Me vs. The Menu

smorgasbord (most...links...ever)

( image taken from living-language.org )

Webster's defines "smorgasbord" like so...

Main Entry: smor·gas·bord
Pronunciation: \ˈsmor-gəs-ˌbord\
Function: noun
Etymology: Swedish smörgåsbord, from smörgås open sandwich + bord table
Date: 1879
1 : a luncheon or supper buffet offering a variety of foods and dishes (as hors d'oeuvres, hot and cold meats, smoked and pickled fish, cheeses, salads, and relishes)
2 : an often large heterogeneous mixture : mélange

With that in mind, let's catch-up on a few things...

First, I won the yearly Cinco de Mayo guacamole contest at work.  More clear, I tied.  Even more clear, I cheated.  Well, not exactly "cheated" more like "campaigned for votes in a effort to draw attention to my obviously superior recipe in an attempt to garner support."  Is that really cheating?  I thought so too; so I stepped down from the champions' podium and allowed the real winner to bask in office culinary glory.  It was deserved...who would have thought a great guacamole recipe would come out of New Jersey?  Anyhow, here is the guacamole recipe I used.

Second, who doesn't love cast iron cookware?  I know I can't live without mine.  Mostly I use a plain old fashioned 12" skillet by Lodge .  I got mine years ago, but I think it's finally coming into form.  I use it constantly - on the grill (at least when we were in Texas), on the stove top, and in the oven.  The best part - it's super easy to clean.  Just don't use soap.  Warm water, scrub it down, and pop it in a warm oven for fifteen minutes to dry.  Finally, a lite coat of olive oil keeps it ready for the next use.  Now, I know these have become increasingly popular and there are a variety of options out there, but I've got my eye on this one by Fjorn.  By the way, check out Fjorn's philosophy against "throwawayism."

Third, several months ago I came across a recipe for Momofuku Milk Bar's compost cookies.  This unusual recipe features a foundation of crushed potato chips and pretzels. Throw in a good mix of whatever you deemed best in cookies and you have a fantastic treat.  They were devoured at both the wife's office and mine as well in minutes.  About David Chang - he opened his first restaurant, Momofuku Noodle Bar in the East Village in 2003.  According to his website, momofuku means 'lucky peach' in Japanese; it could also be a reference to Momofuku Ando the inventor of instant noodles.  In the years that followed, Chang opened Momofuku Ssäm Bar, Momofuku Ko (a 12 seat restaurant that takes reservations in advance, online only, on a first-come-first-served basis, without regard to social status or income.  I'm still gaming to get into this one), Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar, and recently the French-Vietnamese inspired Má Pêche inside Midtown’s Chambers Hotel.  As a cookie recipe with chips would seem to suggest, Chang has a penchant for recipes with odd ingredients.  If that sort of thing interests you, there is a cookbook available and this interesting blog which features the recipes geared for two.

Fourth, I've been on a Breaking Bad marathon recently.  If you haven't seen this show and you love really tense, engaging, uncomfortable, character-loving-then-character-hating dramas check it out.  iTunes - get it.

Finally, and so I can give you more links than anytime before, here are a few recipes I have lined up in the queue:

Lemon-Scented Pull-apart Loaf

Brussels Sprout and Pancetta Pizza

Chocolate Bourbon Truffle-Turtle Tart

Baked Falafel

Flaky Cheddar and Ham Biscuits

Raspberry Buckle

Lemony Risotto with Asparagus and Shrimp

Orange Chicken

Sopa de Lima

Friday Night Bites

To kick-off the weekend we finally took the opportunity to make it over to Sweet Afton.  I've been wanting to check out this establishment since it opened in Astoria last August.  Well, we went, we saw, we tasted and we were not blown away.  Don't get me wrong it was good, not great, but good. 

The service was way better than the complaints online; our waitress was attentive and friendly.  The food, however, was just so-so.  We ordered the fried pickles, hand cut french fries, and Irish sausage rolls. What?  It's a bar...we had bar food. Know this - I love pickles and I would fry my cat's tail if I thought it would taste great.  The fried pickles at Sweet Afton are more like Puff Pickles, the batter was doughy and rubbery not crispy and flaky like the word "fried" suggests to me.  The french fries were average and the puff pastry wrapped sausage rolls were great until I dipped them in the HP Sauce that accompanies the dish.  Maybe I've suckled on the A1 sauce infused teet of America too long, but I much prefer that sauce to the British alternative, and I should have known better.

And the drinks (did I mention it was a bar?) were well...interesting.  We both ordered the Spicy Cherry Margarita.  As the menu maintains this drink is a mix of Habanero infused tequila, cherry preserve, simple syrup, and lime.  True to it's name, it's spicy and took me nearly 40 minutes to drink.  For comparison, it usually takes me ten minutes to finish the average margarita; 5 minutes if it's been a long week.  Given the time issues related to the first round, we decided to only stay for one, but there were a couple of other choices I'd come back for next time.  So, I guess what I'm saying is that despite the bar food, the bar drinks mean I'll probably be back.

Coffee and Tea talk becomes Basil talk and then more Coffee talk

I've never been into coffee, I'm more of a tea guy.  On a recent trip to Fort Collins for work I stayed in a pretty cool hotel next to a pretty cool coffee house.  The hotel was called the Armstrong Hotel and I highly recommend it; the coffee shop was called Mugs Coffee Lounge and I would heap equally great praise on this organic / fair trade establishment.  The vegan sausage breakfast burrito was especially tasty.  The teas were fantastic as well. 

Which reminds me, I've been remiss in passing along a great little tea place we found in Toronto called Davids Tea.  If you are ever in the neighborhood, you should stop by just to see the wall of tea; if you're not around, they ship anywhere (and I promise it's worth it). 

Here's a great list of things to do with the grounds after your morning coffee.  I can't speak to everything on the list, but my Italian neighbor in Dallas used to fertilize his basil with his coffee grounds.  He drank coffee constantly (as I'm told Italians are apt to do) and his basil was some of the biggest basil I've ever seen.  My other neighbor and I used to sneak bunches at a time for pesto and such. 

Finally, here's a link to a great little diagram on how to make all those fancy coffee drinks you fancy.

Technology Rulez

This isn't a food post per se, but it's my blog and I'm kind of fooded out this morning.

As I sit here in Bryant Park typing away on my latest toy and listening to Jose Gonzalez on my iPod, I am once again reminded how absolutely fabulous technology can be. I recently purchased an ASUS 1008HA Eee PC under the public decree that I wanted a netbook for when I travel (however limited that is). Truth is I wanted another toy. This thing is great! In the three plus weeks I've had it I've been able to install the latest beta of Windows 7, three different versions of Linux, and re-format the entire thing to start all over again. I'm an Apple guy, which explains why the "mobile mini" is white, and to tell you the truth Windows isn't that bad. I've downloaded some add-ons which make the appearance more Mac-like, but other than that (and a good anti-virus / firewall software suite) I've made little changes. There are some great free programs I can use to keep this blog updated - one of which I'm using now, Zoundry Raven. Besides, I'm able to experiment with different browsers (Google Chrome is pretty nice, especially in full screen mode, hit F11 if you trust me) and the usual websites are available for searching through recipes & restaurant reviews. All in all, I'm very satisified and an even bigger nerd.

Here's a recent photo of the "set-up" at the house:

(pictured from left to right: MacBook 13 sitting atop MacBook Pro 15, 24-inch iMac, ASUS EeePc, apple bluetooth wireless mouse, logitech 3-button mini-mouse, Brother network laser printer, LaCie Rugged 250GB portable harddrive, various cables, and Canon Pixma Color Inkjet)

I'll get back to food posts when I return to Bryant Park for lunch. Speaking of lunch, I have a homemade falafel with homemade taziki sauce, spinach, and cucumber slices for lunch. I also have some sliced mango for dessert - yummy. There, now it was a food post. Happy?

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Toronto Tid Bit

We got back from our extended weekend in Toronto last night and I wanted to start posting some of our experiences.  I decided rather than have some build up to the best meal winner or something, I would just simply write about the best experience first.  Hands down, the single best meal we had in Toronto was the vegetarian fare from Fressen.  The recommendation to try this Queen Street West establishment came by way of our Canadian friend Jill who practices the vegetarian lifestyle more strictly than I can imagine (more on this topic in a later post).  One of the things we liked most about Fressen was the portion sizes - just small enough so you could share three or four per couple, but big enough where you felt like you were getting your money's worth.  At $9 a plate, the price was outstanding too.  Here's what we picked for the evening:  sweet potato and ginger soup with a spicy chili sauce accent; seared cornmeal polenta suits on herbed tomato sauce and sautéed lemony garlic spinach; beer battered deep fried tempeh fish and taro chips with a tangy tahini cucumber tartar sauce; and pan seared king, shiitake and honey mushrooms on cold sesame spinach with a lemon garlic sauce.  Since Fressen only serves one dessert, we ordered it asking that the waitress surpise us with what exactly it would be.  In the meantime we wagered what exactly a vegetarian place makes for desert.  The wifey guessed a mix fruit and I suggested a flourless chocolate cake.  Turns out we were both right and the dessert was an excellent end to an excellent meal.  If you are ever in Toronto you should listen to Jill and check out Fressen.

Pickle Mecca & Pickle Misery

(BLOGGERS NOTE:  This post was written and best enjoyed while listening to the Jose Gonzalez album IN OUR NATURE.  Now sit back and enjoy...) 

We finally made it Downtown to check out Guss' Pickles and The Pickle Guy.  You can read up about each in my previous post.  In summary know this - our two experiences were VASTLY different. 

We took the F train down to the Essex stop, surfaced after our 45 minute journey, and headed south to the intersection of Grand and Essex.  We popped into The Pickle Guy first and that's when we realized that pickle purveyors prefer perfectly pristine paper money.  After walking to the closest BOA (yes we are that cheap, a $2 ATM fee means less pickles after all) we ended up closer to Guss' Pickles.  We decided to start our sampling there.  Mistake.  Whoever the lady is out front, run from her.  She's pissed about something.  Maybe it's the constant brine smell in her clothes, the overwhelming garlic breath of her coworkers and clientele, or the back-breaking cucumber bobbing by which she makes her living.  Whatever it was, she was put off that I wanted to BUY a sample and that I had the nerve to suggest she break a twenty dollar bill.  Never mind the point I was PAYING to try something, but the fact she might actually have to reach into the register and dispense with nineteen dollars in change was too much.  Anyhow, we waded through the purchasing issues and were still excited for our first try of Half Sours.  Mistake #2.  Maybe I don't like them to begin with or maybe I was already soured by Senorita Sourpuss' disposition.  Whatever it was we dropped our mostly uneaten, rightly purchased with good old American cold hard cash pickles and headed back to the Pickle Guy.  Next time, maybe I'll try making my own half sours and avoid the full sour attitude at Guss' Pickles.

Walking into the Pickle Guy was a totally different experience.  From the get - you actually "walk into" this store; Guss' Group prefers to camp outside what I assume is their store.  Once inside you are immediately met by several things - 1.) A lively, entertaining, and extremely friendly staff 2.) FREE samples 3.) others who proudly share your pickle enthusiasm and 4.) tons of things to choose from.  We tried the full sours and were blown away...we'll take a pint.  Olives - we'll take a pint of pimento stuffed, a half pint of greek, and another half pint of garlic stuffed.  Mustard?  They got that.  Fresh?  Yes, please - half a pint.  Finally, we decided to try FRESHLY ground horseradish.  When I say "fresh" you should know the friendly guy in the gas masked at the door didn't move until I ordered it.  That's fresh.  All in all we could not have been happier with the Pickle Guy and more disappointed in Guss' Pickles.

Oh well, Now we know.

Compared to These Guys, Peter Piper is a Punk...

Lots of things motivate me, but few things motivate me like PICKLES!  I'm the guy in the theater who eats a pickle.  I'm the guy found standing in the open refrigerator drinking pickle juice.  I'm the guy who has the Pickle movie on DVD (just kidding, but my wife has seen Chasing Delancy with a more NYCentric pickle tie in).  I'm the guy who dreams of stores dedicated solely to pickles.  Well my dreams have come true - according to a guy I work with, New York City has two places I need to check out.  So this weekend I plan on stopping by:

The Pickle Guys - this place seems to have pickled everything.  They even have a History of Pickles on their website.

Guss' Pickles - I'm especially excited to try my first half sour and the pickled garlic from this place!  The wife is all worked up for the sauerkraut.

Good News:  If you're not around NYC both places ship nationwide and have individual containers up to a gallon.  Pickle on people!

Beacon for Dinner?

Saturday we found ourselves up in Beacon, NY.  Beacon is a great little town just 80 minutes North of the City on the Metro North Commuter Railroad.  We go from time to time to visit the Dia:Beacon.  The D:B is a great museum designed into a former Nabisco distribution center.  We like some of the work there so much (particularly Richard Serra's work) we became members and get up there whenever the mood strikes.  It's a short walk from the railroad stop and even has a great Cafe in the bookstore.  The Cafe serves light fare including coffee and pastries. Sandwiches, salads, entrees and soups are prepared on the premises, using locally grown organic ingredients whenever possible. This summer we'll probably get up there with a picnic basket, a bottle of wine, and our folding bikes.

This time we were there to support a friend's Gallery Opening.  The opening was great to see and the four photographers did a fantastic job of demonstrating some alternative process imagery (something the wife is REALLY into these days).  After the opening we decided to walk around Downtown Beacon and cruise Main Street.  We went into a bike store (I ordered a t-shirt - gotta support your local shops).  We stepped into a great wine store called the Artisan Wine Shop.  The manager Tim is quite friendly and obviously knows way more about wine than me; we talked his ear off about the wines we recently tried on our last visit to CraftBar.  Finally, we came to a little gem of a place - Poppy's where they proudly boast "BURGERS - FRIES - VEGETARIAN" on the door.  I have to say that the burger was one of the best I've had in some time.  The beef was grass fed, no hormones, and local; yielding a very juicy patty.  The sides were sweet potato chips and tasty as well.  All in all a great experience.  I would highly recommend stopping by on your next visit to Beacon.  We'll be back and might see there!

Two for Two

We received two eatery recommendations from the French stylist my wife has come to love (and apparently her hair has to have him). Both were great recommendations. I'll cover the first another time in a post about our Paris Dinners (that we're proud of eating). The second was for a great cafe. Since I don't drink coffee and we were going to France in February, we needed to find a good cup of hot chocolate. Antonie's suggestion was to check out Cafe Angelina. The cafe is just across the Louvre and after a couple of hours scoping out the I.M. Pei designed entry pavilion (I am an architect after all, even if we didn't visit the museum's galleries) we had to partake. The signature hot chocolate at Angelina's is nobly called the "chocolat Africain." It was the thickest, richest, best tasting two cups (it's that big) of hot chocolate I have ever had. Paired with the crouque monsieur, a french ham and emmental cheese sandwich which is just as deserving of note. So deserving, in fact, that we went back two days later for another round of chocolat Africains with a crouque monsier to share.

As you know, the listing of recipes on this little blog is generally reserved for only the things I really love. Cafe Angelina's chocolat Africain definitely makes the cut: combine 3/4 cup whole milk, 1/4 cup heavy cream, and 1 teaspoon confectioners' sugar. Heat over medium-high till bubbles appear around edges. Remove from heat and add 4 oz Omanhene bittersweet chocolate (72%) that's been chopped. Stir till melted (you may need to return the heat to low). Serve with whipped cream.

Suggestions Please

The wife and I are headed to Paris in a couple of weeks.  Why do I mention it?  Well, for two reasons - #1.  I wanted to give everyone a heads up that my posts will be few and far between that week (Feb. 10th - Feb. 15th).  Don't fret, I'll be keeping a foodie journal on my trip.  When I get back I should have plenty to write about and report.  And B. (I know I mixed numbers and letters in my outline) I am soliciting input from you, my trusty visitor(s).  Where should we eat?  What should we eat?  More importantly, what shouldn't we eat?  If you know, let me know...

Come on Pantry People let me hear you make some noise!