BlackBook

I have to confess that I am an unrepentant carnivore. I like my burgers and my steak tartare. Whenever someone tries to convey how horrific slaughterhouses or chicken farms are, I actually get hungry. So you can imagine how I wouldn’t expect little Luiz Antonio to challenge my long-held position, but that’s just what he did.

GoogaMooga – Brooklyn's May 17th-19th food/music fest with the really great toilets – is adding themed, fantastical pop-ups from Roberta's and culinary greats April Bloomfield, Ken Friedman, and Gabe Stulman to their carnival of all things fried, buttered, sprinkled, and alcoholic. 

It all started with the chocolate & bacon rice pudding at Pig and Khao: a multi-layered Filipino treat of sticky rice, coconut milk, whole milk, and chocolate, topped with bacon bits. One rice and pork-filled scoop, and I vowed to never let a silly thing like “healthfulness” or “but I’m going out later”  be a concern on the weekends. Why? Because the Thai and Filipino spot Pig and Khao has just launched their weekend brunch, and with a name that translates to “mountains of rice and pig” in Thai, there’s just no time for any thought besides "bring on the bacon."

S Prime, the steakhouse that opened this fall in Long Island City, certainly has some competition from the other side of the bridge.

If you're one of those people who just won't shut the hell up about how much you love bacon, no one likes you. Also, no one will believe your bacon-loving words if you haven't already been pounding on the doors at Slater's 50/50 in Pasadena that opened his past Friday. The “50/50” means that half of their signature burger is made of ground beef, and the other half is actual ground bacon – sandwiched right on top of the patty. Yep, they go there. This sports pub offers over 100 beers and fried chicken and pancakes. Plus, if you make it to Slater’s on a football Saturday, there's an off-menu burger served on a donut. Pigs are flying.

One doesn't normally boast about Australian food; it's usually a boring blend of ‘80s American and British dishes that include a lot of 'chips,' and other overpriced menu items. But here's one thing about Oz: their coffee is twice as good as that organic swill you're French-pressing every morning. They always use espresso beans, and they use them well. At the new Coffee + Food over on Melrose, stop in for a flat white or a long black or just a cappuccino, and you'll really feel what the buzz is all about. As for the '+ Food' part, there's a nice selection of paninis, salads, pastries, and more.

Though the name sounds like a '70s progressive rock band, Ammo at the Hammer is the Hammer Museum’s latest addition: a cafe.

Barbecue is nothing new to Chicago. See: Lillie’s Q. Smoque. Countless others. Even Asian barbecue has been around for some time, particularly on the Northwest Side. So what’s new about Bill Kim’s BellyQ? Rice puff and spinach salad, goat milk feta and rice noodle pancakes, sochu mixed with coconut vinegar plum infusion and cuke cocktails, and a slick, modern setting with wood booths and glass lanterns. Feeling inspired? Grab a spot at a table grill. 

For years, Metropolis and Intelligentsia coffee have been the only locally-roasted beans in town, but a few new guys—Bow & Truss and Gaslight Coffee Roasters—are creating their own caffeine buzz. In Lakeview, Phil Tadros’ Bow & Truss is all about the beans; no snacks (except for special events), no Wi-Fi, and no cushy seating. Instead, plant your backside on a bench and enjoy the roasting show in the back half of the house. 

When an Italian restaurant announces that they’re offering a one-night-only all-you-can-eat gelato bar in the midst of scorching summer, it’s a little bit like hearing a fresh-water lake is “just up ahead” after walking through the desert for five nights with only a Crunch Bar and a packet of miso soup. But then, when we hear that Asellina's unlimited-gelato-and-toppings bar is TONIGHT (yes, in SEVERAL HOURS), well, the feeling is just – wow, did our birthday/Thanksgiving/ the season 5, part 2 premiere of Breaking Bad just arrive on the same day? Here’s the when/where/ and flavors lowdown you’ll need for tonight.