The majority of my love of food does not come from my mother. She likes to eat and will try new things but she’s no foodie which is fine. So tonight after Fatty Que (more on that later) she wanted frozen custard. Yogurt wouldn’t do and really what she wanted was Mr. Freeze. It was terrible, I’ve never eaten such warm ice cream, well it wasn’t ice cream. It was such a concoction of processed things it didn’t need to be that cold to be frozen. Despite it’s awfulness it was great because I was with my mom on a hot summer night walking around Union Square.

Today for lunch we went to Baohaus. Taiwanese buns. That’s all you can get. I first read about this place on Serious Eats, then John T Edge tweeted about it, then it seems like it was every where.

It’s a lovely hole in the wall on Rivington St. There are about 5 buns to choose from and fried bun bread. We had 4: fried chicken, pork belly, hanger steak, and tofu.

The fried chicken and pork belly were amazing. These buns were light and airy and the fillings perfect. The tofu had a sweet potato sauce. The pork belly a very mild pickle. Yum.

The Riverplains Farm to Table menu is out! Buy your tickets now!!

We will start with a lovely chilled tomato and cucumber dill bisque with a Hickory Cane corn muffin. The main course will be Grass Fed Hamburger with Feta on whole spelt bun –topped with tomato chutney and a variety of pickles served with grilled watermelon salad and fresh succotash. And we will finish with lemon-vanilla custard topped with wild blackberry sauce and berries.

Stay tuned for on the fly NYC posts early this week. I have a list. I will be checking things off and hopefully having some off list ventures!

The Market Square Farmer’s Market will kick off Tomato Month with a book signing and reading with Matthew Gavin Frank, author of Barolo, about his illegal work in the Piemontese Italian food and wine industry. Meet the author and taste a lovely tomato dessert from one of Matthew’s featured recipes.

From Amazon.com: At once an intimate travelogue and a memoir of a culinary education, the book details the adventures of a not-so-innocent abroad in Barolo, a region known for its food and wine (also called Barolo). Upon arrival, Frank began picking wine grapes for famed vintner Luciano Sandrone. He tells how, between lessons in the art of the grape harvest, he discovered, explored, and savored the gustatory riches of Piemontese Italy…Rich with details of real Italian small-town life, local foodstuffs, strange markets, and a circuslike atmosphere, Frank’s story also offers a wealth of historical and culinary information, moments of flamboyance, and musings on foreign travel (and its many alien seductions), all filtered through food and wine.

The reading will take place August 2 at Old City Java at 7:00 PM. This is a fundraiser for the Market with suggested donation of $5 per person.

Learn more about the author and the book: www.matthewgfrank.com

Mockingbird is happy to welcome our first guest blogger, my dad! He was visiting the Reading Terminal Market and has this write up.

Reading Terminal Market
Between 11th and 12th Streets at Arch
Philadelphia PA
215-922-2317

By chance, I went to this market, this market of markets. The Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philadelphia has over 100 merchants, including 6 bakeries, 32 restaurants, and 13 Pennsylvania Dutch vendors.  One hundred and eighteen years old, the market now allows shoppers to feast on rows of candy shops, creameries, and produce stands. The Reading Market compares to the Lexington Market in Baltimore and the Pike Place Market in Seattle. As a source for quality foods, local producers, and family farms, the Market excels. For example, meat vendors advertize meats as fair, organic, prime, free-range, all-natural, grass-fed, home-raised, and antibiotic as well as hormone free.

As a first-time visitor, I ordered the Philly cheese-steak sandwich. Piled high with sliced beef, I struggled to get it in my mouth, but I persisted, taking bites from the top, middle, and bottom. Melted Provolone cheese dripped out the bottom forcing me to work both ends, alternately, slurping cheese and chewing beef. Later, leaving the market, both my mind and body were satisfied.

Guest blogger: Mark Sohn.  Visit www.marksohn.com

From the bar connected to El Tocayo on Alcoa Highway…