Category Archives: FavoriteThings

Favorite Things: Ihawan Indulgences

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Ihawan Restaurant (70th & Roosevelt in Woodside, Queens) is the place to go for authentic Filipino food in New York. Known for their pork barbecue skewers, we also frequent this place their other specialties, namely Daing na Bangus (fried milkfish), Crispy Pata (fried pork knuckles), and sisg (sizzling pork facial muscles and ear).

The Daing is perfectly fried and the serving is very generous. Served whole and butterflied and deboned, it is a favorite breakfast treat eaten with rice and dipped in spiced vinegar.

The Crispy Pata is just fried pork personified. The photo is self-explanatory.

And finally, the Sizzling Sisig is an explosion of taste. A famous drinking dish, finely chopped cheek muscles are sauteed in onions and sprinkled with lemon juice before serving. I don’t think you’ll find anything quite like it.
I’ve lived in NY for a decade and have sampled several restaurants in the tri-state area, but nothing comes close to Ihawan in authenticity and value. And I haven’t even mentioned the avocado shake yet! (Say what?!) Notice I didn’t mention anything about decor and ambience. It’s a Filipino restaurant. What do you want? 
Mangia!

Favorite Things: Banana Split, Chocolate Room

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One of the special treats I enjoy in the neighborhood is a post-meal Banana Split at The Chocolate Room. They serve free samples of their chocolate sorbet or hot chocolate upon being seated, but my favorite item on the menu is their banana split with three ice cream flavors, hot fudge and a bruleed banana. Of course it’s to share ($11), with other notable menu items flourless chocolate cake and brownies. Don’t forget to grab some spiced chocolate caramel popcorn from the counter on your way out!

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Grimaldi’s Pizza, Brooklyn

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Of course you’ve heard about Grimaldi’s pizza. How could you not? A pizza reputed to be NYC’s finest if not for the longest of lines. It’s typical to wait more than an hour especially on weekends and for big groups. Take note of this during hot summer days or in the blistering cold because one has to stand in line outside during this wait. Showing up early in the evening on a weekday might be a better idea if you don’t have the patience to wait. For what it’s worth the pizza really is good, but one can find close seconds at Patsy’s at University place in Manhattan or a less touristy contender at  Lucali’s in Carroll Gardens.

Mangia!

Pepperoni and mushrooms

Black olives and sausage.
All about Grimaldi’s new Brooklyn location here.

The Choinkwich

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This summer the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck was launched and quickly gained popularity via a New York Times article on the phenomenon of food trucks in the city.

 
The BGICT is no different from your basic Mr. Softee ice cream truck in that it serves two soft-serve ice cream flavors (chocolate and vanilla) but BGICT serves its cones with the most unusual toppings: ground wasabi peas, cayenne pepper, olive oil and salt, to name a few.

I quickly subscribed to the guy’s Twitter page at http://twitter.com/biggayicecream to discover the truck’s daily location, but didn’t get to finally try it until a few days before the season ended.

I had their signature creation – The Choinkwich – chocolate ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate crackers and maple-caramelized bacon. It was an experience which made me wish I had enough time and stomach space to try the other specials but sadly the season ended, leaving its fans (usually found salivating in line outside his truck) aching for the summer when he opens his doors again.

I cannot wait.

My McSweeney’s Food Review on The Choinkwich:

Big Gay Ice Cream Choinkwich

If you’ve ever wanted to attend Mass at a Catholic Church naked and eating a hotdog on Good Friday, then the indulgent treat of your fantasies is now a slobbering reality. The Choinkwich not only pairs the delectable flavors of smoked pork fat with chocolate and cream, it is also served from a truck that colorfully advertises activities that already destroyed civilization even before you began to contemplate sacrilege during Lent.

The Choinkwich is a chocolate ice cream sandwich made with… love (of the equal kind). A crispy, caramelized strip of bacon is nestled between layers of chocolate cartwheel cookie and chocolate soft serve ice cream. If you’re lucky it is served to you by the very cute and charming innovator of everything Big Gay Ice Cream, Doug Quint, who is also happens to be professional bassoon player! Now if that isn’t all kinds of sinful and creamy, then just spit me out and dip me in Nutella, another staple Doug uses to line cones at this infamous food truck that also recently opened its first store in the East Village in Manhattan.

The popular treat craved by bacon-chocolate junkies is such a mysterious presence that it is a secret. It does not appear on any menus or specials posted each day. One searching for the mix of salt, smoke, meat, frozen milk and cocoa must learn to ask for it on the sly. And if one is so unfortunate as reach the front of the line after a thirty minute wait and end up with no Choinkwich, there is always the equally seductive mix of vanilla, dulce de leche, rock salt and chocolate dip, very aptly named for the images it conjures once it meets thy puckering gay lips: The Salty Pimp.

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