Here at Rum & Blackbird, lunch is the most important meal of the day. The best way to do lunch? Make it a smorgasbord. Today we had a takeout adventure, visiting two completely different parts of Asia, from the comfort of the R&B headquarters in Hell’s Kitchen. We sampled Afghani cuisine from Ariana, and Japanese fusion from Ajisai. Our kitchen counter morphed into a colorful buffet, with everything from teriyaki and sushi to hand-pulled Afghani noodles and pumpkin curry. What did we like best? Read on:

 Alyssa’s Take: My top picks from our lunch adventure were the Spinach Samusa from Ariana and the Vietnamese Spring Rolls from Ajisai. For the Spinach Samusa I was expecting a crispy, Indian-style samosa, but was pleasantly surprised to receive a spinach dumpling more reminiscent of a mini-empanada. They were simple, and thankfully, not too greasy. The Vietnamese Spring rolls showcase the pan-Asian quality of Ajisai, where there is not only sushi on the menu, put pad thai and Indian pancakes as well. The spring rolls were the perfect summer appetizer. They were lightly fried and chock-full of rice vermicelli and funky black mushrooms. My favorite part of the lunch battle royal? Cross-cultural condiment pairings, like dipping the Afghan bread in the spicy spring roll sauce.

 Jamie’s Take: At first glance, the menu at Ariana looks like a million other falafel and kebab joints across the city. But if you dig a little deeper, there are seriously delicious Afghani specialties to be found. I was way into the Aushe Burida from Ariana—hand-sliced noodles, topped with yogurt sauce, garlic, mint, and ground beef curry. It was hidden away on the menu under the more standard-looking kebabs and sandwiches, so I’m glad we spotted it. The noodles were thick and springy, and the spicy ground beef was nicely tempered by the mint and yogurt sauce. It wasn’t the prettiest dish, but it sure was tasty. I also really liked the tender pumpkin curry from Ariana, even if it’s more of a hearty winter dish. With all the falafel and kebab joints in Hell’s Kitchen, I’d like to put in a word for the slightly more unusual offerings at Ariana—you just have to know where to look.

Ariana: 787 9th Ave.; (212) 262-2323

Ajisai: 615 9th Ave.; (212) 757-2688

For today’s installment of Meet the Team, we present intern extraordinaire Alyssa Maldonado, who’s been helping R&B with every step of the way. As a native New Yorker, she’s got the inside scoop on where to go and what to eat all over the city. Take it away, Alyssa!

Where did you grow up?

I spent most of my childhood in Astoria, Queens, around all the Greeks. Now I go to Vassar and my family lives in the Lower East Side.

Any hidden restaurant gems you can recommend as a native New Yorker?

Max on Ave B & 4^th St—no one’s ever heard of it, but it’s this little Italian place with a cute garden in the back. I like to eat outside. Also, I don’t know if this is necessarily a hidden gem but I love those Indian places on 1^st Ave near 6^th St. in the East Village—the ones with all the Christmas lights and the guys hawking outside. They’re ridiculous but so much fun—and they give you so much food!

What’s your guilty food pleasure?

It should be a guilty pleasure—but it’s not—ice cream. I eat all I want and I don’t gain weight from it. I gain weight from eating normal food, but not ice cream. It’s very bizarre.

What do you think the ideal walk-and-eat neighborhood is?

I would have to say the West Village, just for Bleeker Street alone. You walk up that street and get your bread at Amy’s, your ice cream at Cones, your cheese at Murray’s…[sigh]. I could walk that block for hours.

Have you ever heard of a bureka? A boreka? A boureka? A burek?

A boureka is a flaky, savory pastry that is usually filled with cheeses, meats and vegetables. Whichever way you spell the Middle Eastern delight, Gazala Place, nestled in Hell’s kitchen, is the best place to try one.

Gazala makes two versions of the delicious pastry, one with goat cheese and spinach, another with sundried tomatoes and goat cheese. What makes their boureka so special?

These bourekas are unique because of the freshness of the ingredients: the goat cheese and the pastry dough are made in-house, and the spinach is never frozen. Owner Gazala Halabi buys fresh yogurt to make into goat cheese, which takes four to five days. Her bourekas stand out because of the goat cheese filling—instead of the usual feta— giving these bourekas a rich, tangy center. The dough tastes deliciously buttery, but surprisingly is made only with olive oil. The flakiness of the pastry is achieved through a two-day process of refrigerating the olive oil, cutting it and rolling bits of cold oil into the dough. Though the boureka-making process takes days, it’ll only take you a few seconds of bliss to finish one.

 –Alyssa Maldonato

Now that you’ve met owner/founder Moira Campbell, it’s time to say hello to the rest of the R&B gang. We’re a small lot, but we’ve got a lot of personality! Today we’re chatting with Jamie Feldmar, editor/outer boroughs tour guide/ pork-lover extraordinare. Stay tuned for interviews soon with the rest of our team, but for now, here’s Jamie:

Q: Jamie Feldmar.  Jamers, Jamoooo, Jamster.  Where are you from?

A: Chicago.

Q: How long have you lived in New York and what neighborhood do you currently reside in?

A: Five years on the dot. I’ve spent the past three years in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, surrounded by old Italian men and kids in bands.

Q: What is your favorite neighborhood spot for eating out?

A: Fette Sau for BBQ and whiskey. Oh my god, it’s so good—you walk out of there and your hair smells like smoked meat for days. And Bahia for cheap Salvadoran tamales.  I also really enjoy going on ethnic eating adventures across the outer boroughs, to neighborhoods like Flushing, Jackson Heights and Sunset Park.

Q: One food you want, need, can’t live without?

A: Dumplings! Of all kinds. Chinese potstickers, Polish peirogi, Japanese shumai…I love them all. I’m a sucker for pretty much any kind of meat wrapped in dough.

Have we mentioned that it’s hot here in NYC? It’s HOT! Like, fry an egg on the sidewalk hot. And who wants eggs when it’s this sticky outside? Not us. No, we here at R & B prefer something a little cooler: the 1000 year old ice cream sandwich at tasting partner Xie Xie.

What, does the prospect of a dessert that’s been sitting for half a millenium not excite you? It should. Xie Xie’s Angelo Sosa’s (currently competing on this season’s Top Chef) dessert takes its name from a riff on the classic Chinese snack, a preserved hard-boiled egg that we can assure you is not nearly as refreshing as pastry chef David Andrew’s version. His is made up of caramel ice cream pressed between two thin cocoa wafers, and hidden within the ice cream is a stash of gooey, black, salted caramel. Refreshing? A thousand years can’t be wrong.

A few days ago was the first official day of summer, and we here at R&B are very excited. Summertime is all about sun, BBQs, and of course, beer. And we just so happen to have a great beer bar around the corner from the R&B HQ in Hell’s Kitchen–Pony Bar, which is dedicated to serving up America’s finest craft beers. This place has 20 (20!) craft beers on tap at all times, plus two hand-pumped cask ales, all of which are doled out for a measly $5 a pop. There’s a lot of yeasty goodness to choose from at Pony Bar, but now that the temperature is a-risin’, we have eyes only for limited-edition summer ales. A recent fave: Saranac’s summer brew, a European-style blend of German Radler lager and lemonade.

Seriously. Lemonade + Beer= So. Refreshing!

It’s brewed in upstate New York, but one sip will take you out of the smoggy city heat and into your own relaxing, breezy paradise. Crisp and light, with a lovely citrus sweetness, this is our new go-to summer brew. Grab some for yourself: Pony Bar is located at 637 10th Ave (45th St.), and you just might see us there.

We here at R&B are big supporters of the James Beard Foundation Greens, an event series for foodies in NYC aged 21-40. Past events have included a Porkapalooza with Ryan Skeen, a behind-the-scenes look at a dumpling factory in Brooklyn, and of course, a Taste of Hell tour with us! Tonight, we’re venturing out to Williamsburg to check out Brooklyn Bowl, the city’s first LEED-certified green bowl-o-drome, with a menu from the team behind Blue Ribbon (think fried chicken, egg shooters with pickled peppers, and chocolate chip bread pudding). We’ll be there, shooting for that perfect 300 and sipping on Sixpoint brews, and you can join us by clicking here! Because there’s nothing more amusing than tipsy foodies in bowling shoes.

A lovely midweek lunch at the Rum & Blackbird headquarters, from our neighbors Sullivan St. Bakery. Sullivan’s owner, Jim Lahey, has racked up all sorts of buzz (see here) for his patented low-yeast, no-knead breadmaking method, and has even authored a book (the appropriately named “My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method“) on the subject. But in addition to loaves of gorgeous pane pugliese and filones, the Sullivan St. wholesale home base in Hell’s Kitchen also doles out simple, expertly constructed paninos for a quick, rustic-style lunch (and only lunch; they’re almost always sold out by midafternoon).

Our little picnic consisted of breadcrumb-dusted gruyere-and-zucchini pizza; cremini mushroom and thyme pizza; marinated beet, arugula, and goat cheese panino; and the brilliant PMB (pancetta, mango, basil and chili powder) panino. The panini bread was, unsurprisingly, killer–light and chewy, with a hint of salt; while the pizza has enough crustal integrity to stand up to a hurried jog from the bakery to R & B. Now that’s a revolutionary lunch.

Welcome to the Rum & Blackbird blog!

Here you’ll find all sorts of fun stuff: food news, interesting eats, Q & A’s with our tasters, travel tips and fun food creations. What better way to get the ball rolling than by meeting our illustrious founder, Moira Campbell? Sure, you can get the basic stuff on our “About” page, but for the real scoop, read on:

moiracancook

Q: Be honest: where’s your favorite place to eat in Hell’s Kitchen?
Obviously I love all the stops on my tour, but one other place I adore is Daisy May BBQ. I just love barbecue. Their macaroni and cheese is off the hook. Adam Perry Lang took his classic French training with Daniel Boulud and applied it to a low-concept cuisine that is the very basis of American food. Meat + fire = delicious.
Q: One food you couldn’t live without:
Peanut butter. To be truthful—I eat it by the jarload.
Q: What trends are you noticing in the NYC dining scene that you’re psyched about?
I love seeing really talented, classically trained chefs taking on more simplified concepts—like pizza, or sandwiches, or hotdogs, but done up with exceptional ingredients. Angelo Sosa at Xie Xie is a good example, and that’s why I wanted to include him on the tour.

Have another question for Moira or want to know more? Drop us a line at info@rumandblackbird.com, and check back here for more good stuff soon!