June 19, 2004
I EAT NY
by Liza Sabater
Had a ball at the I Eat NY premiere at Remote Lounge. The premise is very simple : find the best places to buy food on the streets on NYC. The food has to be of top quality (of course), has to be cheap (a necessity in this town) and easy to eat on you feet. It's the brainchild of Mica Scalin and Liza Donatelli.
The episode we saw had about 5 different places, most of them push carts. There was a former chef for the Russian Tea Room, a vegan Bangladeshi chef, a bakery, a Latino cart, a cuchifrito hole in the wall, pickles, you name it. The presentations were quirky, light-hearted and fun; especially when the cooks or chefs spoke about the food. The music by Kathy Cashel sometimes was too moody, but when the footage and music came together they made for great moments. It's a great idea that needs a bit more polishing --even if it is still edited with iMovie (which, btw, I find to be great for unleashing the inner movie-maker).
I have two major observations about the project. First, less is better. I would have liked to see them spend more time on less places. Ideally, they would have focused on a one or two block radius of the city and hit the best places in the area. I mean, even charting the places on a map, so that people could see where the cross-streets where and make it easy for the audience to find some of these stree chefs.
Most importantly, when dealing with ethnic foods, this would have also meant learning the language of the meal eaten. At the Puerto Rican place, it would have been good for them to spell out the names of the foods they were eating and even ask the cooks what cuchifrito meant. Originally cuchifrito meant deep fried pork but in Puerto Rico it is a noun used for any traditional fast food that is deep fried. So, for example, when they went to the Korean restaurant for that yummy looking sandwich, I immediately wanted to know :
- Why was the bread flat and cut in a triangle?
- What was filling made of?
- Was the filling room temperature or hot?
- Was this an American Korean invention or is it traditional Korean fast food?
Instead of 9 places, take 5 and spend 5 minutes on each. For the intro, transitions and wrap up, include maps, trivia and any entertainment you see fit. The maps are absolutely important because a lot of these 'establishments' are food carts. So if you focus on a geographical radius and map it out through out the show, not only do you have good filler but your audience will have the information they need to find these street treats.
Just make sure you give me some production love :-)
As to ideas on what to show. Gosh, there's a million places you can go. Off the top ofmy head : Just around the NYU law school, down on McDougal you have the falafel places --I know because I survived on them all throughout my college years. Then on Sullivan there's a little Japanese convenience store with good sushi and hot boxed meals. Across the street, next to Peanut Butter and Co., there's a Jamaican patty place that is murder. On the NE side of Sullivan and 3rd Street, there is an awesome creperie. I know If I think really hard, I can come up with 3 more examples just for that little slice of NYC.
As to themes, there's a million of them. There are all the Mexican bodegas or Halal stores all across the city with homemade foods --you know where they are by the line of taxis or trucks outside these places. Chinatown alone could be a few episodes. Break the myth of Little Italy (it does not exist anymore) and show the variety of eateries on the area between Houston/Canal and Bowery/Lafayette. How about prepared foods at the farmers' markets? Go at the crack of dawn and shoot at your heart's content. You'll thank me for the footage.
Why stop at cash and carry food? How about any foods? How about the best alternatives for people with different kinds of food allergies. This is my area of expertise, btw, and CultKit Café will be coming with a section about surviving food allergies in the city. Stay tuned.
So there. I think I Eat NY is a great idea for a show. I'll definitely watch and keep my fingers crossed for Mica and Liza. They deserve some funding, any funding, for more shows.
Go to the I Eat NY blog to see the air dates, which start tomorrow.
Posted by Liza Sabater in Food, New York City, Review, TV
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