Baron ambrosia
Encyclopedia
Baron Ambrosia is the alter ego
of Bronx-based underground filmmaker Justin Fornal. The character is a self-proclaimed "quaffer of culinary consciousness" and travels around New York City
, mostly in The Bronx, documenting various ethnic cultures and their indigenous cuisines, represented typically by the small food establishments (including restaurant
s, food truck
s, street vendors
, and grocery store
s) he visits. Baron Ambrosia has appeared in Fornal's self-produced video podcast
Underbelly NYC and currently stars in the public-access television
cable TV channel BronxNet
's Bronx Flavor. Both Esquire Magazine and Boing Boing
have called Baron Ambrosia "The Ali G
of Food."
. The show reached a number #1 ranking under iTunes
culinary podcasts. Fornal produced, in total, eight episodes of Underbelly NYC.
In Spring 2008, Baron Ambrosia re-emerged in Bronx Flavor on BronxNet
, a Public-access television
cable TV channel in Bronx, NY.
Both series focus on Baron Ambrosia's wild adventures in food (mostly ethnic cuisines and restaurants that are not covered by mainstream media). Bronx Flavor focuses strictly on his adventures in the Bronx. In both shows, Baron Ambrosia involves local business owners, diners, and passers-by in comedic sketches. All Underbelly NYC and Bronx Flavor episodes are written, directed, and edited by Fornal.
The show's following stems largely from its balance of education and humor. Each episode typically begins with the Baron describing a particular ethnic community and then focuses on its culinary heritage. The Baron will then hunt it down and get into a comical situation stemming from his obsessive personality and knack for over-indulgence.
In May of 2011 Baron Ambrosia began filming a special for the Cooking Channel
entitled The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia. Cooking Channel’s official description of the project appears on their website…
Culinary adventure-seeker Baron Ambrosia faces banishment from his hometown of the Bronx after being accused of pie theft by Grandmaster Mele Mel. Challenged by an athletic duel, he takes to the streets of Newark, NJ in search of the famed Jersey Devil fajitas, said to bring super-human strength to anyone that consumes them. Along the way, he’s distracted by other food delights Newark has to offer including Trinidadian roti, Italian hot dogs and Portuguese dry soup.
On Novemver 6th, 2011 The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia aired on the Cooking Channel.
in his purple roadster the P-Rex to publicize the show.
In February 2009, Bronx Flavor received a New York Emmy Awards
nomination.
Baron Ambrosia appeared on the May 27, 2009 episode of Cash Cab
, after two strikes Ambrosia won $800 on the "Double or Nothing" bonus question.
The New York Times reported on Baron Ambrosia, Underbelly NYC, and Bronx Flavor on July 22, 2009, describing the current show this way: "flashy production numbers aside, at bottom Bronx Flavor is an effort to educate and entertain without pretension."
Baron Ambrosia appeared as a featured speaker at the National Association of Broadcasters
Sony
Software User's Event on April 12, 2010. Also in 2010, Sony used Baron Ambrosia to promote its Vegas Pro suite of video editing software.
The New York Times reported on May 5, 2010 that "NYC Life will show the third season of Bronx Flavor on Wednesdays at 9 ... [after this, the] Baron will re-emerge with a new show, tentatively titled Spice Hunter NYC, which will allow him to tour all five boroughs in search of exotic flavors and crazier story lines."
On Wednesday May 12, 2010, with BronxNet's consent, Bronx Flavor Season 3 was rebroadcast on NYC Life (a component of NYC TV). NYC Life reaches all 5 boroughs as well as parts of Connecticut and New Jersey. As part of the campaign, NYC Life put Baron Ambrosia's face (along with other show hosts) on 103 New York City bus shelters. Footage from the show is also included in a preview reel of the network's new programming on small monitors in 13,000 taxicabs.
On May 14, 2010, New York Times critic Ariel Kaminer reviewed Bronx Flavor saying, "In its own bizarre way, the show’s humor is as unpredictable, and as specific to its time and place, as Monty Python
was to Oxbridge
of the late 1960s (fewer references to Proust, and more to bikini waxing)."
On December12, 2010 Baron Ambrosia received a proclamation from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. proclaiming him the official culinary ambassador to the Bronx.
On December 30, 2010 BronxNet
premiered the first episode of 'Bronx Flavor Season 4' at the Paradise Theater on the Grand Concourse
in the Bronx. After the screening Grandmaster Mele Mel performed.
February 17, 2011 Bronx Flavor received its second New York Emmy Nomination.
In March 2011, Baron Ambrosia was funded by SONY Software to travel to Port Au Prince, Haiti where he filmed the finale for Season 4.
On November 6th, 2011 Baron Ambrosia received a proclamation from Newark Mayor Corey Booker proclaiming him a culinary ambassador to the city of Newark.
Culinary Focus: Chimichurri trucks of Washington Heights
parked on Broadway between 175th and 181st Street.
Location New York, New York
2. Cuchifritos
of Love Release Date 3/11/2007
Culinary Focus: 188 Cuchifritos Restaurant in the Bronx
Location: Bronx, New York
3. Battle of the Forbidden Fruit Release Date 3/12/2007
Culinary Focus: In this break away episode Baron puts forth the possibility the Durian
was the true forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden.
Location: Vandcourtlandt Park Bronx, New York
4. Secrets of the Liberian Funk Release Date 3/14/2007
Culinary Focus: The homemade Liberian foods of Eliza Smith (i.e. palm butter, fried pepper sauce, sweet potato greens, turborgee)
Location: Jamaica, New York
5. Ca Cuong
City Release Date 4/19/2007
Culinary Focus: The thoracic exudate of the lethocerus indicus (giant water bug)
Location: Vietnam (various),Bronx, New York
6. Fruit Van Fantasia Release Date 4/26/2007
Culinary Focus: The mamey
milk shakes and mavi
sold at the fruit van located at exit 5 off the Bronx River Parkway
7. Viva Pulque
Release Date 7/22/2007
Culinary Focus: The sacred fermented juice of the Magey plant known as Pulque.
Location: Mexico
(various)
8. A Latke Lunacy Release Date 8/12/2007
Culinary Focus: the potato pancakes sold by Paul Schmuckler from his Briggs Avenue apartment.
Location: Bronx, New York
1. The Purple Coffin Air Date: 03/11/08
An introductory episode in which the Baron arrives in the Bronx after a five year mission to exotic lands and is asked to be a culinary correspondent for Bronxnet Channel 67
2. Legend of the Bullet Proof Foot Air Date: 04/04/08
Culinary Focus: The Jamacian curried cow's foot from Jamrock Cooking.
Location: Jamrock Cooking
3. Burek
Mania Air Date: 04/18/08
Culinary Focus: Albanian and Kosovoan Burek
Locations: Tony & Tina's Pizza, Dukagjini Burek
4. The Platinum Paan
Don Air Date: 05/02/08
Culinary Focus: The Indian aperitif created from the leaf of the betel
nut creeper
Location: Dashi Bazaar
5. The Rites of Sandwich Air Date 05/16/08
Culinary Focus: A mammoth sandwich named after Baron Ambrosia
6. Fufu
Inferno Air Date 06/02/08
Culinary Focus: West African cuisine in particular soup and fufu
Location: Sankofa Restaurant
7. The Giffiti That Keeps on Giving Air Date 06/13/08
Culinary Focus: Garifuna cuisine and the aphrodisiac known as giffiti
Location: Garifuna Star
8. The Ghosts of Endorsements Past Air Date 06/27/08
Culinary Focus: Thai curries
Location: Siam Square Restaurant
9. A Cheesecake
Odyssey Air Date 07/11/08
Culinary Focus: Cheesecake
Location: S & S Cheesecake
Season 2
10. The Agony of Flavor Part 1: Pasteles
Pandimonium Air Date 08/25/08
Culinary Focus: The Dominican/ Puerto Rican tamale known as a pastel
Location: Pasteles by Noemi
11. The Agony of Flavor Part 2: Purgatory Pate Air Date 9/05/08
Culinary Focus: the healing Haitian beef patties of Vodou Mambo Rose Carline
Location: Jamaica, Queens
12. Cuchifritos
of Love: Platinum Edition Air Date 9/19/08
Culinary Focus: A re-release of the Underbelly episode of the same name with new scenes and
extended plot.
Location: 188 Cuchifritos
13. The Legend of Van Cortlandt Park Air Date 9/26/08
Culinary Focus: The carrot cake and other various bake goods of Lloyd’s Carrot Cake.
Location: Lloyd’s Carrot Cake
14.Night at the Bodega Air Date 10/10/08
Culinary Focus: The products that can be found and purchased in various Bronx bodegas
Location: The Vargas Deli
Special Guest: Grandmaster Melle Mel
15. Friend or Phở
Air Date 10/24/08
Culinary Focus: Vietnamese cuisine in particular the soup known as Pho.
Location: World of Taste Seafood and Deli
16. Quantum of Chimi Air Date 11/07/08
Culinary Focus: Chimichurri
Hamburger
Location: El Rincon De Los Taxistas Chimi Truck
17. The Chitlin' Rapture Air Date 11/21/08
Culinary Focus: Soul Food
Location:Berzet's Soul Food & Fillet of Soul
Seasonal
18. Bronx Flavor Christmas Spectacular Air Date 12/24/08
In this half hour black & white ode to the Christmas films of the 1950s, Baron Ambrosia
must get together $300,000 before midnight Christmas Eve to save the Bronx Orphanage from a
greedy developer who wishes to convert it into a coffee shop for yuppies.
Season 3
19. The Vodka
Sauce Vendetta Air Date 3/1/09
Culinary Focus: Italian Food
Location: Ann & Tony's Restaurant
20. The Liberian, The Pepper and the Pestle Air Date 4/5/09
Culinary Focus: Palm Butter
Location: Aunty Nana's & the Water Street Market in Monrovia
Award:Best Comedy/Documentary 2009 New York Independent Film Festival
21. The Corned Beef
Confidential Air Date 4/24/09
Culinary Focus: Irish Foods
Location: An Beal Bocht & Prime Cut Meats
22. A Passover
Preposterous Air Date 5/31/09/
Culinary Focus: Jewish Foods
Location: Liebman's Delicatessian
23. Roti
Express Air Date 7/5/09/
Culinary Focus: Guyanese & Trini Cuisine
Location: Lai's Roti & Coconut Palm
24. Joe Bataan
Stole My Girlfriend Air Date 8/2/09
Culinary Focus: Southern Mexican Cuisine
Location: Xochimilco
Special Guest: Joe Bataan
25. A Hunts Point
Haunting Air Date 10/6/09
Culinary Focus: BBQ
Location: Mo Gridder's BBQ
26. End Game I: Saving City Island
Air Date 1/1/10
Culinary Focus: Seafood
Location: Lobster House & The Black Whale
Special Guest: Chef Michael Valentino Proietti
27. End Game II: The Bling of Fire Air Date 2/7/10
Culinary Focus: Jamaican Cuisine
Location: H.I.M Ital
Rasta-rant & Barry's Jerk Delight
Special Guest: Sal Abbatiello
Seasonal
28. Thankschriskwanzaakah Air Date 11/29/09
To deal with the slumping economy the government combines all the winter holidays. Awesome Mart CEO and greedy slickster Belvedere Washburton buys the holiday so he is the only one who can sell the official dish…Laturgogoosamel! After the cursed meat turns all Bronxites into zombie
shoppers it is up to the Baron to save all the holidays from certain destruction.
Season 4
29. Culinary Nonesense-ness Air Date 1/4/11
While Baron Ambrosia is in maximum security prison, a national television network hires a hipster look alike named Brian Andozza to high-jack the show. The network renames the show Bronx Flava and attempts to give it an aloof mean spirited edge. New host Brian gets more than bargains for when he visits Bate African Restaurant on Melrose Avenue and the Bronx Pop Soda Company in Little Italy.
Culinary Focus: Guinean Cuisine
Location: Bate African Restaurant & Bronx Pop Soda Company
30. Correctional Festivites Air Date 7/25/11
While Baron Ambrosia is locked up in a ‘maximum security prison for incredibly stylish super villains’ he documents the unique recipes that have evolved in prison culture. After breaking into the prison kitchen, Ambrosia and fellow inmates show how to create some notorious favorites. The menu includes jailhouse burritos, pruno, as well as a surprise dish that may hold the secret to Baron Ambrosia’s escape.
Culinary Focus: Prison Recipes
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
of Bronx-based underground filmmaker Justin Fornal. The character is a self-proclaimed "quaffer of culinary consciousness" and travels around New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, mostly in The Bronx, documenting various ethnic cultures and their indigenous cuisines, represented typically by the small food establishments (including restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s, food truck
Food truck
A food truck, mobile kitchen, mobile canteen, or catering truck is a mobile venue that sells food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell mostly frozen or prepackaged food; others are more like restaurants-on-wheels...
s, street vendors
Hawker (trade)
A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with peddler or costermonger. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells items or food that are native to the area...
, and grocery store
Grocery store
A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...
s) he visits. Baron Ambrosia has appeared in Fornal's self-produced video podcast
Video podcast
Video podcast is a term used for the online delivery of video on demand video clip content via Atom or RSS enclosures...
Underbelly NYC and currently stars in the public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV channel BronxNet
BronxNet
BronxNet is a Public, educational, and government access cable tv network in The Bronx, New York, airing on multiple Cablevision and Verizon FiOS channels. BronxNet is located on the campus of Lehman College....
's Bronx Flavor. Both Esquire Magazine and Boing Boing
Boing Boing
Boing Boing is a publishing entity, first established as a magazine, later becoming a group blog.-History:...
have called Baron Ambrosia "The Ali G
Ali G
Ali G is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show, Ali G is the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show, original episodes of which aired in 2000 and on HBO in 2003–2004, and is the...
of Food."
Character development
The Baron Ambrosia character first appeared in 2006 in the video podcast Underbelly NYC which was distributed through Liberated SyndicationLiberated Syndication
Liberated Syndication, often shortened to LibSyn, is a podcast media hosting company which opened in November 2004. It offers hosting of files to podcast producers under a monthly subscription model...
. The show reached a number #1 ranking under iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
culinary podcasts. Fornal produced, in total, eight episodes of Underbelly NYC.
In Spring 2008, Baron Ambrosia re-emerged in Bronx Flavor on BronxNet
BronxNet
BronxNet is a Public, educational, and government access cable tv network in The Bronx, New York, airing on multiple Cablevision and Verizon FiOS channels. BronxNet is located on the campus of Lehman College....
, a Public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV channel in Bronx, NY.
Both series focus on Baron Ambrosia's wild adventures in food (mostly ethnic cuisines and restaurants that are not covered by mainstream media). Bronx Flavor focuses strictly on his adventures in the Bronx. In both shows, Baron Ambrosia involves local business owners, diners, and passers-by in comedic sketches. All Underbelly NYC and Bronx Flavor episodes are written, directed, and edited by Fornal.
The show's following stems largely from its balance of education and humor. Each episode typically begins with the Baron describing a particular ethnic community and then focuses on its culinary heritage. The Baron will then hunt it down and get into a comical situation stemming from his obsessive personality and knack for over-indulgence.
In May of 2011 Baron Ambrosia began filming a special for the Cooking Channel
Cooking Channel
Cooking Channel is a television specialty channel that airs recurring programs about food and cooking, owned by Scripps Networks Interactive. It is a spinoff of Food Network, also owned by SNI, but focuses more on instructional shows rather than "reality style" and contest programming that Food...
entitled The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia. Cooking Channel’s official description of the project appears on their website…
Culinary adventure-seeker Baron Ambrosia faces banishment from his hometown of the Bronx after being accused of pie theft by Grandmaster Mele Mel. Challenged by an athletic duel, he takes to the streets of Newark, NJ in search of the famed Jersey Devil fajitas, said to bring super-human strength to anyone that consumes them. Along the way, he’s distracted by other food delights Newark has to offer including Trinidadian roti, Italian hot dogs and Portuguese dry soup.
On Novemver 6th, 2011 The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia aired on the Cooking Channel.
Off-screen history
On July 27, 2008 Baron Ambrosia appeared in The Bronx's Dominican Day ParadeDominican Day Parade
The Dominican Day Parade in New York City started in 1982 as a small celebration with concerts and cultural events in Washington Heights section of Manhattan. Organized by Dominican American community leaders, the parade which is held annually each August on Sixth Avenue, has grown to become a...
in his purple roadster the P-Rex to publicize the show.
In February 2009, Bronx Flavor received a New York Emmy Awards
New York Emmy Awards
The New York Emmy Awards are a division of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honoring those in television and advanced media in the New York Metro Area and parts of Connecticut...
nomination.
Baron Ambrosia appeared on the May 27, 2009 episode of Cash Cab
Cash Cab
Cash Cab is a TV game show devised by Adam Wood that originated in the United Kingdom and has been licensed to television networks in numerous other countries...
, after two strikes Ambrosia won $800 on the "Double or Nothing" bonus question.
The New York Times reported on Baron Ambrosia, Underbelly NYC, and Bronx Flavor on July 22, 2009, describing the current show this way: "flashy production numbers aside, at bottom Bronx Flavor is an effort to educate and entertain without pretension."
Baron Ambrosia appeared as a featured speaker at the National Association of Broadcasters
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
Software User's Event on April 12, 2010. Also in 2010, Sony used Baron Ambrosia to promote its Vegas Pro suite of video editing software.
The New York Times reported on May 5, 2010 that "NYC Life will show the third season of Bronx Flavor on Wednesdays at 9 ... [after this, the] Baron will re-emerge with a new show, tentatively titled Spice Hunter NYC, which will allow him to tour all five boroughs in search of exotic flavors and crazier story lines."
On Wednesday May 12, 2010, with BronxNet's consent, Bronx Flavor Season 3 was rebroadcast on NYC Life (a component of NYC TV). NYC Life reaches all 5 boroughs as well as parts of Connecticut and New Jersey. As part of the campaign, NYC Life put Baron Ambrosia's face (along with other show hosts) on 103 New York City bus shelters. Footage from the show is also included in a preview reel of the network's new programming on small monitors in 13,000 taxicabs.
On May 14, 2010, New York Times critic Ariel Kaminer reviewed Bronx Flavor saying, "In its own bizarre way, the show’s humor is as unpredictable, and as specific to its time and place, as Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
was to Oxbridge
Oxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
of the late 1960s (fewer references to Proust, and more to bikini waxing)."
On December12, 2010 Baron Ambrosia received a proclamation from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. proclaiming him the official culinary ambassador to the Bronx.
On December 30, 2010 BronxNet
BronxNet
BronxNet is a Public, educational, and government access cable tv network in The Bronx, New York, airing on multiple Cablevision and Verizon FiOS channels. BronxNet is located on the campus of Lehman College....
premiered the first episode of 'Bronx Flavor Season 4' at the Paradise Theater on the Grand Concourse
Grand Concourse (Bronx)
The Grand Concourse is a major thoroughfare in the borough of the Bronx in New York City...
in the Bronx. After the screening Grandmaster Mele Mel performed.
February 17, 2011 Bronx Flavor received its second New York Emmy Nomination.
In March 2011, Baron Ambrosia was funded by SONY Software to travel to Port Au Prince, Haiti where he filmed the finale for Season 4.
On November 6th, 2011 Baron Ambrosia received a proclamation from Newark Mayor Corey Booker proclaiming him a culinary ambassador to the city of Newark.
Underbelly NYC episodes
1. Chimi Chimi Bang Bang Release Date 1/25/2007Culinary Focus: Chimichurri trucks of Washington Heights
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
parked on Broadway between 175th and 181st Street.
Location New York, New York
2. Cuchifritos
Cuchifritos
Cuchifritos refers to various fried foods prepared principally of pork, in Puerto Rican cuisine. They include a variety of dishes including but not limited to morcilla , papas rellenas , chicharron , and various other parts of the pig prepared in different ways...
of Love Release Date 3/11/2007
Culinary Focus: 188 Cuchifritos Restaurant in the Bronx
Location: Bronx, New York
3. Battle of the Forbidden Fruit Release Date 3/12/2007
Culinary Focus: In this break away episode Baron puts forth the possibility the Durian
Durian
The durian is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio and the Malvaceae family . Widely known and revered in southeast Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk...
was the true forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden.
Location: Vandcourtlandt Park Bronx, New York
4. Secrets of the Liberian Funk Release Date 3/14/2007
Culinary Focus: The homemade Liberian foods of Eliza Smith (i.e. palm butter, fried pepper sauce, sweet potato greens, turborgee)
Location: Jamaica, New York
5. Ca Cuong
Ca cuong
Lethocerus indicus is a giant water bug in the family Belostomatidae, native to Southeast Asia. It was originally described as Belostoma indicum but is no longer placed in that genus. It is well-known as an edible species, with a number of different regional cuisines preparing it in different manners...
City Release Date 4/19/2007
Culinary Focus: The thoracic exudate of the lethocerus indicus (giant water bug)
Location: Vietnam (various),Bronx, New York
6. Fruit Van Fantasia Release Date 4/26/2007
Culinary Focus: The mamey
Mamey
Mamey is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department*Parc naturel régional de Lorraine...
milk shakes and mavi
Mavi
Mavi may refer to:* Gujjar clan- Mavi * A Turkish clothing company - Mavi * Greek initials for Northern Epirus Liberation Front, a resistance group in World War II and an extremist organization of the 1980s and 1990s....
sold at the fruit van located at exit 5 off the Bronx River Parkway
7. Viva Pulque
Pulque
Pulque, or octli, is a milk-colored, somewhat viscous alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant, and is a traditional native beverage of Mexico. The drink’s history extends far back into the Mesoamerican period, when it was considered sacred, and its use was limited to...
Release Date 7/22/2007
Culinary Focus: The sacred fermented juice of the Magey plant known as Pulque.
Location: Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
(various)
8. A Latke Lunacy Release Date 8/12/2007
Culinary Focus: the potato pancakes sold by Paul Schmuckler from his Briggs Avenue apartment.
Location: Bronx, New York
Bronx Flavor episodes
Season 11. The Purple Coffin Air Date: 03/11/08
An introductory episode in which the Baron arrives in the Bronx after a five year mission to exotic lands and is asked to be a culinary correspondent for Bronxnet Channel 67
2. Legend of the Bullet Proof Foot Air Date: 04/04/08
Culinary Focus: The Jamacian curried cow's foot from Jamrock Cooking.
Location: Jamrock Cooking
3. Burek
Burek
Börek is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of a thin flaky dough known as yufka . It can be filled with cheese, often feta, sirene or kaşar; minced meat, or vegetables...
Mania Air Date: 04/18/08
Culinary Focus: Albanian and Kosovoan Burek
Locations: Tony & Tina's Pizza, Dukagjini Burek
4. The Platinum Paan
Paan
Paan, from the word pān is an Indian, Pakistani, Uttarvarshi and Southeast Asian tradition of chewing betel leaf with areca nut and slaked lime paste, and katha brown powder paste, with many regional and local variations...
Don Air Date: 05/02/08
Culinary Focus: The Indian aperitif created from the leaf of the betel
Betel
The Betel is the leaf of a vine belonging to the Piperaceae family, which includes pepper and Kava. It is valued both as a mild stimulant and for its medicinal properties...
nut creeper
Location: Dashi Bazaar
5. The Rites of Sandwich Air Date 05/16/08
Culinary Focus: A mammoth sandwich named after Baron Ambrosia
6. Fufu
Fufu
Fufu, , is a staple snack of West and Central Africa. It is a thick paste usually made by boiling starchy root vegetables in water and pounding with a mortar and pestle until the desired consistency is reached...
Inferno Air Date 06/02/08
Culinary Focus: West African cuisine in particular soup and fufu
Location: Sankofa Restaurant
7. The Giffiti That Keeps on Giving Air Date 06/13/08
Culinary Focus: Garifuna cuisine and the aphrodisiac known as giffiti
Location: Garifuna Star
8. The Ghosts of Endorsements Past Air Date 06/27/08
Culinary Focus: Thai curries
Location: Siam Square Restaurant
9. A Cheesecake
Cheesecake
Cheesecake is a dessert consisting of a topping made of soft, fresh cheese, usually on a crust or base made from biscuit , pastry or sponge cake. They may be baked or unbaked...
Odyssey Air Date 07/11/08
Culinary Focus: Cheesecake
Cheesecake
Cheesecake is a dessert consisting of a topping made of soft, fresh cheese, usually on a crust or base made from biscuit , pastry or sponge cake. They may be baked or unbaked...
Location: S & S Cheesecake
Season 2
10. The Agony of Flavor Part 1: Pasteles
Pasteles
Pasteles are a traditional dish in several Latin American countries. In Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean coast of Colombia, and Panama, it is similar to a tamale. In Central American cuisine, it more closely resembles a British pasty or an Italian calzone.In...
Pandimonium Air Date 08/25/08
Culinary Focus: The Dominican/ Puerto Rican tamale known as a pastel
Location: Pasteles by Noemi
11. The Agony of Flavor Part 2: Purgatory Pate Air Date 9/05/08
Culinary Focus: the healing Haitian beef patties of Vodou Mambo Rose Carline
Location: Jamaica, Queens
12. Cuchifritos
Cuchifritos
Cuchifritos refers to various fried foods prepared principally of pork, in Puerto Rican cuisine. They include a variety of dishes including but not limited to morcilla , papas rellenas , chicharron , and various other parts of the pig prepared in different ways...
of Love: Platinum Edition Air Date 9/19/08
Culinary Focus: A re-release of the Underbelly episode of the same name with new scenes and
extended plot.
Location: 188 Cuchifritos
13. The Legend of Van Cortlandt Park Air Date 9/26/08
Culinary Focus: The carrot cake and other various bake goods of Lloyd’s Carrot Cake.
Location: Lloyd’s Carrot Cake
14.Night at the Bodega Air Date 10/10/08
Culinary Focus: The products that can be found and purchased in various Bronx bodegas
Location: The Vargas Deli
Special Guest: Grandmaster Melle Mel
15. Friend or Phở
PHO
PHO may refer to:* Primary Health Organisation* Potentially hazardous object, an asteroid or comet that could potentially collide with Earth...
Air Date 10/24/08
Culinary Focus: Vietnamese cuisine in particular the soup known as Pho.
Location: World of Taste Seafood and Deli
16. Quantum of Chimi Air Date 11/07/08
Culinary Focus: Chimichurri
Chimichurri
Chimichurri or Chimmichurri is a variant of green sauce, though there is a red version as well , also used as a marinade, for grilled meat...
Hamburger
Location: El Rincon De Los Taxistas Chimi Truck
17. The Chitlin' Rapture Air Date 11/21/08
Culinary Focus: Soul Food
Soul food
Soul food cuisine consists of a selection of foods traditional in the cuisine of African Americans. It is closely related to the cuisine of the Southern United States...
Location:Berzet's Soul Food & Fillet of Soul
Seasonal
18. Bronx Flavor Christmas Spectacular Air Date 12/24/08
In this half hour black & white ode to the Christmas films of the 1950s, Baron Ambrosia
must get together $300,000 before midnight Christmas Eve to save the Bronx Orphanage from a
greedy developer who wishes to convert it into a coffee shop for yuppies.
Season 3
19. The Vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
Sauce Vendetta Air Date 3/1/09
Culinary Focus: Italian Food
Location: Ann & Tony's Restaurant
20. The Liberian, The Pepper and the Pestle Air Date 4/5/09
Culinary Focus: Palm Butter
Location: Aunty Nana's & the Water Street Market in Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
Award:Best Comedy/Documentary 2009 New York Independent Film Festival
21. The Corned Beef
Corned beef
Corned beef is a type of salt-cured beef products present in many beef-eating cultures. The English term is used interchangeably in modernity to refer to three distinct types of cured beef:...
Confidential Air Date 4/24/09
Culinary Focus: Irish Foods
Location: An Beal Bocht & Prime Cut Meats
22. A Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
Preposterous Air Date 5/31/09/
Culinary Focus: Jewish Foods
Location: Liebman's Delicatessian
23. Roti
Roti
Roti is generally a South Asian bread made from stoneground wholemeal flour, traditionally known as atta flour, that originated and is consumed in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. It is also consumed in parts of the Southern Caribbean, particularly in Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and...
Express Air Date 7/5/09/
Culinary Focus: Guyanese & Trini Cuisine
Location: Lai's Roti & Coconut Palm
24. Joe Bataan
Joe Bataan
Joe Bataan is a Filipino-African American Latin R&B musician from New York.- Early life and career :...
Stole My Girlfriend Air Date 8/2/09
Culinary Focus: Southern Mexican Cuisine
Location: Xochimilco
Special Guest: Joe Bataan
Joe Bataan
Joe Bataan is a Filipino-African American Latin R&B musician from New York.- Early life and career :...
25. A Hunts Point
Hunts Point, Bronx
Hunts Point is a low-income neighborhood located on a peninsula in the South Bronx in New York City. It is the location of one of the largest food distribution facilities in the world. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 2. Its boundaries are the Bruckner Expressway to the west and...
Haunting Air Date 10/6/09
Culinary Focus: BBQ
Location: Mo Gridder's BBQ
26. End Game I: Saving City Island
City Island, Bronx
City Island is a small island approximately 1.5 mi long by .5 mi wide. At one time attached to the town of Pelham, Westchester County, it is now part of the New York City borough of the Bronx. As of the 2000 census the island had a population of 4,520. Its land area is 1.023 km²...
Air Date 1/1/10
Culinary Focus: Seafood
Location: Lobster House & The Black Whale
Special Guest: Chef Michael Valentino Proietti
27. End Game II: The Bling of Fire Air Date 2/7/10
Culinary Focus: Jamaican Cuisine
Location: H.I.M Ital
Ital
Ital or I-tal is food often celebrated by those in the Rastafari movement. The word derives from the English word "vital", with the initial syllable replaced by i. This is done to many words in the Rastafari vocabulary to signify the unity of the speaker with all of nature...
Rasta-rant & Barry's Jerk Delight
Special Guest: Sal Abbatiello
Sal Abbatiello
Sal Abbatiello is a record executive in the music business. His career goes back to the early 1970s and he is still one of the biggest concert promoters and record executives in the New York City area. Abbatiello created and produced the Freestyle, Urban/Dance-Pop trio, The Cover Girls, whose hits...
Seasonal
28. Thankschriskwanzaakah Air Date 11/29/09
To deal with the slumping economy the government combines all the winter holidays. Awesome Mart CEO and greedy slickster Belvedere Washburton buys the holiday so he is the only one who can sell the official dish…Laturgogoosamel! After the cursed meat turns all Bronxites into zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
shoppers it is up to the Baron to save all the holidays from certain destruction.
Season 4
29. Culinary Nonesense-ness Air Date 1/4/11
While Baron Ambrosia is in maximum security prison, a national television network hires a hipster look alike named Brian Andozza to high-jack the show. The network renames the show Bronx Flava and attempts to give it an aloof mean spirited edge. New host Brian gets more than bargains for when he visits Bate African Restaurant on Melrose Avenue and the Bronx Pop Soda Company in Little Italy.
Culinary Focus: Guinean Cuisine
Location: Bate African Restaurant & Bronx Pop Soda Company
30. Correctional Festivites Air Date 7/25/11
While Baron Ambrosia is locked up in a ‘maximum security prison for incredibly stylish super villains’ he documents the unique recipes that have evolved in prison culture. After breaking into the prison kitchen, Ambrosia and fellow inmates show how to create some notorious favorites. The menu includes jailhouse burritos, pruno, as well as a surprise dish that may hold the secret to Baron Ambrosia’s escape.
Culinary Focus: Prison Recipes
External links
- Bronx Flavor Official site
- Underbelly NYC Official site
- Bronx Flavor on BronxNetBronxNetBronxNet is a Public, educational, and government access cable tv network in The Bronx, New York, airing on multiple Cablevision and Verizon FiOS channels. BronxNet is located on the campus of Lehman College....
) - Bronx Flavor on NYC Media
- The Baron Ambrosia - Celebrating Bronx Cuisine on Slashfood.com
- In Pursuit of the Baron Ambrosia Part 1 and Part 2 on The Plugg
- 'Alter ego' explores borough's culinary culture via the Riverdale PressRiverdale PressFounded in 1950 by David A. Stein, The Riverdale Press is a weekly newspaper that covers the Northwest Bronx neighborhoods of Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights and Van Cortlandt Village. It is one of a handful of weeklies to win a Pulitzer Prize....
- Ambrosia Brings the Heat via The Meridian (Lehman CollegeLehman CollegeLehman College is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, USA. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, the school became an independent college within the City University in 1968. The college is named after Herbert Lehman, a former New York governor,...
student newspaper)