Apologies to the three people following this blog. I have been lax and I do apologize. It stands to reason that the thing that would start blogging again would be my friend Nadine. Gorgeous light of my light that she is she called me today to talk about a number of things. A minor footnote in our conversation was about food, and I thought what better way to restart this dormant blog than to convey this anecdote.
Friends of Nadine often chide her about her dinner choices. Not when she's out, though sometimes those can also at times be slightly dubious (chopped salad at Bonitas? I love you regardless). She is not a bad cook, I do not mean to give that impression, she made me a wonderful omelet once. But what she is most famous for is "boiled chicken breast". As a lover of food nothing strikes more terror in my heart than those words. What a terribly bland bit of meat the chicken breast is. It can be tasty at times, but most of the times it is just anonymous protein that depresses me to no end. Nadine is a fervent defender of her boiled chicken breast which frankly i just don't understand.
So imagine my surprise when she lectured me about my choice of dinner for tonight. As most of you realize our economy is well in the shits so to speak. As I came home I wondered, could I make dinner with simply what was in my kitchen? I could and i did. I had a steak in the freezer, and a cup o' noodles in the cupboard. And for the record do not balk at my ramen, times are tough, leave me alone. I cut the steak up into thin slices, stir fried it with some garlic, dried chilies, ground ginger, fennel seeds, Chinese black bean sauce, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. I added my paupers noodles let the sauce reduce and had a fantastic dinner.
I guess long story short, boiled chicken breast ain't got nothing on me.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
Kefi
Last Thursday I went to go see Nosedive’s production of “A Colorful World”. Based on Alan Moore’s graphic novel “The Watchmen” it was clever, witty and all in all well done. Kudos to all involved with special nods to James, Pete and Patrick Shearer, who is a devastingly talented actor. But this ain’t no theater blog kids. The show was on the upper west side, where I spent many a year slaving over a hot stove and subsequently getting kicked out of Citrus only to retreat to All State Café (R.I.P. to the saddest bar I’ve ever been to)
Now originally I wanted to eat at Ouest or Telepan but it seems that my friends are not nearly as eager to spend all their money on food (weirdos). I had heard good things about it and the chef Michael Psilakis who is now hotter than hot (he also is the chef at Anthos and Mia Dona). I looked up the greek menu online and found that it was pretty inexpensive and right around the corner from the theatre so it seemed perfect.
I rushed in my customary 10 mintues late to find Maria, Marsha and Teresa sitting at the bar waiting for me, which was an absolute joy . The bar is small and the front lounge was filled with people waiting for tables. Our waiter, who was also apparently a manager was quite gracious in giving us a table for 5 (Nadine joined us 5 mintes later after she found a power bar- upcoming blog, my thoughts on replacing a meal with a bar).
The dining room was packed and we got a roomy table in the back. Our waiter/manager told us the specials of the night and was incredible knowledgable and passionate about the food and wine. He recommened a greek red (all the wines are Greek) which was absolutely delicious. Marsha and I decided to start our meal by sharing Sheeps Milk Dumplings with Pine nuts, Sausage and Tomatoes. Teresa ordered the selection of spreads and Maria opted to start with a simple greek salad. The sheep’s milk dumpling appetizer was wonderful . Savory and delcious, the dish was perfectly balanced, and the sausage had a little kick, not too much but enough for me to appreciate. The selection of dips was also a great way to start a meal, served with warm pita bread, I love nothing more than having warm bread with something warm to slather over it. Now I have always loved taramosalata, (creamy fish roe spread), but for me the real revelation was the eggplant caviar spread. I don’t really like eggplant. Growing up my mother would serve it fried, in oil that was never hot enough rendering it into essentially a flavorless oil sponge (my mother is a good cook, just not with the eggplant, I love you Ma), served as a spread it was smoky and wonderfully flavorful.
For entrees I opted for the “broken mouska”, which was basically a free form mouska, Marsha the pork medallions with spicy peppers and capers, Teresa, sheeps milk ravioli with brown butter and sage, and Maria shrimp with orzo and feta. Everything was fantastic, I have only had mousaka at diners so it was a real treat to see the dish elevated into something a bit more special with care towards ingredients and method. Marsha’s pork was the perfect dish for her, peppers, capers, lemon with pork worked beautifully and was perfectly balanced. Teresa’s sheeps milk ravioli were delicious ( I feel like if someone ran in and put brown butter on my computer, I might eat it). And sweet Maria, a practicing vegetarian who for some reason feels compelled to eat fish whenever I’m around, her shrimp with feta and orzo was wonderful. The flavors were fresh and the dish worked wonderfully. Everyone enjoyed the food a lot and we had a great time eating talking and laughing like ladies who lunch (or dinner).
Unfortunatly we couldn’t stay for dessert,we had to run to the show, but Kefi with no entrée over $15 is defiently worth treking to the Upper West Side for.
Now originally I wanted to eat at Ouest or Telepan but it seems that my friends are not nearly as eager to spend all their money on food (weirdos). I had heard good things about it and the chef Michael Psilakis who is now hotter than hot (he also is the chef at Anthos and Mia Dona). I looked up the greek menu online and found that it was pretty inexpensive and right around the corner from the theatre so it seemed perfect.
I rushed in my customary 10 mintues late to find Maria, Marsha and Teresa sitting at the bar waiting for me, which was an absolute joy . The bar is small and the front lounge was filled with people waiting for tables. Our waiter, who was also apparently a manager was quite gracious in giving us a table for 5 (Nadine joined us 5 mintes later after she found a power bar- upcoming blog, my thoughts on replacing a meal with a bar).
The dining room was packed and we got a roomy table in the back. Our waiter/manager told us the specials of the night and was incredible knowledgable and passionate about the food and wine. He recommened a greek red (all the wines are Greek) which was absolutely delicious. Marsha and I decided to start our meal by sharing Sheeps Milk Dumplings with Pine nuts, Sausage and Tomatoes. Teresa ordered the selection of spreads and Maria opted to start with a simple greek salad. The sheep’s milk dumpling appetizer was wonderful . Savory and delcious, the dish was perfectly balanced, and the sausage had a little kick, not too much but enough for me to appreciate. The selection of dips was also a great way to start a meal, served with warm pita bread, I love nothing more than having warm bread with something warm to slather over it. Now I have always loved taramosalata, (creamy fish roe spread), but for me the real revelation was the eggplant caviar spread. I don’t really like eggplant. Growing up my mother would serve it fried, in oil that was never hot enough rendering it into essentially a flavorless oil sponge (my mother is a good cook, just not with the eggplant, I love you Ma), served as a spread it was smoky and wonderfully flavorful.
For entrees I opted for the “broken mouska”, which was basically a free form mouska, Marsha the pork medallions with spicy peppers and capers, Teresa, sheeps milk ravioli with brown butter and sage, and Maria shrimp with orzo and feta. Everything was fantastic, I have only had mousaka at diners so it was a real treat to see the dish elevated into something a bit more special with care towards ingredients and method. Marsha’s pork was the perfect dish for her, peppers, capers, lemon with pork worked beautifully and was perfectly balanced. Teresa’s sheeps milk ravioli were delicious ( I feel like if someone ran in and put brown butter on my computer, I might eat it). And sweet Maria, a practicing vegetarian who for some reason feels compelled to eat fish whenever I’m around, her shrimp with feta and orzo was wonderful. The flavors were fresh and the dish worked wonderfully. Everyone enjoyed the food a lot and we had a great time eating talking and laughing like ladies who lunch (or dinner).
Unfortunatly we couldn’t stay for dessert,we had to run to the show, but Kefi with no entrée over $15 is defiently worth treking to the Upper West Side for.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
top chef you suck
i know i have really never blogged about top chef this season, but honestly HONESTLY, this season BLOWS, yeah lets keep lisa on, you know fuck it let her win because this season is all about sending home talented chefs to keep a retard who makes peanut butter mashed potatoes on. Yeah I'm bitter, no reality show has ever made me this angry, thanks colichicco you bald fucker, and same to you padma. Honestly? HONESTLY? LISA. This show blows. I'll see you at the finale bravo. I hate you.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
He's the Hugo Chavez of Gastronomy. . .
this articles rocks my socks off.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/world/europe/01spain.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=dining
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/world/europe/01spain.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=dining
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Congratulations!
My old chef from 'cesca Amanda Freitag got 2 stars in the times, she's the new chef at the harrison and and seems happier than ever. I couldn't be happier for her. Here's a link to the review. I hopefully i'll be able to stop down there soon.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Damn Brazilians
I’ve been pretty lax in posting lately sorry. Late nights, good times, regrets the same old same old. I heard a story last night about, that I found particulary interesting in terms of how you deal with difficult service.
Memorial day, table of brazilians they order an $800 bottle of wine. Our sommlier goes to un cork the bottle and the cork disintergrates. It’s from 1971, so this is bound to happen. Protocol for this situation is to decant the bottle (through a coffee filter) and to serve it to the guest. When the matire d goes to tell the table they freak out and insist on a new bottle. Now there is nothing wrong with the bottle that they have. In fact it’s quite a nice bottle. And it’s not cheap, we can’t just give you an $800 bottle of wine for free without good reason.
Now I’m not the kind of person to order a bottle of wine that expensive. I don’t have that kind of money. But here’s the thing. If I did, I would trust the estabilishment selling the wine to know how to serve it (which we do). I would not get beliegerent and accuse a two michelin star restaurant of trying to sell a 90 dollar bottle of wine as an 800 dollar bottle of wine. And no matter how bad the service was. I would not leave no tip on a $2145 check. NO TIP. The matire d ran after the party on the street, and convinced them into giving the restaurant a 15% tip. Retarded man. Retarded.
In other supernon related news I’ve been listening to the violent femmes a lot. I suppose I’m late to this party. Oh well I’m late to everything.
Oh related news interesting article in the observer about ironic food.
Memorial day, table of brazilians they order an $800 bottle of wine. Our sommlier goes to un cork the bottle and the cork disintergrates. It’s from 1971, so this is bound to happen. Protocol for this situation is to decant the bottle (through a coffee filter) and to serve it to the guest. When the matire d goes to tell the table they freak out and insist on a new bottle. Now there is nothing wrong with the bottle that they have. In fact it’s quite a nice bottle. And it’s not cheap, we can’t just give you an $800 bottle of wine for free without good reason.
Now I’m not the kind of person to order a bottle of wine that expensive. I don’t have that kind of money. But here’s the thing. If I did, I would trust the estabilishment selling the wine to know how to serve it (which we do). I would not get beliegerent and accuse a two michelin star restaurant of trying to sell a 90 dollar bottle of wine as an 800 dollar bottle of wine. And no matter how bad the service was. I would not leave no tip on a $2145 check. NO TIP. The matire d ran after the party on the street, and convinced them into giving the restaurant a 15% tip. Retarded man. Retarded.
In other supernon related news I’ve been listening to the violent femmes a lot. I suppose I’m late to this party. Oh well I’m late to everything.
Oh related news interesting article in the observer about ironic food.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Interesting
Here's a little slideshow from the new york times about chef's knife bags. Frankly I think it's fascinating, but that's just me.
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2006/06/16/magazine/20060618_CHEF_SLIDESHOW_1.html
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2006/06/16/magazine/20060618_CHEF_SLIDESHOW_1.html
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Friday was busy
I had an interesting day on Friday. I spent most of Thursday night and the wee hours of Friday morning celebrating the birthday of my friend Troy. The next day we put on our Friday lunch best and continued the birthday celebrations at Eleven Madison Park. I love Eleven Madison Park. I went when they first opened years ago and recently with Nadine. Nadine and I had the tasting menu which was amazing. I wanted to take Troy there because he loves fine dining and wine and rarely gets to go out to nice restaurants in the city.
We walked in and were greeted quite warmly by the hostess, who wished Troy a happy birthday and talked to Troy about being the maître d at Bouley. They sat at a wonderful table by one of the giant windows. For those of you that haven’t been there, it’s a gorgeous dining room. Art deco inspired with massive ceilings.
We started out our meal with champagne; they brought out a champagne cart driven by a sommelier. Troy decided on a German sparkling white, (I may be wrong here I will fact check over the weekend). It was really refreshingly dry the perfect way to start the meal. We decided to have the tasting menu, because, you know I like tasting menus. As it was Troy’s birthday they had the foresight to give us menus that said “happy birthday” it was quite sweet and Troy was quite touched.
The first course was a Garden pea and Coconut panacotta with “crunchy spring vegetables”. The panacotta was lovely. Light and delicate, the crunchy spring vegetables balanced the panacotta texturally perfectly. A wonderful way to start the meal, it really tasted of spring.
The second course was halibut with razor clams, cauliflower puree and green almonds. I cannot stress enough how exquisitely cooked the halibut was. Tender, juicy and cooked all the way through, the halibut was divine. The accompanying cauliflower puree, green almonds and some sort of saffron sauce balanced the dish beautifully. The razor clams added another dimension of savory that was unexpected and worked quite well.
At this point I suppose it’s prudent to mention the wine. Now as much as I love tasting menus, I also love them with wine pairings. Troy however being a sommelier is a bit weary of them. He went through the 90 page wine list (shouldn’t it be a wine book at that point?) and chose a German white, a Franken Rielsing ( Hans Wirsching, Iphöfer Kronsberg , Spätlese, Trocken 2006, and yes I did just copy and paste this from the restaurants website. Sue me). The bottle was not the usual wine bottle shape and short, which is why a lot of restaurants don’t carry it (it’s hard to store). It was absolutely perfect. It was a pleasant compliment to the panacotta and the halibut. This is one of the perks of going to eat with a sommelier; he knows stuff about booze that I am sure not to know.
Now the next course was the foie gras. Ahhh foie gras, so delicious, so hard to mess up (though apparently it does happen). The foie was served with rhubarb and was absolutely delicious. Our waitress brought us a glass of dessert wine to accompany it. This is where the weirdness with the service starts. Troy had to be at work by 4, and told our waitress when we sat down. So she gives us a dessert wine to accompany the foie, it tasted like sweet lacquer. Sweet delicious lacquer. She said that they chose to give us the dessert wine rather than an extra course because of the time constraint. After we left Troy and I looked at each other like “bitch please”, the courses while delicious were on the small side and we were eating fairly quickly. They totally could have done an extra course. But no matter, the glass of wine with the foie was quite nice (though Troy pointed out that the pairing was “textbook”).
The next course was a lamb en croute with artichokes and prosciutto. They presented us the lamb before they plated it which is a nice old school touch that I always appreciate. The lamb was delicious. Lamb loin wrapped in prosciutto wrapped in puff pastry, it was served with tomato confit, and baby artichokes. A note about baby artichokes: my first garde manger job at ‘Cesca I had to clean and cook cases of artichokes, babies and full grown. I love artichokes but I rarely order them in restaurants or cook them for myself because they are so labor intensive and I feel bad. Hats off to you entremet at Eleven Madison Park. They were magical. They also sent us a glass of red to accompany the lamb. Worked together very nicely.
So now on the tasting menu we had a choice of cheese or dessert. And to quote my favorite movie I thought “can’t we have both?”. So we did. Now when I came for dinner they brought the cheese cart. I still dream of that cheese cart. It was filled with lactose loving sometimes while I’m watching law and order I wish a captain from eleven Madison Park would show up with the cart and offer me some goat cheese to accompany my favorite crime drama. But I digress. Um no cheese cart for lunch. This made me sad. I was tempted to add an emoticon but thought better of it. The cheese plate though was delicious. They were served with wine gelees, which frankly added very little to the cheese but looked pretty on the plate. There was a Portuguese soft sheeps milk that was a standout. Our German white (remember that) went perfectly with the cheese, which Troy predicted when he first tasted it.
Dessert was a “ Vacherin” of Lemon and Basil Parfait, Strawberries and bits o’ Meringue. It was really refreshing. The parfait was light and delicious, the strawberry ice cream tasted much more like a sorbet though it was far more intense than a normal sorbet. Now here’s the weird bit about lunch. When I made the reservation I told them I was bringing the maitre d from Bouley for his birthday. When we walked in they greeted us with a happy birthday, they even wrote it on the menu. Now just about every restaurant that has sit down service if they know it’s your birthday will bring you a dessert with a candle. I was sitting there looking for anyone with a plate with a candle. Nothing. I discussed it with Troy, he said he didn’t mind, he was for more touched by the menus. He got up to go to the bathroom, I asked our waitress if she could bring out just any dessert with happy birthday written on it. She brought out a cookie plate with happy birthday written on it. Cookie plate was nice, had some awesome dark chocolate and peanut butter tarts. We washed everything down with a glass of cognac that Troy chose, a wonderful way to end a meal. Now the bill came and it wasn’t cheap, they comped us the two glasses of wine and the cheese course. But they charged me for the cookie plate. That was weird. Now I don’t mind paying, going into Eleven Madison Park you know that you will be dropping at least $300 (I think our total was like 340 after tip), but $12 for a cookie plate for a birthday? Really? To sum up food fantastic, service pretty great with a few odd missteps.
Now did my day end there? NO Friday night I went to see Stone Soup Theatre Arts Production of Ghostdancers (quality linkage). I met my friend Nicole at Gusto and we had a quick dinner at Dallas BBQ before the show. Now after the champagne, the wine, more wine and then the cognac I was as they say a tad overserved so all I really wanted was some fried food. And frankly I don’t like the barbeque at Dallas BBQ. So I ate some fried shrimp and a giant apple martini because I am classy. Comparing the restaurants would be odd, but I’m glad I went to both in the same day to get some perspective on restaurants in general.
The show was great, I am blessed to have some amazingly talented and wonderful friends. (Please vote for Nadine. A lot). After the show we went to some tiny Mexican restaurant. I didn’t eat anything, so there’s really nothing to report other than apparently I intimidate my friend DR with my knowledge of food. A few things, DR you are sweet and naked, 2. I just love food I don’t judge. Unless you put ketchup on your eggs which is just gross. Other than that most everything is fine. All in all a great day filled with wonderful food, drink and friends.
We walked in and were greeted quite warmly by the hostess, who wished Troy a happy birthday and talked to Troy about being the maître d at Bouley. They sat at a wonderful table by one of the giant windows. For those of you that haven’t been there, it’s a gorgeous dining room. Art deco inspired with massive ceilings.
We started out our meal with champagne; they brought out a champagne cart driven by a sommelier. Troy decided on a German sparkling white, (I may be wrong here I will fact check over the weekend). It was really refreshingly dry the perfect way to start the meal. We decided to have the tasting menu, because, you know I like tasting menus. As it was Troy’s birthday they had the foresight to give us menus that said “happy birthday” it was quite sweet and Troy was quite touched.
The first course was a Garden pea and Coconut panacotta with “crunchy spring vegetables”. The panacotta was lovely. Light and delicate, the crunchy spring vegetables balanced the panacotta texturally perfectly. A wonderful way to start the meal, it really tasted of spring.
The second course was halibut with razor clams, cauliflower puree and green almonds. I cannot stress enough how exquisitely cooked the halibut was. Tender, juicy and cooked all the way through, the halibut was divine. The accompanying cauliflower puree, green almonds and some sort of saffron sauce balanced the dish beautifully. The razor clams added another dimension of savory that was unexpected and worked quite well.
At this point I suppose it’s prudent to mention the wine. Now as much as I love tasting menus, I also love them with wine pairings. Troy however being a sommelier is a bit weary of them. He went through the 90 page wine list (shouldn’t it be a wine book at that point?) and chose a German white, a Franken Rielsing ( Hans Wirsching, Iphöfer Kronsberg , Spätlese, Trocken 2006, and yes I did just copy and paste this from the restaurants website. Sue me). The bottle was not the usual wine bottle shape and short, which is why a lot of restaurants don’t carry it (it’s hard to store). It was absolutely perfect. It was a pleasant compliment to the panacotta and the halibut. This is one of the perks of going to eat with a sommelier; he knows stuff about booze that I am sure not to know.
Now the next course was the foie gras. Ahhh foie gras, so delicious, so hard to mess up (though apparently it does happen). The foie was served with rhubarb and was absolutely delicious. Our waitress brought us a glass of dessert wine to accompany it. This is where the weirdness with the service starts. Troy had to be at work by 4, and told our waitress when we sat down. So she gives us a dessert wine to accompany the foie, it tasted like sweet lacquer. Sweet delicious lacquer. She said that they chose to give us the dessert wine rather than an extra course because of the time constraint. After we left Troy and I looked at each other like “bitch please”, the courses while delicious were on the small side and we were eating fairly quickly. They totally could have done an extra course. But no matter, the glass of wine with the foie was quite nice (though Troy pointed out that the pairing was “textbook”).
The next course was a lamb en croute with artichokes and prosciutto. They presented us the lamb before they plated it which is a nice old school touch that I always appreciate. The lamb was delicious. Lamb loin wrapped in prosciutto wrapped in puff pastry, it was served with tomato confit, and baby artichokes. A note about baby artichokes: my first garde manger job at ‘Cesca I had to clean and cook cases of artichokes, babies and full grown. I love artichokes but I rarely order them in restaurants or cook them for myself because they are so labor intensive and I feel bad. Hats off to you entremet at Eleven Madison Park. They were magical. They also sent us a glass of red to accompany the lamb. Worked together very nicely.
So now on the tasting menu we had a choice of cheese or dessert. And to quote my favorite movie I thought “can’t we have both?”. So we did. Now when I came for dinner they brought the cheese cart. I still dream of that cheese cart. It was filled with lactose loving sometimes while I’m watching law and order I wish a captain from eleven Madison Park would show up with the cart and offer me some goat cheese to accompany my favorite crime drama. But I digress. Um no cheese cart for lunch. This made me sad. I was tempted to add an emoticon but thought better of it. The cheese plate though was delicious. They were served with wine gelees, which frankly added very little to the cheese but looked pretty on the plate. There was a Portuguese soft sheeps milk that was a standout. Our German white (remember that) went perfectly with the cheese, which Troy predicted when he first tasted it.
Dessert was a “ Vacherin” of Lemon and Basil Parfait, Strawberries and bits o’ Meringue. It was really refreshing. The parfait was light and delicious, the strawberry ice cream tasted much more like a sorbet though it was far more intense than a normal sorbet. Now here’s the weird bit about lunch. When I made the reservation I told them I was bringing the maitre d from Bouley for his birthday. When we walked in they greeted us with a happy birthday, they even wrote it on the menu. Now just about every restaurant that has sit down service if they know it’s your birthday will bring you a dessert with a candle. I was sitting there looking for anyone with a plate with a candle. Nothing. I discussed it with Troy, he said he didn’t mind, he was for more touched by the menus. He got up to go to the bathroom, I asked our waitress if she could bring out just any dessert with happy birthday written on it. She brought out a cookie plate with happy birthday written on it. Cookie plate was nice, had some awesome dark chocolate and peanut butter tarts. We washed everything down with a glass of cognac that Troy chose, a wonderful way to end a meal. Now the bill came and it wasn’t cheap, they comped us the two glasses of wine and the cheese course. But they charged me for the cookie plate. That was weird. Now I don’t mind paying, going into Eleven Madison Park you know that you will be dropping at least $300 (I think our total was like 340 after tip), but $12 for a cookie plate for a birthday? Really? To sum up food fantastic, service pretty great with a few odd missteps.
Now did my day end there? NO Friday night I went to see Stone Soup Theatre Arts Production of Ghostdancers (quality linkage). I met my friend Nicole at Gusto and we had a quick dinner at Dallas BBQ before the show. Now after the champagne, the wine, more wine and then the cognac I was as they say a tad overserved so all I really wanted was some fried food. And frankly I don’t like the barbeque at Dallas BBQ. So I ate some fried shrimp and a giant apple martini because I am classy. Comparing the restaurants would be odd, but I’m glad I went to both in the same day to get some perspective on restaurants in general.
The show was great, I am blessed to have some amazingly talented and wonderful friends. (Please vote for Nadine. A lot). After the show we went to some tiny Mexican restaurant. I didn’t eat anything, so there’s really nothing to report other than apparently I intimidate my friend DR with my knowledge of food. A few things, DR you are sweet and naked, 2. I just love food I don’t judge. Unless you put ketchup on your eggs which is just gross. Other than that most everything is fine. All in all a great day filled with wonderful food, drink and friends.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Fatty Crab
Wrote this review for class. Class is over which makes me sad. Once school is over I'll do a massive top chef recap. I promise.
Fatty Crab
Zak Pelaccio has a great deal on his plate. The chef at 5 Ninth and Fatty Crab, he is also the consulting chef at Chop Suey in Times Square and is consulting on a restaurant with friends Will Goldfarb and Josh DeChellis. I thought it might be interesting to see how his second restaurant Fatty Crab was holding up considering how busy the Mr. Pelaccio is.
Dedicated to Malaysian street food, Fatty Crab is a tiny store front in the West Village. When we arrived on a chilly Monday evening weekday evening the place was packed, always a good sign. My party and I opted to sit outside than wait for a table or squeeze three people onto a table for two. Service was a bit lacking as we were ignored outside till we went back inside to ask for a table inside or some menus. We decided to sit back outside, and once our waitress did appear she was quite kind and courteous. She helped us navigate the menu and informed us that it was smarter to share rather than to order individual entrees.
The food for the most part was bright and tasty with few missteps. The fatty tea sandwiches, pork belly on white bread with sambal mayonnaise, were for the most part successful. They were fatty and tasty though in my opinion they could have used some acid to cut the richness of the pork belly. The best dish in my opinion came next, the malay fish fry, with fried fish, cilantro and chilies served with tamaki rice. The fried fish was light with no trace of grease, the rice was well balanced with sweet and spicy and the cilantro added a spark of freshness. My other favorite dish of the night was the fatty sliders, small hamburgers made of pork and beef with sambal mayonnaise served on a potato bun with bibb lettuce and a pickle. The combination of meat was perfectly seasoned and juicy and the spicy mayonnaise and the pickle added the perfect spicy sour counterbalance.
Less successful was the fatty duck. Meant to be eaten with your hands, the duck was slightly overcooked and the dish was grossly unbalanced. The sweet glaze on the duck was also on the tamaki rice that the duck came with making it far too sweet for my tastes. The vegetable bun while tasty did not blow me away by any means.
Overall I left satisfied, our meal was under thirty dollars per person and everyone in my party was full at the end of the meal. I feel like Fatty Crab is the kind of restaurant where there are hidden gems on the menu. I look forward to going back to try and find them.
Fatty Crab
Zak Pelaccio has a great deal on his plate. The chef at 5 Ninth and Fatty Crab, he is also the consulting chef at Chop Suey in Times Square and is consulting on a restaurant with friends Will Goldfarb and Josh DeChellis. I thought it might be interesting to see how his second restaurant Fatty Crab was holding up considering how busy the Mr. Pelaccio is.
Dedicated to Malaysian street food, Fatty Crab is a tiny store front in the West Village. When we arrived on a chilly Monday evening weekday evening the place was packed, always a good sign. My party and I opted to sit outside than wait for a table or squeeze three people onto a table for two. Service was a bit lacking as we were ignored outside till we went back inside to ask for a table inside or some menus. We decided to sit back outside, and once our waitress did appear she was quite kind and courteous. She helped us navigate the menu and informed us that it was smarter to share rather than to order individual entrees.
The food for the most part was bright and tasty with few missteps. The fatty tea sandwiches, pork belly on white bread with sambal mayonnaise, were for the most part successful. They were fatty and tasty though in my opinion they could have used some acid to cut the richness of the pork belly. The best dish in my opinion came next, the malay fish fry, with fried fish, cilantro and chilies served with tamaki rice. The fried fish was light with no trace of grease, the rice was well balanced with sweet and spicy and the cilantro added a spark of freshness. My other favorite dish of the night was the fatty sliders, small hamburgers made of pork and beef with sambal mayonnaise served on a potato bun with bibb lettuce and a pickle. The combination of meat was perfectly seasoned and juicy and the spicy mayonnaise and the pickle added the perfect spicy sour counterbalance.
Less successful was the fatty duck. Meant to be eaten with your hands, the duck was slightly overcooked and the dish was grossly unbalanced. The sweet glaze on the duck was also on the tamaki rice that the duck came with making it far too sweet for my tastes. The vegetable bun while tasty did not blow me away by any means.
Overall I left satisfied, our meal was under thirty dollars per person and everyone in my party was full at the end of the meal. I feel like Fatty Crab is the kind of restaurant where there are hidden gems on the menu. I look forward to going back to try and find them.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Grafitti and such
So i've been pretty sucky with the blog updates, not that i haven't been eating out or not watching top chef. I've just been procrastinating like a lazy person. So forgive me. Last night I had dinner with my dear friend marsha. We went to grafitti, a tiny asian fusion tapas place in the east village. The menu is split up into three categories $7, $12, $15. We had the following:
Flatbread with cheese
Chili pork dumplings
Pork Buns
Chili prawns
Crab Noodle rolls
The chef is Indian, the flatbread was like the bread i used to eat as a child sprinkled with goat cheese, really nice.
The chili pork dumplings were nice and spicy and paired with semolina crakery things which added some really nice texture. I really enjoyed these.
Pork buns were awesome, beautiful braised pork with more semonlina crunchies, an apricot chutney that tasted like a proper chutney from the motherland. The bun was really soaked up all the braising liquid from the pork. Really Really delicious.
Crab noodle rolls. Nice balance of flavor, but as with most crab things i wanted more crab.
Chili prawns, I was most disappointed with this one. The sauce didn't have enough flavor (where were the curry leaves, don't advertise curry leaves in a dish if you're not bringing curry leaves, please, no one likes a curry leaf tease). The shrimps were flavorless, rice cake unimpressive and the pretzels on top, really? REALLY? how about you properly season your food and stop trying to be cute. But i really liked the pork buns, so we're cool
Marsha chose a nice cote du rhone, because she's a panda sommlier, it was awesome.
Afterwards we headed over to chickalicious pudding, which was down teh street. Marsha had a "adult chocolate pudding", I had a "vanilla custard pudding" Both were inexpensive (2.50) and delicious. The music at chickalisous pudding however, nearly drove me to kill. Z100 can really kiss my ass, being forced to listen to bad music more than anything else, leads me to homicide.
Ate at Degustation again on tuesday. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite restaurants. Did the ten course tasting again with a wine pairing. Word to teh wise. Wine pairings get you DRUNK. All spainish wines, really wonderful. Some of the courses were the same, one that was different that stuck out was a sardine sandwich in between baugettes that had been fried in butter. Tartar sauce, pickled onions and fresnos. Dear GOD. so fucking good. The last savory course was a slow roasted pork, tomatillo puree, fresnos peppers, mushrooms and micro cilantro. It was like they climbed into my brain. It was amazing. They sent us a glass of port, which i had never had before. Unfortunatly at that point in the evening i was too drunk to really dissect the flavor of the port.
Other dining briefs:
**Went to Gusto two days in a row. My friend is the chef there, after a pretty afternoon on sunday went to see her, more for friend support than for food. Of course the soft shell crab and the fettucine with clams helped. As did that new cheesecake. I also went the next day after class and Nicole sent me some beautiful short ribs with white polenta and root vegetables. Wonderful. Nadine showed up and Nicole sent her some meatballs. Because she knows Nadine. Everything was fantastic.
**went to see my friend ben (hey ben) in a show in long island city. Me Marsha, Dr, and Maria wanted some food before the show. We asked ben where to go, he suggested a pub nearby telling us there was no food in the neighborhood. Marsha and I had burgers, Maria had some fish and chips, and our ever adventuorous DR got some pasta. At a pub. Yeah, he's that guy (by that I mean wonderful, handsome and perfect). The food was fine, wonderful guiness. The thing is, as we walked to the show, we passed a perfectly quaint looking bistro called cafe henri. Yeah no food in the neighborhood. What did we learn, do not rely on ben for food recommedations. For music yes, food no.
I think that's it. Um top chef update soon. I promise.
Flatbread with cheese
Chili pork dumplings
Pork Buns
Chili prawns
Crab Noodle rolls
The chef is Indian, the flatbread was like the bread i used to eat as a child sprinkled with goat cheese, really nice.
The chili pork dumplings were nice and spicy and paired with semolina crakery things which added some really nice texture. I really enjoyed these.
Pork buns were awesome, beautiful braised pork with more semonlina crunchies, an apricot chutney that tasted like a proper chutney from the motherland. The bun was really soaked up all the braising liquid from the pork. Really Really delicious.
Crab noodle rolls. Nice balance of flavor, but as with most crab things i wanted more crab.
Chili prawns, I was most disappointed with this one. The sauce didn't have enough flavor (where were the curry leaves, don't advertise curry leaves in a dish if you're not bringing curry leaves, please, no one likes a curry leaf tease). The shrimps were flavorless, rice cake unimpressive and the pretzels on top, really? REALLY? how about you properly season your food and stop trying to be cute. But i really liked the pork buns, so we're cool
Marsha chose a nice cote du rhone, because she's a panda sommlier, it was awesome.
Afterwards we headed over to chickalicious pudding, which was down teh street. Marsha had a "adult chocolate pudding", I had a "vanilla custard pudding" Both were inexpensive (2.50) and delicious. The music at chickalisous pudding however, nearly drove me to kill. Z100 can really kiss my ass, being forced to listen to bad music more than anything else, leads me to homicide.
Ate at Degustation again on tuesday. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite restaurants. Did the ten course tasting again with a wine pairing. Word to teh wise. Wine pairings get you DRUNK. All spainish wines, really wonderful. Some of the courses were the same, one that was different that stuck out was a sardine sandwich in between baugettes that had been fried in butter. Tartar sauce, pickled onions and fresnos. Dear GOD. so fucking good. The last savory course was a slow roasted pork, tomatillo puree, fresnos peppers, mushrooms and micro cilantro. It was like they climbed into my brain. It was amazing. They sent us a glass of port, which i had never had before. Unfortunatly at that point in the evening i was too drunk to really dissect the flavor of the port.
Other dining briefs:
**Went to Gusto two days in a row. My friend is the chef there, after a pretty afternoon on sunday went to see her, more for friend support than for food. Of course the soft shell crab and the fettucine with clams helped. As did that new cheesecake. I also went the next day after class and Nicole sent me some beautiful short ribs with white polenta and root vegetables. Wonderful. Nadine showed up and Nicole sent her some meatballs. Because she knows Nadine. Everything was fantastic.
**went to see my friend ben (hey ben) in a show in long island city. Me Marsha, Dr, and Maria wanted some food before the show. We asked ben where to go, he suggested a pub nearby telling us there was no food in the neighborhood. Marsha and I had burgers, Maria had some fish and chips, and our ever adventuorous DR got some pasta. At a pub. Yeah, he's that guy (by that I mean wonderful, handsome and perfect). The food was fine, wonderful guiness. The thing is, as we walked to the show, we passed a perfectly quaint looking bistro called cafe henri. Yeah no food in the neighborhood. What did we learn, do not rely on ben for food recommedations. For music yes, food no.
I think that's it. Um top chef update soon. I promise.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Blooming Hill
I wrote this in my food writing class. It's a cherished memory that I thought I'd share with my four readers. Here you go.
In the summer of 2004 I was very tired. I had been working as a line cook at ‘Cesca, an Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and was working 60 hours a week. It was my first job as a cook and adjusting to the long hours and tedious work was making me very cranky to say the least. So it seems odd that when my chef, Amanda Freitag said she needed another cook to come upstate with her and work a dinner at Blooming Hill Farms I volunteered. At the time I think I thought it sounded fun and though I didn’t know it at the time it was very beneficial to me to cook in an environment that wasn’t a restaurant. I like most line cooks had stopped cooking at home almost immediately after I started working in a kitchen professionally.
Guy Jones, the proprietor of Blooming Hills Farm, invites chefs to cater a diner for up to 60 people throughout the summer months. Amanda had taken off on a Saturday to be the guest chef and was bringing Myra, another one of the line cooks from ‘Cesca with her. The point of the dinner is to only use ingredients that are in season and grown on the farm. As the two of them poured over the list of produce available and started planning the menu they realized they needed another cook. I flippantly offered myself, “I don’t need a day off.” Looking back I wanted to be included, I wanted cooking to be fun again, which it was increasingly not back in those days. The long days and 6-7 day work weeks were wearing me out, just about anything would drive me to tears. A change in enviorment would do me good I thought.
That is until I realized that I would be picked up at six in the morning. I am not now, nor have I ever been a morning person. One of my favorite things about the restaurant industry is the hours, they are made for me. So waking up at five am on my day off to cook seemed like a ludicrious idea. But I had given my word, so bleary eyed I jumped into the car with Amanda and Myra, cds for the road trip in one hand, my FCI chefs jacket in the other. We drove from Brooklyn to Cesca to pick up equipment and some food we had prepped before hand. The drive up seemed like a montage out of chick flick, as I started to wake up and the coffee started working we laughed and talked and fought about the music (mine as is most always the case was deemed “too sad and depressing” for a road trip).
Upon arrival Blooming Hills farm seemed like some sort of paradise. Impossibly green and fragrant it was the perfect refuge for three women who spent all their time stifled by the heat of the kitchen and the concrete of the city. Guy Jones lives on the farm with his three sons, the oldest 16 at the time, the youngest 10. These children with their straight blonde hair and their enthusiasm to help run their fathers farm, only added to the idea that I was on some foreign idyllic planet.
All the food was in the kitchen waiting for us. At times Myra and I might run to the market on the farm to pick up basil or look for a colander. But mostly it was just the three of us cooking and enjoying each other’s company. As dinner approached we were ready to put out 5 courses. By the third course the sangria Guy had made and that we couldn’t stop drinking started to have its intended effect. We giggled, we plated, we ran out of Amanda’s apricot polenta cakes. I don’t quite remember how we remedied that but in the end everyone had dessert.
Before we had to go back Myra and I just lay in the green grass and stared at the stars, a luxury I think only a New Yorker really appreciates. Before we left Guy let us take whatever we wanted from the market. I returned to the city with sunflowers, tarragon and a newfound love of cooking.
In the summer of 2004 I was very tired. I had been working as a line cook at ‘Cesca, an Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and was working 60 hours a week. It was my first job as a cook and adjusting to the long hours and tedious work was making me very cranky to say the least. So it seems odd that when my chef, Amanda Freitag said she needed another cook to come upstate with her and work a dinner at Blooming Hill Farms I volunteered. At the time I think I thought it sounded fun and though I didn’t know it at the time it was very beneficial to me to cook in an environment that wasn’t a restaurant. I like most line cooks had stopped cooking at home almost immediately after I started working in a kitchen professionally.
Guy Jones, the proprietor of Blooming Hills Farm, invites chefs to cater a diner for up to 60 people throughout the summer months. Amanda had taken off on a Saturday to be the guest chef and was bringing Myra, another one of the line cooks from ‘Cesca with her. The point of the dinner is to only use ingredients that are in season and grown on the farm. As the two of them poured over the list of produce available and started planning the menu they realized they needed another cook. I flippantly offered myself, “I don’t need a day off.” Looking back I wanted to be included, I wanted cooking to be fun again, which it was increasingly not back in those days. The long days and 6-7 day work weeks were wearing me out, just about anything would drive me to tears. A change in enviorment would do me good I thought.
That is until I realized that I would be picked up at six in the morning. I am not now, nor have I ever been a morning person. One of my favorite things about the restaurant industry is the hours, they are made for me. So waking up at five am on my day off to cook seemed like a ludicrious idea. But I had given my word, so bleary eyed I jumped into the car with Amanda and Myra, cds for the road trip in one hand, my FCI chefs jacket in the other. We drove from Brooklyn to Cesca to pick up equipment and some food we had prepped before hand. The drive up seemed like a montage out of chick flick, as I started to wake up and the coffee started working we laughed and talked and fought about the music (mine as is most always the case was deemed “too sad and depressing” for a road trip).
Upon arrival Blooming Hills farm seemed like some sort of paradise. Impossibly green and fragrant it was the perfect refuge for three women who spent all their time stifled by the heat of the kitchen and the concrete of the city. Guy Jones lives on the farm with his three sons, the oldest 16 at the time, the youngest 10. These children with their straight blonde hair and their enthusiasm to help run their fathers farm, only added to the idea that I was on some foreign idyllic planet.
All the food was in the kitchen waiting for us. At times Myra and I might run to the market on the farm to pick up basil or look for a colander. But mostly it was just the three of us cooking and enjoying each other’s company. As dinner approached we were ready to put out 5 courses. By the third course the sangria Guy had made and that we couldn’t stop drinking started to have its intended effect. We giggled, we plated, we ran out of Amanda’s apricot polenta cakes. I don’t quite remember how we remedied that but in the end everyone had dessert.
Before we had to go back Myra and I just lay in the green grass and stared at the stars, a luxury I think only a New Yorker really appreciates. Before we left Guy let us take whatever we wanted from the market. I returned to the city with sunflowers, tarragon and a newfound love of cooking.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Top Chef Chicago, episode 2
Woo hoo,
Stephanie and Valerie know each other from before, everyone knows each other this season. Lesbians switching shoes, where is the kiwi?
Quickfire challenge: create an entree from the Chicago Greenmarket only using five items
That douche richard is buying eucalyptus. you know because he's different. I hate him.
Mark the kiwi keeps on saying mate and he lost his lettuce. Sigh, he's dumb and precious.
Hey Wylie Dufrene is the guest judge, oh snap, Richard just creamed himself. "Our food is in the same genre of food" Fucktwat. Richard you are no Wylie Dufrene. Next week i'm taking a shot everytime douche king says Molecular gastronomy. I'm going to be wasted.
Richard: Chicken soup with apples chickens and eucalyptus. Wylie doesn't seemed impressed
Ryan: Lettuce radishes potatoes, sirloin steak dijon mustard Wylie likes
Dale: Mushrooms shallots radishes eggs butter Wylie likes
Valerie Rib eye steak peaches sweet potatoese tomatoes arugula Wylie likes (he seems to like everything)
Spike: Tenderloin tips apples bread aple cider rosemary
Erik: Lamb chop baby carrots potatoes mint garlic
Mark: Sirloin, turnips mushrooms peaches butter (Wylie compliments him on his sideburns)
Andrew: Lamp chops peaches onions mint potatoes balsamic
Bottom: Spike, Erik, Richard, NICE, called richards dish oily HAHAHAHAHA - you know what, like just because you carry around a mini smoker doesn't mean that you can make some greasy ass chicken. I hate you richard i hate you so much
Likes: Valerie, Ryan and Mark
Mark wins, both the quickfire and my heart
Elimination Challenge: Catering a zoo party, they have to base their food on the diet of the animal that they chose when they drew knives:
team vulture: the diet of a vulture is tiny fish, lamb and rabbits, mark says it's similar to his diet. I swoon some more
Team Gorilla: Vegetarian, they are going to add some meat to this one
Lion: Beef Bison Chicken Beans, Richard wants to sous vide some chicken. i want to punch him in the face
Penguin (I root for this team because i love penguins): herring anchovies scallops basically lots of fish
Bear: Honeycombs and Cheese, sigh whatever, fish
Team Gorilla: Lamb and edamme lettuce cups, banana bread crab salad on a celery root chip black olive blinis with mascarpone
They are doing the blinis before hand, which sounds like a bad idea
Team Lion: Bison Tartar Beat salad with goat cheese foam chicken sate Prime rib with horseradish foam
Team Bear: Venison Loin with Squash, Seared Salmon Stuffed Mushroom Cheese and honeycomb
Team Penguin: Thai Shrimp and crab salad, Roasted zucchini, squid ceviche, yuzu and mint glacier
Let me take this oppurtunity to say that I think Andrew is either some kind of crazy, or on some kind of awesome drug.
Team Vulture: Braised chicken on tostada chip, moroccan lamb meatball ancovy on quinoa croquette
Uh Oh. .
Team Bears mushrooms look like shit, Team Gorillas chips are soggy problems. . .
They decided to go with just the crab salad, no celery root chips.
Team Bear decides not to go with the mushrooms
Richard has beets with ras al hanout, can you find a new spice mix, please please thanks.
Okay the judges ask what happened to the mushrooms and niki's served it anyway, because she's an idiot, wylie just made fun of her
Best teams: Penguin and Vulture, Wylie loved the squid dish, Andrew won, which i'm down with i like his insane ass.
Worst teams: Gorilla and Bear: Worst dishes crab salad, blinis and mushrooms, um Niki's an idiot.
They send Valerie home, I think they get some people who suck so they know who they are sending home.
Next week: Chefs run and chefs cry
Stephanie and Valerie know each other from before, everyone knows each other this season. Lesbians switching shoes, where is the kiwi?
Quickfire challenge: create an entree from the Chicago Greenmarket only using five items
That douche richard is buying eucalyptus. you know because he's different. I hate him.
Mark the kiwi keeps on saying mate and he lost his lettuce. Sigh, he's dumb and precious.
Hey Wylie Dufrene is the guest judge, oh snap, Richard just creamed himself. "Our food is in the same genre of food" Fucktwat. Richard you are no Wylie Dufrene. Next week i'm taking a shot everytime douche king says Molecular gastronomy. I'm going to be wasted.
Richard: Chicken soup with apples chickens and eucalyptus. Wylie doesn't seemed impressed
Ryan: Lettuce radishes potatoes, sirloin steak dijon mustard Wylie likes
Dale: Mushrooms shallots radishes eggs butter Wylie likes
Valerie Rib eye steak peaches sweet potatoese tomatoes arugula Wylie likes (he seems to like everything)
Spike: Tenderloin tips apples bread aple cider rosemary
Erik: Lamb chop baby carrots potatoes mint garlic
Mark: Sirloin, turnips mushrooms peaches butter (Wylie compliments him on his sideburns)
Andrew: Lamp chops peaches onions mint potatoes balsamic
Bottom: Spike, Erik, Richard, NICE, called richards dish oily HAHAHAHAHA - you know what, like just because you carry around a mini smoker doesn't mean that you can make some greasy ass chicken. I hate you richard i hate you so much
Likes: Valerie, Ryan and Mark
Mark wins, both the quickfire and my heart
Elimination Challenge: Catering a zoo party, they have to base their food on the diet of the animal that they chose when they drew knives:
team vulture: the diet of a vulture is tiny fish, lamb and rabbits, mark says it's similar to his diet. I swoon some more
Team Gorilla: Vegetarian, they are going to add some meat to this one
Lion: Beef Bison Chicken Beans, Richard wants to sous vide some chicken. i want to punch him in the face
Penguin (I root for this team because i love penguins): herring anchovies scallops basically lots of fish
Bear: Honeycombs and Cheese, sigh whatever, fish
Team Gorilla: Lamb and edamme lettuce cups, banana bread crab salad on a celery root chip black olive blinis with mascarpone
They are doing the blinis before hand, which sounds like a bad idea
Team Lion: Bison Tartar Beat salad with goat cheese foam chicken sate Prime rib with horseradish foam
Team Bear: Venison Loin with Squash, Seared Salmon Stuffed Mushroom Cheese and honeycomb
Team Penguin: Thai Shrimp and crab salad, Roasted zucchini, squid ceviche, yuzu and mint glacier
Let me take this oppurtunity to say that I think Andrew is either some kind of crazy, or on some kind of awesome drug.
Team Vulture: Braised chicken on tostada chip, moroccan lamb meatball ancovy on quinoa croquette
Uh Oh. .
Team Bears mushrooms look like shit, Team Gorillas chips are soggy problems. . .
They decided to go with just the crab salad, no celery root chips.
Team Bear decides not to go with the mushrooms
Richard has beets with ras al hanout, can you find a new spice mix, please please thanks.
Okay the judges ask what happened to the mushrooms and niki's served it anyway, because she's an idiot, wylie just made fun of her
Best teams: Penguin and Vulture, Wylie loved the squid dish, Andrew won, which i'm down with i like his insane ass.
Worst teams: Gorilla and Bear: Worst dishes crab salad, blinis and mushrooms, um Niki's an idiot.
They send Valerie home, I think they get some people who suck so they know who they are sending home.
Next week: Chefs run and chefs cry
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Top Chef Chicago
So I've decided to "live blog" this top chef season, i mean it's only the first episode so don't hate me if these are late or stupid. Just don't hate me. please. thank you.
I am fast forwarding through the begining, I can do that thanks to tivo, thanks tivo.
:02- Ryan from San Fransico, so apparently he outcooked line cooks when he was 11. Shut up Ryan, cocky isn't always sexy
04: Mark from New Zealand, automatically one of my favorites because of the accent. I'm pretty predictable.
:06: Richard blaise, that faux hawk is dumb, molecular gastronomy, and cooking with liquid nitrogen, blahhhhhhhh
:08: Zoe and other lesbian annouce they are a couple. I've seen many a couple work in the kitchen. It spells DRAMA. Thanks top chef, thanks alot.
:10 Padma, you look gorgeous even walking into a pizzeria uno, tom collichio not so much.
Ahh first quickfire, make you're own signature deep dish pizza, didn't see that one coming A THOUSAND MILES AWAY. Sigh
:11 Kiwi is making a deep dish pizza with chicken zucchini and marmite molasses. Sigh, he has cemented his place in my heart
:12 Faux hawk douche is making a deep dish pizza with taleggio and peaches. Shut it guy, i hate you already. No peaches on my pizza douche, he also just stole someones deep dish pan. All he has to do is snap his fingers and I will hate him forever.
:18 OH THANK GOD, Rocco DiSpirito is guest judge, there was a douche defiencey before
Richard: Peach taleggio pizza with a sweet tea reduction
Stephanie: Melon tomato sauce, procusitto arugla and olives
Zoe: Broccoli Pesto goat cheese
Dale: Sausage, Pickled Kohlrabi, scallions and Sriracha (I want this one)
Ryan: Grilled escarole, Ricotta Salata and Butternut squash
Nikki: White piek Comte, Fresh ricotta and pecornio
Andrew: Smoked marinara prociutto heirloom tomoato
Jennifer: Grapes bacon fontina
Erik: Mushrooms sausage peppers onions
Spike: Onions feta olives
Nimma: Mushrooms onions stracchinio
Mark: Chicken zucchini marmite
:24: bonding time, meh, Andrew is talking, man he is cocky, the house they live in is nice, but i'd want to be in a hotel, like last season.
Here comes elmination challenge: head to head classic dish cookoff, the losers v. the winners 9 classic dishes
Duck a l'orange
souffle
shrimp scampi
steak a poivre
eggs benedict
chicken piccata (the guy doing this challenge doesn't know what piccata is)
lasagna
crab cakes
okay, nimma's making a cauliflower custard with her scampi, do people know what they are doing? I understand doing a play on classics but COME ON PEOPLE
that richard guy just referenced ras al hanout, (north african spice blend, which i knew jackass), man i do not like him.
OH Anthony Bourdain is HERE, hooray, that makes up for Rocco.
1. Duck a'lorange
Mark: Enoki Mushrooms, Squash, Tangerine, and Soy Glazed Duck Breast with a sakitini
Stephanie: Duck breast muschrooms bok choy and duck spring rolls
**Stephanie won, more composed dish, still love Mark, you can do no wrong, my kiwi boyfriend**
2. Crab cake:
Andrew: Panko and lumb crab cake with cilantro basil pudding and orange sauce
Richard: Blue crab, brussles sprouts and apple coleslaw with smoked ras al hanout (i hate richard)
Richard won, UGH shut up faux hawk
3. Lasagna
Jennifer: Autumn vegetables, meat sauce and mint verde (the mint wins points in my book)
Nikki: Classic Lasagna with sheeps gouda
Nikki won, she made her own pasta and jennifer had a more composed dish
4. Shrimp Scampi
Antonia: Parpardelle with shrimp, lobster tomatoes and squash blossoms (I love squash blossoms!)
Nimma: Shrimp Scampi with Scampi with Cauliflower Scramble
I think Nimma's going home tonight
5. Eggs Benedict
Spike: Poached egg with Bacon, Muschrooms and Lemongrass Sabayon on a Crouton (hey spike it's eggs benedict, I want hollandaise!)
Lisa: Piached egg on toasted halla bread with lobster spinach hollandaise sauce and bacon (hey lisa i want to eat this)
Lisa won. But they loved both dishes.
6: Steak Au Poirve:
Dale: New York Strip Steak with Candied Pepperconr parsley puree and Bok Choy
Manuel: Sirloin with Muscroom Seviche and scallion Cilantro Sauce
7. Chicken Piccata:
Ryan: Chicken cutlets with lemon potato gnocci and warm herb salad (where's the picatta?)
Valerie: Chicken Breast with Orange Demi Glace Potato and Haricot Vert Salad
EEK, Anthony Bourdain hates both, niether made picatta says Rocco
Oh Ryan, shut up about cooking since 11. I hate you second most
8. Souffle:
Erik: Pepperjack cheese souffle with avocado creme fraiche and black bean puree and salsa (straight up this plate looks a mess)
Zoi: Rice Pudding Souffle: with candied figs and fennel with espresso (pernod in the espresso)
Rocco thinks Eriks' plate looks like a straight up mess, okay you're not that bad
:: Stephanie wins the first elimination challenge, (duck a l'orange). She beat the kiwi, therefore I hate her, but at least it's not Richard::
Mark is up for elimination, oh no baby, Bourdain just called him pretensious, sigh, please let him stay PLEASE.
Also straight up, Ryan has no idea what a piccata is, no bread crumbs, no gnocchi. It's chicken in an egg batter with a lemon butter sauce. Didn't they teach you that when you were 11?
Oh thank god, they sent Nimma home, as long as it's not mark, says the girl swayed by accents. Plus Nimma can't salt
OHHH next week: Chefs yell! Can't wait
I am fast forwarding through the begining, I can do that thanks to tivo, thanks tivo.
:02- Ryan from San Fransico, so apparently he outcooked line cooks when he was 11. Shut up Ryan, cocky isn't always sexy
04: Mark from New Zealand, automatically one of my favorites because of the accent. I'm pretty predictable.
:06: Richard blaise, that faux hawk is dumb, molecular gastronomy, and cooking with liquid nitrogen, blahhhhhhhh
:08: Zoe and other lesbian annouce they are a couple. I've seen many a couple work in the kitchen. It spells DRAMA. Thanks top chef, thanks alot.
:10 Padma, you look gorgeous even walking into a pizzeria uno, tom collichio not so much.
Ahh first quickfire, make you're own signature deep dish pizza, didn't see that one coming A THOUSAND MILES AWAY. Sigh
:11 Kiwi is making a deep dish pizza with chicken zucchini and marmite molasses. Sigh, he has cemented his place in my heart
:12 Faux hawk douche is making a deep dish pizza with taleggio and peaches. Shut it guy, i hate you already. No peaches on my pizza douche, he also just stole someones deep dish pan. All he has to do is snap his fingers and I will hate him forever.
:18 OH THANK GOD, Rocco DiSpirito is guest judge, there was a douche defiencey before
Richard: Peach taleggio pizza with a sweet tea reduction
Stephanie: Melon tomato sauce, procusitto arugla and olives
Zoe: Broccoli Pesto goat cheese
Dale: Sausage, Pickled Kohlrabi, scallions and Sriracha (I want this one)
Ryan: Grilled escarole, Ricotta Salata and Butternut squash
Nikki: White piek Comte, Fresh ricotta and pecornio
Andrew: Smoked marinara prociutto heirloom tomoato
Jennifer: Grapes bacon fontina
Erik: Mushrooms sausage peppers onions
Spike: Onions feta olives
Nimma: Mushrooms onions stracchinio
Mark: Chicken zucchini marmite
:24: bonding time, meh, Andrew is talking, man he is cocky, the house they live in is nice, but i'd want to be in a hotel, like last season.
Here comes elmination challenge: head to head classic dish cookoff, the losers v. the winners 9 classic dishes
Duck a l'orange
souffle
shrimp scampi
steak a poivre
eggs benedict
chicken piccata (the guy doing this challenge doesn't know what piccata is)
lasagna
crab cakes
okay, nimma's making a cauliflower custard with her scampi, do people know what they are doing? I understand doing a play on classics but COME ON PEOPLE
that richard guy just referenced ras al hanout, (north african spice blend, which i knew jackass), man i do not like him.
OH Anthony Bourdain is HERE, hooray, that makes up for Rocco.
1. Duck a'lorange
Mark: Enoki Mushrooms, Squash, Tangerine, and Soy Glazed Duck Breast with a sakitini
Stephanie: Duck breast muschrooms bok choy and duck spring rolls
**Stephanie won, more composed dish, still love Mark, you can do no wrong, my kiwi boyfriend**
2. Crab cake:
Andrew: Panko and lumb crab cake with cilantro basil pudding and orange sauce
Richard: Blue crab, brussles sprouts and apple coleslaw with smoked ras al hanout (i hate richard)
Richard won, UGH shut up faux hawk
3. Lasagna
Jennifer: Autumn vegetables, meat sauce and mint verde (the mint wins points in my book)
Nikki: Classic Lasagna with sheeps gouda
Nikki won, she made her own pasta and jennifer had a more composed dish
4. Shrimp Scampi
Antonia: Parpardelle with shrimp, lobster tomatoes and squash blossoms (I love squash blossoms!)
Nimma: Shrimp Scampi with Scampi with Cauliflower Scramble
I think Nimma's going home tonight
5. Eggs Benedict
Spike: Poached egg with Bacon, Muschrooms and Lemongrass Sabayon on a Crouton (hey spike it's eggs benedict, I want hollandaise!)
Lisa: Piached egg on toasted halla bread with lobster spinach hollandaise sauce and bacon (hey lisa i want to eat this)
Lisa won. But they loved both dishes.
6: Steak Au Poirve:
Dale: New York Strip Steak with Candied Pepperconr parsley puree and Bok Choy
Manuel: Sirloin with Muscroom Seviche and scallion Cilantro Sauce
7. Chicken Piccata:
Ryan: Chicken cutlets with lemon potato gnocci and warm herb salad (where's the picatta?)
Valerie: Chicken Breast with Orange Demi Glace Potato and Haricot Vert Salad
EEK, Anthony Bourdain hates both, niether made picatta says Rocco
Oh Ryan, shut up about cooking since 11. I hate you second most
8. Souffle:
Erik: Pepperjack cheese souffle with avocado creme fraiche and black bean puree and salsa (straight up this plate looks a mess)
Zoi: Rice Pudding Souffle: with candied figs and fennel with espresso (pernod in the espresso)
Rocco thinks Eriks' plate looks like a straight up mess, okay you're not that bad
:: Stephanie wins the first elimination challenge, (duck a l'orange). She beat the kiwi, therefore I hate her, but at least it's not Richard::
Mark is up for elimination, oh no baby, Bourdain just called him pretensious, sigh, please let him stay PLEASE.
Also straight up, Ryan has no idea what a piccata is, no bread crumbs, no gnocchi. It's chicken in an egg batter with a lemon butter sauce. Didn't they teach you that when you were 11?
Oh thank god, they sent Nimma home, as long as it's not mark, says the girl swayed by accents. Plus Nimma can't salt
OHHH next week: Chefs yell! Can't wait
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Degustation Wine and Tasting Bar
Holy fucking shit. Yeah, sigh so dinner last night REALLY FUCKING GOOD. Should I stop using profanity? Nah, Last night warrants all the profanity a 19th century scurvy ridden sailor could conjure. So yesterday I was slightly mopey, so to counteract the mope I made dinner plans with my friend Nadine. I had read about Degustation in an interview with Anita Lo of Annisa and decided to try it out. The 5 course tasting menu for $50, was also pretty tempting.
The dining room is simply a bar, maybe 20 seats, behind the bar is the kitchen. The chef Wesley Genovart and two line cooks. Nadine was already there (I'm always late) sipping a glass of Spainish sparkling white wine. Looking over the menu i saw the tasting of five courses for $50, and a ten course tasting for $75. My meager math skills told me teh deal was with the ten course tasting. I ordered a black velvet (guniess and cava) and two ten course tastings. Man was I happy.
Our amuse bouche was a trio of popular tapas there. A croquette of bacon with bechamel on a pimento sauce, a spainish tortilla filled with shallot confit and house cured sardines with parsley. The spainish influence is evident (I believe the chef is Spainish born, and his Spainish is perfect). The amuse was fantastic, my favorite was the croquette (I love fried food!) and Nadine loved the sardine (which was also fantastic).
First course was a crudo of snapper with avocado and parsley. The fish was marinated with olive oil and had a little spice to it. Really light and refreshing.
Second course was whole fried anchovies with and herb tartar sauce parsley and pickled fresno chiles. I love fresno chiles, and anchovies, though I did not eat the heads. Sorry I draw the line at eyes, dont want to eat eyes. The rest of the anchovies were delicious though.
Third Course was an egg. It came in a little egg holder, inside the hollowed out shell were soft scrambled eggs with yoghurt and chives duck bacon and rye croutons. I wish someone would make this for every day for breakfast. So so good. Rye croutons man, can we get married? (Here i ask rye croutons to marry me, i know it's not going to happen)
Fourth Course was a fucking revelation. Prawns with the head (they were some special prawn from Morocco I think), the most sweet and succulent prawn i have ever tasted, done simply with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Served with amaranth (Asian grain) cooked with blue crab stock and lobster roe. Holy mother of god was this good, it was like porridge of the gods, we were instructed to suck the heads, but once i lifted mine the delcious shrimp head juice ran out and made my shellfish amaranth all the more delicious. This dish was absolutely perfect.
Fifth course (I might be mixing up the order): Rouget with cilantro and mint. Man it's like someone climbed into my brain and was like "what does anasua want to eat?". Basically this. The rouget was served whole, was perfectly cooked and seasoned sat on a spicy yet light chili sauce and cilantro and mint. We polished our plates. Perfection, might have been one of my favorites.
Sixth Course: Uni and Oatmeal Risotto with crisp ham and parsley. SHHHHIIIITTTT. I love me some uni and the textural interplay between the uni and the oatmeal was satisifying and brillant. The crisp ham chips added more texture and a nice saltiness, the parsely puree added a freshness. This dish was awesome. I am officially starting to run out of adjectives.
7th Course: Grilled octopus with confit potoatoes, pearl onions and pimento sauce. This dish is so fucking spainish it makes me want to lisp and drink sangria. The ingredients were so fresh and honest. Really Really good. Octopus was perfectly cooked.
8th Course: Squab with beet puree and pickled white asparagus. Man, well I love squab, I am a huge fan of game meats. Most times chefs try and pair them with something a little sweet to stand up to the gameiness. What I loved is that Wes (can i call him Wes now?, i think i asked him to marry me around the 6th course. He smiled which i think was his polite way of saying um no). The beets were sweet yes, but the pickeled asparagus had a little kick. Apparently the pickling liquid was water, vinegar, all sorts of citrus and thai red chilies. Between the sweetness and the beets and the subtle heat of the asparagus, the perfectly cooked squab and the crunch of the aspargus this dish was perfectly balanced.
9th course: Perhaps my favorite Kobe beef with molasses, red onion marmalade, horseradish foam and sea beans. Yes sea beans! I saw them on my plate i was so happy. This dish made me so happy, happy to be alive. I cannot stress how skillfully the beef was cooked perfectly seasoned and just amazing AMAZING. The sweetness of the marmalade was countered with the horseradish, but because it was a foam the horseradish wasn't overpowering (like freshly grated horseradish can be) or too creamy (like a lot of people do with horseradish). This dish was delightful, so so good I kind of wanted to cry.
The Intermezzo was a tequilla and ginger granita with an apple foam. Consider our palates cleansed, the granita was boozy and hot (thanks ginger) but instantly cooled by the foam.
Dessert. Torija with grapefruit foam. Man, man I missed marsha. Apparently a torija (forgive me if it's misspelled) is a bread pudding of sorts, soaked in heavy cream and then carmelized. I don't know the exact process, long story short i could eat this for the rest of my life. It was so rich and beautiful but not heavy at all. Oh my god. little bits of frozen grapefruit segements and the foam lightened.
In terms of wine they do offer a wine pairing we did a few glasses to pair with specific courses. They sent us a glass of dessert wine, like a muscat (spelling?), but spainish and lighter and paired really well with the dessert. We talked to the kitchen most of the night because you know they are right there. Really friendly, wonderful staff. The service was not pretensious and on point. I think the owner (Jack Lamb?) came over and we talked about places we'd worked and people we know. All in all a super satisifying meal. The portions were just the right size so I left feeling full and not stuffed. A little buzzed but not drunk by any means. Pure Bliss.
We ended the night at Whiskeytown which was around the corner. Owned by George of I used to own a part of Tribe fame, and his brother Justin the bar is nicer than you'd expect for someplace called whiskeytown, really laid back and fun. We had something that Justin had created that night the "Elliot Spritzer", rye whiskey cherries and sweet vermouth. Tasty.
The dining room is simply a bar, maybe 20 seats, behind the bar is the kitchen. The chef Wesley Genovart and two line cooks. Nadine was already there (I'm always late) sipping a glass of Spainish sparkling white wine. Looking over the menu i saw the tasting of five courses for $50, and a ten course tasting for $75. My meager math skills told me teh deal was with the ten course tasting. I ordered a black velvet (guniess and cava) and two ten course tastings. Man was I happy.
Our amuse bouche was a trio of popular tapas there. A croquette of bacon with bechamel on a pimento sauce, a spainish tortilla filled with shallot confit and house cured sardines with parsley. The spainish influence is evident (I believe the chef is Spainish born, and his Spainish is perfect). The amuse was fantastic, my favorite was the croquette (I love fried food!) and Nadine loved the sardine (which was also fantastic).
First course was a crudo of snapper with avocado and parsley. The fish was marinated with olive oil and had a little spice to it. Really light and refreshing.
Second course was whole fried anchovies with and herb tartar sauce parsley and pickled fresno chiles. I love fresno chiles, and anchovies, though I did not eat the heads. Sorry I draw the line at eyes, dont want to eat eyes. The rest of the anchovies were delicious though.
Third Course was an egg. It came in a little egg holder, inside the hollowed out shell were soft scrambled eggs with yoghurt and chives duck bacon and rye croutons. I wish someone would make this for every day for breakfast. So so good. Rye croutons man, can we get married? (Here i ask rye croutons to marry me, i know it's not going to happen)
Fourth Course was a fucking revelation. Prawns with the head (they were some special prawn from Morocco I think), the most sweet and succulent prawn i have ever tasted, done simply with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Served with amaranth (Asian grain) cooked with blue crab stock and lobster roe. Holy mother of god was this good, it was like porridge of the gods, we were instructed to suck the heads, but once i lifted mine the delcious shrimp head juice ran out and made my shellfish amaranth all the more delicious. This dish was absolutely perfect.
Fifth course (I might be mixing up the order): Rouget with cilantro and mint. Man it's like someone climbed into my brain and was like "what does anasua want to eat?". Basically this. The rouget was served whole, was perfectly cooked and seasoned sat on a spicy yet light chili sauce and cilantro and mint. We polished our plates. Perfection, might have been one of my favorites.
Sixth Course: Uni and Oatmeal Risotto with crisp ham and parsley. SHHHHIIIITTTT. I love me some uni and the textural interplay between the uni and the oatmeal was satisifying and brillant. The crisp ham chips added more texture and a nice saltiness, the parsely puree added a freshness. This dish was awesome. I am officially starting to run out of adjectives.
7th Course: Grilled octopus with confit potoatoes, pearl onions and pimento sauce. This dish is so fucking spainish it makes me want to lisp and drink sangria. The ingredients were so fresh and honest. Really Really good. Octopus was perfectly cooked.
8th Course: Squab with beet puree and pickled white asparagus. Man, well I love squab, I am a huge fan of game meats. Most times chefs try and pair them with something a little sweet to stand up to the gameiness. What I loved is that Wes (can i call him Wes now?, i think i asked him to marry me around the 6th course. He smiled which i think was his polite way of saying um no). The beets were sweet yes, but the pickeled asparagus had a little kick. Apparently the pickling liquid was water, vinegar, all sorts of citrus and thai red chilies. Between the sweetness and the beets and the subtle heat of the asparagus, the perfectly cooked squab and the crunch of the aspargus this dish was perfectly balanced.
9th course: Perhaps my favorite Kobe beef with molasses, red onion marmalade, horseradish foam and sea beans. Yes sea beans! I saw them on my plate i was so happy. This dish made me so happy, happy to be alive. I cannot stress how skillfully the beef was cooked perfectly seasoned and just amazing AMAZING. The sweetness of the marmalade was countered with the horseradish, but because it was a foam the horseradish wasn't overpowering (like freshly grated horseradish can be) or too creamy (like a lot of people do with horseradish). This dish was delightful, so so good I kind of wanted to cry.
The Intermezzo was a tequilla and ginger granita with an apple foam. Consider our palates cleansed, the granita was boozy and hot (thanks ginger) but instantly cooled by the foam.
Dessert. Torija with grapefruit foam. Man, man I missed marsha. Apparently a torija (forgive me if it's misspelled) is a bread pudding of sorts, soaked in heavy cream and then carmelized. I don't know the exact process, long story short i could eat this for the rest of my life. It was so rich and beautiful but not heavy at all. Oh my god. little bits of frozen grapefruit segements and the foam lightened.
In terms of wine they do offer a wine pairing we did a few glasses to pair with specific courses. They sent us a glass of dessert wine, like a muscat (spelling?), but spainish and lighter and paired really well with the dessert. We talked to the kitchen most of the night because you know they are right there. Really friendly, wonderful staff. The service was not pretensious and on point. I think the owner (Jack Lamb?) came over and we talked about places we'd worked and people we know. All in all a super satisifying meal. The portions were just the right size so I left feeling full and not stuffed. A little buzzed but not drunk by any means. Pure Bliss.
We ended the night at Whiskeytown which was around the corner. Owned by George of I used to own a part of Tribe fame, and his brother Justin the bar is nicer than you'd expect for someplace called whiskeytown, really laid back and fun. We had something that Justin had created that night the "Elliot Spritzer", rye whiskey cherries and sweet vermouth. Tasty.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Dallas BBQ East Village
I love my friend Marsha. She is one of the lights of my life. We went to dinner Tuesday night before a birthday party (happy birthday comtois!). Both of us being cash poor we wanted to keep things cheap. We were in the East Village so I automatically recommended Yokocho (I LOVE YOKOCHO) and Klong (cheap thai on St. Marks). Unfortunatley Marsha hates the entire continent of Asia. This isn't true, but I enjoy hyperbole. She does however love chain restaurants. So Dallas BBQ here we come!
So when I think Dallas BBQ I think of giant glass of booze like the tangerine margarita with an extra shot that I started with. Apparently you're supposed to do the shot and then drink your margarita. I didn't understand this (Notice the confusion on my face). I poured the extra booze in my drink and went to town. My thinking is this, if i'm going to Dallas BBQ I'm not going to order a diet coke and a salad. I want some chicken and a big glass of booze.
There's also some fried shrimp on that plate a backed potato and some cornbread. After that meal i kind of wanted to die. But in a good way. The BBQ sauce there was more sweet than spicey but it was still great. Marsha had the roast chicken white meat only (I'm a dark meat only girl this is why we are great dinner companions). Both Marsha and I left stuffed with chicken and happy as clams! And dinner was cheapish, which is always good so i can spend more money at better restaurants. Retirement be damned!
On a somewhat related note, the service was fair, nothing crazy good, but we were well taken care of. The table next to us however seemed to be having alot of problems with the server. And dealt with it the entirely wrong way. Instead of being oh what's the word, a bitch when service is poor, the best thing to do in my opionion is to be extra nice. This is not earth shattering advice, but lets face it none of you are coming here for the answer to peace in the middle east. As someone who is in the service industry, we make mistakes, we're sorry it would be nice if you didn't treat us like idiots or human filth because of it. Love me.
Oh and here's a picture of Marsha about two seconds before a brain freeze
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Gin and such
So here is the link to the article in the Washington Post. To sum up it's talking about Dutch gin (genever), the differences in taste and how hard it is to get in this country. The gin that I had at pounds and pence last week was one of the few Dutch genevers you can get in this country. The article is interesting if you are you know obsessed with gin and spirits as I am. The author also recounts his trip to Amsterdam to pick up some more genever. Any man that would travel 7 hours over an ocean to pick up some booze is marriage material in my book. My sad sad book.
In other news, went to The Hideaway in Fort Greene. The bartender (sorry mixologist) is a friend of a friend and the drinks were superb. People who know me know that I love food that tastes like perfume (anything with rose, lavender, or orange blossom), so the first drink I had The Poisoned rose hit the spot. Rose flavored simple syrup, hendricks gin, citrus juices and some other stuff (sorry, reports on bars are not going to be as lucid). The bartender put a little wooden block in front of me, on top of said block he put the empty martini glass, next to the box was a glass of rose buds and a container of some kind of herb. He poured my drink in the glass and garnished it with a rose petal and some herbs. The presentation was a bit much but the drink was heaven. I followed that with something called an American beauty which is bourbon muddled with raspberries and blackberries. So tasty and i feel like a good whiskey drink for people who don't like whiskey. The bar is basically a converted three car garage, no sign just a bouncer with an eye patch (yes an eye patch) sitting outside. They are going for a Milk and Honey vibe in Brooklyn it seems (isn't everyone going for that now a days, while i appreciate the speakeasy vibe, sometimes i just want to know where the bar is). It's really cute, the cocktails are a bit pricey ($12-16 a pop), so this is more a special occasion place rather than a i'll be here all the time place.
In mostly unrelated news Drew Barrymore was just on Oprah giving a million dollars to the World Food Programme. Obviously she should be commended for such a generous donation to a cause that people often forget about (I always find it sad that causes get press because a celebrity is involved, i mean people were starving before Drew Barrymore wrote that giant check). In the midst of all the good causes that vie for our philanthropic dollars, it is easy to forget that so many people in the world have nothing to eat. In many ways it seems frivolous for me to be sitting here with a fridge full of food dissecting the food and service at restaurants when so many don't have this basic necessity. This maybe why am so interested in food and how things relate to it, seeing how basic sustenance can be elevated to high art, instantly bring comfort, or insight into other culture is just fascinating to me. I also like to eat. That may have something to do with it. If youre interested in donating to the World Food Programme click here.
In other news, went to The Hideaway in Fort Greene. The bartender (sorry mixologist) is a friend of a friend and the drinks were superb. People who know me know that I love food that tastes like perfume (anything with rose, lavender, or orange blossom), so the first drink I had The Poisoned rose hit the spot. Rose flavored simple syrup, hendricks gin, citrus juices and some other stuff (sorry, reports on bars are not going to be as lucid). The bartender put a little wooden block in front of me, on top of said block he put the empty martini glass, next to the box was a glass of rose buds and a container of some kind of herb. He poured my drink in the glass and garnished it with a rose petal and some herbs. The presentation was a bit much but the drink was heaven. I followed that with something called an American beauty which is bourbon muddled with raspberries and blackberries. So tasty and i feel like a good whiskey drink for people who don't like whiskey. The bar is basically a converted three car garage, no sign just a bouncer with an eye patch (yes an eye patch) sitting outside. They are going for a Milk and Honey vibe in Brooklyn it seems (isn't everyone going for that now a days, while i appreciate the speakeasy vibe, sometimes i just want to know where the bar is). It's really cute, the cocktails are a bit pricey ($12-16 a pop), so this is more a special occasion place rather than a i'll be here all the time place.
In mostly unrelated news Drew Barrymore was just on Oprah giving a million dollars to the World Food Programme. Obviously she should be commended for such a generous donation to a cause that people often forget about (I always find it sad that causes get press because a celebrity is involved, i mean people were starving before Drew Barrymore wrote that giant check). In the midst of all the good causes that vie for our philanthropic dollars, it is easy to forget that so many people in the world have nothing to eat. In many ways it seems frivolous for me to be sitting here with a fridge full of food dissecting the food and service at restaurants when so many don't have this basic necessity. This maybe why am so interested in food and how things relate to it, seeing how basic sustenance can be elevated to high art, instantly bring comfort, or insight into other culture is just fascinating to me. I also like to eat. That may have something to do with it. If youre interested in donating to the World Food Programme click here.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Applebees (yes that Applebees)
So I ate dinner at Applebees tonight. Why you ask, if I'm trying to write seriously about food would i 1. eat at applebees 2. Admit to it ? Well I was having a bit of a mopey day, and was talking to Marsha about where to have dinner. We both have a soft spot for chain restaurants (I'm from long island, I make no apologies)and the mediocre food at chain restaurants is always comforting. Another factor I think is that the Applebees is a ten minute walk from my house and I barely wanted to leave my apartment today.
So the food: Well, um, we started with a trio of appetizers, spinach dip, boneless chicken wings, and steak quesidillas. They came to our table, looking less fabulous than they did in the pictures in the menu. Everything was fine, I mean at a place like Applebees its really about expections, and for the three of us, they were pretty low. For dinner I had a quesidilla burger, which is a quesidilla with a burger inside with something called Mexi-Ranch sauce. It was astoundingly medicore, and i had expected nothing less. Nadine had a steak and some broccoli which looked fine. The dressing on Marsha's grilled shrimp and spinach salad was a bit too sweet. I must say the service at Applebees was great. Now I understand that our waitress had to undergo some sort of Clockwork Orangesque training session, but after the apathetic french waiter from Les Halles, our waitress was considerate and attentive.
We passed on dessert, which is unfortunate because the applebees on fulton has red velvet cake from the cake man in fort greene. I was slightly upset about this until i realized that the acutal raven cake man store is literally 4 mintues from my house. For those of you who don't know about the raven cake man, he started baking cakes in harlem in the 90s and has been in brooklyn for at least four. The red velvet cake here is fantastic. I can understand people being skeptical because I am an Indian girl from the north, but my southern friends agree, and they're from the south so they should know. What is the point of this post, um okay, lessons learned, the service at applebees, better than Les halles
the red velvet cake at the cake man is awesome
applebees is mediocre.
I'll be posting something about gin over the weekend, there was an interesting article in the Washington Post.
So the food: Well, um, we started with a trio of appetizers, spinach dip, boneless chicken wings, and steak quesidillas. They came to our table, looking less fabulous than they did in the pictures in the menu. Everything was fine, I mean at a place like Applebees its really about expections, and for the three of us, they were pretty low. For dinner I had a quesidilla burger, which is a quesidilla with a burger inside with something called Mexi-Ranch sauce. It was astoundingly medicore, and i had expected nothing less. Nadine had a steak and some broccoli which looked fine. The dressing on Marsha's grilled shrimp and spinach salad was a bit too sweet. I must say the service at Applebees was great. Now I understand that our waitress had to undergo some sort of Clockwork Orangesque training session, but after the apathetic french waiter from Les Halles, our waitress was considerate and attentive.
We passed on dessert, which is unfortunate because the applebees on fulton has red velvet cake from the cake man in fort greene. I was slightly upset about this until i realized that the acutal raven cake man store is literally 4 mintues from my house. For those of you who don't know about the raven cake man, he started baking cakes in harlem in the 90s and has been in brooklyn for at least four. The red velvet cake here is fantastic. I can understand people being skeptical because I am an Indian girl from the north, but my southern friends agree, and they're from the south so they should know. What is the point of this post, um okay, lessons learned, the service at applebees, better than Les halles
the red velvet cake at the cake man is awesome
applebees is mediocre.
I'll be posting something about gin over the weekend, there was an interesting article in the Washington Post.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
An apology
It's been brought to my attention that I failed to mention the other people at dinner. (I think the term was "bitch", thanks Josh) so here we go:
Josh: to be fair you were sitting on the other end of the table, but you are by far my most fabulous friend
DR: you and your insatiable love of truffles makes me dizzy.
Alan: I enjoyed sharing pate with you and your command of the french language
Bret: You are the best hairline inspector ever
David: More drunk phone calls PLEASE
Maria: Every day i spend with you is an adventure, I'm glad I was there for the nautical adventure.
Josh: to be fair you were sitting on the other end of the table, but you are by far my most fabulous friend
DR: you and your insatiable love of truffles makes me dizzy.
Alan: I enjoyed sharing pate with you and your command of the french language
Bret: You are the best hairline inspector ever
David: More drunk phone calls PLEASE
Maria: Every day i spend with you is an adventure, I'm glad I was there for the nautical adventure.
Les Halles (Downtown)
So last night was Nadine's birthday. For those of you who are randomly reading this (who are you people anyway), you'll be hearing alot about Nadine, we eat out alot together, she is one of my most precious friends. Yesterday was her birthday so a large group of us went to the Les Halles in the financial district.
Before dinner I must note we went a bar called Pound and Pence on Liberty Street. The thinking behind this was the following, we wanted (Marsha, my other most precious of friends, Nadine and I) to go have some nice happy hour drinks and wouldn't it be ironic if we went to some pub establishment filled with Wall Street types. The bar was actually very spacious and warm. The reason I'm mentioning it is because they have a really extensive gin selection. To know me is to know my love of gin. I sampled a Dutch gin Bols Genever, in a gin and tonic. It was clean and really refreshing.
On to dinner
We were seated in a back room there about ten of us. Nadine, Marsha and I got there and met Nicole and DR inside. Our waiter was french, which i have no problem with (I work with a bunch of frenchies), but I usually expect good service coupled with the haughty attitude. I can take you thinking you're better than I am as long as the service you provide is of high quality, unfortunately that was not the case. Only half of our party had arrived and our waiter was continuing to ask us if we wanted something to drink, even after we had said we were going to wait for everyone else to arrive. Then once everyone arrived our waiter was no where to be found. I ordered my steak Bearnaise with mashed potatoes instead of fries, and they brought it with fries anyway. When I pointed this out there was no apology to be found. I don't mean to sound like a bitch, but i do this for a living, we were a fun and nice group of people, common courtesy should apply. There was visible annoyance when we repeatedly asked for drinks we had ordered and asked for the wine list. Sigh. Someone flunked french waiter school it seems.
The food, I started with escargot, which was delicious. To be fair anything slathered in garlic butter is going to be delicious, but god damn it i love me some escargot. Other appetizers floating around included the crabcake (pretty standard, nothing special), mussels with tomato and chorizo (fantastic) and pate (once again pretty standard, good but nothing earthshattering).
For dinner my steak which i ordered medium rare was pretty unevenly, cooked but otherwise satisfactory, the Bearnaise sauce was a bit thick but had a nice shot of vinegar cutting the fat deliciously. Nadine got a seafood choucterie which was very nice, not particularly my taste but well executed. Nicole had some sort of massive mixed grill plate with bacon, lamb chops, and sausages, which was fantastic. Nothing beats a giant wooden board filled with meat. NOTHING. All around the food was well executed, but I must say I prefer the kitchen at the Les Halles uptown.
In spite of the crappy service and the underwhelming kitchen we had a good time and Nadine had a great birthday which is all that matters. After dinner the four of us (Nadine, Marsha, Nicole and I) headed to Souths to have some birthday pie from the little pie company. Here's what I learned. Pie always tastes better with coffee, that has Jameson and Baileys in it.
Before dinner I must note we went a bar called Pound and Pence on Liberty Street. The thinking behind this was the following, we wanted (Marsha, my other most precious of friends, Nadine and I) to go have some nice happy hour drinks and wouldn't it be ironic if we went to some pub establishment filled with Wall Street types. The bar was actually very spacious and warm. The reason I'm mentioning it is because they have a really extensive gin selection. To know me is to know my love of gin. I sampled a Dutch gin Bols Genever, in a gin and tonic. It was clean and really refreshing.
On to dinner
We were seated in a back room there about ten of us. Nadine, Marsha and I got there and met Nicole and DR inside. Our waiter was french, which i have no problem with (I work with a bunch of frenchies), but I usually expect good service coupled with the haughty attitude. I can take you thinking you're better than I am as long as the service you provide is of high quality, unfortunately that was not the case. Only half of our party had arrived and our waiter was continuing to ask us if we wanted something to drink, even after we had said we were going to wait for everyone else to arrive. Then once everyone arrived our waiter was no where to be found. I ordered my steak Bearnaise with mashed potatoes instead of fries, and they brought it with fries anyway. When I pointed this out there was no apology to be found. I don't mean to sound like a bitch, but i do this for a living, we were a fun and nice group of people, common courtesy should apply. There was visible annoyance when we repeatedly asked for drinks we had ordered and asked for the wine list. Sigh. Someone flunked french waiter school it seems.
The food, I started with escargot, which was delicious. To be fair anything slathered in garlic butter is going to be delicious, but god damn it i love me some escargot. Other appetizers floating around included the crabcake (pretty standard, nothing special), mussels with tomato and chorizo (fantastic) and pate (once again pretty standard, good but nothing earthshattering).
For dinner my steak which i ordered medium rare was pretty unevenly, cooked but otherwise satisfactory, the Bearnaise sauce was a bit thick but had a nice shot of vinegar cutting the fat deliciously. Nadine got a seafood choucterie which was very nice, not particularly my taste but well executed. Nicole had some sort of massive mixed grill plate with bacon, lamb chops, and sausages, which was fantastic. Nothing beats a giant wooden board filled with meat. NOTHING. All around the food was well executed, but I must say I prefer the kitchen at the Les Halles uptown.
In spite of the crappy service and the underwhelming kitchen we had a good time and Nadine had a great birthday which is all that matters. After dinner the four of us (Nadine, Marsha, Nicole and I) headed to Souths to have some birthday pie from the little pie company. Here's what I learned. Pie always tastes better with coffee, that has Jameson and Baileys in it.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Bar Blanc
As anyone who knows me knows, I've been screaming about Bar Blanc for a while now. Having worked with the kitchen staff there before, I've seen first hand how talented Cesar is. I had dinner there last night on a whim. I was in the neighborhood and having dinner with an old friend I hadn't seen in months and we wanted a really nice meal (she's a line cook at 57 restaurant in the Four Seasons http://www.fourseasons.com/newyorkfs/dining/57.html).
The dining room there is gorgeous, very chic, very sexy and very very white. I shudder to think what happens when a patron drunkenly spills some red wine on one of those pristine white leather banquets, but I digress.
The food:
I as per usual wanted the tasting menu, my dining companion as per usual did not. This was unfortunate, but not tragic as the a la carte menu is fantastic. I started with the rabbit and sweetbread salad. The rabbit terrine was a really flavorful and delicious and paired with perfectly cooked sweetbreads. There was a juxtaposition of temperatures the terrine being chilled and the sweetbreads being nice and warm, (the word juxtaposition will always remind me of the pixies and the juxtaposition of loud and soft, which has nothing to do with food but alot to do with my brain). The ricotta on which the terrine sat was creamy and perfectly seasoned, the mushrooms and microgreens finished the dish off perfectly.
For my entree I had the monk fish with an open faced crab meat ravioli and a frothy butternut squash broth. This was seriously perfect, I'm not a huge fan of squashes, and pumpkins (sorry), but the broth was flavorful, creamy and not overpoweringly sweet (which is what i don't like about squashes and pumpkins). It was a perfectly well balanced dish and just as good as the pig I had the last time I was there. My friend had the rabbit fettuccine which was wonderfully savory in the best sense of the word. What does that last sentence mean? Um rabbit pasta good. That's about it. We also got a side of brussel sprouts that made me want to smack my younger self for ever hating brussels sprouts. What a flavorful and delicious vegetable, especially with the hints of garlic and pear that the kitchen adds. Wonderful
As for the booze, I had two glasses of rose cava that I enjoyed thoroughly. Megan had a glass of White Bordeaux that was also really lovely. To know me is to know my lack of wine knowledge. Something that I hope will change in the coming months.
They dessert bombed our table, which I have to say I really enjoyed. What I love about the desserts at Bar Blanc is that they aren't' afraid to be as aggressive as the savory dishes. The salty caramel ice cream with the bittersweet chocolate cake is pretty damn salty. But it works beautifully with the deep rich dark chocolate. The meyer lemon souffle is tart, as is the goat cheese ice cream as are the huckleberries, but the combination of the three create a satisfying dessert that is light and refreshing and a perfect ending to the meal.
Bruni reviewed Bar Blanc today as well, he was slightly less enthusiastic than I am, but only slightly http://events.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/dining/reviews/27rest.html?ref=dining . Of course he's never hung out with the boys in the kitchen there, I figure that has colored my judgement a bit, but I sincerely believe if the boys took Bruni to the Patriot they'd be bumped up by a star at least.
The dining room there is gorgeous, very chic, very sexy and very very white. I shudder to think what happens when a patron drunkenly spills some red wine on one of those pristine white leather banquets, but I digress.
The food:
I as per usual wanted the tasting menu, my dining companion as per usual did not. This was unfortunate, but not tragic as the a la carte menu is fantastic. I started with the rabbit and sweetbread salad. The rabbit terrine was a really flavorful and delicious and paired with perfectly cooked sweetbreads. There was a juxtaposition of temperatures the terrine being chilled and the sweetbreads being nice and warm, (the word juxtaposition will always remind me of the pixies and the juxtaposition of loud and soft, which has nothing to do with food but alot to do with my brain). The ricotta on which the terrine sat was creamy and perfectly seasoned, the mushrooms and microgreens finished the dish off perfectly.
For my entree I had the monk fish with an open faced crab meat ravioli and a frothy butternut squash broth. This was seriously perfect, I'm not a huge fan of squashes, and pumpkins (sorry), but the broth was flavorful, creamy and not overpoweringly sweet (which is what i don't like about squashes and pumpkins). It was a perfectly well balanced dish and just as good as the pig I had the last time I was there. My friend had the rabbit fettuccine which was wonderfully savory in the best sense of the word. What does that last sentence mean? Um rabbit pasta good. That's about it. We also got a side of brussel sprouts that made me want to smack my younger self for ever hating brussels sprouts. What a flavorful and delicious vegetable, especially with the hints of garlic and pear that the kitchen adds. Wonderful
As for the booze, I had two glasses of rose cava that I enjoyed thoroughly. Megan had a glass of White Bordeaux that was also really lovely. To know me is to know my lack of wine knowledge. Something that I hope will change in the coming months.
They dessert bombed our table, which I have to say I really enjoyed. What I love about the desserts at Bar Blanc is that they aren't' afraid to be as aggressive as the savory dishes. The salty caramel ice cream with the bittersweet chocolate cake is pretty damn salty. But it works beautifully with the deep rich dark chocolate. The meyer lemon souffle is tart, as is the goat cheese ice cream as are the huckleberries, but the combination of the three create a satisfying dessert that is light and refreshing and a perfect ending to the meal.
Bruni reviewed Bar Blanc today as well, he was slightly less enthusiastic than I am, but only slightly http://events.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/dining/reviews/27rest.html?ref=dining . Of course he's never hung out with the boys in the kitchen there, I figure that has colored my judgement a bit, but I sincerely believe if the boys took Bruni to the Patriot they'd be bumped up by a star at least.
First Post
Well duckies I've decided to start a blog. Why do this now? Well seeing as I'm in school now I find that I have alot of thoughts (I find blogs about thoughts alot more stimulating than blogs about feelings, not that I don't like blogs about feelings, but everyone knows what I'm feeling most of the time), about resturants, the resturant industry in general, food, food history, food on tv, you get the idea and having a blog seemed a good way to channel all these thoughts.
I'm going to try and post at least twice a week hopefully more, but I make no promises. I'm open to comments and questions, I just want everyone to enjoy this and maybe learn something.
I'm going to try and post at least twice a week hopefully more, but I make no promises. I'm open to comments and questions, I just want everyone to enjoy this and maybe learn something.
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