Carole Terwilliger Meyers's Blog, page 114

Good Eats: The Pickle Guys, NYC

The new guys on the block, this pickle shop opened in 2001. Choose from seven types of barrel-cured pickles plus pickled vegetables. All pickling is done on premises. A list of historical synagogues in the neighborhood is posted at their website.

The Pickle Guys 49 Essex, Lower East Side, (888) 4-PICKLE, (212) 656-9739; http://www.nycpickleguys.com/. Sun-Thur 9-6, F 9-4.

see video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckBRoCfSOZ8

Travel Videos: Indian turban wrap, Jaisalmer Fort, India

Ever wonder how an Indian gentleman wraps a turban around his head?

http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/photo-of-the-day-indian-turbans

Good Eats: Economy Candy, NYC

Here since 1937, this old-time candy store is stuffed with penny candy, dried fruits and nuts, and assorted halvah, but modern delights such as gummy brains and chocolate eyeballs are also on the menu.
Economy Candy 108 Rivington, Lower East Side, (800) 352-4544; http://www.economycandy.com/.

Good Eats: Cafe Vida, Pacific Palisades, California

As busy and crowded as a bee hive, this popular little spot has seating indoors and out. The extensive menu offers many organic items, and eggs—breakfast is served all day--are cage free. Especially tasty items include a tuna melt, a Mexicali veggie burger, sweet potato fries, and green lemonade (sounds weird—the green comes from spinach--but is actually very good). You can skip the macaroni and cheese—it looks and tastes like it came out of a box. Oh, yeah, and celebrities like it here...

Good Eats: Pok Pok, Portland, Oregon

Superb versions of Thai street foods such as fish-sauce chicken wings (a must-order), mild curry noodle soup, and spicy steak salad are on the exotic seasonal menu at this popular venue--a casual ramshackle collection of indoor and outdoor venues. When available, a whole fish special to pick at with chopsticks is a prime choice, and grilled boar collar—a delicacy—is appreciated by gourmets. Any vegetarian dishes are either vegan or can be made vegan. An excellent whiskey bar operates inside.

P...

Good Eats: Katz's Delicatessen, NYC

Here since 1888, this casual spot with atmospheric hanging salamis is the oldest deli in NYC. There is no pork here, only kosher-style fare, and almost everything is made or cured on site. Service is cafeteria-style, and portions are huge. They are famous for their hot pastrami on rye and hot dog (the taught skin sort of pops when you bite in), but you can also get what they claim is New York's best cheesecake or have what Meg Ryan had for lunch in that famous scene in "When Harry Met Sally" ...

Good Eats: Brick Lane Curry House, NYC

Named for London's narrow Brick Lane, which is home to a collection of Indian restaurants, this popular venue's menu lists all the usual suspects plus a few more. Interestingly, the colorful walls are painted with real paprika, turmeric, and coriander mixed into the paint. Some diners here are actually brave enough to take the Phaal Challenge. It is claimed that this Phaal curry is the world's hottest--so hot that the chef dons a gas mask when he prepares it to keep his throat from getting...

Great Sleeps: Playa Mazatlan, Mazatlan, Mexico

Built in 1955, this low-rise (four stories) colonial-style resort features rooms with either a terrace or private balcony. Its choice beach-front location faces Isla de Venados. The beach is sandy, the surf is gentle, and thatched palapas provide respite from the sun. The quietest rooms are in a three-story section surrounding well-tended interior gardens; those by the restaurant and beach can be noisy (the beach is one of the town's liveliest). Rooms are decorated with dark wood furnishings ...

Good Eats: Yonah Schimmel, NYC

This knish shop hasn't changed a bit since it opened in 1910--the knishes were sold from a push cart from 1890 to 1910--except maybe for a few newfangled electric appliances. The shop even has its original dumb waiter. All of the heavy, hearty, baseball-size knishes are vegetarian (the traditional potato is a personal favorite) and are still made by hand and baked (never fried) downstairs, as they have been for generations. Consider washing one down with a fizzy cherry-lime Ricky, orange...

Things to Do: The Enthusiastic Gourmet tour, NYC

Take some tasty bites of the Big Apple's Jewish ethnic delights on the "NY Nosh Tour" of the Lower East Side. Guide Susan Rosenbaum, who leads all the tours herself, is nothing if not enthusiastic and obviously loves leading her groups through this often overlooked Old World section of Manhattan. She will feed both your mouth and your mind. Stops can vary, but usually include a delish knish shop that is in a scene in the most recent Woody Allen movie ("Whatever Works"), an "appetizing store" ...