Dough Doughnuts

I recently got a chance to spend some time in the kitchen at Dough, in Manhattan. Here are some behind-the-scenes photos.

Midnight Street Food Crawl

Last week I had the pleasure to finally go on Jeff Orlick's Midnight Street Food Crawl. I feel bad for rarely going to Queens, so when I saw that Jeff was going to do a crawl, I quickly jumped on it. He runs his tours like a group of friends just hanging out, walking around, and eating good food. He has his route that he does but there's also room for spontaneity. Some times things catch his eyes and we'll wander off and end up chatting with the cart owner. Spontaneity, it's a great thing to have on a food crawl. Yes, he's our tour guide...the leader but he's also exploring the neighborhood along with the rest of us.

Here's the list of food/vendors that we visited, thanks to Jeff Orlick. Tacos al pastor from Maravillas Restaurant Tamal Oaxaqueno verde with pork and a tamal de rajas from 90th Street Tamale Cart Arroz con huevo tacos and horchata from Tia Julia Truck Huitlacoche quesadillas from Coyote Dormilon cart Esquites outside La Flor deli Morcilla from Ecuadorian cart at Warren St/Roosevelt Ave Colada Morada from Pique y Pase Ecuadorian truck Torta Puebla (torta with a chicken cutlet) from Tortas Neza in Juan Bar Guava drink with chia seeds at Ecuadorian health food store Patacon from Chimi Express truck "Carne" with moro and plantains from Los Amigos Chimichurri

Be sure to check out Jeff Orlick's site for info about his food crawls. The next one y'all should pay attention is his annual Momo Crawl.

New York A La Cart

Hm...I guess I should've posted these photos sooner but oh well! Here you go. Back in 2012, Clay Williams and I ran around the city with Siobhan and Alex, snapping photos for their book New York a la Cart. It's a book about street food, street food culture, street food history, and the people behind the carts/trucks. That was a fun couple months. I have posted some of my favorite shots, check them out after the jump.

Photos of food trucks/carts include... - Torta Neza (He doesn't have the truck anymore but you can find him and his amazing tortas at Juan Bar in Jackson Heights) - The Arepa Lady - Eggs Travaganza - Wooly's - Policano's Italian Sausage - El Olomega - Luke's Lobster - Van Leeuwen

The 5 Best NYC Fried Chickens Out Of The 27 I've Had So Far

I rarely trust lists that people make. You're telling me, these 5 plates of salad is the BEST in New York City and I should go eat them. Have you tried every plate of salad from everywhere? I doubt it. My goal is to find my favorite fried chickens and to do that, I've been trying to eat all of them in New York City. Yes, all of them. This is a long term research project that started many years ago but didn't take it seriously till last May. My economics professor once said that if you want the facts, the truth, don't rely on the news. Go out and find out for yourself. Food is subjective. Many people have said The Redhead does a great fried chicken but when I had it, I thought it lacked seasoning and that it was boring.

The rules are simple, no chains, no wings places, no chicken tenders, no chicken nuggets. I have a whole other list for fried chicken sandwiches because those are darn tasty too. There are some places that serve boneless fried chicken which my friend doesn't consider to be "fried chicken." What do y'all think? Talde in Park Slope does a good one but it's boneless!

Anyways...

So to be fair and honest, I'm listing out 5 of the BEST fried chickens in New York City from the 27 I've had so far.

In no particular order, they are... 1. Birds & Bubbles (picture above) I'm gonna say it, Sarah Simmons is the queen of fried chicken. I couldn't get enough of her fried chicken when she was only serving it at City Grit. I was so excited when she told me she was opening a fried chicken restaurant. The fried chicken is just really really good. Birds & Bubbles - 100B Forsyth St. Manhattan

2. Charles Country Pan Fried Chicken He is like the godfather of fried chicken. If you read reviews, they're pretty mixed but I love it. My friends and I go right when the door opens, when the food is hot and fresh. Also, what beats an all-you-can-eat fried chicken brunch for under $20?! Good thing for me, Charles Country Pan Fried Chicken is an hour away by train or else I go there once a week. Charles Country Pan Fried Chicken - 2839-2841 Frederick Douglass Blvd at 151st St. Manhattan

3. The Breslin Holy fuckin fried chicken. This whole meal was intense. It's expensive (with drinks) but it was so worth it. The chicken, the sauces, champ, salad, BISCUITS!, desserts. Probably my favorite meal of 2013. The Breslin - 16 W. 29th St. Manhattan

4. Peaches HotHouse Get it hot and don't look back. The plain fried chicken is good but man...get the hot. Spices on the crust and on the meat. Peaches HotHouse - 415 Tompkins Ave. Brooklyn

5. Wilma Jean I was so happy when I shook Rob Newton's (chef and owner) hand at Taste Talks. I thanked him for opening Wilma Jean. Seersucker was good but all I really wanted was just the fried chicken. Wilma Jean - 345 Smith St. Brooklyn

----If my list was top 11, these would be in it----The Commodore I love their fried chicken because they only serve the thigh (best part!) plus honey butter. Oh and they have tiki drinks and probably have one of the great nachos of NYC. The Commodore - 366 Metropolitan Ave at Havemeyer St. Brooklyn

Pies 'n' Thighs I see Pies 'n' Thighs as one of the pioneers in NYC fried chicken. There will always be a place in my heart for their fried chicken but lately I've been going for only their chicken biscuits. Flaky biscuits, fried chicken, and hot sauce/honey. *drooooooooooooooooool....... Pies 'n' Thighs - 166 S. 4th St. at Driggs Brooklyn

Bobwhite Lunch and Supper Counter I feel bad. I've been neglecting Bobwhite. I'm just rarely in East Village and that's a sad thing because they fry up some really nice chicken. Bobwhite Lunch and Supper Counter - 94 Avenue C Manhattan

Sweet Chick I came here for my birthday once and quickly fell in love. The chicken is great here and my vegetarian friend approves their vegetarian fried chicken. Everybody wins! Sweet Chick - 164 Bedford Ave. Brooklyn & 178 Ludlow St. Manhattan

The Dutch Because the pieces of fried chicken (tasty) and biscuits are served on a silver platter. Wow. I don't mind trekking out to Soho on the weekend for this. The Dutch - 131 Sullivan St. Manhattan

Thistle Hill Tavern They do a great job with the fried chicken. Coated in rice flour, it's really crispy and the meat is juicy. A lovely neighborhoody restaurant. Thistle Hill Tavern - 441 7th Ave. Brooklyn

----These are good but wouldn't necessarily go out of my way for them----The Brooklyn Star Red Rooster Harlem (Need a repeat visit) Walter Foods & Walter's Momofuku Noodle Bar Jimmy's Diner Amy Ruth's (Need a repeat visit) Sugar Freak (Moving to Brooklyn and need a repeat visit) Little Neck Sidecar (Need a repeat visit) ----I thought these were meh----Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken The Redhead (Need a repeat visit) BFC/Buttermilk Channel (Not sure what happened to Buttermilk Channel but the chicken I had was THE worst fried chicken ever. Check out their Smorgasburg outpost, it's so much better.) The Cardinal (Need a repeat visit) Hill Country Chicken Kiwiana (Need a repeat visit) Clover Club

That's about it. I have 40 more places to go in New York City and another dozen of places in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Philly. Oh boy!

Obviously, don't take my word for it. Go out and eat. Find your own favorite fried chicken.

Let me know in the comments, where I should eat next. Thanks!