How to Open A Wine Bottle Without A Corkscrew

If you've ever been caught with a bottle of wine and no corkscrew, or you're just too cheap to buy one, Wired has a How-To article showing how to open a bottle without the handy device. All of the necessary tools can readily be found in most homes (hammer, screwdriver, etc.) and it's sure to wow a few guests if you ever decided to try it. Click below for the full article.

Open A Wine Bottle Without A Corkscrew (Wired)

The Cupcake Fad in NYC

(Image: Joyce Dopkeen/The New York Times)
The New York Times had a feature a couple weeks back on the current cupcake trend among New York City foodies, asking if the fad was nearing an end. The article mentions that perhaps the nostalgia for the childhood treat is finally wearing off, and that the rapid growth of boutique cupcake bakeries may actually be harming the trend more than helping.

The Kitchn recently expanded on the New York Times article by looking into other possible sweet trends that may hit New York soon.

Click on the articles below to get the full story.

Will Cupcakes Be the Next Krispy Kreme? (New York Times)
Trend Watch: Is the Cupcake Fad Nearing An End? (The Kitchn)

Cleaning with Spam and Pantyhose

On the stranger side of things, Apartment Therapy has a post about bizarre household cleaning tricks. The example they talk about involves combining a can of Spam and some old pantyhose to buff wooden furniture in your home. I'm not doubting that it works, but I don't know if my love for Spam extends to my furniture smelling like the ever-so-famous "spiced" meat. Click on the link below to get the full story, as well as other unique household cleaning tricks in the comments section, like using used coffee grounds to remove lingering smells from your hands after preparing food.

What's Your Most Bizarre Household/Cleaning Secret? (Apartment Therapy)

Neo-Japanese Cuisine at Ono

Last night, I had dinner with my uncle and cousin at Ono, a neo-Japanase restaurant located in the Hotel Gansevoort in the Meatpacking District. My uncle is visiting New York this weekend and he was in the mood for some good Japanese and was fine spending a pretty penny to get some (needless to say, I couldn't get a table at Morimoto on such late notice). Although definitely not for the budget conscious, Ono delivered a memorable meal which I would be more than happy to have again.

The concept of the restaurant is "family-style" eating with dishes placed in the center of the table for diners to share. I personally enjoy eating this way more as you get to try a lot more dishes, and as we were taught when we were little - everyone has more fun when you share. Highlights of the meal included Spicy Crab Pizza with avocado, radish sprouts and red miso, Duck and Lychee Robata (basically pieces of duck breast and lychee skewered and grilled - the combination of the saltiness from the duck and intense sweetness from the lychee was surprisingly satisfying), and Garlic Rubbed Whole Sea bass with black beans and peppercress. However, the definite star of the meal was the Togarashi-crusted Rib Eye, a 28 oz dry aged piece of Wagyu (Kobe) beef served with a red wine teryaki sauce (seen above - yes, you can start drooling if you already haven't). 

More pictures below...

Bruce Lee as Fast Food Chain Mascot

It's settled. I've found the single greatest corporate mascot of all time. Fast Food Critic is reporting that a fast food chain in China called Kung Fu uses Bruce Lee as it mascot. Let's just say, Ronald McDonald should find a good hiding place to avoid getting his ass kicked. Check out the articles below for more pictures and the story.

Kung Fu Fast Food, with Bruce Lee? (Fast Food Critic)
'Kung Fu' Fast Food Chain Has Bruce Lee as Mascot (Serious Eats)
Kung Fu Fast Food (When Eating A Wolf)

Using Statistics to Beat the Shake Shack Line

Blogger Vinicius Vacanti has taken a unique approach to beating the long lines at the Shake Shack. He took line lengths reported by Twitter users over the last four months and graphed the average wait time throughout the day. I especially like his comment about the 60-minute or "third tree" long wait that some of us (who don't have interns to line up for us) have had to endure. Still, it always seems worth it once you dive into your Shackburger and cheese fries. Click on the link below to continue to the article.

Shake Shack Without The Wait (Vinicius Vacanti)

New Alton Brown Special on Food Network

Feasting on Waves, the new Alton Brown (Good Eats & Iron Chef America) special series premiered last Sunday night on Food Network, and let's face it - we all can't get enough Alton to satisfy our culinary curiosity. The show: part cooking demo, part history lesson and part travel show - is a spin off from his popular show Feasting on Asphalt. Like Asphalt, the show follows Alton and his film crew as they travel in search for authentic culinary dishes and history of the region; however, instead of riding around Middle America on motorcycle, the crew sails around the Caribbean on a 50-foot catamaran in search for true island cuisine. I personally like the new show more than its predecessor as I find the filming locations much more interesting. And as always, the show is much better in HD...

On a side note, Gizmodo has a great interview with Alton about the various technology used while filming the show.

Food Network's Alton Brown Talks to Giz: Caribbean Adventuring With A Garmin, an iPhone and a Shload of Cameras (Gizmodo)

Flushing's answer to the New York burger craze

A friend of mine, George (who will probably be helping me with the design of this blog), told me that I had to go to this burger place that he loves in Flushing and talk about it on Belly Blabber. So we decided to head to Flushing tonight and grab some dinner at Joe's Best Burger.

What makes Joe's different from your normal fast food burger joint is that they use FRESH ingredients (or so says their website) and the burgers are cooked to order, which kind of makes it sound like the East Coast equivalent of In-N-Out Burger. I'm not saying that the burgers are as good as In-N-Out (or Shake Shack for that matter), but they were pretty tasty. My only complaint was that the burger was cooked through a little bit more than I would have liked. Also, Joe's serves its fresh cut fries with special "gourmet" sauces like Chipotle BBQ, Roasted Garlic and Mango Chutney. I tried Chipotle BBQ, and I did enjoy it. But I have to say - although the combination was interesting, I still prefer ketchup with my fries. In terms of fast food burgers, Joe's is a definite step up from Mcdonald's or Wendy's, and worth a stop if you're already in the area.

More pictures below...

A Visit to Ithaca

Over the Labor Day weekend, I took a trip back to my old campus in Ithaca, New York to visit my girlfriend. While most of my college life was spent eating like a poor student (There was that one semester where my roommates and I basically alternated between Chinese food and Subway each meal), I think I was able to sample a fair amount of Ithaca's offerings in terms of food fare. With the Ithaca area reportedly having a higher restaurant per capita ratio than New York City, it isn't too much of a surprise that there are quite a few really good places.



Here is a short list of my favorite Ithaca eateries.

Maxie's Supper Club

I think the main reason I love this place so much is because of my love for barbecue and Southern food, and Maxie's allows me to enjoy both. Personal favorites are the Fried Green Tomatoes, Cajun Fries and the Pulled Pork Plate (and if you order all of that, I recommend sharing it with at least one other person). However, the best option is definitely the raw bar, which you can get half off from 4-6 PM everyday for happy hour. Fresh shucked oysters (usually 2 or 3 varieties) with some drinks are definitely the way to go when making a visit. It can get pretty busy at times so a reservation is recommended, especially if you are going in a big group (5+ people).

Wings Over Ithaca

There is nothing quite as satisfying as having a big order of Wings Over Ithaca in the middle of the night, or even better after a long workout. However, you haven't had Wings until you've eaten it in the actual restaurant. The fries, onion rings and wings are crispy and fresh as they haven't been steaming in a covered delivery package for 20 minutes or so. Aside from the standard Buffalo, Garlic Parmesan is a personal favorite, but Cajun Teryaki and Honey Mustard are quite good as well. In addition, I strongly suggest ordering bone-in wings as they are juicier and tend to have more flavor. However, if you are in a rush, your order will get to you MUCH quicker if you order boneless. Till this day, its the one thing I have to have whenever I visit Ithaca.

Kilpatrick's Publick House

My roommates and I discovered Kilpatrick's pretty late in our stay at Cornell. From the outside, this Irish pub looks like any other, but in fact it boasts a very decent menu. Also, if you can get one of the booths in the back, you get your own mini-TV (with cable!) that you can program to any channel. The burgers are quite good - juicy and HUGE, and the Irish Fries pretty much describe themselves (Beer battered fries smothered in smoked bacon, green onions and pepper jack cheese). My personal favorite is the Hen of the Woods burger, which is topped with Swiss cheese, sauteed wild mushrooms, bacon, sweet onions, lettuce, tomato and herb mayonnaise. I think what sealed the deal was the Ithaca Bakery cheese bread that they served us (for free), the first time we were there. However, the other times we've gone, we were just served normal rolls, so you may not be quite as lucky when you make your visit.