Veritasty: Truthfully Delicious

Back when I had an epic foodventure at Fatty 'Cue, we were having a hard time deciding between that and another unlimited-drinks brunch place, Kittichai.  The two establishments are as opposite on the spectrum as they can be in terms of decor and style, but actually share some commonalities.  Both draw on Asian influences.  Fatty 'Cue mixes in some fish sauce and cilantro and that sort of thing into the otherwise all-American barbecue.  Kittichai turns all-American brunch specialties into Asian-American brunch specialties (often, it just requires a little curry to spice things up). Kittichai is down in swanky Soho amidst the hotels and boutiques.  The decor is pretty sexy: the vestibule is decked out with brightly-lit colorful orchids in glass jars, and the dining room is very dark, illuminated by spare lights overhead and behind the booths.  The middle of the dining room has a giant reflecting pool and a big Buddha sitting on it. ...

What better things are there in the world than some wine, bread, meat, and cheese?  Most fondue experiences incorporate these guilty pleasures, as was the case at Winegasm in Astoria, Queens.  Winegasm is a tapas/fondue place that offered a Groupon (yay) so we headed out there for our fill of melted stuff and dip-able stuff and booze. The ambiance was kind of nice at first: very rustic bar scene with a few tables.  Nice and romantic when they put on the mood lighting, but once the live music started up, it got a little too loud and a little too country for my taste. The Groupon deal included a glass of wine with your meal and a glass of wine with dessert, so I had a Riesling and prosecco.  Winegasm prides itself on serving local, organic, and sustainable wines.  The Riesling was surprisingly good: sweet, with a smooth finish.  The prosecco was tasty, too, except it smelled a little like generic bathroom hand soap.  We had a cheese fondue with ...

Another venture into the cuisine that is "brunch".  Particularly, drunk brunch, everybody's favorite!  Right in the middle of the theater district, there is a place that is open 24 hours and specializes in the food of Brittany, France.  I'm not sure if they would call themselves a diner, restaurant, brasserie, or whatever else, but that's Maison for you.  We had brunch on a beautiful Sunday morning, seated outside under their big orange umbrellas.  All around us were theater-goers and theater workers (topics of conversation overheard included performing as a background singer/dancer at the Tony Awards) and tourists arriving by the bus-full. Our waitress was a pretty woman with a heavy French accent (was it authentic or was it for show?) and looked exactly like Maya Rudolph.  Alex had the Maison burger with herb fries and I had the Farmer's Egg Cocotte.  I was confused when they brought out my entree - which I thought would be shaped like an omelet...

Don't ever invite me to go bowling with you.  You can, however, invite me to go have dinner at a bowling alley.  All the way up in Williamsburg, there is a bowling alley and sometimes-concert hall called Brooklyn Bowl.  They are famous for delectable soul food, and writing about it really makes my soul yearn for more.  During our visit, we ordered pork rinds and a mixed platter of fried chicken. The pork rinds were unlike anything I'd ever had before: what look like those pork rinds that come out of a bag, but heaped with crumbled feta and scallion and red onion and lime and cilantro.  The rinds were warm and airy and nice and crunchy. It's kind of hard to describe the taste and texture of pork rinds, but I would liken them to those styrofoam-y shrimp chips you get in Chinese restaurants (I don't mean styrofoam to be an insult here; I love those things).  The toppings made the pork rinds pretty fantastic - salty, greasy, and crunchy like all my...