Good Food in a Food Court?!

I live in Jersey City, which has one of largest Indian communities in the area. When I first moved here I had had Indian food, but more of the standard items like Chicken Tikka Masala and Palak Paneer. But in the Indian section of Jersey City known as Little India (the west side of John F Kennedy Blvd on Newark Ave), there is both North and South Indian specialities.

There are these amazing chickpea crepes that are filled with a curried mixture of potatoes and onions (masala), called Dosa. My husband and I wanted to try out this out but had no idea what to get. We stood there asking about every item on the menu. I figured why not, since I obviously have no clue what anything is and they were so nice and helpful. I think being the only white customer in there helped. We wanted to know about their culture and that was exciting!

Needless to say that we have been back many times, sadly the original place we went to is gone. There are so many delicious places to eat there and they don't shy away from the spice.

The Indian community has branched out of just the Journal Square area of Jersey City and there is another area that is largely populated by this community. Down by the Pavonia Newport area, there are lots of Indian families walking around and making their homes here. This area has been home to many Asian communities, but none have really stayed long. It was mostly people moving over to work for a company for a few years and then they were sent back to their countries. What I have noticed is that the Indian community are not going back. They have made their homes here and we are only benefitting from it.

In this area, there is a mall that was pretty ghetto when we first moved here. You would go to the movies and that was about it. You didn't shop here. It was just a route to walk through on your way to the PATH. It is now getting nicer and I had noticed Bollywood movies being shown in the theater. I thought, wow that is pretty cool! There is a demand and the theater was smart to show them! Then I noticed the crappy food court which has the usual suspects of a Sbarro, Taco Bell, Sarku Teriyaki (the one that always hands out chicken teriyaki samples on a toothpick), Panda Express and your other major chain fast food options had started to change. There are now 2 Indian places and a falafel place. Today, while i wait for my car to get fixed, I grabbed a dosa (spicy Mysore Masala Dosa) and sat down to eat it. After a few bites some man came over to ask me about what it was. Guess he felt the little white girl eating something different was a reason to ask! But as I say here eating this really tasty dosa, I kept thinking to myself- why on earth are people eating this other crap?! There is something new and tasty and exciting and they want the familiar. So wrong. I am glad that I have this option locally but I wish that all food courts could be like this.

Searching for Mr Good Pig

I have become obsessed with finding the perfect pig. About 3 or 4 years ago I went to Blue Hill at Stone Barns for my birthday dinner. For those of you that may not know Blue Hill, it is a functioning farm that grows their own produce and slaughters their own livestock. That is the quick answer, at least. I had lived near the farm for a year and had no idea what this place was. I would even pull the car over and pet the cows when they were close to the fence. Well, during my dinner I had the Berkshire pork. It was one of the most amazing flavors I had encountered in a long time. Then for the next few dinners I had there, I would always end up getting different cuts of the pig.

I went to dinner in Boston, at Coppa, with some friends and we tried the pig's tail and a bone marrow pizza. Ever since I had that tail, it has been in my mind. It's like chasing the dragon.... it was that amazing.

I have enjoyed pigs ear salad and faggots at The Spotted Pig and have made some amazing pork recipes at home. But I just can't exactly what I want. I want pork cheeks. I want pig ears. I want the funny hard to find bits that most people don't want. I want to find the perfect pig. I want there to be a pig farm that I can go to and get what I need or want. In my searches throughout New Jersey and New York, I have only found 2 places that can supply me with what I need.

The first place is Heritage Foods. They have an online presence and they also have a market in Essex Market down in the Lower East Side. I went to the market today and was so happy. They didn't have any pork cheeks, but they told me that it was just because they didn't get them in this week, though last week they had them and sold out. They did have pork liver and caul fat, which I have been searching for. I had asked about calling ahead to find the items that I would need and he said that was the best idea. The meat is raised on a pasture with no antibiotics. They have a wide assortment of meat, but I was seriously impressed with the pig side of the business.

The second place I found was Mosefund Mangalista. You can shop for your products there or place your order online and pick it up at their farm in Western New Jersey. They specialize in a particular breed of pigs. Mangalitsa pigs are known for their flavor, as they are descendants of wild boars and lard pigs. They were only found in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It wasn't until 2006 that 17 pigs were imported to the UK from Hungary. I have yet to try this amazing pig, but it will be happening soon, I can promise you that! And I am extremely bummed I missed out on their Pigstock 2013! If anyone wants to give me an early Christmas gift.... they can sign me up for next year's

New Amsterdam Market

In my searching for places, I recently came across this place- New Amsterdam Market. They are trying to make it officially happen in the old Fulton Fish Market, with a vision of having a chef's market, farmer's market and speciality market. The idea of keeping an area that was originally a fish market, that has history that goes way back, is such an ideal place to have a marketplace. As of right now, the market is taking place in the parking lot in front of the old fish market. The two market sheds of the Fulton Fish Market have been empty since 2005, and that is where the new market is trying to expand into.

As of now, the market is only open on Sundays from 11am to 4pm, located on South Street between Beekman Street and Peck Slip. Unfortunately, there is not set start date for 2013 and are waiting for an appeal. Please sign this petition to help take action. The New York City Council is holding a hearing on the future of the South Street Seaport on Thursday, March 14 at 9:30am, in the City Hall vicinity. If you can come please let us know at rsvp@newamsterdammarket.org

Look at this amazing list of vendors!

Always on the search

I am always on the search for good food. I am looking for places that make good food, sell good ingredients to cook good food and new foods to become obsessed over. I am looking for new chefs, new restaurants, new butchers, new cuts of meat, new CSA's, new everything. Luckily, living in the NYC area, we have it. You just have to dig deep enough to find it. I am willing to dig, won't you?