Yesterday, Friday December 11th we toured 8th Ave in Sunset Park Brooklyn. We visited two places yesterday which were very interesting. The First place we visited was was a super market named Fei Long Market. It’s fairly new as its been there for a few years and it’s the biggest supermarket in the area. It was located on 8th Ave. This supermarket was so huge, the first section when we walked in there were 2 pot boiling , one with eggs and the other with peanut which had a weird smell to it. As you walked more in there were stores selling all kinds of trinkets and other things. The food court had about 10 different stores with all kinds of Chinese dishes ranging from buns, dumplings to tea and roast duck. The next section was the produce and fish/ seafood section. There were all kinds of Asian inspired food products and Teas as well as American products. There were a server all different types of tofu, a variety of dried seafood. The fresh seafood was as fresh as it could get with the workers butchering and live seafood still in the tank behind them. They had unusual things like frog and eel. All in all, it was a great experience and for me a cook like me it was a dream to see ingredients so fresh . I would definitely go back if I want fresh seafood.

One of the stop we made last week in the Lower East Side of Manhattan was Lombardi’s Pizza which is located at 32 Spring Street. It first opens its doors as a pizzeria in 1905 but what you may not know is that it started of as a grocery store in 1897. The grocery store was located at 53 1/2 Spring Street and began selling tomato pies for lunch to feed local factory workers. When they acquired a licence to sell pizza, they became a pizzeria and a loyal clientele followed. in 1984, Lombardi’s closed its doors but reopened at its current location 10 years later. Today it holds the title in the Pizza Hall of Fame as the worlds first Pizzeria in the United States and has been reviewed as “The best pizza On the Planet”. Unfortunately we were not able to sample the pizza Lombardi’s had to offer during our tour last week but based on reviews and some friends i know that went there to eat, the pizza does in fact live up to the hype.

As far as New York Pizza vs. Pizza from Italy, they are in fact very different from one another. New York Pizza is know for having a very thin Crust with Sauce, Cheese and if you want, a various choice of toppings ranging from Pepperoni to Pineapples. Italian pizza on the other hand is very different, it is actually know for having a thicker, bread-like crust. In fact, when the Italians first came to the U.S. the pizza they introduced did not have tomato sauce at all, it was just dough, herbs, garlic, cheese and oil. It more closely resembled what we know today as Foccacia. It became popular because it was easy to make, cheap and it could feed a lot of people which is exactly what the Italians needed, living in the LES. Eventually people started experimenting with adding sauce and toppings and it evolved into what we know today.

Fette Sau’s is a popular BBQ joint located in Williamsburg Brooklyn at 354 Metropolitan Ave. They are open 7 days a week. On Monday- Thursday from 5pm-11pm and Friday to Sunday from 12pm-11pm.  They are known and popular for their dry-rub style of BBQ, beers and bourbon. They have a very rustic cafeteria style setting and dining area and serve their food in metal cafeteria trays. The Ambiance of the place is very relaxing with music playing, dim lighting and the smell of BBQ all in the air. The bar is stacked with a variety of bourbon and planety of beers on tap. The cafeteria like tables all have different types of BBQ sauces on them as well as a roll of paper towels. When we got there it just opened up for the day and there were already customers waiting outside waiting for the doors top open.  We ordered the Brisket, the pulled pork that came with little slider buns and baked beans. The baked beans we very delicious with both a sweet and spicy kick. That was by far my favorite thing that i had.

“Founded by Eric Kayser in Paris in 1996, Maison Kayser is an authentic artisanal French Boulangerie, meaning that bread and other baked goods are mixed and baked on-site all day long. Recognized as one of the most talented artisan bakers of his generation, Eric Kayser has built his reputation on his passion for bread, the quality of his products and his incredible skill to combine authenticity and innovation in the world of French artisanal bakeries. Born into a family of French bakers, dating back four generations, Eric Kayser started his baker apprenticeship at age 14. He was exposed very early on to the art of baking, perfected his techniques for five years with the“Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France” . In 1996, he opened his first bakery, Rue Monge, in the heart of the Quartier Latin in Paris, France. It was an immediate success and as of today, Maison Kayser has over 100 shops in over 20 different countries!”

Taken from http://maison-kayser-usa.com/