A sample of some of Provos top dishes as featured in the summer issue of Where When How. For past Provo Bites, click here. We’ll be there in a week for another culinary adventure.
Wahoo Carpaccio at Caicos Cafe – If there’s anything as exciting as the left side of Caicos Cafe’s menu it is in my humble opinion the right side of the menu. All that excitement causing the specials on the board to look lonely and out of place, like the lone sock in your sock drawer missing its partner (Why do people keep the single socks. Hard to say goodbye or are they waiting for a miraculous appearance of some sort). At any rate, all sorts of food magic can also be found on that special board, and if there’s fresh Wahoo in the house there’s a good chance “Mad Max” will add it in this Carpaccio form. Expertly prepared, sprinkled with capers and pink peppercorns, perfectly cut, silky smooth, melt in your mouth buttery “When Harry Met Sally” seafoodgasm goodness, worthy of a run on sentence. Get this!
Conch Chowder at Le Bouchon. Yes, these guys make a killer Steak Frites. Yes, their escargot will make you slap your mama. Yes, the place is always full of beautiful people, and NO that’s not the main reason we keep going back there Mrs Ziggy, aka the most beautiful woman I know. And yes, even the simple stuff like the smoky, perfectly spiced, uncreamy Chowder is a winner at Le Bouchon Du Village. If there’s one dish that showcases Pierrick’s and Julian attention to detail, this may be the one.
Peruvian Conch Ceviche at Seaside. Here’s a fun tidbit for your next cocktail party. Most people don’t realize the role Peru had on our ability to function as society. Transportation networks, roped bridges, The Pisco Sour, all invented in ancient Peru. But the biggest contribution that most dont know about is the Ceviche, the grandfather of TCI’s national dish, Conch Salad. Young master chef Francois mixes in various peppers including Scotch Bonnet to give it the proper pleasant heat with just enough acid from the lime. And in true Peruvian style, he throws in plenty of fresh veggies including corn to make it the island Conch Salad to beat. The equally outstanding tuna Sashimi made this choice a tough one.
Romaine Lettuce at Lupo – We all have our routines right before heading to Turks and Caicos. Mine is having my fortune told. “You will choose wisely” was a common theme, and I have to tell you readers, those fortune cookies are correct more often than not. So I went against my comfort zone more often and ordered things that I normally never do, like this play on Caesar Salad. Quite possibly the best Caesar you will ever eat. Smoky Romaine, sharp Parm and crispy Pancetta bits round this piece of deliciousness. Nicely done Lupo!
Fettuccine with Guanciale and Black Truffles at Via Veneto – The fatty, deliciously salty Guanciale (pork cheeks) plays an important part here. But its all about that truffle essence that tells the brain “now this is gonna be yummy (foodie technical term)”. Just like when you put your shoes on and it feels sort of wet inside and you suddenly remember that your toddler was playing hide and seek again in the closet the night before and got a wee bit excited, your brain tells you its time to remove those shoes from your feet. Via Veneto is quickly becoming another Italian force to be reckoned with.
Sautéed Whole Snapper at Bugaloos (top)- A Snapper a day keeps the doctor away… and brings the creditors closer. Take your creditors to Bugaloos so they could understand. Freshly caught Red Snapper doesn’t require too much handling. Some coconut milk, onions, pepper, garlic, and simple seasoning is the best compliment for the mouthwatering perfectly flaky piece of fish. The inner barbarian Ziggy came out to attack this one with full force. While the inner feminine Ziggy required an emergency cookie stop 20 minutes later.
I Ziggy the II, bite my nails! I dont do it because I’m often nervous, gamble, or watch “The Bachelor” a lot. Its just a habit I developed as a child that never really went away. And after reading a report on Twitter by a reliable source that, get this, people who bite their nails tend to have a stronger immune system & rarely get sick, I’m not stopping any time soon. I may even offer to bite other people’s nails if they suffer from this fetish. I do very rarely get sick. I also have this thing where I need to lick my fingers before using a napkin, no matter who I’m eating with, and where I am. Using napkins on saucy fingers just feels very wrong. I may have been also a tiny little bit stinky before this particular meal, after a 4 hour walking tour of Hell’s Kitchen I was conducting right before the meal. Not to mention the bike run to Tribeca for Nish Nush Falafel for lunch.
So here I was…slightly stinky, tehina smelling, unmanicured fingers, on our anniversary dinner at the oil tycoon section of 2 Michelin Star Marea. Being surrounded by big glamour, and wealth I felt as comfortable as watching a Cialis commercial with the kids. But, after 2 drinks it didn’t take long until we settled down and enjoyed another fine meal at one of New York’s finest. By the way, I did shave for this one. I’m not an animal!
Crudo trio – Pretty forgettable overall. Exhibit A: I don’t remember much of it. Tried the razor clams, langoustine, and snapper. The snapper (Dentice) had the most flavor, and the Razor Clams not nearly as good as little sister Costata.
Halibut – I wasnt too sure about this one. I mean its a freakin halibut (firm, mild, dries quickly), and very often for us after all those rich primis, fish just doesnt deliver much. This one did! Halibut cooked nicely, not too dry, but what made the dish was the Fregola Sarda, little bubbly Israeli couscous-like pasta. With a little pleasant heat the pasta worked very well with the mild fish.
The boats were fun, although most likely built during biblical times. I developed a child labor technique called OOM-PAH (patent pending). Shouting “OOM-PAH” meant they both row to the drum-like beat, “OOM” means just the right child, “PAH” means left. The faster the chant, the faster the row. It worked for us in that we got back in time (1 hour) and no baby turtles were hurt in the process. One mother turtle got almost killed, but she was at the wrong place, at the wrong time.
After that we looked for a table at the boathouse for a drink but no luck. So we trekked a little further to the other boat rental spot where you rent a remote control to navigate your assigned sailboat. Had some fun with that, climbed Alice in Wonderland (I think I may have killed something else – another turtle), Belvedere Castle, and headed toward dinner.
Having been to New Orleans, and San Francisco, while living in NYC, I’m starting to believe it. He was talking about food, right? I believe so. As I’ve said before, I always compare the excitement of going to NOLA to that of Italy. Amazing, in a way somewhat foreign cuisine in one heck of a unique setting. Without further ado, here are our top NOLA bites during a recent trip.
BBQ Shrimp at Bevi – I’ll start with the no-brainer. Perhaps our top eat came from a little shack in Metairie about 30 minutes out from the quarter, close to the airport. We came for the Crawfish boil and got that and so much more. Huge, plump fresh perfectly cooked head-on gulf shrimp complimented by what I can only describe as Sauce of Dreams. Or maybe it was the beer talking, as in Canebrake beer, the sauce main ingredient. Move over Mr B’s, and say hello to Mr B!
Chargrilled Oysters at Felix’s – Last trip we enjoyed them at Drago’s who invented the Chargrilled Oysters, but now we have a new favorite looks like. They are not as cheesey and buttery at Felix’s but lightly breaded, some lemon, oil and a little bit of cheese just enough to bring out the flavors of the oysters without overpowering.
BBQ Shrimp at Mr B’s – Yes, two BBQ Shrimp dishes on the list this time, which prompted to ask on Chowhound where can I get this in NYC. No replies so far and its been at least 5 minutes! This thing was our top eat last time and the only repeater on the list. If you cant get to Metairie, or even if you can, get this!
Warning: Some of these images may be disturbing. They may include large crowds, pictures of alcoholic beverages, tender grilled octopuses (yes, octopuses is not only acceptable but rolls off the tongue better.. try saying it a few times.. Octopuses) and ways in which we can cheat the system and walk around holding an alcoholic beverage on the streets of NY. They may also include scenes way too familiar to the average NY food festival goer including pictures of Shish Kebab, corn, and strange looking dudes sporting cats and giant beer bottles on their heads.
I’m also taking this opportunity to award the first ever ZAG award to the vendor showing excellence via most palatable eats. The ZAG (Ziggy Against Gyros) goes to Empanada Mama and their terrific Brazil and Spicy Chicken Empanadas. Congratulations guys.