Critic's Notebook: Bacon and beer by foot; StinkFest 2010; "subprime" steak; Beyond the Dish

What do you get when you combine three of the food world's hottest trends? Why, a food walking tour (Exhibit A) that centers on bacon (Exhibit B) and beer (Exhibit C), of course! Granted, the walking portion of the event will be confined to the physical plant of the restaurant Back Forty, in the East Village, but there will be much in the way of baconcentric dishes paired with beers to sample. Ari Weinzweig, of Zingerman's, a Michigan-based mail order company that specializes in bacon and bacon products, and Christopher Basso, of Brooklyn Brewery, will serve as tour guides. All participants will take home either a copy of Weinzweig's Zingerman's Guide to Better Bacon or a growler of Brooklyn Brewery beer.

The event is scheduled for next Monday, June 28, between the hours of 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. The cost is $94 per person. Tickets may be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets. Back Forty is located at 190 Avenue B, bet 11th and 12th Sts, 212-388-1990.

Stink Fast!

Happy crowds egg on contestants in Stinky Bklyn's fourth annual cheese eating contest.

Photo: Stinky Bklyn

Lovers of stinky cheese, unite! This coming Sunday, June 27, a stretch of Smith Street in Carroll Gardens will positively rock—and reek—between the hours of 2 and 6 p.m. as StinkFest 2010 gets underway with music, beer, and of course plenty of cheese. The odoriferous side of cheese making will get its due, with representative cheeses from the U.S., France, Spain, and Italy.

The highlight

of the event will be a cheese eating contest that will take place in front of Smith and Vine at 2 p.m. The winner will be the person who can eat the most Cantalet in two minutes. Competitors can sign up at 718-522-7425. Smith and Vine is located at 268 Smith Street, Brooklyn, 718-243-2864.

"Subprime" Steak

If nothing else, you have to admire Ponderosa Ranch Steak Company for their candor. Right there at the top of their home page emblazoned in big letters are the words "USDA Choice Steaks." [Emphasis added] At a time when steak aficionados' collective radar is attuned not just to prime beef but to the siren subclass wagyu, it takes courage to admit to selling a lesser grade. (One does wish they would spare visitors to their site the lengthy discourse on USDA grading and the truth behind the practice, but one can elect not to read it, I suppose.)

As to the steaks themselves, I can't attest to the quality since I've never tasted them, but those willing to take the plunge can do so at reduced risk through a deal at Groupon, which is good through Sunday, June 27. An investment of $114 will deliver an assortments of steaks, 24 in all, to a pick-up point in Brooklyn (640 Parkside Avenue). The package ordinarily sells for $273, meaning you save 58 percent. Included in the assortment are four bacon-wrapped 7-ounce filets, four 7-ounce filet strips, two 17-ounce porterhouses, four 8-ounce Black Angus New York strips, four 7-ounce flat-iron tenders, and six half-pound pure chopped beef steaks. Note: As far as I can tell, Ponderosa Ranch bears no relationship to the dreadful Ponderosa Steakhouse chain.

Beyond the Dish

I can't cite empirical support for the assumption, but I am guessing there aren't enough hours in a day to watch every cooking or food-related show on TV—even allowing for Food Network's recycling of the same programs in a 24-hour period. News of a new food show, therefore, certainly seems to be a coals-to-Newcastle moment.

Nevertheless, a new series has just launched on NYC Life/Channel 25 that you might want to consider adding to your food show roster. Its title is Beyond the Dish, and it provides among other things behind-the-scenes glimpses of some of New York City’s leading restaurant kitchens, among them Gramercy Tavern, Telepan, and OBao. The show is part of a half-hour series titled A Table for Two Steves, the Steves in question being foodie Stephen Fried and Soprano actor Steve Schirripa. 

For those who prefer to shop before they buy, a sample clip from one of the episodes appears below. In it, Chef Marc Spitzer of BONDST prepares salmon en papiollte.