Spring Street Natural Restaurant, Soho

Introducing New York correspondent a.k.a Elizabeth Komoroski. I’d like to thank Shane for this incredible opportunity and all of the long nights of counsel, idea-generating and morale-boosting it took to actually get this lone post online. It is my dharma. It is my duty and my privilege. Indeed, this is an exciting opportunity. I’d like to first mention that I studied religion in college, and have since related most of my day-to-day interactions and cultural findings on their connections to religion. I also use my religious studies major to discuss Buddha, on occasion, but luckily for you today, I will only discuss Buddha in the context of gustatory nirvana. I will discuss the ethics of a dish: guiltless… and one that leaves you, penniless. How’s that for potato sack cloth? No matter that Spring Street Natural is Kevin Costner’s favorite restaurant. No one is seeking his opinion unless its fictionalized drama (please, anyone: has he ever played Jesus?). Take it from me– fish-stick-fed, of Southern cheese-dip pastures, raised on the good book which spouts vegetal hatred, I am not one who was ever sanctioned to give you advice about healthy meals. But, thanks to hipster force-feeding, I am the converted, and now the evangelist for one of the healthiest restaurants in New York. If you are not bored to the cross, please keep reading.

Devil and his loins:

As a disclaimer, I must tell you that, no, this post does not involve tofu. Spring Street Natural is a restaurant all about natural foods. This means that plywood is not on the menu. Tofu is, for all intents and purposes, colorless, flavorless, soulless. I don’t care what any Brooklynite says, you cannot season any block of tofu into tasting good. I am not going to talk about it in this post.

Immaculate Conception has a home-delivery:

I tried to copy Natural Taco Salad a year ago this month when the Giants were christened with SuperBowl glory. My friend and I erected the bunny ears on my parent’s first color television and, right smack in the middle of fried chicken, finger-lickin’ Harlem, emulated one of the dishes I shall review for you this evening. Nachos gone organic. Before you bash it, let me first say that hippies are not the only ones who can thoroughly enjoy this dish: full in flavor, weighs on the conscience like a… feather. Incredibly easy to make for football season (maybe next year).

Antibiotic-free chicken, a NYC must (how the hell do you think we can handle all the toxins emitted by cabs?), multi-colored, stone-ground corn chips, black beans, home-made guacamole, fresh sour cream, diced tomatoes, red onions, spring mix salad… and phew, I am exhausted. You get the idea. The chef basically takes his entire ingredient table and shovels out a generous portion of, everything. And the atmosphere is good, too. Statuettes of Buddha and waiters who double as out of work actors. Zen. The mojitos are presentable, their scotch does its job, and so is their (free! free! freeee!) root ginger tea. If you are feeling ambitious and slightly irreverent, try their flank of lamb. Can you say… divine?

I’m a huge fan of Guy Fieri’s show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. In fact, I’m jealous of his job, and I constantly complain about why I don’t have that job. Anyways, this particular episode that my post pertains to was shot just down the street from me! Cemitas Puebla is a small, family-owned Mexican spot with some delicious eats. I’m not gonna bore you with a long-winded post because anyone who’s anyone enjoys a good YouTube video.

It was so delicious.. the Taco Arabes are amazing and the Cemita will floor you. The owner’s father came over to us to tell he doesn’t want to see us Filipinos in his restaurant because Manny Pacquiao beat De La Hoya up pretty badly. I got a good chuckle out of this.

Ever since Cemitas was featured on Triple D, the place is always busy.. and if you’ve ever been to Humboldt Park, you can tell when someone shouldn’t be there. I’m just sayin’. Know your hood, son. Thanks to my buddy, Steve, for some money shots of our food at Cemitas.

As promised…  and I always deliver. So this encompasses my Thanksgiving to New Years. Camping, family dinners, cooking mayhem. It’s all there. Enjoy!

Sorry lovers. I’ve been doing a poor job updating this thing, but there is reason behind it. I’m preparing a holiday photo album of sorts encompassing my food happenings from Thanksgiving until New Years, so stay tuned for that.

In other news, my good buddy, Josh, who I’ve mentioned in previous posts will be contributing to Eat Feats! For us, it’s always good times, but the New Year is just an excuse to live it up even more.

Until then, eat it and happy holidays!

I’d like to thank Matt Gierhart over at JoshSpear.com and company for featuring Eat Feats on their site as well as Johannes Kleske, an art director for Razorfish in Frankfurt, Germany, on his blog. This is inspiration for me to continue working on this not just for me but for anyone who continues to read EF.

It’s that time of the year again, and this year’s Thanksgiving is going to be an even bigger deal since I’ve moved away from home. More to be thankful for and certainly more to celebrate as this is a homecoming of sorts back to the Dirty South. My family usually does it up big for T-Giving. Being Filipino-American, we have both cultures on the table— your traditional turkey, ham, stuffing, etc. AND Filipino goodies such as pancit (noodle dish), embutido (FIlipino meatloaf of sorts), and everyone’s favorite, lumpia, to name a few.

There’s no real ‘tradition’ for us, just routine events. Although, my younger brother, Neil, and I have been in charge of deep frying the turkey the past two years. Lots of fun. Parade, cooking, football, eating, and of course, a nap at some point during the day. I will be sure to document all the eating I do over the course of my holiday… my good friend Kim has planned a ribs & steak night and there is a wealth of new restaurants that have sprung up since my departure from Arkansas so I’ll have plenty to write about soon.

Happy Thanksgiving, folks, and as always, “EAT IT.”