Feasting Down Mexico Way
Viva Mexico! Don’t let those border town drug wars get you down. Mexico is plenty safe for travel right now if you know where to go. Still unsure? Or just don’t have the time to get away? Well, just because you can’t actually leave home to take a summer vacation doesn’t mean your summer fiesta can’t transport you to Mexico. And it will when you crack open one of these two new Mexican cookbooks that bring traditional small plates and more to your next bash (piñata optional).
Photo by Lucy Schaeffer
ANTOJITOS – Festive and Flavorful Mexican Small Plates By Barbara Sibley and Maragaritte Malfy with Mary Goodbody
New York City Restaurateurs Barbara Sibley and Margaritte Malfy introduced La Palapa to New Yorkers over a decade ago. Since then, their locations in the East and West Village have been a destination for traditional Mexican cuisine which harkens back to the foods Sibley enjoyed growing up in Mexico City. The women’s mission for the restaurant was to, as Sibley says, “Bring Mexico to New York and offer things you would eat in someone’s home.” Sibley comments on the restaurant’s décor noting, “we wanted people to have a mini vacation, under the tranquil shade of a palapa. We wanted people to feel like they were in Mexico.” Now, with the recent release of Antojitos booking a trip to Mexico isn’t necessary; these small bites enjoyed under thatched roofs can be served at home – even if you don’t actually have a palapa.
Palapa and a beach available or not, there’s no reason not to explore these foods for your next party or evening in. According to Malfy and Sibley, “The word antojo means ‘craving,’ which explains the name of these tasty, fresh bites. In some parts of Mexico, an antojito is called a tentempie, roughly, ‘a snack that keeps you standing’ – in other words, a bite to tide you over until your next meal. These snacks are typically eaten out of hand or from a small paper cone or cup while standing or walking around [marketplace stalls and town plazas]. Although antojitos are not usually considered a full meal by Mexicans, they can be so bountiful and delectable that there is no reason not to add a margarita or a beer and declare an assortment of them a suitable supper. Read the full article here »
Tags: Antojitos, Barbara Sibley, La Palapa, Margaritte Malfy, Mexican fiesta, Rick Bayless
Posted in: Brain Food
July 14th, 2010
HOW TO BOOZE – EXQUISITE COCKTAILS AND UNSOUND ADVICE By Jordan Kaye & Marshall Altier
Image courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers/Cover Design by Robin Bilardello
Commonly prevailing wisdom says you shouldn’t drown your sorrows in a bottle. And, while we’re not advocating alcoholism as a solution, we do acknowledge that there are some times when you’re going to need a drink to properly mark life’s little moments. And the big ones too; both bad and good. You’ve got your perfect playlist to suit every mood, so, why not pick the right drink to fit each situation?
Unsure what that is? You won’t be after reading Marshal Altier and Jordan Kaye’s How to Booze-Exquisite Cocktails and Unsound Advice. Read this ultimately spirited life guide and amusing social commentary on finding the right drink for every situation and in no time you’ll be sipping the appropriate tipple to match your mood whether you’re catching up with old friends, coping with a bad blind date, engaged in a threesome, engaged in self-love, brunching, dining al fresco, meeting your future in-laws, and more.
This book came together thanks to a meeting of the minds. Kaye says, “Marshall and I had a great time writing this book. From the very beginning we shared a common sensibility, a common vision on what this project was about: bringing fantastic cocktails to a broad audience using our own distinctive brand of humor and imagination. We met at Tailor, where Marshall used to work, at a meeting set up by our agent Jessica Regal. And basically we wrote the book sitting at bars, cocktail spots, dives. And we had a great time. One benefit for me, as basically a home-grown cocktail guy, is that I have become just much, much better at making drinks after spending so much time with Marshall. But the project couldn’t have happened if we didn’t really share a specific sense of humor and aesthetic. More than anything I think that’s what made the book work.”
Some suggestions from Altier and Kaye
THE CLOSER
There are make or break moments in a relationship. In some relationships, it can feel like every moment is a make or break moment. But a real big one comes around eight weeks in. By this juncture, confidences have been made. Friends have been introduced. Family members have shared unsolicited points of view. Underwear has been removed – quite a number of times, Read the full article here »
Tags: Dubonnet, How to Booze, in-flight drinks, Jordan Kaye, Marshall Altier
Posted in: Brain Food
July 10th, 2010
Story By Sharon Festinger
Photo by Jerry Errico
Are green cocktails riding a trend or feeding a cause? Well, probably a bit of both. These days everyone seems to be in on the green action. There are, though, definite merits to making and drinking environmentally sound cocktails. If you’re selective about what foods you eat it would follow that you care what you ingest in liquid form, too. Enter Paul Abercrombie’s recent book, “Organic, Shaken and Stirred.”
The book has plenty of eye candy and it’s full of substance, too. The photography is lush and inviting and the recipes well organized, if a bit unexpected. The drinks were culled from bartenders and beverage directors from around the world. Read the full article here »
Tags: acai, drink better, green cocktails, organic cocktails, Paul Abercrombie, Sharon Festinger
Posted in: Brain Food
March 19th, 2010
Eating And Drinking Our Way Through The Industry – One (or more) Books At A Time
Starting with our premiere issue of Inside F&B we’ve got a little gift for you. Lucky for you it’s the kind of gift that keeps giving – our Brain Food column. Here you’ll find an insider’s first look at the f&b related books hitting the market (and some we’re finally getting to). We’re sure you’ll want them on your bookshelves, kitchen counters and back bar too so you can refer to them over and over again.
Read the full article here »
Tags: bar, bartender, booze, caricatures, cocktail, cocktailians, DeGroff, Jill, lush, McSorley's, mixologist, saloon artist, speakeasy
Posted in: Brain Food, Columns
January 31st, 2010
Chocolate: A Love Story
65 Chocolate Dessert Recipes From Max Brenner’s Private Collection
By Max Brenner
Even the non-chocolate lovers among us will be enchanted by Max Brenner’s collection of 50 original recipes as set against bold illustrations which evoke a breadth of art styles from art deco those books our parents read in the 1970s and hid in their nightstands. The food photography which accompanies these recipes mirrors Brenner’s restaurant design and menu and is so realistic you expect to be able to dig a fork in and taste the oozing chocolate goodness.
Brenner shows a deep appreciation for the food that is associated with romance and fantasy, nostalgia and passion and it comes through in every recipe. It should come as little surprise that his inspiration for both the book and his career was, in part, a childhood passion for Roald Dahl’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. As a child Brenner swore that someday he would find a river of chocolate and sail in it. Sounds great! And we think that thanks to this book someday is now.
Posted in: Brain Food, Columns
January 29th, 2010
