Do you remember the first time you heard the brand name EffenVodka, and how it made you giggle and make adolescent jokes? While Effen, appropriately, means ‘smooth’ in Dutch, a new breakfast place in the Flatiron neighborhood, Effin Egg is all about getting some effin’ eggs, man! We are officially here for the eggs and the jokes, because Effin Egg — which celebrated its grand opening on September 8th — is serving up a wide variety of tasty breakfast treats with a side of hilarious snark. Win win! Continue reading Restaurant Review: Get Your Effin’ Breakfast at Effin Egg→
Do you like bread? I sure do, and I am fortunate to have no intolerance to wheat flour, so I can eat all the bread I want – yay! I recently met up with folks from Rudi’s Organic Bakery at an Editor Showcase press event here in the City, and they sent me four varieties of their delicious organic bread (pictured above, lounging comfortably on my duvet) to review for you on The Gig! Here are my findings.
Rudi’s 100% Whole Wheat Bread: See The Goodness
Rudi’s 100% Whole Wheat has cracked the code on cracked wheat bread! This classic bakery treat blends whole wheat flour with a hint of molasses: an old world recipe that’s become a modern favorite!
In NYC, event catering is a big deal business. Those in the position to hire caterers — from administrative assistants to event planners to television production crews — are always on the lookout for reliable, hassle-free sources of delicious foods that can appeal to a variety of dietary requirements (vegan, vegetarian, gluten free) while coming in at a reasonable price. Having personally accumulated about 25 years of experience working as an office manager and administrative assistant, I know this much to be true: when it comes to event planning, no matter if it’s for 5, 50 or 500 people, the food is everything.
Recently, I was invited to join my friend Anne from the LuxeLifeNYC blog for a private tasting at Duran Sandwiches New York, located on Madison Avenue and 27th Street. Duran is a family owned business, originating in Vienna, Austria, and dating back about 50 years! Now, you can get their fine sandwiches in the States! This is cause to celebrate!
Duran New York is owned and operated by the completely charming and super friendly Tom Szebeni, a former line producer for European Reality TV who came to the states and missed the delicious, open-faced sandwiches he grew to love while living in his native Hungary. When Tom decided he was ready for a career change, his love of good food and talent for bespoke customer service led him to open Duran New York. Many of the sandwich recipes served at the Madison Avenue location are actually based on traditional Austrian and Hungarian recipes.
Roast Beef with Sweet Red Onion
We had a lovely time sitting with Tom and being entertained by his engaging stories while sampling a variety Duran’s most poplar sandwiches.
Image Above By Gail
Above is a photo I took of three of my favorites: Egg Salad, Lobster Salad (especially good with a squirt of fresh lemon juice), and thinly sliced Sirloin with Cranberry Marmalade and White Asparagus. Each one was excellent in its own way, and you can see and taste the quality!
We also tasted the Avocado Salad (above) and the Sundried Tomato Salad (below), made with both sundried and fresh tomatoes, pureed to a smooth and creamy consistency along with sweet imported dates – amazing and totally vegan-friendly!
I Got Yer Picnic Right Here
Sandwich toppings are served on the most complimentary bread variety, with a choice of White, Pumpernickel bread with sesame seeds, or Whole wheat with oat. All breads are baked exclusively by Tubito’s Brick Oven Bakery of Suffern, NY, and delivered fresh daily to the store.
Cucumber and Farmers Cheese, Perfect for Tea Time Duran Sandwiches Get The Party Started
The sandwiches are not only amazingly delicious, but — as you can see by these photos — each one looks like a work of art!
Camembert Cheese
Not only should Admins and PAs be seriously considering Duran Sandwiches as a new option for corporate catering, but being able to choose from a seemingly endless variety of toppings also presents an ideal solution for passed hors d’oeuvres for home holiday entertaining — when you’d rather enjoy time with your guests than spend time in the kitchen. They’re also terrific to take as a picnic to nearby Madison Square Park!
Duran Sandwiches is located at 62 Madison Avenue at 27th Street in NYC. Call 212-576-1000 (tell them The Worley Gig sent you!) or visit them online at Duran Sandwiches Dot Com!
Do you like Toast? I sure do. I recently received a generous Care Package of toast-able bakery items from Nature’s Own that I wanted to share with you. Two of the items in the package were loaves of both Nature’s Own Whole Wheat bread, and their amazing Butter Bread — a soft, buttery white bread baked with butter on the top that was my favorite kind of bread to eat growing up. Seriously, I could eat the entire loaf. Both varieties of bread taste great with any kind of sandwich filling, but the best thing about Butter Top White Bread, especially, it that it makes the most delicious toast.
Mmmm, Delicious Toast
Also in the shipment were packages of Nature’s Own Whole Wheat Sandwich Rounds and the Cinnamon Raisin variety of their Oatmeal Toasters, which are like a healthy adult version of a Pop Tart, but without all the sugar and fat. Both of these products are fiber rich, whole grain and they come in resealable, zip lock packages to keep them fresh longer.
Sandwich Rounds are a fun alternative to regular sliced bread and are perfect for stuffing with chicken or tuna salad. They are also good for school lunch boxes, as they are easy for kids’ tiny hands to hold.
With the Oatmeal Toasters (of which I also enjoy the Cranberry Orange variety) I like to toast them lightly, then split them into two halves and toast them again, so they get a bit crispy, and then I slather on the margarine. Yum.
What I enjoy spreading on my toasted goodies is Smart Balance Whipped Buttery Spread. This new variety of product from Smart Balance is organic — a quality that is so in demand right now — and, of course, naturally low in cholesterol, with zero grams of trans fat. What’s most important though is that it tastes rich, buttery and delicious. I also use it for cooking, always with great results.
If you are now hungry for some delicious toast, please consider adding these fine items to your shopping list!
Do you like art and food and doing fun stuff? I love all of those things, so I wanted to let you know about a fun thing happening in town for a limited time only, and it’s free, so I am definitely doing it. For three days only this weekend, Openhouse Gallery in NYC will host a pop-up exhibit devoted to Peanut Butter sandwiches. Continue reading PB&J Pop Up Museum To Open in Nolita, Three Days Only!→
