Last weekend we attended Hanukkah festivities hosted by our good friends Yossi (of Pickling Pre-Interview with Yossi fame) and Shannon. L’chaim! Among the impressive spread—including homemade latkes and donuts!—was a humble platter of fried cauliflower (zahra mekleyah) from Sahadi’s, a place we wish we lived closer to.

Back at Meatloafing HQ, we tried to make our own fried cauliflower, thinking it would be a nice complement to the lunches we’ve been so dutifully preparing each day. Our cauliflower (see photo above) turned out very flavorful, but quite mushy. We fried it in a hot cast-iron skillet with some canola oil and evoo. Meatloafing readers, any tips for keeping your cauliflower firm while still achieving a crispy outside (sans batter)? Is deep-frying the only answer?

This weekend was a little rough. We rode the Cyclone again and hurt ourselves. Dinner with our good friends at DiFara did little to alleviate the pain.

Meatloafing: i had a bad difara experience
it was sad :/
Slice: wha happen?
Meatloafing: out of cheese
romano or whatever
crumbly
also used sage instead of basil
and the son who sux was working
son w/ really bad posture had night off
and daughter wasn’t there
dom and son got in a tiff
son stormed off, started sweeping
idk

(more…)

As cranes hover in the Williamsburg sky, prices at Dumont Burger have soared even higher. A regular burger now costs $13. What? Dumont Burger, get real. Hold your horses. The condos aren’t filled up yet, the economy is collapsing, and the neighborhood will always need an excellent, moderately priced burger. Don’t you already sell your burgers at a higher price at regular Dumont? And presumably an even higher price at Dressler? [We love both places. —Ed. ] And you guys just opened the takeout place next door. So I’m guessing you’re doing well, and I don’t see how jacking up the prices is really necessary. Respect the customer. But anyway, if you want to sell $13 burgers (formerly $11.50, I believe), allow us to make a few suggestions:

• Add a cup of finely shredded red-cabbage coleslaw to the plate
• Place one or two onion rings atop fries (or next to salad, if that option is chosen)
• Turn up the fucking heat in the winter so we aren’t forced to opt for takeout even thought we planned to eat there, and the drive to my house basically ruined the fries
• Buy some stools with backs
• Put lemon in your water without me having to ask

The weekend is here! Sorry about our meager posting lately, but we’re still reeling from the New Year’s Eve theft incident. I’m waiting to buy a new computer until the iMacs get a little bump. Macrumors.com just told me that “new Penryn based iMacs would be seen next Tuesday, continuing Apple’s pattern of weekly announcements since Macworld.” Fuck you, thieves! Seriously, you are scum and I hate you.

You are a unique and beautiful snowflake.

• Our good friends over at Lunchboxr have started a Flickr group. When you add your photos to the group, your lovely lunch appears on the Lunchboxr home page. See, there’s my grilled cheese sandwich from yesterday. Fun!
• Snow is pretty, but wind and rain? No thanks! Get yourself a Nubrella, the revolutionary umbrella that won’t flip inside-out.
• Jesse L. Martin announces departure from Law & Order; the world cries. So much for my JLM–Jeremy Sisto sandwich. (But he’ll be playing Marvin Gaye in the upcoming biopic, so the world cries again, but the tears are made of joy, not sadness.) [Variety]

• Pretty safe to say that Yum Thai is finally gone. It sucked anyway, but when will a good Thai restaurant open near me? [Midtown Lunch]
• The Pond at Bryant Park is closing tomorrow. Eff u, Fashion Week! Stop by and say hello to our friend Dan as he dismantles his fruits of labor.
• Twins separated at birth met and married. [Reuters, via Brooke] (I’m honestly not sure what I’d do in this situation…you can’t undo what’s already happened, so maybe just stay together? Weird/sad.)
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets sucks ass. Not even a good dumb-movie-on-a-lazy-Saturday choice. Enormous and not overlookable plot holes. Nicolas Cage just gets uglier, and I don’t understand why my beloved Helen Mirren was in this shit?

Please do not steal my stuff. Theft is an extreme invasion of privacy and leaves victims depressed, angry, scared, and prone to an irregular appetite.

How to Make Your Home Safer

1. INSTALL A DEADBOLT! If you have one of those locks that just looks like a regular doorknob but with a double lock–kinda thing, get a deadbolt. They are cheap and easy to install if you get a handy friend to do it and not a locksmith. Even if your super tells you that the lock you have will be sufficient, don’t listen! (Legally you are probably obligated to give a copy of your key to the management.)
2. Make sure you have bars on all windows
3. Keep sensitive files hidden on your mac or pc. If you have an external hard drive then store it in a drawer or closet when not in use.
4. Get to know (or at least greet) your neighbors even if they’re weird and don’t initiate conversation. Everyone enjoys a friendly hello!
5. Occasionally wear baggy jeans and a stained t-shirt while doing neighborhood errands.
6. Keep your local precinct’s phone number handy, or dial 311.