Monthly Archives: May 2018

The World’s Fare – Avli

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Instagram Post 5/9/2018

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🇬🇷 At last month’s World’s Fare in Queens, Avli, the “Little Greek Kitchen” in West Hempstead, brought out a number of specials like Yiayia’s Yiouvetsi, a saucy orzo and veal dish that tasted like something your Greek grandma used to lovingly prepare, but it was the grilled octopus 🐙 shown here that reached out to me. Mixed with red onion, seasoned with EVOO and red wine vinegar, and sprinkled with a hit of Greek oregano, the tender octopus was delicious. No wonder they called it “a neighborhood favorite!”
 
 

The World’s Fare – Dumplings

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Instagram Post 5/8/2018

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Pretty much everyone around the world loves dumplings so it’s no surprise that they were well represented at last month’s World’s Fare in Queens. Three examples:

🇸🇰 Baba’s Pierogies (Slovak style) came through with their jalapeño and Yukon potato blend – a great combo.

🇬🇪 Georgian khinkali with beef, lamb and herbs from Marani. Despite the resemblance, these are definitely NOT soup dumplings. Just grab one by its topknot and bite into its savory filling.

🇨🇳 Dumpling Galaxy’s perfect crispy, tender, succulent lamb dumplings from Northern China. Delicious!
 
 

The World’s Fare – Wafa’s Express

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Instagram Post 5/7/2018

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Here’s another World’s Fare delight, this time from Wafa’s Express, 812 Grand St, Brooklyn. I like it when there’s a brick-and-mortar restaurant that anchors a festival vendor because it means we can indulge in their goodies pretty much any time we want to. Wafa’s features Lebanese cuisine, represented here by mujaddara and falafel.
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Mujaddara is a combination of bulgur wheat and lentils, but the caramelized onions on top are as important to the dish as the other components, not merely a garnish, and serve to make it something memorable. Those are crunchy turnips pickled in beet juice coddling the mujaddara.
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The falafel, artfully drizzled with tahini and hot sauce, were delicious as well and yes, I fell for their falafel!
 
 

The World’s Fare – Don Ceviche

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Instagram Post 5/6/2018

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More from this past weekend’s memorable World’s Fare. Don Ceviche’s fish is always fresh and their leche de tigre is perfect. The ceviche offerings included pescado (fish), shrimp, and mixed (shown here) served with plump Peruvian corn, crunchy roasted corn, red onion, and a squeeze of sweet potato purée. Always a treat!
 
 

The World’s Fare – D’Abruzzo

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Instagram Post 5/4/2018

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In case you missed it, the First Place Winner in the savory division at The World’s Fare last weekend was D’Abruzzo for their tender, juicy Arrosticini. Chunks of lamb and fat in a perfectly balanced ratio needed no marinade or additional seasoning as they were grilled to perfection over a furnacell’, a specially designed trough filled with blazing charcoal.
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Served up on skewers (second photo), they were easy to appreciate on their own, but the Lamb Sammy was heaven: arrosticini, stracchino cheese, house made fig jam, olio Santo, arugula and red onion on a crisp ciabatta was all anyone could ask for. And if you missed them at The World’s Fare, you can find them this summer at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn. Don’t miss it!
 
 

The World’s Fare – Chiktay

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Instagram Post 5/3/2018

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“Chictay” read the sign. The word was unfamiliar to me so naturally I was compelled to try the dish, and it was delicious. The salad of herbaceous shredded smoked herring served with crudités and crackers disappeared in no time and since I didn’t buy an extra portion to take home, I realized that I needed to hunt down a recipe for domestic execution. I learned that chiktay, Kreyol for the French chiquetaille from the word déchiqueter, to shred, is commonly made from smoked herring (aran so) or salt cod (morue) so now I have two kitchen challenges ahead.
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The chiktay aran so was served under the banner of Abundance Food – Manmi Dju Dju, a Brooklyn based company that makes Haitian seasonings and marinades, at The World’s Fare in Queens this past weekend and was a perfect example of lesser known (to some!) ethnic food deserving of more recognition. Smokin’!
 
 

The World’s Fare – Ducana

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Instagram Post 5/1/2018

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If you haven’t been living under a rock (or on a punitively strict diet), you know that The World’s Fare in Queens this past weekend may well have been the most over-the-top food festival New York has ever seen. Boasting diverse foods from over 100 cultures, there were exemplary versions of everybody’s international favorites of course, but it was gratifying to see less familiar dishes making an appearance as well.
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The folks from Bacchanal Sauce, in addition to providing their bottled pepper sauce, came through with an ambitious menu that included Caribbean Fish Cakes, Escovitch Fish Tacos, Jerk Crab Fries and Ducana. Ducana, a sweet Antiguan specialty, lies somewhere along the dumpling–pone continuum and is made from grated sweet potato, coconut, raisins, sugar and spice, and coconut milk wrapped in a banana leaf and boiled until firm. Their version was served with a traditional hit of buljol (chopped salt cod with tomatoes and spices) and was absolutely delicious. Included was a side of Jerk Crab Fries, a reward for patiently awaiting the arrival of my ducana!

Second photo shows a deconstructed/reconstructed view.