Umami Mart

What could be better than eating great food while watching a free outdoor movie in the summer on the water? The first Annual Food Film Festival is hitting New York City June 14-23rd at Water Taxi Beach. The films are free! Food is for sale. (Food must be purchased in advance through an online ticketing […]

Noteworthy readings, websites, blogs and eats: The Minimalist on how to cook the perfect hard-boiled egg Bittman goes to Istria with Lidia Bastianich (note asparagus frittata recipe) TMonkey recommends the wine documentary, Mondovino A community of wine lovers on Cork’d Batali and Bourdain on Adam Platt and bloggers on Grub Street Bruni Showdown: yet another […]

*TI went to Murray’s Cheese Shop on the way home from work today and walked out a lot lighter in the wallet. Who knew cheese could do that? One of the things that caught my eye was the package of “Burrata Di Andria”, apparently the latest import from Italy’s Puglia region that is making gastronomes […]

I think I’ve found it: the best pizza joint in New York. Ok, ok, maybe that is too definitive a statement, and I’m not trying to claim that I’ve had ALL pizza in NY (I have yet to trek to the middle of Brooklyn for Di Fara), but The House of Pizza & Calzone is […]

I don’t care what Time Out thinks. They ridiculously passed up the The Smoke Joint for Blue Smoke in Manhattan in their Eat Out Awards last week for Best BBQ, and all I have to say is: BAD CALL. I’d like to testify that The Smoke Joint is far superior to Blue Smoke, in taste […]

I photograph dinners at the The James Beard House in New York about once a month, and it’s quite a treat. If you ever have a chance to go, I’d highly recommend it. The Beard House is located in a great old brownstone on West 12th Street. The kitchen is small, but anyone who is […]

I’m the worst and haven’t blogged in a week– my apologies. But to make up for it, I’m going to talk about my absolute favorite restaurant in the city, the Grand Central Oyster Bar. I was introduced to this place by my dear family friends, the Hashimoto’s, when I first moved here over 4 years […]

Lunch during the workweek has never struck me as an opportunity for a truly enjoyable eating experience — especially working in midtown! But I went to ISE for the first time in a couple months and you know what, I think this place might have the best ramen in NYC that I’ve tasted so far. […]

(Editor’s note: This post was co-written by Aya and Tmonkey. All opinions and typos are theirs.) Aya: I am always hungry. But Tmonkey, you are always always hungry. What’s up with your metabolism? Tmonkey: I burn a lot of chi doing kung-fu. Also my massive brain controlled by alien maggots requires about 3 times more […]

$100/ 2 Weeks/ NYC: Prologue$100/ 2 Weeks/ NYC: Day 1 & 2$100/ 2 Weeks/ NYC: Day 3, 4 &5Wednesday 3/28 Total Spent: $5 LUNCH–> $0 Fumiko and I had our usual lunch date. I had leftover pasta alla puttanesca, she had made this absolutely delicious spaghetti bathed in cream sauce with artichokes. She says this […]