Hooked on Baja Style Dorado Tacos

Fresh Baja fish tacos

Ensenada, Mexico. Famed port city. Plentiful fish. Home of the heavenly Baja fish taco.

It may be 2,500 miles from New York City, but thanks to the recently opened Dorado Tacos, the authentic street snack has landed just south of bustling Union Square.

I'm hooked. This is fast, fresh Mexican food at its finest. And the Baja Original fish taco, impossibly priced at $2.95, is a Cheap Eats triumph. Two freshly made corn tortillas cradle a meaty hunk of beer battered Atlantic pollock, shredded cabbage, pickled onions, salsa fresca (tomatoes, onions, cilantro) and crema. And a squirt of lime. Texture, crunch, a burst of flavor. Refined simplicity.

Spicy pickles include jicama and jalapeno

The grilled fish version ($3.25), topped with a tomatillo and avocado salsa, is a delicious lighter option. Meal sized quesadillas ($4.95-$6.50) are stuffed with gooey cheeses and fillings such as homemade chorizo, and spicy portabellas. Add a side of Mexican-style hot pickled veggies. And wash it down with a ruby red jamaica fresca, house infused hibiscus leaves, sugar and water. 

Tiny Dorado Tacos is the offshoot of the original Boston area hotspot. As owner Michael Brau reveals, the secret's in the prep. "We spend all day dicing tomatoes and onions, hand chopping cilantro and serrano chiles, zesting and slicing limes and oranges for marinades, shredding cabbage and jicama for tacos, grilling red peppers and zucchini, scooping avocado, and grating cheeses for quesadillas." It's paying off.

It also makes a welcome lunch alternative to Num Pang, the excellent Cambodian sandwich shop across the street, when the lines are unbearable.


28 E 12th St near University Place
Mon - Sat, 11 am - 10 pm
Sun, 11 am - 9 pm
212 627 0900

A Meaty Valentine's Day Gift

Happy Scottish heritage cows at High Point Farms

Want to give an East Village meat lover a truly meaningful gift for Valentine's Day? A gift that keeps giving?

Go shopping, then grab a top craft beer

Look no further than locavore haven Jimmy's No. 43, which has teamed up with High Point Farms' "Buyers Choice Meat CSA." Think of it as a meaty version of Fresh Direct that's local, humane and sustainable.

Pay for a "share" upfront and then go shopping at the online farm store for grass fed beef, pork and chicken. If the credit runs out, just add more money into your account.

Jimmy's serves as the customer pick up point for orders every other Wednesday starting in March.* There's even a dedicate rep on hand who will get to know you by name.

High Point Farms' owner Tina MacCheyne founded the farm with her husband Bob after being inspired by farmer Joel Salatin and the film "Food, Inc." "Our members are people who want to know where their food comes from," she explains. "They like supporting a small, sustainable farm. They want meat that is not given antibiotics or growth hormones, meat that is raised in a humane manner."

Cuts range from steaks and roasts to the very popular ground beef and sausages. Meats are delivered frozen for convenience. Smoked meats contain no nitrates or MSG and only organic spices are used in seasonings. You can even shop for dairy staples such as fresh eggs.

Want to try before you buy a share? Visit Jimmy's. Owner Jimmy Carbone is one of the most committed advocates for sustainable agriculture, and a huge supporter of the quality farms from the upstate Finger Lakes region. As co-founder of the glorious Meatopia, Taste of Tribeca, and other food fests, he often features a variety of High Point Farms meat on the menu - from the award-winning burgers, to specials like osso buco, and at the upcoming Brisket King of NYC cook-off on Feb 27th.

Buyers Choice Meat CSA shares are available for $350 - $1,000, and membership runs from March 1 through the end of the year.

Jimmy's No. 43

(between Second + Third Aves)

43 E 7th St

212 982 3006

High Point Farms

9448 State Route 96

Trumansburg, NY

highpointfarmstburg@msn.com

Farm visits encouraged

607 387 4950

* additional pick up points in Brooklyn include CrossFit Virtuosity and The Five Spot Restaurant

Eating Beaver

I went to a fascinating lecture titled "Strange Meat" this week hosted by the always enlightening Brooklyn Brainery.

Here's what I learned. There's a world of strange meat out there. But 'strange' is relative. Case in point: when Charles Dickens made his first visit to the US in 1842, he was a minor superstar and heart throb. The grand City Hotel in NYC threw a lavish dinner in his honor. The third course of the sumptuous menu included roast bear. Bear was a common meat in the 1800s. Who would think of eating bear now?

For that matter, who would eat fermented, rancid shark meat? Or feast on moose muffle, the bit between the nose and overhanging upper lip? Or drink snake wine (with a cobra in the bottle, not a measly worm)? What famous French president wanted his final meal to be a fragile songbird, a delicacy now outlawed?

It's all relative.

During the event, we naturally got to sample Strange Meat. My friend Yasmin took the above photo, prompting me to ask on Facebook if people could name the meat. The responses were impressive: moose face, Rocky Mountain oysters, horse, Soylent Green (clever), groundhog, wild boar, elk, squirrel, sloth, porcupine and hyena. It was actually beaver.

It had been slow cooked and the meat was the consistency of pulled pork. But it tasted tinny, like canned beef. So there. I've now tasted beaver.

The next Masters of Social Gastronomy Series lecture will be on candy. Let's see what disturbing facts we'll uncover there.

Does Pok Pok Wing Deserve the Raves?

All hail Portlandia for bringing us the finest wings in NYC

Why should Korean fried chicken get all the love?

Portland-based Pok Pok Wing has just changed the local playing field with its first NYC outpost. The tiny Thai wing factory took over the old LES pork-bun haven Baohaus (which moved to bigger digs on E 14th St.). And the early buzz has been not just great but phenomenal. Add my two sticky, chili-crusted thumbs-up to the mix.

Try the free pandan water

Spicy Asian wings are an all-time favorite of mine. Crisp in Chicago holds the trophy. I even begged the owner to open in NYC to no avail. Instead, he just went on to win best in the country awards. Which doesn't help us New Yorkers.

Never mind, we now have Pok Pok. Wings are marinated overnight in fish sauce, sugar and garlic. Then deep fried and tossed in another coat of the same marinade kicked up with optional chili paste.

Ike, right, and his inspired recipe

Owner Andy Ricker's inspiration came from his travels throughout Thailand. Returning to Portland, he turned to Vietnamese friend Ike to perfect the flavors. The result, Ike's Wings, is a triumph, with the addictive blend of crispy, sticky sweet, salty, and spicy elements.

Wash 'em down with a mild drinking vinegar ($4) or soothing complimentary pandan water. Pandan is a fragrant tropical plant popular in Southeast Asia. Leaves are soaked in water to create a soft, slightly nutty flavor, perfect for tempering the chicken's saltiness and heat.

First timers should go for the full order of wings ($12.49) - six spicy or regular. They're too good to share, so don't even try. You can share the plenty of Fresh Naps on hand.

Brooklynites, don't despair. Pok Pok NY, a full service restaurant in Red Hook, is in the works this winter.

137 Rivington St. (between Norfolk + Suffolk Sts.)
212-477-1299

Craving BaoBQ

Asian BBQ comes to the East Village

Ever enterprising restaurateur Michael Bao Huynh (Baoguette, Mikey's Burger) strikes again. And I'm hooked. BaoBQ, his latest EV cheap eats dining concept, celebrates Southeast Asian barbecue, a favorite of Huynh's.

"In Vietnam, it's everywhere," he explains of his native home. I can see why.

Since its quiet opening just before Christmas, I've been a regular. I crave the chicken. A lot. Instead of writing about it, I've just been eating it.

Thai smoked BBQ chicken

BBQ pork chops with dirty rice

Two styles of BBQ chicken are house specials: lemongrass marinated Thai (my favorite), and chili glazed Vietnamese. Both are smoked and finished by char grilling over apple wood. The meat just clings to perfectly crisped skin as it falls off the bone.

Then there are the addictive homemade dipping sauces. Classic Vietnamese nuoc cham is mildly spicy and sticky, and Huynh's own "Super Bao" hot sauce lives up to its name.

Vietnamese grilled pork chops are also bone gnawingly good. The roasted cauliflower, and sticky rice top my list of mostly traditional sides which nicely compliment the meat. The underdressed som tam (papaya salad) could use more tang. Noodle dishes and other grilled items, including Korean bulgogi, round out the menu.

A new favorite BBQ with a twist

Huynh is a very physical presence at BaoBQ these days. But, not surprisingly, his mind is already on his next neighborhood venture opening in March: Mikey's Cheesesteak. No doubt the classic sandwich will get a Baoified twist.

Note: A few months ago, I wrote about best East Village deliveries for $10. BaoBQ now tops this list.
 

229 First Ave
(between 13th + 14th Sts)
212 475 7011
Delivery available
Average entree $9

Learning Butter Lane's Cupcake Secrets

Moo. A sweet cure for the January blues.

Now I love Butter Lane even more. Arguably makers of the best cupcakes in the EV, possibly in the city, the bakery actually teaches you its trade secrets at cupcake class.

The teaching kitchen adjacent to the store

The wildly popular classes are now offered seven days a week. I took one on a recent Sunday afternoon with two friends. Head baker and pastry chef Sunshine Flagg (wd~50, Momofuku Noodle Bar) took 12 of us through two entertaining hours of hands-on instruction. Three teams, three kinds of cupcakes (vanilla, chocolate, banana), six different frostings. Zero calorie counting.

High quality cakes start with fine ingredients. So the vanilla batter includes real vanilla bean. And thanks to Sunshine, we all now know the real origin of vanilla. It's not Tahiti or Madagascar. We also know to never overmix the batter, or undermix the frosting.

My final product - not perfect, but perfectly delicious

Ahh, the frosting. A basic buttercream, delicious in its simplicity, can easily be transformed by just one more ingredient. Will it be cinnamon, or peanut butter, or raspberry?

Once the cakes were cooled and creams whipped, we got a brief instruction on the Butter Lane method of frosting. The pat, twirl and whoosh technique is not as easy as it looks. There is a class prize for the best Butter Lane-esque cake, so channel that inner decorator. Regardless, everyone walked away with a box of personally decorated, perfectly scrumptious cupcakes.

Butter Lane clearly has fun with its classes. Look out for couples only classes on Fridays, frosting 101, and basic cake decorating. There are even private parties for birthdays, showers and other celebrations. On March 12th, it's launching a Cupcakes and Cocktails class. Sweet oblivion.

What else can we frost?

123 E. 7th Street (between 1st Ave + Ave A)
212 677 2880
Classes start at $40.

Puddin' is the New Cupcake

Pure indulgence

One of the most exciting - and nostalgic - new food destinations to hit the East Village has to be Puddin' by Clio, which opens on Friday. KikaEats got a sneak peek and sampled the goods. Yum.

The name alone conjures up the sweetest childhood memories. For me, it's coming home from school to the smell of warm chocolate pudding just barely set in five bowls on the counter. My mother would intentionally leave enough homemade custard in the pot for me to lick the spoon and scrape the sides clean.

Layers of flavors

Owner and pastry chef Clio Goodman (Cafe Boulud, Bar Boulud) takes the homemade concept to a whole new level. Over the past year, she has tested and perfected every recipe, from chocolate, and butterscotch (with real Scotch), to banana, lemon, and coffee. And every topping is made from scratch: 'Oreos,' marshmallows, sprinkles, graham crackers, etc. Pudding prices range from $5.50 for an individual bowl to $12.50 for a 20-oz party size.

"I found something New York doesn't have!"exclaims Goodman, who is serious about her craft. Her tiny 280 sq ft store on St. Marks Place has been designed so customers can watch the team  "tinker and work." If pudding's not your thing, no problem. Fresh cakes, pies and cookies washed down with thick hot chocolate will lure you in. And coming soon, look out for homemade pop tarts. Genius.

102 St Marks Place (between Ave A + First Ave)
212 477 3537