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Recipes 2025 #3



I haven't written a new recipes post in month, and I have a lot of asides in this post including a NYC visit and thoughts about "Food Business". It might be time for a reformat?

Asides

In June, a fast casual place "Seoul Spice" opened in the Loop - like Chipotle or a poke place but Korean options. Big bowl of food. There's now a second location in River North.

Felt inspired at Whole Foods and had both pierogi and bulgogi for dinner. I've recently started following a pierogi company on Instagram and they are always trying chili crisp and other new recipes.

I make salmon and edamame rice more often, trying furikake topping or Japanese mustard, but recently I crushed a chicken stock cube in the rice cooker, put Trader Joe's salmon rub on the fish, and cooked the fish separately in a new stainless steel pan. This all worked really well. The fish was fishy, and the rice had a better taste and texture.

During my prepper phase I bought 16-pack of Colavita crushed tomatoes and marinara sauce. I finished the crushed tomatoes and tried the marinara once. It's alright. Might benefit from simmering with fresh garlic and peppers next time? In this case I had corn-on-the-cob, burrata cheese, and egg noodles.

I remembered the Cheesecake Factory chipotle cream recipe and made it for the first time in a year or so. From the first recipes post, I've been keeping the recipes alcohol-free. Before I moved into my own place, I did BlueApron and they sometimes include mirin. So I don't know if it's going to be a fixed rule or what.

NYC

In Anti-Chef's 'Chicken Ruby' video earlier this year he got a specific chili powder from Kalustyan's in Manhattan. I visited, and they have so many aisles of flours, barbecue rubs, Mexican spices, dried mushrooms, cheese powders, teas, salts, etc.
Recently he did a video about getting 'discovered' by the algorithm in 2022, renting a studio space in NYC, having a child in the NICU, and returning to Canada.

Food Business

After closing in April 2024 and still having food on shelves a year later, the Sears Tower Foxtrot was cleared for a new owner in July 2025. They also opened a new location near DePaul. Very Rude for no one to take over the location near me. Please enjoy this Yelp review from March 2024:

I walked in this morning to get a cold brew and was "greeted" (acknowledged) by a staff member wearing cat ears (fun), typing away on her phone. She took my order (not certain she actually even looked at me). Fair enough. I just want my $6 cold brew and I'll be on my way.
I stepped around to wait for my drink. I overheard cat ears tell her coworker that she wanted to burn the building down. Fair enough…who doesn't feel that way about work sometimes?
[…]
In hindsight, the cat ears make sense, because she was very much like an actual cat…uninterested, unbothered, and set on violence.
[…]
I was once a huge Foxtrot fan, I could buy a small (used) car with all the money I've spent there the past few years. But I think today was my final visit.

Eleven Madison Park, which went vegan four years ago (but reportedly served meat a little longer in their private dining rooms), is giving up. They had kept their Michelin status but diners have frequently voiced disappointment.
Around the same time Epicurious said they would stop posting beef recipes. Looking at the homepage today, above the fold is vegetarian, followed by an 'Expert Advice' section with chicken and fish. With a little vertical and horizontal scrolling, I found an oxtail recipe.
Speculation goes back to 2023, when Heated noticed that any beef recipes come through Bon Appetit. According to an ingredient page there were no beef recipes in 2024 and four this year (two from September). Note that some recipes aren't tagged.

The New York Times is doing something, changing the critics and messaging around their theatre and restaurant reviews. I am not seeking out fine dining places and have very limited overlap with their top 100 in NYC, but I wanted to discuss this comment on their YouTube video:

The only one I would consider is the Italian one. What is with these people eating oxtail , goat and raw seafood. I just don't get it where is the fried chicken how about a good steak and how about some spaghetti and meatballs. It has this elitist vibe people with too much money eating food most people would never want. I came from a blue collar family lower middle class and we had the best food comfort food done well by moms and grandmas who knew how to cook. And they actually cooked the seafood no slimy scallops and certainly no shrimp with the heads left on. I am now one of these people my husband is a partner at an international business in Manhattan and I am often forced to eat at these places. I usually leave hungry and pick up a sloppy Joe at Schnippers

There are some elements of this which are real. I often like spaghetti and meatballs. Maybe burrata on top. But the New York Times would never post a five minute video about that meal. A food critic has to introduce novel information, aspirational content. That does make you think, though?
The thing which stuck out for me was this person saying oxtail and goat are "elitist". This is what makes me think it's a genuine comment, as they're not linking those to soul food or Jamaica, but as something unfamiliar to them and therefore "most people".
As I'm writing this I am noticing the gender essentialism in "by moms and grandmas". This could be "mom knows best" mentality, IDK but just mentioning I see it.
The foods which I like and recommend to my family on reflection are not that adventurous or typical of their cuisines. And I did not become an expert of beans, lentils, noodle dishes, offal, etc. So maybe I am still basic.

Meals

Çilbir Sandwich with Paprika Garlic Oil

https://justinesnacks.com/cilbir-sandwich-with-paprika-garlic-oil/

I googled if you could make "Turkish eggs" as a sandwich, and here it is. This worked for me, but the weird thing is you're eating an egg and yogurt sandwich?

I recently had a fancy Turkish egg dish in Guernsey with a lot of chili oil and a slice of bread to mop up... this seems to be the way to go.

Coconut Saffron Poached Fish

https://zenaskitchen.com/coconut-saffron-poached-fish/

Similar to a previously featured white fish recipe, but with saffron to be fancy.

One-Pan Orzo With Spinach and Feta

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021485-one-pan-orzo-with-spinach-and-feta

NYT made a video to promote it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZX7l6FhziI

One-Pot Creamy Beef and Shells

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnXocmLpTmE

Good to get a practical YouTuber's recipe in here. As an experiment I made it the same day that the video was released. Often I save a recipe in a browser tab or a list somewhere forever, so this was a good turnaround.
I did a 2/3 recipe which I estimated to take a normal-sized can/box of crushed tomatoes, a carton of beef stock, and a few squirts of tomato paste.

One-Pot Miso Turmeric Salmon and Coconut Rice

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1026734-one-pot-miso-turmeric-salmon-and-coconut-rice

This probably could be a rice cooker meal, but I'm following the NYT version. It's a lot of miso but it works, very tasty.

Peruvian Style Chicken

https://daniellewalker.com/peruvian-style-chicken/

Used Peruvian spice powder from the Indian grocery in NYC. It's a good bake, maybe needed more marinating since the powder is mostly on the skin.

Spaghetti alla Nerano

https://www.sipandfeast.com/spaghetti-alla-nerano/

Another recipe from the Sip & Feast channel. I made this for family with a cheese available in their grocery store. The zucchini in the sauce didn't break down as easily as I'd pictured? In the end it was a good veggie sauce. Eat it with lemon pepper salmon.

Steak and Couscous Salad

Came home after a long trip and discovered I have two huge boxes of couscous. Made this recipe with a couple of changes - no corn, and flank steak which got seared in the pan, roasted in the oven.
I feel like a lot of the zucchini that I buy goes soft in the fridge. Again this was a benefit of a same-day shop and cook.

Uyghur Chopped Lagman Noodle

https://moribyan.com/uyghur-chopped-lagman-noodle/

My idea was to make the lamb and noodles on different days. I got a tray of lamb, fried it with peas and carrots, and ate most of it with rice. I originally had this as a 'fail' but I had good leftovers. I'd make it with less soy sauce next time.
To picture the noodle process, here is the corresponding Instagram video and another chef's recipe.
Shout-out to the grocery clerk who gave me the lamb for a discount when it had no barcode or price on it.

Fails

Spicy Green Curry Steak Recipe

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1027000-spicy-green-curry-steak

Tried making a minimal version of this and it's mostly garnishing a steak with green curry paste.