This Christmas I didn’t go anywhere on vacation, but rather participated in a NYC-based “staycation.” I basically spent a week stuffing my face with some of my favorite foods:

Chicken Pad See Ew from Pongsri (Chinatown, Bayard Street location)

The Greenpointer with prosciutto from Paulie Gee’s in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

A journey to Flushing, Queens to try out Nan Xiang Dumpling House. Tried the cucumber and garlic, beef scallion pancake (with hoisin sauce), and of course, the pork and crab soup dumplings.

Although Nan Xiang was good, found the dumplings a bit too delicate and the scallion pancake too greasy. Had to remedy the soup dumpling craving by hitting up Manhattan fave, Nice Green Bo in Chinatown (with an order of scallion pancake — nice and light, and chicken pan fried noodles — a little too greasy).

The food tour also included a stop at Nitehawk Cinemas in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to get an order of that delicious Nitehawk queso — a dish that will force you into gluttony.

Not a bad way to spend the end of 2011, eh?

Just a few days ago the episode of Iron Chef featuring Kings of Leon front man Caleb Followill as one of the guest judges was finally aired on the Food Network. The segment (which was filmed over a year ago) features Caleb dispensing refined culinary judgment (“it could have used a little bit of salt,” “is it OK if you eat it all?”) about the chef’s preparation of the secret ingredient: veal.

But I gotta say, the combo of a perpetually bearded rock musician with a food competition doesn’t seem the likeliest of pairings, so what could have been the reason why Caleb agreed to be a judge? Some possible answers:

1. Was told the secret ingredient was going to be pigeon.
2. Man cannot live on BBQ and beer alone.
3. Two word: flavor saver.

As I was getting out of the subway today all I could smell was burger grease. I knew this could only mean one thing: Goods Restaurant had opened!

And sure enough, as I walked on Metropolitan I saw a herd of folks out in front the silver trailer.

The outdoor eating area still looks like a work zone, but that didn’t stop folks from plopping down at the picnic tables.

Hope to try out the place sometime soon.

RELATED POSTS: First Look at 3rd Ward’s Goods

UPDATE: Goods is now open! [Photo]

Brooklyn artists haven 3rd Ward has been working on a new restaurant called Goods on Metropolitan @ Lorimer in Williamsburg.

Today they revealed the silver trailer showpiece of the outdoor eatery while working on the space.

According to the online menu, they’ll be doing American fare like high-end hamburgers, hot dogs, and eventually brunch.

Looking good, guys.

Yesterday I went on a spring sale-fueled “shop ’till you drop” rampage, and in the midst of the retail action, I found myself in need of a snack in midtown Manhattan. I remembered hearing that there was a new competitor to the Korean fried chicken staple Mad for Chicken — situated directly across the street — so I headed over to try to find it.

What I found was the brand spanking new, futuristic-looking Kyochon Chicken outpost. With a red and white motif Jack White would approve of, the space was slick — with a striking red glass helix staircase and milky white counter tops. They was a team of girls handing out freebies to passersby. I tried out a sample of the Soy Garlic five-piece which cost me just over $6.00.

The chicken was ready in a matter of minutes and I received a bag with a packet filled with napkins, chopsticks, a wet nap, and one plastic glove (presumably to keep my hand from getting dirty while eating). I headed upstairs to find seating, but quickly realized that the upstairs level was steaming hot (someone get the AC working up there!) so I climbed back down to the main level and sat by the window.

I sat down on one of the clear red plastic chairs and I opened my box of chicken with great excitement — only to be surprised to find tiny tiny chicken wings and drumsticks inside — nowhere near the jumbo limbs you get at Mad for Chicken.

I bit into the wings — the sauce was tasty, but the chicken meat was dried out and nowhere near as delicious as the big juicy pieces you get at MFC.

All in all the chicken was okay, but definitely not the best Korean fried chicken around — I’ll save that honor for MFC. Would I return? Perhaps — but only if I was short on time and only had 15 minutes to spare. But then again, word is that there is a Bon Chon opening up on the same block — hopefully they’ll get it right.

More on Kyochon’s Manhattan outpost: Village Voice, Midtown Lunch, NYC Food Guy, Eater

So many people I know will go to great lengths to get a taste of Red Lobster’s famed Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Red Lobster serves over 395 million of the biscuits a year, but what if I were to tell you that the secrets recipe to making your own RL Cheddar Bay Biscuit was about to be revealed to you. YES.

I randomly found this recipe for homemade Red Lobster-style cheddar biscuits and I knew I had to share it with y’all.

The recipe is based off this classic cheddar biscuit created by the Kraft Cooking School:

Essentially you follow all the steps in the video and then create a mixture that will be spread on top of the biscuits. The ingredients? Butter, parsley flakes, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and a pinch of Old Bay seasoning.

Bake, and enjoy the deliciousness in your very own home!

For the complete recipe, head to A Storybook Life.

Has Julian Casablancas been thinking more about pork belly and ribs than he has about music? It’s been reported that Strokes singer is one of the financiers behind new LA eatery, Shin, located on Wilcox Avenue in Hollywood.

Last night there was a big opening bash for the upscale Korean BBQ restaurant where other rumored investors Mark Ronson, Gerard Butler, Danny Masterson, Chris Masterson, Laura Prepon, and DJ Steve Aoki (I know, random!) all attended…but dear Julian or wife Juliet did not appear in any of the paparazzi shots at the event.

Does anyone know if Julian attended…but somehow managed to dodge all the photographers?

UPDATE: M wrote in w/ a picture of Julian at the event from the Cobrasnake. Holy smokes, is everyone that short?!?

Here’s a shot of the restaurant:

Last night I went to an event celebrating the launch of what could possibly be the greatest marketing idea of all time: Denny’s + late night menu + emos. Yes, that’s right–make way for the greatest invention of our time, the Denny’s All Nighter Menu.

According to the official press release:

To further expand its late-night menu, Denny’s has asked groups including Taking Back Sunday, Plain White T’s, Eagles of Death Metal and The All-American Rejects to help the chain dream up new dishes for rollout later this summer.

Yup, you read right: For the first time ever, Denny’s has specifically designed food BY DRUNKS, FOR DRUNKS!

At the event I was able to sample the rock-inspired items such as the “Plain White Milkshake” (a vanilla-flavored milkshake designed by the members of the Plain White T’s), as well as the “Hearts on a Plate” (heart-shaped pancakes covered in strawberry syrup and white chocolate chips, developed by Eagles of Death Metal‘s Jesse Hughes–who was on hand at the event), alongside the new late-night menu items like “Potachos,” which are described as being “Freshly fried and seasoned kettle chips topped with crumbled sausage, bacon, bell pepper and onion mix, cheese sauce and shredded Cheddar cheese.”

Other “rockstar” items will include the “All-American SOS” (designed by the All-American Rejects) and the “Taking Back Bacon Burger Fries” (fries with all the fixings of a cheeseburger dumped on top of it, conceived by Taking Back Sunday). Sure, your cardiologist is hyperventilating at the sight of this menu, but your 3am beer-filled belly is jumping up and down.

The press release also reveals that the shift to late-night will not only manifest itself in the menu, but the actual atmosphere in Denny’s:

New Vibe
Additionally, Denny’s servers will swap their traditional uniforms for jeans and black “Get Your Crave On” t-shirts. Restaurants will play alternative rock music from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Oh hellz yes, you know you love it. Unfortunately, although the event took place in NYC, there are currently no plans to open up a Denny’s in the city. You’ll have to get your greasy spoon dipped whilst on the road, my friends.

10:14PM
Ok, so I didn’t plan on live blogging the Top Chef finale, but I nearly crapped my pants when the sous chefs walked out for the final cooking showdown between Hung, Casey, and Dale. Holy crap! Rocco Dispirito (looking kinda foxy), Todd English, and Michelle Bernstein. Top Chef live finale is in Chicago, which is Dale’s hometown (hmmmm??).

10:15PM
Jude Law in this new movie, Sleuth, with Michael Cane, looking hot, WTF. I love that platinum hair. Too busy looking at how he looks to figure out what the movie is about.

10:28PM
Wait, where the hell are they going!?!? Where is Tom taking them?

10:29PM
Ooohhhsnnnaaappp! A forth course! They are so mean.

10:30PM
Ahhh… here come the old contestants. Hahahah Howie. I hope he doesn’t yell at Casey.

10:39PM
Ok commercial now. Enough of this Better Half. No matter how many times I see this effing commercial, I still cannot figure out how the show works. Maybe I’m too stupid to watch reality tv?

10:40PM
Uh oh, they are back. I’m scared for Casey, she seemed kinda nervous. Oh look! Brian Malarkey gets to weigh in on the final meal.

Hung is starting with a hamachi fish as a play on “fish and chips,” Dale is serving up a foie gras mousse with peaches, and Casey has a scallop and foie gras with apple dish.

Hung has a shrimp with palm sugar and about 10000 other ingredients, Dale has a seared scallop surprise dish, Casey poached prawn in lobster mushroom sauce.

Uh oh, Casey is getting slammed with her prawn dish. They are not digging it at all.

10:45PM
Third course is up. Hung has a sous vide duck , Dale has butter poached lobster and gnocchi, and Casey has crispy pork belly over pea shoots

They are loving Hung’s duck A LOT. Poor Dale’s dish, they are kinda hitting it. Casey’s pork belly is overdone.

10:48PM
Hung’s got his surprise chocolate cake, poached lamb with eggplant puree, Casey seared sirloin with potatoes (her addition plate). They are liking Casey’s dish, and liking Hung’s dessert–although they find that it’s disjointed and unimaginative.

10:51PM
Back to Padma, I think she’s maybe said the same three sentences telling us to stay tuned for the live final about a billion times by now.

10:55PM
Aaannnd, we’re back with Judges’ Table. Dale feels as though he’s “cooked like himself” for the first time. Casey has some regrets–there are some things she wanted to change. Hung feels like he cooked his way.

Ughh.. they are slamming Dale for the gnocchi dish.

Casey is talking about how rattled she was, Padma is all like surely you came with one or two dishes in mind. Oh man, Casey sounds like she’s going to cry. She sounds really upset. And she’s semi-blaming Howie and the curveball of the extra dish. Tom looks really disappointed about the pork belly.

Hung is on the hot seat now. Hung is talking up his food, of course. Gale zings back with a “your rice was bland” about the second dish. Burn. They’re lauding his third dish. Tom tells Hung that he should carry the dish around with him, like Dale’s lamb. Hung admits his fourth dish was “playing it safe.” Tom tells him he needs to balance the classic by putting in a modern twist.

Two courses for Hung, two for Dale.

Back to the chefs in the back. Judging from Hung’s wine glass, they’ve cracked open the booze.

It’s sounding like Casey’s definitely not the winner.

11:05PM
“One of you, is Top Chef,” Padma coos. Now we’re back to the live finale. Seriously Padma, why the off the shoulder ruffle thing? Yuck.

11:06PM
The winner of Top Chef….after the break.

11:07PM
These Bertolli commercials are making me hungry for some pasta. ME WANT CARBS.

11:11PM
58% of voters want Casey to be Top Chef.

Ted Allen gives his kudos, now Gail, Tom asks each of them how they feel now that they’ve seen the show. Dale gives the awe-shucks, Casey admits it just wasn’t her challenge–seems like she doesn’t think Top Chef is in the cards for her. Hung admits to being super nervous and he’s proud to be here.

Tom tells Casey that she’s been a great competetor, but the meal just didn’t come together. Tom tells Dale that they are glad he finally found his voice as a chef. Tom tells Hung it’s been great eating his food.

AND THE WINNER OF TOP CHEF IS…

HUNG!

HAHAHAHAhah. Marcel just gave the “awwww yeaaahhh” hand throw.

Hung is speachless for now. He’s jumping up and down, fists in the air.

Next week is the reunion show!

Read about the program in this NY Times story

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