ned
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Posts posted by ned
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I wasn't in front of Yasuda, however I've found that the stocky guy who's usually at the far end (farthest from the street) of the sushi bar is a delight to work with. His sushi pieces are crafted very much in Yasuda's free-form style, and he tends to operate at a slightly slower pace (which I prefer) and, if you initiate conversation with him, he's very engaging.
I'm fond of that guy too. Had a nice and very informative chat about roasted fish bones with him.
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79th east of 2nd ave. Bistro food. My wife's obgyn recommended it for the calves liver which we didn't try. Everything we did eat including warm chickory salad with bacon and then later choucroute was exemplary. Lots of octogenarians.
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Quatorze Bis
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Picholine
Sushi Yasuda
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I'm a regular stroller partier at Otto. I love it there (at the bar) and, Emma, I'm inviting all my stroller partying friends. You never know, you may push one of those things yourself one day. And have a craving for octopus with celery and lovage just at the moment when your toddler has crashed in his dreaded stroller after a couple of hours of heavy play in Washington Square Park.
Keeping it topical, I'm going to say the Four Seasons. I used to love this place. Great mid-century high American food. I had a crap experience there one night that included reservation shuffling, getting upsold a bad bottle of wine, floppy undercooked and served cold seared foie gras. . . there were other problems. I wrote a thoughtful letter and heard. . . crickets. Not that they need my business but they haven't gotten any of it since this unfortunate night.
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These days I would rather boil than braise. It's a cleaner and lighter way of cooking. A little onion, carrot, a piece of fennel. Barely simmering. Two to four hours depending on the size. Serve with a ladle or two of the resulting broth, carefully seasoned . And then horseradish on the side.
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Dirty. Verrrrry dirty.
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I'm very interested in a comparison of Ranhofer's food and Keller's but only by people who have sampled both.
Curious to imagine Keller's response to Ranhofer's Lobster Newberg preparation:
"When Ranhofer's printed recipe first appeared in 1894, the lobsters were boiled fully twenty-five minutes, then fried in clarified butter, then simmered in cream while it reduced by half, then brought again to the boil after the addition of the Madeira."
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This book is sitting on my coffee table at the moment. Most recently I consulted it in an inquiry about boiled beef.
I've always assumed Ranhofer was German-born but I've no basis that I can think of for it. Anybody know where he was from and where he trained?
He's shown up in fiction (probably more than once) in those books about. . . aw hell I can't remember who the author is. Long books that are kind of capers but encompass lots and lots of interesting NYC history.
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Orsay is serving duck eggs on the brunch menu.
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Over the last couple of weeks I've had great and I mean great success with the skin from hocks doing the following:
Bathe in olive oil salt and pepper. Stuff (like kind of make a sandwich) with garlic thyme and shallot. Roast on a rack for three hours at a low temperature and then finish at a high temp for thirty or forty minutes. Almost bready consistency (if the bread were impregnated with delicious pork fat.
I always thought it was called crackling or cracklin'. Anybody know?
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With all the braised pigs feet that have been ending up in the frdge, I've been enjoying a salad of minced pigs foot with olive oil, lots of pepper, garlic, parsley and sea salt on thinly sliced and toasted potato bread from Balthazar Bakery.
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I'm curious about any commentary on differences between fresh and dried bay leaves.
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American ketchup
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A lot of people use non-stick pans. Leave all the fond on the liver I think is the idea. Also the pan should be hot but you don't need to get too carried away. Things can start to burn in the pan and you can have some unwelcome flavors. Also, a non-commercial stove will do the job just fine. You have to leave the pan on the heat long enough. You can drop a drip or two of water in there to test it. I like to season mine with a little nutmeg or allspice.
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I've heard that if you get a pad thai you don't like you should just add ketchup. I heard that from a thai person (so it must be true).
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Nathan,
Have you been to Thailand and is it your understanding that they have a cuisine that can be differentiated by categories like fast food and I don't know what, "fine dining"?
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I've had similar feeling on recent trip to Sripra, FG. First, has it fallen off? then, maybe it's just a bad day? and then finally maybe it was never all that great to begin with? But I keep coming back to the watercress salad. It is so f---ing good. So fiery and fabulous. Also the curries, jungle curry in particular. There are days when I think I'm going to levitate from the heat in them and the next day I usually do. . . but those flavor combinations are just spectacular. And they consistently use great ingredients.
As far as relative heat (spiciness) goes, I and at least three other westerners who have traveled in souteast asia feel strongly that the hottest thai food we've experienced was in. . . Queens. Dunno what that's about but there it is.
As far as their fish goes, I wonder if all less developed cuisines in very hot climates "overcook" fish. I'm familiar with some that do and they definitely do it because their boats don't have freezers, they can't afford ice or are out too long for it to stay frozen and they usually end up coming home with a boatfull off smelly but still edible fish which nonetheless need to be cooked a lot to overcome adversity. And certainly the practice began long before ice or freezers and then that's just the way people eat fish. Cooked long.
I've had good pad thai at sripra and not unlike the middle of the road pad thai I've had in markets and food stalls all over Bangkok. I don't see the point of a conversation about the etymology of pad thai when, as FG said, today and for many years now it is a staple in Thailand.
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I'm gunna go lowbrow and just comment on the food.
My wife has some kind of thing for this place. I don't know what it is but anyway I've found myself eating here pretty regularly since it opened. Frankly the whole BLT thing has got her atwitter. Whatever. I don't mind the classic burger one bit. Especially when it has cheddar cheese on it. And our two year old eats the sweet potato fries. We like that. But for some reason, unless one orders a burger well done, it comes out quite rare. It could be just my bad luck so I'll just say that on eight out of of ten visits a burger ordered medium has come out raw in the middle. This seems to me something the kitchen had ought to get on top of.
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Me, I like pickles with my pork. Especially if the part of pork is a fatty one like the belly.
I love a cubano with cracklin. So maybe you can find a way--and it shouldn't be to hard--to get the skin of your bellies crunchy while you're braising the rest. No reason why you can't remove the skin in the beginning and handle it under the broiler. I've seen people salt the skin for 24hrs first (render out some water) so it crisps better. At Fatty Crab they drop their pre-braised cubes of pork from the belly and watermelon salad into a fryer to crisp them up. That would be kind of an extreme way for you to handle it. Though it'd probably impress your friends and neighbors.
Pulling is nice for a couple of reasons, it integrates tougher meat with more fat, it's kind of a shorthand, no-wait rillete. But with belly, well it hides the fat part from the fat afraid but on the other hand properly cooked belly is so tender and nice to chew, it is kind of a shame to break it apart. Maybe you braise it, cool it and slice it like the bacon that it is.
I made a terrine out of belly a few years ago so people would eat it without fear of fat. Nobody seems to know or care how much fat is in pate.
What kind of bread will you use?
Carolina pulled pork or cubano seem like templates.
As far as cubano go, roast pork for you is belly. Then the ham. Could go a lot of ways with that. Cheese--when I fancify a cubano I like to use gruyere although I have used young pecorino and the sheep funck of that marries well with pork. You can make pickles but also, for me the variety of delciious new pickled (as in younger, greener and crunchier than half-sour sort of obviates the need. Prune does a delicious baby turnip pickle. That would be nice.
Whew.
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Not last time I was there.
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I was born in Tampa, the birth place of the Cuban sandwich.
The Cuban sandwich is a uniquely Tampa phenomenon, developed by Cubans who settled in the city long before their countrymen came to Miami.
Then, it was called a "sandwich mixto," because the mix of ingredients. You will not see this sandwich in Cuba.
Everybody claims theirs is the best, some add mayo, some lettuce and tomato but the original formula and is very basic.
Cuban sandwich
HOW TO MAKE ONE: Between two pieces of Cuban bread, one of the best from La Segunda Central Bakery in Tampa, layer these ingredients: baked or smoked ham, roast pork, Genoa salami, Swiss cheese, dill pickles, yellow mustard. Press on a grill to crisp the bread and bring out flavors in the meats and cheese. The juices from the cheese and salami should mix with the pork and ham during pressing. These are great.
Great response. Love the history. Curiously, here in nyc I'm pretty sure the only cubanos I've had have been made by Puerto Ricans.
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Some links:
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=69255&st=60
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...29700&hl=cubano
It's the best sandwich. Better than all the others. Way better. Especially if made with cracklin' from a baby pig and the right cheese, bread, pickle, ham and garlic that is perfectly softened in olive oil.
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I love maldens and use it as often as I can. I think I might like this elusive Okinawa salt even better.
Pinkberry frozen yogurt
in New York: Dining
Posted · Edited by ned (log)
My wife, our son's babysitter and apparently all of Los Angeles are addicted to this Pinkberry. I prefer plain with granola and since my wife drags me to Pinkberry about forty-two times a week, I'm getting pretty familiar with it.
I'm also getting, in equal parts, pretty fed up with and charmed by the ineptitude of the management. I have never once felt that things behind the counter where they take orders like "medium plain with strawberries and chocolate rice crispies" were running smoothly. The people "making" the stuff are dropping tools, spilling things, bungling at the cash registers, making the wrong things, checking and re-checking the order. Strawberries, with, no wait a minute, large with gran. . . was it green tea or plain. . . triple mango with oh I give up.
I'll probably see you there tomorrow.
If I don't see you there tonight.