Jason Perlow

Yes, we ate it with a spoon, and we were asked to scoop all the way down to the bottom to get all the layers of stuff before eating it.

Food impressions: The cold asparagus puree was right on, very sweet and refreshing, almost like a vichysoisse. Beet chips, which were baked and not fried, didn't really put an impression on me, kind of like those Terra Chips, but they weren't salty. You really needed to sprinkle the kosher salt on them. I think they would have been better fried and then seasoned with salt and pepper, but then again, everything is better when fried. Asparagus (there was a lot of it this evening) with Prosciutto and Sesame was a nice, playful presentation, loved the textural contrast between vegetable and sesame. Didn't really notice the prosciutto though. Testa Croquette was very good -- soft and porky tasting. I didn't realize that it was head cheese until the server told us, which was probably a good thing! At this point I was a bit concerned our entire meal was going to be served on sticks, but we were quickly disarmed of that apprehension. Spring Vegetables on Rice Cracker was a nice interlude, loved the morel mushrooms and the two cheeses -- however I would have preferred they piled on the shredded stuff they used as a bed for the presentation, as opposed to having to use your fingers and put it on yourself. A very minor nitpick to a great course, though. Roasted Oyster with Tapioca and Soybeans in the fennel/moscato was probably the standout appetizer of the evening -- very unusual but successful combination, I think. The bread, freshly baked, were buttermilk biscuity-type things, was really exceptional, as was the butter. We had to restrain ourselves from ordering a third basket. Salad was great -- just phenomenal. The pancetta viniagrette was a perfect, classic combo to the incedibly fresh greens, and the panko crusted soft boiled egg was a nice twist on an old favorite. The thin layer of hummus sauce, which was at the bottom, sort of added a slight creaminess to the dressing but it might as well of not been there. Hot Smoked Bass was also very good. While I'm not a huge fan of smoked fish, I ate the whole plate and sopped up the garlicky sauce with the biscuits -- the smoke flavor was very subtle and the fish was very moist and tender. More asparagus in the sauce -- hey, can't have too much farm fresh asparagus in your diet, right? The Lobster with mushroom broth was extremely good, although normally this is paired with rabbit and pasta. I don't like rabbit, so they sent us out this presentation instead. Very intense mushroom broth, perfectly poached lobster tail and claw. What's not to like? Spinach pasta was probably the least liked dish of the evening -- the vegetables were stellar, as was the fresh pasta itself, but the dish in its entirety came off as overall too sweet for some reason. I guess baby arugula puree doesnt have the bitterness of regular arugula, and combined with the pearl onions which were somewhat caramelized and the baby carrots, the dish came off sweet. I liked it more than rachel did. Berkshire Pork Trio was a home run -- very Alsatian/Germanic type of presentation and preparation, over the cabbage with the wonderful roasted jerusalem artichokes (which I could have eaten a whole side dish of, they were that good). Pork belly was tender and soft, with the loin having a nice toothsomeness to it and the cotechino having a really nice sausage texture and flavor. Best dish of the evening. Rhubarb Soup was nice and sour, although I am not a fan of the actual vegetable itself and left most of the peices of it over -- the sour flavor of it was a great foil to the spearmint sorbet, which had a powerful spearmint taste. Chocolate Dessert was excellent, I particularly liked the dark chocolate fried croquette, paired with the pistachio parfait. The chocolate sorbet had a nice intense flavor although it was a bit grainy. All in all, an extremely enjoyable evening, and we had a great time. Staff was extremely attentive and friendly, our server was lovely and the sommelier did a very nice job of pairing wines with the courses. I can't wait to go back and try the summer menu.

Berkshire is a type of breed of pig that originates from England. They grow and live on the estate and are allowed to wander in the woods. Berkshire Pigs (New Zealand) Berkshire Pigs (BBC) For those of you not familiar with Blue Hill, the restaurant tries to produce dishes which contain mostly meat and vegetables that are grown on the farm, where possible, or they go with local sustainable sources. The fish, for example, came from a local source. Virtually all the vegetables used are grown on the farm, a good amount of which are in the greenhouse area depicted here: The NYC branch (which is the one that opened first) uses produce and meat that comes from the farm as well.

Cold Asparagus Puree Beet Chips Paired with 2003 Albarino Asparagus with Prosciutto and Sesame "Testa" (head cheese) croquette with pickled cauliflower Spring Vegetables on Rice Cracker with local ricotta cheese Roasted Oyster with Fennel, Tapioca Pearls, Soybeans, Fennel Pollen and Moscato Paired with a Tocai Friulano Bread Salad of Bibb Lettuce with herbs, panko crusted soft boiled egg, pancetta vinegar dressing over hummus Paired with Philip Eckstein Riesling Kabinett 2003 Hot Smoked Brook Trout with green garlic sauce, pea shoots and asparagus Maine Lobster poached in mushroom consomme with shimeji and porcini mushooms paired with 2002 Burgundy Spinach Pasta with arugula puree and baby arugula leaves, pearl onions and baby carrots paired with Villa Cecchiano Chianti Classico 1999 Berkshire Pork trio -- loin, belly, cotechino sausage over braised red cabbage and jerusalem artichokes and beets Rhubarb Soup with Spearmint Sorbet Valrhona Chocolate Croquette, Chocolate Sorbet and Pistachio Parfait Island Range Co-Exec Chefs Dan Barber and Micheal Anthony

Rachel and I had dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns tonight -- here are the photos we took of our wonderful evening, in order. Please excuse the heavily processed lighting and color on the food pics -- lighting in the restaurant is very dim and it got much darker as we went into the meal, and I had to shoot in RAW mode and do a lot of post production with exposure levels and white balance.

So we bought a bottle of the Pepsi With Lime last week. I can't say I hated it, but I didn't really have a "wow, good product" reaction to it either. I'd have to say it didn't really leave much of an impression on me, much like Coke with Lime does.

While I agree with Steven you should bring him ANYTHING he wants, I highly suggest Kasha Varnishkes with caramelized onions. Or a nice minestrone or pasta/bean soup. MMMmmmm.

We baked pizzas, as part of the Pizza Cook-Off (click) Baby Bella Pie Shrimp Ajillo Pie (Shrimps with garlic, paprika and saffron) Burger pieces with White Cheddar and Mozzarella Pie Chicken Linguica, Pork Chourico and Broccoli

No, they are EXTREMELY low tech. But we've got an ongoing thread about them here with a bunch of photos: Patisserie St. Michel (click)

So we decided to make more pizza tonight, but going with non-processed ingredients and a home-made crust. Rachel can get into specifics on the crust, but its a mix of bread flour and home-milled whole wheat flour made in our Vita Mix, with a little bit of cornmeal in it. The sauce is made entirely of vine ripened tomatoes, with garlic and basil. The first pizza is our take on Donald Trump and Dominos -- a "Cheeseburger" pizza, made from a crumbled up leftover hamburger from last night's dinner, with shredded mozzarella and sharp white cheddar cheese. With a few leftover cooked mushrooms. Pie #2 is a Spanish-Style "Shrimp Ajillo" pizza, with garlic/saffron/paprika shrimps and mozzarella. Pie #3 is your standard mushroom pie, made with "baby bellas". Pie #4 is a sort of Brazilian/Italian fusion, made with Chicken Linguica, Pork Chourico and cooked broccoli, with mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Cheeseburger Pizza, cooling. Cheeseburger Pizza Closeup Shrimp Ajillo Pie. Shroom pie. Shroom pie closeup. Linguica, Chourico and Broccoli Nice crust char on the bottom. Side profile of cheeseburger slice.

Mole Poblano is a thick gravy made with a LOT of ingredients, with the main ones being several kinds of dried chile peppers, chicken stock, sesame seeds, bread, and chocolate. And lard. Its used as a topping for chicken (or turkey) enchiladas and also used with pulled meat as a tamale filling.

Mole Poblano. Now THAT is a project.

Even -good- 100 percent Kauai goes for at least 17 bucks a pound, roasted. Which is about 1/3 less than the price of reputable 100 percent Kona, but it is still pricey. If you want some really top notch hawaiian product I reccommend these two vendors: http://www.bayviewfarmcoffees.com/ http://www.coffeetimes.com/ They both buy their beans from the same sources on the Big Island and Kauai. In addition to growing their own beans from their own estate, Bayview is the second largest purchaser and processor of Kona from small independent farmers on the island, whereas Coffee Times is a small business which primarily centers on roasting. Coffee Times also publish a business circular/island guide that is distributed in the airport and in local stores, and they are a big proponent of Hawaiian coffee legislation that would require all producers to label whether or not the coffee was a blend, and would require certification of 100 percent Kona products. I actually produced the first website for Coffee Times back in 1995, the owner, Les Drent is a nice guy, surfer dude type. Bay View farms is also a very respectable operation and they are good people.

Right, I was referring to the Brazilian ones. The dry ones can be used in rice dishes, antipasto type things, etc, just like dried Chouriço/Chorizo.

I didn't bake this one, we got this from a local French patissier here in New Jersey: It is a light almond sponge with orange syrup, champagne mousse and orange coulis. You could really taste the champagne in this one.

The special Mother's Day cake: You could really taste the champagne in this one.

Asian/Hong Kong style worcestershire sauce doesn't, though. I have one from a company called Kong Yen that is just "Rice Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Seaweed, Vegetable, Fruits, Spices, and Caramel." http://www.kongyen.com.tw/en/product/product02_2130.html

Weber Genesis with the optional stainless steel grates. Accept no substitutes. Get the one with the side burner, it comes in handy when you have outdoor parties and want to make corn on the cob, make bbq sauce, baked beans, etc. They now have fancier, all stainless versions of the Genesis, as opposed to the ones with the black or blue porcelain paint job, but your standard $550 Genesis "Silver" C model is about all you will ever need. The fancier models just LOOK fancier, the burners arent any better. http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/grill/2005/gas/gg_gen_s.aspx Sure, Viking, DCS and some of the other upper-end range companies make more expensive ones, but why bother? Weber also has the "Summit" line with built in rotisseries and stuff. They are nice grills, but very pricey.

I like Guarana as well, but the question is, WHICH Guarana. Antarctica Guarana is the original, but is it the best? Guarana Brasilia, which is made here in the Ironbound in NJ, has a loyal Brazilian-American following. I recently picked up a case of Triunfo Guarana ( http://www.triunfofoods.com ) which is a newly imported product from Brasil, made especially for the American market. Seabra's Market in Newark was selling it for $2.99 a 12 pack. Its pretty good -- sugar cane is the sweetner as opposed to HFCS, which is a big plus in my book. In Brazil, it's marketed under the brand name Xereta. And then you got the other Brazilian Guarana soda producers, Brahma and Kuat, which you really can't find in the US. Speaking of rare Brazilian soft drinks, have you ever tried Matecouro? Its a carbonated Guarana and Yerba Mate hybrid, combined with a unusual herb called “chapéu de couro” which tastes similar to green tea. I've only found one place in NJ so far that carries it. Its primarily consumed in the Minas Gerais province, so it's not widely known throughout Brazil. http://www.matecouro.com.br/en/ The company is working on various export relationships, so we may see more of it and some of their other unique flavors in the future. By the way, if you like Guarana soda and guaranaf-flavored drinks, check out this web site: http://www.guarana.com/

I remember Rachel and I having it for breakfast on our honeymoon on Maui 10 years ago, at least.

Grill them up, find some crusty bread to eat with them. Crack open a beer, or a Guarana drink.

According to this page, light soy combined with salted yellow beans and fermented tofu can be substituted for Fish Sauce. http://www.thaigrocer.com/VegAdapt.html http://www.geocities.com/emaildaneng/veggiefishsauce.html

There are actually some decent recipes on the King's Hawaiian web site: http://www.kingshawaiian.com/recipes/recipes.html I like the BBQ pork sandwich idea....

Ripping a peice out of the loaf, chomping down on it, with a nice cup of French press 100 percent kona, black with sugar to wash it down.

I like the food at this place too much to keep the news about it to myself. The Indian Chef tandoor at work. Spring Vegetable Masala Dhosa Lamb Kati Rolls Mixed Grill Vadai made with Urad Dal flour Click Here for the complete Indian Chef photo album