‘Man v. Food’ star Adam Richman: How to eat in Brooklyn

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40088523/ns/today-books

‘Man v. Food’ star Adam Richman: How to eat in Brooklyn
He waxes poetic about the culinary offerings of his hometown
11/9/2010

Adam Richman, who spends his days crossing the country visiting restaurants and taking on challenges to eat enormous amounts of food, shares the culinary adventures of his hometown, Brooklyn, N.Y. Read an excerpt from his new book, "America the Edible."

From Chapter three: Greetings from Planet Brooklyn

With nearly 2.5 million residents, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, and if it were its own city (as it was until 1898), it would be second only to Manhattan as the most densely populated city in the country. It is the "Home to Everyone from Everywhere!" as a sign off the Belt Parkway declares. And indeed it is filled with people from everywhere who have influenced Brooklyn's food identity as profoundly as lobster-men in Portland, Maine, and Mexicans in Austin, Texas. In Brooklyn, the melting pot that is this great country can truly be enjoyed on the plate — all of the different cultures, most within walking distance of each other, and nearly every cuisine represented in some delicious way. There is an endless array of places to go and things to eat, from the South American food carts at the Red Hook Ball Fields to fine-dining restaurants that rival those of any other city.

When you go to Brooklyn — and you absolutely must — you can experience all of this. But you should seek out the real Brooklyn, the one that still remains from when I was a kid and even before that. You need to have an Italian hero, a slice at a pizza joint, and a meal at one of the many ethnic places that seem to transport you to another continent. Most of all, just relax and enjoy the realness (as rapper Redman would say).

Great Pizza Places in Brooklyn That Aren't Too Trendy Yet

1. Pino's Las Forchetta - Park Slope

2. Franny's - Prospect Heights

3. Lucali - Carroll Gardens

4. Totonno's - Coney Island

5. L & B Spumoni Gardens - Gravesend

It doesn't get much realer than the mile-long extravaganza of food, culture, and general high-spirited Brooklyn-ness known as the Atlantic Antic annual street fair.

One recent Sunday I woke up late in the afternoon, to quote Brooklyn native Adam "MCA" Yauch of the Beastie Boys, and heard the faint strains of music and commotion coming from outside. And then, like the torrent of images flooding the mind of a Manchurian Candidate assassin, I suddenly remembered the flyers and posters I'd seen strewn throughout my neighborhood.


"The Antic!" I shouted like an ass to nobody in particular. The Atlantic Antic, held on the second weekend of September on a main thoroughfare in northern Brooklyn, is a street fair that showcases the businesses that line the street itself, promotes awareness of civic causes (Take Your Man to the Doctor Week, voter registration, sign-ups for and against key issues affecting the borough, and so on), and creates a venue for some of the best food that the city has to offer. You can get tasty stuff from the Middle Eastern shops and restaurants that line Atlantic Avenue and from the gourmet and savory places that lie on the tributary streets of the affluent Cobble Hill neighborhood to the south and the well-to-do Brooklyn Heights to the north — all of this bordered by the somewhat chaotic grid of streets around Schermerhorn and public housing, like Wyckoff Gardens, where you'd be foolish to linger too long.

Barbecue, zeppolis, falafel, burgers, and chicken roti are all represented at the Antic. There are few better ways to take a big bite of Brooklyn than spending a day at the Antic.

I hit the streets ready for the savory goodness of Brooklyn street fair food, browsing booths hawking "mozzarepas," an unholy, cheese-filled union between mozzarella cheese and an arepa (corn cake); fried Oreos (better than they sound); and Philly cheese steaks (we're not in Philly, so they're phucking phake) until I finally came upon a cart selling one of my all-time-favorite fair foods: Italian sausage and peppers.

There are many, many carts at the fair, and to the novice, their products all look the same, but I have walked a mile ahead of ye, young sausage initiates, and I shall guide you in the ways of the link. If the signage is too flash and too polished, move on; those guys are more interested in attracting a large volume of customers than they are in the food. If it sells more than just sausage and peppers, move on; Italians in the know take pride in the meats they serve, and if it's a "sausage and pepper" cart, that should be all it serves. If it does not offer a choice between "sweet and mild" or "hot" sausage, move on; every good salumeria (Italian pork store) carries both, and every good vendor does too.

I walked over to a reasonably busy cart (always a good sign), and there, laid out on the cast-iron flattop grill like a bone Native American breastplate or meaty rows of matching parentheses, were fat sweet and hot Italian sausages browning next to one another. The sausages were shiny with grill oil and their own fat. Alongside this meaty armada was a softened, oily mass of red and green bell peppers and onions that were cooked to the point of translucence. The cart exuded a fragrance somehow melding backyard cookout, pizzeria, and the sweet-smokiness of caramelized veggies. r

I did as I usually do and ordered the hot sausage, as I consider the sweetness of the onions a great counterpoint to the red pepper flakes in the sausage. (Plus, I'm sweet enough — ba-dum-pum.) I asked for the sausage to be well done too, because when charred, the natural casings have a great, chewy, almost decadent juicy pop when you bite into them. The sweet, very tiny but loud lady who took my money grabbed a crusty length of Italian bread and loaded it with one of the brick red seven-inch sausages. Using one side of her tongs as a spoon, she scooped up some Technicolor, mushy wonderfulness of peppers and onions and laid an inch-thick layer of them atop the sausage. She wrapped it in waxed paper, gestured me in the direction of the condiments, and shot me a quick nod that seemed to say, "You're good? Great, now move the f--- down so I can feed the next guy."

A squirt of hot mustard and I was ready to perch on the bumper of a parked car and dig in. The smell was a rich, almost perfumey blend of oil, grilled meat, and pepper, and the first bite was utterly orgasmic. The fresh bread had a bit of a crunch that yielded to a toothy tear. The mustard and the unctuous vegetable mixture hit the roof of my mouth as my tongue and lower jaw cut through the spicy richness of the sausage, which gave way with an incredible, crispy snap.

Great Condiments You Probably Don't Have in Your House, but Should

• Huy Fong sriracha Asian pepper sauce (green top and rooster on the front

• Kewpie Japanese mayo

• Ssamjang (Korean fermented soybean paste — amazing)

• Gochujang (Korean red chile paste)

• Chipotle chiles (whole in adobo sauce or as a paste)

• Heinz HP sauce (British all-purpose condiment)

• Yellow miso paste

• Shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven-spice blend)

• Recaito or sofrito (major Puerto Rican flavors)

• Sazon (Latin spice blend)

• Tomato pickle (available at Indian markets)

• Mango chutney

• Fig jam

• Pickapeppa sauce (Jamaican flavoring)

• Taramasalata (Greek caviar spread)

• Giardineria (Italian pickled vegetables)

• Chowchow (pickled vegetable relish)

• Ajvar (Turkish red bell pepper spread)

• Creme fraiche) (like sour cream on steroids)

I finished my sandwich, bought a delicious Brooklyn-brewed Sixpoint ale, and walked on toward the East River end of Atlantic Avenue.

As I strolled, I watched high schoolers perform dance routines and capoeira practitioners in a fighting circle do a demo, listened to our colorful borough prez speak about boroughwide concerns, and soaked it all in. As I neared a friend's home, where I hoped to hang for a bit, I ducked into the amazing Middle Eastern provisions store called Sahadi's for some goodies to take home, specifically a container of its legendary hummus.

When you walk into Sahadi's, you pass barrel after barrel of olives, dried fruits, and nuts, and imported cheeses, juices, sauces, and spices from the world over. If you walk to the back, there are two counters set at right angles to each other, from which are dispensed prepared salads, pastries, sandwiches, and the greatest, smoothest, most decadent hummus this side of Mesopotamia. Sahadi's has a spicy version, which is not to be trifled with, and regular. I bought a pound of the standard hummus, silky, almost puddinglike in its creaminess, and distinctly unlike the thicker, grainy, mortarlike hummus that is so ubiquitous. It is truly one of the finest foods available in the borough.

I stopped at my friend's home, in a great building a few blocks from the westernmost end of Atlantic, and we grabbed some cold beers and headed to the roof deck. From that lofty vantage point we watched a multicolored, multiscented, multi-aged mass of people that stretched as far as the eye could see eastward to Fourth Avenue, everyone rejoicing, reveling, performing, eating and drinking, flirting and browsing, growing, and growing old. A river of beautiful Brooklyn humanity, flowing toward the river and ebbing toward Prospect Park. A Benetton-worthy cross section of the many races and peoples who give Brooklyn its undiluted power, passion, and perspective.

The crowds broke off toward their respective neighborhoods as the sun sank behind the glittery geometry of the New York skyline. Manhattan — separated by only a river from the mighty working class that pumps the blood through its veins, the beats through its speakers, and history through its very core. Just a strip of murky mystery away from the sprawling, special, and indomitable spirit of the very people who make it and the nation great. The huddled masses have taken refuge in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, and in the process have formed a cultural and culinary tapestry as thrilling and tasty as any to be found in our great nation. Brooklyn, from Biggie to Dem Bums, from Greenpoint to Fort Greene, is Antic, sleepless, and hungry for more.

Excerpted from "America the Edible" by Adam Richman. Copyright (c) 2010, reprinted with permission from Rodale.

NY's revamped Coney Island takes flight

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100528/lf_afp/lifestyleentertainmentusarchitecturepropertyconey

NY's revamped Coney Island takes flight
Fri May 28, 2010

NEW YORK (AFP) – New York's famed Coney Island, long fallen into a state of seedy disrepair, gets a new lease on life this weekend with the opening of 19 new rides including the hair-raising "Air Race."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg hailed a renaissance for the fairground district which had been allowed to "shrink to a shell of its former glory."

"Today, we're reversing that trend," he announced Friday.

The new attractions area, dubbed Luna Park, was opening in time for the three-day Memorial Day weekend with 19 new rides from Italian amusement rides specialist Zamperla.

These include "Air Race," which simulates the 4G forces experienced by fighter pilots, "Balloon Expedition," "Electro Spin, "Mermaid Parade" and the "The Tickler" -- a twisting roller coaster of switchback curves and steep drops.

Rides will be open until midnight each day of the summer.

City Council speaker Christine Quinn said Luna Park was the first new amusement park on Coney Island in 50 years. "It seems only apt that there is a ride called 'Brooklyn Flyer,' where visitors are able to swing across the sky and see all of Luna Park -- and Coney Island -- from a new horizon," she said.

The amusements are part of a newly defined 27-acre amusement and entertainment district, also including new housing, movie theaters and retail areas.

Critics originally worried the big redevelopment plan would kill Coney Island's traditionally offbeat character and put emphasis on retail rather than rides.

However, City Council member Domenic Recchia said the Zamperla rides were in the traditional spirit of Coney Island.

"Our critics said the thrill was gone from Coney Island, but they were wrong -- and the proof is right here in Luna Park," he said.

The Brooklyn beachfront neighbourhood, adjacent to the Russian immigrant magnet of Brighton Beach, was one of the world's first amusement parks and credited as the birthplace of the American hot dog.

The decline of Coney Island began more than half a century ago.

Until the opening of the new Luna Park, the area has long been a bizarre mixture of surviving rides, like the rickety Wonder Wheel and the ageing Cyclone rollercoaster, along with lots left empty by speculating developers.

Chestnut chomps 68 franks to win Nathan's title

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/more/07/05/dog.story/

Sunday July 5, 2009
Still King: Chestnut chomps 68 franks to win third Nathan's title
Story Highlights
Joey Chestnut downed 68 dogs to win his third straight July 4th hot dog contest
The American edged Japanese rival Takeru Kobayashi by three-and-a-half dogs
The two far outpaced third-place finisher Patrick Bertoletti, who ate 55 franks
By Lia Calabro, Special to SI.com

NEW YORK -- Sixty-eight hot dogs. Ten minutes. Zero vomit. Another hot dog eating world record was broken this Fourth of July by the world's leading gurgitator, Joey Chestnut. The three-time Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating champion hunched away from the competition with an engorged stomach, a green face, $20,000 and the coveted Mustard Yellow Belt in hand. Apparently hot dog glory really is worth extreme gastric agony.

American fan-favorite Chestnut out-ate his arch rival Takeru Kobayashi 68 franks to 64. There was no dramatic tie on Coney Island this year, no five hot dog eat-off overtime like there was in 2008. Chestnut had took lead right away. He leapt out of the gate, inhaling dog after dog by using methodic chomps and paced swallows- three huge bites could throw one back and keep it down. He had the meat sweats. There were chewed chunks of hot dog on his face and white shirt. But he achieved his goal. He beat the 12 minute hot dog eating world record - 59 - in 10 minutes. As one Chestnut fan shouted out during the competition, "Joey means it, man."

"It wasn't pretty, but I got 'em down," Chestnut boasted after the competition.

From creative nicknames to gluttonous (but somehow remarkably thin) competitors, circus acts to music acts, the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues was more of a spectacle than any firework display this season. Food groupies lined up in the thousands to see their beloved eating champions compete. Chestnut fans chanted "USA" at Kobayashi supporters until finally the Japanese prodigy fell to the mercy of Chestnut.

Kobayashi didn't have a quick start. He couldn't maintain a steady pace. He couldn't take back Mustard Yellow Belt from Chestnut, but he still beat the world record of 59 hot dogs by devouring and digesting 64, for the most part.

At one point the ex-champ almost suffered a reversal-- a reversal is eater's slang for throwing up. Fortunately, Kobayashi managed to catch his up-chuck in his hand and shove it back into its rightful place before being disqualified. Vomiting is to professional eating as steroids are to professional baseball-- it is just not acceptable.

The Japanese six-time world champion reigned from 2001 until 2006, but was de-throned by Chestnut in 2007. Kobayashi, 31, blames the 2007 loss on a jaw injury he incurred before Nathan's competition. "Jawthritis," however, could not explain Kobayashi's 2009 loss. He defeated Chestnut in the Pizza Hut P-Zone Chow-Lenge in May 2009. Kobayashi could win, but just not on this Fourth of July at Nathan's 94th annual Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti fought an impressive battle, coming in third place with 55 hot dogs eaten. And Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas beat the women's hot dog eating world record by devouring 41 of Nathan's finest.

1950s pinup model Bettie Page dies in LA at 85

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jJ82vzTJfZkwzNZMVZhni6WG9D5wD950V02G0

1950s pinup model Bettie Page dies in LA at 85
By BOB THOMAS
12-11-8

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bettie Page, the 1950s secretary-turned-model whose controversial photographs in skimpy attire or none at all helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution, died Thursday. She was 85.

Page was placed on life support last week after suffering a heart attack in Los Angeles and never regained consciousness, said her agent, Mark Roesler. He said he and Page's family agreed to remove life support. Before the heart attack, Page had been hospitalized for three weeks with pneumonia.

"She captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality," Roesler said. "She is the embodiment of beauty."

Page, who was also known as Betty, attracted national attention with magazine photographs of her sensuous figure in bikinis and see-through lingerie that were quickly tacked up on walls in military barracks, garages and elsewhere, where they remained for years.

Her photos included a centerfold in the January 1955 issue of then-fledgling Playboy magazine, as well as controversial sadomasochistic poses.

"I think that she was a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, someone who had a tremendous impact on our society," Playboy founder Hugh Hefner told The Associated Press on Thursday. "She was a very dear person."

Page mysteriously disappeared from the public eye for decades, during which time she battled mental illness and became a born-again Christian.

After resurfacing in the 1990s, she occasionally granted interviews but refused to allow her picture to be taken.

"I don't want to be photographed in my old age," she told an interviewer in 1998. "I feel the same way with old movie stars. ... It makes me sad. We want to remember them when they were young."

The 21st century indeed had people remembering her just as she was. She became the subject of songs, biographies, Web sites, comic books, movies and documentaries. A new generation of fans bought thousands of copies of her photos, and some feminists hailed her as a pioneer of women's liberation.

Gretchen Mol portrayed her in 2005's "The Notorious Bettie Page" and Paige Richards had the role in 2004's "Bettie Page: Dark Angel." Page herself took part in the 1998 documentary "Betty Page: Pinup Queen."

Hefner said he last saw Page when he held a screening of "The Notorious Bettie Page" at the Playboy Mansion. He said she objected to the fact that the film referred to her as "notorious," but "we explained to her that it referred to the troubled times she had and was a good way to sell a movie."

Page's career began one day in October 1950 when she took a respite from her job as a secretary in a New York office for a walk along the beach at Coney Island. An amateur photographer named Jerry Tibbs admired the 27-year-old's firm, curvy body and asked her to pose.

Looking back on the career that followed, she told Playboy in 1998: "I never thought it was shameful. I felt normal. It's just that it was much better than pounding a typewriter eight hours a day, which gets monotonous."

Nudity didn't bother her, she said, explaining: "God approves of nudity. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they were naked as jaybirds."

In 1951, Page fell under the influence of a photographer and his sister who specialized in S&M. They cut her hair into the dark bangs that became her signature and posed her in spiked heels and little else. She was photographed with a whip in her hand, and in one session she was spread-eagled between two trees, her feet dangling.

"I thought my arms and legs would come out of their sockets," she said later.

Moralists denounced the photos as perversion, and Sen. Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, Page's home state, launched a congressional investigation.

Page quickly retreated from public view, later saying she was hounded by federal agents who waved her nude photos in her face. She also said she believed that, at age 34, her days as "the girl with the perfect figure" were nearly over.

She moved to Florida in 1957 and married a much younger man, as an early marriage to her high school sweetheart had ended in divorce.

Her second marriage also failed, as did a third, and she suffered a nervous breakdown.

In 1959, she was lying on a sea wall in Key West when she saw a church with a white neon cross on top. She walked inside and became a born-again Christian.

After attending Bible school, she wanted to serve as a missionary but was turned down because she had been divorced. Instead, she worked full-time for evangelist Billy Graham's ministry.

A move to Southern California in 1979 brought more troubles.

She was arrested after an altercation with her landlady, and doctors who examined her determined she had acute schizophrenia. She spent 20 months in a state mental hospital in San Bernardino.

A fight with another landlord resulted in her arrest, but she was found not guilty because of insanity. She was placed under state supervision for eight years.

"She had a very turbulent life," Todd Mueller, a family friend and autograph seller, told The Associated Press on Thursday. "She had a temper to her."

Mueller said he first met Page after tracking her down in the 1990s and persuaded her to do an autograph signing event.

He said she was a hit and sold about 3,000 autographs, usually for $200 to $300 each.

"Eleanor Roosevelt, we got $40 to $50. ... Bettie Page outsells them all," he told The AP last week.

Born April 22, 1923, in Nashville, Tenn., Page said she grew up in a family so poor "we were lucky to get an orange in our Christmas stockings."

The family included three boys and three girls, and Page said her father molested all of the girls.

After the Pages moved to Houston, her father decided to return to Tennessee and stole a police car for the trip. He was sent to prison, and for a time Betty lived in an orphanage.

In her teens she acted in high school plays, going on to study drama in New York and win a screen test from 20th Century Fox before her modeling career took off.

Associated Press writers Denise Petski and Raquel Maria Dillon contributed to this report.

Coney Island: No more Astroland

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2008/09/07/2008-09-07_coney_island_will_still_have_surf__sand_-1.html

Coney Island will still have surf & sand, but no more Astroland
BY JOTHAM SEDERSTROM
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Monday, September 8th 2008

Coney Island's famous Astroland amusement park closed its gates Sunday.

Astroland died Sunday - a casualty of Coney Island's changing future. She was 46.

The world-famous amusement park was locked its gates around midnight - a closing time that was pushed back twice because of the huge crowds that turned out for a final romp at the gritty landmark.

There were only-in-New York thrills - and a few tears.

"This place has a lot of memories for me," said a somber Josh Rayhan, 9, before a teary farewell spin on the Tilt-a-Whirl.

Hundreds of early birds made a mad dash for rides like the Pirate Ship, Water Flume and Breakdance - all slated to be sold - as the gates of the Surf Ave. landmark opened at noon.

Astroland owner Carol Hill Albert insisted yesterday she was pulling the plug for good despite hopes of a last-minute lease agreement with Thor Equities.

The park has teetered dangerously close to shutting down ever since Thor bought the land in 2006.

Last year, Thor gave Astroland a one-year reprieve from the wrecking ball - a deal reached a week before Halloween.

Another eleventh-hour lease deal is possible, but all signs suggest that's unlikely.

"I want to make it clear that despite rumors to the contrary, there are absolutely no negotiations going on," said Albert.

"Astroland Park, after 46 years in business, will have its final closing of the park. That is final."

Her 75 full-time employees will keep their jobs through January, she said.

Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, resident Alice Lombardo lined up early with her family, planning to hit "all the rides." The 3.1-acre park and the nearby beach have played a huge role in her life, and yesterday was no different, she said.

She and her son Peter, 11, intend to frame their ticket stubs.

"My dad's ashes are on the beach," said Lombardo. "This is my family's history."

Thor Equities spokesman Stefan Friedman said yesterday new rides would be ready for action by the start of next season in Coney Island - even if the city hasn't hashed out a final plan.

"With Astroland's closure a possibility for some time, Thor Equities has been in touch with numerous amusement operators who share our vision of beginning the revitalization of Coney Island even before a rezoning is passed that would allow for a permanent year-round redevelopment," Friedman said.

Coney Island resident Anthony Messiana took a seat at the back of the Pirate Ship ride and held on tight for one last time. But when the ship plummeted for the last time, Anthony couldn't resist. He paid $5 for another ride.

"Only when something really, really bad happens, do I cry," said Anthony, 9. "When they start to tear down Astroland I'm gonna cry like crazy."

jsederstrom@nydailynews.com