Bouchon Bakery’s Crepe Cake. Seriously.

Yes, Please.

[Photo Credit: Deborah Jones]

Dorie Greenspan’s got a couple of stores. They look worth checking out, man.  Seriously.

Today is National Hot Pastrami day. Who knew?

[Photo Credit: Sign of the Pink Pig]

How much is too much to spend on a pie? Is $35 bucks too much?

Yes, schmuck, it is. At least, the wife sure thinks so and she ragged on me all weekend for forking over that much for a salted caramel apple pie at Four and Twenty Blackbirds. We were out in Brooklyn on Saturday visiting cousins and I’ve always wanted to try this place so on our way back home I bought a whole pie.

Was it worth it? As a treat, yes. The pie is damn good. Dumb expensive but good. Not the best pie I’ve ever had but I’d rate it 8 out of 10 for sure. I got a slice of chocolate pecan pie for the wife who stopped busting my chops momentarily as she ate.

Continuing yesterday’s theme, Serious Eats offers a guide to 20 tasty Chinese restaurants (with a movie theater nearby).

[Photo Via: The Girl Who Ate Everything]

Watch and be happy.

Deli Man Trailer from Erik Anjou on Vimeo.

I know I’ve shared this with you before but in case you missed it, here’s a sure shot: David Chang’s brussels sprouts (via Food 52).

I haven’t had a bagel in a minute but every once in a while I really get a craving for one. Know what I mean?

I like mine with butter, plain or a sesame, though I could get nuts and do onion or one of them crazy “everything” bagels. Sometimes with a few slices of tomato.

How do you like ’em?

[Photo Credit: Russ and Daughters]

From Serious Eats, dig into this NYC Doughnut Map.

[Photo Credit: James Boo/The Eaten Path]

What’s your favorite cut of French Fry? I like ’em all though I’m not crazy about Waffle Fries.

Here’s where you can get some good fries in America.

[Photo’s Via: Add a Spoonful of Sugar]

A British friend of my mother’s once clipped out an article on the British food shop Myers of Keswick that appeared in Parade Magazine. Must have be in the mid-’80s. It was a home away from home for my mom’s friend and for years it was the only place I could find HP or Daddies sauce here in New York.

It’s still here–which is no small achievement–and worth a visit. Check out the Serious Eats tour.

[Photo Credit: Off the Broiler]

Saturday morning I’m in a dentist office on the east side flipping through the pages of New York Magazine when I see a blurb on Maison Kayser a newly-opened bakery on the Upper East Side. It is the 80th location of the bakery worldwide but the first in the States. So when I finished the appointment I paid a visit, bought a baguette, a sugar brioche, and a pain au chocolat. They were all wonderful so I went back yesterday with my sister and The Wife for brunch.

My sister, whose been to Paris many times, walked in and said, “It smells right.”

We were in heaven. Maison Keyser is a bakery and a sit down restaurant. They are still getting their bearings in terms of service but nothing was egregiously bad and here’s the beauty part…I recognized a blond haired woman from the day before. She’d been working behind the cash register in the bakery, was friendly and had an open face.  Her name is Marine. I introduced her to my sister and The Wife and she asked us if we’d tried the white chocolate brioche (I think it’s called a Vin Blanc, but I could be wrong). We had not and she brought us one and explained that it is from Lyon, where she is from, a combination of a baguette and brioche.

We flipped over it and for $4.95 it might be one of the best greatest values bite-for-bite in the city. We wouldn’t have tried it if Marine didn’t offer us a sample. Eric Kayser’s breads and pastries are reason enough to trek over to the east side but he’s  fortunate to have someone like Marine working for him. She took great pride in their food and was eager to share it.  It’s that kind of care, warmth, and attentiveness that will keep us coming back.

From A Continuous Lean, here’s a piece on Nom Wah Tea Parlor, the oldest dim sum jernt in the city.

Picture by Eric Issac.

It ain’t cheap but Gem is restaurant worth visiting. In Yonkers. Who knew?

The wife, she was a heppy ket.

We interrupt Peach Week to rave about Andrew Whitney’s cooking over at Dell’Anima.

The bruschette is lovely, especially the roasted red peppers with smoked almonds but the Bone Marrow with testa, charred cippolini, pickled red onion, mustard vinaigrette is off the chain. Alone, it is worth the trip.

Yes, the pastas are satisfying, too. The vibe is cozier than L’Artusi, the menu more daring, but both places are spots I want to visit again and again (this coming from someone who doesn’t eat Italian out often). I like sitting at the bar and watching the cooks in action.

And for dessert, treat yourself to the espresso-rum almond cake.

You won’t be sorry.

Over at Food and Wine, Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert break it down…like this:

Fancy Chefs Making Burgers

AB: I understand this trend. It’s dismaying, but I completely understand the impulse. What chef wants to die broke? And let’s face it: Burgers are good. But it is definitely a little dismaying, any time you see really great chefs cooking below their abilities by putting out a burger.

ER: A burger is part of the menu at our Westend Bistro in Washington, DC. Our burger was actually inspired by McDonald’s—except for the quality of the meat, of course. A McDonald’s bun is perfect. You put it in your hands; it’s not too big, it’s not too tall. The ratios, the slice of tomato—for some reason, it’s all perfect. The pickles are perfect. The shredded salad, it’s not too much, not too little. When we did our burger, for us, it was a very interesting research project. We looked at companies like McDonald’s and Burger King and thought, What is great in their approach? And how can we make it great with the meat that we have, which is, obviously, of different quality?

[Photo Via:  Gourmet]

I’ve talked about Bucatini All’Amatriciana many times before. It’s my go-to meal, a signature dish in Rome (or just outside of Rome). It’s simple: bacon (or, in Rome, Guanciale), onions, hot pepper flakes, olive oil and tomatoes. Served with bucatini, the long pasta with a hole in the middle.

There are many variations on this theme and just as many arguments about the proper way to make the dish. Marcella Hazen doesn’t use olive oil, she uses butter and vegetable oil. Some people add garlic. Lydia Bastianich cooks the onions in pasta water first and once they are softened she adds the oil. Everyone is convinced their way is the correct way.

Anyhow, here are two more versions to fool around with.

One, from a Portland Chef named Rachel Grossman (via Saveur). It is certainly more involved than the traditional method, has far more ingredients. Curious to give it a try to see why she goes in that direction.

And here’s another–which I’ve tried and recommend–from New York chef (co-owner of Dell’Anima and L’Artusi) Gabe Thompson.

[Photo Credit: Todd Coleman]

Oh, man, this place looks tasty, never mind the trek to Brooklyn.

[Photo Credit: 3000 miles ’til dinner]

Serious Eats offers us the ultimate 15 Pizzeria Itinerary. Mmm Mmm Good.

[Photo Via: Citrus-Kids]

Rhubarb tiramisu at L’Artusi. Oh hell, yeah, worth the trip. It won’t be around long. Don’t sleep.