On Grilling

Summer isn't really summer until you've fired up the grill at least once. Grilling is the one cooking task that every man feels like he should be able to do. In the most simple forms it is a giant fire, outdoors, with lots of meat. There are few people I know who did not grow up with some sort of grilling in their life. But most at some point have embraced at least hot dogs and hamburgers thrown on a grill. And even if those hamburger patties and hot dogs are generic and frozen, I have never met a grill that will not make it 100x better. Maybe its the char from an open flame; Something that is hard to replicate indoors. But I'd like to think that its the camaraderie. I think when it comes down to it those Coleman commercials are right, the original social networking networking site was a campsite, with a fire pit and lots of meat.

This year summer has been slow to approach the Northeast. With 3 weeks of rain to start the month of June, I decided to take summer into my own hands and grill for Father's Day, rain be damned. It seemed to work since the next chance I got to grill was for July 4th, where the rain held off and gave us a beautiful day of sun and fun.

I also decided to try new things this year on the grill. The normal fare has always been in pretty generic: home ground hamburgers, chicken wings, marinated chicken breasts, dry rubbed baby back ribs, corn, etc. This year, with some inspiration from the newly revamped Gourmet.com and its grilling issue and my friends' trip to Mexico, the food has taken a noticeable turn towards South America.

What I've found amazing in all the recipe's I've tried is the ease in which the items can be eaten over long periods of time. For the July 4th celebration food hit the grill around noon and last almost to midnight and an amazing time was had by all. I think that's the best component of the South American themed feasts. Everything can be put into a corn tortilla and be eaten in moderation. Not to pigeon hole all of South America into one stereo type, but I feel like the culture around that part of the world (or at least my perception of it) translates well to slow drawn out meals.

The food I ended up cooking was inspired by Mexico and Argentina. Both places I have never traveled to but feel very drawn to. Especially when it comes to Mexico's reputation on quick bites and Argentina's grilled meats. I mean my two favorite episode's of Bourdain's show are from those countries. Yes, the Asia episodes always want to make me visit the country of my brethren but the South American episodes make me feel I can get lost in a country I have little understanding of.

Out of all the food pictured, the sticky balsamic ribs are by far my favorite. The al pastor comes in a close second, but I really feel like it needs to be done whole on a spit instead of in chunks on skewers. Others may disagree since it seems like the pork is always the first to go.


Al pastor: the pineapple chunks are awesome with this. Some day I will get a spit going and do this right.


Sticky Balsamic Ribs: My favorite so far. Sweet sweet ribs. A good change from your traditional spicy bbq.


Grilled corn. Always a favorite but our attempt to make this with special sauce and crumbly cheese was only a minor success.


Grilled shrimp. Did this with the wildly addicting miso mayo I previously posted.

Red Hook Street Vendors

There's been a lot of drama in the past year surrounding the street vendors in Red Hook, but with all the dust seemingly settled, I was able to make the trek out to the soccer fields, via the free IKEA shuttle and enjoy some tacos.

Two of my friends had just gotten back from a trip down through central Mexico, lounging and relaxing. It seemed the thing they missed the most from their trip was a good Mexican taco. It seemed as if Red Hook would be the next best thing to flying back south of the border.



I had 3 tacos (left to right: Barbacoa, Chicharrón, Al Pastor) from the southern most taco truck.

My favorite was definitely the Al Pastor. There was such an intensity of flavors. A perfect blend of sweetness, acidity, and spice. The meat was tender. I wish I had room for more.

The Barbacoa and Chicharrón were mediocre, probably more because of the contrast to the Al Pastor. The Barbacoa was nice because of the perfect subtlety of the goat meat, but the flavors seemed so mellow and passive comparatively. The Chicharrón was odd in a taco and much better by itself. I could have done with a piece just as a side.



The fish & shrimp ceviche was amazing. There was a chewy texture to the cubes of fish that I could not get enough of. It was a great dish with bold flavors and addicted textures.

The vendors in Red Hook make cheap and delicious food but I'm still on the fence on whether its worth the trip. Even with the free IKEA making it more convenient to get to, its still ends up being a bit of a hike. The ferry doesn't leave as frequently as one might like with more than 40 minutes between each departure. Next time I go, it might have to be a larger part of my day by taking advantage of the nice parks surrounding the vendors and picking up supplies from the giant Swedish chain that provides the transportation.