Hey Jeff, Shoutout to a local out of the way pit beef place in Cockeysville, MD. Read more

I’m a horrible Marylander. I, like the author, grew up on Gino’s roast beef sandwiches, before they were bought out by Roy Rogers fast food restaurants in the early 80's. I’ve had eaten crab every way possible, Yum. But I have never had pit beef, despite hearing about it for like forever. Partaking of pit beef is now… Read more

Christ on toast, why have I never heard of this beautiful creation before?

Product of northern jersey here (now in South Carolina)....Amazing article. Man I miss the days of a great egg and peppers sandwich...the crunch of good jersey bread baked to perfection...soft eggs mixed with melted cheese and the little bit of crunch left with a perfectly sautéed sweet pepper... Read more

I think what makes San Marzano tomatoes so good is that they’re grown in volcanic soil, like Idaho Russet potatoes. So I’m wondering why Idaho doesn’t start planting tomatoes* and marketing them like SM but not exactly the same, naturally. Think Texmati rice.
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So they’re saying soda and beer aren’t health foods? Read more

There’s a small restaurant in Ft Greene Brooklyn that will bring a raclette machine and a quarter wheel of cheese to your table for the do it yourself experience. You get the potatoes, beef, onions, cornichons, and bread. It’s a lot of food and it is delicious. $35 pp, minimum 4 people, and you need to call ahead,… Read more

There’s a restaurant in NYC, creatively named Raclette, that specializes in this. Haven’t eaten there yet but it’s on my list. Read more

They're using the wrong noodles.  Read more

The third, cacio e pepe, is meatless, but you can bet that if the recipe called for pig flesh, it would be guanciale.

Well that's why you recommend it. Get the rubes to make you guanciale.  Read more

Forget ziti, Sopranos is all about the gabagool!

I’m gonna disagree with this. There’s a big textural difference between the smooth surface of ziti and the “rigate” ridges of penne. Say it’s made from the same ingredients all you want; that restaurants sub in penne for ziti definitely changes the dish. I once went to one of those Thai-Japanese hybrid restaurant and… Read more

Cooked this tonight for the first time; although I was dog tired which is not the best state to try a new recipe, I liked how it came out and it was both tasty and comforting.  I did have to put the pan back on the heat for a little bit while stirring to make the cheese melt properly.  Thank you for sharing your… Read more

Please, oh please, after all that effort that you expended, tell me that you only use guanciale!  Read more

For maximum starch water, I put the colander over my pyrex measuring cup, then dump the pasta into the colander. The cup fills up, and I can carefully pour it down to the amount I need. Read more

Any good New York eyetalian (like me) has all of this stuff on hand. Let the experimentation begin!
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It’s always good to leave SOME pasta water in the pasta. And butter - nothing can’t be better with some butter.  Read more

Bucatini deserves more love. Having said that it seems particularly sensitive to over-boiling, as opposed to spaghetti and linguine, and particularly prone to turning into a flabby swollen nightmare if you leave it in the pot too long. Read more

I feel the need to sing the praises of any recipe that insists on no cream. This sounds fantastic.  Read more