Food Notes: 11/12

Meatballs, soup, sandwiches, more soup, books, and more

The wildfire smoke descended on New York City over the weekend. Ironically, most of the smoke was from a fire just 7 miles west of my childhood home in northern New Jersey where my parents still live.  

The wind was blowing smog south directly over Brooklyn. The air quality was awful, but a quirk of the winds revealed clean air in Manhattan north of 72nd Street. Since it wasn't all that cold, we took our toddler up to The High Bridge, an old Croton aqueduct that connects the3 Bronx with Washington Heights in Manhattan. 

We met my brother and sister-in-law and headed for a walk. There's a long, steep staircase down from Washington Heights to the bridge. Luckily, our three-year-old was big enough to walk down most of the stairs all by himself. He was excited to see all the trains, boats, and trucks the bridge crosses over. 

The smoke created some serious mid-1970s vibes. 

After hanging around in the Bronx long enough to stop by a playground, we returned over the bridge in search of lunch. 

My brother led us to Bono Trattoria, a little Italian restaurant and pizzeria where we had lunch. We ordered some pizzas and a bowl of meatballs. The dish got me thinking. The most iconic Italian American dish of all time is spaghetti and meatballs, pasta with no true analog in Italy (if you want to know more, I wrote a book). But recently I've seen a lot more restaurants offering standalone meatballs, usually as an appetizer.

Meatball appetizers are still predominantly American in origin. Italians serve meat after antipasti and pasta courses, and when they serve polpette, if they aren't swimming in soup, it's usually part of a secondi, a meat course. So what gives? 

Here's my unresearched hypothesis: restaurants feel obligated to offer spaghetti and meatballs but for a variety of reasons can't sell enough to justify the prep. Offering the meatballs as a starter moves more product, even while consumer trends move away from old-fashioned dishes.

The Latest

Soup’s On

Eater looks a the return of midtown soup lunches. The pandemic killed favorites like Hale & Hearty, but its now back. The reopened their factory in Bushwick East Williamsburg (It’s a real place, people!), and even have a take out window. If it hadn’t been as hot as summer for the last six months, I probably would have headed over there for an afternoon lunch because I both love the cheddar tomato cheddar soup and its only 3 blocks away from my office, which is also my apartment.

Speaking of Soup

Jason Diamond declared it soup season. Not only is he looking forward to delicious soup and sandwich combos, but as he put it, the “best thing about Soup Season is the random, quiet moments between you and a bowl or cup.” Jason, since this is your first soup season with a new baby, I regret to be the one to tell you this, but there are no quiet moments anymore.

We’re Not Done With Soup

The weather in New York did finally turn chilly, so I made an Italian Wedding soup. There were no quiet moments in the making of this soup.

And Don’t Forget the Sandwich

Gastro Obscura talks with Barry Enderwick, author of Sandwiches of History: The Cookbook: All the Best (and Most Surprising) Things People Have Put Between Slices of Bread. Enderwick has been experimenting with historic sandwich recipes, many of which are downright weird, like the delicious sounding dairy sandwich involving two slices of cheese with butter in the middle (I’m pretty sure I’ve made this without a recipe, thank you).

Gochujang Pasta Dishes

Earlier last week, I made a creamy mac and cheese with Gochujang, and it was absolutely one of the best things I’ve made all year. After looking over a few recipes, I essentially created a new version on the fly, and it turned out great. The success of the dish leaves me wanting to try this Gochujang Pumpkin Alla Vodka.

Hey Now, You’re an All-Star

Rumors of an All-Star season of the Great British Bake-off suggest its looking more likely.

Pumpkin Spice Comes for Hummus

The Takeout looks at how adding pumpkin to hummus creates an autumnal treat. Eating hummus has become a political minefield lately, not just because of it’s cultural identity for both Israel and Palestine, but because not everyone likes hummus with a side of listeria. Either way, making hummus at home is actually pretty simple, especially if you skip the step of individually removing the chickpea skins (but removing them does make a creamier spread).

Late-Night Dinner Is Hard to Find

I wrote about how its harder to find late-night food options in Brooklyn these days, but at least Commodore’s late night kitchen is still just as good as when it opened.

Cooking without the Cooking

Over at Well+Good, Emily Ziemski chatted with Margaret Eby about her new cookbook, You Gotta Eat: Real-Life Strategies for Feeding Yourself When Cooking Feels Impossible, which is exactly the book I need right now while waiting for tacos to get delivered.