Madiba

In November, a South African friend invited me over for what I imagined would be a traditional South African meal. (After all, she has a limited edition Nelson Mandela oil painting on her wall and a closet full of Springboks rugby jerseys.) I ended up happily feasting on scrumptious Greek salad and Greek orzo stew and ungraciously grumbling that I had missed out on authentic South Africa eats.

I made up for that on Tuesday in Brooklyn, stopping by Mandiba (195 Dekalb Avenue, Fort Greene) with my brother and mother for a South African lunch. An unexpected highlight of the Indian-accented menu: the vegetable curry, breyani style, is served alongside mango chutney, banana coconut and milk, cucumber mint and yogurt, and a salsa of onions, tomato and parsley soaked in white wine vinegar. (And I thought the funky mayos at Good Stuff Eatery stood out.) We also sampled the "Bushman Vegetable Platter," with grilled, fresh greens from the Fort Greene Farmer's Market including roasted corn on the cob, and the chakalaka, a "spicy mix of baked beans, carrots, tomato and onion."

My other food adventures in NYC: dinner at Sushi Sen-Nin (30 East 33rd Street) in Murray Hill on "Manhattan Island," as these sea-loving Japanese restaurateurs put it, where I bored my friend Craig with trivia gleaned from The Sushi Economy; and drinks at The Breslin (29th Street and Broadway), at the Ace Hotel, where I could only afford to order the spiced almonds ($4) after my $11 (plus tip) Maker's Mark, but still managed to mooch a bite of other interesting apps including the "Scotch egg" ($6), an interesting meaty and eggy hushpuppy, and the "Beef & Stilton Pie."

I also picked up this kooky recipe from "The Silk Road - Ancient Pathway to the Modern World" exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History: melt butter in a hot frying pan, add 2 cups of mashed pitted dates, crushed graham crackers, cardamom, ground fennel seeds and ground coriander, cook for about 10 minutes then spread on a baking tray, press (your favorite) nuts onto the surface, let cool and then cut into squares and serve as a 1,000 AD snack.

Artisanal birthday desserts, Brooklyn style

Locally made, artisanal desserts at my nephew Ariel's Brooklyn birthday party included cup cakes and a firetruck cake almost too intricate to eat (well, Ari didn't seem to mind carving it up!).

Couscous

Photo by Jacob L. Silberberg, chicken, couscous with sun-dried tomatoes and roasted vegetables by Mr. Silberberg and Scott Mayerowitz.

Brother Jimmy's BBQ

I've long been a fan of anything pickled and anything fried, so you can imagine my excitement when a friend, David Steinvurzel, recommended I order the "Frickles," with horseradish dipping sauce, to accompany my Samuel Adams Summer Ale at Brother Jimmy's BBQ in New York City. I'm not sure he thought it would specifically go with the beer's promised "background tropical fruit note reminiscent of mangoes and peaches," but it was fantastic advice.


For extra measure, we also ordered the fried okra "Beginning," as Brother Jimmy's calls its appetizers, and we were rewarded with a complimentary, ice cold scorpion bowl with plenty of vodka and sour mix. We found all this fried food and cold drinks at the original Brother Jimmy's at 1485 Second Ave., between 77th and 78th. But there are five other locations in NYC.

Photos by New York photographer Jacob Silberberg.

UPDATE: ABC News reporter Scott Mayerowitz, a former colleague of mine at The Providence Journal and an occasional guest-blogger at my Latin American politics blog, Small State, did some Zagat sleuthing about Brother Jimmy's. Here's what he dug up:

"Young and loud" but "tasty as hell," these "guy-oriented" BBQ joints serve "not-bad" eats to "beer-soaked frat boys" lured in by "cheap" tabs, "fishbowl"-size drinks and "hot little waitresses" flashing "bare midriffs"; in short, "if you're over 30, have it delivered."

CORRECTION: I'm told that the photos were taken by David Steinvurzel, who shoots for specialty foods importer Roland. The camera, a Canon 5D Mark II with a 35/1.4, belongs to Jacob Silberberg.