The Notebook Blogairy: Good Summer Times...CookOut NYC! 2012

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Good Summer Times...CookOut NYC! 2012

Balmy weather and warm sunshine greet this weekend's CookOut NYC! happening at Governor's Island Saturday, July 7th and Sunday, July 8th from 11:30am to 4:30pm.
Not only are fab BBQ samples available there are hot sauces such as CK & PB's "Slap-Ur-Mama-Hot-Sauce" and High River Sauces that are really hot, spicy and flavorful.

A surprise treat in all of the traditional cook out fare was Fossil Farms' farm raised wild boar burgers. Daniel, the NYC sales rep, told me that boar is not exactly in the pork family. It is definitely related but because these boars are raised in a safe and monitored environment the flesh has a consistent taste and the gamey-ness is not present. You get some of the sweetness that you find in pork but then there's a totally different flavor present. This intrigued me and I just had to try one. It was very good! The flesh was tender and had the firmness of a medium-well chicken breast. It was not gamey at all. If you can't make it out to CookOut NYC! tomorrow, you can order your own boar, ostrich, wagyu beef, pheasant and other exotic specialties directly from Fossil Farms.

After happily munching on the boar burger, we wandered over to High River Sauces and I, being too scared of the heat, hung back while my sons tried their hottest sauce -- Hellacious Hot Sauce. As you can plainly see, his face says it all -- IT'S HOT! He tells me it's really good and full of flavor when you first put it in your mouth but then when it's going down -- whoa.
Tom's Roid-Rippin' Hot Sauce was next but we were all too heated up to try it (or chicken, take your pick...). Their tent was inviting and colorful and I'm sorry we didn't stop there first!

Next was Mama O's Premium Kimchi tent where there were 5 different kimchi variations available. All are sold in Whole Foods and have no preservatives in them while still full of the great health benefits that kimchi is known for. What's kimchi?? Traditionally, it is made with cabbage which is fermented. The fermentation process allows for good bacteria to form which has a number of excellent health benefits for women and is a great digestive aid. Kimchi can be used as a topper for burgers, hot dogs, on eggs -- anywhere you'd like a kick of flavor. While the traditional preparation uses fish sauce, Mama O's has two options that are vegan and one is Kosher.

One of the highlights of my day was our stop at Lucky 777 Chili where they had this absolutely wonderfully spicy turkey chili on a spicy hotdog. My vote for best hotdog goes to the triple sevens!! You can also try them out yourself by visiting them at 116 MacDougal Street, NYC from 11am - 4am (212-777-2422). They also gave out the coolest mardi-gras necklaces...

By now, the unlimited sampling of CookOut NYC! was getting to me. I had to take a break and wandered over to the Zagat tent. They're putting out a new restaurant guide soon and are seeking feedback from the public (us!!) to see what we think about restaurants that are not currently in their guide; even restaurants in the outer boroughs. When you provide reviews/feedback on 15 restaurants, you receive a Zagat embossed gift for your troubles.

Zio Restaurant was present and made a mean pork belly with grilled pineapples. I did not get any (sadly), but my son raved about it.

There was one tent there that offered braised pork tacos with a cilantro/pineapple sauce with a hint of jalepeno which was very refreshing (near the front against the fence). The restaurant's name is Jimmy's No.43 located at 43 East 7th Street, NYC.

And what was for dessert?? Wooly's Shaved Ice and MELT ice cream sandwiches, of course. The Wooly's shaved ice was creamy, light, refreshing, not too sweet, yet delicious simultaneously. This "snow ice" is a cross between Hawaiian Ices and Tawainese Ices. The owner/operator of this food cart, Danny Che, uses a Hawaiian Ice machine that cuts the block of ice into thin sheets and then tops the luscious smooth ice with sea salt lemon or strawberry syrup and a smattering of healthy fruit toppings. The small is $5 and the large is $7 and very very reasonably priced. Once you taste this shaved ice, you will crave it!
MELT was right next door to Wooly's and we chose the Red Velvet Cake Cream Cheese Ice Cream Sandwich. Rich. Creamy. Delicious. At $4 each, it was well worth it. They also had a Snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich.