Summer food fests and more

Similar to most towns and cities, summer means outdoor food festivals and farmers market.  While I enjoy farmers market, I do not go for the $5 per pound tomatoes or green beans but rather the free samples of breads and spreads. I ventured to Williamsburg Brooklyn right across the river where every Saturday the "flea market" known as Smorgasboard features 95% prepared foods (yay!)  From bbq to tacos, arepas to viet sandwiches, this place is a foodie's paradise .

Out of everything that was eaten, I wanted to highlight this hot dog.  We've seen the asian inspired tacos (Korilla BBQ or Seoul Food) and sandwiches (think Bimbimbap burger at Social Eatz) but please meet Asia Dog.  You can find an outpost in Nolita, but Asia dog also makes its rounds at various food festivals and concerts throughout the summer.  I opted for the Sydney chicken hot dog, the bun was pleasantly toasted, the dog lightly grilled and topped with a relish of refreshing mango, cilantro, onion, cucumber, lime and fish sauce and finished with a handful of crushed peanuts.  To cap it off, I rode the east ferry back to manhattan on a full belly of hot dogs, pork sandwiches and an interesting espresso stout chocolate chip cookie.

When our initial brunch location in st. marks was packed at 1:30pm, I was looking forward to eggs so naturally was not that excited for our back up lunch at Xian Foods even though it has been featured by Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmerman. And for great reason as it was affordable and delicious.  There isn't alot of seating and they even have rules about when and how you can take seats.

We went with the most yelped about dish the cumin lamb noodles (left) and then a cold noodle dish with seitan and cucumbers as well as the stewed pork sandwich (for $2.50!).  I think the most interesting part of both dishes was the texture of the noodles, much thicker and denser than your typical rice noodle.  While the dish could have used more lamb, the strong cumin chili flavor was prominent and addicting.  The underrated star was actually the pork sandwich hiding in that paper bag.   The hoisin stewed pork was wrapped in a bread that more closely resembled a crusty an arepa. Toasted on both sides this sandwich was a great way to balance the heat of the other dishes.  If you are afraid of spice or oil in anyway, this might not be the place for you.

FYI- if you get a dish that has the word "tingly" in the description- be prepared for numb feeling in your mouth.  You are not having an allergic reaction but rather this is a temporary, courtesy of the Sichuan peppercorn.

On a different note- I made a visit to New Tu Do- a Vietnamese joint near Chinatown. With so many options in that area, I relied on the keen eye of my sister's boyfriend for advice and his research of yelp pictures.  And with summer in full swing, it just doesn't make sense to have pho.  So recently I've really enjoyed nem nuong, a red pork meatball.  It comes with pickled carrots, daikon, cucumber, lettuce, mint, peanuts, green onions and micro vermicilli. It's kind of like choose your own adventure where you pick your ingredients and wrap them up in rice paper like summer rolls and dunk it into the typical sweet sour fish sauce.

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What is it?

Instead of biscuits, rolls, croissants or danishes at the Popover cafe., you get a warm popover, a egg based bread/pastry with a crusty exterior and hollow airy soft interior. The flavor definitely reminds me of a crepe and with a dab of strawberry butter or syrup, this is a delightful start to brunch here at this  upper west side spot.

Another notable dish is the kobe beef hash.  Cubes of  this beautiful beef is slow cooked then finished on a flat top with onions and cubed new red potatoes.  The mixture arrives with a nice char and two eggs prepared to your liking.  The fat from the meat really creates a luxurious and gluttinous brunch dish and it is difficult to leave anything on this plate.