Etcetera | Friday Fanfare, 2012.08.31

There will be some radio silence from me this weekend as Marcus and I are off to Block Island for the Labor Day holiday! Leaving you with this lovely round-up this week -- hope you have a lovely Friday and a great weekend ahead!!

Some noteworthy eats from this week:

• homemade apple cider doughnuts from various placed in the Hudson Valley
• curly fries from the Duchess County Fair
• butter pecan ice cream from Holy Cow in Red Hook, NY
• Swedish meatballs from Ikea
• chicken and rice from the halal cart near my office :x
• best fish-and-chips I've ever had from James Wood Foundry (and pear cider!)

This week's list of ruminating reads:

• The Wall Street Journal shows how to create a dining room with a wow factor.
• Is popcorn the "new cupcake," asks The Huffington Post.
• A manifesto on banning brunch in New York City appeared in New York Daily News -- what a serious troll. If you want a good laugh, please read this!
• Serious Eats New York provides a visual tour of Blue Island Oyster Farm on the Long Island Sound.
• The latest from The Los Angeles Times on a popular umami enhancer in Japan -- shio koji.

In case you missed it:

• Cute blog I stumbled upon -- Yummy Books -- which combines literature and food.
• Fast Company on how to lead a creative life.
• Muji's book of dissolving spice paper is so unbelievably cool!
• Craving these cheeky coasters from Old Tom Foolery.
• Andrew Knowlton's favorite vintage Bon Appetit covers and a little history lesson.
• A little article that appeared in The New York Times back in 2009 about menu design and psychology that I stumbled upon on Frites and Fries.
• Swooning over Mrs. Lilien's new signature bar cart on Society Social!
• A guide in The Wall Street Journal on where to go whilst traveling in Barcelona, compiling tips and recommendations from famous locals (including Chef Ferran Adrià).
• A round-up of literary writer food, literally from A-to-Z.

A round-up of drool-worthy recipes:

• Cookie Monster's cookie recipe from The Huffington Post.
• multi-fruit galettes (here and here) from The New York Times this week
• gruyère chive popovers from Just a Taste
• the "best corn on the cob you'll ever have" from Tokyo Terrace via A Cup of Jo

On the blotter for upcoming noms:

• The NoMad Hotel begins brunch service next week with a menu that may include a "distillation" of the elements from the infamous roast chicken (i.e., the truffle and foie gras) into a sandwich! Say what?! Oh wait, they really did -- the menu was released on Thursday!
• Cannot express how incredibly excited I am for this: a creative, culinary collaboration (entitled "Twenty-First Century Limited") between Eleven Madison Park and Alinea?! It was revealed later in the week what this supposed "collaboration" would entail (here and here). Also, see the AWESOME teaser video here.
• Smorgasburg is coming to Dumbo!
• Best spots for outdoor dining from Serious Eats New York!
• Need to check out this new Great Gatsby-inspired speakeasy in the basement of McCoy's called Tomoka.