Monday, April 6, 2020

General Tsos Chicken Coronavirus






CHEF PENG

Creator of GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN


TAPEI



Generral Tso's Chicken, the long and short of it. It was created by Chef Peng  in the 1950's in Tapei. Chef Peng was cooking a fancy banquet and needed to come up with a fancy name for his tasty chicken dish, and so he named the dish fo rhis hometown hero, General Tso  / Zuo who was like Chef Peng from Hunan Province of China.





CHEF C.K. PENG with HENRY KISSINGER

NEW YORK 1970s ?



Chef  T.T. Wang is credited for introducing General Tso's Chicken to New York in the early 1970s.

Secretary of State Henry Kissinger Henry loved it, and Chinese Restaurants in New York started putting it on their menus. The Dish took on a Life of its own, and became hugey popular, and millions of portions of it are consumed every year in America. 

Naturally (or not) the dish morphed into something a bit different from Chef Peng's original dish, which was named General Ching's Chicken in Tapei. In the 1980s the name of the dish merged from General Ching's Chicken to General Tso's Chicken and the rest is both culinary and American folkore history. The dish became much sweeter than the original version, and of course Americans just love it.







My GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

The other Night

CHINESE TAKE-OUT










Sunday, April 5, 2020

New York and $3 PBR PABST BLUE RIBBON BEER


$3 PBR Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer


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New York and the $3.00 PBR, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer has been a God-Send to many New Yorkers. As you all know, the US Economy has been in the Shitter for the past 5  years or so.
Many people are out of work, and many who are working, are taking home Half-as-Much Money or more of what they used to make. People have had to buckle down and give up or curb many things they enjoyed previous to the current state of our economy, which is in almost a Depression Era State.
Yes, everybody says that we are not in a Depression, we're in a recession. Those are the Rich and Well-Off, The 1%-ers  talking. To many, the state of our Union and their feelings are of Depression.
So, because of the Terrible State of our Economy you have given up eating out 3 times a week, you buy less clothes, spend less on Entertainment and any number of things. You haven't had a vacation in the past two years, maybe more. You've given up a lot. We all have.
Now when it comes to socializing, going out for a few Beers or Cocktails with some friends, you've had to cut back on that too. But hey, you gotta draw a line somewhere, and everyone is entitled to a few drinks to unwind every now and then, and to be with friends. Yes times are bad, people are hurting, you need your friends more than ever. And having a few Beers or Drinks is one of the most common adult ways to do so. It's natural and part of everyday life. You should be able to have two or three drinks or beers and not have to spend a small fortune doing so. You should be able to have 2 beers for about $10 including tip, and about $16 for tow drinks including tip. That's reasonable. That's what most people pay around America, and even less. But we don't live in America, we live in the greatest City in The World, New York, and Cocktails and Beers here can be oh-so-dear. "Expensive!" Expensive as Hell, "Ridiculously Expensive." It's absurd and outrageous, with many places thinking it's normal and OK to charge $16.00 or more for a measly little Cocktail made by a friggin so-called "Mixologist." Ha!  It's not OK, what's a person to do? So yes, we live in New York, and having a couple cocktails here can be a costly undertaking.. What is a Poor Working Guy or Working Girl to do??? Well Boys and Girls, let's Thank God for that great thing of wonder and the Bars and establishments who so graciously and kindly serve it, The $3.00 PBR, That's right, a $3.oo Beer in The Land of The Over-Priced $16.00 Cocktail, Manhattan, New York, NY..... It's quite Sad, Greedy too, not to mention "Ridiculous Ludicrous and Insane."  
Yes, Thank God and let's thank the Kind-Hearted proprietors who serve $3.00 PBR'S or any Beer for just $3 or $4 in a New York Bar. You are doing your fellow man a public service and we thank you for that. Whoever you are, you are to be commended, and Shame-On-You, all those places that serve $14 PLUS Cocktails. "RIP-OFF" !!! Wish the masses would Boycott these places and patronize places like Blue & Gold Bar, 7B, and anyplace who has a heart. Bars that serve 3 and 4 Dollar Beers.
I just have to say, it's great to go to a place like Blue and Gold Bar on East 7th Street and know that you can have 3 or 4 Beers for just $12 to $16, accounting for a Buck a Pop for the Barkeep. Now that's pretty good. I have had the best times hanging at Blue & Gold with some friends. You sit at the Bar or get into a nice comfy booth, drink your Beers ($3 PBR'S), relax, listen to the Music, Chit Chat, and just enjoy, and it's not going to cost you The Shirt Off Your Back.
Yes, you can have 4 Beers, tip included for the price of 1 Rip-Off Drink at one of those Rip-Off Joints. And if you are Dumb enough to have four drinks in one of those places, guess what it's going to cost you? About $75 my friend.
Well, do the Math, and if you can afford $75 for only 4 drinks, God Bless You. And if you can't, you've got an alternative. Right, your local $3.00 PBR Joint. They're a God-Send.
 Daniel Bellino Zwicke

 Copyright 2008 Daniel Bellino Zwicke

PLACES To GET A $3.00 PBR in NEW YORK


BLUE & GOLD BAR in the East Village, on East 7th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. Blue & Gold has long been a favorite of mine ever since I lived in the East Village from 1982 to 1994. It's just a cool ol normal old style bar with a pool table, standard 50's 60's Bar Decor, and Best-of-All $3.00 PBR'S and $6.00 Cocktails. I love it.7B   a.k.a. The Horseshoe Bar, also in the East Village, a bastion of cheap and fare prices in Manhattan and Land of The $3.00 PBR and other $3 and $4 Beers.  7B  is located on the corner of Avenue B at 7th Street, hence the name "7B"  ... The nickname Horseshoe Bar comes from the shape and dimensions of the bar, "Horseshoe Shaped." The bar has been the setting of numerous movie shoots, including the scene in Godfather II when Frankie Pantangeli (Frankie 5 Angels) goes to this bar for a meeting with the Rosato Brothers, and Danny Aiello raps a Piano-Wire around his neck. A scene from Crocodile Dundee and other movies as well ....  But Best of all, at 7B they serve $3.00 Beers, cheap drinks, and they have a photo and sell Potato Chips and Pretzels which practically no bars in Manhattan ever do any more. And this is a good thing when you get the munchies from the Beer. Glory Hallelujah, thank God for 7B .. 


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The BIG LEBOWSKI COOKBOOK

Daniel Zwicke



NEW YORK & The $3 PBR RE-VISITED 2019  


I first wrote this piece way back in 2008. I was unemployed at the time, and not doing as well as I am today. What a difference a decade makes. No, I'm sill not rich, no where near it, though I have saved a bit more money, and definitely doing a lot better than I was when I wrote "New York & The $3 PBR," and how much it meant to me, and a good many New Yorker's at the time when New York and America had gone into a major recession and financial downturn. Many lost their jobs, as did I, and millions other fellow Americans. Many lost their jobs, and got new jobs at half their previous pay and even worst. And on top of it, the average price of a cocktail in New York was somewhere around $14, and many places at $16 &$17 before tip. Just figure on Twenty Dollars a drink at those places. And with sky-high rents, what was a person to do? If you wanted to go for 2 or three drinks, it could cost you $40 to $60 just for  a few drinks. Again, "What is a person to do?" I person has to drink, doesn't one? Well no, it's not really a necessity, like, air, water, food. Or is it? Yes, for many it is. The ability to go out for two or three drinks, and not pay, "An Arm & a Leg" so to speak. Shouldn't your average Jane or Joe Shmoe be able have two or three drinks for just about 20 Bucks or less, including tax, tip, drinks, everthing? "Hell Yeah!" Well my good friends, just like back in 2008 when I wrote New York & he $3 PBR, believe it or not, you can still go to bars in NY and get a three dollar beer, a $3 PBR, and even for just $2.00 ... "I Love it!" This is certainly good news. I was thinking about those places, and wondering, did they still have $3 Beers? Yes They do. There are even places where you can go and get a Shot & a Beer for just Six Bucks. Yes I said $6.00 ... "Well, where the Hell are they," you want to know? Read on my friends.


WHERE to GET $3 BEERS & MORE CHEAP DRINKS in NEW YORK ?


BLUE and GOLD BAR ... East 7th Street, EAST VILLAGE, NY NY  ... "They Still Got $3 PBRs" and you can get a SHOT & BEER for just $6. ... "Still my Favorite Bar" in New York


7B Horseshoe Bar at the corner of East 7th Sreet & Avenue B in he East Vilage of New York ...  Yes they sill have $3 PBRs and other Beers, and one of the Very Few Bars in NEW YORK where you can still buy Pretzels & Potato Chips , "Love It!"
169 BAR ... Lower East Side, NEW YORK NY ...  $3 PBR'S, GENESSEE CREAM, MILLER HIGH LIFE, MILLER LITE and other Beers.

RUDY'S ... 627 9th Avenue "HELL'S KITCHEN" NEW YORK NY, between 44th & 45th Streets ... Pitchers of BEER for Only $8.00 & FREE HOT-DOGS .. $3 Pints of RUDY'S BLONDE LAGER


MILANO'S "New York's Favorite Dive Bar" ,, 51 East Houston Street, New York, NY .. No, they may not have $3 PBRs, but $4 cans of ROLLING ROCK, a great Jukebox, and the fact that it's NYs Favorite Dive Bar is good enough for me. I've had lots of wonderful times here, spent banging back a few brews, dropping cash into the Jukebox to play all my favorite songs (NO HIP HOP RAP CRAP), and sing along with my Pals. We've had many legendary nights here.



 
MilanosBARmenu


Milano's Bar

Note Old CASH REGISTER





  WELCOME to The JOHNSON'S ... 

123 Rivington Street, NY NY ... 

$2 PBR'S  

WelcomeJohnsonsBARnyc.png

Welcome to The Johnson's










NEW YORK

GREEK DINER COFFEE CUP









PABST BLUE RIBBON BEER










NEW YORK COFFEE





No Fucking Toilet Paper







NO FUCKING TOILET PAPER


"Ever Take a Crap and then realize you don't have enough Toilet paper to wipe your Ass Clean? Yes, it's happened to us all. Stranded. Stranded on the toilet bowl and you don't have a roll. What to do? Scream for help? What if nobody is around, there's no TP, no paper towels, no nothing to wipe the crap out of the crack of your ass, and there's absolutely nothing around to wipe your ass clean. What to do?

You can pull your pants up with the crap still on your ass and get somewhere where you can get something to wipe you ass clean, but there's probably going to be Shit left on your underwear and it's gonna put some more crap back on your ass, You're gonna have to get home or somewhere where you can change your clothes, put on some new fresh underwear and a pair of fresh clean pants. This is what you gotta do.

Yes, there is now, beside a pandemic with the deadly Covid19 Coronavirus that has spread all around the Worlds killing thousands of people in its wake. And yes because of all this, we now have a shortage of toilet paper. Well, there's actually not a shortage of TP, there is enough around, but it's now being hoarded by the masses, thus created a shortage of this precious commodity that is a absolute necessity to life, you gotta have Toilet Paper. Can't live without it. Right? Hell Yeah, you gotta have toilet paper.







WOMEN FIGHTING OVER TOILET PAPER

SYDNEY , AUSTRALIA





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Best TakeOut Food Delivery Coronavirus

Mamoun's Falafel


Founded in 1971, Mamoun's has long been one of the best spots in all of New York 
to get great "Cheap Eats." At just $4 for a falafel that for most is easily enough to fill you up at lunch, an in-between meal or even dinner. And as far as Great Late Night Cheap Eats, Mamoun's just can't be beat. I like get a Falafale-Baba (Babaganoush) Combo, at $5 it a inexpensive, fast, tasty meal that I can get anytime I like, as my apartment building is a short two blocks away.

PS ... Mamoun's claims to be the First Place Ever to serve Falafel Sandwiches in New York. We beleive this to be trued, and even if it's not, they are easily the most famous Falafel Joint in the entire city. No contest!
EASY to MAKE, TASTY RECIPES
CORONAVIRUS DAYS / CORONA VIRUS COOKING

Joe's Pizza



Along with Mamoun's. Joe's Pizza on Carmine Street is another Top List # 1 in all of New York City. Joe's is well known as New York's #1 favorite "Best Slice" (Pizza) in all of New York. And in a town that's known as the undisputed Best Pizza in all of America, and is considered one of the Best Places on God's Good Earth to get a Slice of Pizza, being known as The Best Slice Joint in the great City of New York is no small feat. 

Yes  Joe's is a great Cheap Eat and one of the best deals in the city, with a slice going for $3 and two for $6, it's easily in the parameters of what is considered a "Cheap Eat," any meal that cost Ten Dollars or less, Joe's does the trick and you're cheap cheezy 2nd rate product, you're getting what most people consider the best (not me) in the whole city.

Footnotes :

1)   Speaking of Cheezy, I've got to mention the .99 Cent Slice of Pizza. There are a couple within two blocks of Joe's. There's one north on 6th Avenue. A slice of Pizza for .99 cents. It uses cheap "Cheezy" Cheese. Hey it's just a Buck, and for many two slices of Pizza for $6 is a bit dear, so these .99 cent slice joints do serve their purpose, and that's to feed the less fortunate who can't afford the 6 Dollars it would cost to get 2 slices of pizza, they get two for just $2, and for them it makes a Huge Difference. Basta!

2 )   If you notice that when I wrote that, "Most people consider Joe's the Best Slice in the city (not Me), that is how I feel. It's not that I don't think they're not good, they are. It's just that I feel that the pizza at Joe's is very good, even one of the Best, just that it's not the # 1 single best, there are others. Joe's pizza is very good, a bit over-rated, and definitely not the single best slice in New York. There are many others just as equally excellent as Joe's. Basta.



Faicco's Pork Store

Great Italian Hero Sandwiches and Meatball Parms. A bit expensive, but definitely worth it if you have the cash, I don't. I could, but I make such great food for far less money, so I'm not going to throw $14 away on a single sandwich, when I can make four sandwiches for the same $14, and it would cost me about $60 to get four sandwiches at Faicco's. Now don't get me wrong I love the place. I love buying my  fresh Italian Sausage from them, along with Sopresseta and other Salumi products, tomatoes, pasta, olive oil, and cheese, but I make it myself at home, unlike many others for whom $14 for a sandwich is no problem, Faicco's is great. They make one of the best Italian Sandwiches (along with Parisi's) in all of New York City.
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RECIPES for Italian Soups, Sandwiches, and Pasta




SUNDAY SAUCE

RECIPES How to Make SUNDAY SAUCE

ITALIAN GRAVY

BRACIOLE and MEATBALLS

And How to Make a Great ITALIAN SUB SANDWICH

This and More, in SUNDAY SAUCE

WHEN ITALIAN-AMERICANS COOK






Cuban Sandwiches New York

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MOFONGO 


At CASTILLO d' JAGUA

LES

LATIN NEW YORK







SANDWICH CUBANO

Yes, Dapper Dan the Food Man gets a Sandwich Cubano at his Favorite Latin restaurant in           NEW YORK, IL Castillo d Jagua on Rivington Street on the Lower East Side of New York City.

"I haven't had one in a while. I've been dying for one, and couldn't wait any longer. So after my Chiropractor visit, I headed over to the Lower East Side, to one of my favorite places ever to get my beloved Cubano Sandwich."

"I've been Eating these Bad Boys for Years. I used to get just about one a week when I was living on Avenue A, and just had to shoot down 10 blocks to Essex Street to get one. I used to love a place on Essex Street, that no longer exist. But I'm happy to say that El Castillo d' Jagua is still there. I've been going there for more than 30 years, and I went back today, and was happy to see it still open. Most of the other old Dominican and Puerto Rican Joints have since closed."

When I sat down, the waitress gave me a menu, and I told her, "I know what I want. Can I have a Sandwich Cubano please," I asked her. She smile and said yes, so my order was in. All I had to do was wait. I was pretty sure that it would still be as good as ever, but I really wasn't sure. I think it was 3 or 4 years since I was here last, and it was good then. It was always good. These guys know their stuff, especially when it comes to making Cuban Sandwiches. So I waited. While I was waiting, I gave my brother Michael a call in Texas. A few minutes later my Cubano came. "Yee-ha! Dam it looked good. I couldn't wait." I bit in. "MMmummmm, Yeahh Baby! It was good. Good as ever. In fact, it was near perfect, and I was one happy camper.

"Yes Boys & Girls, this Baby was good. Better than good actually. It was Super Delicious I'd have to say. So, rating it, I'd have to give this Bad Boy a solid 9.9 on a Scale of 1 to 10. Wow, that's pretty dam good! A 9.9, it really doesn't get much better than that. But it was well deserving. The sandwich was just about perfectly made. These guys are consistent. They have to be, or their loyal customers wouldn't come back if they weren't."

YES IT'S ALWAYS GOOD HERE

The SANDWICH CUBANO at El CASTILLO d' JAGUA

"They Never Ever Let You Down"

I LOVE THEM !!!

"This has been Dapper Dan The Food Man, with another great food review for NEW YORK EATS  - GOin In FOOD REVIEWS , signing off for now, and until Next Time. Take Care Everyone."





This is My SANDWICH CUBANO

EL CASTILLO d' JAGUA





El CASTILLO d' JAGUA

BREAKFAST - LUNC - DINNER

113 RIVINGTON STREET

NEW YORK NY






ITALIAN GRANDMA COOKING


RECIPES





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#CubanSandwich

#SandwichCubano

#Reviewbrah


#NewYork





Cornavirus Days New York





Empty New York City Streets

"It's CORONAVIRUS DAYS"

March 2020




CORONA VIRUS DAYS

Day 5

It’s Friday March 20, 2020, and the 1st day of Sring in the year of Our Lord 2020. It was an absolutely gorgeous day out today, and I thoroughly enjoyed it walking around Greenwich Village, New York City. It’s 75 degree right now at 7:30 in the evening, and I just love the air of the air, if you know what I mean. Th atmosphere is oh so lovely, with a slight breeze blowing as I sit out here on a park bench near my apartment in The Village. Normally I d’ be at work right now on just about almost 50 Friday nights a year, an unable to enjoy twilight on a Friday evening in late March. Yes, late March but it feels more like mid-May, it just so nice out, and when the weather is as wonderful is it is right now, this very moment in Greenwich Village, New York, it is the twilight time that has long been my favorite time of the day.

In later years when my two favorite cafes were still open and it was aone of my days off, you could usually find me at Once Upon a Tart Bakery - Cafe at twighlight time. I’d be sipping on my cup of Joe, and either chatting with one of my cafe friends or else working on my latest book or one of my blogs. Once Upon a Tart used to close at 7 PM, and I’d pack my bag and head on out of the cafe and onto Sullivan Street in what we true Village residents of Italian decent still call this are The Village. To most people, they would say and think this spot to be in Soho, “it’s not,” any true resident of the southern end of Greenwich Village will tell you the same. And oh by the way, it’s the block of Sullivan Street that lies between Houston Street on the north end, and Prince Street to the south, with Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church on the North West corner of the block. Pino’s Prime Meats, Italian butcher shop is on the block, along with a Chinese Laundramat, and as I’ve said Once Upon a Tart until the year 2015, when not only did I lose this spot, but my most favorite caffe of all, Caffe Dante on Macdougal Street, an Italian Caffe that operated there on that block for exactly 100 years from 1915 until the sad day when Mario Flotta closed the days of Caffe Dante for the last time.

Anyway, as I was saying,  I absolutely adore the at twilight time of day, when they shuttered the dooros and I walked out onto Sullivan Street, and before the of September 11, 2001, I could walk out of The Tart, suck in some fresh Greenwich Village Twilight Air, turn my head right to look up Sullivan Street to the north and get a wonderful view of the majestic Empire State building all lit up, usually in white lights, but if it was around Christmas Time it would be in Red & Green, Yellow and Orange on Thanksging, and Red White, Blue on December 12th for Frank Sinatra Birthdays, pr Red, Whie, & Blue on the 4th of July. Yes I could trun right to see the Empire STate Building, and then turn left and look donw Sullivan Street to the south to see the Twin Towers all lit up and rising out of the ground soaring high into to the sky of Lower Manhattan in the financial district of New York City. ANd oh what a sight it used to be from that vantage point in Greenwich Village look down to those two majestic towers of The World Trade Center. The lights of those two immense towers radiated energy and some kind of aura that was hard to explain, but it always mesmerized me, and I didn’t just look and not feel or think anything at all, as very many might. No not I, I felt it, and I appreciated the sight before me. No, I never took those moments for granted. Not I.

Let us get back to the day at hand, Friday March 20th 2020, Greenwich Village New York. It is the 5th day that Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill DeBlassio ordered all restaurants and bars in New York City closed for business due to the fatal Corona Virus Pandemic that has hit our city and the rest of America, as well as England, all of Europe, and most of the World. It’s a serious health epidemic taht has spread from China, to almost every part of the world, killing thousands of people, and we do not, at this time have a vaccine or any cure for this dreaded desease. Mayor DeBlassio, Govenor Cuomo have taken measures to try and stop the this deadly virus from spreading. They closed the restaurant that I work at on Monday, and I am now out of work, until God Knows when. They’ve closed all restaurant and bars, so I don’t know how many hundfeds of thousands of restaurant workers have lost their jobs also, as well as me. And all cafes are are closed too, whcih really gets me, as I can live without bars and restaurants being closed, but to have to live without being able to go to a cafe every single day (which I do), to get my coffee, but even more so, just to enjoy the nice quiet relaxed environment that my favorite cafes afford me, to sit, write, surf the net and sipp my beloved cups of coffee, this is one of the joys of my life. A simple pleasure, and a ritual that is ingrained it my utter being for the past almost 40 years or so that I’ve partaken in this pleasure that I love so dearly. It has now been taken away, and I’ve got to deal with it, until when? I do not know.



Daniel Bellino-Zwicke .. to be Continued ...











Coronavirus Panic

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CLICK HERE  for CORONAVIRUS COOKING



The Dreaded Cough Coronavirus Days