capitol hill/12th avenue in seattle

this shot was taken on our short stroll from having cocktails at the very cool tavern law, to dinner down the street at lark.
the photo is 100% untouched and to me, it’s ever so slightly unexpected, and perhaps even a little bit beautiful…

it’s been over 2 months and i’ve not said a word about seattle which is just wrong of me for two reasons because, well, i really liked that city – and i can honestly say that i’m glad i flew the entire 47,001 miles to see it. oh, it wasn’t that far? really? because it kind of felt that way. i’m telling you… seattle? it is way the hell across and up there. all the while i just kept thinking, man, i could have flown to portugal…

so there was the distance thing – that, and who can remember where i went and what i did 8+ weeks ago? but in the name of blogging and my own personal sanity, i am going to try and recreate the 5 days. it may be a struggle, but as of late i’ve taken to doing brain-challenger exercises so that i can perhaps put off the alzheimers for a little while longer. i even went so far as to download a few of the ‘brain apps’ on my iphone, and now i sit around trying to exercise my brain – which on the upside only requires sitting, even laying down! all this to say, that between google, credit card records and my newly toned brain – i’m going to seriously try and figure out where i went…

i worked the rate at the W to where they were almost paying us to stay there… i’m such a good jew

our first day, we walked from our hotel way up to stumptown on capitol hill and had a pretty exquisite cup of coffee. i realize stumptown hails from portland, but regardless of seattle’s own coffee reputation – we were highly impressed with this place. from there we hopped on the bus to the international district and went to green leaf vietnamese restaurant.

one of a few of the stumptown’s in seattle. great coffee. seriously. go there if you can…

iphone camera alert !!! spring rolls along with a cabbage chicken salad – excellent…

pho – best i’ve ever had

the owner, a tall, handsome chinese guy, sent out these banana fritters in a pool of rich sweet coconut milk. we bonded as we’re both batali fans.

and from there the trip looked just like this…

friday – pike place market, a prius rental car, and a tour of the boeing plant, then dinner at monsoon

saturday – belle epicurean for croissants, café presse for lunch, gehry’s experience music project, vivace espresso, zig zag cafe for cocktails, nishino for dinner

sunday – pizza at serious pie, ferry to bainbridge island, tavern law for drinks and dinner at lark where i met nancy silverton, crashed her party and gushed all over her. she could not have been lovelier.

monday – lunch at long provincial vietnamese and then we flew home

below are a bunch of random shots. i didn’t take many, but as you know i’ve never been afraid to post a poor photograph on ceF – because i am a maverick.

just some of the flowers at pike place market

the seafood and produce were memorable…

an exceptionally good almond croissant from belle epicurean, just a block from the W

my other car is a llama

yasuko’s flaunts their world famous ‘extra pork’ dish – who knew?

serious pie – yukon gold potato, rosemary and olive oil

pesto, something and something

no idea – but it was great pizza…

in the bathroom at lark, ever so slightly wasted – garnering up the nerve to meet…

my new bff nancy silverton!

and lastly, out on the water on a clear blue sky seattle kinda day.

a huge thank you to brittany, the pie lady, for her various and sundry thoughtful recommendations. and to dolce & nutella who i FINALLY got to meet! and well, she is very cool, really pretty and smart and overall extremely impressive… and i wish she didn’t live on the other side of the continent/universe.

but especially a huge thanks to our wonderful friends joanna and brad who schlepped us all over town and then some. i dearly love and adore you both.

…seattle is far.

i’m not exactly known for being a fan of the nashville restaurant scene. and that statement right there is one that gets me in a world of trouble around these parts. but it’s the very statement that launched ceF – and in 2 1/2 years i still stand by it firmly. dining out in this town has been – with few exceptions, relatively painful for me. and then tandy wilson came along…

city house opened two years ago and by now i suppose you could call me somewhat of a regular. it’s way on the other side of town from me, but if i’m going out to dinner, that’s the only place i want to spend my money. ok, sushi. there’s the exception. and savarino’s because i love corrado and his family and it’s a wonderful place to be on any given afternoon. oh, and patterson house. i really like that place too – serious cocktails and some decent small plates… and sure, there are a handful of others, and sometimes they surprise me. but overall there’s just not that much to speak of. and dropping a wad of cash on something that strives for mediocrity? i’d rather make myself a bowl of cacio e pepe ANYDAY.

but tandy cooks with a sensibility that speaks to me. even if a random dish misses the mark, i always appreciate where he was going with it. because i ‘get’ the food at city house in a big way. and if i had a restaurant, it’d feel very much like this place. but i will never have a restaurant. and so i eat here. and the fact that stephanie mixes me a fine, fine aviation, which is a rarity in almost any town – or city, delights me to no end.

the wood fired ovens reach a solid 750 degrees and the pizza dough undergoes a solid three day age. the roast chicken is consistently damn good and chef knows his way around a pig. tandy’s a snout to tail kinda guy that supports local farmers, sourcing his meat and produce to within any locavore’s comfort zone.

but it’s often the antipasti and the interesting salads that surprise me. and the one pictured above is a version of the one i had there this past friday night.. i roasted red and golden beets, sliced a still firm fuyu persimmon, mint, toasted walnuts, chili flakes and a drizzle of olive oil finished with a thoughtful placement of crunchy salt. all that and some ricotta salata. just beautiful.

it’s thoughtful plates like this one that excite me. i would never have put beets with persimmons yet somehow they are wonderful together. a dish like this is why city house continues to be both an inspiration and an oasis for me here in nashville.

and for the record, a bad dinner at a restaurant never makes me irritable or outraged. after all, it’s just one meal that i’m even lucky enough to get to eat. and really, when you’re out at a restaurant it’s more about the people, the evening – the memory.

but at home in my kitchen? a bad dinner? now that could really piss me off…

so i was recently in nyc for a week. and then i came home to my daughter’s college graduation party. at my house. and i’m happy to report that i’m back on the bike, taking full advantage of springtime and all of its rain induced lushness. the honeysuckle is intoxicating… plus, there’s a 3 day cooking gig coming up next month that i’m preparing for. all this to say that i’ve been preoccupied. but i wanted to catch up and say hello and mostly – before i forget, fill you in on ”THE FOOD”, because there sure has been quite a lot of that. <— understatement.

i barely took any photos of anything. but i thought i’d list my itinerary – just so you could see what i’ve been up to – and the magnitude of food. because really, in retrospect? it’s amazing i didn’t keel over and die from caloric excess. well, i almost did once, but then i somehow made a splendid recovery at dinner the next night.

this was something along the lines of braised rabbit over farro risotto. scott conant – scarpetta.

but first and foremost, my beautiful and amazing daughter graduated on saturday from middle tennessee state university with a 3.94 – suma cum laude. and in case you need the translation, that’s latin for "with highest honors" and we are all beyond proud. lauren, you are awesome and i love you. (she reads my blog, unlike the rest of my family… not that i’m bitter.)

and at some point, i somehow managed to convince the talented, wonderful and sexy heidi robb (she’s one of those yoga chicks and it shows) to fly in and cook for us, and then chris was kind enough to come over and be heidi’s sous chef. without them i could never have pulled off this kind of dinner and be at the graduation and then come home and still get to wear a pretty blouse. so before i launch into the nyc trip, here was the menu for lauren’s graduation party:

small nibbles
rosemary marcona almonds – trader joe’s
some kind of buttery swirled puffed cheese sticks – whole foods
botija dried olives – raw guru
————–
2 pizzas
caramelized fennel with chris’s homemade pancetta
mozzarella, fontina, tomato sauce and fresh basil
———————–
pasta
penne w/ red onion, garlic and guanciale – batali recipe from molto italiano – page 186
——————————–
main dish and sides
chicken and italian sausage with sweet peppers, garlic and lemon
grilled asparagus with walnut crema – A16′s recipe
roasted little yukon potatoes with chives and lemon
sliced heirloom tomato salad
————————————————-
dessert
tiramisu – heidi’s recipe – authentic and perfect
and…the now very famous chocolate chip cookies adapted from the one, the only – jaqcues torres by david leite

as you might expect, the food was just excellent and lauren could not have been happier with the day. she starts teaching 7th grade language arts this august.

ok – on to new york…

also from scarpetta – the most beautiful bread – a stromboli filled with fresh and smoked mozzarella, mild sopressata, tomato and basil

and to go with it – olive oil, caponata and mascarpone butter…

thursday – dinner with mom at ouest. tom valenti is a fine chef and a very lovely guy. it is said that he single handedly brought short ribs to the party. and that right there is a reason to worship him.

friday – hair appointment at warren tricomi at the plaza. dinner at del posto with amy, stephane and claire.

saturday – ‘reasons to be pretty‘, chelsea market with a serious shop through buon italia, dinner at scarpetta. thanks for a wonderful day, momma!

sunday, brunch at aquavit with nick. dinner at convivio* with michael.

monday – laid in bed until 2pm in a semi-food coma, then shopping with a purpose in soho. dinner at esca (amazing food) with robin and jim, marc, maggie and amy and jonny

tuesday – great exhibit at the met, and then dinner at otto with cooper

wednesday – a stroll through the guggenheim, lunch at centolire and a black and white cupcake from dean & deluca to cap it all off. which sucked. which was a crying shame…

and now, as peter would say, my linking finger is very broken.

but i’ll be back with more cooking of my own – and soon.

*convivio was incredible. hands down my favorite dinner of the trip. you must go… a huge thank you to chef michael white.

yes yes, scallops again. and again and again. have i mentioned how we love them over here? and have you seen the scallops that have been available lately? i’m not sure i even want to know how exactly it is that they are getting so huge, but i bought one yesterday that was like a small tenderloin, weighing in at 5.5 ounces.

but hey, i like them big because then it is ever so easy to sear the wholly hell out of them and still have them be good and rare in the middle. because that right there is what it’s all about in the world of scallop cooking. achieving the perfect crusty deep golden exterior that is basically pure umami – while not rendering the meat inside to a hard puck-like substance.

this dish was totally ripped off from a local restaurant here in town called 360 bistro. chef john david crow makes a dish like this that i absolutely love and so i decided to try my hand at replicating my last dinner there – or at the very least, come close. chef crow is a friend and i almost called him to get some pointers, but then i just got to cooking and well, i am telling you – 20 minutes from start to finish and we were eating a damn fine plate of food. which is once again proof positive that cooking does not have to be a long, drawn out laborious process. this was truly quick and painless with a huge payoff.

both the apple and the cauliflower were roughly chopped and thrown into separate pans with some water, covered and left to steam about 10 minutes. the cauliflower was then thrown into the food processor minced garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. while it pureed i drizzled in about 1/4 cup of my best olive oil. when i stopped the processor and spooned a bit of the cauliflower into my mouth i smiled. it was absolutely exquisite. dear readers, mashed potatoes have nothing on this. i am telling you. trust me. i care about you. all of you. this cauliflower puree? a winner… and yes, go butter or cream it up if you feel you must, but after this, i was giving the ol’ arteries a break. and really, a very good buttery spanish olive fit the bill wonderfully.

by this time the apple was soft and it got thrown into the chinoise sans water, and strained down to a very fine consistency. the sauce then went back on the stove to reduce down a bit more with some sugar and a pinch of salt.

the scallops got a good deep sear and were plated atop the cauliflower and then drizzled with the apple reduction. the parsley was ‘just because’ it was a rather drab and colorless dish – but regardless of its pallor, i am telling you… this was phenomenal. and on the healthy scale it ranked pretty high.

except we ate the entire head of cauliflower. the 2 of us. and as good as it was in the moment, it was A LOT of food.

an aside: i went through a raw phase once where nearly eveything got pureed. nuts, seeds and vegetables make delicious pates but the quantities get skewed when it’s all in a slice or a ball. i’d make chocolate cakes with nothing but nuts, avocado, coconut oil, agave and raw cocoa powder and the fat/calorie count was high as a kite. also raw macadamias are dangerously good when pureed with nothing but salt and onion…

the scallop thing? we’ve got it bad. and being the versatile little buggers that they are, it’s fun to dress them up according to what’s happening in your refrigerator, the season, or just your mood…

scallops, it’s what’s for dinner…

it’s lola bistro, and i can prove it…

i went to cleveland. cleveland… of all places. and it was good. 

i went to visit my misspent youth at the rock and roll hall of fame where i saw keith moon’s velvet suit, james taylor’s first guitar and marveled at how freakin’ tiny jagger, prince, tyler and bowie are. i mean, they’re like a woman’s size 6. i’d totally break them all in half…  anyway, i had met terry stewart, the president of the ‘rock hall’ when he was visiting nashville and we talked for awhile – mostly about food, and he was kind enough to invite me to visit the museum if i was ever in cleveland. i kindly thanked him while chuckling softly, inwardly rolling my eyes. like i’d ever be going to cleveland… and then a year later he got the phone call and made good on it. and it was a fun couple of hours for which i am grateful to both him and patrick, director of guest services, for showing us around and treating me like the vip rockstar that i’ve always believed i should be.

but i mostly went because on occasion my friend carol and i devise a plan, book a ticket and then we tend to get off a plane and eat something extremely memorable. if you recall, we went here and then here – and now cleveland. let it be known upfront that i knew next to nothing about this city, let alone ohio. i even somehow forgot that cleveland is on lake erie – i must have been sick that day in 5th grade geography. and i never imagined that it was a city with great museums, a top notch symphony and restaurants and markets and well, then there are the actual clevelanders – a few in particular that i quite like. i suppose all this to say that i need to get out more – or perhaps just back to cleveland.

now, not to knock cleveland, as i personally fault the hiltons (who clearly care nothing for the little people) for this artistic travesty, but this was what i looked at for 4 days straight…

yes, residing happily side by side, literally the very same print - each precisely as unattractive as the other. although the coloring may appear to be slightly different, it was merely the lighting in the room. luckily for me this was not to be representational of cleveland. at all…

…but this was. this is a dish that was brought out by the chef de cuisine of lola bistro, derek clayton. he called it ‘fergus henderson meets thomas keller.’  all i know is that you take a hunk of the crispy bone marrow and you slice it onto a piece of toasted baguette and then top it with a good flaky salt along with parsley and then either pickled onion or the salsa verde and a squeeze of lemon and well, boys and girls – it doesn’t get much better than that.

and hey – next time could someone PLEASE remind me to forgo the vanilla pear ginger martini? because i get smashed on liquor and then you add the really, really good barbera – la spinetta ca di pian barbera d’asti ’05 – that we were drinking and well, i tend to forget things. more and more… but i could never ever forget the first dish that michael brought to our table.  it was a cold sausage of forced duck meat, studded with foie gras. ruhlman later told me the proper name for what the studded thing is, but i can’t recall. regardless, it was truly exceptional. one of the better sausages i’ve ever eaten.

this is a picture of michael symon’s entire head next to about 18% of mine.  it is the single worst photo of me ever taken in the history of my entire life. believe me, this crop job was beyond necessary and i did us all a huge service. but that really is me cradling symon’s big bald head and i can assure you the rest of his body was in fact well attached. he is, by the way, an absolute doll. totally adorable. michael symon, i love you. and when things slow down a bit in your life – like in 20 years, let’s hang out. mwah!

after the sausage and marrow, there were sweetbreads and berkshire bacon, and lamb and halibut and the righteous lola fries… and only then did michael send over the 3 desserts – which i proceeded to eat most of… and then i died. happy.

this trip, carol was arriving 2 days after me so i found myself in the amazing care of heidi robb from life in recipes. she works in culinary media and is currently involved with symon on his upcoming book as well as being a personal chef. and in the midst of all of that, she was kind enough to volunteer to schlep my ass all over town for 2 days. we had a lot of food, and a lot of fun. thank you heidi. kindred spirits and friends forever. 

heidi from life in recipes - my lola dining partner and ace tour guide

the next day we went to the cleveland museum of art and feeding maybelle gave us a private tour. she works there and is incredibly knowledgeable of the collection. sadly, we were a few weeks shy of the new exhibit that’s coming in, but still, we got the grand go around and i loved the building which has undergone the first stage of a major renovation, to be completed in 2012. after, we hit chinatown. 

this was the best dish – a petal shaped rice noodle with pork and vegetables. the 3 of us loved it.

then we went experimental and decided to get the bitter melon and shrimp with egg. there is no way to measure the sucktitude of this dish. it was both bad and boring.

white tripe with black bean sauce.  because when heidi and i mustered up whatever it took to order the tripe, she figured black bean sauce was the way to go.  those little fermented beans tend to make anything taste all right. all in all i’d have to say that it was - ummm, textural?  can you see the little villi attached to the little flaps which are attached to the bigger flap of stomach? no? look closer. yep, pretty gross. but we ate some, felt that we could then conquer anything and then went on with our bad selves. but i really took this photo so i could taunt carol (see this), and got great pleasure waving my iphone in front of her face, over and over. because i am her friend and that’s what friends do.

west side market is what’s missing in nashville. trader joe’s may be opening here next month, but they won’t be offering beef hearts and lamb tongues and hungarian bacon and tons of sausage AND cannoli.  ok, we actually have good cannoli. but STILL, we don’t have one butcher that sells calves liver or veal bones or, see below on the very left?  that’s a lamb head.  ok, so maybe i can live without the lamb head but if the brain were still inside i might be interested.

heads and hearts and livers and kidneys and tongues… as it should be. heidi bought 6 lamb tongues for pickling and it was under $5.

the happiest, nicest produce vendors in the building. i loved these vendors. they were truly enjoying themselves and it was contagious. that woman’s melons were outrageous. 

you slice this and eat it as is – cold on a good dense eastern european bread shmeared with garlic. so i’ve been told.

that night, heidi and i were joined by ‘feeding maybelle’ for a dinner at moxie. we had a cheese course that included a briny brau kase from wisconsin that i loved and am trying to track down, as well as a duck confit with pear mostarda that i thought was excellent. there were scallops in creamed corn with nueske bacon, a tomato salad with mozzarella and lemon overtones – and there were 2 bottles of a wonderful argentinian malbec.

more pork for you. ruhlman comes by his love of the stuff honestly… i think cleveland has more pork per capita than any city in america.

speaking of ruhlman, the next day carol and i made it a point to stop by the botanical garden to see donna turner ruhlman’s photography exhibit entitled ‘leaf designs in black and white.’  the prints were stunning and we were lucky to catch it.

the garden has this two level glasshouse.  downstairs, you’ve got yer costa rica – upstairs, yer madagascar.  this plaque (above) was near the elevator and for some reason it CRACKED ME THE HELL UP. poor carol… i wonder how she stands it. but c’mon! i never tire of watching leaf-cutter ants? get a life…

the botanical garden entrance, looking out to the cleveland art museum.

and then finally, that evening – my first negroni. but ruhlman? without the orange slice? we sampled 3 of his recently made sausages and i surprisingly voted for the chicken, a true taste sensation, (turkey with cherry and bratwurst were the others) which michael assured me was loaded with fatback – because i was worried i might not get my daily cleveland pork allowance…

anyway, this is michael, carol and myself (fat again and FRETTING) - photo by donna. we had a wonderful wine soaked evening and as much as i adore michael, and i really do adore michael, his wife is what makes cleveland rock. i’m sure of it.

so for that last night we chose to have dinner at the baricelli inn, owned by chef paul minnillo. we nestled into a table for 4 in a glass encased corner and began with some champagne as paul sent out a tray of salumi and a platter of the last of his garden grown heirloom tomatoes in vibrant green, yellow and red. it wasn’t a night for taking food photos but for those of you who may wonder, we had the 5 spice lamb ribs that came with a chutney slaw that was really quite good and a chilled sugar snap pea soup that didn’t quite rise to what it could have been. we also had a simple salad of greens from the renowned farmer jones, and another that had asparagus, potatoes, mustard greens, a poached egg and bacon vinaigrette – both excellent if not slightly overdressed. for our entrées we had a corn risotto with bacon and sweet peppers, a saffron linguine with lobster and pea tendrils and the duck breast with stone fruit compote, wild rice and figs that seemed to be quite well received. but well, by that time i was ever so slightly blurry, exclaiming "no, i’m fine" just as my elbow slipped off the table. charming. (le sigh…)

besides the great food, the baricelli inn is also known for its cheese and boasts a state-of-the-art affinage cooler, home to about 40 different varieties. so the evening ended with a spread of beautiful cheeses, one in particular that was made with goat, cow and sheep milk. there was a dessert that didn’t quite matter and scotch and some muscato, perhaps the other dessert wine was a sauternes but by this point – what’s the difference? you get the picture. if not, allow me to spell this out. cocktails, champagne, 2+ bottles of wines, dessert wine and hard liquor. and i lived to tell the tale and did not puke, although at 4am it was touch and go…

sunday was a bit tough for me to face. but we slept in, admired the hotel artwork a bit longer, packed up and then rallied, only to hit fire for brunch with heidi. i hate to say it, but even in my delicate state, nothing we ordered qualified as all that good. the chef doug katz did come by and totally seemed like a very nice jewish boy. admittedly, by that time, food wasn’t exactly high on my priority list. and i was hung over. but still, just fair at best. fire has a wonderful reputation and if i find myself back in cleveland, i’d love to try it for dinner.

when you descend upon a city that you’ve never been to before, and you’re there to suck the life out of it, drawing all it has to offer into your brain, your stomach, your heart – sometimes it can overload your senses. but somehow this was not the case with cleveland. somehow, despite the self induced fast pace, it felt homey and comfortable – the kind of place where it’s easy to just ‘be’, the kind of place where you could live. after all my earlier notions, the "rock ‘n’ roll capital of the world" proved itself to be a worthy destination in ways i had not imagined and i know i’ll be back sometime. and when i am, it will be because of the most important thing that any town, village or city can offer you – it will be to see my friends.

yes you did.

this post is long overdo.  but i’d been gone so long over the summer that i wanted to show you that i could still cook, or that i would cook or that yes, cooking was still a huge part of my life.  so first i wanted to present you with some of what goes on around here, in my kitchen - and well, now that i have a few posts under my too-tight belt, i’d like to talk a bit more about chicago.  i mean avec.  because avec is a great restaurant.  so great that across the street from avec there are newly constructed condo’s for sale, and i was looking at them and seriously thinking, "if i bought one of those and moved to chicago then i could eat here every single day".  oh and by the way, avec is not necessarily in an emboldened font - but in my mind it always will be…

whipped brandade

do you see what i see?  that right there is a bowl of the best brandade ever.  EVER.  seriously freakin’ awesome.  and right alongside the bowl on the wooden plank, stacked up in 2 perfect rows are the toasted baguette slices.  the perfect presentation. 

english pea crostini with lemon zest, radish, watercress and ricotta salata

questions?  i didn’t think so.

sockeye salmon tartare with marinated baby carrots, zucchini, red onion and grapefruit juice

this was freakin’ wonderful. (excuse the iphone pic)

housemade country terrine pork, sweetbreads, cherries and pistachios with cherry mustard and pickled quail eggs

excellent excellent excellent in every way.

focaccia with taleggio cheese, truffle oil and fresh herbs

this stuffed focaccia was a phenom (another iphone pic – sorry)

 
avec pic from my second (4pm) visit before my flight…

avec pic swiped from their site – i mean, just look at this place…

avec serves my kind of food, all rooted in mediteranean cuisine.  it’s owned by donnie madia, an impressive restaurateur who also owns blackbird right next door.  donnie’s undeniable attention to dramatic yet minimalist detail is exquisite to me.  his design sensibility creates a vibe that works well with my psyche, and somehow becomes a clean, neutral, even peaceful altar for the knockout food.  when i’m back to chicago, avec will be my first stop.  for sure.

blackbird was there first, sits right next door and is the french upscale version of it’s younger more bohemian counterpart.  we dined there too, and i must tell you that it was also a standout dinner but in a more refined manner.  i didn’t shoot any photos of the food – and perhaps should have, but quite frankly we got to drinking cocktails and that right there is supremely dangerous territory.  i begin to care much less about documenting the food and exponentially began to care way more about just enjoying the evening like a regular (non food-blogger) person.  and then the cocktails were followed by the wine pairing to go along with our tasting menu – well it is the sure fire way to remembering things vaguely.  case in point – the following morning when i looked over our menu – i had zero recollection of the last course.  but none. nada. zippo.  and honestly, i wasn’t even that smashed… honestly…

chef paul kahan was nominated just last year for the james beard award for outstanding chef, and in ’04 received the honor of being named the best chef in the midwest.   his devotion to both his craft and his kitchen staff is well documented - and although i know none of that first hand, i would attest to all of it if only by the level of food he puts out.  and i’m quite sure that donnie madia wouldn’t have it any other way…

the menu was as follows, and i honestly do recall being knocked out by this dinner.  the white gazpacho was out of this world, the foie was perfectly prepared and with unique accompanying flavors that were as harmonious as a bach double violin concerto - and the sweetbreads were the best i’ve ever eaten anywhere – by far.

blackbird tasting menu

chilled parmesan gazpacho with peeky toe crab, local black raspberries and pumpkin seeds

chilled cuttlefish with jicama, snow peas, cardamom and crispy chocolate

roasted hudson valley foie gras with preserved grapefruit, sherry-braised radishes, sea beans and lychee-espresso

seared tasmanian sea trout with cherry molasses, kohlrabi, baby turnips, forbidden black rice and salad burnet

crispy veal sweetbreads with cashew butter, rye waffle, black mission figs and black olive honey

braised rack of lamb with fresh soybeans, spring radishes, pickled feta and lovage

local strawberry sorbet and olive oil

kalamata olive cake with rhubarb, toffee and buttermilk ice cream

milk chocolate fritters with apricots, soy and rice milk sorbet

which brings me to my final evening in chicago, a dinner at charlie trotter’s.  so let me please officially state that the food itself was really wonderful – totally top notch - and i did take a bunch of pics but they all look like kinda this due to the lighting and my old point and shoot…

and really, this representation is hardly fair to do to a forty eight hour braised short rib with chanterelles and black fermented garlic.  just think of what the perfect bite of beef could taste like, and this would be not only in the running, but on the short list.  though there was one thing… you would think that in the forty eight hours it took to cook the rib, that they might have found the time to clean the chanterelles properly.  because our chanterelles were gritty and this was charlie f’ing trotter’s and we were both biting down on mushroom dirt.  big misstep for a kitchen such as ct’s. 

and… the service was a bit stiff and well, odd… and that rooooom was beyond tired, as in – think early 80′s fancy but stuffy hotel dining room, such as, say, the ‘pierre’ or the ‘st. regis’ – but back in the day when carpets were burgandy with leaf patterns and wall sconces were high french and gilded.  that was charlie trotter’s.  and that vibe squicks me out.    but hey, for me to complain at all about this dinner would be pretty foolish because what was really the very best part was that it was a surprise gift.  i had a feeling that something was up when they began pouring from the premium wine pairings without asking us… so thank you mr. youknowwhoyouare.  the dinner was delicious and i was so happy to be able to experience chef trotter’s food.

this is joe.  we met in economics 101 in 19muffleshhh, second semester we took philosophy together and then greek mythology and well, afterwards we never spoke of any of that again, but we’ve remained like family all these years.  one of the many reasons i love joe is that he was by far the hottest guy in the trotter dining room that night and the only one without a tie.  that and the fact that he is all irish and insists on cocktails before dinner and drinks a lot of very good wine.  joe is also a restaurateur in chicago, his place is the beloved le colonial.

and so that was chicago.  all of that and alinea, of course.  so to recap, my 5 days looked a little something like this: alinea/avec/blackbird/charlie trotter’s/avec with lunches at le colonial thrown in for very good measure…

as a true nyc girl, born and raised – it’s hard for me to admit love for another city.  but chicago, i love. 

i do… 

it’s called ‘chinese take out’.  a 6 hour sous vide short rib on a guinness gelee film with roasted peanuts and peanut puree, shaved broccoli stalks, fried broccoli and red peppercorns. 

call it theatre.  performance art.  whimsical cuisine on steroids…  call it what you will.  and then we can all simply agree that grant achatz of alinea is a genius.  because after all is said and done – and trust me when i tell you that there is a lot being done to get to where this man goes – the food tastes as extraordinary as it looks.

carol (famed writer of ‘french laundry at home‘) and i continue on our restaurant tour (see: ‘per se’ and ‘per se’), this time meeting up in chi-town with our sole purpose: this one singular dining event. and being that we’d traveled far and were ready to experience all alinea had to offer – we chose the 27 course ‘chef’s tour’, the exact menu which you see below.  the size of the circle represents the size of the dish – the smallest being one bite, the largest being perhaps 3 or 4.

it is a bit of a 3 ring circus, but a highly sophisticated circus.  courses are presented – sometimes grouped together - in a various array of sculptural vessels.  a chunk of compressed watermelon pierced on a 14" stainless steel antenna which then pierces its heavy base – balancing on the thin end of the metal.  (3rd from left below.)

crucial detail is the maker of these unique pieces.

so…

the shaved slice of wagyu (below) first defrosts on the table in a flag-like manner, doubling as table art – suspended from a diagonal cut of wood – only later to be carefully draped over a maitake mushroom and smoked date. 

from centerpiece to…

what one might dream of in a perfect world… wagyu, maitake, smoked date, blis elixir and oregano.

the foie gras course served with tapioca, fig and coffee, arrives in a glass tube that one then ‘sucks’ the contents from…

blurry, but hopefully you get the idea

i could go on… and so i will.

frozen lightly foamed mozzarella over just sweetened basil ice cream with tomatoes 7 ways – incredible

duck confit encased in chocolate with blueberries…
and 3 sauces, and gelee/jelly cubes - of which i have no recollection…

i found the duck course to be kind of, ummm, not my thing.  i mean, you can’t win them all and only 2 of the 27 courses were - for me, less than stellar.  i’d say that’s still 4 stars, wouldn’t you?  of course you would.

oh frothy lobster pea ball stuff with mint vapor, how i loved thee

hot potato, cold potato

the needle goes through a small hole in the miniature bowl where a hot potato and sliced black perigord truffle are speared above a cold vichyssoise.  the pin is pulled, the contents of the needle hit the soup and you knock it back.

lamb with sunflowers 3 ways along with potatoes… one of the better things i’ve ever eaten and perhaps my #1 course of the night

oh and this little guy here…

this is some kind of chicken liver mousse made with vin santo and encased in a caramelized onion shell with bacon powder on top.  yes it is.  no really.  this way-too-little truffle actually exists on the face of the planet.  in chicago.  on north halsted.  and you know what i did?  i asked for seconds.  yup.  shocked?  oh, but then you don’t know me…. my balls are large.  much larger than one way-too-little truffle.

bacon being waterboarded or on a sex swing?  you decide…

and this is wafer thin bacon.  it’s dessert bacon, remember?  hell yeah.  with butterscotch, apple and thyme.  suspended from – a thing.  don’t ask me… i’ve no clue except to say, bring it on grant, because i am so very your audience.

and speaking of grant, he made it a point to come out and talk to us.  he was gracious to do so and if i may say, for a boyish kinda looking guy of slight build, the man has quite the handshake and mesmerizing gaze.  grant achatz has been through hell and back.  if you’re not up on the story, you can read it here.  there are no words except, rock on.  and thank you.

but perhaps the biggest thanks goes to carol.  because as each course was presented in all its glorious detail, i would grab my camera and try to get a half decent pic – with no lighting – on my old point and shoot.  so when i finally went to eat i always, but always said to her "so what’s in this?" to the point where i was even annoying myself.

but that’s why you dine with friends and lovers and well, anyone who’ll put up with the fact that you spilled your cold potato soup all down the sleeve of your little black dress…

 

after 6 weeks of being away from my kitchen, i finally got to throw a dinner together.  something simple and quick – something light and fresh.  scallops are a favorite and a red pepper sauce pairing makes an effortless and classic dish. 

into the vita-mix went:

a roasted red pepper – blackened, peeled, seeded
small clove of garlic
smoked salt
cayenne pepper
balsamic syrup
lemon infused extra virgin olive oil

searing scallops is a favorite culinary task of mine.  i fought with them for awhile, trying to achieve the perfect caramelization on both sides while still having a rare center.  i use cast iron, getting the pan super hot, adding the oil and/or butter and then placing the very dry scallops into the hot pan without overcrowding.  it’s all about moisture avoidance.  also, i choose to not season my scallops as they always seem to have the right amount of salt just as they are. 

they were served over a plate of fresh baby spinach leaves with halved grape tomatoes and some pea shoot tendrils scattered about, just because.  the sauce acted as the dressing and really, it was satisfying as could be on a hot summer night. 

tonight i made broiled halibut, lightly salted and peppered with some olive oil.  i took no photos and just enjoyed the simplicity of the fish over the same spinach leaves and tomatoes – along with some of ‘karen’s hot giardiniera’, given to me by a friend who had discovered it in vermont, quite by accident.  you need to buy the 4 jars.  so just do it and then thank me.  these jars of spicy olivey goodness make amazing gifts and will be much better received than yet another bottle of oaky $14 chardonnay.  not that you’d ever show up with that…

i bring up my humble dinner tonight to not only let you in on the secret of this amazing olive spread that absolutely blew me away – but to also tell you that i am a fan of eric ripert, and because of his new blog ‘avec eric’ (thank you michael ruhlman – again) where the cuisinart brick convection toaster oven (brk-200) is flaunted as the one essential you must never ever live without… i slapped down my credit card quicksmart paying (a discounted) $200 (in turn receiving a whole 220 frequent flying miles) and i must say, not only is it a handsome devil, not unlike both eric and michael, but it’s going to be extremely handy to have around.  for one frozen bagel.  grilled tomatoes.  fish for 2, roasted chicken, a tin of 6 muffins, a small homemade pizza – the endless possibilities boggle the mind… and eric’s blog keeps showing me the simplest, freshest, healthiest ideas – all while leaving a slightly smaller carbon footprint.  i own double convection gaggenau ovens, which are totally sexy looking (kind of like both eric and michael) and wonderful around the holidays (if you’re a woman, i’m thinking what you’re thinking), but 9/10 of the time, it’s small quantities around here.  and my new cuisinart mini-oven is working like a dream…

a week from tonight i’ll be dining at alinea and 3 nights from that at charlie trotter’s.  in nyc i ate at jean georges, babbo, blaue gans, bar americain and felidia.  this time around i’d have to say my favorite was felidia – ‘jg’ losing out only due to the fact that it’s high french and i am so partial to italian. and really, felidia was just very good.  i had pear and fresh pecorino ravioli and calves liver over farro and polenta.  joe (thank you joe, again and again) sent over a wonderful bottle of wine along with octopus done 2 ways.  i was very, very happy with this food. 

and as much as i both hate and hesitate to say this, babbo was somehow a huge let down. the lambs brain ’francobolli’ was plain bad.  the goose liver ravioli was just wrong.  the rabbit and duck were just ‘ok’ – nothing to remember.  the branzino, lambs tongue and sausage plate were all excellent as was a saffron panna cotta with rhubarb.  but ‘osteria mozza’ in LA kicked ’babbo’s’ culinary ass.  again i will say, our dinner at mozza was a full fledge knock-out.  but this is why you don’t review on one meal.  i know babbo is a great restaurant.  my dinner there 9 years ago still rolls around in the food archive section of my brain.  but this time, the chef de cuisine was off and it was a long holiday weekend… so next time i’m in ny – this autumn, i hope to go back. 

i had the pleasure of meeting the brilliant, warm and witty michelle from ‘thursday night smackdown’.  she dined with me and my mother at babbo.  you need to read her take on my mom.  as one might expect from michelle, it is classic and spot on and if you have to ask, you could never understand… 

my ‘jg’ dining partner was my friend amy from minimally invasive.  she is now forced to dine with me every time i come to nyc.  we agonize over where to go.  it took us about 20 emails to get both a date and a restaurant in ink.  we were excited about jg and ordered with abandon.  nothing like a little $300 lunch… and then, believe it or not – afterwards, we took a quick trip across the street to time-warner for a macaron at bouchon bakery.

so it’s been a stream of superior food and wonderful wine… and people.  it’s all about the people.  and there’s so much more to come.  i am truly grateful beyond measure and so incredibly fortunate.  yay.

oh and thanks for reading…

this may be the longest i’ve gone without posting – a solid 2 weeks.  it seems i’ve got a slight case of food blogger ennui.  there’s been no cooking of my own – none at all.  and really?  it’s been a welcome respite that shows no signs of waning just yet… but a woman’s got to eat and my camera is usually close by, so…

feel healthier yet?  lord knows i do. 

and do you see this salad?  this very, very big salad?  this is what i ate for 2+ weeks.  WITH NOTHING ON IT.  and dear readers, let me tell you what i’m sure you already know, that a salad such as this really begs – no, pleads – for just a touch of walnut oil and a fine sprinkling of guerende salt.  but no, i dutifully got that plate of produce down au natural with minimal whining.  and although a bit lackluster, i consoled myself with the anticipation that i’d be dining at ‘osteria mozza’ in the immediate future.

which was stellar.  sublime.  wondrous. 

damn, mario – we were blown away. the creamy burrata. the grilled to perfection octopus, the brilliant and mind blowing (hee) calves brain ravioli (thank you michael ruhlman), the tender duck with a pear mostarda… the wine, the attentive service, the dessert of bombolini with a lemon curd, along with a torta della nonna with pine nuts and honey… i took no photos during this 4 1/2 hour dinner.  i was too enraptured by the experience and just wanted to get lost in every moment – every bite.  it was one of the best food experiences i’ve had in a very long time (per se will always stand alone) and it was FUN.  we had so. much. fun. 

and tonight i’m in nyc and dinner is at babbo, osteria mozza’s sister restaurant in nyc.  interestingly, it’s a very similar menu.  i last ate at babbo 9 years ago. 

so, southern california, where everyday is nearly perfect.  i will miss you. 

but not tonight – tonight my heart belonds to mario.

in the meantime though, remember me because i will be back – soon…

a few weeks ago i received an email:

Dear Claudia,

We are co-hosting a dinner with Joe Bastianich Thursday, at 6:30 on Thursday, June 4, at ‘City House Restaurant‘ on 4th Avenue North. The dinner will feature City House’s exceptional cuisine paired with Joe’s wonderful wines. Seating is very limited, so let us know as soon as possible if you would like to attend.

i immediately rsvp’d, yes + 1.

as you most likely know, joe bastianich’s mom is lidia of famed ‘felidia‘, and the writer of no less than 5 of some of the best italian cookbooks around.  it was lidia bastianich who was requested to cook for the pope when he was recently in nyc.  she prepared his lunch and dinner each day, some of what would have been typical dishes from his childhood in germany.  joe was his server – which he described as somewhat of an out-of-body experience… a greater honor could not have been bestowed on this italian (via croatia) – american family.

but before any of this, back in 1971, lidia and her husband opened their first restaurant, ‘buonavia’, on queens boulevard in forest hills where i grew up, about 6 blocks from our apartment on yellowstone blvd.  joe used to work there when he was a little boy and my family used to eat there as it was by far the best italian in town, kicking the competion ‘la stella’s’ culinary ass.  i remember the limos parked out front… these are kind of memories that stay with a kid.

then came ‘felidia‘ in ’81, right around the corner from my dad’s art gallery on 58th and 3rd.  and again, we ate there often.  i grew up on lidia bastianich’s cooking, so it’s no wonder that i know and love great italian food.

joe grew up to become a rock star restaurateur, opening his first restaurant, ‘becco‘ at just 23 – a menu scattered with page references to recipes in lydia’s cookbooks.  he and mario batali have been partners for 10 years now in about a dozen restaurants all over the country.  and in 2005 joe won the james beard foundation’s ‘outstanding wine and spirits professional’ award as well as bon appetit’s ‘wine and spirits professional’ at their annual american food and entertaining awards.  and just THIS month he and batali won the ’2008 outstanding restaurateur award’ for babbo.  another huge recognition of undeniable greatness.

photo from the ulterior epicure 2007

but the best news of all is that he’s a really fine man, who speaks softly and seriously with a sense of true humbleness.  his love of wine is undeniable.  and so when he spoke of his vineyards, describing both the history and terroir of the region with an undeniable depth of knowledge and passion, i was mesmerized. 

photo from the ulterior epicure 2007

"bastianich wine dinner"

june 4. 2008

bastianich rosato 2007

***
antipasti
house cured ham
farro, radish, english peas, local greens, almond, lemon, pecorino
georgia shrimp, lemon, chilies, mint, marjoram

bastianich tocai friuliano 2006
bastianich tocai plus 2005
***
pizza
prosciutto cotto, mozzarella, oregano, chilies, egg

bastianich vespa bianco 2006
***
pasta
rigatoni, tomato, meatballs, montasio

la mozza aragone 2005
***
secondo
oven roasted goat, salsa verde

la mozza i perazzi 2006
***
cheese
hopeville tomme, blood orange marmelade
***
dolce
cookie plate – selection of southern cookies
***

so keeping an impartial palate after now meeting joe – and already wanting to love his wine, well, it was going to be tough.  but dear readers, i truly thought that what was presented that evening was outstanding and the next day i ordered a mixed case of his wine.

i sat next to joe for the first half of the dinner and we talked of food and food blogging, and songwriters and songwriting, and bourdain and batali…  and then i had to release him to the other 30 or so diners so he could work the room.

joe handed me his card and told me i could call him if i ever needed anything.  i looked at him and said, "well, what i was really hoping for was ‘babbo’ on my birthday".  and now - it is done.  the first and last time i ate there was 1999 and it was one of the better dinners i can recall.  bur it’s a tough reservation. and believe me, i have put in the phone time – trying to get in.  the week before i had even emailed the general manager, to no avail.  (by the way, babbo does have a show-up and wait to be seated policy, and i think you can eat at the bar… but it’s not a guarantee.)

and now i’m in los angeles, adhering to this painfully plain raw diet for a 3 week spell.  i wasn’t going to do any real dining out, but i am weak in the face of a batali/bastianich driven restaurant.  and so now i’ll be checking out ‘osteria mozza’ on melrose, my last night here. 

i can’t wait. 

thank you, joe…