Eat your way through the Big Apple - 2006 Everett, Wash. Published: Sunday, November 12, 2006 Eat your way through the Big Apple Story and photos by Sue Frause / Special to The Herald Since my son has lived in New York for the past three years, I'm always looking for new ways to see the Big Apple. This summer, while spending a long weekend in Manhattan, I signed up for one of the Enthusiastic Gourmet's culinary walking tours. I'm already planning my next visit. Susan Rosenbaum is the name and force behind the Enthusiastic Gourmet. The Louisiana native, who grew up learning the importance of food as a bond between family and friends, has been living in New York for 17 years. With a background in retail and food and a certificate from the French Culinary Institute in New York, Rosenbaum has put together a trio of tours that will whet most any appetite: "Melting Pot," "NY Nosh" and "Chinatown Discovered." I signed up for the "Melting Pot" tour of the Lower East Side and met Rosenbaum and my fellow foodies at the Essex Street Market. There were six of us plus Rosenbaum, and they included a couple from Baltimore, Md.; a couple from Puerto Rico; and a chap from Belfast, Ireland. It's only fitting that we begin the tour at the Essex Street Market. It was opened in 1939 by New York to solve the problem of pushcarts clogging the streets. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia created a dozen indoor retail markets as permanent homes for the street vendors. Essex Street Market still thrives today as a hip food place with a melange of items. The only other remaining markets are in Spanish Harlem and Brooklyn. We tour the market, while the animated Rosenbaum points out various produce including apio (an herb from the parsley family), taro root (a tropical starch root), plantains (a tree-like herb bearing banana-like fruit) and batata (a type of sweet potato). Her voice rises when she holds up a lime, saying here they are eight for a buck. "In Manhattan, they're 79 cents each," she says. At Rainbo's AND, we sample muffins with such names as Strawberry Fields Forever and Tra La La Carrot. They make 18,000 muffins a day, along with cakes and low-carb items. Nearby is Jeffery's Meat Market, the only original tenant remaining, and now run by the fourth generation. Here you can buy such exotic items as pig's feet and tripe, and see celebrity photos of such shoppers as chef Bobby Flay, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and "The Today Show" weatherman Al Roker. Next it's across the way to Kossar's Bialys. I have a confession at this point: I didn't know what a bialy was. I was raised as a West Coast Daughter of Norway; it may well have been a body part or a medical procedure for all I knew. As it turns out, bialys are like bagels, but baked instead of boiled. Named for the city of Bialystok, Poland, a traditional bialy does not have a hole in it like a bagel, but an indentation. Before baking, the indentation is filled with diced onions and other ingredients depending on the recipe. Kossar's Bialys cranks out 300 dozen a day - 290 dozen onion, 10 dozen garlic - at their Grand Street location and 70 percent are sold on site. We tried 'em and they were OK, but I think I like bagels better. Next stop, the Pickle Guys. Alan Kaufman is the owner of this gourmet pickle store on Essex Street. In the early 1900s there were numerous pickle stores lining the street, but today they are the only pickle store in the 'hood. Kaufman makes his pickles from an old Eastern European recipe "just the way mom used to make them." We sample three: new pickle, half-sour pickle and full-sour pickle. The degree of sourness has to do with the time in the brine, with the new pickle the least (one to 10 days) and the full-sour pickle the most (three-plus months). I didn't like the half-sour pickle at all; it had somewhat of a barnyard taste. My vote went for both the new and full-sour pickles. New York's Chinatown was formed in the mid-1800s and is the largest Chinatown in the United States. Today, the population in the two-square mile area is estimated between 70,000 and 150,000 people. They're not all Chinese. We stop at the Lucky King Bakery, where we sample lotus seed pie and black sesame seed roll. OK, but not great. It's that Norwegian thing again! I like the lychee nuts a lot better. Finally, one of my favorites was on the itinerary. Little Italy, once known for its large Italian population, has shrunk over the years. But fine food can still be found here. We stop by DiPalo Dairy, which opened in 1925. The fourth generation is now working at this cheese shop, which specializes in imported cheeses and charcuterie. We sample Piave, a cow's milk cheese from the Veneto region north of Venice, Italy. Nice and smooth (a little red vino would be good). Alleva Dairy is another landmark in Little Italy, opening its doors in 1892. It's the oldest Italian cheese store in the United States, so it was somewhat jarring to hear Keith Urban music filling the air. Our group samples yummy mozzarella balls filled with pork, prosciutto and something called soppressata (Southern Italian style salami with coarse chunks of pork and peppers). They go down real easy. Alleva also has a pasta kitchen and olive bar. And then it's save the best for last, with a walk across the street to Ferrara Caf for the grand finale: mini-cannolis to go. How can a Daughter of Norway complain about that? Sue Frause is a Whidbey Island free-lance writer and photographer. She may be contacted through her Web site at www.suefrause.com. If you go ... The Enthusiastic Gourmet Melting Pot tour; three tours, rain or shine, no bathroom breaks, walk about 1.5 miles, bring a bottle of water; $45; 646-209-4724, www.enthusiasticgourmet.com Essex Street Market, www.essexstreetmarket.com Kossar's Bialys, www.kossarsbialys.com The Pickle Guys, www.nycpickleguys.com Alleva Dairy, www.allevadairy.com Ferrara Cafe, www.ferraracafe.com NYC & Company: New York City's official tourism Web site, www.nycvisit.com © 2008 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA Sue's words, images and commentary have appeared in the following: NEWSPAPERS   Boston Herald Calgary Herald Edmonton Journal The Everett Herald The Oregonian Ottawa Citizen Regina Leader-Post Seattle Post-Intelligencer Seattle Weekly The (Vancouver) Province Victoria Times Colonist Windsor Star Winnipeg Free Press MAGAZINES   Alaska Airlines Jewish Life & Style Northwest Business Monthly Northwest Palate Northwest Travel Seattle Bride Seattle Magazine SUN (Seattle University) TravelAge West VIA Virtuoso Life Washington Athletic Club INTERNET www.shermanstravel.com www.spas.about.com www.tangodiva.com www.vagablond.com BOOKS Northwest Best Places (Contributor) Good Food Guide to Oregon/Washington (Contributor) Fabulous Fairholme : Breakfasts & Brunches (Editor) PERSONAL BLOGS Closet Canuck Whidbey Island Life RADIO KSER, 90.7 FM, Everett, Washington (Weekly Correspondent) Around the World Travel Radio (Regular Contributor) © Copyright 2004 Sue Frause site credits