Eat Cetera: Smoked Mushrooms To Meat Filled Mondays To Food Truck Frenzy
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<em>Licorice Scented Lamb Loin</em><br/><br/><strong>Meat Filled Mondays:</strong> Got a bad case of the Mondays? That's nothing the taste of flesh can't fix. In response to a growing trend of âMeatless Mondays," Chef Christian Ragano at <a href="http://gothamist.com/2010/11/24/new_restaurants_17.php#photo-3">New York Central</a> in Grand Central Station will be offering "Meat Filled Mondays" starting May 23rd. Ragano, a talented chef who has a tattoo of a pig across his chest, will come up with a different menu each week, featuring meat like beef cheeks, ostrich, buffalo, elk, rabbit, quail, and steak. It costs $65 a seating, and while next week's menu hasn't been announced yet, you can get a sense of what you're in for with <a href="http://www.grandnewyork.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/entertainment/restaurants/index.jsp">last week's offerings</a>. First Course: Honey Glazed Quail Arugula, Beluga Lentils, Lardoons, Reisling Foam. Second Course: Pan Roasted Lamb Loin Chickpeas, Fava Beans, Spinach, Rhubarb. Third Course: Roasted Elk Loin Braised Romaine, Morels, Blueberry Mostarda. Dessert was Grandmaâs Chocolate Cake, which we can only assume was made with choice cuts of grandmother moose, which is the most tender. <br/><br/> <em>109 East 42nd Street, (212)-883-1234 </em>
<em><a href="http://colormekatie.com">Katie Sokoler</a>/Gothamist</em><br/><br/><strong>Smoked Mushroom Madness:</strong> <a href="http://www.fattycue.com/">Fatty 'Cue</a>, the <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgothamist.com%2F2010%2F09%2F30%2Fvideo_how_your_pork_gets_smoked_at.php&rct=j&q=fatty%20cue%20gothamist&ei=ItvSTdDCAsru0gG17ejpCw&usg=AFQjCNGwTpDSlAnIE5coec1bBgGLtOvP7w&sig2=r60vej3J32z3i43YFOy_VA&cad=rja">hot Southeast Asian BBQ restaurant</a> where just about <em>everything</em> is smoked, is turning the May monsoons into (smoked) lemonade by offering a limited time only Mushroom menu from Wednesday through Sunday. In an attempt to "celebrate the rain as an integral ingredient in making all delicious things grow," the restaurant will feature mushrooms in various forms, "with the one common denominator being a trip in the smoker for all." (Here's <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgothamist.com%2F2010%2F09%2F30%2Fvideo_how_your_pork_gets_smoked_at.php&rct=j&q=fatty%20cue%20gothamist&ei=ItvSTdDCAsru0gG17ejpCw&usg=AFQjCNGwTpDSlAnIE5coec1bBgGLtOvP7w&sig2=r60vej3J32z3i43YFOy_VA&cad=rja">video of that smoker in action</a>.)<br/><br/>Here are the shroomy options: Smoked Mushroom Pastitsio ($14); Smoked Morels made with pickled ramps, raw milk cheese, and thai chili ($16); and Smoked Hen of the Woods Pasta, made with spring peas, preserved lemon-chili oil ($19). And if that's not enough fungus for ya', we're told that additional mushroom dishes may be added later in the week!<br/><br/><em>91 South Sixth Street, Williamsburg, (718) 599-3090</em>
<em>The scene last year, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/31356424@N08/3984207696/sizes/m/in/photostream/">courtesy Time Out's Flickr</a></em>.<br/><br/><strong>Taste of Tribeca:</strong> The <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/04/12/eat_cetera_all-you-can-eat_ribs_bee.php#photo-3">Taste of the Upper West Side</a> isn't the only neighborhood getting tasted this weekend; on Saturday you can also open wide for a <a href="http://www.tasteoftribeca.com/">Taste of Tribeca</a> (and save room for a <a href="http://www.timessquarenyc.org/about_us/events_taste.html">Taste of Times Square</a> and a <a href="http://www.chocolatefactorytheater.org/e_tasteoflic_2011.html">Taste of Long Island City</a> at the beginning of June!!!) At this point any neighborhood that doesn't guilt local chefs into serving food samples under a crowded tent simply doesn't matter. But at least it's "all for a good cause." In this case, all the proceeds from <a href="http://www.tasteoftribeca.com">Taste of Tribeca</a> go to benefit arts and enrichment programs at local public schools PS 150 and PS 234.<br/><br/>The event, which is now in its 17th year, runs from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. A $45 ticket gets you six tastes from any of the participating restaurants, and in addition to a variety of wine tastings, there will also be locally-brewed beverages for sale including Waa-tah, GuS soda, and Fizzy Lizzy. Participating restaurants is a who's who list of local big shots like Macao Trading Co., Marc Forgione, Nobu, and Locanda Verda. And besides the food, there will be a family-friendly Kidâs Zone, live entertainment sponsored by City Winery, face painting, and cookie decorating organized by Cupcake Kids.<br/><br/><em>Duane Street between Greenwich and Hudson, Rain or Shine</em>
<a href="http://gothamist.com/2010/09/30/chef_marc_forgione_iron_chef_contes.php">Marc Forgione</a>, fresh off winning the title of <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/winner-marc-forgione/index.html">The Next Iron Chef</a>, has just launched a new spring menu with seasonal touches at his eponymous Tribeca restaurant, which garnered <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/dining/06rest.html">two stars</a> from <em>The Times </em>last year. <br/><br/>In addition to the constantly changing spring menu (Forgione makes regular shopping trips down the street to the Tribeca Greenmarket), Forgione is also launching a new "Marc Forgione Experience" tasting menu, a sort of "greatest hits" compilation featuring the most popular items that he canât take off the menu. Think barbecue-baked Olde Salt & Hummock Island Oysters with bacon powder (!), hiramasa tartare with avocado and toasted pinenuts, and Chicken Under A Brick for two. And the restaurant's lovely, if small, porch is opening up for the season, so you can slurp those oysters and sip that rhubarb-infused tequila cocktail al fresco.
<em>Endless Summer taco truck (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ultraclay/3297086048/sizes/z/in/photostream/">Ultraclay's Flickr</a>)</em><br/><br/>Zagat Survey was hoping to host a <a href="http://zagatfoodtruckfrenzy.eventbrite.com/">Food Truck Frenzy</a> at lunch tomorrow featuring more than 20 local food trucks in one spot for the low-low price of $15 bucks (for food from four trucks). But something funny happened on the way to the frenzy: have you noticed that it has been <a href="http://gothamist.com/2011/05/16/rain_today_rain_tomorrow_rain_forev.php">raining for days</a>? Rather than have diners <a href="http://www.zagat.com/buzz/zagat-food-truck-frenzy-postponed">balance</a> their "grub from mobile eateries with their umbrella" the folks behind the "burgundy bible" have postponed the whole shebang until next Monday, May 23rd. Which means you have a few extra days to decide if you want to spend $15 now, or shell out $18 bucks for a fancy food truck lunch next week.<br/><br/>So who's going to be there? Wellâdeep breathâthat'd be Bian Dang, Big D's Grub, Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, Bistro Truck, Coolhaus, Cupcake Crew, Cupcake Stop, Desi Truck, Eddieâs Pizza, Endless Summer Tacos, Feed Your Hole, Joyride Truck, The Katchkie Truck, Kelvin Natural Slush Co., Korilla Food Truck, La Cense Beef Burger, Lukeâs Lobster, Mexicue, Mud Truck, Patacon Pisao, Souvlaki GR, Steak Truck, Sweetery, Treats Truck and the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Truck. So really, if you choose to go it'll be very hard to leave hungry. Tickets for the event, which will go down on 21st and 22nd Streets between 10th and 11th Avenues from noon till 3 p.m., are available <a href="http://zagatfoodtruckfrenzy.eventbrite.com/">here</a>.