NYC chow (long + pics)

Just returned from a lovely, if not breakneck paced NYC jaunt.
Some highlights:
Began the first day with none other than DiFara's pizza for breakfast, optimistically thinking that we had arrived before the crowds:

Now, I understand that when graced by the talents of a perfectionist old-timer, that you should expect to wait some time for a slice of perfection. Which we did for our first slices, topped with imported pickled porcini mushrooms:

The slices lived up the the legend, blistered well done crust, perfect sauce tang, multi-dimensional cheese gooey-ness, and slippery from the drizzle of evoo and added oil cured mushrooms. Unfortunately our second round of slices got lost in the ticket shuffle and we waited patiently (at least my buddy waited patiently) as order upon order was served before us. Buddy got his plain "cheese" slice first:

which I enviously watched him devour and I waited another half hour for my sausage slice, which while built on just about the most solid foundation possible, led me to a previously arrived at conclusion, New York= pizza town, Chicago= sausage town. Next time I visit DiFara's, I will either call ahead or as I had for my first visit there, order a whole pie and arrive drunk.
My friend from Hong Kong lives in New York, so I figured this would be a great opportunity to get a really great tour of the cuisine of China Town. Turns out that the larger Chinese community and really authentic spots are in Flushing, Queens. So we piled into the car and headed up the BQE.
First we hit a deserted looking mall foodcourt, with half a dozen stalls serving up regional Chinese delicacies, i couldn't resist the Szechaun stall and an order of "Spicy Beef Stomach", aka Beef and Maw Szechaun Style:

a very loyal rendition, maybe a notch milder than the versions I've had in Chicago.
My associates opted for some Taiwanese Oyster noodle stew:

this stuff was packed with succulent oysters, yet had a slimy funk, almost on the smoky side that while not unpleasant, neither I nor my Chinese companion could pinpoint.
We also had a funky fish cake kebab medley served in a light broth with a fermented ketchup sauce that was too odd to get into the details of.
Next stop, a streetside Cantonese roasted meat place, so much lovely pork...

We ordered a pound of pork butt, some of the finest meat candy ever:

and super moist and crisp Peking duck:

Then on to the original oupost of Joe's Shanghai for their famous "Pork Buns" aka Soup Dumplings:

I had never had these before, and I'm glad that after reading about Chicago's lackluster versions that I had this sumptuous rendition. It was fun watching my Chinese friend eat them without spilling a drop of the soup, while us Americans made a huge mess. Eventually we caught on to the one bite technique, burning our mouths, but loving it.
More Chinese on day 3, this time at "Oriental Food Restaurant" in China Town proper. It had been years since I ate Dim Sum, so I really had no benchmark for quality. The first few rounds were served to us from a stationary cabinet and seems to have been sitting around for awhile, though in a hungover hunger hit the spot anyway. The locals were rapidly served steaming glazed chicken feet and I kind of wished that my pal from Hong Kong was still with us. Some highlights:

Crab ball. Note the gross maraschino cherry.

Clams baked with custard and oddly, sweet corn.

Shrimp meat stuffed green chilli, probably my fave.
We had several other great meals that I did not document. Night one we had great Southern- style home cooking at a basic kitchen in the back of a bar with some picnic benches out back joint called "Pies and Thighs". buttermilk fried chicken and fluffy, pastry like buttermilk bisquits were right on as well as the mac and cheese which had the perfect balance of soupy pastuerized processed cheese food sauce and real melted gooey cheddar incorporated. Greens were great too. This kind of eating, Southern, BBQ, et al is really hot in NY right now, while we Chicagoans have enjoyed it for years. This spot got it right, though. Home baked pies looked fabulous as well.
Night three we ate at Dumont's in Brooklyn. It had the loveliest outdoor eating area in North America, immediate vacation vibe. Awesome bar. Great, minimal American menu, more comfort food in a way, but jazzed up with a fine dining approach. Really fresh, great red snapper, skate, and skirt steaks. My fish had a super fresh succotash of fresh limas and sweet corn. Mashed potatos everywhere. Great salads too.
On the way out, we foolishly circled the lower east side on a Sunday for a parking spot. Destination, Kossar's for bagels and bialys:

My buddy had an interesting fact about their weekend baking schedule:
Apparently they get to work late Saturday night after the Sabbath. So the best time to get goods on a Sunday morning is after bar hours. Maybe that had something to do with the slightly day old texture of the products we got on Sunday afternoon:


It was a fantastic car hood picnic anyway, with a little scallion cream cheese and whitefish salad and stuff from maybe my favorite spot ever:

The Pickle Guy!

pickled celery, why not?
We got "full sours". The pickles proper are graded in terms of sourness and we got the real deal:

and mind numbing chilli stuffed olives and addictive pickled mushrooms and not pictured pickled green tomatoes:
.
It was a truly memorable foodie adventure. Thanks to my New York pals for being such patient and adventurous companions!

Di Fara’s Pizza.
1424 Ave. J, Midwood, Brooklyn
718-258-1367

Pies n Thighs
351 Kent Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211
at S. 5th St.
347-282-6005

Did not take note of addresses of Food Malls and Street Stalls in Flushing, my advice, go and eat.

Joe's Shanghai
136-21 37th Avenue
Flushing, New York 11354
Phone: 718-539-3838

Oriental Food Restaurant
103-105 Mott Street , New York, NY
212-219-8388

Dumont Restaurant
314 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11211
(btwn S. 1 and S. 2nd)
PHONE: 718.384.6128

Kossar's
367 Grand St
New York, NY 10002
(212) 473-4810

The Pickle Guys
49 Essex Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 656-9739

Jefe wrote:
Now, I understand that when graced by the talents of a perfectionist old-timer such as Dom DiFara, that you should expect to wait some time for a slice of perfection.

Not to be picky but Dom is Domenico DeMarco, not DiFara. (And the pizzeria is Di Fara Pizza, not DiFara's - picky, picky).

For those interested in the debate between cleanliness and godliness, as seen through the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, see A Beloved Brooklyn Pizzeria is Closed, Again, by the Health Dept.

Great photos!

Jefe wrote:Just returned from a lovely, if not breakneck paced NYC jaunt.

An excellent set of choices in the face of frequently overwhelming odds.

My Di Fara strategy: order a whole pie. Plain. It goes down as easy as potato chips with beer on a hot afternoon. By the time I eat, leave and get somewhere else, I'm pretty much ready for my next meal. Or, eat half and wrap up the rest--cheese and bread have a pretty stable unrefrigerated shelf life.

(Spelling will not be grated.)

The soup dumplings in your picture appear to be the crab version. Did you try both crab and pork versions?

As much as I hate to mention Chowhound (which recently booted me), the New York Outer Boroughs board does a good job of keeping tabs on the Main Street food courts in Flushing (thanks to some of the good guys). That's important, because they always seem to be teetering on the brink.

props to hitting all those spots and taking the delicious pics... food was probably 4x as good as it looks

Did you try both crab and pork versions?

This version had a mixture of crab and pork, but was listed on the menu as "steamed pork bun".