weinoo

We were in Chicago last week to see a couple of shows, and although this was a trip we took mostly for music and art, we managed to sneak some Chicago food in. Since we wanted to arrive at the venue (Park West) early-ish in order to get the seats we wanted (how annoying is GA, seated?), it left little time for good dinners. On the one night we didn't have a show, we went to Publican, which now I think has seen better days. Don't get me wrong: The charcuterie and cocktails were excellent. Should have left it at that, or ordered cheese for our main course. Oh well. This had to be done, and came from a recommendation from our AirBnB host: Quite good. One afternoon, we took a drive out to a neighborhood called Belmont Heights. I had researched this place... Santa Masa Tamaleria. Carnitas, chicharrones, pickled veg, etc. etc. And a couple of fantastic tacos: barbacoa and tinga. As I'm driving past DePaul University, what do I notice? And then, yes, I remembered that he opened in Chicago almost a decade ago. So, without having to travel to Rome: Just a beautiful, light crust; any of 12 to 15 varieties available at all times. Obviously, al taglio. The original, from a visit to Rome quite a few years ago.

Birthday dinner for my wife last night... Shrimp cocktail with avocado. House-made cocktail sauce, poached wild gulf shrimp (in a court bouillon enhanced with shrimp shells). Nantucket Bay Scallop linguini. Sauce of butter, shrimp/scallop court bouillon, garlic, scallions, white wine, lemon. After dinner, I went down to the grocery store and scored 2 pints of Häagen-Daza, on sale at 2 for $9!!

And can certainly name a few others (hangar, skirt, et al.) I think I can get oxtail at my Dominican butcher for around $13 - $14/lb. Does that sound right?

Maccheroncini rigati w/3-mushroom sauce. Roasted broccolini.

15 pounds worth - the only issue is where to store them...I generally "decant" into 3 or 4 pound vacuum-sealed bags.

My fridge is pretty cold (especially on the bottom)...these took a good 24 hours As a matter of fact, I think I moved them to the fridge one evening, and didn't used them till 2 days later. I also don't see why they can't be defrosted on the kitchen counter for a couple of hours?

@paulraphael Is the Whynter machine I have (somewhere up thread?) considered prosumer, or just a home consumer product. i haven’t used it in quite a while, at least not since acquiring the Ninja Creami.

Cheese omelet, avocado toast, tangerine. Bread is from a Danish bakery called Ole & Steen. We first tasted Ole & Steen products a few years ago...in London. Since then, they have opened 5 shops in NYC - it's good stuff.

Braised, as if a stew.

My guess is, if there is going to be a great NA cocktail, that Dave Arnold has (or he's figured out a different way to give it that mouthfeel): https://www.barcontra.com/new-page

I agree - this was the first thing I thought about.

Another $17 bottle...drank it with the chirashi, and it sorta worked quite well. Chambers Street:

I remember there was this really great blogger (back when blogging was a thing)...he wrote a blog about avocados...lemme see if I can find it... The Haas Avocado - How Hard Is This?

Yes, these are the avocados sold in a mesh bag, at $3.99 for something like 6 avos. I was getting a little tired of paying $2 (and up) for a single 4225 sized avocado. Especially if I've picked one that doesn't ripen properly, or that I forget about and have to throw away. So, why not... They're really tasty, and if all 6 are good, then I think it's a better deal than 2 at $4.00. (I actually tried to do some research on size and PLU codes, etc. etc. (and think I've done so in the past), but I got tired). Those are peeled, large eggs for comparison's sake.

Chirashi (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) bowl last night. Seared Ahi tuna, avocado, ikura, gari, tomato. 70% milled rice from The Rice Factory. Side of oshinko.

That's great. But all I asked is if you checked out his book (s) or his shops.

Have you ever checked out either his shop or his books? I am particularly fond of The Spice Companion (eG-friendly Amazon.com link).

Free standard shipping is offered on orders over $100 For Customers living in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. I haven't compared to the Eataly brands, per se. But my favorite dried pastas are Setaro, Faella (which Gustiamo was first responsible for importing), and Senatore Cappelli. I find that even if they get a little more cooking than they should, they remain al dente. Don't get me wrong - I will use Ronzoni or Barilla - but for things like macaroni salad or mac and cheese. At $12.95 per kilo, it's under $6/lb...I can live with that, at least for now!

I definitely didn't buy all of these, but all of a sudden, I have a bunch of La Boite. Inherited, absconded with, whatever. I find it hard to use them. Stuff is expensive! Restocked my favorite pasta: Buon Italia. Free delivery!

These are sold as Wild Montauk Red Royal Shrimp 8-10/lb Head-On. They were not 8 - 10s, but that's okay. Got about 15 for the pound. Head-on, and arrived in perfect condition. Prior to cooking, removed the head from half (or many) of them, for the better half. They were fucking delicious. Olive oil, garlic, white wine, lemon, parsley, chives. Served with rice.

This is my comfort zone, as it's a bottle I can get for under $20...actually, $17. (Probably worth twice that). Here's what Chambers has to say: Wine was a good match for what I made for dinner.

SL Pizza for lunch. SL = Super Lazy, as the dough balls were from Fresh Direct. They come frozen, 4 to a box; we had 2 pies for lunch. Surprisingly not bad. Fresh mozzarella, canned and fresh cherry tomatoes, parmesan were the topping.

Chenin is one of our favorites. I don't generally bring wine back from trips abroad, though I do generally buy 2 bottles of something (Campari, other spirits) in the duty free before boarding. I get most of the French wines we drink (Austrian, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Italian as well) from Chambers Street. 10% discount on all bottles when a case or more is ordered, and they deliver to my apartment for free. Crush, Parcelles, Astor and a few other shops handle all I could possibly want, when and if needed.

A beautiful, dry Chenin Blanc. Went really nicely with sushi.

In other words, it's not the cheese you're worried about.