Waterworld

My fried, Naureen, ordered us the garlic naan ($3.50), raita ($3), the baingan bharta ($10) (grilled fresh eggplant sautéed with ginger, garlic, onion and tomatoes), and the kurkuri bhindi ($11) (fresh, crisp okra sautéed with onions, tomato, green pepper, dry mango powder and fresh herbs), all served with basmatic saffron rice. "I'll have the same," I joked. 30 minutes later, our waiter arrived and began serving two platters of everything we'd ordered.

So that was my bad. But you can't blame me that the eggplant tasted like apple sauce, the result of some kind of wild cardamon explosion in the kitchen. So I guess, Indian Ocean (4221 Connecticut Ave. NW, in Van Ness), we're even.

North Carolina vinegar, I mean, bbq

Memorable meals I neglected to Pipónerate #2: North Carolina bbq.


I'm not sure why North Carolinians insist on spritzing vinegar on their bbq (I'd say it makes the slow-cooked, pulled pork sandwiches taste just like garden salads, but N.C. is a "swing state," and I might just run for president one day). Still, in Chapel Hill for a wedding in July, I hit up The Barbecue Joint (630 Weaver Dairy Rd.), and frankly, it was exciting just to say the word "hushpuppies." "Hushpuppies." There, I've said it again.








We also stopped by Breadmen's (324 Rosemary St.), where since 1974 they've been making people feel weird about not following UNC football. (They also serve up buckets of fried okra, barbecued chicken and meaty soups into which somehow, someway, it appears some vegetables occasionally sneak in.)

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.