One of my favorite food events I attended last year was Village Voice’s Choice Streets. Obviously one of the thing I liked about it was the location. It was held at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. It was also one of the most causal food events I’ve been to. So of course this year I had to go back. While the format was the same, there were few things that were different from last year that, in a way, made this year a little less fun (just a little) but overall I still had a good time.

For some unknown reasons, few of the trucks didn’t show up and they may had sold more tickets than last year because the lines! There were few times where I just stood in a line for half an hour. And by 8:30p some of the trucks had ran out of food already which then added extra pressure on other trucks to continue.

Here are some bites I managed to get….

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Words and photos by Jackie McBrien and Candace Edwards

This past Tuesday at the 69th Armory, The Village Voice threw its 6th annual Choice Eats festival with over 86 participating New York City restaurants. While we wanted to eat every dish (and sample as many alcoholic beverage), after our seventh or eighth sample we realized that feast feat was, well, impossible. And dangerous. We did manage to hit the munchie double digits (I counted about 18 different restaurants) before we rolled back home. As first timers with zero prep and really no desire to pace ourselves, I think we did a pretty good job.

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In February I went to Taiwan for a week, and had an amazing time. Because it was the week of the Lunar New Year, many restaurants (particularly the vegetarian ones) were closed. Luckily, Taiwan has a vibrant street food culture. On my first day I stopped by a road-side stand around the corner from the City God Temple for a taste of Taiwan’s signature dish: chou doufu, aka stinky tofu. Yes, that’s really what it’s called. It’s tofu, left to ferment, until it develops its signature aroma: a mix of rotting garbage and unpleasant bodily odors.

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For a few months last year I was working on the UWS, and after so many years of working here in Brooklyn the biggest challenge was finding new places to eat lunch. There are a lot of mediocre restaurants around, and very few cheap ones. I had eaten a couple of meals at Hummus Kitchen, a mini-chain which was pretty good but more upscale than I usually like my falafel places. On one of my last days working in the neighborhood I came across a place named Ali Baba, and as soon as I walked in I knew I was going to like the place. Ali Baba is an Israeli-run falafel joint, with only one table (with about eight chairs) and a bunch of freshly made salads lining the counter. I got the falafel platter, which included some of the best falafel I’ve eaten outside of Israel itself — full of herbs and spices, not merely fried chickpeas. The salads were fantastic, and tasted homemade. There was a spicy cooked onion and tomato salad, slices of fried eggplant, sweet and sour cooked carrots, a salad of raw tomatoes and cucumbers, hummus, and pickles. Pickles are my favorite falafel topping, by the way, and one that is often overlooked. Over the next week or so that I worked in the area, I would pass by and see the restaurant closed at odd hours; not just during Shabbat, but at random times as well, so if you’re in the neighborhood and hungry, it’s worth passing by to see if they are open — but make sure you have a backup plan, just in case.

Ali Baba — 515 Amsterdam Ave, NYC,

Last night a bunch of us attended City Grit: Brunch Village dinner. Yes! Brunch food for dinner, my kind of dinner. It was Sarah’s homage to the show Portlandia. I’ve only seen the pilot but judging from the awesome tasty food Sarah cooked up last night, I may have to at least watch the episode “Brunch Village”.

The dinner started off with Collin’s chicken and waffle. Hello bite sized goodness. I ate 4 and totally forgot to snap a photo. Next up (picture above) was “Craig’s crazy guac tacos” with pulled brisket, guac, queso, and scrambled eggs.

Click to see what else was on the menu last night

On a quiet street in the sort of empty area in Chinatown sits a tiny restaurant, Cheeky Sandwiches. Definitely one of those places you’ll miss if you blink. The space is small and the door to get in is smaller but the owner is all heart. He’s super friendly and makes one of the best fried chicken sandwiches in town. This is one of those places I regret not going sooner.

Delicious fried chicken on a bed of slaw topped with gravy and between a biscuit. What better combo?

- Cheeky Sandwiches 35 Orchard St, NYC

I just came back from a 2 week time off in LA and it was FREAKING wonderful. Though it wasn’t all play. The first week I spent it with these guys (yes I was doing work) and the second week was a total tv on the couch time.

Besides eating burgers from In-N-Out and mom’s cooking, most of the meals I had were from places I have never been before. Luckily everything I ate during my 2 weeks in LA was mighty delicious.

Check out what I ate after the jump…
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