bacon | Chopsticks and Marrow

Sandwich Wednesday

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by Joe DiStefano

10/07/20 10:13pm

Behold, The Filipino Elvis!!

by Joe DiStefano

Breakfast of chubby champions!

Breakfast is usually a simple affair at Chez Joe. A strong cup of coffee with a sweet Chinese bun and perhaps a banana works just fine. The other day though I paired my potassium booster with a savory Chinese bread, péigēn miànbāo, the infamous “bacon bread,” from New Fully Bakery. The wedge of spiral bread is filled with a double dose of pork in the form of salty, smokey bacon and slightly sweet pork floss.

On that particular morning said spiral was getting stale, so I warmed it up in the toaster oven. Then I remembered I had a jar of sweet Lily’s Filipino peanut butter. Thus was born the Filipino Elvis sandwich. It was a salty sweet, and, I suppose marginally healthy way to start the day. Since I now live around the corner from New Fully I’ve begun to wonder if they’ll sell me a whole loaf and whether I should make a gigantic bacon bread grilled cheese.

New Fully Bakery, 82-24 45th Ave., 718- 446-9058

bacon, breakfast, Elvis Sandwich, Lily's peanut butter, New Fully Bakery, pork sung, sandwiches

Dish O' The Day

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by Joe DiStefano

08/28/19 5:02pm

Behold New Fully Bakery’s Mighty Bacon Bread

by Joe DiStefano

Bacon and pork floss, part of a complete breakfast!

For a long time flaky pork pies, char siu bao, and sandwiches of pork floss with whipped buttery spread have comprised the holy trinity of porky breads available at Chinese bakeries in Queens. I’m happy to report the existence of a fourth: bacon bread. Yes you read that right, bacon bread. My admittedly unscientific survey of Chinese bakeries in Queens reveals that this marvel is available at only one shop, New Fully Bakery in Elmhurst.

A peek inside the burnished brown stromboli like wedge coated in sesame seeds reveals a spiral of American bacon interspersed with its Chinese cousin, pork sung. The fluffy slightly sweet bread has a nice salty kick from the bacon and filaments of pork floss. Along with a cup of sweet instant Malaysian coffee it makes for a decadent breakfast. New Fully’s meaty spiral is the savory answer to the over top chocolate croissant from Andre’s Hungarian Bakery. Not a bad deal at all for $1.60.

Incidentally, the Chinese name péigēn miànbāo means quite literally “bacon bread.” If the first word sounds like a transliteration that’s because it is. I suppose it is a good thing that the bakery is a few subway stops away from my house. If I could get away with it, I’d eat this bread for breakfast every day. Then again I could always buy an entire loaf . . .

New Fully Bakery, 82-24 45th Ave., 718- 446-9058

bacon, bacon bread, breakfast, Elmhurst, New Fully Bakery

Dish O' The Day

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by Joe DiStefano

03/12/18 12:06pm

Ramen Shack’s Burger Ramen is A Soupless Wonder

by Joe DiStefano

Edible Americana meets Japanese culinary tradition.

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

Those unfamiliar with Keizo Shimamoto, the man behind the Smorgasburg sensation known as the Ramen Burger—which sandwiches a beef patty between two noodly buns—might think the Japanese chef is no ramen purist. Anyone who’s been to Ramen Shack, his modest restaurant hard by the Queensbridge, Houses can attest to Shimamoto’s ramen reverence though.

Shimamoto serves what he calls “ramen inspired ramen,” and the other day I came really close to having a steaming bowl of his classic shoyu. With spring somewhat in the air though, I flipped the menu over to the B side where I spied Burger Ramen ($12), a soupless bowl I’ve been meaning to try for some time. (more…)

bacon, cheeseburger, closed, Japanese, Keizo Shimamoto, Long Island City, noodle, Queensbridge Houses, ramen, Ramen Shack, ramenburger, soba

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by Joe DiStefano

10/17/17 11:07pm

Honey Pig Brings Maple Bacon, Fruity Pebble Donuts to Whitestone

by Joe DiStefano

Fruity pebbles and maple bacon, together at last.

A big shoutout to my pal Lisa—my go-to source for all things Whitestone and Bayside—for hipping me to Honey Pig Donut Company, which has been open just under two months.

The other day I stopped in and decided to try the shop’s signature confection, a maple bacon donut. I really wasn’t going to get a second donut until I noticed a pink glazed number showered with day-glo specks. Even though I knew full well that they were Fruity Pebbles I somehow couldn’t process that bit of visual information and found myself asking, “What’s that?” before promptly adding one to my order. (more…)

bacon, Christine Pignatello, donuts, Fruity Pebbles, Honey Pig Donut Company, Maple syrup, Whitestone

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by Joe DiStefano

06/01/16 1:31am

Roberta’s and OddFellows Team to Create Savory Ice Cream Nirvana

by Joe DiStefano

Bacon makes everything better, including ice cream.

Bacon makes everything better, including ice cream.

I am the type of salty sweet enthusiast who finds most salted caramel ice creams lacking. Until I visited the outpost of OddFellows Ice Cream Co. in Urbanspace Vanderbilt I didn’t realize that what they lacked was bacon among other things.

Brooklyn’s most unique ice cream artisans have joined forces with the culinary juggernaut that is Roberta’s to create a powerhouse of a savory sweet frozen confection. The flavor has no name, it’s announced by its ingredients: coffee ice cream, Roberta’s sticky bun bread pudding, bacon and salted caramel. One scoop in a cup made for a fine dessert after a chicken sandwich.

I must say that while I was eating it I felt much like the monkey in the photo. The new creation will be available through Labor Day.

OddFellows Ice Cream Co., Urbanspace Vanderbilt, 230 Park Avenue

bacon, dessert, ice cream, OddFellows Ice Cream Co., Roberta's, Urbanspace Vanderbilt

Sandwich Wednesday

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by Joe DiStefano

04/08/15 11:21am

In Which I Try KFC’s Double Down

by Joe DiStefano

DOUBLEDOWN2

KFC’S Double Down in all its cheesy, chicken glory.

Let me let you in on a dirty little secret. Sometimes the search to find a sandwich to write about every Wednesday isn’t easy. Sometimes I’m driven to desperate measures. And that’s how I came to try the KFC Double Down, the fast-food chain’s frankensandwich of two fried chicken breasts in lieu of a bun with bacon, cheese, and mystery sauce in between.

Desperation to find a sandwich to write about aside, what really spurred me to try it was the three-foot picture of the sandwich outside an Astoria KFC that bore the come-on “Back for a limited time.” Once inside I couldn’t find the 610-calorie behemoth on the menu board. As I stood there confused, I was reminded of many marijuana-fueled high-school nights where I stood slack-jawed for a seeming eternity in front of a fast-food menu. (more…)

Astoria, bacon, Double Down, fast food, fried chicken, KFC, sandwiches

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by Joe DiStefano

11/24/14 11:39am

A Delicious Journey Into the Heart of Apizza

by Joe DiStefano

NHPEPE3

A large pie—half bacon, half bacon and clam—from Frank Pepe.

The running joke among certain food writers is that I’ve forsaken my Italian-American heritage to sup on various and sundry heavily spiced offal platters at basement hawker centers in Queens. To some extent that’s true, but I always welcome the chance to explore my roots, which is why I was particularly psyched to go on a New Haven pizza expedition with three fellow food writers—Jeff Orlick, Dave Cook, and Rich Sanders—last month.

My last journey to the cradle of New England pizza was 10 years ago with Adam Kuban, founder of the pizza blog Slice now turned pizzaiolo in his own right. It was high time for a revisit. We rendezvoused at 9:15 a.m. in Long Island City and piled into Jeff’s car to make the trip. There had been talk of visiting Louis Lunch and even Connecticut lobster rolls, but we all decided that at least in this case, discretion was the better of gluttony. The day’s mission was to be solely devoted to pizza. (more…)

Adam Kuban, apizza, bacon, clams, Da Legna, Foxon Park, Frank Pepe, Modern Apizza, New Haven, pizza, Yale, Zuppardi's Apizza

Sandwich Wednesday

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by Joe DiStefano

07/16/14 12:52pm

Behold the BLK, A Surprisingly Good Use of Bacon, Kiwis

by Joe DiStefano

KLT

Chef Joey Campanaro’s bacon, lettuce, and kiwi sandwich.

I haven’t thought this about much about kiwis since I used to pack them for lunch. Back then they were cheap and relatively tasty, if somewhat tart. It’s been years since I’ve had one of the fuzzy fruits once known as Chinese gooseberries. Last night the good folks at Zespri Kiwifruit and Chef Joey Campanaro of Little Owl changed my mind about the fruit. For one thing a properly ripened kiwi is quite tasty, sweet and juicy with just a hint of tang.

The coolest thing I learned about the kiwifruit last night though was its culinary applications: as a meat tenderizer, in prosciutto wraps, tacos, and the BLK. That last a bacon, lettuce and kiwi sandwich that I would gladly eat for lunch daily were not most of days spent chasing down noodles, dumplings, offal and other delights in the culinary wonderland that is Queens. (more…)

bacon, fruit, Joey Campanaro, kimchi, kiwis, Korean, Little Owl, Zespri

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by Joe DiStefano

04/29/14 1:40pm

A Tale of Two Breakfasts at London’s Oldest Fusion Eatery

by Joe DiStefano

PELLICCIFUSION

Both the full English and the penne Pellicci are impeccable.

I’m grateful to my new friend Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet, a Manila-based blogger who I met over the weekend in London at the 2014 Chowzter Awards. For without his gentle prodding I might never have experienced the wonders of a proper English full breakfast at E. Pellicci, an old school East End diner. On my last evening in London the jet lag was kicking pretty hard, but I’m glad that I ventured out next morning to Bethnal Green with Anton and two other international food bloggers Catherine Ling of Camemberu and Stanislaus Hans Danial Subianto of Eats and Treats to this family-run institution. (more…)

bacon, breakfast, Chowzter, E. Pillicci, Italian, London, offal, sausage

Sandwich Wednesday

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by Joe DiStefano

04/23/14 12:37pm

Empire’s Bacon Egg and Cheese Delivers Southern Comfort

by Joe DiStefano

sw-biscuit

Photo: Elyse Pasquale/Foodie International

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

Biscuits of the Pillsbury variety—warm fresh and slathered with ersatz butter—were a childhood favorite. I didn’t try true blue fluffy Southern biscuits until many years later. After my good friend Elyse Pasquale forced me to visit Empire Biscuit in the East Village last night I’m convinced I don’t eat them nearly often enough.

I’m only half kidding when I say she forced me. We’d just eaten our body weight in hors d’ouevres—including a killer creation of smoked mackerel nestled in a curl of whey steamed onion, topped with shaved foie gras—at an event hosted by Tabélog at Skál. Elyse doesn’t play when it comes to food, so when she told me that they were the best biscuits ever, I agreed to undertake the long march from Chinatown to the East Village. (more…)

bacon, breakfast, closed, East Village, eggs, sandwiches, Skál, Southern, Tabelog