Burger Joint

Jared turned me on to an incredible Midtown secret. You head to Le Parker Meridien on 118 West 57th St. walk in, pass the suits and soaring ceilings, modernist columns and marble floors, make a sharp left and down a velvet draped dark hallway, you'll see this...


It's a mutherfuckin' burger joint!


The great charred burgers, cooked perfectly, with the works, are only $7.00. A pitcher of Sam Adams' Lager, $18.00.


The fries are forgettable. More useful as lincoln logs than burger accompaniments.


The decor, however, is very special.

This is what a picnic looks like

Mmmm, family.

Mi familia came to visit me and chow down on the NYC offerings.


We ate bagels every single morning. Raw red onion and slices of tomato, salt, and lots of pepper.


To Chinatown for dumplings


and Dim Sum.


We visited the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens (free on Tuesdays!) and nibbled our way through the incredible herb, fruit, and vegetable garden.






In addition to this beautiful swiss chard, there was amaranth, sorrel, lamb's quarters, tobacco, quinoa, and dozens of plants I have never even heard of.


At the New Museum, they have rich and crumbly peanut butter cookies filled with whipped peanut butter-buttercream. 3$!


Cheddar-baked eggs with grits and golden raisin- fennel toast.


Ricotta on toasted baguette with fig jam, dried sour cherries, walnuts, and arugula. Roebling Tea House.


This handsome young guy graduated into culinary manhood when he tried his first on-the-half-shell oyster this weekend. Will it be his last?

Spread this on

"Cooking is great! It's burned meat!"

To Long Island's Wild Wood Park in Riverhead, New York for some real camping.


Let's meat the campers, shall we?

Fire Master Bennett


The librarian of your wildest dreams, Kate.


Park designer/Strong man Mr. Olmsted.


Tick Magnet, me.


The greatest thing about cooking in the wilderness, besides the smoke, char, and caramelizing scent of fire-roasted meat, is the creativity that comes with minimalism. Salami and cheese and peanut butter sandwiches for example; or adding trail mix to your PB & J. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it.




This is a Charcoal Onion. A Charcoal Onion, which I learned about from a rotund Italian cook who never made it on the new Grill It! Show with Bobby Flay, is created by placing whole onions, peel and roots intact, on a fire or BBQ Grill. You let the onion burn and become completely blacked and two beers later you remember it and take the seemingly inedible mass out of the coals to squeeze out the sweetened goopy onion inside. Put it on a hot dog.


Down by the sea shore...


...there was that little kind of shack that you always hope is there, hawking cold sodas, ice pops, pretty decent burgers, and CHEEZE FRIES. Mmmm.


Ew, girls.


We found lots of wild blueberry bushes. A couple were ripe.


Hash in the morning. Potatoes, salami, onion, garlic, zucchini, and a sauce made out of ketchup, lime juice, salt, pepper, and tabasco.

Like Peas and Toast, A Perfect Marriage

Sam and Alex finally visited! Tacos, pizza, absinthe, French toast, you name it, we ate it. Here is everything exciting we consumed in a week.






The absinthe ban has been lifted in the United States. Look at how Jared's clothes match the bottle. What a pirate.


Just cookin' at home, getting ready for IRON CHEF NYC!!!-- LEMON.


Lemony garlic chicken skewers and wild rice pilaf with oranges and lemons.


Sliders with lemon aioli and preserved lemon.


Lemony pasta salad.


Raspberry lemon ice cream and two lemon pies.














We went to 5ptz which didn't have any food per say, though there was a pub on the corner offering beer and 40 cent oysters that Sam and Alex negated.




Not one of us had been to White Castle before so we made a pilgrimage.






These RANCH Chicken Ringz are thin circles of chicken meat. Like little chickeny doughnuts, they are covered with a light dusting of ranch powder with little flecks of dehydrated parsley. They might have been the best thing we ordered.


Mmmmmmm.


Burgersssssssssssssssssss.


White Castle burgers taste like little puffs of slightly oily, sweetened, yeasty, air. They do not taste like burgers or even beef for that matter; the meat pattie is thinner than a nickel. Alex had one and a half. Jared had three. I had four. Sam had eight. We had to eat lots of greens vegetables the next day to feel better.


Roberta's! Our last meal. Sigh.