MarketStEl

Max looks like he was ready to give you a tongue-lashing over schlepping him hither and yon! Did he enjoy what you fixed him later that day? You did fix him something nice later that day, didn't you?

I hate to throw another monkey wrench into the discussion, but it's been mentioned already: Shola, like Samuelsson, is an immigrant. I think that increased immigration of sub-Saharan Africans to America is going to muddy the discussion of race in ways both welcome and unwelcome in the years to come. Unencumbered as they are by the cultural baggage African-Americans carry, they could wind up as sticks that the truly bigoted use to beat American blacks over the head with again, much as black immigrants from the Caribbean were in danger of becoming before In Living Color defused the subject with sharp humor. Yet if they, as Samuelsson did with this article, claim kinship with their American brethren, then that danger is probably nonexistent.

I see I won't have to wait too long to get an answer to my question above. Next week's episode is the Philly one. Stupid me, I turned on a Discovery Times documentary program at 10 and blew right through the premiere. I'll have to set the DVR for about two hours from now to tape the repeat.

Even more important: Where was the Pocky?

Now, on to my own confession: Usually, my freezer is filled with ingredients more than it is with prepared foods to nuke or heat. I always keep plenty of frozen veggies on hand, and after a friend brought some over recently, I now need to add Acme frozen tater tots to the list of freezer staples. (Instant childhood memory, don'tcha know.) But there are times when I go through phases. For instance, when the moon is in the seventh house and the sale at the Super Fresh aligns with the coupons in my collection, I binge on Hot Pockets for lunch. And then there are the times when I remember to toss a DiGiorno, Freschetta or Tombstone frozen pizza into the cart for something quick, dirty and tasty. And when the currently incarcerated roomie returns, I will resume purchasing frozen dinners--mainly Stouffer's and Hungry-Man (roomie likes the quality of the former and the quantity of the latter)--to keep around for him to nuke during the day. Partner went to Whole Foods a month or two back and returned with a couple of 365 Organic frozen entrees and a couple of Amy's frozen meals. I fixed one of the former (something with shrimp) and found it good; the latter are still in the freezer, awaiting the day when I'm out, I've left nothing fixed for dinner and he remembers they're there and is hungry and motivated enough to fix one.

Nihil domo similior. Oops! Make that Nihil domo similius.

Tonight's premiere episode gets a one-line mention in Kevin McDonough's "Switching Channels" column (today's Delaware County Daily Times and presumably syndicated in other papers elsewhere). Says Chris "travels in search of obscure and unforgettable eateries". Can't wait to see whether he considers his Philly choices as meeting both criteria.

Another reason to stop at the Target on Baltimore Pike on the way home from work, I guess. Boy, I hope those rumors that they're looking for a site to plunk down a store in Center City are true.

Thank you for that tip. I Popeye's fried chicken and have tried to duplicate it at home.

Your consolation prize for living in Rochester is Wegmans. Something tells me that Chicago-area supermarkets haven't yet reached their level. But I'm surprised that local produce and other foodstuffs are that hard to find in the Windy City. Most sizable US cities in agricultural regions have centrally located markets that feature local foodstuffs, including produce and meats sold by the producers directly. Even in my hometown of Kansas City, you could go down to the City Market on weekends and take your pick of lots of fresh, locally grown produce. I would think that the city Carl Sandburg famously called "hog butcher to the world" would have something similar within its limits. Are you telling me it doesn't?

That stat is fodder for your essentially optimistic view of the situation. And given that it's only been very recently that (a) blacks have had full access to the wide range of glittering prizes the larger American society offers and (b) working in the food industry has acquired a patina of glamour that extends beyond those haute cuisine places, it may well be that we are just now seeing the effects of those two trends put together: African-Americans may be getting beyond the notion that kitchen work is inherently demeaning the way it used to be. The democratization of excellence also helps things along insofar as it is now possible to conceive "high-end" dining experiences derived from "common" or "ethnic" or "peasant" or...you get the idea...cuisines. When I read Robyn's post, I thought that she was referring to B. Smith's, the upscale Manhattan (and Washington) restaurant started by the fashion-model-turned-style-setter à la Martha Stewart, whose menu combines just about all the African-derived culinary traditions in the Western Hemisphere. (Here in Philadelphia, the Bynum brothers cover the same territory and mix it with black musical traditions in their two establishments, Zanzibar Blue [jazz] and Warmdaddy's [blues], both well regarded for both their food and the musicians who play there.)

On the general subject of "why do black folks complain about racism when things are clearly getting better" (and they are, on the whole): I highly recommend to anyone who did not have to do so in their American history or politics classes that they read Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia. In the course of answering a survey requested by a French diplomat, Jefferson answers many questions about the evolving American culture and society in this book. What is particularly useful for discussions like these is the part where, having concluded that blacks are the moral equals of whites and deserved freedom and dignity, he then went on to conclude that, once free, they could not live in the same country with their former enslavers. One of the reasons he gave was (I'm paraphrasing) "the memory of the million injustices suffered by the blacks." Call it a grudge deferred if you will, but part of the reason (besides its factuality) many blacks go on about the persistence and influence of racism, even where it is not as influential as either it once was or as some believe, is because we have gotten to know about those past injustices more and feel them more strongly since finally becoming the moral and legal equals of whites, at least in the American context.

Used to be that wasting food was considered the sin, not simply eating it. Does your grandson really buy that "crack babies in Minneapolis" stuff? I never believed for an instant that the kids in China were starving, but my mother kept harping on it. And since guilt is self-induced ... Anyway, I know you're being tongue-in-cheek. Aren't you? ← 1. "wasting food, not simply eating it..." More below following srhcb's response. 2. I got the "starving children in Africa" line too as a kid, and even though I did almost always clean my plate, my first thought whenever I heard this line was "So why not send it to them?" Does this qualify me for the guillotine like what happened to Marie Antoinette when she suggested the starving peasants should eat cake? I still consider waste of any kind to be tantamount to "sin". But if you really enjoy eating foie gras, or driving a huge SUV for that matter, it's fine by me. ← I think that the latter constitutes a different kind of "waste" than the sinful variety Fabby had in mind. Technically speaking, one is not "wasting" food by eating all the foie gras he or she cares to consume. It could be said that one is "wasting" fuel by driving a SUV (or "UAV" ["Urban Assault Vehicle"], as I've also heard them described), but that is only relative to the amount one would consume driving a hybrid or similar more fuel-efficient vehicle. The real sin in both of these cases, if sin it is, is a form of boastfulness or vainglory--"I can afford to consume things that ordinary mortals can only dream of!" And even if it doesn't make the list of the Seven Deadlies, it is an unlovely human impulse.

The only way this works is that I'm not buying the lovely carrots from the farmers market that I would get if I was making a dish for myself, or the pasture rasied beef, or the really good saba, but the cheap stuff in jumbo paks from the Costco or the Cash & Carry etc. and saffron's not so expensive when you buy it in bulk ← If you're fixing large quantities, I guess bulk saffron makes sense, but I thought it degraded fairly quickly. Does it? All I can say is: Oh, wow! That was one impressive event! You don't do this often, do you? I can't imagine putting out Herculean efforts like this one on a regular basis, or even a semi-regular basis. This has been a fabulous blog and an interesting departure from the more traditional fare. Thanks for inviting us vicariously to dinner!

I've been to Chicago exactly three times. Once was a weekend trip to study its legendary architectural landmarks up close and personal when I was in high school, and the other two times were overnight swings en route to Kansas City, when I used the layover to hang out with a classmate who was a high-level manager with the Chicago Transit Authority. (Sadly, this classmate passed away earlier this year in an unfortunate accident outside CTA headquarters; Chicago-area eGulleteers may have seen his obituary in the Sun-Times. I did have the chance to catch up on old times with him and his wife at our 25th college reunion in the summer of 2005.) You will be teaching me as much about the Chicago-area food scene as you will be teaching yourself about it in this blog. I look forward to coming along on this voyage of discovery. I take it that Pizzeria Due no longer has any connection to Pizzeria Uno? Any chance you or anyone else could tell me about a popular hangout in Boys Town called Ann Sathers Swedish Diner? Oh, and talk about "mom of little foodies": your kids look like they're getting into the habit at a very early age! Your daughter fixing the quesadillas is priceless!

I think your last sentence gets at the root cause. Ainsley Harriott was to American cooking shows what Richard Simmons was to American weight-loss programs. Both, I would suggest, are acquired tastes.

I would have said the same thing once, back before the Justice Department (edited to add: and the Securities and Exchange Commission) made a martyr of her. Edited further to add: But even back then, given her image, the fact that she chose to license her name to Kmart for a line of housewares and domestics earned her props in my book.

Come by to the school I teach at and you'll meet quite a few future chefs of African-American descent, from the continent and the diaspora. They come from all walks of life. There are instructors from the same backgrounds as well. I started a thread here about African and African-American chefs a while back. I haven't had time to follow up with the leads I got. I think I will send chef Samuelsson an email about my experience with this and the Africans (all the diversity of people from this continent) that I know in the food industry. I suspect the scene will be very different in 5 years, in 10 years, in 15 years, etc... ETA: same thing with Hispanics, Asians, women, etc... ← I hope the two of you connect and have a productive exchange. The subject of elitism does dovetail with this topic. I think it might be more accurate to call it classism, a bias expressed beautifully in a witticism I once heard: "Any society that tolerates shoddy philosophy because philosophy is a noble calling, yet ignores excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a mere trade, will not long endure, for neither its theories nor its pipes will hold water." Posts upthread wondering why all of the restaurants that make those "world's best" lists are haute cuisine places touch on this too. (One of the things I like about eGullet is that it has a relatively high proportion of that rare species, the democratic elitist--the person who appreciates the merits of traditions both "high" and "low," or "refined" and "common," and is willing to seek out and celebrate the best in each.) Certainly a number of the black chefs Samuelsson mentioned in his article worked in popular, not high, food traditions. And the world of barbecue has its share of black legends who have gotten their due--my hometown's journey towards its present-day status as barbecue Mecca can be traced to a black migrant from the Deep South who opened what is acknowledged as Kansas City's first barbecue restaurant in the 1920s, and his spiritual descendant Ollie Gates has a reputation that extends well beyond Interstate 435, for instance. But it does appear, as Samuelsson's own rise indicates, that the world of so-called serious food writers/critics/connoisseurs won't really take you seriously unless you work in one of the Western European culinary traditions (Scandinavia being part of Western Europe for purposes of this argument). chefzadi: You work in a notably multicultural milieu, even though your primary culinary tradition is that of North Africa. I'd venture that you are one of those exceptions that prove the rule.

Pardon my graffiti: Nearest SEPTA service: Bus Route 47 to 5th and Annsbury streets. Bus Route 75, eastbound from Wyoming station, Broad Street Line, or westbound from Margaret-Orthodox station, Market-Frankford Line, stops at 5th Street and Wyoming Avenue, about two-and-a-half blocks north.

On the one hand: And on the other: I've checked out the Martha Stewart line at Kmart, and it does appear to be well made. And I got a pair of super-cheap reading glasses at Target that I couldn't use because they were sized to fit faces much smaller than my own (Chinese, perhaps? That's where these glasses were made. Oh, well; I was only out $1). But on the whole, my impression has been that what Tar-zhay sells is on the whole a better value for the money, and certainly displays higher design values, than comparable merchandise from Kmart. (And I've found often enough that Target sells it for less.) That whole "Design for All" philosophy that Target promotes appears to me to be not just for show. I wouldn't know from food at Target. The company operates no Super Target stores in this market, so the only food items they carry are nonperishable staples.

Interesting.......As inspector Clouseau would say.....very interesting Indeed. there was no actual review of the "party food" to the degree of rushing over there,was urbanfabric's post edited ? ← Well, maybe not a review, but certainly a comment: To Jason and Nathan: Maybe sumptuous pricey Sunday brunch buffets are a Philadelphia phenomenon, or more accurately, a Philadelphia hotel phenomenon. The buffet wasn't in the kitchen, but I had a very memorable Sunday brunch buffet in the Swann Lounge of the Four Seasons back on our 20th anniversary that was probably along the lines of Lacroix' for variety if not creativity. And speaking of Matts: Confidential to matthewj: Your name came up--okay, I brought it up--at the planning meeting for Issue 2 of Postscript this morning. You're definitely on the radar screen, and the subject of including Hospitality Management alums more prominently in our alumni publications also came up. If you got a copy of Issue 1 (you should have), I'd love to hear what you thought of it. Edited to add: A colleague of mine here in University Relations also knows you and says you're a great guy.

The November issue of Ebony magazine contains a short, well written essay by star chef Marcus Samuelsson that both argues that black culinarians deserve more notice and respect than they get and offers advice for blacks considering culinary careers. Some of the points he makes, like the strong connections between African and Southern cuisine, are ones familar to many eGulleteers, culinary professionals and scholars. But he also celebrates some legendary black chefs from the past, like Edna Lewis, whose food made New York's Café Nicholson a high society favorite in the 1940s and 1950s, and tips his toque to some of his contemporaries (Cary Neff? You could knock me over with a feather. Not much was made about his ethnicity when he was a rising star in Philadelphia's restaurant community. He is now in Arizona). Food Network-bashers get a little more ammo from Marvin Woods, host of Home Plate on the Turner South cable channel, who is quoted in the article: Samuelsson goes on to suggest that blacks educate themselves about the world of food and its importance and expand their culinary horizons. "A Black restaurant should not only serve soul food," he writes. "And in order to do foods that come from other places, we have to expose ourselves." He then goes on to suggest ways to do so. Unfortunately, you can't read the article online. Ebony only posts teasers from its stories on its Web site and urges visitors to go pick up the current issue to read the whole article. I'd urge you to do the same. In the meantime, maybe we can talk about some of the subjects Samuelsson touches on. Could we imagine an American TV show with a lead character like that of the BBC sitcom "Chef!"? Must we rely on other British imports (coughAinsley Harriottcough) to provide black culinary role models (did I just write "Ainsley Harriott" and "role model" in the same sentence)? Are our outstanding black chefs worthy of no more than supporting roles on Iron Chef America and shows on regional cable networks? (So who's ready to sign Samuelsson for a show of his own?) Your thoughts? (Edited to more accurately describe the nature of the content on Ebony's Web site. The page linked above contains the first two pargraphs of Samuelsson's article, "Celebrating Black Culinarians.")

Now that you mention it, Chef Carey, that is a significant difference between Kraft Parmesan and not only genuine Parmigiano-Reggiano but even many varieties of domestic Parmesan, including some pre-grated brands, like 4C "Homestyle," that are widely available in supermarkets. When I cover my mountain of spaghetti and sauce with Kraft "snow," it remains "snow." The others melt and turn translucent. Which means that if you want that "snow-topped" visual effect, Kraft is the way to go. Otherwise, let your taste buds be your guide. Time, I guess, to read the ingredients list on those jars of pre-grated cheese to find out exactly what has been added to or altered in the Kraft product to make it so resistant to melting.

Please to be providing the history lesson... ...and, if you can, a shot and description of the kitchen in which all this action will take place. I can't imagine a domestic-sized kitchen turning out all this.

I see no ISO post yet. Were there any responses to your tentative date besides mine?