Last week I was fortunate to get to preview the offerings at Tramezzini’s first brick and mortar location on the Lower East Side. Tramezzini began their business as a vendor at the weekend food fair ‘Smorgasburg’ in Williamsburg and Prospect Park and was founded by brothers Filippo and Massimiliano Paccagnella, and their friend Davide Pedon, all hailing from Venice, Italy. For those of us not yet in the know, a tramezzino is an Italian sandwich made with soft, white bread with the crusts removed.
pork
Authentic Isan Thai Food at Larb Ubol
Larb Ubol, in Hell’s Kitchen, serves up authentic Isan Thai food that will have you coming back for more. Isan, a region in northeast Thailand, dominates the food scene across the entire country despite containing only 30% of the population.
I ordered the Larb Moo (pork) salad ($9), which consists of finely ground pork, shallots, fresh mint, scallions, cilantro, chili powder and lime dressing. Larb is a Thai salad, although instead of a vegetable salad, it’s a meat salad. If I’d never had a taste explosion before now, this dish would definitely cause one. Upon first bite, I exclaimed ‘wow!’ It was like being hit in the face with a fish. But in a really good way! The flavours in this dish really delight the senses: you have spicy, salty, sweet and sour all in the same plate. Make sure to order a side of sticky rice.
Xi’an Famous Foods Amazing Noodles
If you love noodles and like them hand-made, you can’t do any better than Xi’an Famous Foods. I had been meaning to try them for a while after hearing so many glowing reviews and I finally got my chance to try their noodles this past week. I went with the Pork “Zha Jiang” Hand-Ripped Noodles…