Thursday, January 15, 2009

Some neat sites

I recently came across these two sites and thought they were worth sharing. Appetite for China is a blog (mostly) about Chinese food, with recipes to go along. I'll be trying their Sichuan Cucumber salad today. TasteSpotting is "visual representation of something delicious," gorgeous food-porn photos linking to the stories and blogs where they came from. Both are definitely worth a look.

Monday, January 12, 2009

I <3 Sausages

There's been a lot of talk around about Dogmatic Gourmet Sausage Systems, the sausage place that opened up about a month ago right near Union Square. After two lunches there, I'd say it's deserved - this place knows their dogs. A sausage, poked into a hollowed-out baguette and doused with sauce is $4.50, a damn good deal for just about any neighborhood.
The first time I was there I had a lamb sausage with sun-dried tomato-feta sauce. I'm happy with just about anything that's got feta in it, but this went beyond just satisfying my Greek cheese fetish. The lamb was flavorful without being gamey; the sauce was a reminder that before sun-dried tomatoes became a '90s cliche they got popular for a reason; and the bread... they should win awards for that baguette (baked at "artisanal bakeries such as Pan D'Avignon," according to the website. Fresh, hot, crusty, chewey, carbiferous goodness. The one downside was that, while the hollow-out-a-baguette-and-stick-a-sausage-in-it design means that when you take a bite out of one end, all the sauce-covered insides don't squirt out the other end - they squirt back towards you, dripping orange gunk down your coat as you walk through Union Square. So consider yourself warned, and take some napkins.
On my second visit I ordered the pork sausage with truffled gruyere sauce. I was less impressed this time around - the pork was a little hot-doggy, and the gruyere sauce added a lot of richness but less flavor than I would have liked. Still, it was hot, gooey, and filling, so I'd say I got my $4.50 worth.
Also on the menu are tortilla chips (with your choice of the same sauces that come with the sausages), handmade sodas, and some frozen desserts. I tasted a sample of the chocolate soft-serve and found it too sweet for my taste, but the ginger soda ($2.50) was great, with a recognizable ginger taste and a little bit of kick. Mmm. I'll have one of those with my dog any day.

Dogmatic Gourmet Sausage Systems
26 E. 17th St (just west of Union Square)
eatdogmatic.com