Tacos Trending
I have my esoteric money-doesn’t-matter dining life. And I have my ethnic adventure, no-dive- too-low-down world. Not to mention the in-between of pursuing the best of the best eating city in the world. At least, the world I know. I’ve never been to Estonia.
So, of course I was game for a taco crawl organized by Hagan Blount and Katie Smith-Adair, his partner — romantically and professionally in PlaceInvaders, a ninja dinner site I discovered a few weeks ago. Hagan was in search of taco truth as he had tracked it in years of criss-crossing Mexico on his motorbike. They invited Lawrence, the NYCFoodGuy.
We launched into outer space gingerly with a stop at Taqueria y Fonda on Amsterdam in Manhattan Valley before trekking north into Spanish Harlem. I didn’t see much hope for snaring one of the few tables in the relentlessly florescent closet-size joint. It was already packed with local cognoscenti and a stand-up fridge chilling Mexican beer. But Taqueria y Fonda is a place for serious taco research. Click here to discover why you might want to trek uptown too. 968 Amsterdam Avenue between 107th and 108th Street. 212 531 0383.
In her role as restaurant critic of New York Magazine (1968 to January 2002) Detroit-born Gael Greene helped change the way New Yorkers (and many Americans) think about food. A scholarly anthropologist could trace the evolution of New York restaurants on a timeline that would reflect her passions and taste over 30 years from Le Pavillon to nouvelle cuisine to couturier pizzas, pastas and hot fudge sundaes, to more healthful eating. But not to foams and herb sorbet; she loathes them.
As co-founder with James Beard and a continuing force behind Citymeals-on-Wheels as board chair, Ms. Greene has made a significant impact on the city of New York. For her work with Citymeals, Greene has received numerous awards and was honored as the Humanitarian of the Year (l992) by the James Beard Foundation. She is the winner of the International Association of Cooking Professionals magazine writing award, 2000, and a Silver Spoon from Food Arts magazine.
Ms. Greene's memoir, "Insatiable, Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess"(www.insatiable-critic.com/Insatiable_Book.aspx )was published April 2006. Earlier non-fiction books include "Delicious Sex, A Gourmet Guide for Women and the Men Who Want to Love Them Better" and "BITE: A New York Restaurant Strategy." Her two novels, "Blue skies, No Candy" and "Doctor Love" were New York Times best sellers.
Visit her website at: www.insatiable-critic.com
