Ian Jackman, former editorial director and managing director of
Modern Library hardcovers, is the author of some popular culture
titles, including Eat This!: 1,001 Things to Eat Before You Diet (Harper
Paperbacks, $14.95, 9780060885908/0060885904), which goes on sale July
3. Here he offers tips on dining fully al fresco during BEA.
Some of New York City's best summer food is street food. I don't mean
the tepid hot dogs and stale pretzels from a street cart out by Central
Park. Elsewhere, there's a cornucopia of edible delights to buy out, or
buy in and eat out. If you want a ready-to-go sausage, for instance,
visit the altogether quirky Hallo Berlin wurstmobile on 54th Street
just off Fifth Avenue and pick up a brat, wiener or bauernwurst. I took
my fine pork-and-beef bauernwurst in a hard roll with sautéed onion,
red cabbage and sauerkraut. On the menu, each sausage has been paired
with a German car, from top-of-the-line Maybachs (an Andouille brat)
and Porsches (a currywurst) down to boiled bockwurst, which gets the
old East German jalopy, the Trabant, for a partner.
In good weather, knowing New Yorkers head for Madison Square Park for the Shake Shack's magnificent Shack Burger (a medium-sized cheeseburger with the works and special sauce) or a lovingly recreated Chicago Dog. (Note that more knowing New Yorkers go in the rain when the lines are shorter.) You can buy slices from a to-go window at Domenic De Marco's legendary Di Fara Pizzeria in Brooklyn. As pilgrimages go, Di Fara's location--Avenue J in Midwood--is not so far from Manhattan. My current favorite take-out sandwich is a chicken Shawafel from Chickpea (two East Village locations). I dare you to resist the charm of a Shawafel--grilled chicken, crunchy falafel balls and salad in a pita pocket. Drizzle the tahini that comes on the side over the top. Messy and just fantastic.
Summer means ice cream, or, right now in New York, its lower-calorie cousin, gelato. Open in May and solidly embraced by the Upper West Side is Grom at 76th and Broadway, the first American outpost of a young Turin-based operation named for one of its founders. The flavors may change monthly, but I hope the pistachio is a keeper, along with Crema di Grom with its rich eggy flavor textured with biscuits and chocolate, and also the decadent Gianduja. If you ever sneaked Nutella out of the jar with a spoon, this is the one for you. Grom's prices may leave you light-headed, but, hey, this is New York.
Also new to New York is L.A. sensation Pinkberry and its ultra-low-cal frozen yogurt. I enjoyed the green tea version topped with blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. Pinkberry has three stores in New. Down on Orchard Street on the Lower East Side is il Laboratorio del Gelato, gifted experimenters and riffers on the theme of cold dessert. If you can't get down to the LES, as it is known, do as I did recently and dive into a Whole Foods for a container of the amazing roasted sesame gelato from ILDG and take a spoon from the eat-in section. This stuff--nutty and slightly savory--is like nothing you ever tasted, in the best way possible.
Some of New York City's best summer food is street food. I don't mean
the tepid hot dogs and stale pretzels from a street cart out by Central
Park. Elsewhere, there's a cornucopia of edible delights to buy out, or
buy in and eat out. If you want a ready-to-go sausage, for instance,
visit the altogether quirky Hallo Berlin wurstmobile on 54th Street
just off Fifth Avenue and pick up a brat, wiener or bauernwurst. I took
my fine pork-and-beef bauernwurst in a hard roll with sautéed onion,
red cabbage and sauerkraut. On the menu, each sausage has been paired
with a German car, from top-of-the-line Maybachs (an Andouille brat)
and Porsches (a currywurst) down to boiled bockwurst, which gets the
old East German jalopy, the Trabant, for a partner.In good weather, knowing New Yorkers head for Madison Square Park for the Shake Shack's magnificent Shack Burger (a medium-sized cheeseburger with the works and special sauce) or a lovingly recreated Chicago Dog. (Note that more knowing New Yorkers go in the rain when the lines are shorter.) You can buy slices from a to-go window at Domenic De Marco's legendary Di Fara Pizzeria in Brooklyn. As pilgrimages go, Di Fara's location--Avenue J in Midwood--is not so far from Manhattan. My current favorite take-out sandwich is a chicken Shawafel from Chickpea (two East Village locations). I dare you to resist the charm of a Shawafel--grilled chicken, crunchy falafel balls and salad in a pita pocket. Drizzle the tahini that comes on the side over the top. Messy and just fantastic.
Summer means ice cream, or, right now in New York, its lower-calorie cousin, gelato. Open in May and solidly embraced by the Upper West Side is Grom at 76th and Broadway, the first American outpost of a young Turin-based operation named for one of its founders. The flavors may change monthly, but I hope the pistachio is a keeper, along with Crema di Grom with its rich eggy flavor textured with biscuits and chocolate, and also the decadent Gianduja. If you ever sneaked Nutella out of the jar with a spoon, this is the one for you. Grom's prices may leave you light-headed, but, hey, this is New York.
Also new to New York is L.A. sensation Pinkberry and its ultra-low-cal frozen yogurt. I enjoyed the green tea version topped with blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. Pinkberry has three stores in New. Down on Orchard Street on the Lower East Side is il Laboratorio del Gelato, gifted experimenters and riffers on the theme of cold dessert. If you can't get down to the LES, as it is known, do as I did recently and dive into a Whole Foods for a container of the amazing roasted sesame gelato from ILDG and take a spoon from the eat-in section. This stuff--nutty and slightly savory--is like nothing you ever tasted, in the best way possible.