with friends at this downtown Jewish bistro and sip on cocktails mixed with springtime ingredients and nibble on Kutsher’s signature modern Jewish fare. Learn more and find tickets here.

L’chaim!

7 New Food Obsessions for the Post-Baconmageddon World

By Khushbu Shah on March 19, 2013 / No Comments / Categorized Experiments in Food, Featured, Food for Thought, Food Trends, Underground Eats

There is no denying that bacon is awesome, we could never argue otherwise. Bacon is a favorite companion to perfectly scrambled eggs, makes for a great sandwich filling, and has even found its way into our hearts as dessert. Alas, society has now found itself in the midst of a baconmageddon and literally no food is safe from the addition of bacon. It is EVERYWHERE- to the point of nausea. Bacon toothpaste exists. True story. There’s even a vegan and kosher bacon salt that adds bacon flavor to anything it’s sprinkled upon. Since rumors have been flying around that there will be a shortage of this beloved pork product in the later half of this year, it’s time to figure out what other foods we will put in everything next. Here is our list of the new bacons:

Kale
Kale is literally the bacon of the vegetarian/vegan/health food world. The leafy green seems to be making an appearance everywhere and is no longer relegated to just health food staples like salads and green smoothies. Kale chips have become the new favorite foodie snack and kale has even found its way into cocktails and cake. We kid you not.

Tea
Tea is no longer just a drink. With its incredible range of flavors and origins chefs have been using tea as a layer of flavor in everything from sweet to savory dishes. Many restaurants are now offering tea-smoked meats on the menu, plates are now being served with tea sauce, and tea is even found on the dessert menu – especially in the form of chocolates and cupcakes.

Truffles
The infamous black or white truffle is an essential ingredient to the palates of those with fat wallets. As one of the world’s most expensive ingredients it’s not exactly economical to add these delicious fungi to everything in site- but people do it anyway. There’s a range of truffle products such oils, salts, and butters that add truffly goodness to everything you add it to. Chefs and bloggers also add truffles to everything from pizza, to risotto, to ice cream. Yeah, ice cream.

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