Gimme Shelter

Neighborhood nostalgia: East Village, circa 1979, Fruit Exchange corner of 1st Ave + E 7th St.
Courtesy Michael Sean Edwards.

I've been lax on posting.

To be honest, my obsessive pursuit of great neighborhood eats recently took a back seat to the worst activity known to New Yorkers: the apartment search. It's all consuming and soul destroying. Especially today when the rental inventory is next to nil and the prices are sky high. I came this close to leaving my beloved East Village, where "value for money" and "apartments" don't appear in the same sentence. Even though it's always been my home while living in New York for the past 5 years.

But after a month of brokers, tears, lack of appetite, and sleepless nights, on the day I literally put in an application on a Gramercy apartment, wondering how in the world can I continue an EV food blog when I don't even live here, my phone rang. Management office. Brand new listing. Not on the market yet. There it was. In the heart of the hood. Near the police station. Around the corner from Empellon Cocina and The Toucan and the Lion, coincidentally top of my list of hottest must trys.

In the end, my stomach won out. It's time to feast again. The old neighborhood is waiting.

Maharlika Filipino Pop Up Brunch



Porktastic sizzling sisig

 Brunch in the East Village is getting hotter - and more global - than ever.

Last week, I raved about Cuban fare at El Cobre. This week we venture off to the Philippines with pop up brunch at Maharlika. Brunch here is a foodie's delight. Culinary adventure? Check. Menu starring P-O-R-K? Check. And beautifully presented, mouthwatering meals? Check again.

Owner Nicole Ponseca dreamed of putting an authentic and winning Filipino restaurant on the Manhattan map. After months of traveling around her native Philippines with chef Miguel Trinidad to develop a home-style menu, the former Saatchi & Saatchi professional took the plunge with a weekend pop up brunch at bistro Leon (she is GM to Leon sister resto Juliette). And the crowds keep coming.



Tocilog tocino - inspired pork in 7 Up



Brunch time feels like a festive afternoon house party. Ponseca's warmth touches everything from the welcoming staff to the comforting aromas wafting through the small, but lively dining room. Your table is already set with delicious local snacks - spicy nagaraya nuts, cornicks, even chicken chicharon.

Don't be surprised if your neck keeps craning as dishes emerge from the kitchen. The food looks gooood! For something typical and hearty, try the sizzling sisig with eggs ($13), a hash of pork ear, cheek and snout cooked three ways, mixed with onions and served with garlic rice. The pork is tender and tasty.

My favorite pork dish was the tocilog tocino ($11), a plate of sliced pork tenderloin, marinated in 7 Up and grilled to crispy, caramely goodness. It's served with a light mixed salad, garlic rice and fried egg. The tocino also comes as a side order ($5). Filipinos love their pork and that means SPAM too, which is featured in the eggs Benigno ($12), along with coconut hollandaise and white sweet potato fries.

Mango stuffed French toast

The mango stuffed French toast ($12) is sheer heaven. Decadent without being cloying, and perfect as a shared dessert.

Here's more good news: Maharlika will be joining Brooklyn's Dekalb Market  in May, and feature quality Filipino foods and Asian condiments.

Maharlika is Sanskrit for 'noble work' and folklore suggests Maharlika was also a fabled princess, inspiring Ponseca in her venture of "noble work...sharing the culture and identity of Filipinos through food." Mission accomplished.

351 E 12th St @ 1st Ave
Saturdays and Sundays, 11am - 3pm
Cash only
Reservations highly recommended at info@maharlika.com

Two New East Village Burgers with Bite

Two new burger joints have recently opened in the East Village. Black Market and Whitmans. Do we really need two more burger eateries? Sure, why not? Aren’t all carnivorous New Yorkers in search of the elusive best burger in town? These are worthy contenders. And strikingly similar on the surface. Both glass exteriors sport gold leaf signage. Both serve Pat LaFrieda beef (so do Minetta Tavern, Shake Shack, The Spotted Pig). But Whitmans (nod to poet Walt) has a secret weapon...

This is Juicy Lucy

Meet the Juicy Lucy ($9). Lucy arrives alone on a plate. Thick and glistening beef short rib blend, fully dressed, but hiding a secret. Take one bite and you’re hit by a spurting explosion of flavor and hot gooey pimento cheese stuffed inside. Don’t ask if it’s good. How could it not be? Juicy Lucy is a burger star. Supporting cast includes an addictive, flash deep-fried ‘crack kale’ ($3), and crisp fries ($3).

The upstairs menu sticks to the basics: burgers, a free-range chicken sandwich ($9) and an intriguing sounding succotash Maide-Rite ($9). It’s tiny, homey and the kind of neighborhood place I love mid-week – humming with a friendly staff and chatty patrons. Whitmans just introduced a separate expanded menu for its newly opened downstairs dining room, including a blue cheese wedge salad ($4) and meat-hook sausage ($7) starter. Next time.

Black Market cheeseburger

Black Market is just plain sexy and a far cry from the former Pizza Shop. Located above 'secret' speakeasy Cabin Down Below (but no more direct access), it features dim lighting, dark leather banquettes and glass chandeliers. Oysters and burgers and a killer cocktail menu await. The staff is efficiently laid back. And while the burgers don’t have an exploding center, they are classic and delicious. The generous $11 cheeseburger is a bargain. You really can’t go wrong either way.

Hungry on a Fiver: Top 10 East Village Eats for $5-ish

Who doesn’t like a tasty bargain? I’m always getting asked for bargain bites in the East Village. But cheap is not worth it to me when the food is not exceptional or it’s skimpy. These tasty vittles (vegetarian options included) definitely make the cut. Plus they cover cravings from early morning to the late night munchies.

1. The ridiculously delicious and cheap lamb cumin burger ($2.50) and roast pork burger ($2) at Xi’an Famous Foods.

Baoguette

2. Signature sandwich ($5.75) from Baoguette. It blows the banh mi competition away. Ask for extra hot if you want it scattered with sinus-clearing Thai chilis.

3. Mouthwatering and generous chicken kebab sandwich ($5.50) from Café Rakka. Order with both white and hot sauce for a flavor explosion.

4. Five sensational seafood and tofu pancakes ($2.99) and pickled radish kimchi ($1.99) from M2M market. Check out the refrigerated section for an addictive array of kimchi, pickled veggies and noodle dishes.

Seafood + tofu pancakes with radish kimchi

5. Classic cheese slice ($2.50) from Two Boots Pizza. The cornmeal crust is the best in town.

6. Flavor packed falafel ($2.50) or shawarma (chicken or lamb at $5) sandwiches at Mamoun’s. Make sure to order with their famous homemade hot sauce.

7. Fresh and incredibly filling egg-bacon-cheese breakfast sandwich with coffee ($4.90) served all day at Little Veselka outdoor café.

8. Choco cupcake with peanut butter frosting ($3) from Butter Lane. Mmmm.

9. Classic currywurst + fries ($6) at Wechsler’s Currywurst, a teeny but wunderbar salute to German sausage and beer.

10. Sunday and Monday-only pad thai special ($5) at Cafetasia. All day and night. Delivery, dine in or carry out. A delicious bargain.

So what makes your top 10 list? Be nice and share.