Articles

  • 1 week ago | robertsietsema.substack.com | Robert Sietsema

    Thiebou djenn, the national dish of SenegalThiebou djenne (“pronounced cheb-oo-dzen,” and spelled many different ways) is agreed to be the national dish of Senegal. But let’s call it cheb for short, the name used by most of its adherents. Senegal lies at Africa’s westernmost point, where it sticks its broad chin out into the Atlantic. Coastal areas and …

  • 1 week ago | robertsietsema.substack.com | Robert Sietsema

    Our collection of places specializing in franks in the five boroughs has become rather slender. Most represent the city’s classic hot dog form — I’m talking Gray’s Papaya and its distinguished ilk: thin, griddled, all-beef franks in a natural casing, smeared with mustard and heaped with sauerkraut or sweet stewed onions. But Jersey is a different hot dog land, parsed into territories depending on how the sausages are cooked and dressed.

  • 1 week ago | robertsietsema.substack.com | Robert Sietsema

    Everyone who visits Chinatown is regaled by the beautiful bronzed ducks hanging in the windows in casual and fancier establishments, often over rice with a sauce of drippings and soy. But look closely, and you’ll see the ducks are not always the same. Some have skins that gleam crisply, others are a paler or darker shade of brown, and still others appear more flattened. Here is a primer on the three kinds of ducks found in Chinatown and where to get them.

  • 2 weeks ago | robertsietsema.substack.com | Robert Sietsema

    Even for those with jaded palates, every once in a blue moon a dish comes along so good it makes them jump up and shout. A friend and I encountered one of those the other night at the new Fish Cheeks, located in Williamsburg at 661 Driggs Avenue, at the corner of Metropolitan Avenue.

  • 2 weeks ago | robertsietsema.substack.com | Robert Sietsema

    This bimonthly column features cheap eats worth a trip from any corner of the city. Note that seating may be rudimentary or almost non-existent. Check out the first and second editions of this column. Shu Jiao Fu Zhou295 Grand Street, ChinatownThis cluttered storefront has rapidly become the neighborhood’s favorite cheap eats destination, beloved of visitors and denizens alike. Study the menu on the wall and order soups, noodle soups, or dumplings, some involving offal, but most not.

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Robert Sietsema
Robert Sietsema @robertsietsema
22 May 25

Sea cucumbers, Chinatown https://t.co/kJmzJrmKtk

Robert Sietsema
Robert Sietsema @robertsietsema
22 May 25

Chicken shawarma platter, Cafe Rakka https://t.co/iKMTiwm33l

Robert Sietsema
Robert Sietsema @robertsietsema
21 May 25

Wisteria, Sheridan Square https://t.co/IEybJWETLR