Hold onto your chopsticks; the Times recently commissioned a toxicology report on sushi from 13 local establishments and got back some rather unappetizing results:
More than half of the restaurants and stores surveyed sold sushi with so much mercury that eating just six pieces a week would exceed the amount the EPA says can be safely consumed by an adult of average weight, which the agency defines as 154 pounds, 70 kilograms. People weighing less are advised to consume even less mercury.more ›
is considered a classic. It contains recipes such as Blood Cake with Fried Eggs, Tripe Gratin, and Crispy Pig’s Tail. Stuff like that. This isn’t stunt eating, Fear Factor-style, nor is Henderson’s food supposed to be particularly innovative, but it is. The chef’s “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing” approach to cooking simultaneously emphasizes frugality and simplicity. In some sense, that's almost unheard of these days.
Coming slowly but surely to a grocery store near you is 5 Boroughs Ice Cream. What started with little more than a couple’s wedding present followed by some kitchen experimentation has become a quest to endow every New York City neighborhood with its own signature ice cream flavor. 5 Boroughs owners Scott and Kim Myles are the Big Apple’s Ben and Jerry, sans Birkenstocks. With 8 themed flavors, such as the Jackson Heights Mangodesh (Mango ice cream with a cardamom edge), 5 Boroughs Ice Cream is now available at places like Gourmet Garage and Cobblestone Foods. 5B was founded with a strong grassroots approach- the milk for the ice cream comes from Mercer’s Dairy upstate, a collection of 7 independently owned family farms. 5 Boroughs is also involved with community building and several local charities. Gothamist had the chance to speak with ½ of 5B, Scott Myles, in his Astoria living room last week.
Today, the City Council will be working to override a mayoral veto of the Health Care Security Act, which would as the NY Sun says, "require large supermarkets and big-box stores that sell food in the five boroughs to pay part of their employees' medical expenses for the first time." In other words, don't stick that Wal-Mart in New York City. Mayor Bloomberg vetoed the act, claiming that a federal law already requires private businesses to provide health care. Okay, Gothamist is not the sharpest tack in the toolbox at times, but this federal law... does anyone follow it? If so, then why don't more follow it? (If any readers can explain, please do in the comments.) Opponents of the act say that this will drive businesses away from NYC, while proponents (including Fernando Ferrer) are emphasizing that these workers need any benefits they can get. The Sun speaks with an NYU professor of public and health administration, who says, "I think what the City Council is trying to show is that it is sympathetic to people who don't have health insurance, which is a fine objective, but the fact is that they are trying to deal with a problem in a way that doesn't make a lot of economic sense," which is the kind of quote you'd expect from a conservative paper which has an editorial saying the act might as well be called the "Higher-Priced Groceries and Minority Unemployment Act." The higher-priced groceries angle comes about because if costs are higher for businesses, then so will the groceries; this bill would force existing businesses like Garden of Eden and Gourmet Garage to give their workers benefits.
Two food events of note over the next few days. Don't let a little snow keep you away!
When searching for gourmet and specialty foods, New Yorkers have lots of options: Dean and Deluca, Gourmet Garage, Garden of Eden, Zabars, etc. But New Yorkers in the know make the trek to Atlantic Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn to partake in the vast selection and unbelievably low prices of Sahadi Importing Company.
