Ingredient + Produce Features – Page 5 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Radishes, Japanese Turnips, Delfino, Coriander Root

During a recent visit to the farmers’ market, there was an abundant choice of root vegetables. I had this conversation with Cameron before where we had to draw on the office whiteboard what we thought were radishes and turnips. Filipino radishes are long and thick like white carrots, while American ones are the size of pink golf balls. Filipino turnips are bulb-looking things with a tough light brown peel, while the American version sometimes has a pink shade to it. Then there are the parsnips that don’t even exist in Filipino vocabulary but look more like our radishes. Cameron now thinks Filipinos are just weird. It gets all convoluted. I’m sure the terminology is interchangable, but a trip to the farmers’ market sure was a nice lesson.

These were called radishes even though they were the size of small thumbs–the shape is Filipino, the color American. They definitely tasted more like the American radishes with that sharp bite at the end. A jig of really good balsamic vinegar can balance out that kick. Chop them in small pieces and they make a good substitute for pretzels when you’re drinking beer.

These were called Japanese turnips, with a smooth peel, and sweet, fleshy meat inside. I liked eating these raw and they matched well with some spicy arugula.

And then I got these two things because I couldn’t stop myself from smelling them. I find it curious when people tell me they hate cilantro in their food, but then don’t mind ordering an Indian dish sprinkled with coriander seeds. Not too many people know they’re the same; I just know the cookbooks I’ve purchased in Europe always refer to them as coriander, while American markets always use cilantro on labels. The leaves of the bunch I bought looked like frisÃ©e. They’re called delfino, a more aromatic cilantro version.

Searching For a Good Taco: Red Hook, Brooklyn

I have to admit that we didn’t drive from Harlem all the way down to Red Hook to look for a good taco. We made the trip to check out the Fairway Supermarket that opened a few months ago and do our grocery shopping for the week. Walking along the waterfront of Red Hook, you’ll be reminded that the city was a port city.

Giant machines, old warehouses, heavy containers, big ships, abandoned piers and the squawking seagulls make up the view. There is no subway close to the water so visitors need to have a car or trek from Carroll Gardens to get to Red Hook. It’s probably this inconvenience that’s stopping Manhattan folks from coming and moving in droves. But when you get there, you can imagine the old-school blue-collar New York way before the cafÃ©s and art galleries–and Fairway–started to open up in the neighborhood. Gentrification is well on its way, but who am I to snort when I live in one of the newest buildings in west Harlem?

The Times featured the tents outside the Red Hook baseball fields last week where all kinds of different foods are sold. We wanted to pass by and look for the pupusas we had in El Salvador and to slurp the vinegar goodness of Ecuadorian ceviche. We thought that if we find a good taco, then it would just be icing on the cake. Little did we know that we’d actually find the best taco. My search this year ends.

We parked our car and walked towards the park along Bay and Clinton Streets where we could already see blue tents set up for the forming lunch crowd. On Henry Street, however, we spotted a lone table with a tarp tied to a tree, so we decided to check the goods there before heading to the busier part of the field.

Large pieces of pork are stewed in a vat of boiling marinade then cut up into smaller portions before filling soft tortillas with finely chopped onions and cilantro. I haven’t tasted every taco sold in New York City but I’m going to have to lay it out there and say that this is the best taco I’ve had so far.

As a comparison, we bought a beef steak taco from the last stand on the far side of Clinton. Although it was good, it wasn’t enough to make us forget about the taco we just had. The Dr., my brother and I all voted for the first taco as the better one.

The secret in the second taco was the chicharron, or pig’s skin deep-fried into crunchy paradise. I think the lady was thrilled that we asked for extra chicharron when she was putting a taco together for us.

Searching for a Good Taco: East Village

Miss Geolouxy volunteered her services to accompany me for my second search for a good taco. It was after work so we decided to meet at Astor Place and work our way up and down First and Second Avenues from 1st to 10th Streets. I didn’t bring a list of places since the east side is not my territory, but I had a map to keep us from making a wrong turn towards the no-number streets. (That’s for another day.)

The area around St. Marks Place has always been the place to get a bowl of soba noodles early in the day, a sterling silver stud for your ear at lunch, a tattoo in the afternoon, a pair of socks from the Sock Man afterwards and a chicken gizzard yakitori with a bottle of Sapporo for dinner, all in one day. While you can still get all those today, you’d have to fight your way to get through the crowds stopping by chickpea, the falafel place in the corner, Chipotle, Grand Sichuan and soon enough Bamn!, a shop full of vending machines off Second Avenue. The neighborhood has indeed changed.

We learned early that it would be hard to keep our budget of $3 for each taco. The downtown locations come with an extra price hike. Unlike the tacos uptown, the second tortilla is wrapped around the first so that they look like burritos, perhaps it’s because people are on the go downtown. I also found it interesting that none of our tacos came in half-moon shapes.

San Loco Mexico, 124 Second Avenue off St. Marks Place, 212/260.7948

The guys at the bar wouldn’t get up from watching their baseball game to let two ladies sit and eat, but at least the catfish taco was good enough to make us stay. The fish is breaded and deep-fried and it was crispy and hot enough to make everything all right. The shredded pork was equally tasty and succulent. The two tacos cost us a little less than $7.

Puebla Mexican Food and Coffee, 47 First Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets, 212/473.6643

The chorizo taco was just all about salty goodness here. We loved the cilantro and the lime juice, plus the tortilla had a different texture than what I was used to. My favorite out of the four even at $5.25.

Downtown Bakery, 69 First Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets, 212/254.1757

The guava jelly roll is a plus but we weren’t there to rate their pastries so we stuck with the chorizo taco that came with avocado. Instead of ground pork, this was sausage cut up in smaller pieces. The tortilla seemed to taste more real here, too. They serve two tacos for $6 but they were nice enough to sell us only one to share.

Paquito’s, 143 First Avenue between St. Marks Place and 9th Street, 212/674.2071

We ordered the beef taco this time for $2.50. It was a little bit chewy but the good salsa that came with it was pretty tasty. Their “Real Mexican Style” taco was more substantial than the others. Their red blinking sign gave me a headache while we waited for our order, so if I have to return, I’d check out their restaurant next door.

We only had a couple of hours–we opted for a manicure first, of course–so we ended up only hitting four spots but what good spots they were!

Dragon Fruit and Rambutan

In Chinatown, I saw these cool-looking fruits they call dragon fruit. One sign had “gradon” written on a piece of cardboard. Those Chinese vendors get confused sometimes! I couldn’t get any information from them so I did my own research after buying one for $3.

They’re native to Central and South America, but they’re apparently now the number one export of Vietnam. The meat is like a kiwi’s. It’s white and fleshy with a lot of small black seeds. It tastes a little bit like kiwi but without the tartness. I tried a little bit with salt and another piece with sugar just to see the difference. With sugar, it became somewhat bitter, but salt didn’t really make a big difference. If it wasn’t too early for rum, I could imagine putting this in a blender and making a cocktail out of it. Perhaps next time.

There’s also rambutan out on the streets now. I grew up eating these in the Philippines, so I was taken aback when half a pound, about 6 pieces, cost $3.75. They taste like lychee, only the red leathery skin is surrounded by soft spikes or hair. In Malay, rambut means hair. If it’s the right time, the flesh is sweet and juicy and it comes off the seed easily when you eat it, avoiding the bitter soft bark that covers that seed. Since we’re speaking of cocktails, it’s great to have one at the bottom of a martini glass–sans the spiny skin, of course.

Searching For a Good Taco: Upper West Side

For my first search for a good taco, I decided to stay on Amsterdam Avenue and the upper west side, specifically from 100th to 145th Streets. I started on 100th mainly because I wanted to hit a favorite spot on 108th but also because I wanted to end up at Jesus’ Tacos near my apartment, a small store that shares space with Twin Donut. Every time I pass by, I chuckle at the name and I knew that someday, I’m going to have to buy something from there. (Of course, it’s more likely pronounced as Heh-sus than Gee-sus but that’s not as funny.)

I was alone and I immediately found out that two tacos were my limit, maybe three if I pick on the filling and skip the tortilla, so I kept it down to ordering chorizo or ground pork tacos. At the stores where they didn’t carry the pork kind, I either bought beef, goat or chicken. I also didn’t spend more than $2.50 on each taco, the cheapest being two dollars. As for selecting which ones to go to, I looked around as I made my way up Amsterdam Avenue and went in to every store, restaurant and bodega that had an awning painted with the Mexican flag colors and had, well, “tacos” or “Mexican food” plastered on the windows. Banderitas, loud Spanish music or television and a picture of the Lady of Guadalupe were all big pluses.

Noche, 852 Amsterdam Avenue between 101st and 102nd Streets, 212/662.6900

Italian Mexican, 886 Amsterdam Avenue between 102nd and 103rd Streets, 212/316.1427

Los Paisas, 890 Amsterdam Avenue between 103rd and 104th Streets, 212/961.1263

Taqueria y Fonda, 968 Amsterdam Avenue between 107th and 108th Streets, 212/531.0383

Yuca Mexican Products, 1345-49 Amsterdam Avenue corner of 125th Street

Cielito Lindo, 1354 Amsterdam Avenue between 125th and 126th Streets, 212/222.0938

Mex Juquila, 1486 Amsterdam Avenue between 133rd and 134th Streets, 212/694.7142

Jesus’ Taco, 501 West 145th Street on Amsterdam Avenue, 212/234.3330

The verdict: chorizo tacos are indistinguishable; ground pork is ground pork. What makes a difference is how the chorizo is cooked and how the taco is prepared. My favorite was the chorizo taco from Taqueria y Fonda between 107th and 108th Streets because the bits and pieces of pork were grilled, crunchy and toasted. Even the onions were grilled so they added some sweetness to the flavor. Their salsa also came with small pieces of avocado and finding each one was a nice surprise. The chorizo from Cielito Lindo between 125th and 126th Streets came in a close second. They actually cut a sausage into smaller pieces; crunchy chorizo skin is always a plus.

As for the non-chorizo tacos, the goat from Yuca was great and the huge peppers were a nice touch. The chicken from Mex Juquila was pretty much like how white meat tastes: boring and unexciting. Between the two beef tacos I got, I liked the one from Noche better than the ungodly experience at Jesus’.