tammylc
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Posts posted by tammylc
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$125 ultra-rare ice wine vinegar?
Mmmmm.
Bruce
Yes it was. But all gone the last few times I've been in.
They had a Banyuls vinegar that was really nice - not for sipping, like the ice wine vinegar, but it would have been great for salad. I regret that I didn't buy any, and I think its gone too.
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The thing to remember about all that stuff you can't afford to buy at Zingerman's - they will let you sample _anything_ in the store. Absolutely anything. $125 ultra-rare ice wine vinegar? Check. Smoked duck in sealed plastic packages from D'Artagnan? Check (and then they let us each just buy 1/4 lb instead of having to get the whole thing). Absolutely anything. In fact, they are usually thrilled to do so. I've had Zingerman's employees be downright disappointed when I didn't want to try something. Best way to get a good sampling experience is to go during non-peak hours, of course. Weekdays or late in the evening. Of course, I'd recommend you to buy _something_ after all that sampling - we wouldn't want them to change the policy because too many people took advantage of it.
Oh, and speaking of sampling, be sure you try the "Naga" truffle from Vosges available at the chocolate counter in Zingerman's Next Door. Chocolate/Curry/Coconut is a fabulous combination.
It is the Common Grill, owned by Craig Common. It and the theater were part of a downtown renewal thing Chelsea went through a few years ago. Daniels wanted to open a theater, but they needed some destination dining to go with it, and thus the Common Grill was born. Like Alex, I haven't been there in years, but remember if as being solidly good but not exciting - about what you expect for small town America.
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Ouch. I expect they'll improve.
Bruce
Me too. But they will probably still be too expensive.
To a certain extent, I think the sandwiches at the deli are too expensive as well, but I just never order them - I get stuff from the deli - bread and cheese, occasionally soup, sometimes some sliced smoked duck - even if I spend as much or more as I would have on a sandwich, I feel like I got a better deal.
It remains to be seen if I'll be able to execute that sort of end run with the Roadhouse. Their dinner menu looks more promising than lunch did - an appetizer and a couple sides could make a great and reasonably priced meal.
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Apparently, even Zingerman's is not immune to opening week jitters. They opened on Monday and we went there for lunch today to celebrate closing on our house. I try never to go to restaurants right when they open - it takes them time to settle into their routine, and why should I be a guinea pig? But it's Zingerman's, so we had pretty high expectations. Which, sad to say, were disappointed.
After being seated and brought water and bread, we waited long enough for our server that I felt the need to ask one who was passing by if he could please find our server. She arrived and took our order, but the promised refill of the bread basket never arrived. Service was pretty slow, and it took a while for the apps to come out. The BBQ'd oysters were hot and tasty and very nicely done - cooked but still very tender and not rubbery. I thought the clam chowder was pretty tasty, but Eric and Robyn are bigger clam chowder fans, and they said it was only average. Also, I think the clams weren't well cleaned, as the chowder seemed to have some sandy bits.
Eric had ordered a burger for his entree, and about the time we would have expected to get our food, the server came by to tell us that they had run out of ground beef (they grind their own) and were in the process of grinding more, and did he want to order something else or wait? He asked how long the wait would be, and the answer was never forthcoming, but after waiting a while and snagging a random person to bring us some more bread, our entrees appeared. The burger for Eric, crab cakes for Robyn, and a Pit-Smoked Chicken Wild Mushroom and Fiddlehead Fern salad for me. I immediately notice that my salad is missing the promised aged Quebecois goat cheddar, and we eventually get the attention of our server, who brings out not only the cheese that should have been on top, but also some roasted yellow tomatoes that should also have been a garnish (and were major big yum). The salad is a warm salad, with tasty tender chicken and a lovely mix of wild mushrooms and roasted fennel and leek on top of wilted spinach, served with a buerre blanc vinaigrette (and the cheese and tomatoes that had been brought out to me). It was only at the very end of the meal that I realized that there had been no fiddlehead ferns on my fiddlehead salad...
Meanwhile, Eric has eaten about a third of his burger, when he arrives at the center of the patty (ordered medium rare) and discovers that it is still raw. We call over our server _again_ and send the burger back. I'm pleased to report, however, that there was nothing wrong with Robyn's crabcakes, which were actually quite tasty, although the kitchen appeared to be exhibiting a lack of imagination - every dish was garnished with chopped scallions. Eric also felt that the burger toppings didn't live up to Zing standards - the mustard and ketchup were both just Heinz. My suspicion that this was purposeful was confirmed later - the goal of the restaurant is to highlight American food, so french mustards are out.
Service has been slow all along, so Robyn finishes up his meal and leaves to go back to work. Eventually Eric's burger comes, but having eaten two apps (the oysters and the clam chowder), tastes of my salad and Robyn's crab cakes, plus a Vernors Gelato Float, he's not very hungry and asks to have it wrapped up to go. Even though we're both pretty full, we can't resist trying the S'mores - Zing started making their own graham crackers and marshmallows earlier this year, so we had to give it a try. Very tasty, although Eric thought that the chocolate marshmallows were a little overkill, and preferred the plain ones.
The burger, S'mores and Eric's coffee were all comped to make up for all of our troubles, but the bill for the two of us still came to $36 before tip, which seems awfully excessive. Everything on the menu seems overpriced by at least $3 or $4. My giant glass of fresh squeezed lemonade was really yummy, but $3.50 buys an awful lot of lemons. And even if the beef was Niman Ranch and freshly ground on site, Eric didn't think his burger and fries were really worth $12.
On our way out, the hostess (someone I used to work with) asked if everything was okay. Since she was a friend, I told her that no, we hadn't exactly been impressed, and she had us pass on our opinions to some unnamed guy (probably the manager or something). As I told him, we understand that this is only their third day, and we're willing to cut them quite a bit of slack, but that if things are this unprofessional in a couple of weeks, we'll be very disappointed.
Hopefully I'll have better things to report after our next visit. The menu has lots and lots of things we'd like to try, so I know we'll be back, but we'll give them a couple weeks to settle in. Zingerman's has set really high standards for themselves - I hope they can meet them, and am pretty sure they will be able to, so I hope to able to retract this negative review pretty soon...
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My post to an earlier thread on food in Michigan:
As Andrew said, Ann Arbor is a great town for cheap eats. Here are some of my favorites, all pretty cheap:One of the hidden gems in town is Jefferson Market. This little market hidden on a side street (Jefferson) in the old west side across from Bach school has an amazing kitchen in the back. Pretty much everything they serve is amazing.
Cafe Zola does a good brunch. Tapas at Cafe Felix is fun too. If you feel like venturing into Ypsilanti, there's good Vietnamese at DaLat. For Thai, I have two favorites - Tuptim in Ypsi is pretty excellent all round, but Siam Square (in the hotel across the street from Arborland) has better curries. Also in Ypsi, Memphis Blues smokehouse serves a smoked beef brisket that's to die for.
Earthen Jar on 5th Ave offers good, cheap, vegetarian Indian buffet by the pound. Jerusalem Garden, right next door, is the source for cheap and good Middle Eastern stuff - their falafel sandwich is an incredible bargain, at less than $3 last time I visited, and you can make two meals out of it.
Sabor Latino is a Latin American place on Main. While all their food is good (or so I've been told) - I pretty much only eat their Carne al Pastor tacos - they are amazing.
Lots of places for good Korean in town. Either of the Korean places down on South University are good. But my favorite places for Bi Bim Bop is Kosmo Deli, the lunch counter in the Kerrytown Shops.
If you like Dim Sum, Great Lakes Chinese Seafood Restaurant is the place to go. They also have some great items on their dinner menu - as a Hong Kong style restaurant, they have some unusal items. My faves are shrimp in honey walnut sauce, Singapore Noodles, and Beef Tenderloin in Black Pepper Sauce.
For Szechuan, Szechuan West on Stadium Rd near Jackson is a an old favorite, although the last time I visited I was unimpressed with my usual favorite, the Szechuan Chicken. General Tso's was still awesome, however.
Madras Masala is a new Southern Indian place that's recently opened. The last time I was there they were working out some service kinks, but the food was very good. Blimpy Burger is both a great burger and a great experience. Bev's Carribean Kitchen is great and cheap - try the curried goat.
Hope that helps!
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Just go to Trio. Dont go anywhere else.
I know you must be only joking, but...
I think I'd get bored even of Trio if it was the only place I went out to eat. Plus, even chefg says that it's about the experience, and not about satiation. When I just want to grab a quick bite of something tasty because I've had a bad day at work and can't face the kitchen, Trio is not going to fit the bill...
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September 19-21 : NO
September 26-28 : YES
October 3-5 : YES
October 17-19 : MAYBE
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September's mostly a nightmare for me, but I could do possibly do the 12-14 or 26-28. All depends on when the house buying/move happens.
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Let's make a date. Vote for either October 3-5 or October 17-19
I vote for October 3-5.
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I have never heard of Naha, but I am now on a quest to eat there. Oh, Gawd.
Happy Birthday, Ronnie. This was your birthday present to me. More from you!
What she said.
A joy to read - thanks.
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i've tried to read this article several times and i still have no effing clue what the author is trying to say. and, is wine ever bitter?!?!?
Agree with you on the article - very poorly written.
Re. wine being bitter - I have had a couple of Gewurztraminers that have had a bitter finish. I noticed it and disliked it, while other people thought it was fine. Don't know where I fall on the bitter spectrum, though - I don't like coffee, but love dark chocolate.
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In the sparkling wine category, my favorite is the NV Simonet Blanc de Blancs Brut from Alsace. At $7.00/bottle (and I've gotten it for as low as $5.50 through my wine club), it's a steal. My WTN: Light bodied, primary aroma/taste is floral (rose maybe?). Dry, but not too dry. Floral, yeasty and round. Pleasant finish - good acidity that lingers. Great with food, excellent QPR!
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Thanks, stubrio - that was helpful. Now can you help me convince my husband to drive four hours for dinner again?
Welcome to eGullet!
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It was Robin's page that I refering to, and as Carolyn has said, it does seem to be a pretty successful activity. I've participated once or twice (and still have a bottle of Pinotage I bought for last month in my basement). One difference between it and what's being proposed here is that it goes on for a month, rather than aiming to be simultaneous. Although as someone suggested, the protocol could be to send your notes to one person who would collect them and post them all at once, to avoid cross-contamination of tasting language...
And while there are one or two benchmark wines for the month, people are encouraged to participate even if they can't find the exact benchmark wine, making it fairly nationally and globally accessible. It cuts down on the fun of comparing different notes on the same wine, though.
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I have a wine geek friend who has a collection of "decoy" wines. Whenever he gets a random bottle as a gift, he stocks it away until he has one of his big house parties. The he'll put out several decoy bottles and a few good bottles. People who don't care what they're drinking gravitate towards the decoy bottles because they recognize them, and the people who do care know to look for the better stuff.
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Damn. The tasting menu must have been added between when I went and when you guys went, because it was definitely not offered (nor on the website, although it is now) when we were there. Bummer.
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Another wine board I'm on does this every month. The challenge is always finding wines that are widely available.
But I'd be happy to participate if we can find one...
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Thanks for all the fabulous suggestions. I cooked up the goat cheese ravioli tonight. A couple different people mentioned arugula as a possible pairing, so I improvised an arugula pesto out of baby arugula, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, lemon juice, salt, and a touch of sugar. I experimented with my plating technique and sauced the plates with the pesto, then arranged three raviolis on top. I topped it with a little more sauce and garnished it with lemon zest and toasted pine nuts. The pesto was very strongly flavored, so it was important to use it sparingly, but everyone agreed that it was a really nice combination.
I paired it with a 2001 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from the The Crossings in Awatere Valley in New Zealand. This was a great match - SB is a classic match with goat cheese, and this particular one has a lot of green herbaceous flavors to mirror the arugula. In fact, when I opened this on Friday it was almost too herbaecous, but in comparison to the arugula it was just green enough (two days in the fridge helped some too, to be fair).
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Shadow - I'm so glad your 500 mile drive for dinner was worthwhile, and that I could inspire such a fabulous outing!
By tasting menu do you mean just the regular four/five courses with choices, but with the wine for each course, or was there a special tasting menu?
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On a visit to Columbus, OH a couple weeks ago, we discovered the absolutely fabulous North Market, a foodie paradise. There was a shop in the Market selling really unusual stuffed pastas, so we brought some home to try. I've already cooked the portabella/prosciutto/pinenut (which weren't as good as I'd hoped) and my friend shared the smoked mozarella (which were fabulous). I still have three kinds in my freezer, and while I have some ideas for what might work, I'd love suggestions.
So, what would you do with the following ravioli?
1. Goat Cheese
2. Smoked Salmon
3. Jamaican Jerk Chicken in Lime Cilantro pasta
Thanks in advance!
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I am exceedingly picky about glassware, although it seems what I find preferable is a little different than many of the people who've posted.
There are glasses in my house that I won't drink out of if I have any alternative. They're too tall, or too heavy, or too thin. I picked out our most recent glass purchase by mock lifting them to my lips - if they didn't feel right, I knew I wouldn't use them. I don't like heavy bottom glasses at all - I prefer glasses that are about the same thickness all around. And I'm not a size queen - I'm notorious for always leaving half an inch in the bottom of my glass, so bigger is not better for me - 16 oz is my maximum. My husband loves using huge 22 and 24 oz beer glasses - not only won't I drink out of them, they bother me just to wash. Under no circumstances should
a glass be taller than 6.5 inches, and my perfect glass is about 5 inches.
And don't even get me started on flatware - length, weight, balance...
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re. roasted kale...
Molly Katzen has a recipe for baked kale with parmesan in her cookbook "Vegetable Heaven." Which I don't have any more, so I can't give you any more details than that.
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Saturday night my husband Eric and I went to Tapawingo in Ellsworth, MI. Any SF readers in the crowd will be familar with the "Restaurant at the End of the Universe." Well, Saturday we had dinner at the "Restaurant in the Middle of Nowhere." To get to Tapawingo from Charlevoix (a resort town where we'd spent the afternoon), you take the main highway out of town, then turn onto a country road. Travel 10 miles until you reach the stop sign with blinking light, and turn left. Travel a few more miles, and you reach a sign welcoming you the Village of Ellsworth, and a few scattered buildings. Turn left at the stop sign and you'll see a sign on your right that says Tapawingo. So far as we could tell, this would be your only reason for coming to Ellsworth (not quite true, there's supposedly another good restaurant there too, the Rowe Inn). And come they did - the parking lot was almost full at our 7 pm arrival time, and when we left there were cars parked on the grass as well.
Tapawingo has been around for over 10 years, and has gone through a couple of chef changes. Their current chef, Stuart Brioza, was just named one of the 10 Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine Magazine.
When I made the reservation, I told them it was our anniversary, and our menus had "Happy Anniversary Tammy and Eric" printed on top - a nice touch. The restaurant is pretty - very open and airy. A little too open, in some ways - our table was on the other side of a half wall from a larger table, and we were less than a foot away from our neighbors. But we had a lovely view of the patio and the lake out of the big windows.
The menu is five courses - two set hors d'oeuvres, and then your choice of a first dish, a principal dish and dessert. The price of your meal is based on your choice of principal dish, and ranged from $50-$58 the night we were there. The complete menu from Saturday is currently posted on the website, but they change it pretty frequently, so it might not be the same depending when you read this (in fact, looking at it closer now, it appears that there are a few subtle differences from what we had Saturday).
We started off with a glass of champagne, it being our anniversary afterall. It was just that night's house champagne (and at $15/glass, not a cheapie) - I can't remember what exactly it was, and it's not on the wine list from the website.
The first hors d'oeuvres was Tomato and Basil "Salad." The quotation marks were a tip off that that this would be something unusual, and it was - a round of tomato gelee on top of basil olive oil, with fresh shaved parmesan and crushed black pepper on the side. All the flavors of tomato basil salad, but with a twist. I thought it was tasty and fun, but Eric found it too frou-frou for his tastes.
The second hors d'ouvres was Chilled Golden Beet Soup. This was served in a tiny little cup, and tasted pretty much just like beets. Which was, of course, the point. Eric, not being a fan of beets, wasn't thrilled with this one either. I thought it was fine - fairly simple and one-dimensional, and not something to write home about, but good.
For our first dishes, we ordered two, ate half, and then swapped. I started with the Seared Spice Cured Salmon - Fresh Hearts of Palm, Avocado, Figs & Fava Beans with Moroccan Broth. This was quite good. The Moroccan broth was intensly flavorful, and the salmon perfectly seared on the outside and still raw in the middle. All of the accompaniments meant that there was quite a lot going on in the dish, but the variety of tastes and textures worked well.
Meanwhile, Eric got the Morel & Toasted Rye Soup - Brie Cheese Custard. The soup was a beautiful dark brown, with lovely tender morels floating in it. In the center there was a little cheesy custard, and the whole thing was garnished with some tiny strips of toasted rye bread. Wow. The soup was very rich and earthy and flavorful, and the morels were, as I've said, lovely and tender. The custard was sort of pointless, however, as the soup overwhelmed any brie-ness to be found. But this was not a dissapointment, as the soup itself was just delightful.
After some discussion with the sommelier (Ron Edwards, formerly of Five Lakes Grill in Milford, who was great), we settled on a half bottle of the 2000 Terrabianca Scassino Chianti Classico for our main courses. At $25 this was an amazing deal. Really excellent wine, with good cherry fruit and plenty of structure and depth.
On to the main courses. Eric ordered the "Tagliata" of Corn Fed Beef Sirloin-Arugula Jus, Lemon Rind & Parmesan Flan, Trumpet Royal Mushrooms & Virgin Olive Oil. Cooked medium-rare, as the chef suggested, we both thought it would have been better rare (but that's how we like our steak, so we're biased). The meat was nicely flavorful, and the accompaniments worked well. The arugula jus was a bright green paste of pureed arugula and was awesome with the beef - I love arugula, and the peppery bite came through wonderfully in the jus. Another cheese custard, but this time it worked perfectly, with the parmesan really front and center.
But I was the big winner in the main course selection. Shrimp Crusted Black Sea Bass - Turnips & their Greens, Shitake Mushrooms, Soy Beans, Vidalia Onion-Soy Black Truffle Oil Vinaigrette. Beautiful presentation: there were two stacked pieces of sea bass, with turnip greens between them. The top piece was crusted with shrimp and sesame seeds. This sat in a pool of the vinaigrette, with four separate garnishes - baby turnips sliced in half to the left, soy beans (edamame) at the bottom, carmelized onions to the right, and mushrooms at the top (both shitake and at least one other kind, maybe enoke?). I just can't say enough about the sauce - light but complex, perfectly seasoned, with sweet from the vidalias, salt from the soy, and depth and earthiness from the truffle. The sauce was very similar to something I'd had at Tribute last year, but much better executed, with a more subtle and less overpowering combination of similar flavors. Awesome. Maybe the best dish I've ever had, in fact.
And then, it was time for dessert. The sommelier came by to see how we'd liked the Chianti, and mentioned some of the dessert wine pairings. Eric and I talked and agreed that he was willing to drive back to camp, so if I wanted to indulge I should, and he'd get a cappucino. The most interesting thing on the dessert menu had to be the Strawberries n' Cream Tart - Pink and Black Peppercorn Cookie Crust, Basil Ice Cream & Strawberry Rhubarb Salad. I seriously regret not ordering it, but I'd been seduced by the siren's song of the Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse - Passion Fruit Sauce, Pecan Meringue Cake and Caramelized Bananas. This was a fine dessert, although the mousse was layered between pieces of bittersweet chocolate, so eating it was a bit of a challenge - I ended up striking the chocolate pieces sharply with the tines of my fork to break them up. With it I had the suggested wine, a Banyuls from Domaine de Mas Blanc - there are three on the wine list, and I don't know which I had, unfortunately. As promised, this is a wine that goes very well with chocolate - the nose on it is quite chocolatey, actually, with some hints of cloves and spice as well. A red dessert wine, this is similar to Port, but without the addition of Brandy that gives Port its high alcohol content, and less sweet than many ports I've tried. I like my dessert wines on the less sweet side, so this worked well for me.
Eric had the Tasting of Creme Brulee - Tahitian Vanilla Bean, Raspberry and Chocolate Mint. All three were good, although the just plain vanilla was his favorite.
And then, of course, there were the petit fours. A candied almond for each of us, and a sugared passion fruit gelee and peanut butter-chocolate truffle that we split. The truffle was awesome. We lingered for a bit as Eric finished up his cappucino and I my wine, and then we headed out into the twilight for the drive back to the campground (we were combining my anniversary wish for a fancy dinner with his anniversary wish for a camping outing with friends).
Little bits: Much attention to cutlery - Eric and I got different cutlery from each other for our main courses - I assume that the 3 tined fork and funny shaped knife are considered appropriate for fish.... And how could I forget to mention the bread? The baguette in particular was spectacular, with a perfect crust. Eric was annoyed by the cup his cappucino was served in - it was a fancy painted cup, but the handle was an artsy little thing that you couldn't actually put your finger through, making drinking the cappucino without burning yourself a challenge. He ordered a second cappucino, and they were able to accomodate his request for a different cup. And lastly, Just a little before we left, a four-top was seated across the way from us. The sommelier knew them, and informed them that they wouldn't need menus, as the chef would be cooking for them, and he'd be choosing their wines. Nifty.
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Nice site, but it doesn't work at all in Netscape 7.
NaHa - Chicago - chef Carrie Nahabedian
in The Heartland: Dining
Posted
From the starters, the scallops and acorn squash ravioli would be my picks. I'm not thrilled about the vanilla bean with the scallops, but I've had grapefruit with scallops before and thought it was inspired. And the ravioli just sounds yummy.
Nothing on the mains screams out at me, but if I had to pick my craving for red meat lately has me jumping at the the beef tenderloin and the Delmonico. I'd probably go with the tenderloin, since I haven't had much opportunity to really try black truffles. The veal chop also sounds kinda interesting.
Have fun!