American | Jay's NYC Restaurant Reviews

Nov

The Smith

The Smith is absolutely brilliant for expanding to Midtown East, in an area where real estate values are down due to a mid-2000 crane crash. The restaurant attracts an older crowd than the the original location’s largely NYU student crowd. The crowd was bustling with a reminded me of my Syracuse University days.. it was like a fashion show of the latest expensive jeans and expensive strollers. True, I have both expensive jeans and my son’s iCandy (expensive) stroller is better than all those fancy Bugaboos I saw today, but that’s besides the point.

Anyway, we had a reservation but weren’t seated for 20 mins after our res time. With a kid who has scheduled feeding times, it is harder to wait even 20 mins than my pre-baby days. When we were seated, service was really fast, almost rushed. The the food quality was noticeably lower than what I remembered from the Union Sq location back in the day. I used to go all the time – check out my positive review below. The pricing also is now really inflated for the portions/food quality.

My cousin had a ranchero scramble, which was $16. It included chipotle salsa, black beans, tortillas, cheddar, avocado. It looked and tasted so plain. Though the menu says, ”WE SUPPORT LOCAL, NATURAL, SUSTAINABLE & ORGANIC PRACTICES WHENEVER POSSIBLE,” it appeared to not be possible for this dish. The dish looked like supermarket tortillas, runny eggs, Goya beans and avocado, stacked, but not stacked in a tasty looking way, it didn’t blend like some of the rancheros I’ve had in my day. The only way my cousin was able to get some satisfaction from the dish was to pile on the house made hot sauce, which he said was quite good. It came with a free bloody mary, bellini, blood orange mimosa, passion punch or fresh squeezed juice. I sipped the mimosa and it tasted like Andre Champagne and Tropicana. My $18 shrimp salad with avocado, fennel, oranges, grilled onions, frisée, watercress, basil viniagrette could be called refreshing, but I felt the shrimp portion was slightly skimpy and they cut the shrimp in half to make it appear like I was getting more for my money. Also, after I was finished, I felt like I needed to go out for lunch.

If you want a brunch in NYC with a legitimate free cocktail and an amazing bread basket, stick with Primehouse.

With all the above said, the Smith will thrive because it is a scene. They can continue doing what they are doing and the crowds will continue to pour in!

The Smith Midtown - 956 Second Avenue NYC (at the corner of 51st).

***

The Smith has a great variety of food at reasonable prices (even with the recent noticeable price increases on the most popular items). It is a cool setting. Lots of NYUers frequent The Smith. With each time I go, I always say I am not going to rush back but then end up back soon thereafter. It’s a good place for a casual meal with friends.

Start with two bottles or water – flat in the clear bottle, sparking in green. Free premium water is a nice touch. They also give fresh French bread wrapped in white paper.

The Smith constantly delivers a better mac and cheese than others I have had. Love the presentation in a cast iron pan. It is always piping hot, crispy on top and the variety of cheeses makes it really flavorful.

Entrees are hit or miss. My friend recently said of the roasted cod with curried cauliflower, toasted almonds, red pepper romesco ($21). “The cod is bland but when you mix it with the shit below, it makes it better.”

I have always enjoyed the vegetable “bibimbap” – sushi rice, shiitake, spinach, edamame, sunny up egg ($16). My other friend said “it’s the best bibimbap I’ve had outside a Korean Restaurant.”

I’ve also been told the charbroiled chicken with smashed potato and roasted garlic is good.

Don’t forget about the $6 draft beers and inexpensive carafes of wine.

Also, top the night off with a $5 sundae for dessert. Make it special with the birthday sundae and they’ll put in a candle even if it isn’t your birthday.

Rating:
Food – 7/10
Ambiance – 8/10
Service – 7/10

Category:
Food Type – American
Style – Casual
Price – Reasonable

Wanna go?
Address/phone – 55 3rd Avenue, 212-420-9800

website -ctrnyc.com/THESMITH
menu - ctrnyc.com/THESMITH/thesmithwebsite/menus.html
OpenTable – opentable.com/the-smith

Mar

Breakfast at Norma’s

When the waiter arrived immediately with the brightest, freshest orange juice I had ever seen and quickly told me of the unlimited refills, I went for it. Then I went for one for my wife – a few others at the table went for it.. Norma’s OJ was just right… not too tart, no pulp. Not sure how they made it – never looks like that when I buy fresh squeezed from the grocery store.

Would you like some coffee?… Of course… The French Press Pot of Coffee, which came in a stainless steel pot, looked good, smelled excellent… and had notes of …. Actually, I have no ideas to how to describe… but it was a good, rich cup of coffee.

Then we looked at the menu – each “unlimited glass” of OJ was $9. All in all, the entire table went for $36 of fresh squeezed OJ. I drank more OJ at brunch than I had in the last year! The unlimited French Press Pot of Coffee was $7 per person!

As we walked out with our non-alcohol induced OJ buzz, we noticed a table that planned ahead for this famous OJ. They brought out a flask of vodka and quickly spiked the OJ. Next time!

I should have done a little more research before I came, but then again, this was a lazy sunday brunch with friends, so I won’t be too hard on myself.

Norma’s is in Le Parker Meridian Hotel and has a menu with “The Zillion Dollar Lobster Frittata,” which costs $100 for a regular with 1oz sevruga caviar and $1,000 for a super size with 10oz sevruga caviar. The menu proclaims, “Norma dares you to expense this!”

I had the “Flat-As-A-pancake Crabcake” spiced with habañero pepper served with dill yogurt mustard sauce. The zingy sauce came in a well-executed thick corn bread batter onion ring. The crab was fresh and lightly pan fried. The salad was a little over dressed but what do you expect for $24?!

Others at the table enjoyed the Egg White Frittata Of Shrimp with oven-roasted roma tomato and spinach, and Scrambled Eggs And Bacon Breakfast Quesadilla with monterey jack cheese, guacamole and salsa.

If I were to go again, I would order something from the “Mom Can’t Make This” section like the Super Moist French Toast with an orange infused honey drizzle created in the 15th century by juan del encina or the “Egg Cellent” Breakfast Dumplings stuffed with scrambled egg, shrimp and mushroom. The dumplings came like a Dim Sum order from Chinatown.

When the bill came, breakfast was a whopping $45/person with tip! Though price was mentioned throughout this review, the creative menu of large poritions and extremely high quality ingredients, niceties like fresh French Press Pot of Coffee, & people watching made it a worthy splurge!

Rating:
Food – 8/10
Ambiance – 8/10
Service – 9/10

Category:
Food Type – American
Style – Casual/ Trendy
Price – Expensive

Wanna go?
Address/phone – 118 W. 57th St

Web: http://www.parkermeridien.com/eat1.php

Menu: http://www.parkermeridien.com/PDF/BreakfastNormasNY.pdf

Feb

Turkey Meatloaf Rundown

I love turkey meatloaf. I have made it a few times from various internet recipes, but for such an inexpensive dish (even at inflated NYC prices), is it really worth buying all the ingredients, making a mess in the kitchen, then producing enough to eat for a week? This will change when I have a family to feed, but for now, I am sticking with turkey meatloaf takeout and the occassional sit down order. Here are my favorite turkey meatloafs in the Murray Hill area and one to avoid.

Dishes To Go makes a hell of a turkey meatloaf. I typically buy a piece or three on my walk through the Grand Central Market on my way home from work. It is packed with flavor, has great consistency, and no matter how long you put it in the toaster oven to heat up, it is not dry and has a great crust. The tangy and slightly spicy bbq sauce on top accentuates the loaf. Dishes has several locations throughout NYC and plenty more options than turkey meatloaf are available.http://dishestogo.com.

Another turkey meatloaf to note is Energy Kitchen. Their approach is different than Dishes’. The seasoned ground turkey is very flavorful on it’s own, but the marinara sauce on top adds another poweful punch of flavor. The charred preparation scores points with me. Sorry if the photo below doesn’t do the loaf justice. All in all, a nice portion of turkey meat loaf with sauce is 311 calories (everything at Energy Kitchen is under 500 cals). The meatloaf is served in a nice compatrmentalized plate with two sides for under $11. For sides, I like their mixed vegetables (37 calories), sauteed mushrooms & onions (pictured, 34 calories), spinach (30 calories), steamed sweet potatoes (145 calories). Energy Kitchen has locations throughout NYC. Energy Kitchen is typically better as a take out option than eat in. http://www.energykitchen.com.

Josie’s is in my neighborhood. I have walked by for years and never went in. I will continue to walk by because the “Freshly Ground Thanksgiving Natural Turkey Meatloaf, herb-spiced lean ground natural turkey loaf, smashed potatoes, wok sautéed Asian greens, natural au jus & cranberry-apple chutney” I had at Josie’s is clearly second rate to the ones described above (and a lot more expensive). Though a generous portion, they must have used a fat free turkey mix because flavor was non-exisitant. In addition, I got the impression that my meatloaf was microwaved to order. I have no complaints about the steamed “Asian greens” (bok choy) and the mashed potatoes were nice. I also appreciated the cranberry chutney as a way to add flavor to the loaf. The difference between Josies Vs. Energy Kitchen and Dishes is – sauce on the latter two is a nice to have addition to the meal, Josies’ sauce is the only way to get flavor into the dish. http://josiesnyc.com

Jul

Compass

My compass lead me to the West Side or maybe it was Google Maps. Nevertheless, we arrived at Compass, a well established New American for a dinner with friends. Compass offers straight-forward continental items featuring fresh seasonal summer highlights with occasional bursts of creativity. The setting is sleek and spacious and not stuffy (unlike some competitors in the same price point.)

I was wowed by timely and attentive service. We were quickly greeted by a waitress. Within minutes the first course of our three course tasting menu was presented in unison by three servers. Same thing happened for the mains and dessert. Other service niceties included a unique bread basket of corn bread & biscuits with honey butter, a small amuse bouche of octopus salad between apps and entrees, a little plate of house made chocolates and strawberry marshmallows after dessert, and a bagged muffin for breakfast the next day. Just those little extras make it worth finding Compass.

Onto the food. The $35 price fixe menu is available all year. The menu changes seasonally.

We started with the marinated tomato salad with red and yellow tomatoes, goat cheese, petite herb salad, and raspberry vinaigrette.

The chilled sweet corn soup was a pureed soup. The waiter poured it table side. The smooth soup was enhanced by the small amount of Pickled Watermelon and confit shrimp.

We were off to a great start…. Our table tried all three entrees on the summer tasting menu.

Roasted Hanger Steak with Creamy Polenta, Tomato Red Swiss Chard Gratin, Cipollini Onion, Red Wine Sauce.
Bo-Bo Farms Organic Chicken with California Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Lemon Grass Chicken Jus
Atlantic Salmon with Israeli Couscous, English Peas, Squash, Mascarpone Cheese, Serrano Ham.

Though the entrees featured hearty portions and desirable ingredients, we were less impressed by the dishes than the appetizers, desserts and service. It wasn’t that there weren’t well prepared… It wasn’t that they weren’t cooked to order…. they were just much less memorable.

Dessert were two appealing All American choices. The Cheesecake Parfait with Strawberry Salad, Graham Cracker Crumble was light airy and refreshing. The chocolate mousse was elegant and rich Caramel Popcorn and “Popcorn Sherbet” were creative accouterments.

Rating:
Food – 7/10
Ambiance – 8/10
Service – 9/10

Category:
Food Type – American
Style – Casual
Price – Reasonable

Address/ phone: 208 West 70th Street (Amsterdam & West End Ave.), 212-875-8600

Web – compassrestaurant.com/index.php

Jul

Nooï Pasta to Go

When traveling in France this summer, I wondered why NYC had yet to have a “pasta in a box” establishment. In France these establishments seemed as common as pizza places in NYC. Sure enough, a week or two after my trip on my walk to Grand Central, I came across “Nooï to Go.”

The idea is simple. Pick your pasta, pick your sauce, pick your toppings, box it up and go (or eat in if you choose in their modern 1,700 square foot establishment).

I selected “Bolo” - Bolognaise with bow-tie pasta at the suggestion of Chris, the chief operating officer of Nooï North America, who was working the counter when I visited.

The things I fear about a concept like this were overcooked pasta and flavorless sauce. Both my fears were dispelled at first bite. I truly enjoyed a hearty, flavorful, filling portion of pasta and sauce. The pasta was al dente as advertised… I think it has to do with those fancy automated machines in the back that look like deep friers (for pasta).

Nooï’s offerings are simple $3.95 (26 oz) or 4.95 (32 oz) for pasta and two toppings without sauce.

“Simply delicious” recipes are $1 more and include:

Tomato Fresca - Tomato, olive oil, basil
Diablo – Spicy
Fredo – Alfredo
“Vodkaya”

“Rich and Tasty” are yet $1 more and include:

“Bolo” Bolognaise
Bracnara- Carbonara
“4 Magic” – 4 Cheese
Pesto
Chick’n Champi – Chicken meat with mushrooms and cream
Bollywood- Chicken curry
Le Salmen – salmon, cream, leaks and dill
Lovster – Cream, minced lobster, tomato and sherry

You can get multi grain for $1 extra.

Everything seems simple, yet I found the menu to be too hard to follow. The menu referenced all these “formulas” which would put pressure on me if I were on a crowded lunch line. Too many words, too far away…. it made something very simple seem complicated. This could be solved by a good graphic artist who knows how to do less with more. Even better, invest in some plasma screens that allow you to make ordering more visual.

Also, strangely, the in-store and take out menu made no reference to the types of pasta offered. Even the Wall Street Journal article announcing Nooï deemphasized the pasta…”Nooï’s Mr. Sanchez did say the restaurant will include different cuts of pasta and 12 to 15 types of sauces, ranging from Indian and Mexican sauces to more traditional ones.” I would like to see more about the pasta on the menu – is it made fresh daily ? It it dry? What about those automated pasta machines make it taste so good!? What about the machines cook the pasta perfectly every time?

These nits are minor and can be easily addressed. Most important is reasonably priced, tasty pasta and sauces.

All-in all, I would go back, especially if I was in the neighborhood around lunch time during the winter.

Rating:
Food – 7/10
Ambiance – 7/10
Service – 8/10

Category:
Food Type – Pasta
Style – Casual
Price – Reasonable

Address/ phone: 370 Lexington Avenue (Btwn 40th & 41st St)

Give Nooï Pasta to Go a try with this $2 off coupon.

Jun

Rye House

I spend a lot of time in Rye (train station I go to each day for work), so when I had the opportunity to go to the Rye House in NYC on a Friday night, I figured why not keep living the work week…(bleh).

Rye House does a good job attracting a bar crowd and a dinner crowd. I also hear they do a great brunch. We had dinner.

We shared several apps. The onion tart included cream sherry, goat cheese, arugula, pickled shallots. Best part of the dish was the onions. We figured the spring onion soup – sourdough crouton, provolone - would use the same onions, so we ordered after we finished the tart. In addition to the excellent onions, we especially liked the chicken stock base. I would have liked more flavorful cheese that was cooked a little more. Nothing like charred cheese on the bowl.

Henry Fudge—a farmer, businessman and preacher—is the driving force behind Fudge Family Farms.image: fudgepork.com

When I asked the waitress what to order, she responded, “The pork…” I stopped her before she completed her thought because the pork chop was what stood out to me on the menu. The “Fudge Farm Pork Chop” was accompanied by broccolini, mashed yukon golds and garlic butter. I loved how the pork was char grilled . It was very juicy. When I took my first bite, it tasted as if I were eating porterhouse steak.

I would be “fudging” if I were to say I understood the significance of Fudge Farms when I ordered. My internet research on Fudge Farms reveals that several other popular restaurants like Tipsy Parton serve Fudge Farms Pork. Henry Fudge was a visionary in the world of pork. In the 60′s, when everyone was saying that leaner pigs are best, he went the other way. Fudge said “an ideal hog is like a pro football lineman—big, rugged and wide in every direction (fudgepork.com).” His Pork tastes betters because he raises his hogs outside (who knew most are raised inside these days?). He also did a significant amount of research into his breed of hogs, Durocs. According to fudgepork.com, “Durocs are considered the breed with the best meat quality and the pork contains more marbling and fat than most of the breeds currently raised for market.”

Ok, enough about Pork. Rye House also have a great burger on the menu. And don’t forget about the long list of mico brews and specialty cocktails.

Sorry about no photos, It was quite dark in the dining room.

Rating:
Food – 7/10
Ambiance – 8/10
Service – 8/10

Category:
Food Type – American
Style – Casual
Price – Reasonable

Address/ phone: 11 W 17th St (Btwn 5th & 6th Ave), 212-255-7260
Web – ryehousenyc.com
Menu: menupages.com/restaurants/rye-house/menu

Jun

The Redhead

update 7/15: http://www.theredheadnyc.com/blogs/news/1748942-bye-bye-brunch-hello-sunday-nights

The Redhead didn’t disappoint for brunch. We were greeted by our server Mike (I bet he wrote the signs below).

Mike was a genuinely nice guy and I sensed his “bring it” attitude as he chatted with us about the “must haves” on the menu.

I had chicken and waffles. From my experience, this dish usually has fried chicken (Amy Ruth’s) but chicken on The Redhead’s was sauteed. This was not a dish that you put syrup on. The barely visible waffle was on the bottom. On top, a chicken mixture containing both dark and white meat (I preferred the dark meat pieces). The mixture of shataki mushrooms, dill, scallions, and shallots produced a very rich gravy. Now that I look at my pic… it is quite an ambitious brunch item for a hot day, but I enjoyed every bite.

Other items enjoyed by the table were the much ligher fruit pancakes with pistachio, strawberries, & raspberries. My cousin described the pancakes as creamier and lighter than most pancakes.

How could anyone not enjoy the Pat LaFrida burger on the menu at the Redhead (and most high end burger restaurants in NYC)?

The Redhead feels genuine to me. The food, service, the “it takes a village” way the Redhead was built described on theredheadnyc.com. “We’ve long dreamed of opening our own neighborhood restaurant, and this is it. Everything has been lovingly crafted by the three of us, with lots of help from our friends and families. Thanks to everyone who helped paint, sand, plumb and build the redhead.”

On that note, as we left, we noticed that the bar totally filled in with regulars chatting it up. Speaking of the bar, don’t forget to check-in on foursquare.com – for the first time I got something for checking in, this spicy Bloody Mary with lots of garlic!

Rating:
Food – 7/10
Ambiance – 7/10
Service – 9/10

Category:
Food Type – American
Style – Casual
Price – Reasonable

Address/ phone: 349 E. 13th Street (close to 2nd), 212-533-6212
Web - theredheadnyc.com
Menu: menupages.com/restaurants/the-redhead

Jun

Papaya Dog

We live in New York, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of…. Sometimes after you are making dreams come true at fancy expensive places with small portions, at the end of the night you are hungry. You can always go for pizza, but when you are near a Papaya Dog, I highly recommend you switch it up go for a $2 hotdog and a wide array of unhealthy food at reasonable prices. This review also applies to Gray’s Papaya, and Papaya King…

The dog is better than the boiled dogs you get on the street because it is grilled. Most of these places use Sabrett hot dogs or other quality brands. I am not going to describe this in more detail… After all, it’s a $2 hotdog but trust me, it’s good…

The best part of eating an unhealthy hotdog is you can get all your nutritional needs from one of their sugary drinks.

Wanna go?

Locations throughout the city.

I don’t recommend you seek out a Papaya Dog. You will know when your time to enjoy this NYC treat has arrived!

No rating.

Jun

Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, Ices – The Treats of Summer

The frozen dessert landscape has changed remarkably in recent years. While I am happy to welcome many creative new additions to the marketplace, I also enjoy the time tested traditional ice cream and other frozen treats like lemon ice. Here is my guide to frozen treats.

Frozen Yogurt

Over the last three years we have seen the proliferation of expensive “premium” frozen yogurt in NYC… it started with Pinkberry, then came Red Mango. Even though Pinkberry arrived to NYC first, it is well documented that Red Mango started before Pinkberry.

From there, copy cat after copy cat. The funniest one I noticed a couple of years ago was Red Cherry, which has since gone out of business. Red Cherry doesn’t make sense. Red Mango works because mangoes are not red. Pink Berry, the same thing, there is a chance that a pinkberry exists, but you are more likely to come across a blueberry or a blackberry. There are plenty of red cherries…

Another relatively prominent expensive yogurt place is BerryWild.

Maybe some of you will disagree, but for me there’s very little difference between the three… I feel the yogurt all tastes relatively the same. All charge about the same and have similar topping offerings.

The Pinkberries of the world have almost totally displaced an old NYC favorite, TastiDelight. I never really enjoyed Tasti-D. While we used to order Tasti-D, the premium price for a styrofoam cup of this stuff always bothered me more than paying a premium Pinkberry or Red Mango that at least come with fresh fruit toppings.

Another frozen yogurt category is “weigh and pay.” We have these places that bank on the human instinct to not be able to control themselves. There’s 16 Handles and Phileo Yogurt (by way of Philadelphia, could you tell?), which my friend calls “yogurt land.” Both offer lots of machines featuring tart and not tart flavors. They let visitors take what they want, top it with healthy toppings or candy, weigh it, pay (enough to buy gallons of yogurt from the grocery store), then enjoy.

Real Ice Cream

Recently I went to Jersey and visited Bischoff’s. Since 1934, Bischoff’s has been serving up ice cream sundaes in the same way. My family has been going to Bischoff’s for three generations. My dad, who grew up in Teaneck, used to take dates there in High School.

While I enjoy fro yo as a grab and go treat in the city or the mall, it is nice to sit down and have real ice cream. We asked and they don’t even have frozen yogurt at Bischoff’s! Take a look at these two sundaes that cost a total of $16! There were four of us and we couldn’t finish either one of them.

A City Ice Cream Favorite – Mister Softee

Summer is here and you know what that means….we will see Mister Softee on every other block in the city. According to the Mister Softee website, Mister Softee is the largest franchiser of soft ice cream trucks in the United States. Mister Softee is light soft serve ice cream – creamy with lots of air. Lots of creative ways to enjoy, including the double cone. Don’t forget to dip your cone in chocolate, strawberry, etc. Check out some Mister and Ms. Softee Profiles on Midtown Lunch.

On the topic of Mister Softee, please keep in mind that not all Mister Softee trucks are created equally. If you are in the mood for Mister Softee, please look at the truck carefully. If it doesn’t specifically say Mister Softee, it isn’t (meaning, they buy cheaper, less enjoyable product and try and sell it for the same price). Check out this 2008 article on Mister Softee Knockoffs.

Real Mister Softee

Clearly not Mister Softee!

If I find some better examples of fake Mister Softee trucks, I will update. There are plenty out there, believe me.

Lemon Ice (and other flavors)

There is only one King and he’s from Queens.

I have been enjoying the Lemon Ice King of Corona my entire life but the establishment has been around for twice as long as me (over 60 years). Read my full review.

La NewYorkina Modern Mexican Ice Pops
It was a hot day, I was thirsty and in the mood for something sweet. I had enough Mister softee and fancy frozen yogurt for the week. I walked into the Hester Street Fair, and the answer was looking at me. La NewYorkina “modern mexican ice pops.” Such a simple and refreshing idea.

I asked what the most popular flavor was, and Fanny, one of the propieters, served me Mango con Chile (Spicy Mango). The $4 pop was filled with large mango chunks. The chili made for an occasional bursts of spice. If the pop isn’t spicy enough for your taste, Fany offers seasoning to sprinkle (like you would pepper flakes on a pizza).

Other flavors include:

Fresa-Strawberry
Tamarindo Fresco- Fresh Tamarind
Horchata- Cinnamon Rice Milk
Jamaica- Hibiscus
Pina con Menta- Pineapple Mint
Nuez- Pecan

Fanny explained that she makes the pops after hours in a local wholesale bakery after 7pm during the week. It is a simple process from the cutting of the fruit, to the freezing. literally what you see is what you get. Check out these Facebook pics of the process.
At this point, they are getting ready for the Hester Street Fair each week. I see no reason why this concept can’t go bigger with a food truck or even a well positioned storefront.
Find La Newyorkina at the Hester Street Fair, every Saturday and Sunday,
10am to 6pm.

In Summary…

There is a right place and a right time for frozen treats and we certainly have a lot of options in the NYC Metro area… Enjoy! Please comment below on any of your favorites that I missed.

May

New York City Street Fair Food Guide

It’s that time of the year. Last weekend as I walked my way through NYC, I stumbled across three New York City street fairs.

This guide will go through NYC street fair food options. I will divide street fair food into three categories.

Food I look forward to eating at each fair
Food I never consider eating because I am scared of unintended consequences (i.e indigestion, a lost tooth)
Pleasant surprises

Hopefully this guide will help locals and tourists alike to navigate NYC street fair food options.

Food I look forward to eating at each fair

I will pick up some pickles if, for some reason, I have no pickles in my fridge.

Kettle corn: I most likely won’t buy this, I have plenty of equally enjoyable Orville Redenbacher at home, but I will try a free sample.

Sticking with corn, how can you go wrong with fresh corn? I like how most use the grill to char the corn.

Another corn product is the sweet corn arepa. How can you go wrong with melted mozzarella and sweet corn?

Food I never consider eating because I am scared of unintended consequences

This may be controversial but I never want a candy apple during the summer. Candy Apples are a Fall food for me. I am also afraid that I will lose a tooth when I bite into the hard shell.

Dirty hands making falafel balls and frying in oil on a dirty street, no thanks. The same applies to Zeppoles. I will sometimes try a spinach pie though.

Fear of indigestion, continued…

No desire to have one of those smoothies. How could they possibly wash all that fruit with no running water? They also use the same dirty blenders all day! If you do happen to be by a fair when it’s closing they may sell bananas and other unused fruit for next to nothing. That I will go for!