weinoo

Today, on his substack account "Out of the Oven," Jeremiah Tower was kind enough to share with us all a few of his classic New Year's Eve menus from the 80s and 90s. I'm not talking Chez Panisse; I'm talking Santa Fe Bar and Grill and Stars (perhaps my favorite restaurant in the US...like...ever). Just a great chef, who tapped into the food zeitgeist of the times better than anyone, in my opinion. But it wasn't just the food; it was the mood, the service, the sexiness of the places, that really proved his ability to look ahead and see what we'd really want from a fun night out at a cool restaurant. Keith McNally thanks Jeremiah for what he begat...literally. Enjoy the menus... NEW YEARS SHOW STOPPERS

This was a "use everything you can in the fridge already" dinner. So that can turn into carbo laden stodge. Of the best kind: Soup. Ham, potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, celery, leeks, onions, shallots, tomatoes, green chili. Salad. Little gems, cucumbers, almost decent winter tiny tomatoes.. House-made blue cheese dressing. Jamón serrano (Formaggio Essex) on focaccia (Pain d'Avignon). Happy spouse. Jacques would be proud (of the soup).

My take is that the recipe you're looking at has components which go very well with lamb. Since you can't cook with lamb, I imagine those components will taste good with chicken, and maybe not so great with beef.

Starter: Braised giant artichokes. Dipping sauce of mayo, yogurt, mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, s&p. Chicken scarpariello, oven-braised in lieu of stove-top cooking. Got a little crispy skin this way. Served on a bed of Anson Mills coarse, rustic polenta integrale.

Boy, you really like to take your chances! We'll be back in February. If you're there on Sunday, the organic market on Blvd. Raspail is awesome...https://parisjetaime.com/eng/shopping/marche-raspail-p2262

Indeed - it's super popular; your best bet for L'Industrie might be like 4 PM. Or one of the others mentioned! I often forget, but McNulty's (which opened in 1895!) was probably one of, if not the first, tea and coffee shops in the city to offer beans for sale. My cousin worked there like 50 years ago! One more Chinese food mention, certainly for a lunch and with a group, is Great NY Noodletown, for their soups and roasted meats.

I just received an NY Times's newsletter in my email. Here it is, with some pithy comments by yours truly:

I would make a reservation for all dinner meals. I'm willing to recommend one more classic deli, and that would be Sarge's, on 3rd Avenue and 36th St...https://sargesdeli.com/ Sure, you can (if close to)_ go to 2nd Avenue Deli, but I've left disappointed a few too many times. For pizza, your options are, well, a lot. For old-school classic sit-down pizza, Lombardi's, John's on Bleecker St. will scratch the itch. Slice shops that are beloved include Joe's and my favorite, L'Industrie on Christopher St. (Yes, there are many more, just trying to make it easy). Surprisingly, in the theatre district, there's good non NY-style (i.e.: more Neapolitan) pizza at Don Antonio. Essex Market has any number of prepared food stalls, including Zaab Burger's Thai-style hamburgers. There's a great Japanese shop, soups, roast chicken meals, sandwiches and good bread at Pain D'Avignon, etc. etc. You can see what you like, buy prepared food and eat it upstairs, where there are plenty of tables and chairs. I think you've got a few good suggestions for what might be considered good traditional fare, which is kinda hard to define. Oyster pan roast at the Oyster Bar downstairs at Grand Central? Hot dogs from a cart - NO! Crowds always do well at some of the Chinese restaurants - as mentioned above, Uncle Lou. Additionally, Congee Village comes to mind. In my neighborhood, we go to Wu's, where you can bring your own wine. And it's bright enough to do surgery in many of the Chinese places, if that's your thing.

Did not cook last night; instead, went to this fabulous dinner, which was a collab between the James Beard Foundation and Cervo's Executive Chef, Manager, etc. Only took one picture, as we were busy schmoozing. The fried shrimp heads, with the peel and eat shrimp behind. The James Beard House is where our class held our graduation dinner, from what was then Peter Kump's NY Cooking School. I got to actually cook in Beard's kitchen. Last night's event took place at Pier 57, PlatformbyJBF. Pier 57:

Two of my local favorites, which I failed to mention above, are Cervo's and Eel Bar. Eel Bar just received a nice mention in the Times this week: Hungry for the Best? Here Are Our Top New York Dishes of 2024.

You do know (I assume) that you're not supposed to eat it directly out of the jar, right? The product I'm holding in my hand... Once diluted, and used in a dish that makes 4 servings, that's about 90mg. of sodium per serving...or the same amount of sodium as a serving of celery. Don't gag the next time you have your celery.

I actually put something similar to these (maybe Dr. Scholl's) on the lowest shelf and/or under the drawers in my fridge... Charcoal and no mess...(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

Foxface is also selling a few (for now) of their awesome breads; need to order in advance...https://foxface-provisions.square.site/ As Ken mentions, bakeries have exploded recently; it's the new wave in hipster-dom (I guess there were already enough ice cream shops). My favorites: for French bread/baguettes - Le Fournil and Bread Story For classic NY baked goods (like corn rye, black & whites, Kaiser rolls, etc. - Orawasher's And a place with a very strange name...Breads Bakery. Excellent rugelach, babka, etc. Bagels - my favorite bagel place in the city now has a location in Manhattan; the original is out in Whitestone, Queens. Utopia Bagels. (If you buy that rainbow bagel, please don't tell us anything about it, as it's a shonda). And Bagel Bob's, right near Ken, isn't too shabby either. You won't be disappointed with the bagels at R & D Cafe, so no worries there. Please do stay away from hipster bagels. My favorite chocolates? Simple - Jacques Torres. Delis? Oy...The NY experience is at Katz's, but beware - there will be lines. If you tell us a little more about what type of restaurants you might want to try, we can probably be a little more helpful. Foxface is great, and can be a bit challenging, food wise. I really had some great food at Torrisi (but good luck getting in). Smithereen's, newish in the E. Village, is very good. As is Foul Witch, on Avenue A. Balthazar is classic for a reason, and not just because of McNally's IG account. Uncle Lou will not disappoint for Cantonese cooking. I've sent people to, and they've really enjoyed the food at Lola's, in NoMad. In FiDi, Dead Rabbit will be your best bet for good cocktails. I've also heard, but not yet been to, Peck Slip Social. The Tin Building, by Jean Georges, is a fun wandering place. Be amazed at all the products, and the prices as well. Much of the food is good enough. Essex Market has the best cheese purveyor in the city, in my opinion - that's Formaggio Essex. Lots to munch on there.

Strangely, I do see where they claim to be vegan...Amoretti Just use Better Than Bouillon, and be done with it...(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

Made a few pounds of pork/beef meatballs in gravy. Spaghetti and meatballs. Oven roasted carrots and zucchini as a side.