New York Restaurants

My search for the best falafel in New York continues…. Upon entering Alfanoose, I thought I’d get something you don’t usually get with falafel: table service. The large dining room is unusual for a falafel joint in NYC, tying into its old history of being traditionally a street food. My instincts were wrong at Alfanoose. You still had to approach a counter at the back of the long dining room to place your order, pay, and wait for the preparation before you can take a load off and start munching. Still, unlike most establishments that serve falafel, Alfanoose did offer a comfortable environment to enjoy the sandwich. Focusing on Lebanese food, Alfanoose has been very popular since they opened downtown in 1999. They even expanded a few years ago to this larger restaurant space from a more expected take-out joint down the street. It’s only recently that I’ve started spending more time in the Financial District (giving food cart tours) so it’s no surprise (to me at least) that this was my first visit. I was surprised, however, by the sloppy presentation of the sandwich. The ultra-thin pita was wrapped more like a burrito than the Middle Eastern pockets I’ve come to expect. The bread ripped easily as I picked it up, forcing me to embark on a knife and fork endeavor. As I bit into the sandwich, I got a lot of lettuce, tomatoes, and onions.  Where are my pickles, eggplant, or tahini? It also took a few bites before I got to the falafel itself. These were chopped into strips rather than shaped into balls. I have nothing against shape, as long as they taste good. And just like the unusual presentation, Alfanoose’s falafel had a distinct flavor. There was a raisin-y sweetness that was unique and pleasant, along with some hints of cumin and garlic. It had a decent crunch, but I found the falafel itself dry. Unfortunately, there was just a light schmear of tahini sauce (although I could have sworn it was yogurt) so not even that helped with the dryness. It wasn’t a bad falafel, but it certainly doesn’t warrant all the accolades it has received over the years. Even early on in my falafel journey, I know there are better options out there. But those places might not offer a place to sit down. Does Alfanoose have the best falafel in NY? The sandwich itself is a mess and while the falafel had a nice, unique flavor, it only gets a 7 out of 10 since the fried pattys were a little dry. ALFANOOSE 8 Maiden Lane (between Broadway and Nassau Street), (212) 528-4669 Financial District alfanoose.com Tweet This Post

Way to harsh everyone's mellow. A butcher operating out of Pike Place Market in Seattle has been feeding pigs all of those "useless" stems, root bulbs, and "over sized" marijuana leaves produced as by-product at the local medical dispensary. The special feed, William von Schneidau tells NPR, leads to the production of "redder and more savory" meat. Of course it does! The BB Ranch owner has also been busy slipping mickeys to his livestock in the form of the local vodka distillery's spent grains. When all is said and done in the abattoir, "Pot Pig" holds blowout dinners for $120 a head with stoner pig on the menu. There are also "gourmet cupcakes" for dessert. Here's a look behind the scenes: Grooviness aside, in all fairness, the pigs at Bucking Boar Farm don't look as strung out as one might think, and the use of spent grains as animal feed dates back beyond the Neolithic. On the other hand, von Schneidau's claim that he's helping the environment by reducing waste and using up hyperlocal pot-plant clippings might be more effective if it weren't used in service of such a blatant marketing gimmick. It would at least be good to know if the pigs are getting high and having a good time. Von Schneidau tells NPR he'd welcome more science-minded personnel to come in and take a look, but for now, he's in full-on "Pot Pig" mode. "I just get out there," he says, "and cut them up, and put them on a BBQ, and eat them." Washington State Butcher Spikes Pig Feed With Weed [NPR] Read more posts by Hugh MerwinFiled Under: no seeds no stems no sticks, bucking boar farm, pike place market, products, seattle

Allison Robicelli is organizing an effort to raise money for those affected by the tornado in Oklahoma yesterday. Mile End Deli, Thirty Acres, and Liddabit Sweets are among those already on board, with a goal of raising $15,000. The money will go to Team Rubicon, a disaster relief organization that also came to the aid of New Yorkers after Hurricane Sandy. The Robicelli's is urging people to donate to them rather than to the Red Cross, which they say "was MIA after Sandy." [EaterWire]

Nothing can top astronaut ice cream. It won't be long before we can travel into space for $200,000 and solve global hunger by printing healthy pizza made with grass and insects. NASA has given mechanical engineer Anjan Contractor a $125,000 grant to create a prototype for a food synthesizer that uses his 3-D printing technology. Say what? The idea is that people can buy cartridges of sugars, carbohydrates, and protein in powder form, which could last 30 years, and then use 3-D printing to synthesize nutritious meals one layer at a time. "I think, and many economists think, that current food systems can't supply 12 billion people sufficiently," Contractor told Quartz. "So we eventually have to change our perception of what we see as food." Contractor's focusing on making a "pizza printer" that will produce a layer of heated dough, a tomato base, and a protein layer from animals, milk, or plants. So how the hell do bugs, the food of the future, play into this plan? Dutch think-tank TNO Research says that 3-D printed meals can be made from alternative ingredients like insects, algae, and grass. Let's hope it tastes better than rehydrated astronaut coffee. The audacious plan to end hunger with 3-D printed food [Quartz] Welcome to the Real Space Age [NYM] Earlier: 8 Reasons Why Some People Think Bugs Are the Food of the Future Watch David Chang and Traci Des Jardins Try Astronaut Coffee Read more posts by Sierra TishgartFiled Under: future of food, bugs, eating bugs, insects, nasa, space

Jersey-based dairy Valley Shepherd Creamery is taking over the former Almondine space in Park Slope, for a new location of its Melt Kraft grilled cheese shop. A first Melt Kraft location opened in Philly in January and seems to be a big hit. Almondine's Ninth Street space closed after Hurricane Sandy destroyed the bakery in Dumbo. [GS]

Coney Island institution Nathan's Famous is back in action. The original Surf Avenue location of the hot dog emporium has been shuttered since Hurricane Sandy caused severe damage to the space. But last night, the company posted a photo of the open restaurant on Facebook with the note "Isn't it a beautiful sight?" Another note on Facebook explains that the restaurant reopened its doors at 7 p.m. last night. When asked about the storm, director of operations Bruce Miller recently told NY1: "When I drove up I was flabbergasted by the extent of the damage, the whole restaurant was completely flooded out." The layout of the dining room is slightly different now, and the Nathan's team added a new clam bar which serves oysters — a first for the restaurant. The space caught on fire earlier this month, but the blaze did not cause any significant delays. The other Nathan's location directly on the boardwalk reopened at the end of March. In Eater's latest survey of the restaurants that remain closed because of Sandy, many restaurateurs said they planned to reopen by Memorial Day. Hopefully there will be more reopening announcements by the end of the week. · Nathan's Famous [Facebook] · Storm Damaged Nathan's Ready For Summer Crowds [NY1] · All Coverage of Nathan's Famous [~ENY~]

Invading summer menus everywhere. The "skinny"-branded beverage craze is a scary subculture of booze. The drinks account for only 1 percent of total cocktail sales, but researchers are finding that sales growth is doubling each quarter. When a restaurant deems a cocktail "skinny" or "slender," customers who are dieting say yes to drinking, order additional rounds, and spend more on food. Bethenny Frankel started the madness with her brand of low-calorie (and usually lower alcohol content) Skinnygirl margaritas, which she's expanded into a line of wines, and now chains like TGI Fridays, Chili's, and the Cheesecake Factory are using diet-friendly phrases on their menus. Free idea for a dating website: Pair all of the Brogurt fans with the Skinnygirl-loving drinkers, and spare the rest of us. [Earlier, Earlier, AdAge] Read more posts by Sierra TishgartFiled Under: bars, cocktails, diets, skinnygirl margarita

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The future of this restaurant is unwritten. Prime Meats and Frankies 457 restaurateurs Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli have been hinting for some time that their forthcoming Red Hook space, dubbed "the Res," will be a departure from more conventional restaurant structures. (Earlier this month, Castronovo would only tell us it was a "long, long, long, long-term project.") Eater reports the pair disclosed the first few details of the Res yesterday at the Mésamerica Festival in Mexico City, and they're pretty exciting. The project, which will debut in a few weeks and already has a website, is a dedicated space for "collaborative dinners, one-off events, and installations," where "chefs can stay at the facility while they present their work, free of charge." Falcinelli and Castronovo say they were inspired by the prospect of creative chef-collectives and annual gatherings like René Redzepi's MAD Symposium. [Eater, the Res, Earlier] Read more posts by Hugh MerwinFiled Under: open kitchen, brooklyn, coming soon, frank castronovo, frank falcinelli, frankies 457, new york, new york restaurants, prime meats, red hook, the res

The Upper West Side's boozy Australian restaurant The Sunburnt Calf has closed and been sold to new owners. This follows the shutter of Bondi Road last year and the constantly-impending shutter of sister restaurant The Sunburnt Cow, which has hit the market but remains open (with limited hours). [Twitter via West Side Rag]