Category: Westchester

Learning the Art of BBQ Judging from Crafty

5/25/2017

I love barbecue, especially in the summer. The sweet smell of pork, or beef roasting on your deck and your first bites of succulent, tender meat. Now, I am going to apologize because everyone who is reading this is probably drooling or about to be drooling.

Barbecue is eaten all over the country in many ways. Some people have different bases for their sauces or cook theirs at a different temperature than others. Although, it might all seem the same to you it isn’t. It tastes different, smells different, and is prepared differently.

One of my dad’s friends Chris (everyone calls him Crafty though), is a barbecue judge! He is from South Carolina and judges barbecue based on a few things: taste, smell, and how the chef prepared it. While he was in New York, we took him out for his birthday to Pik Nik BBQ in Tarrytown where he gave me some tips on barbecue.

When I got there, we sat down and he told me something that is the number one priority for good barbecue: Low and slow, not high and fast. What that means is you cannot rush the barbecue. You have to put it at a low temperature so the meat can cook and also kind of fall apart when you eat it. When you cook it on a high temperature, it doesn’t get to really absorb the sauce or break down. On the other hand, when you cook it on a low temperature, the opposite thing happens. It breaks down and it absorbs the sauce. Now which option would you pick? For me, I would definitely pick the second option.

After Crafty talked to me about how to cook barbecue, we ordered our food and drinks. For drinks, we got South Carolina Sweet Tea. Then, for dinner we ordered burnt ends, pulled pork, brisket, and ribs. The sides were brussels sprouts and bacon, baked beans, and mac & cheese.

Now I know that you might think that South Carolina Sweet Tea is just normal tea, but it is very sweet and is a popular South Carolina drink. It is delicious!!! It is exactly what it is called. It is really sweet, but not too overpowering which makes it delicious.

Shortly after we got our drinks, we got the burnt ends. I was so excited! My favorite thing to eat if we are having barbecue is burnt ends. Pik Nik doesn’t have burnt ends on their menu, but they gave us some that they happened to have in the back. Crafty told me as they got to the table what we were looking for in good burnt ends. We smelled them as part of the procedure and then we ate them. They were delicious! They melted in your mouth, and if you let it sit in your mouth you would be able to savor the succulent pieces of heaven in your mouth. It was delicious and Crafty agreed we both thought they were absolutely delicious.

As we finished the delicious burnt ends graciously given to us by our waiter, the ribs came out. We again followed the procedure and when we tasted the ribs they were super good, but Crafty did say that there was some membrane that was under the bone which you can eat, but is just not something that they look for in good ribs when they are judging. Besides that the ribs were awesome and I recommend getting them if you go there. After the ribs, everything else got to the table: the pulled pork, the brisket, the bacon and brussels sprouts, mac & cheese, and finally, the baked beans. The brisket was very good, but sadly I only got a little taste because it was a big hit at our table. I enjoyed the pork a lot. The only thing I have to say is that it was a little dry, but the ketchup based sauce on the table made it very good and moist.

Now, we have the sides. For some reason, sides always seem the most exciting part of the menu. Sometimes I get a dish because it has such an amazing side. Weird, right? Anyways the sides were amazing, I think we got the best sides on the menu. The brussels sprouts in the brussels sprout and bacon dish were very crispy. The bacon was also very crispy and they both went very well together. The mac & cheese was amazing!! It was ooey and gooey and the crust of bread crumbs on top was a wonderful pairing, as well adding another level of textures. The last side was the baked beans. It was the best side! It had chorizo which added a lot of flavor to it it. Overall the sides were amazing!!!

Pik Nik had very good food, and I thought it was very kid friendly. I would love to go there again and I think you should too.

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Anniversary Hot Dogs & Milkshakes

9/24/2016

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What is better than going out for your parent’s anniversary and getting a hot dog, fries, and a milkshake? Going out to get a Black Tap milkshake, with a Walter’s hot dog, and potato puffs is better than that!.

Walter’s Hot Dogs is located in Mamaroneck and, in my opinion, has the best hot dogs you will ever taste. They are split down the middle and charred with a grilled bun. They also are famous for these tiny fried mashed potato balls that are addictive. Black Tap is located in New York City and have these huge amazing milkshakes that are to die for. They are not super heavy, but they are light, creamy, and airy. For one weekend only, they decided to do a little swap. Walter’s was going to sell Black Tap milkshakes and Black Tap was going to sell Walter’s hot dogs. So, obviously my family was going to go to Walter’s and to make it even better we were going on my parents wedding anniversary.

Walter’s is unlike any hot dog stand you’ve ever seen. It looks just like a pagoda. A pagoda is a South Asian temple, that is used to to keep remains of saints, and kings. Even though Walter’s was selling the milkshakes they were also still selling their famous hot dogs. So, when we went we got four hot dogs, two orders of potato puffs, and two milkshakes. We got two because my family of four was not going to drink those huge milkshakes all by themselves.

The first time you bite into a Walter’s hot dog, something is born in your body that hasn’t been there before: the need to go here every weekend. When you bite in the hot dog, you notice a couple of things that make them unique. First, most hot dogs aren’t split. Splitting them makes them get a char inside and outside which makes them crunchy. Also they are not all beef. They are half pork, half veal. I love that it has that nice char and they get so much flavor from the veal and the pork. Next, the potato puffs were perfect. The outside was a crispy fried shell and the inside potato was so soft. The very last thing is the milkshakes. The thing that I really liked about their milkshakes was that they didn’t fill you up so much, and it was very silky and not really heavy. It was a good shake but I just wanted to taste a little bit more of the oreo in the shake. Everything else about it was really good, especially the frosting. Overall it was a really satisfying meal, and I hope to go there again soon!

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Birthday Party Blast at The Parlor

6/27/2015

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This year for my birthday, we decided to have my birthday party at The Parlor. We asked my friends their opinions about The Parlor. I took my friends here because it’s my favorite pizza place. I hope that everyone enjoyed it. We asked them: What was your favorite dish? What was so great about your dish? What was the best thing about the restaurant? What would you change? And would you recommend it? Here are their answers.

Name: Mia
What was your favorite dish?: “The brookie.”
What was so great about your dish?: “I liked this dish because it melts in your mouth.”

Name: Gianna
What was your favorite dish?: “The brookie.”
What was so great about your dish?: “It had brownie with ice cream on top, and the brownie was hot.
What was the best thing about the restaurant?: “The pizza was wood fired.”
Is there anything you would change about the restaurant?: NO : )
Would you recommend this restaurant to someone else? What would you tell them?: “Yes, I would say the pizza was good and the oysters were very good.”

Name: Jordana
What was your favorite dish?: “The dessert.”
What was so great about your dish?: “It tasted like molten lava cake.”

Name: Caroline
What was your favorite dish?: “My favorite dish is the brookie, which is a dessert.”
What was so great about your dish?: “It was so smooth and had lots of flavor, I loved the brownie and ice cream together.”
What was the best thing about the restaurant?: “The food was great and there are a lot of choices.”
Is there anything you would change about the restaurant?: “I would only make it bigger.”
Would you recommend this restaurant to someone else? What would you tell them?: “I would recommend this place to anyone who loves trying new things and loves pizza a lot.”

Name: Genevieve
What was your favorite dish?: “My favorite dish was the pizza and the dessert.”
What was so great about your dish?: “I liked it because the cheese melted and I liked the dessert because it had ice cream on top.”
What was the best thing about the restaurant?: “I love how the restaurant is formed. They have brick walls and the walls have names on it.”
Is there anything you would change about this restaurant?: “I would change the painting on the wall.”
Would you recommend this restaurant to someone else? What would you tell them?: “I would because the food is so good! : ).”

Name: Krista
What was your favorite dish?: “My favorite dish was the margarita pizza! It was sooooooo yummy! Yum!”
What was so great about your dish?: “I loved the crust, the cheese, and the green stuff. I loved everything about it.”
What was the best thing about the restaurant?: “I loved the wooden tables and the brick walls. I also love the crazy paintings on the wall. It was modern, but crazy!”
Is there anything you would change about the restaurant?: “I would probably change this really creepy photo on the wall to a happier one : . ).”
Would you recommend this restaurant to someone else? What would you tell them?: “I would so recommend this restaurant. It is very fun and creative. I love the walls soooooo much.”

Name: Sianna
What was your favorite dish?: “I loved the margarita pizza.”
What was so great about your dish?: “It didn’t taste like the regular pizza. It was so much better.”
What was the best thing about the restaurant?: “I really liked the spacing. It was big. Most of all the pizzas were awesome.”
Is there anything you would change about the restaurant?: “I think I would change the creepy art on the wall. The creepy art was a creepy angle.”
Would you recommend this restaurant to someone else? What would you tell them: “I would like to recommend this to people. I would say they make the best pizza ever.”

Name: Isabella
What was your favorite dish?: “Margherita pizza.”
What was so great about your dish?: “It tasted better than pepperoni pizza and I’m crazy about pepperoni pizza.”
What was the best thing about the restaurant?: “The people who are working there are nice. The food is awesome!! : ).”
Is there anything you would change about the restaurant?: “I don’t know what I would change I loved it!! : ).”
Would you recommend this restaurant to someone else? What would you say?: “I would recommend this to my friend Estelle who moved to Spain. I think she would love the food!! I would say the food was SPECTACULAR!! : ).”

Name: Lindsey
What was your favorite dish?: “My favorite dish was the margarita pizza!! It is really yummy : ).”

Thank you all my friends who wrote something. I really hope you enjoyed the party.

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Jordan's Lunch Box featured in The Journal News & LoHud.com!

4/28/2015

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Jordan's Lunch Box was featured in an article called "Young food lovers break into blogging" which appears in The Journal News, LoHud.com, and LoHudFood.com. The article will appear in the print version of the Journal News as part of the Life & Style section on Wednesday, April 29th, 2015. Thank you to Megan McCaffrey for including Jordan's Lunch Box in her piece!

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Escaping the cold at Roc-N-Ramen

2/20/2015

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After being to the other side of the world, I’m really into ramen now so my dad took me to a place called Roc-N-Ramen in New Rochelle. When you walk into a Japanese restaurant you usually see a lot of cultural stuff. Not in this restaurant. In this restaurant, it was just like an empty room, but with a lot of people in it. Man, that place is busy! There were a few tables, but my dad I wanted to sit at the bar. A few minutes later, the waiter came by to take our order. I ordered a Shoyu ramen and my dad got a Tonkotsu ramen, which has a pork bone broth. Here's the deal for the pork broth one. They take pork bones put them in broth and cook it all night. About 5 minutes later, our food came. The pork in it was char-grilled and they cooked the egg so it was nice and runny. It was the best ramen I’ve ever had. When you bit into the pork it wasn’t as fatty as it would be in different places, and when you put the egg in your mouth it just melts. The noodles in the soup are thinner than spaghetti, but they stick together and they are heavy. The noodles here were really good , but it had the same traits as the rest of the normal ramen noodles. When I finished the soup a few minutes later I wanted more of that soup because it was so good. So I totally recommend you go there. It is so good and it’s a great place to go to warm you up in the winter.

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Grandma and Grandpa's Anniversary Dinner at The Cookery

11/30/2014

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It was my grandparent's anniversary, so we decided to go somewhere special to celebrate. My whole family including my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins went to The Cookery. The Cookery is the sister restaurant of The Parlor which is once of our favorite places to go. When we got settled in the restaurant, I noticed that on one of the light fixtures above the table had hanging pots and pans. How cool is that? There were so many good choices on the menu that I split a few dishes with my mom and dad.

Our first appetizer was the meatballs. On the plate there were two giant meatballs with pomodoro sauce, parmagiano cheese, and parsley. The meatballs were really soft and tasted very homemade. The sauce gave it a nice flavor. The next appetizer was octopus. My five-year old cousin wanted to try this because she was excited to get to eat an octopus. My mom didn't want any of it! It was fried and had smoked tomato, pistachio, and chili. Surprisingly, it tasted like calamari. It was nice and crunchy, but tender on the inside. The last appetizer was a special. It was a brussels sprouts hash with a soft-boiled egg, soppressata (which is a dry Italian salami) and crunchy lisci (which was their homemade spaghetti). I was excited about this dish because I love the brussels sprouts dish at The Parlor. The brussels sprouts, the lisci, and the egg all made sense together. When you ate it, it was yolky and crunchy.

The first entree was the branzino. On the plate was a whole grilled fish, but they cut off the head and the tail because we asked them to. There were scalloped potatoes and lemon anchovy oil with it. It was very creative. The lemon was great with the fish. The last entree was a cauliflower ravioli. On the plate were cauliflower ravioli with lemon brown butter, garlic and parmigiano cheese. It wasn't what I expected. I thought it was too creamy and I didn't love it as much as I loved the branzino.

After we were all finished sharing our entrees, we made sure we still had room for dessert. The dessert menu came out and we decided to split some again. The first dessert was a cider doughnut bread pudding with apple butter and Jane's vanilla ice cream. The bread pudding tasted like an apple cider doughnut but was more moist. I love apple cider donuts and apple butter so this dessert was for me. The last dessert we had was a popcorn trifle with housemade caramel popcorn, whipped popcorn cream, and lemon zest. The lemon zest gave it a kick while the caramel corn gave it sweetness. So it was lemon zest vs. caramel corn in your mouth. I'm glad my grandparents had a great time and that my cousin was adventurous. We had a good time and I'd really like to go back. I would recommend The Cookery if you like The Parlor.

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Harvest Dinner at Wolfert's Roost

10/30/2014

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I went to Chef Eric Korn's new restaurant called Wolfert's Roost. They were having a Harvest Dinner for the Irvington Farmers Market. Some of the things on the menu for the dinner were going to be in his actual restaurant. He has a catering business called Good-Life Gourmet so he can't be at his restaurant all of the time. That's why he has Chef Jennie Werts. Jennie will be running the restaurant when Eric is not there.

When we got there and sat down at the counter they put a snack platter in front of us. The snack platter had seasoned goldfish crackers, spiced nuts, pickled vegetables, and olives. The goldfish were cooked with herb-infused oil and cheese. You could taste the cheese but not the herbs really. The pickled vegetables were a combination of sweet and bitter which was interesting. Then there were the spiced nuts. They had cayenne pepper in them but they were also a little sweet. It was kind of Moroccan. Last in the snack bowl were olives which are my favorite. They were sour and I like that personally.

My dad and I had three appetizers, two entrees, and three desserts. We split them all. The first appetizer was a Torta di Spaghetti which was like a spaghetti pie with shredded pork in a tomato sauce. The spaghetti pie was hot and soothing. It was good. The pork was meaty and stringy and went well with the spaghetti. The second appetizer as a fried broccoli with cheese and apricot jam. The broccoli was super crunchy and delicious. The cheese could have been a little better. It was too creamy and a little overpowering for me but my dad really liked it with the apricot jam. The third appetizer we had was a bitter greens and bacon salad with apples, spiced pecans, and maple vinaigrette. The bacon was thick cut and had a lot of flavor and the pecans were nicely spiced.

Next were the entrees. The first one we had was the fish. It was served with quinoa and had broccolini and rainbow carrots. The broccolini looked like asparagus but tasted like cauliflower and felt like broccoli. The next entree was fried chicken that had lemon, basil, and raw honey on it. The outside of the chicken was crunchy and spicy and the inside was moist. The skin had cayenne pepper on it which made it spicy.The lemon flavor on the outside was really strong and with the honey on it, the flavor burst in your mouth.

Finally, we had the desserts. The first dessert was an apple crisp with bourbon caramel, toasted almond, and pretzel crumble. It was crunchy, dreamy, and sweet. It had cinnamon in it and would go really well with pumpkin spice cookies. The next dessert was a banana sundae. The bananas on top tasted like like sweet plaintains and the caramel went well with the bananas. We had an extra dessert which was a pound cake with lemon curd. Wolfert's Roost is a really good place to go and you should go there once it is open!

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Photo from "Feed Me Fresh" in The Bedford Pound Ridge Record Review

10/5/2014

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Thanks to the Bedford Pound Ridge Record Review for putting me and my parents in the newspaper for such a good and fun purpose!

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"Feed Me Fresh": A Mount Kisco Child Care Center Fundraiser

9/21/2014

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I don't know about you guys, but I like farm fresh food. I don't like all that processed food nowadays. There's an event called Feed Me Fresh that raises money for Mount Kisco Child Care Center. The kids at the center get farm fresh food and learn about healthy eating habits. The fundraiser was about raising money to get scholarships for children, so that they can come to MKCCC. The event is only for grown-ups, but I was invited to come this year to write about it. My brother and I have been going to the center for a long time. I've been going since kindergarten and he's been going since he was 9 months old. Over 250 people bought tickets by the afternoon of September 20th, so imagine how many people were there!

When we got there, I saw it was on a farm and there was a big tent set up. When I walked in, it was fall themed. It looked very nice. I looked to see what restaurants were there and I saw some very familiar places. I saw Frannie's Goodie Shop, Ladle of Love, Bellizzi, Little Kabab Station, Little Crepe Street, and some new places. Then I talked with people from the child care center.

I talked with Chris Meyer. the Director of Development. I asked her what was new about the event this year. She said "We have a new Executive Director." She added that the purpose is always "to raise money so that all the kids who want to come can." Parents help organize the event also. Lauren Schwarzfeld said "I was co-chair two years ago. I helped with donations. This year, the Feed Me Fresh kitchen is giving out hors d'oeuvres." Another parent Jennifer Brola said "I came to support the child care center. My son has been coming since 2010."

There were a bunch of local businesses helping out, like my friend Frannie Albanese. "My shop is Frannie's Goodie Shop. Tonight we are serving froninis." A fronini is a frozen yogurt panini filled with your favorite yogurt ice cream or gelato on a warm bun. I asked her why she came out to support Mount Kisco Child Care Center. She said "I came because I think the kids scholarship program is important." After that, I took a little break and interviewed the Executive Director of Mount Kisco Child Care Center, Dawn Meyerski. "I work with a group of women who are like a hurricane. Somebody gets an idea and it spins around and that's what happens. A lot of people work together to make it happen and I trust them. This is really a party for grownups but I wanted the kids in it so I'm showing their pictures and their artwork." Inside the tent, there were pictures of the kids and pictures they made.

Then I walked into the other part of the tent to interview one more person, one of the Wilson sisters. They are both teachers at Mount Kisco Child Care Center. Katelyn Wilson said "I came to support Mount Kisco Child Care Center and to see all the parents and have a good time. I don't think that much changed this year from last year." Then it was time to eat!

We got our plates, napkins, and food and sat at a table. The first dish was from Sunset Cove. They served a roasted salmon on top of a sweet potato puree. The puree was smooth and it felt relaxing to eat it and the salmon tasted like the sea - in a good way. The next place was called LOCAL and they were serving a West African Soup. The soup tasted like you were in Africa. It had curry, cilantro, tomatoes, pigeon peas, and bell peppers. Those were my favorite dishes. I also interviewed the chef from Sunset Cove and the owner from LOCAL. This is what Tommy Calandrucci, the chef from Sunset Cove said "We wanted to come support the daycare. We own a local business in Tarrytown and we feel it's important to give back to the community." Then I interviewed LOCAL's Adam Strahl. "I want to support Mount Kisco Child Care Center. I like food and children's events. I live in Mount Kisco and have a restaurant in Chappaqua." I had a really enjoyable night and I'm sad I can't come back. It feels special just knowing when I walked out that I was helping the daycare.

Photo credits by Jessica Rappaport (my mom)

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The Inn at Pound Ridge by Jean-Georges

7/14/2014

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For my mom's birthday, we went to The Inn at Pound Ridge which is owned by Jean-Georges who is a famous chef in NYC. Most restaurants only have one floor but this one had two. The outside dining had a beautiful landscape. When we got to our table, we were served bread and dipped it in olive oil. The olive oil here was better than any olive oil I have had before. The bread was soft inside but the crust was crunchy. We shared one appetizer. It was a spring pea guacamole with warm, crunchy tortillas. It also had lime juice for a kick. They added sunflower seeds to it which made it crunchy with the sweet peas. When I dipped the tortilla in the guacamole, it was warm, crunchy, and spicy. My mom, my dad, and I split three main dishes. We wanted to see our waiter's recommendations about what he would pick. He said the same things we were going to order! The first dish we had was a slow cooked halibut with sweet peas, crunchy potatoes, and spring garlic. The halibut was soft and had the right seasonings. The potatoes were soft and had a nice crust on the outside. The second dish was a bacon gruyere grass-fed burger with russian dressing and yuzu pickles. The pickles were sour and the bacon and burger were just right and tender. Our third dish was a grilled beef tenderloin with spinach and tempura onion, and housemade butter sauce. The butter sauce was made with scotch bonnet hot peppers. The grilled beef tenderloin was chewy which made it good. The spinach was soft and slippery just like it's supposed to be. The tempura onions were crunchy on the outside and soft inside. When I dipped my fork in the butter sauce, it was really spicy but good. For dessert, I had a salted caramel sundae with candied popcorn, peanuts, and fudge sauce. The caramel ice cream was a sweet and salty combination which made it good. The popcorn and peanuts were so good that I dug through my bowl for them. My overall experience was really good because the food and scenery were both enjoyable. Happy Birthday Mom!