The blog’s been Deadsville. You know it. I know it. Bear with me as I attempt to bring it back to life. “I’m here to canvas the food blogs, so you don’t have to.”

Did it work??

A friend and I checked out Whitehall the other night, the new place down in the West Village that replaced Sweetiepie. The white tiles and sort of barebones interior is supposed to evoke London’s Tube stations…..but I’ve never been in a Tube station as nice as this place. My friend loved her cocktail and I loved my champagne, and I’m looking forward to going back for dinner (and brunch!). Menus are here.

I am feeling quite jealous of all my UWS neighbors, since FloFab tells me they’ll be getting quite a few new establishments in the neighborhood. To wit: The Smith, Jacob’s Pickles, Mamajuana Cafe, and more. I’m up for the field trips; you’ll just have to invite me.

A few years ago – more years than I’d like to admit – I had the great fortune of visiting Germany at Christmastime. No one puts on a Christmas fair like the Germans, complete with glühwein and stollen and all the plätzchen (Christmas cookies) I could get my hands on. (My grubby American fingers stopped at nothing.) These Lebkuchen embody all that is delicious about a holiday delicacy in Germany: slightly sweet gingerbread, with spice, and a glaze to keep everyone happy. Get into it – it’s good.

The weather in NYC isn’t cooperating, but I swear in other parts of the country winter is definitely here. It’ll hit us soon enough, at which point you should warm your belly with Restaurant Girl’s Best Bowls of Soup. I’d also like to add Tom Yum Soup to that list, though I haven’t found any serious contenders. Any ideas? I’m willing to travel!

Are you having people over tomorrow and freaking out about what to serve? Mark Bittman has done the work for you, creating a handy-dandy little map of more than 500 possible combinations.

Two reports on Forcella, the new pizza place doing fried pies – where the dough is flash fried before baked with toppings: Danny at Food in Mouth says it’s “texturally interesting” but not a gamechanger, while the boys at Immaculate Infatuation can’t stop talking about it. Guess I need to get some of that fried pizza in my piehole and decide for myself.

This is not the time for tomatoes, I realize. That time passed a long time ago, along with Daylight Savings and shorts. You wouldn’t think it, given the weather we’ve had the last few days, but let me assure you: it’s true.

That being said, I swear there is still room for these babies. I took a bag of “late season” sad little specimen and after three hours they were transformed. It’s a long time to hang in the oven, I know, but it’s worth it. They taste like tomatoes on steroids, such a clean and pure flavor it almost tastes fake. Reminds me of how my younger brother prefers the fake Kraft mozzarella that comes in slices in the deli aisle – because the added flavor makes it taste “more” like mozzarella. Alice Water disciples everywhere probably just seized up. But I get what he means, every time I eat these tomatoes! That’s a ringing endorsement, right?

Save them for a Sunday when you’ve got time, and serve them as a side with a stovetop dish. Like that Mustard Chicken we always make. Oh, and wine.

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

One quick Google search will reveal there are myriad ways to cook them. I riffed off Smitten Kitchen’s version.

A bunch of tomatoes, however many you want – plum or cherry (I used plum)

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

A few unpeeled garlic cloves

Preheat oven to 225°. Brush a large rimmed baking sheet with olive oil, about 1-2 Tbsp., or line with parchment paper. Halve the tomatoes, no need to core, and toss in a bowl with a generous drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then lay on the baking sheet, cut side up. Scatter the garlic around. Bake for about 3 1/2 hours (about 3 if you’re using cherry tomatoes). Serve.

I’m here to canvas the food blogs, so you don’t have to. A few highlights this week:

The photo above was taken a few weeks ago at Untitled, Danny Meyer’s place in the Whitney. I love it there, though you get what you pay for: expensive diner food. Get there before 1 to beat the rush on a Sunday, and be sure to try their bloody mary. Delicious!

This article in the New York Times about crowdsourcing restaurants makes me excited for one reason only: I want to get out to Littleneck, that clam shack in Gowanus! Who’s with me?

Serious Eats has the early word on Parm, which just opened for lunch last weekend and will open for dinner soon. It’s from the guys behind Torrisi Italian Specialties, which is why I cannot contain my excitement. Now Torrisi will do a fancier lunch. Stick with Parm for the Saratoga Club – and they’ve got McSorley’s on tap!

The boys at Immaculate Infatuation are not fans of Mas (la grillade) or Bell Book & Candle, but they do like Hospoda, in the Bohemian National Hall on the UES.

If you’re heading up to Harlem, check out Restaurant Girl’s Destination Dining List. Red Rooster is on the list, unsurprisingly, but so is Bier International, which I have yet to check out. Field trip?

If you work in Midtown and like Pad Thai (and come on, who doesn’t), check out the new Pad Thai Cart on 50th between 6th and 7th. Go early, though; the word is out and apparently they ran out of food by 1pm yesterday.

The weather here in NYC is supposed to be pretty beautiful this weekend. Are you looking for activities outside? Do you like eating food? Then check out Smorgasburg, which ends November 19. Lobster rolls, doughnuts, pizza, tacos….I could go on.

I decided to stop calling these “Restaurant Round-Ups” since half the time I’m not even talking about a restaurant, but instead directing you to some great food festival or recipe. To wit:

Let’s get down to business, and let’s stuff our faces on Sunday at the Grub Street Food Festival, which is taking over the Hester Street Fair from 10am to 6pm. It’s going to be madness: more than 100 vendors selling their stuff, in a space far larger than the actual Hester Street Fair; they’ve taken over the adjacent tennis courts to accommodate the hordes….which will include me.

The boys at Immaculate Infatuation have outdone themselves, relasing a (free) iPhone app that maps out all the restaurants they’ve reviewed. So if you ever find yourself in a nabe you don’t know well, it’ll show you what’s good nearby. You can also save a list of restaurants for your “Hit List,” which would be great for me since mine is currently a scrabbled note pinned to a wall in my office. Helpful, no? Get it here.

Red Egg has been getting a lot of love on Serious Eats lately; their Peking Duck Sliders  ($24) and Beef Chow Fun ($7 at lunch) are all good eats.

FloFab has the low-down on some new openings in town, including Toloache 82. I checked it out last night; the service was exuberant and the tacos decent.

This is one of those fantastic meals where a few good ingredients make all the difference. I know we’re not supposed to be eating sea bass because illegal fishing makes it nearly impossible to regulate, but it caught my eye at the Grand Central Market and I jumped. It also strays from the recipe – Bittman advises you cook with fillets or steaks about an inch thick, so the sauce can really reduce and become syrupy. My fat filets required a lot of liquid, so there wasn’t much reducing, but it was delicious nonetheless.

The best part was pulling this together – rice, roasted broccoli and all – in about 30 minutes, even with my crashing around the kitchen in a hunger-induced craze. It’s actually a sophisticated meal, which belies the state I was in when I cooked it. It’s also quite forgiving, so don’t worry about overcooking. It’s nearly impossible.

Sea Bass Poached in Soy Sauce

From The Minimalist. Serves 2.

1/2 c. good soy sauce

2 tsp. sugar

1/2 c. water

1 dried or fresh chile (I didn’t cut mine open so its effect was minimal. This step is optional)

2 filets of striped bass – or sea bass – or other filet or steak that’s about 1 inch thick. Go bigger if you’d like but be forewarned the sauce won’t do what it should

1 bunch of scallions, cut into 1 inch lengths

In the smallest saute pan you have, heat the soy sauce, sugar, water, and chile if using on medium high heat until it boils. Add the fish skin side up, and add more water if needed so the liquid almost covers the fish. Add the scallions. Adjust the heat – you want it bubbling but not uncontrollably. Turn as the sauce thickens so the sauce covers the fish. My fillets probably took closer to 15 minutes, but 8 to 10 minutes should suffice for thinner fillets.

Serve over rice, with roasted broccoli, and spoon the sauce over.

Hello reader(s)! I’m here to canvas the food blogs, so you don’t have to. A few highlights this week:

The photo above was taken at Weather Up Tribeca. It’s a great little spot – just don’t tell anyone about it. I’ll go anytime.

Donny, a regular Midtown Lunch contributer, has been working on Hidden Gems, a new foodie microsite from the Wall St. Journal. There are some, ah, gems in there so you might want to check it out.

The boys at Immaculate Infatuation venture up to my neighborhood and check out Jones Wood Foundry to good reviews. Guess I better get in there before the place blows up, Scotch eggs and all.

The Siftster checks out Tertulia and gives it two stars, I’m sure mostly for the Ibérico ham. Seriously, he waxes poetic about the stuff, served plain or stuffed into croquettes or melded into sauces. But Serious Eats also filed a review today, saying they “just don’t get it.” Guess we’ll have to try for ourselves.

If you’re cooking, the adorable Alexandra of Alexandra Cooks posted about this plum torte from the adorable Talley of House to Haus, whose charming blog about food and life in Zurich is now on my must-read list.

Jason Lam at Me So Hungry gets hopped up for The Food Porn Party, courtesy of Saxon + Parole, for the NYC Food Film Festival. Tickets are $75 and bacon-wrapped anything (even turtle burgers) sounds pretty good to me. If you go to the festival, be sure to check out Mistura, about the Peruvian food festival.

If you don’t make it to Madison Square Eats before it ends on October 21, you will have missed out on something really special. Like Arrested Development coming back for a fourth season kind of special.

It’s like a smaller version of Smorgasburg, but it’s ten times better, both for being in Manhattan and for serving alcohol. There’s nothing like being able to wash down your Maine-style lobster roll with a nice Allagash White from The Cannibal, a new shop from the people behind Resto.

Next we tried a BBQ pork bun from Fatty Snack, which was a little too saucy and sweet for my liking, before venturing over to the Milk Truck Grilled Cheese to try their All Day Breakfast Sandwich. Hey, anything involving caramelized onions, gruyere, and a fried egg is alright by me, and this did not disappoint.

Lastly, one of my favorites: Wafels & Dinges. I love a Throwdown with bananas (for the potassium, of course). It’s so delicious. Robicelli’s is also there if you are feeling cupcakes over waffles, and don’t forget the birthday cake truffles from Momofuku Milk Bar.

We didn’t get to Calexico (the line was too long) or the Hong Kong Street Cart (my belly was full). But I’m totally hitting them up next time – and yes, there will definitely be a next time. Meet you there?

Oh! You again! Well, you obviously know the drill: I’m here to canvas the food blogs, so you don’t have to. A few highlights this week:

The photo above was taken at Kang Suh a week ago. I have no idea what we ordered or what we ate, since I have the great good fortune of having a Korean friend who is willing to schlep her gringo friends around K-Town. All I know is, it was fantastic.

The Siftster may have announced that he is moving on to greener pastures, but he’s still slinging restaurant reviews. The latest on the chopping block? Coppelia and Miss Lily’s. The former gets one star and the latter a “satisfactory.” Don’t expect to imbibe at Coppelia; their liquor license hasn’t come through. At Miss Lily’s, the jerk chicken and coconut cake will serve you well.

Danny at Food in Mouth is relieved to find a serious lunch deal in the way of a $4 chicken sandwich from Cafe Zaiya, while Donny from Eat to Blog enjoyed “cosmically delicious” fried chicken and awesome cornbread at the Brooklyn Star.

If you’re looking to make the most of our last tomatoes, consider this recipe from Sassy Radish: slow roasted tomatoes. Smitten Kitchen also does a very similar version, but the process is the same: low, slow heat for several hours does wonders. Give it a shot (if you feel like cooking).

The boys at Immaculate Infatuation check out Tenpenny, in Midtown East, and give it two solid thumbs up – ideal for the pastas (and really mostly if you’re forced to forage for dinner in Midtown).

The Feisty Foodie has the rundown on Madison Square Eats, my tummy’s personal Candyland. If you are in the neighborhood, make time for it. Don’t miss Roberta’s or Red Hook Lobster Pound, or Robicelli’s…..

Lastly, if you would like to  invent celebrate your German heritage, Gothamist has the rundown on where to get rowdy for Oktoberfest. Plan accordingly.

I’ll be honest here, and I know it will come as no surprise to you: there’s not a lot of cooking going on these days in the Sarcastic Appetite’s kitchen. There is, however, still plenty of eating and drinking going on. To wit:

A few weeks ago I hatched a plan. An entirely mad-cap plan to eat and drink my way across a few (choice) blocks of E. 7th St. Luckily, my proposed itinerary was met with oohs and ahs and not “oh dear gods,” so off I went one rainy Saturday with a crew of willing friends.

I sort of….forgot to take pictures the whole way through, so you’ll have to bear with my rundown below. We didn’t go nearly far east enough, in my humble opinion – which means there’s got to be a Round 2. Are you interested?

We began at noon at Luke’s Lobster, where I inhaled a Schooner Combo….and half a shrimp roll for good measure. As always, the combo of a warm, buttered roll and cold, seasoned lobster (or shrimp) is perfection. Add some salt & vinegar chips and a ginger beer, and I’m a happy camper. There was no line when I strolled in, but it was jammed by the time we left. We were off to an excellent start.

Next we walked west, to Jimmy’s No. 43. I love this place, probably because I have only ever been in the early afternoon when it is absolutely empty. We set up shop at a table by the window and proceeded to while away the afternoon, playing cards and trying their excellent beer menu on for size. (See top photo.)

Feeling like we needed a little pick-me-up, we headed back east to Abraço for some espresso, drinking it awkwardly in their front window. Seriously, that place is tiny. But the espresso was fantastic, and I have heard wondrous things about their chocolate olive oil cake. Methinks that needs to be filed away for Round 2?

Post-caffeine fix, we were hungry again – or should I say, one of us I had been harping on about arepas and could we possibly swing by Caracas to get some? We did, sauntering in to sit at their teeny bar and wolf down arepas la paisa – the original cheese version. They weren’t as mind-blowingly delicious as I was hoping for, but then again, I couldn’t be bothered to wait for the cheese to melt to get the full effect. So it’s probably my own fault.

Oh, did you think we were finished here? Dearie me, no, we’re only getting warmed up. You forgot it’s my Summer of Champagne and Oysters, so we stopped into Desnuda for a few of both. Clean, briny, and wonderful – though somehow better when you only have to pay $1 a pop for them after 2pm on a Sunday. I suggest you make the trip.

Now that it was approaching dinner time, some in the group were rumbling for some “real” food. It is at this point that I regret to inform you we went spectacularly – but so deliciously – off course. It was a simple question: where to take 5 or 6 friends for an early, hearty dinner on a Saturday night? Momofuku Noodle Bar. Pork buns. Ramen. Done. It was everything we hoped for, and more.

Lastly (I can’t believe we lasted this long either), we needed dessert. Let me be honest: the real reason I hatched this plan to come down to 7th Street was to get to the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. I am rarely in the vicinity of the truck (and lately, neither is Doug, since he’s focusing on the shop), so this was my big chance. Friends, it was fantastic. I only wish I had, um, left a little room in the old tummy to give my Monday Sundae its full due. Not to worry – I’ll be back for the Salty Pimp faster than you can say “Bea Arthur!”

Thus concludes our epic tour of East 7th Street. Do you feel full as full from reading this as I do from writing it?

Are there stops we missed? Drop me a line and tell me what to hit up next time…unless you are my doctor, in which case – my cholesterol levels are totally fine!

It’s that time again: I canvass the food blogs, so you don’t have to. A few highlights this week:

The photo above is from the Lot at the Highline last week. You should definitely check it out; open-air bars, food trucks, and picnic tables are a magical mixture.

The Siftster gives three stars to Craft, Tom Collichio’s Gramercy stalwart that received three stars when it first opened….ten years ago. Anything involving a deep fried six-minute egg sounds all right by me.

Flo Fab also pulls together a nice list of fall restaurant openings. What catches your eye? I’m quite curious about Corkbuzz Studio’s wine classes. (It’s education, of course.)

Danny at Food in Mouth is still a fan of Ippudo’s, even after all these years. I’m delighted to learn they’ll be opening another outpost on W. 51st St. Midweek ramen runs for lunch? Yes, please.

Serious Eats checks out Fatty ‘Cue, the latest restaurant from Zak Pelaccio. It looks good, and I’d even get behind that bottle service (I can’t believe I just admitted that).

Oh and speaking of Midtown, I’m eager to check out Cafe China. For a takeout order, that Ma Po Tofu looks pretty good.

If you’re looking for beertastic events, check out Brooklyn Pour on October 15. Village Voice says VIP tickets are almost sold out, so get yours…fast.

Now that the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop has opened on 7th St, I’m planning a crawl: Porchetta, Caracas, Luke’s Lobster, Desnuda, Butter Lane, and a Salty Pimp to finish it off. Who’s with me???