Jason Perlow

A good person to ask about polenta would be Marco Canora, who is having a Q&A on eGullet this week. He serves one of the creamiest polentas in NYC.

Click Here for the Marco Canora Q&A/Hearth Pictorial

http://www.restauranthearth.com When Marco Canora signed on to be the chef at Craft, he firmly believed that cooking should not be treated as a fussy art form but that ingredients should be allowed to speak for themselves. He knew this would require the highest quality ingredients and impeccable execution. What he did not know was that he was developing a concept which would influence a new trend in dining. The early buzz on Craft was encouraging and went on to surpass all expectations when William Grimes of The New York Times awarded it three stars and wrote: "[Craft] is a vision of food heaven, a land of strong, pure flavors and back-to-basics cooking techniques." More positive reviews followed leading USA Today to proclaim, "Chef Marco Canora's food has won near universal praise." In the wake of such praise, Craft won the 2002 James Beard Best New Restaurant Award. Soon the international press began taking notice and Cuisine magazine of Australia hailed Craft as "the most serious and important new restaurant to open its doors in Manhattan in more than a decade." Even internet pundits started to speculate about what made Craft so unique. "Informing Colicchio and Canora's approach at Craft," wrote Steven A. Shaw, founder of Fat-Guy.Com, "is an intellectually rigorous understanding of food and flavor that is the secret ingredient in every dish." Although Canora's involvement in Craft represented a big step forward in his culinary career, he had received accolades for his talents in the kitchen since the late 1990s. As the executive chef and owner of La Cucina, a 60-seat restaurant on Martha's Vineyard, Canora was something of a local celebrity cooking for then-President Bill Clinton and his friends, and cooking food that was widely known as the best on the island. As Canora's role as chef at Craft continues to expand, he keeps La Cucina up and running and meeting his high standards. As a testament to Canora's energy and vision, Colicchio gave him full reign over Craftbar, Craft's more casual sibling. At Craftbar Canora translated his family recipes into contemporary classics. Jonathan Reynolds of The New York Times Magazine noted that "Canora's clever adaptation of vitello tonnato to sandwich status brings a pleasing summer casualness to a classic" and Maura Egan writing for the same publication called "the duck-ham-taleggio-cheese-and-mushroom panini at Craftbar the culinary world's unsung hero." Marco learned to approach cooking with both passion and resourcefulness by observing and working alongside his Tuscan mother and aunt. It was in their kitchens that Canora began to pay close attention to the use of seasonal ingredients and how vegetables and herbs from his aunts garden could be translated into a wide variety of dishes. Years later, while he was a sous chef at Gramercy Tavern, Canora decided to learn more about the roots of his family's cuisine and traveled to Florence, Italy, where he apprenticed at Fabbio Picchi's renowned Cibreo. With fifteen years of cooking and management experience now under his belt, Canora says his goal at Hearth restaurant "is to create beautifully composed dishes with an emphasis on quality and simplicity." **** About Hearth Building upon his apprenticeship in Florence and in some of New York's finest eateries, Marco Canora's menu features classical dishes that have been given a contemporary spin. Whether exotic or familiar, the ingredients are allowed to speak for themselves in an uncontrived manner. The menu changes approximately 4 times a year, to correspond to the seasons. The dishes are composed and some involve variations on a single ingredient. Another common thread at Hearth is the use of true Italian cooking techniques (predominantly soffrito, a classic Italian flavoring-base of slow-cooked vegetables and olive oil), which are often sacrificed in modern restaurants in favor of easy fixes and culinary shortcuts. There are also homemade pastas and risottos available, as well as some classic Italian combinations: lamb shoulder with borlotti beans and escarole and roasted cod with baccala mantecato. Click here to participate in the Marco Canora Q&A

Lets not forget that Gage and Tollner is/was the only restaurant in New York with functional gas lamps, too. I hope someone buys up the space and re-uses it for a nice restaurant and doesnt destroy the decor. The woodwork and ornamentation in that restaurant is beautiful. Their bar is one of the nicest in the city.

Chinese home cooking tonight. Sauteed Shrimp with Yellow Leeks, Chives, Mushrooms in a garlic/soy/sherry cornstarch slurry sauce. Served with rice and store-bought spring rolls and scallion pancakes.

Braised Lamb Hen of the Woods mushrooms Roasted Sirloin Rabbit Terrine Roasted Cod with Brandade Sardine appetizer Socca Canelloni Guests at the kitchen counter Pear and Huckleberry Crisp

http://www.egullet.com/?pg=ARTICLE-ribeye011604 Rabbi Ribeye's discourse on this is an interesting start.

Its currently my favorite Cognac. $75 would be a -very good- price for it. Under $90 is what you should expect to pay for it these days.

http://www.restauranthearth.com One belief that has defined Marco Canora’s career as a restaurant chef is that cooking should not be treated as a fussy art form with scores of flavors competing for the diner’s attention. Instead, he prefers to create dishes that allow people to appreciate each pristine ingredient. And it is this approach to cooking that has won him accolades at his latest venture, Hearth. Three weeks after Hearth’s opening, New York Magazine’s Hal Rubinstein wrote that the “fare Canora put before me consisted of subtly balanced dishes,, softly seasoned and highly defined in their simplicity.” A few weeks later in a Diner’s Journal for The New York Times, William Grimes declared that “The flavors here [at Hearth] are potent and the presentations simple.” He went on to extol the virtues of Canora’s rabbit ballottine, game-bird terrine, roast chicken, veal breast, and braised lamb. Writing in one egullet’s on-line forums, Steven A. Shaw, founder of FatGuy.com, wrote, “Marco Canora's training and influences are on display at Hearth, as are [Canora’s partner] Paul Grieco's, but Hearth is much more than the sum of Marco and Paul's backgrounds. They've created a very special restaurant, one of the best to open in New York recently.” Prior to opening Hearth, Canora was the Executive Chef at Craft Restaurant, which was awarded three stars from The New York Times during his watch. In a glowing review, William Grimes called Craft “a vision of food heaven, a land of strong, pure flavors and back-to-basics cooking techniques.” In the wake of such praise, Craft won the 2002 James Beard Best New Restaurant Award and USA Today proclaimed that “Chef Marco Canora’s food has won near universal praise.” Soon the international press began taking notice and Cuisine magazine of Australia hailed Craft as "the most serious and important new restaurant to open its doors in Manhattan in more than a decade." Even internet pundits started to speculate about what made Craft so unique. "Informing Colicchio [The chef/owner] and Canora [the chef]'s approach at Craft," wrote Steven A. Shaw "is an intellectually rigorous understanding of food and flavor that is the secret ingredient in every dish." Although Canora's involvement in Craft represented a big step forward in his culinary career, his talents in the kitchen were already getting him noticed in the mid-1990’s. As the Executive Chef of La Cucina, a 60-seat restaurant on Martha's Vineyard, Canora was something of a local celebrity cooking for then-President Bill Clinton and his friends, and producing what was widely known as the best food on the island. For six summers while also working as a chef in Manhattan, Canora kept La Cucina up and running. A little over a year after Craft opened its doors, Colicchio gave Canora full rein in designing the menu and opening Craftbar, Craft's more casual sibling. At Craftbar Canora translated many of his Tuscan family’s recipes into contemporary classics. And the results were again positive with Jonathan Reynolds of The New York Times Magazine noting that "Canora's clever adaptation of vitello tonnato to sandwich status brings a pleasing summer casualness to a classic" and Maura Egan writing for the same publication calling "the duck-ham-taleggio-cheese-and-mushroom panini at Craftbar the culinary world's unsung hero." Canora learned to approach cooking with both passion and resourcefulness by observing and working alongside his mother and aunt, both of whom immigrated to the United States from Lucca, Italy. It was in their kitchens that he began to pay close attention to the use of seasonal ingredients and how vegetables and herbs from his aunt’s garden could be translated into a wide variety of dishes. Years later, when he was a sous chef at Gramercy Tavern, Canora decided to learn more about the roots of his family's cuisine and traveled to Florence, Italy, where he apprenticed at Fabbio Picchi's celebrated restaurant Cibreo. With fifteen years of cooking and management experience under his belt, Canora’s dream of owning a restaurant in downtown Manhattan is now being realized at Hearth, where he is finally getting the opportunity to cook the way he has always wanted: with minimal fuss and plenty of finesse. **** About Hearth Building upon his apprenticeship in Florence and in some of New York's finest eateries, Marco Canora's menu features classical dishes that have been given a contemporary spin. Whether exotic or familiar, the ingredients are allowed to speak for themselves in an uncontrived manner. The menu changes approximately 4 times a year, to correspond to the seasons. The dishes are composed and some involve variations on a single ingredient. Another common thread at Hearth is the use of true Italian cooking techniques (predominantly soffrito, a classic Italian flavoring-base of slow-cooked vegetables and olive oil), which are often sacrificed in modern restaurants in favor of easy fixes and culinary shortcuts. There are also homemade pastas and risottos available, as well as some classic Italian combinations: lamb shoulder with borlotti beans and escarole and roasted cod with baccala mantecato.

Actually, it took me years to get over my hatred of horseradish, because I think Ashkenaze Passover food is absolutely abyssmal, with the rare exception of Matzo Ball Soup and Potato Kugel. In fact, I think -most- Ashkenaze high holiday food is abyssmal. Give me Sephardic preparations any day. The very association of horseradish with that holiday gives me the heebie jeebies. I VASTLY prefer the gentile, British preparation of serving it with mayo and red meat. When I first had it this way, it was a godsend. Yes, horseradish can actually be good. Gold's horseradish on the other hand.. feh.

More Binh Duong tonight, with few repeats: Sauteed beef over Noodle Salad (Bun) Beef and onion rolls over tiny vermicelli Sauteed beef cube over salad Shrimp fried rice Fried Squid We had to try this dish after Rosie was so disappointed in it. It came out tongue burningly hot and freshly fried, and not overly chewy. It was especially good with a dip into the offered condiment of salt/pepper/lime wedge. You squeeze the lime juice into the salt & pepper and mix. Nice accompaniment to the squid. Chicken with Ginger (very gingery, mmm.) Crab and Shrimp Noodle Soup (large pieces of real crab) Fried Tofu with Lemongrass (just like the Shrimp with Lemongrass with large diced bell peppers, only with tofu) Corn pudding dessert -- this was offered complimentarily. It was really good. Note: Pictures by Jason, Captions by Rachel

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/089...4/egulletcom-20 Our standard tool here at eGullet Administration for dealing with irate users.

Horseradish is fantastic when grated and mixed in with mayonnaise and some french mustard (I like Maille or Grey Poupon). Slather onto toast points and use as a sandwich base for some nice sliced rare roast beef, or even better, on a roll with a nice medium rare burger.

That now fully explains your personality to me, thanks.

BTW, he has his own web site. Its one of my favorites. http://www.dolemite.com http://www.cobraverde.com/images/photos/RM.jpg And yeah, some of those blaxploitation stars would make AWESOME cooking show hosts. I'd love to see one with Isaac Hayes, dressed up as "Chef" from South Park, his cartoon alter ego. BTW Isaac has his own barbeque restaurant at the Peabody Mall in Memphis, TN. Anyone know if its good or not? http://www.clubisaachayes.com/

No.

I've been thinking about us doing a "Screw Atkins" T shirt and having it put up on the eGullet Cafepress site. Who wants to design one?

Gemelli with Broccoli, Chicken and Sundried Tomatoes in a "carbonara-like" sauce.

Cool. You come up with the 10 million or so needed to start this thing up, and I'm all over it.

Yeah, both of these are good entry-level ports and are widely avalaible. There are some nice American port-like wines as well, but they are hard to find.

Same owners. They also own Kratiem in Englewood as well. Nearly identical menu except Thai Chef has some more french stuff and desserts.

For drinking with chocolates I would suggest a Ruby port (2-3 years old). We're usually talking less than $20. Graham, Warre, Sandeman and several other producers make good rubys. More complex than Ruby you get into Tawnies (20 years old or more) which are really apertif-type wines and also Vintage ports ($$$) , which really go better with things like blue cheese than chocolate

$172 for 3 for Greek taverna food? Holy crap.

Here are the pictures Rachel took at lunch today:

I -did- say my opinions on this matter were unpopular.