Email Author Robert Sietsema

Awards

• 2011 - Association of Food Journalists Awards, published June 23, 2010

  "An Open Letter to Josh Ozersky"

• 2011 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published June 23, 2010

  "An Open Letter to Josh Ozersky"

• 2011 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published December 1, 2010

  "May We Interest You in Some Egg Fetus?"

• 2011 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published December 8, 2010

  "Siam I Am"

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2009 Stories by Robert Sietsema

• Most Regrettable Culinary Moment of 2009

  published Dec 31, 2009

  Looking back across many painful moments of 2009--the restaurant closings, the tardiness of liquor licenses, the sad proliferation of faux banh mi--the thing that rankles the most is the shilling of D... More >>

• Vegetarian (and Vegan) Delights of NYC: Samosas at Curry in a Hurry

  published Dec 31, 2009

  One of the great cheap vegetarian meals of the city is a pair of potato samosas--it would be vegan, too, if you ignored the green sauce on the upper left. The samosa is one of India's great culinary ... More >>

• A Possible Preview of a Preview of Fatty Cue at Fatty Crab(s)

  published Dec 30, 2009

  Could this double-smoked pork belly be half a special Fatty 'Cue dish being served at Fatty Crab on New Years Ever A friend and I were hanging out at the uptown Fatty Crab a couple of evenings ago, w... More >>

• Pix From Sonali Cuisine in Sunnyside, Queens

  published Dec 30, 2009

  The front window proclaims Sonali Cuisine's newbie status. This week Counter Culture sets down in a virtual culinary Bangladesh at Sonali Cuisine. The food is rich, savory, and really cheap, and offe... More >>

• Woo-Hoo for Ruhu at Sunnyside's Sonali Cuisine

  published December 29, 2009

  Imagine for a moment a trio of silky lamb chops just yanked smoking-hot from the tandoori oven, deeply brown on the outside, but still a faint... More >>

• Fork in the Road's Beer List Spawns Discussion Thread on 'Beer Advocate'

  published Dec 29, 2009

  Fork in the Road's recent "Our 10 Best Beers" has spawned a lively discussion thread on Beer Advocate, the website and magazine beloved of many American beer drinkers.You can read the thread and add y... More >>

• Anthony Bourdain Smiles Down at Us From Heaven, and Delicious Noodles Appear at Xi'an Famous Food in Manhattan's Chinatown

  published Dec 29, 2009

  Pictures of the offerings in the window make ordering easy at Xi'an Famous Foods. The advent of northern Chinese fare in Manhattan's Chinatown has been a long-awaited event. First there was a cart at... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Where Do I Get the Best Dim Sum in NYCr

  published Dec 28, 2009

  Down the hatch goes the excellent tripe at Dun Huang, as friends look on enviously. As a restaurant critic, the question I'm most often asked is where to find the best dim sum in town. Five years ago... More >>

• Weekend Special: Christmas Leftovers

  published Dec 27, 2009

  You've opened all your totally enjoyable presents, eaten literally thousands of decorated Christmas cookies, knocked back bumpers of nog and wassail--now's the time to sit back like Scrooge and take s... More >>

• Fork in the Road Presents Five Great Christmas Rock Songs

  published Dec 25, 2009

  The crappy quality makes this version of "Little Saint Nick" by the Beach Boys as broadcast on "Shindig" all the more endearing. Elvis at his least sexual singing the funereal "Blue Christmas." ... More >>

• New Drinking Glass Guesses What You're Drinking

  published Dec 24, 2009

  This new plastic drinking glass can identify at least three beverages, but can it do morer Gizmodo reports that Serbian designer Damjan Stankovic has come up with a plastic cup that can reveal the va... More >>

• Our Favorite Restaurant Names, Volume 5

  published Dec 24, 2009

  A little masochism with your Thai, at Thai Me Up in the East Village. What's in a restaurant namer Some look for names that embody a dirty joke, with a wink of the eye; some go for the merely descrip... More >>

• Organ Recital: Fried Head Cheese at Cafe Breslin

  published Dec 23, 2009

  The gorgeous foliage in front of Cafe Breslin was intended, not for your pleasure, but to hide the barroom from the mosque across the street. No dish has caused more buzz at Cafe Breslin than the fri... More >>

• Let Us Now Praise Stinky Foods: How to Cure Icelandic Hakarl (Including Urine)

  published Dec 23, 2009

  Can you believe this innocent looking plate of blubbery cubes is one of the stinkiest substances on earthr Of the ancient Icelandic dish hakarl, Anthony Bourdain declared it to be "the single worst, ... More >>

• The Best Dining and Drinking Trends of the Decade

  published December 22, 2009

  If Rip Van Winkle had fallen asleep in the former Dutch settlement of Bushwick in the year 2000, and awakened today, he'd be rubbing his eyes... More >>

• Fork in the Road Presents: Futuristic Fast Food Mash-Ups

  published Dec 22, 2009

  That taco looks familiar, but where the hell did it come fromr Forge ahead to find out. One of the worst aspects of the Age of Bloomberg has been the inundation of the city with nationally franchised... More >>

• Four Year Old Boy Drinks Bud Light, Raids Neighbor's Xmas Tree, Puts on Girl's Dress

  published Dec 22, 2009

  Funny what bad beer will make you do... ... More >>

• Incredibly Cheap Eats: El Nuevo Bohio on East Tremont in the Bronx

  published Dec 21, 2009

  Have you even seen such a glorious and amazing pile of pigr Bronzed skin, moist succulent flesh, and a carving expert who goes to great lengths to provide a perfect and fair portion...El Nuevo Bohio (... More >>

• Let Us Now Praise Stinky Foods: Japanese Natto Beans

  published Dec 21, 2009

  Not to be confused with annatto, a red coloring central to several Spanish-speaking Caribbean cuisines, natto are black soybeans (a smaller variety than familiar green soybeans) that are fermented usi... More >>

• Let Us Now Praise Stinky Foods: Roquefort and Other Blue (or Bleu) Cheeses

  published Dec 19, 2009

  This hunk of blue cheese looks scarily like a face, doesn't itr Blue cheeses are among the world's stinkiest, with an odor at once buttery, pungent, and almost rancid. These cheeses are made by injec... More >>

• Let Us Now Praise Stinky Foods: Taiwanese Stinky Tofu

  published Dec 18, 2009

  It looks so innocuous sitting on the plate, doesn't itr Southeast Asians have their durian, Scandinavians sometimes love lutefisk (especially at Christmastide), but the Taiwanese insist on stinky tof... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Our 10 Best Fried Chickens

  published Dec 18, 2009

  Open 24 hours, New Caporal has long served the fried chicken needs of Hamilton Heights and Washington Heights, and its logo is a cowboy chick standing on a clump of foliage with a blazing pistol. Alm... More >>

• Let Us Now Praise Stinky Foods: Lutefisk at Christmas

  published Dec 17, 2009

  White fish on a white plate on a white tablecloth, but wait till you see what it tastes like! Yesterday, the subject of Let Us Now Praise Stinky Foods (with apologies to James Agee) was durian. Not t... More >>

• Tomorrow: Our 10 Best Fried Chickens

  published Dec 17, 2009

  This box from Arkansas Fried Chicken in the Bronx says it all. Tomorrow morning we'll be posting Our 10 Best Fried Chickens joints, and I don't want to tell you how many pieces of fried chicken we gn... More >>

• Let Us Now Praise Stinky Foods: Durian

  published Dec 16, 2009

  A durian on a woman's lap in the Singapore bus is a time bomb waiting to go off. Fellow passengers look upon the rider with both envy and fear. If the bus jolts and the thing flies into the air, it mi... More >>