STIR THE POTS

Tasting the stars

Luck was with me a few months ago, as a Twitter exchange with Chef Eric Ripert of Le Bernadin (see below) won me dinner. A very good dinner, let me add. 

Yup, I found a photo online of another Le Bernardin, this restaurant in Winston Salem North Carolina. Thankfully I was able to schedule my prize after the holidays, but sadly missed Michael Laiskonis's famed desserts. Anyway, so off I went last week, my normally casual attire replaced by a jacket, tie... an entire suit. I was off to Le Bernadin!

Getting there, the rooms were buzzing. My wife noticed a famous Bollywood actor sitting across from us. What I immediately noticed was great service; water poured, wine list given, then taken away, with an inviting announcement that our wine was "taken care of, already." Remembering some nods and signals made between staff as we entered, I guessed that our Twitter award was going to be worth any need to put my neck under the strain of a suit and tie.  

From that point onwards, everything just became a dance of the senses, each dish's detail and array of flavors, well, I won't be overstating it to characterize it as amazing. Since words won't capture it as well as some photos, allow me to just share a few below. 

Gustare: To taste

The amuse was phenomenal, with us already gulping down some bubbly things were looking good.

Amuse: Tuna tartare, Sea Urchin, and Butternut squash soup.

1st Course:

Caviar Waygu Beef, Langoustine and Osetra caviar tartare black pepper vodka creme fraiche and gaufrette potatoes.

Wine: Montlouis "Triple Zero" Domaine de La Taille aux Loups NV

2nd Course:

Tuna: Ultra Rare Yellow Fin Tuna; Spiced Dashi gelée Green Peppercorn Iberico Chutney

Wine: Chablis "Vielles Vignes, Domaine Savary, Burgundy 2009

3rd Course:

Lobster:

Butter Poached Lobster Tail; Spiced celeriac, Earl Grey -Citrus Sauce

Sake: Yuki No Bosha, Yamahai Jumai, Akita

4th Course: Codfish

Codfish, Artichoke "Barigoule" Perigord Truffle Butter

Wine: Chassagne Montrachet, 1Cru Les Caillerets, Marc Colin 2006

5th Course: Hiramasa (Amberjack)

Laquered Hiramasa; Chayote Squash, Sofrito Broth

Wine: Barolo, Mirafiore, Piedmont, Italy 2007

6th Course: Black Sea Bass

Crispy Black Sea Bass; Pickled Cucumbers Black Garlic-Persian Lime Sauce

Wine: Syrah,Copain, Tous Ensemble, Anderson Valley, California 2009

Desserts:

Panna Cotta

Greek Yogurt, Candied Buhdda's Hand, Basil seeds

Wine: Torrontés Sparkling, Deseado Familia Schroeder, Patagonia

Chocolate- Olive Oil

Dominican Chocolate Cremeux, Toasted Bread, Brown Butter, Marcona Almonds

Wine: Passito di Pantelleria- Sangue d'Oro, Sicily 2009

Fin....

Thank you, Le Bernadin! Thank to your wonderful staff. Thank you, Twitter. And most of all, thank you Chef Eric Ripert. Next time you Tweet a request, fortune be with the lucky first reader.  

 

Oyamel

Our final day in D.C. we decided to take the advice of our server from the previous evenings dinner at José André's Jaleo and visit Oyamel, his Mexican inspired restaurant.

The menu offers a variety of antojitos, tacos, ceviches. There's even a table side guacamole service, the chips flavored with spices and tequila, are fresh and still warm, with a chipotle and ripe tomato salsa, "first one is on the house, second is on you!"

Since we were short on time after visiting a museum, we knew we had to have some ceviche. I chose a very crudo tuna, seasoned with a Maggi-lime marinade, toasted pecans, amaranth, avocado and jalapenos. It was delicious and in a strange sense sweet, perhaps from the pecans, it was perfectly fresh and seasoned to perfection. We also ordered a cocktail de camaron y jaiba, (shrimp cocktail), not as interesting but a clean and whimsical take on shrimp cocktail.

Guacamole was made at table side, you can ask for mild, medium or hot, and it's quite delicious compared to some I've had at a competitor here in NYC. So good, that we wiped out the bowl and chips which strangely seemed to be the right amount of both.

Tamales are probably one of my favorite foods, and the single one they make here is exceptional. It's a shredded chicken, which is quite moist and bathed in a tomatillo sauce, the masa is perfect.

Tacos came next and a house cured pork belly with pinapple, onions and cilantro were just right. Then a Yucatan style pibil cochinita, dressed with pickled onion and sour orange showed up on my radar. You could order a single or taco or order as you go, we also had lengua, which just gives me bad dreams. Then I ordered a mixed meat of goat, veal, and lamb taco with chili sauce and cilantro, quite good!

Pleasantly full and running out of time in D.C., I gave in to the temptation and curiosity of the now familiar, tres leches cake. It's a rum soaked cake with three types of milk, sort of a baba rum meets tiramisu? This version was light and allowed for the last taco to make room down in my belly for just another spoonful!

 

A tout a l'heur (M.Wells)

 

By now, the news is out about M.Wells closing at the end of August. Hearing it, I sped from the subway and headed straight for breakfast. They are scouting for a new location,thank goodness!!!

 

 

 

Salt and Fat

For years, my New York City neighborhood of Sunnyside has been a culinary wasteland. As part of Queens, it is home to wonderfully varied ethnic populations. But unlike Brooklyn, whose great parks and public green space - as well as a blocks and blocks of small scale housing - have attracted gentrication, Queens is its less glamorous cousin.

We've had our share of boring diners, cheap Sushi, basic Thai, bad Tex-Mex and lots of bar food. Well, the sun has come to Sunnyside with the opening of Salt and Fat, a newly opened restaurant sporting small bite fusion oriented kitchen. Simply presented and well priced, with nods to Asian, Latin and Americana comfort food favorites, it both reflects and brings out the the best of what this geography offers, unpretentious cultural richness. 

 

 Here's a plate they serve of yellow tail tuna with speck,pickled jalapenos and citrus

 

Braised pork belly taco's,pico del gallo,kimchi salsa,queso fresco

 

Korean BBQ wraps, hanger steak, daikon radish,seasoned miso

 

Rice Krispies and marshmallow ice cream

 lychee panna cotta and Yuzu buttermilk ice cream

 

 

The Little Owl - a quick review

Finally, after interviewing owner/chef Joey Campanaro, I made it down to his Greenwich Village restaurant The Little Owl to go enjoy his food. His restaurant is an intimate place, filled with small tables and chairs. It's well lit and lacks the annoyance of loud music that can distract from great food. The menu is market oriented with a nod to the chef's signature dishes like the ubiquitious, but personal sliders, all damned good. What I like the most was the simplicity of the presentations. Maybe just three items grouped to enhance and compliment each other, all simple and good.

Skillet calamari, lardo croutons and spinach and basil broth (this was tomato?)

Big eye tuna, oysters, bibb, avocado and cucumber.

 

Special of the day, Grilled stripped bass with corn, poblano chilies, red onions.

 

Sauteed skate, spinach, leeks, lobster and caper beurre noisette.

We passed on dessert, not that it wasn't interesting, but we enjoyed the appetizers and mains so much we wanted to savor the flavors with a glass of wine, simple and good!

DNA (Derek and Alex)

Visiting Montreal, I was invited to eat at what sounded like a labratory or molecular restaurant called DNA. It's a terrific place, the science here mixed with great art created by Chef/Partner Derek Dammann and Wine director/Partner Alex Cruz (DNA's "Cuisine Complice"). 

Housed on the edge of the Old Montreal, it's an awe inspiring setting that delivers equal emotion in terms of food. A focus of the owners is to highlight Canadian products in terms of both food and wine.  

 

                                                          Chef Derek Dammann

Upon arriving with a party that included Montreal chef Michele Forgione, along with New York restauranteur Sarah Jenkins and her chef Lauren, we were given a tour of the facitlities, including the wine cellar where lots of Derek's home cured charcuterie hangs, literally. Then there's this amazing slicer....jaw dropping chef toy!

Dinner included an array of amazing dishes and wines. As Dana and Alex explained the cuisine, I snapped photographs, trying simultaneously to remember their words, capture the beauty of the scene, and also to sustain the succulence of all the flavors as long as possible. Enjoying a meal that could make you dizzy with delight, the evening became a wonderful blur which even affected my photographs (though let's blame that on the dimming of the lights).  

If I am so lucky to return again to Montreal, I will go back and visit, hopefully get a sample of nose to tail cuisine or more of that Sea Duck I had, how deliciously gamey and so Canadian!

I especially want to thank Michele Forgione, my host, for introducing me to two amazing gourmands, who by the way are headed to Noma, no doubt for some inspiration!

Thanks Alex and Derek, superb!

Crack pie, it's a fix!

Crack Pie. What?

But wait. It's genius. A buttery, sugar and oat crust pie that gives you a boost like one of those caffeine energy drinks or, better yet, a sugar high. But it's all good, as they say. I found it at Milk Bar, one of the offshoots of the David Changs Momofuku mini-empire. This delicious food narcotic is a must, tasted best after full of his lovely ramen. Or bbq pork tail, which I recently had the pleasure to enjoy. Chang mingles Asian and American food, but this pie is pure Americana. Crack Pie. Oh yeah, baby, it's trademarked too!

Never ready for prime time I snap a lousy IPhone shot of this amazing dessert. Kind of like a junkie in a back alley. I had it after a lunch at Ma Peche (another of Chang's restaurants.) Waiting at the Milk Bar counter (where they sell this devilish confection), I commented to the staff, "that's some crack pipe..whoops, I mean crack pie!" She giggled, and told me "that happens alot."

Oh yeah, it's all organic too....

 

 

We meet again, at Savoy.

You know when you like a place, because going back, it's not enough to spoil its freshness. Savoy is such a place. It's simple, unpretentious, and lovely. Gourmet without being fussy. Offered lunch there on a lazy weekend, I jumped at the chance, well worth a subway ride down to Prince Street in Manhattan from my neighborhood in Queens.  Great food and service make for a relaxing meal.

Here are some pictures from my latest lunch, and yes I will be going back...

Fried duck livers...divine, better then the Colonel's!

 

Teenage lettuces with herb vinaigrette.

 

Poached egg on spaghetti squash with bacon.

 

 

Matsutake, celery and grano padano.

 

 

 

Charred octopus, fennel, kalamata olives and citronette.

 

 

Pear and walnut and olive oil cake with kisumi ice cream.

Ilili - a restaurant

During my meeting and interview recently with Kamal Mouzawak, I was introduced to Ilili Restaurant Chef/Owner, Philippe Massoud. Philippe was roasting a whole lamb on a sidewalk on 5th Avenue for a food fair in The Flatiron district, not far from his 27th street restaurant. Kamal and I tried bites of several different dishes, and with Kamal telling me that IIili is one of New York's best Lebanese restaurants, I wanted to go try it.

Recently, I took my wife and visiting brother there for lunch. The restaurant is spacious, and features a dining room that uses lots of glass and wood. On this unusually hot autumn afternoon, the space wasn't quite full. Apparently, they are ususally packed solid - the proof being we couldn't get a reservation the previous Saturday for dinner.

Our waiter was helpful, offering tips on his own menu favorites.  The truth is we had already determined to share a mixture of mezze dishes - the small samplings that are typical in that part of the world. We also ordered a rose from the Bekka Valley. The dishes were not just flavorful but surprising. My favorite dish was bone marrow. Roasted, it was served with a sour cherry tabouleh. As Kemal had told me, Lebanese food is not just a street food concept. It's refined and full of fresh ideas I would want to use in my own cooking.

Some of the dishes were certainly familiar (e.g. falafael) but presented with wonderful panache. And with flavors that were nuanced and simultaneously very satisfying. Take the house specialty of brussel sprouts with fig puree, walnuts and yogurt. Words fail to capture the exquisite pleasure of this dish.  Pita was freshly baked and was a perfect way to use as a utensil and to swab the deliciously cinnamon perfumed meatballs and the silken kibbe. My I-phone snaps don't do it justice....

This was only part of what we ordered, and believe me, it was filling. My brother invited me to DBGB's, (Daniel Bouloud's new place) but I couldn't even get my mind to tell my stomach to make some room! I hope to find some time to speak with Philippe soon and visit his fabulous restaurant, again. Just to  sample lots more great food, and this time I'll make sure to enjoy some arak to cleanse the palate.

Le pain sauve les vies

No, this isn't a call out to S&M. It's a rave for bread, "pain" the French word for our beloved loaves.  Today I spotted this street graffiti while on a mission, bringing supplies my hard working friend and fellow blogger, Shuna Fish Lydon. She's the pastry chef at the newly bustling Bowery restaurant/bakery Peels.

As a kitchen worker, it's often difficult to eat in our profession. Sometimes there are no breaks in between service. You're frequently too tired, or lack interest in the "staff meal," or just yearning for something different than what's being prepared in your kitchen. 

  

   

I got a message from Shuna this week. She was craving peanut butter sandwiches. I like peanut butter with the right bread. So I brought her some loaves. And on the way spotted the sign. Kind of captures the day.