General | hungry sofia

Mar 15

The Other Chinatown

After years of winding my way through the streets of lower Manhattan, I think I’ve finally figured out Chinatown. A little overwhelming and often confusing, you always know you’re in New York. A few blocks in any direction and you’re in Little Italy, Tribeca or the Lower East Side. I’d always been curious about the “other” Chinatown – the one they keep in Flushing, where Jennifer 8 Lee said the “real” Chinese restaurants were. I had no good reason for not making it out there until now so when my teacher, Steven Shaw planned an excursion for his current food blogging class, I had to sign up. After all, he’d written the book. This weekend we met up at the French Culinary Institute on a gray day to make our way through cast iron Soho to Spring street where a 6 would get us to the 7 to Flushing. When we came up from the station, it was clear we were not in Manhattan anymore.

Catching Up in February

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve talked about what I was reading, but I didn’t want to let February go by without pointing to some really interesting articles. Of course, the El Bulli story has continued to develop with the announcement that it would close permanently in 2012 and re-open as a non-profit foundation 2014. There were two interesting pieces in the New York Times Diner’s Journal by Grant Achatz and Frank Bruni about the very different emotions the restaurant inspired. Read more

Feb 3

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El Bulli

I saw the announcement that El Bulli was closing for two years beginning in 2012, but it didn’t seem real until I read this interview with Ferran Adria in the Wall Street Journal. Not only is it true, but there are reasons. Outside of vague if-only-but-maybe future, I had no immediate plans to attempt a reservation. While I look forward to whatever innovations this hiatus will bring, I can’t help but regret that even if I’m lucky enough to visit future incarnations, I’d have missed an opportunity. Not ready to give up, I visited their website and saw that while 2010 is no longer available, there’s always the final 2011 season which hasn’t even begun. Already a remote possibility, there’s no reason to give up on the daydream months in between just yet.

Jan 23

Class Break

I’ve owed my teacher Steven Shaw a rave since I took the first food blogging course at the ICC this past year. He’ll be teaching the course again starting February 18 at the French Culinary Institute, and I absolutely recommend it to anyone interested in new media, starting their own blog or food writing. I browse listings for writing courses and workshops all the time. While they sound interesting, the fear is always that you’re going to pay for a teacher to ignore you and your fellow students to analyze you, at best a writer’s group and at worst group therapy with deadlines. Absolutely, none of these fears materialized in Steven’s class. A founder of eGullet.org and James Beard award winning writer, he was beyond generous with his time both in and out of class, so that you saw real development in everyone’s blogs from week to week (plus the speakers were great and the class drew together a perfect mix of writers, chefs, and starters). Click here for more information and here for five more reasons you should take this class!

Jan 18

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Catching Up in January

I took advantage of a rainy Sunday to catch up on some reading though, instead of newspaper stacks, I had bookmarked pages and Google alerts filling up my inbox. For the New York Times, Jonathan Miles visited Roneria Caracas, a new Brooklyn bar specializing in rum drinks, in The Choices? Rum or Rum and doesn’t miss the whisky while Paola Singer went to western Spain to sample the Dom Pérignon of Iberian ham for In Spain, A Delicacy Rooted in Earth and Tradition. Meanwhile, Read more

Jan 14

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Islands

It’s difficult to think of something I may want when the devastation in Haiti is a constant reminder of what terrible and dire need really is. Growing up in South Florida, Haitians were friends and neighbors. More recently, I’ve gotten to know a Hatian mother of three at my Co-op. She describes the latest meal she made with her daughters, and I try to get myself invited to the next incredible meal they’ll make together. Coming to her with with questions about the Caribbean for the this site has been a constant reminder of the close cultural ties between Cuba and Haiti. Creole or Spanish we both speak Island. I hate to think of a country that’s given us so many lovely people in such a desperate situation.

It’s a shame that we too often become aware of each other only in the worst moments. Facebook and Twitter has provided a steady stream of links to aid organizations. I hope you’ll click here for the YéleHaiti earthquake fund or dial 501501, which will automatically donate $5 to the fund charged to your cell phone bill. Though they are currently focused on disaster relief, their long term objective as stated by founder Wyclef Jean “is to restore pride and a reason to hope, and for the whole country to regain the deep spirit and force that is part of our heritage.” In that vein, I thought I would post a clip that reflects our shared heritage and happier moment of recognition.

Jan 1

A Blank Slate

I took it as a good omen when I woke up on New Year’s Eve to snow falling. A blank slate arriving just in time. I hadn’t thought about it too much until a couple of weeks ago when I realized I’d been holding my breath for much of the last ten years. As decades go, it’s been a twister. Having spent the last year cooking, writing and building this site, I feel like I’ve finally found a place to land, due in no small part to friends comments, ideas and support. Before racing forward to another decade, I wanted thank you all for reading and wish everyone a happy and healthy new year! Salud, dinero, y amor…y tiempo para disfrutarlos!

Dec 29

Lucky Lentils

I was surprised when I read Martha Rose Shulman’s New Year’s Dishes for Prosperity and Longevity, in the New York Times. Though she writes that Italians consider lentils good luck at the beginning of the New Year, she doesn’t mention that they’re also popular in Latin America and Spain. I know because I’ve been forcing them down New Year’s lentils for years. Not my favorite bean, I’m purely in it for the prosperity. So if you’re Italian, Hispanic, or need a little luck, here’s a recipe to start the New Year.

Dec 24

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Boxing Days

It’s been all about the boxes these days – the boxes I packed my kitchen into when I learned hours before Christmas vacation that my apartment was being renovated, the boxes I’ve been wrapping for gifts, and the ceder box or caja china I sat by for hours this afternoon with a 70lb pig roasting inside for Nochebuena. Let the de-boxing begin and have a Merry Christmas!

Dec 21

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The Mean Reds

I hadn’t planned on going to Fifth Avenue and when I did it was grudgingly. I was rushed, I was cold, it was Christmas but didn’t feel like it. I was having the mean reds. When I found myself just a few feet away from Tiffany & Co., the breakfast cure was so close it was worth a try. I wasn’t Holly Golightly, but it was Tiffany’s and it worked. Bright and precise, it really does turn the reds to rubies and the blues to sapphires for the moment you’re there. The best holiday songs are about the Christmas you’re not having so it was relief to find a place that’s just what it should be in a season of high expectations. If you find yourself with the same situation and no yellow cab to get to 57th Street, here are a few Tiffany windows to tide you over.