First Course

Americans have been pairing fried chicken with breakfast breads for some time now, but Astro attempts to deliciously inch over the boundary. They’ve paired their chicken with an eclectic array of thirty doughnuts. These definitely aren’t the kind of doughnuts you’d find on the desks of DC’s Police Department, although I admit police know their breakfast pastries. These doughnuts have more of a boutique filling and are similar to the flavors that ignited Georgetown’s cupcake craze. Some doughnuts, like Vanilla Glazed and Maple Bacon (it really has bacon on it!), are available every weekday. If you’d like to try the more novel flavors like Grapefruit and Creamsicle, you’ll have to visit the website to check their baked goods schedule. But be sure to come early because Astro closes when they run out, and they run out quickly! Doughnut prices range from $2.50 to $2.85.

Earth Day comes but once a year on April 22nd, and although people should respect the planet all year long, we love a good eco-friendly deal when we see one! So where should you head to celebrate? We've got two great places you should check out come Earth Day.

The Hummus & Pita Co. is a fast-casual eatery that features healthy Mediterranean cuisine in an eco-friendly locale. The perfect spot to dine on Earth Day, The Hummus & Pita Co. features plenty of eco-conscious design elements, such as the custom-made Tandor clay ovens, the tables made from re-purposed bowling alley wood, and even the recycled packing and utensils. Even the wallpaper at this joint is recyclable! Now fill up on falafel!

Joonbug’s taste buds were awakened with diverse flavors from the only Colombian style food truck in NYC, Palenque! This food truck, specializing in arepas, is back in action after taking some time off over the winter.

What makes a Colombian arepa different than the more common Venezuelan ones you might ask? Venezuelan arepas have more of a sandwich look to them and are filled with meat, cheese, and vegetables whereas a Colombian arepa is open-faced and topped with the selected ingredients.

The menu at Palenque has a pretty diverse selection to choose from and all the ingredients are eco-friendly and organic. While the menu doesn’t seem like traditional Colombian food, there is an authentic charm to it. Perhaps that’s because of the Colombian owners, Viviana Lewis and Nina Sierra. Plus their sauces are homemade and taste amazing. When we visited the truck last week, we decided to change things up and order a brown rice sesame arepa instead of the original corn. We also decided to go vegetarian and try the seitan topping, but if that’s not your thing there are plenty of meat options as well. We have to say though, we are pretty glad we got out of our comfort zones and tried something new. We might be going back for round 2 tomorrow.

With a little over two weeks until Cinco de Mayo, Chef Antelmo Ambrosio from bustling Battery Park staple SouthWest NY shares three cocktails inspired by his hometown of Oaxaca, Mexico, to get you in the celebratory spirit!

All three hand-crafted concoctions will be served at the restaurant on the actual day of Cinco de Mayo along with a ‘Buffet del Mercado’ boozy feast featuring mojito-marinated skirt steak, margarita chicken breast, Guajillo-garlic shrimp, and much more for $22 per person.

If you like food at all then you've come to the right place! Tasting Brooklyn is an annual event that celebrates Brooklyn's diverse food and dining culture. The event, which took place this past Tuesday evening, brought together countless restaurants and food and drink purveyors. The proceeds from this year's event will benefit The Brookyln Recovery Fund, which provides support to local nonprofit organizations working with the communities and individuals most affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Artistic innovators are what many people are striving to be in NYC. The food industry is trending in creativity and NYC is the best place to get a front row seat to these unique opportunities. We’re not just talking about yummy restaurants and food trucks. There’s a whole lot of new technology that gives us more access to food too! Joonbug hit up the Assembled Food event this past Saturday at General Assembly to find out what is trending. The event had a line up of speakers of professionals in NYC’s food industry that have come up with cool new concepts and are successfully executing them.

Jay Astafa is on a mission to show the New York City dining scene that vegan dining can be elegant, delicious, fun, and most importantly doesn’t require a menu filled with meat and dairy replicas. The 20-year old Chef and graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, explains that “it’s [his] mission…to show people that you can have a fun, gourmet dining experience that doesn’t have to harm animals.” The best way to prove his point? An 8-course tasting menu at his two-day pop-up restaurant, Jay Kitchen. The pop-up restaurant also acts as a prelude to what is to come when he opens his flagship restaurant location, also named Jay Kitchen, later this year.

Le Cercle Rive Droite, an organization dedicated to bringing together the most prestigious chateaux from The Right Bank of the Gironde Estuary in the Bordeaux region, is hosting a one night only event this week in New York City. On Thursday, April 18th, Le Cercle Rive Droite will be hosting an exclusive wine event at Millesime inside the Carlton Hotel (92 Madison Avenue) where they will be introducing their 2010 Bordeaux vintages and the 2012 en primeur wines. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with the producers, association president Dr. Alain Raynaud, and try the best offerings of 32 chateaux from the region. Tickets for the consumer portion of the event are on sale for $150 with 10% if ticket sales going to Citymeals-on-Wheels (can be purchased here). Additionally, there will be a silent auction during the event where guests can bid on their favorite Right Bank bottles and magnums, with 100% of the proceeds going toward Citymeals-on-Wheels.

You can check out all of the participating wineries here.

With each new year an abundance of publications and newspaper canons provide their predictions for the year ahead in food and gastronomy. Now, a quarter of the way through 2013, Joonbug lists 5 key trends that have emerged as more than just a flash in a pan.

Sunchokes: Also known as the Jerusalem artichoke, these root vegetables are not, as the name would imply, an artichoke, neither are they from Jerusalem. In actual fact they are the root of sunflowers and possess a complex nutty, potato/artichoke flavor. Find them at seafood haven BLT Fish where Chef Amy Eubanks serves them as an accompaniment to a Crispy Skin Mediterranean Branzino with fennel and saffron ($33).

Located in a two-story West Village townhouse, the Greenwich Project, offers diners a whimsical take on traditional and contemporary American cuisine with both French and Mediterranean flavor profiles. The Greenwich Project also boasts a robust cocktail program and a well-paired, thoughtful wine list curated by sommelier Ryan Mills-Knapp. The Greenwich Project is essentially two eateries in one with the two floors offering different atmospheres while both offer Executive Chef Carmine Di Giovanni’s inventive menu of unique small plates and signature modern dishes with a twist.