iheartoffal

I ate at McDonalds a couple of days ago

I'm hoping that this Atkins/South Beach nonsense will finally, finally go the way of the dodo. I'm tired of going to all of my favorite restaurants only to find that my favorite sandwich has been replaced by some tortilla wrapped "guilt-free" travesty. Too many restaurants--some of them very decent places--have adjusted and tweaked their menus to appease these low carb crazed maniacs, often to the detrement of the food. I hope this will soon come to a long overdue end. Sorry, I needed to get that off my chest.

When you're about to spend several hundred dollars at a certain restaurant on the fourth floor of the time warner building, even if it means you'll be very late with the rent...

My dad used to tell me that if I swallowed watermelon seeds, they would sprout in my stomach and eventually would grow to the point where I exploded. I'm scarred for life.

green bean casserole... w00t!

I went to the Escoffier Room at the CIA for my birthday back in October. The waitress brought out these tiny lobster "cappuccinos" at the beginning of the meal and declared "This is our signature ah-myoos". We all looked at eachother and smiled.

There's a nice little pizza shop right next to the Village Vanguard that's been there for years. I'm not sure how it stacks up to other places down there, but it beats anything up here in CT

For years and years I absolutely abhored steak. Being only exposed to my mother's version of it, I assumed that all steak was a bone dry, tasteless, carbonized item not be enjoyed but endured. I figured that it was a way for adults to test their mettle and display proudly the sharpness their teeth and the ability to produce enough saliva to make a piece swallowable. It wasn't actually until recently that I had steak again. My friend, knowing my aversion, dragged me out to Morton's one night and ordered me a ny striploin cooked med rare. I took a bite and said "oooooooh, so THIS is what it's supposed to taste like!" I feel so bad talking down on my mother's cooking, whom I love to death. What she lacks in ability to cook steak she makes up for in her ability to make a damned fine minestrone soup. :-)

I did a truffled avocado tartar with tempura vegetables and balsamic reduction the other day the other day. It came out of fooling around in the kitchen on my break (I'm a waiter) but the owner liked it so much that we ran it as a special that night. I was shocked! It's basically: 1 avocado roughly chopped 1 tsp minced shallot 1/2 tsp mustard 1/2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp white truffle oil salt and pepper to taste I just tossed it in a ring mold and served with a medley of tempura veggies and balsamic reduction. If someone can figure out a way to make this better, let me know.

As a waiter myself, I try not to refill unless they're down to maybe two sips. Sometimes I'll go over and top off a glass if it will give me a chance to get a closer look at the table and see what needs to be done, check their progress, ask questions, etc. It really depends on the people at the table, too. Some people seem to like it when you top them off every other nanosecond, and some would rather just pour their own wine. I prefer the latter, because they tend to be more into the dining experience than the former--just something I've noticed.

I actually did a saffron vanilla ice cream at work a few weeks ago on top of a strawberry shortcake-esque dessert. I had seen saffron and vanilla paired together in savory dishes before, and figured what the heck. It tasted pretty damned good--eerily like a fancy cotton candy--and it worked well with the strawberries.

this is a saffron thread, get it? thread? Sorry, couldn't resist..

Ok, so I work there, but I was curious to see how many people have eaten there and what they thought.

It was definitely a nice room, and the views were really something. I wish my friend hadn't mentioned that we were on the top floor of what is actually a Columbia University dorm, because the whole time I couldn't help wonder if somehow Aramark was making my food. The first course was thin slice of duck pate' with mache and armagnac soaked cherries. Delicious. Second course was a half chicken (looked like they used the brick teqnique) with black lentils and a foie gras sauce. Normally I won't order chicken because in the wrong hands it can be quite insipid, but this chicken was tender and juicy with perfectly crisped skin. The lentils (with a touch of truffle flavor) and the foie gras sauce worked beautifully. For this course, my friend had what was probably the best wild mushroom rissoto I have ever tasted. Third course was a simple creme brulee. I ordered a glass of sauternes with it which matched beautifully. I got a quick look at the full menu and there were a number of things that caught my eye including a seared foie gras appetizer with three-way pears, wildflower honey, rosemary, and vanilla foam. Mmmmm.

I ate there during restaurant week and the food was fantastic, but there was something strange about the place that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it was the feeling that I somehow eating in an upscale campus dining hall, I dunno. Overall though, it was enjoyable and I would gladly return for a stab at the full menu.

I managed to get a reservation for dinner on March 21st, albeit at 9:45 pm. Hey, at least it gives me all day to work up an appetite, right? Getting reservations wasn't the sysyphian endeavor I imagined it would be. I called on a sunday afternoon and asked if there was anything available for any amount of people at any time of any day, ever. I even told her I would eat in the dish pit by myself if that was all they could do for me. She laughed and gave me several different times, including a slot for the next night, which I inititially took, but had to cancel when I couldn't get enough people to commit to it. So I called back and picked the date I currently have. I'll try to post some pictures, unless of course everyone here is already burnt-out on that kind of thing...

kitchen magic occurs when someone as hopelessly inept as myself makes something that it is actually fit for consumption by humans

as much as I want to create some sort of evil foie gras, truffle, beluga caviar, and brioche uber-hoagie, I know it still won't taste as good as grease-laiden, onion-slathered philly cheese steak.

Brioche crusted red snapper w/ cranberry and shallot confit, sauteed dandelion greens, and toasted pine nut brown butter... just a little something i threw together in the kitchen, but it tasted pretty good... :-)