Peter Green
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Posts posted by Peter Green
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I know you're a big beer drinker.
I look at myself in the mirror, and I have to confess it's true.
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Thanks, Che and Ginger,
I must have just wandered by oblivious yesterday past the pastry shop in Soho. Oh, well.
I did go to the Gay Hussar, but it was back around 1999. I remember ordering the meat platter for two for myself. That and a bottle of Tokay.
I think I've finished digesting that now.
I've come to rest in Vancouver now, so hopefully I'll have time to write.
I just need to get back again.....soon.
Cheers,
Peter
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There, I'm done.
Not writing, of course. That's ahead of me now.
I've completed both the planned trips, and I look forward to a 5:00 a.m. drive to LHR tomorrow morning.
Of the two trips, the first did a good job of teaching me lessons for the second (not that I can learn).
I'll be on another continent tomorrow, at which point I'll get down to the task of reviewing these last meals. Somewhat like a druid scrying the entrails.
At least Vancouver will give me some time to rest.
Cheers, and thanks everyone, for your recommendations.
Peter
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Those changes you talk of are part of what I'm interested in observing on this trip "home". Vancouver has always been a tale of shifting demographics, and as people move about, they take their dining with them.
Most of my old friends were part of the diaspora up the Valley in the 80's and 90's, but it's interesting to see a lot of them moving back closer, in part because of the fuel costs, and in part because of the lifestyle.
It's a long taxi ride out over the bridge, and I've yet to find a good reason for it. At the furthest, I expect a night out with the in-laws will require a trip to Coquitlam for Korean food. But then, I can make them drive. What are the dining choices in the Valley? Is there someone there who's doing really interesting things? Something to make the trip worth the effort?
So, I hope my glib remarks about Surrey weren't too over the line. Given the places I've ended up, as a lifestyle choice there are far worse places to live.
After all, at least it's not "beyond Hope".
(There, now I"ve alienated everyone in Spuzzum....both of them)
Edit - Oh, man! Now I just read that Spuzzum burnt down a decade ago!
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Thanks, guys
Someone also mentioned somewhere that there's a sake brewery on Granville Island now (maybe they don't call it "brewery")?
Peter
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Emmalish,
Good questions.
I keep a car in Vancouver for when we need it, so we're mobile, but modern Canada has me living in fear of having any hint of alcohol on my breath (from passing near a rotting vineyard), so I would prefer to be able to cab or bus home from restaurants.
Or stumble. I'm good at stumbling.
I grew up thinking that a walk from Main & Hastings at 3 a.m. to get back home was perfectly normal.
Which leads to the other question: Kits. I expect I'll come to ground at my parent's place most nights, which means a 10th UBC bus, the Arbutus line, or the Macdonald bus will get me home easily.
But I have family in Point Grey, Burnaby, and the North Shore, so there's always a place to crash noisily if needs be.
So, what do you suggest? (I warn you, I'm not going to Surrey)
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Dear Peter,
Previously, you asked where one could enjoy some decent offal. I suggested a few names, one of which, since your last post, I have been able to try - Hereford Road.
Here is the link to the write-up:
That day, they had calves' brain, duck liver, sweetbreads, tongues...plenty of tasty bits and bobs. The menu changes twice a day.
What other sorts of restaurants are you interested in?
Great Queen's is on the list for this run, and, having read about what Pemberton's doing at Hereford,....well...you had me at "brains".
But, do I need to buy a trenchcoat to go there?
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After close to three years, it's time for me to pass through the Vancouver system again.
Sort of like malaria.
I'll have 10 days. What should I eat? Where shoudl I eat it? Or, alternatively, what should I buy and take back to my parents' home to use as an excuse for ruining their kitchen?
Decision, decisions......
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Just an update....
The first trip, a couple of weeks ago, was marginal. but much of that was my fault. I gave in to the sin of trying to accommodate the people who were with me.
There were a couple of decent meals, on in Reading and the other at the New Mill. Those I need to write and put up the posts.
But, now, I'm back, and I should make the time to try and write this up.
Gary Rhodes W1 brasserie tonight. I was on the way back home, and they could fit me in. A very good meal, and they allowed me to order some dishes from the "fine dining" side, so I'll have some good things to say.
I have reservations for Arbutus on Friday for lunch (I have some people from up-country coming down to meet me, so I figured I should feed them well), but otherwise I'm at loose ends thinking of my remaining meals.
I'll be based around Tottenham Ct tube station. What do you recommend for lunch and dinners?
And I promise to write properly.....soon.....
Peter
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I'd agree with Rona (in part because I know what's good for me).
The Japanese do take their food and beverages with an obsessive attention to detail, and that works well with the Guide's criteria. As Rona says, a good portion of the Red Book is concerned with French cuisine in Tokyo, so there's a common yardstick (or meter rod, sorry) to work between the two.
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Has anyone tried Glenmorangie's Signet, with the roasted (chocolate) malt?
They have it in Heathrow, but they're quite proud of it at 105 STG. I'd like to pick up a bottle for when I go visiting friends across the Atlantic, but is this the one to do? Or would I be better off with something more modest?
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For the FCC, I second that the food isn't a great draw (or wasn't, it's been a few years since I've been back).
But it can be worth sitting in the back (the dining area) ordering some appetizers, and watching the bats come swarming out of the Museum at sundown.
Then go for dinner somewhere else.
Hey, can anyone say if Topaz is still about? I enjoyed my meal there. It was across from the concrete Vietnamese statue they keep trying to burn down.
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I'm cautioned about chickens, based on the argument that salmonella won't kill you, but you'll wish it did.
To be more specific, though, it's not the salmonella that'll do you, it's the "product" of the salmonella bacteria.
I asked her if you could wash it well enough to get rid of the salmonella excrement.
She said that, if it's infected with salmonella, you really need to cook it to neutralize the toxin in the excrement.
I asked her how you can tell if a chicken has salmonella working in its intestinal tract.
She said, "you can't".
If you're using industrial chickens, then the baths they put the birds through pretty much ensure that this little gift of nature gets spread about equitably.
Alternatively, if you raise and slaughter your own chickens, you'll probably be okay!
Genus salmonella - when you aren't already in a fowl mood.
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Chicken tartare! If it's good enough for Doc John the Night Tripper and Ozzy, then who am I to argue?
But, more to the point......
I'd heard, ages ago, about marinated chicken feet in Kwangju in Korea.....but recent inquiries have turned up nothing.
Also, in this category, a favourite beer snack in Laos (at least back in the early 90s) was fresh chicken blood. One fellow I met complained that you had to pay for the whole bird's blood, when all you wanted was a small tot. I felt it was probably a good idea not to have it sitting behind the counter for too many days.
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The Kimchi Field Museum in Seoul at the Coex mall. Lots and lots and lots about kimchi.
Just take a deep breath before you go into the fermentation room.
Note: edited for colour. Kimchi needs colour.
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Peter, memorable journal, hope there's more on the horizon (or even slightly below)....if you have to fly there CX could do with the pax (or cargo) revenue
I've been wondering if I could get a deal by sending my stomach as freight.
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You're welcome, Shelby.
And you have my appreciation for sticking through all of this. I've been far too late in getting things posted this year.
I have to stop being distracted by shiny things.
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Dude...... I love the McRib.. Its been like 10 years.. They have these anywhere near Manhattan. Is there some sort of McRib locator..
Not quite what you were looking for, but
http://kleincast.com/maps/mcrib.php
I can't believe there's really a McRib Locator...
The McRib locator. The culmination of millenia of human development. Our work here is done.
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November 13, 2008
We were done.
The dinners, the classes, the tastings.
We were done.
And so, like a mirror from which the fog has lifted, we now had a chance to reflect (ouch, sorry for that).
What did we take from this year’s fest?
In terms of dishes, I’ll be making Celina’s mushroom stack at home, and I’ll follow Jeffrey’s lead and be using my Sichuan peppercorns with rocket and other combinations in salads. Glen’s use of Chinese fluffy pork on som tam opens up a whole new set of things I can do to confuse my friends back here at home. Sigi’s work is something I’ll be looking at in Vancouver as I have access to more shellfish. Michael’s tartare pushed me to the point where I’m going to have to do this at home (I’m just going to have to source some foie gras, now that Geant has dropped the ball). Maurizio has broken me out of my Sichuan eggplant rut, and I’ll see what else I can accomplish. And I liked the desserts that I’d had, where ice creams had been used that were specifically not sweet, drawing attention to the other aspects of the dish.
Laurence Civil had a good comment (he often does). “We’ll be seeing less of an emphasis on ‘named’ ingredients, while concentrating on the flavours.” Part of this had come from Celina, with her plans for her new restaurant. She would look to the dishes she had been doing at the American, but at a far lower cost (and this decision made before the economic collapse that we are currently enjoying). Another part of this came from Jeffrey and Maurizio’s approaches to local, very fresh ingredients.
But at the same time, we had Glen Ballis, reveling in the material that he could bring to his restaurant from across the breadth of the ex-Soviet empire. (And Glen revels well).
The timing of the WGF had been, well, precipitous. The financial meltdown felt like a thing of overnight, but had been creeping upon us like a cat in the dark. When Thai Air pulled their sponsorship at the 11th hour, it had seemed like there would be no Fest this year. But, with a lot of hard work the Four Seasons still pulled it all together. Still, with the F1 drawing away a certain amount of the heavies from the Gala, it was still “a close-run thing.”
So, is there still room for what some are referring to as “culinary elitism” in Bangkok? I, of course, hope so. I think the market is a bit less crowded now. The Epicurean business at the Dome didn’t come up this year (no billion baht dinner to top the million), and Gourmet Asia, after the 2007 attempt featuring Santi Santamaria and others, didn’t stage a repeat. While I’d love to immerse myself in a string of these events, I always worry that the market will self-destruct if worked too mercilessly.
And that financial element was all the buzz. I hope that Bangkok, having come through the 97 crash (and learned their lessons there) may weather the coming storm with relative aplomb (as opposed to now-bankrupt Iceland – poor Sigi). But, in a country where the major income earner is exports (sorry, Tourism, but it’s true), things could go sideways quite quickly. As others have said, are the days (or nights) of Le Normandie packed out with the beautiful rich coming to an end (or a hiatus)?
I refuse to give in to pessimism. At least, not while I’m sober. Next year the plan is for metrification, and I have full faith that it’ll come about.
“Metrification?” you say?
I’ll hope for 10s next year. And I’ll add more decimal based facts as we get closer to the date.
Next - ………...
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September 28 – The Italian Job
I’d seen little of Maurizio Quaranta during the earlier part of the week as he was one of the few whose cooking class I couldn’t cover. Maurizio had been on one of the evening slots, and, at least for me, school hours don’t extend into the night.
And so this was my one chance to see what this Michelin starred chef (and his second, Marco Peri) would have up his sleeves (or in his pockets, as when Vivalda showed up with those white truffles). Maurizio is another chef from the North, from Piedmonte, an area whose food I’m growing very fond of. He had taken his stars at Locanda del Pilone, near Alba, his second restaurant, the first being Locanda dell’Angelo near Cuneo, his hometown (or close enough). He’ll open a new restaurant, La Speranza, in October (so it should be out there now).
Biscotti, of course, would be the venue. And we had the honour of HRH Soamsawali taking part.
But, back to the business of eating.
Ellen joined us, as did M. This was our finale for the week, and it’s good to have friends at a finale.
After a bit of a chat at the entrance, I opted to clear the traffic-way and made it to our table. We’d been drinking Bisol Crede Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, DOC 2007 at this point, letting the small, crisp bubbles get our appetites rejuvenated.
And they needed a little rejuvenation. One of my reasons for skipping the brunch on the last Sunday is that it can take the edge off of your hunger. But, that does allow you the opportunity to display a bit more decorum, rather than falling upon everything ravenous.
Or, you can just drink more.
On the table was a pretty little piece of bread, golden in the soft light, with a gallant bulb of roasted garlic supporting its right side, epaulets of rosemary adorning it’s coat of brown.
Sorry, I just had to write that.
Terrina di trota salmonata in foglia di verza e ctronetter
Salmon Trout Terrine wrapped in Savoy Cabbage, Lemon Dressing
Garofoli Podium Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC Classico Superiore 2006
A very fishy terrine, as you’d expect. The mousse of the trout against the chunks of salmon. The cabbage is wrapped about , like a bobble of seaweed in the lowering tide.
Savarin di meanzane e scamorza affumicata con pomodoro fresco e basilico
Tian of Eggplant, “Scamorza” Cheese, Fresh Tomato Basil
Umerto Cesari ‘Liano’
Sangiovese/Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicone IGT 2005
The eggplant was a proud affait, the flesh of the aubergine half sliced and fried, the other half diced and sautéed. The scamorza’s been worked into this, and then the mound baked. It’s atop a crimson mound of fresh tomatoes that smell like there’s a good bit of basil in there. Put a feather of basil in it’s cap, and you’ve got something that’ll plug that bit of hunger that might’ve been looming.
Very pretty, and I’m fond of eggplant. It's probably Freudian. Most things are.
There's a thought. Is thinking of Freud actually Freudian?
Scamorza I had to look up. An Italian cow’s milk cheese, it’s a close friend of mozzarella, another strangled cheese.
Of the wine, it was fair enough. I was more amused that a Rubicone would be a cross, but nobody appreciated my humour.
Risotto con zucca, tuma di Murazzano e Tartufo nero
Risotto with Pumpkin, A”Tuma Murazzano Cheese”, Black Truffle
Mantellassi Le Sentinelle Morellino di Scansano DOC Riserva 2004
The risotto had changed from the Gala. For starters, I found the rice a little more evenly cooked, which was a good thing. The truffles, of course, take our attention, but I was a little disappointed that the pumpkin wasn’t as prominent as it had been the other night. And the demi-glac that had dressed it up a bit was more restrained.
The contortions of a truffe can keep me (and my nose) mesmerized for ages. Yoonhi, however, who has to clean the ones we get here of sand (the dessert truffles lack the aroma and earthiness of European truffles, but have their own uses and charms) can only swear and curse over their subductive lifestyle.
Again, I had to look up the cheese. This one is sheep’s milk, the production of which is generally credited with pulling the Pecora delle Langhe (Langhe Sheep) from the brink of extinction.
The Sentinelle I enjoyed, and happily left my nose in the glass for a while as it opened up. Then I’d put my nose in the truffles. Then back in the wine.
My family and friends tolerate me well.
Grivedi stracotta con pure all’erba cipolina e croccante di polenta
Short Rib Eye Patties, Baked Polenta, Chives Mashed Potatoes
Villa Girardi Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico DOC 2004
I was slowing down by this point. The rib eye was pleasant enough, although I would’ve liked more blood to my meat, but polenta and mashed potatoes did seem a bit heavy on the starch.
But if you consider the meat as simply an accompaniment to the amarone, then there’s hardly a thing to worry about in the world, is there?
Semifreddo di torrone con cioccoliato fuso
Parfait Touron of Alba, Warm Chocolate
Dessert managed to get past us without a photograph, I’m afraid. We were all in a fairly good mood by this point, the amarone having come back for another visit. As I recall (fuzzily), it was a nice sweet thing, with honey and chocolate in there.
A well balanced meal, and a good finish. Nothing too flashy (well, outside of that mound of truffles), but a very solid combination of good wines and straightforward Italian cooking. I was content.
The Royals left at an appropriate time, and we then considered our exit strategy. I felt this should include another pour of the amarone, and the Sentinelle.
Glasses topped up, we retired for the evening.
Next: While Rome Burns
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September 28 – The Ultimate Day
As you’ve noticed, I’m weak. Susceptible to peer pressure. I was fully given over to the idea of having a quiet morning. I’d already done the brunch with Ellen earlier in the week, so I didn’t see the need to do it again.
You know what happened.
A pushover for a bloody mary, that’s me.
Really, it was the opportunity to take someone through their first proper brunch again. In this case Clark.
I’ve done my own shots of brunch too many times to repeat, especially within one week. I’ll leave the view here to Clark’s eye, and use just his shots.
For instance, I’m blind to the shwarma stand. The Middle Eastern section just never draws a glance from me. Who knows what I’m missing?
And when I’m around the cold seafood, I’m fixated on the oysters, generally paying little attention to the prawns, crawfish, and stacoza (“baby” lobsters).But we did share a common regard for the meats, something I wouldn’t have dared to consider a year ago, given how they fill you up.
Man, that pork roast was good.
Stuff on sticks is still a treat (and I won’t pass up on the sai krok).
And while I admire the styling of the ice service for the fish eggs, I’m not that keen on anything other than oscetra (at least…preferably sevruga), and ikura should really be from BC for my tastes.
But we both agreed that foie gras is a good thing. The prospect of gorging on the emgorged is morbidly appealing to me.
It was a pleasant surprise to see the bar stocked with a different variety. Vincor was out in force, and was representing their range of South African (Kumala), Kiwis (Kim Crawford), the States (La Terre) and Aussies (Stanley, from West Oz). I believe they own Hardy’s, too, which is one I see upstairs in the club quite often. Good luck to them. The world needs more wine.
And desserts.
We were seeing more of Michael’s work here, I believe. Cakes and tarts and all sorts of pretty things.
I recognized this slab of goodness from the lobby the other day. Chocolate (Chocolate Sponge, Feuilletine, Dark Chocolate Glaçage)
And there’s Coconut (Chestnut Biscuit, Lemon Cream, Meringue) back there to the left.
I did give in and have some crepes to keep the others company (you can tell from the lack of focus that this shot is mine).
Peer pressure. What can you do.
Next: A Mere Truffle
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"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Ben Franklin
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Everything actually worked, but I found that the softness of the eggplant, along with the aggession of the fresh lime juice in the dressing, didn't do much for me. I liked the smoke in the eggplant and chicken, but something didn't balance in the overall.
Was lime juice the only dressing? A little sugar would have helped balance the tartness of the lime juice, and also the bitter flavors from the smoke and greens. I like this dressing on roasted eggplant salad: 1 1/2 TB fish sauce, 3 TB lime juice, 1 TB sugar. Only an approximation. Typically I first add salt or fish sauce to the ingredients so the salad is properly salted to begin with; the ingredients should taste bright. Salt is followed by lime juice to the desired sourness. Then a little sugar rounds off the harshness of the lime juice. You may have to add more lime juice and sugar alternately until the sweet-sour flavors balance.
Smoked chicken, smoked eggplant, and those herbs and greens all sound very good. Maybe a little chile pepper and lemongrass, too?
No, it was the usual. Lime, nampla, palm sugar, chilis, and a bit of garlic. I just take it for granted. It should've worked, but for some reason it wasn't for me.
Maybe it was just one of those days?......
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If you have the time to fight through inner-loop traffic, I enjoyed Hugo's on Westheimer near Montrose (I think). A good brunch, with a wide selection of Mexican foods (as opposed to Tex-Mex), but, more important, a chance to work your way through flights of good tequilas, and try a wide variety (just don't bring your car).
I'm also partial to the old Ragin Cajun on Richmond, inside the 610 Loop. It's not fine dining, but they do what they do well.
My last Houston trip was more than half a year ago, but there were a lot of good recommendations from people on places to try (especially with other peoples' money).
Cheers,
Peter
Single-malt advice: appeal to our Scottish members
in Spirits & Cocktails
Posted
I've taken your advice and went for a bottle of this to bring back. It is a very pleasant drink.
I like LHR4 for their whisky tasting station, I must say. Even if it was 6 a.m.