New York Burger Co. offers a selection of burgers, chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, chilli, salads, fries, and onion rings. A few of their burgers are also available in mini size; they describe it as “just like the big guys, only smaller”. They also have a couple of smoothies and shakes on their menu.

While skimming through their posted menu, I noticed they had one vegetarian-friendly burger on the menu. I’m always find it interesting to see how eateries tackle vegetarian choices. So, I ordered their Mediterranean Veggie Burger. The burger patty is made from chickpea and fresh herbs, lettuce and tomatoes, and served with cucumber dill yogurt sauce on a whole wheat bun.

The burger was valued at $7.00 and for an additional $3.50, they offer the “Big Deal” where you get a choice of fries or salad and a fountain drink or water. My eyes glowed when I saw sweet potato fries on the menu. I just had to get me some fries!

Sweet Potato Fries

The food was good and satisfying. The burger felt a little greasier than necessary, but the vegetarian burger did not disappoint. I personally think chickpeas make great burger patties. The cucumber dill yogurt sauce was delectable. The sweet potatoes were… well sweet potatoes are always delicious!

One thing that caught my attention was their awesome collection of Signature Dipping Sauces. Along with the usual condiments, they have a whole bunch (10+) of homemade dipping sauces to choose from. I really enjoyed the Creamy Horseradish, Mango Curry, and Pesto Mayo.

They have another New York Burger Co. location on 6th Ave, between 21st and 22nd st. I’ve been there too. This time I ordered one of their hot dogs.

The New York Hot Dog is a grilled Vienna all beef sausage topped with fire-grilled onions, sauerkraut, and mustard. The hot dog cost $3.50. It was very juicy and tasty. Grilled onions rock!

My buddy ordered the Chicago Burger, which is the all-natural beef burger with cherrywood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and 1000 island sauce, served on a brioche-style bun with plum tomatoes and romaine lettuce. The Chicago Burger was $8.75.

And how can I forget…. an order of Sweet potato fries!!!

Their burgers range from $6.50 (simple Angus beef burger) to $10.50 (double burger with double the cheese). You can also pick your own toppings for the burgers. They have a good list to choose from. Toppings range from $0.50 to $1.50, so be careful or they can add up to a pricey burger. Their salads are closer to $9-$10. The hot dogs and mini burgers are about $3-$4. Although they have chilli on their menu, it’s not always available. They should really make a note of it on their menu – mark it as seasonal or something.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed my past visits to this burger joint. Their ingredients are fresh and natural. The restaurants are spacious and welcoming. Service has been nice. You place your order at the cashier and then step aside while they assemble your order. While you’re waiting, you can stare at them making your burger or you can fill up your fountain drink, grab some toppings, or grab some pickles. They call your number when it’s ready. Depending on your appetite, a burger + side + drink can cost you over $10. It’s not the cheapest place for burgers, but I guess it’s about average for Manhattan. Oh yeah, they have free water too.

Want to know more about their burgers?
New York Burger Co.’s co-founder Madeline Poley shares some of their burger recipes on AOL Kitchen Daily

Here is their menu. They also offer delivery to everywhere between 8th Street and 38th Street. Free delivery for orders over $10.
Follow New York Burger Co. on Twitter and/or find them on Facebook too.

I haven’t tried the product yet, but I’ve printed this coupon for $1.00 off and I’m bringing it with me on my next grocery trip. The blueberry cheesecake sounds very appealing to me. I’m thinking, yogurt parfait… blueberry cheesecake yogurt topped with fresh berries, granola or dry cereal, and sprinkles of crushed nuts. That would be a great dessert.

Here is the coupon for $1.00 off a 4-pack of Activia Dessert (or click on the screen shot above)! Print away!

*This blog post shares a coupon with you but also gets me an entry into the Foodbuzz Activia Dessert Contest. Sweet!

Promoting a healthy lifestyle using Japanese ingredients and cooking methods, the festival aims to enlighten New Yorkers about the many wholesome foods and flavors of Japan and how to incorporate them into American kitchens, ultimately increasing the understanding of Japanese culture through food.” – www.NYJapanTown.org

The festival featured a great handful of food vendors, as well as non-food vendors. The food vendors included a nice selection of local Japanese restaurants as well as international Japanese brands and food distributors. The event ran from 11am to 6pm, with schedule cooking demonstrations throughout the day sponsored by the Organization to Promote Japanese Restaurants Abroad (JRO). The demonstrations were hosted by Chef Billy Strynkowski of Cooking Light magazine, Chef Fred Sabo of the Met Museum’s Trustees Dining Room, Jenna Zimmerman, an Assistant Culinary Producer from the Food Network, and chefs of from Tanuki Tavern, Sushiden, Souen, and Hakata Tonton.

After some of the demonstrations, people can line up for free tastings, take a survey about the tasting, and receive a goodie bag. (Inside the goodie bag, I found a full-sized bottle of Otafuku Okonomi Sauce!)

We sampled misoyaki (miso marinated meat) by Marukome USA (top right), a piece of okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) by Otafuku Foods (bottom left), and mentaiko spicy cod roe on toast by Hakata Tonton (bottom right). The samples were delicious! This was my first introduction to mentaiko, which is actually marinated roe of pollack. It was tasty with a little spice. I am curious to try out more dishes with mentaiko.

There were also drink samples like Kikkoman Pearl Soymilks and Yakult, a mini probiotic drink that I remember so fondly from childhood.

Right next to Ito En (the tea distributors), there was a vendor handing out an interesting green colored beverage. It reminded me of wheatgrass drinks (which I like), and so I approached it with curiosity. Ryokko Aojiru is a Japanese health drink made from organically-grown young barley grass and green tea leaves. The drink is nutritious – rich in vitamins B1, B2, calcium, and dietary fiber. It tasted pretty refreshing. It has a much lighter taste than wheatgrass drinks. I grabbed a couple samples.

Well, that about covers the free food we had… and now here’s the munchies we actually paid for!

Beard Papa is NOT just about the creampuffs anymore. When we saw the lady waving around this Mango Ice Shower, we knew we had to get a hold of one too.

The Mango Ice Shower is shaved ice topped with fresh cut mangos, a mango sauce, and a shot of condensed milk (?). The picture on the left was the versatile and indestructible one that the lady used to draw attention. The picture on the right is the one we bought for $5. I swear the one of the left is not real, but the real thing on the right did not disappoint at all. It was super delectable, and not overly sugary sweet at all.

Cafe Zaiya caught my attention with their hot and tasty mini curry buns. You can see them make it right on the spot. We just had to be careful… contents inside the bun might be scorching hot. It was very tasty, but when all the curry filling sank to the bottom of the bun, we realized there wasn’t much filling at all. There was not as much filling as the curry bun sample that they were displaying. But for $1.50, we still enjoyed it very much.

It was the dude with the pig nose that drew us into Hakata Tonton. We picked up the Grilled Tonton Pork skewer for $5. The pork is served with with a spicy garlic sauce. The pork was juicy and the sauce added just even kick!

From far away, I wondered what those huge tubs of white stuff was. Each tub is actually 30 lbs of silken tofu. I could not resist but to buy a small bowl of Otokomae Tofu for $1. You get a choice of dressings – I picked the sweet soy sauce one. I’m a huge fan of tofu! I really enjoyed by how smooth and creamy, and tasty the tofu was. There was definitely something unique about it. I will look for this brand of tofu the next time I’m at the Japanese market. Apparently, Otokomae means a handsome guy in Japanese. They also have a product called Johnny Tofu, which is a yogurt-like creamy tofu.

Ajinomoto Frozen Foods USA sold containers of their reheated frozen gyozas for $2. Their gyozas have a thin wrapper and a unique shape, which allows them to cook to perfect crispness while still remaining tasty and juicy inside. We grabbed a container of chicken gyozas, since the edamame vegetable gyozas were temporarily unavailable.

Katagiri had every item in their stall for $1. They had mochi, sushi, ramune, hichew, and more. We picked up a two dangos, which are little balls made with mochiko (rice flour) and served on a skewer. The Matarashi Dango is the more common one and is covered with a sweet-salty sauce (soy sauce and sugar mixture). The Sesame Dango is covered with a black sesame seed paste. The regular Dango was delightful but we really enjoyed the Sesame Dango! Katagiri is a Japanese grocery store in Manhattan, located on 59th St near 3rd Ave.

Suzuki Farm was there selling their fresh organic Japanese vegetables. There was a Battle Robot stall, where you can pick you battle robot and challenge them to a match. This drew our attentions because it reminded us of that Battle Bots TV show, back in … wow it was about 10 years ago when it originally aired. TOTO, Japan’s leading toilet manufacturer, was there too, showcasing their Washlet – an innovative toilet seat that features an integrated bidet.

Check out more pictures in this album.

This was the second festival in JapanTown’s three-part series of festivals. The first one was the Cool Japan Festival which took place in the East Village back in July. And…

The next one will be the Soul Food Festival which will take place in the Upper East Side. So, mark your calendars!
Date: Sunday Sept 26th, 2010
Location: Lexington Avenue between 93rd and 96th Streets

Keep up to date with NY JapanTown:
NY JapanTown Blog
NY JapanTown on Facebook
NY JapanTown on Twitter

But regardless of your views on cigarettes and the potential, — okay, almost certain — health concerns that come along with it, there’s a certain charm with the candy version of those darn cancer sticks.

I mean, who here doesn’t remember fond memories of playing with candy cigarettes as a child? (That is, unless your generation’s introduction to music was Justin Bieber; in which case I envy you, as the craze in my days was MC Hammer… Please. Hammer. Don’t hurt ‘em. )

Anyways, I recently came across the Brooklyn-based World Candies’ candy cigarettes at an awesome candy store called Candyality (3425 N. Southport Ave. in Chicago, IL).

Explore Candyality!

– ahlo.tv

Japanese designer Shinzi Katoh is one the leaders in Zakka, or “various goods,” a group of products in Japan with a positive outlook.

It could be a wooden clothespin by an obscure company in New Hampshire, it could be an empty tomato-paste can saved for planting basil. Zakka is the art of seeing the savvy in the ordinary and mundane; it’s also the act of paying hard cash for such things as can openers in “skeleton pink” (think iMac translucence), just so one’s friends will know they’re dealing with someone who pays extra for a minor sensory pleasure. – Kaori Shoji for New York Times

Considering his artwork, it should come to little surprise that he is also an illustrator of children books.

Placemats measure approximately 11″ by 17.”

BEE PLACEMAT

“The bee came into the beautiful garden. There are many plants. We can eat some of them. Others we can pick and take home in order to decorate.”

MONKEY

LADY BUG

“A green leaf and a Little Red Ladybird”

Check out funny videos at ahlocomedy.

The culinary lineup featured about 30 food and beverage choices… and here are my stories…

• Chow Town is where the food is at
• Can’t resist Sweet Leaf Tea‘s delicious organic teas and the cute granny
• Lobster corn dog from Graham Elliot totally rocked!
• Grabbed a quick bite from BJ’s Market and Bakery
• Thirsty? A smoothie from Maui Wowi will quench your thirst and more!
• It’s about tasty meats at Buona Beef
• Dessert? Mazzone’s Italian Ice

More pictures on Facebook!

Over at Mazzone’s Italian Ice, they were offering a list of Italian ice, dessert crepes, and gelato, each for $5. The available Italian Ice flavors included Lemon, Mango, Blue Raspberry, and Strawberry. There were Chocolate banana split and Nutella dessert crepes, as well as Chocolate and Hazelnut gelato.

I went with a cup of that Mango Italian Ice. The mango flavor was awesome! It wasn’t sugary sweet and it wasn’t watered down either. The sweetness and the mango taste was just right! It was very refreshing and scrumptious treat indeed. It was a great way to cool off before heading over to watch the final musical act for the night!

Mazzone’s Italian Ice is located at 5115 Clausen Ave in Western Springs, in the suburbs of Chicago.

The Hot Dog was satisfying – a simple Vienna sausage in a hot dog roll. I quickly added some ketchup before stepping aside from the crowd. The hot dog was still warm, which was great. I tend to like my hot dog rolls toasted, but I won’t complain. I gobbled it down quickly as I walked to the next performance. The Italian beef is roasted with their original recipe and served on Italian bread. The Italian Beef sandwich looked pretty soggy as the gravy from the beef soaked through the bread. It looked a little less than appetizing, but tasted pretty alright.

Buona is Italian for “Good”. Buona beef is known for their Italian Beef and Sausage sandwiches/paninis. They also serve handmade pizzas, hand tossed salads, and a list of classic Italian dishes. Their restaurant menus vary according to location, but offer a nice selection – original to grilled to barbeque goodies. Here’s a list of their locations in the suburban Chicago area and their menus.

And don’t forget about dessert! The Buona Signature Cannoli sounds delectable – the description says “a sweet creamy Ricotta and chocolate chip filling in a homemade cannoli shell, topped with a delectable chocolate sauce!” Some locations serve gelato and sundaes too!

We ordered a large Mango Orange Banana Smoothie. It was very tasty and refreshing! Fresh fruit smoothies are always the best.

Maui Wowi is an independently owned and operated franchise. Maui Wowi has two locations in Chicago – 850 W. Jackson Blvd in West Loop and 2854 N. Broadway in Lakeview/North Side neighborhoods.

We ordered the Fish Tacos ($5) and Turkey burger ($5) to share. The food was quick indeed, but not very tasty. The fish tacos were cold and the tortilla, quite stale. They tasted like they were assembled hours ago. The turkey burger was just about lukewarm, but still tasted dry and uninteresting. We were kind of disappointed, but it fueled us well before the next band’s performance.

It’s quite a challenge to ensure consistent, hot and tasty foods and quick service at such a busy event – especially in the intense heat and all these sweaty and hungry patrons rushing around. Their homemade potato chips were definitely the more popular item among the crowd. We came across quite a handful of people munching on those chips.

Fish Tacos and Turkey burger

BJ’s Market and Bakery is known for their Soul Food/Southern cuisine. Their mustard fried catfish was a big hit in this year’s Taste of Chicago, back in July. Too bad it wasn’t on the menu this time. My guess is that the restaurant food is probably significantly better than their Lollapalooza food, although I do see some mixed reviews on Yelp.

BJ’s Market and Bakery has two locations – one at 8734 S. Stony Island Ave, between 87th St & 88th St and the other at 1156 West 79th St, between May St & Racine Ave.
Check out their breakfast and lunch/dinner menus! They have a buffet at the Stony Island location on Sundays. They also offer catering for special events.