Porkfest this Weekend at Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden

One of my very favorite neighborhood food events is back this year, which is Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden's Pork Fest.  Taking place around this time of year, the staff at the Beer Garden create an entire menu, consisting of delicious pork delicacies that originate from the Czech Republic and Slovakia (my mother country!)

I promise you'll fulfill your heart's desire with amazing pork specialties such as pork and dumplings, pork goulash, fried pork cutlet and more!

This tasty pig feast takes place all weekend, starting this Friday at 5 p.m. and goes til Sunday evening at 10 p.m.

Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden - 29-19 24th Avenue, Astoria NY 11102
718.274.4925
N/Q Train to Astoria Blvd

bohemianhall.com

Gettin' Piggy with It at the Hog Days of Summer

Saturday proved to be a most memorable night, as Dan and I attended the Hog Days of Summer event hosted by Tyson Ho, aka The Arrogant Swine.  First hearing about Tyson's BBQ adventures a few months ago, he was our esteemed guest on We Heart Astoria, and it didn't take me long to be fascinated with his craft.  Meaning to check out his summer events for quite a while, Dan and I finally made it out this past Saturday night, and had ourselves a porktacular time.  

About Hog Days of Summer:
Paying homage to the whole hog, Hog Days is a celebration of meaty deliciousness.  The setting--a spacious LIC lot--is friendly, casual and collaborative, as Tyson and his comrades invite you into the process of smoking an entire hog, cutting it up, serving it and of course enjoying it, together.

I love that the setting is communal, with a live Bluegrass band that helps to put everyone in the mood for all this finger-lickin' goodness.  It's not uncommon to find people chatting with new friends they've just met and to also bust out a few moves, as the music takes them.

About The Arrogant Swine:
Even before I get into the food, I wanted to mention a few words about Tyson, the head pit-master and the originator of Hog Days.  A devout disciple of Eastern North Carolina BBQ, Tyson is also the Resident Whole Hog Expert at John Brown's Smokehouse in LIC.  I love that his background and passion lies in preserving and spreading the North Carolina style of BBQ and really honoring the entire hog, as opposed to just the most commonly used parts such as the belly, loin, spare rib and so forth.  I was happy to see the entire pig used in some shape or form, from the skin to the ears and feet - it all went to good use.

The Feast:
Besides the wonderful atmosphere that was so inclusive and hospitable, the food was of course the highlight.  I loved watching the hog preparation and then the festive ritual of serving it up to eager guests.  It was fun to watch Tyson and his pitmasters enjoying the drama of it all, as they offered up guests various parts of the hog, and even threw a few pieces directly into people's mouths.  Dan was one such lucky recipient.

Pork Cracklings - We started with a plate of pork cracklings to get our juices flowing so to speak.  Creating the perfect snack, they were crispy, a little smoky and made us oh so excited for the main event.  It was fun to wash these down with a spicy Founders Brewery Mango Magnifico.

The Hog! - At last, we got to sample the pork, which far surpassed expectations.  As I already mentioned, the meat consisted of a variety of different cuts, including one of my favorites, which is the pork shoulder (aka Boston Butt).  Not only was it super moist, it sort of melted in your mouth and created the most amazing nirvana of flavors including smoky, salty and buttery touches.  Since the pork was quite rich, it was nice to pair it with a summery slaw with large pieces of apples that added that welcome freshness.  Two giant hush puppies were also on the plate, which were far from light, but who am I to complain?  Bring on the fried goodness, I say!

Service and Cost:
Everyone at Hog Days was very cool and clearly had a big passion for BBQ.  It was truly enjoyable to witness the pride and enthusiasm that Tyson and his team infused into the evening and I'd highly recommend it to for BBQ enthusiasts and novices alike.

A ticket to hog days will set you back roughly $45 but includes all you can eat food and drinks for four delicious hours.

There are three events left for this season, starting with this weekend.  Hope you get to check it out.  

arrogantswine.com

Easter the Slovak Way at Koliba

Image by Honestcooking.com

There's one more Easter menu that caught my eye today that I just had to post.  It comes from my favorite restaurant in Astoria, which is Koliba, serving Slovak food - my native cuisine.  I like that the menu options are plentiful and also wallet friendly.  See what you think and do make a reservation if you're looking for something meaty and delicious (and if you feel adventurous to boot)!

Koliba Easter Menu

Beef Soup
Slovak egg cheese, "hrudka" (served traditionally on Easter), klobasy, mazanec (sweet yeast bread with raisins, pictured above), beets and  horseradish
Smoked ham with potatoes and vegetables
Roast loin of pork with bread dumplings (aka knedlik) and cabbage
Smoked pork with dumplings and cabbage
Beef in cream sauce and dumplings, with sauerbraten
$20.75/person

Pork or chicken schnitzel with potato salad
Roasted Long Island duckling with dumplings and red cabbage
$22.75/person

Roasted leg of lamb with potatoes and vegetables
$26.75

All orders also come with coffee or tea and homemade strudel

Koliba - 31-11 23rd Avenue, Astoria, NY 11105
718.626.0430
N/Q Train to Ditmars
www.kolibarestaurant.com

Ovelia Turns it up for Queens Bloggers

Last week, Meg, Mackenzi and I hosted our bi-monthly Queens Blogger Social, and this one was in one of my favorite Modern Greek eateries, Ovelia.  I haven't been to Ovelia in a while, and therefore I was totally craving their food, including lamb, veggies and their sweets too.  

Putting on quite the feast for us, Ovelia provided a fabulous menu, tailored just to us, including shared appetizers, a personalized entree and once again, family-style dessert.  Here are some newbies I tried:

Salads - We started with two types of salads, including the village salad, which was Ovelia's take on the Greek salad, as well as the Prasini, with lettuce, dill, scallions, simply dressed with oil and vinegar.  I liked both, but preferred the latter, as it was super refreshing, and the dill added an earthy, clean - almost surprising - flavor.  It was extra delicious when paired with the triangular pieces of warmed, spiced pita, set at the table.

Grilled Kalamari - Even though this is a staple at Greek restaurants, I've never yet had it here, and it definitely delivered.  The squid was cooked perfectly and boasted a slightly charred exterior, which I loved.  I liked to see that the pieces were significantly sized, and once again, it was nice to couple this dish with the warm pita.  It even made for good leftovers the next day, which is a sign of good quality seafood.

Kontosouvli - This in my opinion was the piece-de-resistance - a slow roasted rotisserie pork, which looked and tasted as if it came right off the spit.  It was great to see that its texture was tender on the inside with a really juicy bite, while the outside was a tad crunchy and just like the kalamari, also slightly charred.  You can eat as much or as little as you wanted, since the meat was sliced into small cubes, which was good enough for a tasting or indulging in several bites.

Loukomades - A sweetly scrumptious finish to this meal came in the form of mini honeyed doughnuts with a fabulously light middle.  Besides being glazed with honey, the loukomades were topped with gooey nutella as well as vanilla ice cream.  Creating our own Greek Sunday if you will, you could also layer the chopped almonds on top, which were respectfully served on the side in the event of someone having a nut allergy.

Beer - In addition to all the food, we also indulged in a special tasting of Singlecut Beer from the new brewery, opening up next month.  Our friend and fellow We Heart Astoria contributor, Andrew brought in a few samples of it for everyone to try, which we thoroughly enjoyed.  I got to taste a bit of their lager as well as a darker beer that was almost like a stout.  I enjoyed the latter more, as it had a hearty (almost coffee) flavor that totally agrees with fall.  Looking forward to the day the brewery opens, I'm sure there will be lots more delicious brewskis to sample.

Service and Cost:
Not only was our server totally on point and really lovely, everyone else treated us with tons of hospitality and attention.  I really felt that we were taken care of very well, all our dishes coming out in good time and our every wish and need fulfilled - and then some.

Costs are moderate to inexpensive and the entire dinner I just mentioned set us back about $40 per person, including tax and tip.

Ovelia Psistaria - 34-01 30th Ave, Astoria, NY 11103
718.721.7217
N/Q Train to 30th Avenue
www.ovelia-ny.com

Get Ready for a Pig Roast (and a Clam Bake)

I'm excited to report that another fun summer food event is coming to LIC.  This one from a favorite local and seasonal eatery, LIC Market.  Now officially in its second year of business, they're celebrating by bringing us another one of their signature Pig Roasts and Clambakes rolled into one.

You may remember this event debuting last year, and it was such as success that it's back again this year.  The offering is quite stellar and the price point is the same as last year, a modest $25/person.  Take a look at the deets below and hope you decide to make a debut there as well:

LIC's Pig roast and Clambake
Saturday, July 28th, 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 29th , 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Aside from all the food, you'll be able to indulge in some hefty drinks specials, including $25 beer buckets and half priced mimosas. 3 oinks to that!

LIC Market - 21-52 44th Drive, LIC NY 11101
718.361.0013
7 Train to 45th Road/Courthouse Square
www.licmarket.com

12 Hour Pork Shoulder Cook Off

Last weekend was simply awesome, as we spent time in Florida with our friends Matt and Kate.  Part of what I love about hanging out with them is that they're totally passionate about food and we spent most weekend cooking in their gorgeous backyard.  The doggies joined in the fun too, and you can see Tipper here looking interested in some grub.

So what we did last weekend was an all day cookout, featuring a 12-hour smoked pork shoulder, jalapeno poppers, Caprese salad, roasted potatoes and my sweet panini.  To say we were full is a given, but what I loved about the way we did it is that we spaced the eating out throughout the entire day.  Here's my personal commentary:

12-Hour Smoked Pork Shoulder - Dan and Matt bought a gorgeous piece of pork shoulder at Fresh Market, Florida's version of Whole Foods if you will.  The piece was impressive on its own, but after being coated in Matt's special dry rub, which includes cocoa powder, it became even more attractive.  After letting it marinate overnight, Matt smoked it for 12 slow hours and basted it a few times.  It was a whole procedure to say the least, but all the effort was totally worth it, as when we actually got to eating it, it pulled apart effortlessly.  I just loved how beautifully it shredded into bite sized pieces that had a charred crust from the smoker.  Each bite was delectable and juicy - Matt's homemade sweet BBQ sauce was just the icing on the proverbial cake.

Jalapeno Poppers - Starting this meal with jalapeno poppers was a great way to get going.  As you can see from the above picture, we made many of them and good thing too, because we couldn't stop chowing down on them.  Matt used a recipe from Emeril, which included a filling of bacon, Monterey Jack cheese, cream cheese and he also added chopped shrimp.  It was a great idea, which gave this dish even more intrigue.  I also improvised along the way, placing the filling onto slices of eggplant after we used up all the jalapenos.  Those were delicious too and you can totally substitute them if you're not into spicy stuff.  See jalapeno popper recipe. 

Caprese Salad - To keep things a little lighter (which was nearly impossible), I made a quick Caprese salad using fresh ingredients and some really good quality fresh mozz from Fresh Market.  Dressing it just with olive oil, creamy balsamic and salt and pepper, it was a simple side that totally hit the spot.

We ended things off with my sweet challah panini with banana, Nutella and melted marshmallows.  Feel free to try it and use my recipe.

Thanks Matt and Kate for an awesome feast - we can't wait to do it again next time.

Porkfest at Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden is Back

It's been quite a while since Porkfest has come around to Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden, but it's officially back this weekend and I wanted to tell you all about it.  Attending this event a while back, and loving it, I recommend it to all you hard core pork lovers who will relish in a special pork enhanced menu.  Expect Eastern European specialties such as pork & barley soup, pork goulash, a breaded and fried pork cutlet and more.  Dessert will not be porky but still delicious.  Here's more info:

Friday, February 17th - 5 p.m. - 11 p.m. (featuring a live band)
Saturday, February 18th - noon to 11 p.m.
Sunday, February 19th - noon to 10 p.m.

If you choose to order ahead of time and take stuff home, you can get:

Jiternice/white sausage...$5/piece
Kroupova Jelita/blood sausage and barley...$5/piece
Tlacenka/head cheese...$10/lb

Hope to see you there!

Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden - 29-19 24th Avenue, Astoria NY 11102
718.274.4925
N/Q Train to Astoria Blvd 
www.bohemianhall.com