Featured Eateries

The un-paralleled Hellenistic destination for seafood in Astoria is Taverna Kyclades! This authentic Greek taverna is located in the most fantastic Greek neighborhood outside of Attica. Just take the N train to the end of the line (Ditmars Boulevard in Queens), and head down the well-lit streets for some perfectly prepared Pesca!

A simple Greek peasant salad with BRICKS of feta.

Various spreads including skordalia a delicious potato puree, tzatziki, the classic cucumber, garlic yogurt sauce, and taramosalata which is a potato spread made with fish roe.

This is the best grilled octopus you’ll ever have. Period.

After recently reading A Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine, I’ve had a hankering for grilled squabs… Grilled quail satisfied this craving completely. These bite-sized birds were perfectly cooked and scrumptious. Pub proprietors would do well to offer quail for Monday Night football snack specials instead of boring ole’ buffalo wings.

The highlight of the evening had to be the perfectly cooked sea bass. De-boned by the waiter and spectacularly tender and flavorful… Just squeeze some lemon and dive on in! Proof. 3307 Ditmars Blvd Astoria, NY 11105

The midwestern burger chain Steak n’ Shake appears to be opening up in Midtown, Manhattan right next to the Ed Sullivan theater, where they film a TV show or something.

Should we as New Yorkers be excited? I don’t know. It seems like Manhattan is turning into a Midwestern strip mall. There’s a TGI Friday’s in Union Square now of all things. I’ve always wanted to try a Steak Burger, but there’s something about the fact that you needed to fly to St. Louis, Missouri that added to the appeal. Similar to the joy of picking up an In N Out burger when you get off the plane in California. Negative proof.

Happy Monday Proof-Readers!

This weekend I investigated White Manna in Hackensack, New Jersey. This minute lunch counter has become a ubiquitous stop on every food show on television. It has been covered by the Food Network and the Travel Channel as well as food blogs such as A Hamburger Today to name a few.

The question is, should you believe the hype?

Not taking into account the burgers, I had a really great time here yesterday. The place was PACKED including a hockey team from Philly that stopped in on their way home from the turnpike. It was quite a scene! The wait was long, but everyone was really friendly, nice, happy, and having a great time… Bound together by a mutual love of greasy burgers.

As you can probably tell in the photos, these small belly-bombs are grilled on a flat top and smashed down onto a bed of onions. The only topping options are pickles onions and American cheese.

The texture of these burgers was amazing. Imagine a super cheesy, messy, little meatball on a pleasingly soft dough-ball of a potato bun. However, I think something might be missing. Let’s call it seasoning. A little salt? A little pepper? Something needs to spice up this rather bland sandwich besides the onions. The ingredients are quality, but I really didn’t see what all the fuss was about. I honestly think they could be done better.

Having said that, I had a fun experience here that was very unique. It was fun crowding around the lunch counter, joking around and socializing with strangers on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The burgers were nice… A HUGE step up from White Castle, and you don’t feel guilty eating them. They are cheap, super cheap; and rather substantial. I could only do 4 regulars with cheese fries on the side. I think it must be those potato rolls! Proof positive.

White Manna 358 River St Hackensack, NJ 07601

I saved the choicest South America Proof Post for last. This was one of the best suppers of my life. Caruso 201 Avenue Cumming, in Cerro Carcel.

My travel-mates and I decided to change things up and have a sparkling wine to accompany our seafood, so we tried a sparkling Chardonnay and Malbec mix. A FANTASTIC idea! I’m not one to go for Champagnes or Proseccos, but this was a dry, robust, and crisp wine with a lovely amber hue and very fine bubbles that fizzed perfect golden strands straight to the top of the glass.

To start… CEVICHE again. I know, not very original but how can you pass this up?

This was cooked only in citric acid, but very lightly. The natural color of the fish still shined through as you can see below.

And then, one of the finest Chilean seafood dishes, a cheesy bubbling casserole made with sweet crab meat fished out of the cold Pacific waters and baked in a clay bowl… Known locally as Pastel de Jaibas or crab pie. This is some proof right here:

And finally, the traditional Chilean conger eel soup, Caldillo de Congrio so light, so flavorful, so flawless. Famed poet Pablo Neruda’s favorite dish. Perfection in a bowl.

One of the best meals I experienced in Chile was at Sabor Color in the Cerro Concepcion neighborhood in Valparaiso (at the apex of the hill).

This restaurant truly had a theme, color.   Colorful oil paints decorated the walls and warm reds and oranges were splashed throughout the interior.  The dishes all displayed flashes of multi-hued vibrancy from the ceviche to the grilled meats and fish.

The image below is an artfully prepared 100 percent salmon ceviche with a shot of tigers milk to chase it down.  Tigers milk is the spicy citrus surplus that accompanies your ceviche and is sometimes reserved in a glass to toast.  I’m pretty sure drinking tigers milk shots for breakfast lunch and dinner gives you superpowers.  Also, this was the best ceviche I’ve ever had in my life.

Filet with figs and mashed potatoes.  Tender.  Perfect.  The figs added a nice sweet dimension to this savory dish.

This was amazing, sea bass and a risotto made of pearl barley.  The texture of this risotto was like caviar, eclipsing any aborrio rice I’ve ever tasted.  Note to any interested cooks out there, this is not merely a substitute, but an upgrade.

This fantastic meal was also accompanied with an aromatic and delicious local Sauvignon Blanc from the Casablanca Valley in Chile. (For only 8 dollars US!!) Proof.

The best market in Valparaiso, Chile is the Mercado Cardonal.  You can venture upstairs above the numerous overflowing vegetable stalls to a whole galaxy of busy seafood restaurants.  (Steer clear of the now-defunct Mercado Puerto in Val-po which seems to be closed down and condemned).  We chose El Meson to dine at because of the view, but most of the 2nd floor restaurants had similar menus, prices and offerings.

Before arriving, my travel companions and I were caught in a mass protest for student rights, including tanks and tear gas.  Opportunistic capitalists were selling lemons out of shopping carts to the crowds.  Lemon’s acidic properties seem to negate at least some of the affects of tear gas.  After the protests ceased though, and the crowd dispersed, many of the protesters adjourned for a late lunch at the mercado.  Very civilized.  After a hard day of protesting, there’s nothing like a hearty seafood stew to replenish you!

Just as chaotic as the protests outside is Curanto, which is a traditional seafood stew containing shrimp, mussels, barnacles, clams, a pork chop, a chicken breast and a steak.  This dish cost approximately 8 dollars US and could have fed at least four people.  They also provided a bowl of consomme along with it to dip your shellfish into.

Above was hidden steak.  Yup, that’s right!  After digging through barnacles and clams and pork-chops and chicken, there was a grilled steak hidden in the bottom of the bowl.  I was NOT hungry for dinner in the evening.

How was it?  Honestly it was a meat overload.  Too many land and sea animals ingested at one sitting.  I felt like I ate Noah’s Ark.  Also the clams and mussels added way too much grit to really enjoy the dish. The consomme on the side proved indispensable to wash off sediment.

The highlight here was the traditional Chilean conger eel soup, Caldillo de Congrio.  So light and flavorful:

Also the clams and cheese appetizer was another winner.  The Machas a la Parmesan which seem to be ubiquitously on every menu in Chile.  Whoever said not to combine cheese and seafood?