alacarte: the food blog

[alacarte]

Time for the next meal, and thus, the next blog entry:

I spent the afternoon toy-shopping! It's a fun exercise when you don't have kids along. I don't have kids of my own, but I do have two nieces -- one is 3 1/2 and the other is nearly four months old. I adore them both. Although I really had set out to buy a baby shower gift for a friend, I couldn't help a couple of impulse buys for the nieces. Has anyone else noticed the yards and yards of candy set up along the ever-so-slow cashier lines, conveniently set at child height? I resisted the sugar impulse until I got home, where I consumed a handful of squishy yellow Peeps (a gift from Mr. alacarte, who finds Peeps hilarious ).

Dinner was stir-fried chicken and vegetables with extra garlic, since I'm trying to stave off a cold I feel coming on. I'm planning to attend the Professional Food Writers Symposium later this week, and I absolutely, positively cannot be sick for this. (By the way, if anyone else is going, please PM me, it would be nice to see a friendly face there!)

The stir-fry was made with kosher Empire chicken breast. For a while, we ordered chicken from FreshDirect -- I was so excited when they started offering kosher meats and poultry! But the chickens were ridiculously scrawny, so I've gone back to Empire. I don't miss any of the other chickens I see in the supermarkets, they often look so yellow and flabby. However, I would love to try cooking with d'Artagnan poultry, which I've heard such good things about -- but it looks like that won't be happening anytime soon.

edited because I can't type tonight!

Edited March 15, 2004 by alacarte (log)

[Pan]

This blog is good reading, Kara.

Just one comment from me, so far:

Nothing gross about pigeons. They're just another type of fowl, really. Just don't think of the ones flying around New York when you eat them, and get them only at reliable places where you can be confident their source wasn't someone with a trap in Central Park (something a guy was arrested for a few years ago).

[alacarte]

You have already inspired Sam and me...we made iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk this morning, even though it's like 35 degrees outside.

This is GREAT!

K

I am SO PROUD of you! Two more converts!

[StInGeR]

This blog is good reading, Kara.

Just one comment from me, so far:

Nothing gross about pigeons. They're just another type of fowl, really. Just don't think of the ones flying around New York when you eat them, and get them only at reliable places where you can be confident their source wasn't someone with a trap in Central Park (something a guy was arrested for a few years ago). 

Ahhhh flying rats ... almost as bad as tree rats Mighty tasty tho Just for the record tho.. I'm still trying to work out what kosher is. I live in Australia at present and there isn't alot of it around. Yeah, yeah call me stupid I'm used to it

Edited March 15, 2004 by StInGeR (log)

[JPW]

Alacarte,

I'll be interested to follow the adventures of a kosher kitchen. Growing up I can't recall any of my (admitedly rather secular) Jewish friends keeping a kosher kitchen.

My direct experience with kosher kitchens is limited to the rather amusing adventures of a (Italian) grad school girlfriend who lived in campus housing with two orthodox Jewish suitemates who were strictly kosher. She was lost all year about what she could and could not do in their kitchen.

It is amusing to compare the sleep habits of 2 "workaholic" cities, DC (where I live) and NYC. I always saw NYC as a "later" city. In DC it is by no means as unusual for people to do what I do -- wake at 6 am, at work by 7:30 -- as it seems to be in NYC. In the summer I often show up even earlier, say 6:30, so I can leave early to play a round of golf.

[phaelon56]

Nice start to the blog. I tended bar part time for several years for a caterer who did lots of kosher events but we did those only when we could use the synagogue's kitchen from start to finish. We never bothered using the dairy side of the kitchen - it just wasn't worth the hassle. The biggest obstacle was when we had a huge event. One year our Citizen of the Year dinner honored Larry King, who was the speaker. We had over 800 guests for a sitdown five course meal and the biggest issue was glassware! Imagine having enough wine and cocktail glasses on hand to do a one hour cocktail hour for people who were tossing them back enthusiastically. Needless to say... we couldn'nt bring in the rental stemware that we used for our large non-kosher events.

About iced mocha's -- it's worth seeing if you can convince your neighborhood espresso dealer to start making and stocking espresso ice cubes for you. They're made of straight espresso with a bit of simple syrup added. The beauty of these is that as the ice melts.... the drink retains its punch and flavor. I have an iced double strength latte every weekday mornign when the weather is warm - I don't mind paying the upcharge for the espresso cubes as it makes for so much better and longer lasting a drink.

[alacarte]

About iced mocha's -- it's worth seeing if you can convince your neighborhood espresso dealer to start making and stocking espresso ice cubes for you. They're made of straight espresso with a bit of simple syrup added. The beauty of these is that as the ice melts.... the drink retains its punch and flavor. I have an iced double strength latte every weekday mornign when the weather is warm - I don't mind paying the upcharge for the espresso cubes as it makes for so much better and longer lasting a drink.

WOW -- I have never heard of such a thing. It seems like a simple and brilliant idea.

Why haven't I thought of this before? THANK YOU!!!

[alacarte]

Can't believe this blog's already had over 450 views. Unbelievable.

I was thinking some more how to explain my approach to kosher cooking, and here's the defining statement, in my opinion:

For me, keeping kosher defines which foods I bring into my kitchen more than it defines how I use those foods.

For example, I will not be making pasta with clam sauce or pork chops, since neither shellfish nor pork is kosher. However, I will be making pasta puttanesca or lamb chops (with lamb purchased from the Kosher Marketplace on the Upper West Side). The style of cooking is more or less the same.

So what am I eating today? So far nothing much, except for....(drum roll please) a large Iced skim Mocha.

I wouldn't want to disappoint you.

I really need the extra caffeine this morning. I was up in the wee hours of the night for no good reason at all. Fell asleep at a reasonable hour and then --boom!-- at about 3AM my eyelids snapped open and that was it, couldn't get back to sleep at all. I was still watching sitcom reruns on Nick at Nite when my alarm went off. I think I'm both nervous and excited about the conference later this week. It's a little like going away to sleep-away camp for the first time. I won't know a soul there, and I really want this to go well. The symposium speakers and agenda are available here if you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about. I still have a million things to do before I leave -- I'm putting the finishing touches on my website (just an online portfolio of my food writing work) and today I need to order business cards with my contact info and the URL. Not to mention laundry, packing, and all that other good stuff.

But first, I have to get through an 11 AM staff meeting.

[Suzanne F]

It's so exciting that you're going to that conference!! And there's no reason to be nervous -- just walk up to people and introduce yourself. If this is like any other food-related conference, the people will be happy to meet YOU. And being writers, they will be more than happy to talk about themselves.

David Leite was there a few years ago, and he said it was the best thing he ever did for his career. The contacts! the learning! the fun! I'm doing what I do now because of a seminar that Toni Allegra ran for IACP -- she's absolutely terrific. And by way of introduction to Anne Willan -- if you talk to her, ask her about How to Cook at Home, currently in process. (I just proofed the galleys, and it looks like it's a great response to the whole Sandra Lee mishigos.)

Have a great time, and in the meantime, enjoy your iced mochas.

[jackal10]

In Hong kong (or at least at the Manderin Hotel) they serve cold rose-water syrup in a silver jug with thier iced mocha, so guests can add their own amount of sweetness. Sugar, of course, would not dissolve quickly in the cold liquid. Cream is in another silver jug. Very civilised.

[alacarte]

In Hong kong (or at least at the Manderin Hotel) they serve cold rose-water syrup in a silver jug with thier iced mocha, so guests can add their own amount of sweetness. Sugar, of course, would not dissolve quickly in the cold liquid. Cream is in another silver jug. Very civilised.

That sounds divine. I think I need someone to bring that to my desk each day. And then I should be fanned with palm fronds as I sip.

My stomach started rumbling before the staff meeting, so I dashed downstairs to pick up an English muffin with butter and one perfectly ripe banana. Already I'm contemplating lunch.

Thanks for the encouraging words, Suzanne. Actually, David Leite's eGCI lesson was one of the lead-ins to this conference for me. I plan to make the most of this opportunity!

I believe you when you say Toni Allegra is terrific. I applied for a couple of the scholarships available for this conference (did I mention that this is one costly event?) and she called me personally to let me know that although I didn't win any of the scholarships ( ) I was the first runner-up for one of them. At first, I was skeptical and assumed this was just a marketing come-on, but then she called me back a few minutes later and sounded a little sheepish when she informed me that I was also the first runner-up for a second scholarship too! (The story of my life.) I've never heard of anyone calling to give that kind of information before.

[alacarte]

Let me tell you a bit about dining in downtown Manhattan (as I contemplate where to go for lunch).

Most eateries in this area fall into three categories IMHO:

1. Quick take-out stops.

2. Casual sit-down dining. (i.e. someplace you'd lunch with a friend or colleague)

3. Fancy dining. (i.e. someplace you'd lunch with a client)

In midtown Manhattan and most other urban areas too, there's more or less an even split among these places. However, in the financial district of NY there's a curious absence of the middle category. Most places to eat are either of the grab-a-quick-sandwich-and-get-back-to-the-trading-floor variety, or the upscale three-hour-lunch-to-close-the-deal variety. The new restaurants that open mostly are the former, not the latter, so that weights the scale even further.

This thread on the Financial District offers some info about specific places located near my office for those who are local (and those who are curious!)

What accounts for this uneven scale? A few things:

1. More firms moving to midtown from downtown. The better restaurants follow, and fewer good new restaurants have opened up downtown. Many that remain are merely "fancy" and are not good at all (i.e. 14 Wall Street).

2. Fewer hot deals in the past couple of years mean fewer hot restaurants. Arguably, the deal flow is coming back of late. Maybe this means we'll get better restaurants sometime soon.

3. The bulk of Wall Streeters are not known for their elongated lunch hours. In fact, many people I know take only half-hour lunches or order in every day because they just can't get away.

4. Real estate still is relatively high.

5. The vast majority of people work here, not live here. That means that they want to dine elsewhere for dinner or on the weekends.

I'm still puzzled as to why there are so few decent mid-priced restaurants to sit down for a bite with a friend. I know I'd welcome more of these in the neighborhood. There are quite a few in Tribeca and on the east side of the financial district, both of which are just out of comfortable walking distance on a lunch period for me, though I still do it from time to time when I just need to get some air & take a break from the office.

I'm also puzzled as to why so many restaurants are really quite filthy and ill-maintained downtown. Every area of Manhattan has its share of dives and joints, but there's an overabundance of places that are simply dirty and dilapidated down here.

Edited March 15, 2004 by alacarte (log)

[bloviatrix]

3. The bulk of Wall Streeters are not known for their elongated lunch hours. In fact, many people I know take only half-hour lunches or order in every day because they just can't get away.

I think this is the primary reason that there is a lack of casual places. Taking long lunches were seriously discouraged where I worked. Actually, if you weren't eating at your desk, you were thought to be "slacking off."

It's all about the billable hours (in consulting, anyway).

[SobaAddict70]

If the territory next to Ground Zero is a culinary wasteland, imagine what the territory one block from South Ferry is like. My work neighborhood, affectionately known as "takeout hell" all but shuts down after 7 pm. Afterhours is worst: there is across the street a McD's, a local deli (closes at 9 pm), bad Indian on Pearl Street (closes at 2 am), good Indian on Williams Street (closes at 8 pm), a Blimpie's, a Burritoville, and an all-night gourmet deli that is neither gourmet nor a cheap deli. *sigh*

There was talk of a downtown revitalization back when Giuliani was mayor. It hasn't happened yet.

Soba

[alacarte]

If the territory next to Ground Zero is a culinary wasteland, imagine what the territory one block from South Ferry is like.

Oh, Soba, you win. I feel for you....

[alacarte]

3. The bulk of Wall Streeters are not known for their elongated lunch hours. In fact, many people I know take only half-hour lunches or order in every day because they just can't get away.

I think this is the primary reason that there is a lack of casual places. Taking long lunches were seriously discouraged where I worked. Actually, if you weren't eating at your desk, you were thought to be "slacking off."

It's all about the billable hours (in consulting, anyway).

Unfortunately, I eat at my desk most days. Today was just too lovely out, though. I love this time of the year, when the air still is crisp and cold and the skies are clear.

At lunchtime today, I walked over to Kinko's and dropped off my order for business cards, which I'll get back tomorrow. Then I strolled over to Zeytuna's for a gozleme.

Zey-whattas for a goz-who-zleme?

Zeytuna's is a gourmet market, take-out counter, and "Mediterranean restaurant" located on John Street, two blocks from my office. Primarily, it is Turkish. The store interior is covered in colorful tiles like a big Turkish bath-house. The market sells products from all over, but also includes some unusual Turkish products, such as a the canned grape leaves imported from Turkey which I purchased for Mr. alacarte last week. At the counter, they serve the usual upscale sandwiches and salads, but they also have enormous trays of sticky baklava studded with pistachios. The coffee counter has cappuccino and grinds heavenly-scented beans, but also offers tiny cups of strong Turkish coffee. And at the basement level, where one can order pizza, sushi, and taco salads, shish kebabs and gozlemes also are sold.

Gozlemes are a Turkish specialty that resemble Lahvash bread, thin expanses of baked dough folded over a filling of feta, spinach, or meat. Zeytuna's folds the dough over several times into a square the size of a napkin. They heat them in a pizza oven as they are ordered and serve them with a thin marinara sauce that reminds me of gazpacho. I ordered a potato gozleme, which was spiced with garlic and pepper. It would have gone well with sour cream, like a pierogi.

I've been meaning to pitch an article on gozlemes...I never seem to get around to it though. But this is one of my big challenges with food writing. I have new ideas percolating every single day, but it's an uphill battle to pitch, pitch, and re-pitch every single one. I envy the columnists who can pursue ideas without dedicating more time to sales pitch than to investigating and writing. I've been trying to stick to a schedule of pitching at least two new ideas each week, but I'm not as disciplined as I could be.

[colestove]

alacarte; thank you for your blog. As (almost) always the additional info and sidebars that happen on eGullet add greatly to the main purpose of the posts. IMHO the greatness of Egullet is in the *extra* *stuff* conained therein. End of OT comment.

colestove

[phaelon56]

In Hong kong (or at least at the Manderin Hotel) they serve cold rose-water syrup in a silver jug with thier iced mocha, so guests can add their own amount of sweetness. Sugar, of course, would not dissolve quickly in the cold liquid. Cream is in another silver jug. Very civilised.

Gramercy Tavern in NYC serves a tiny little (2 oz or so) decanter with simple syrup as a side complement for guests who order unsweetened iced tea. Brilliant idea... so simple and easy... so inexpensive for them to offer but it's little touches like this that make some establishments truly stand out above others.

Also the end of mY OT ramblings until we have more food commentary to diverge from

[mags]

Inagiku -- the Japanese restaurant in the Waldorf -- serves a little pitcher of ginger-flavored simple syrup with its iced tea. It's faaaaaaaabulous. And, as my grandmother would say, "so easy to make."

[bloviatrix]

I always keep a small bottle of sugar syrup in my refrigerator. It's one of those things that keeps forever. And it comes in handy - whether you want to sweeten a cold drink or are throwing some sorbet together. If you're entertaining, pour it in a small pitcher and your guests will love you for it.

Back OT, those gozleme sound yummy. Is one filling enough to hold you through the afternoon?

Edited March 15, 2004 by bloviatrix (log)

[alacarte]

Back OT, those gozleme sound yummy. Is one filling enough to hold you through the afternoon?

I had lunch at about 1:30...it's 4:45 now & I'm not feeling hungry, so yes, it did sustain me throughout the afternoon.

I've also been chugging on a can of Pepsi throughout the afternoon. I prefer Pepsi to Coke, when it comes in a can. I prefer Coke to Pepsi when it comes in a bottle. I cannot think of a single rational reason why I would prefer one over the other based on the container.

Iced tea with one of those flavored simple syrups likely would trump cola any day of the week though!

[alacarte]

Dinnertime! Eggplant parmigiana with spaghetti and caesar salad. To hell with the Ides of March. I'm not cooking tonight, it's takeout from the trusty diner across the street. The Gramercy Diner is one of the cleanest and friendliest diners left in NY, and even though they raised their prices recently, I'm still a fan.

Now I'm craving chocolate....

[alacarte]

It's a gray morning here in NYC, and we may even have snow by tonight. How depressing after a couple of nearly springlike days!

I was running late this AM so I had to bypass my favorite coffee shop on Irving Place in favor of the Starbucks in the lobby of my office building. I don't dislike Starbucks, but I now associate it with work so it's my caffeine supplier of last resort. I find the Starbucks iced mocha too harsh for my taste, so instead I am sipping an iced vanilla latte, with an extra shot of espresso. I also like their caramel macchiatos over ice. I've found through trial and error that most of their other flavored syrups taste very strange and ersatz over ice, though they are passable in a hot drink.

I despise Frappuccinos. Blechhh.

[phaelon56]

I despise Frappuccinos. Blechhh.

You may change your mind if you try making them at home. Crucial ingredients are

1) ice cubes made from espresso or extra strong coffee

2) tiny bit of food grade carageenan (1/4 tsp for a 20 oz drink)

3) a dash of chocolate syrup (not a mocha - this is a flavor binder of sorts that brings out more coffee flavor)

4) tiny dash of salt - yes.... salt!

5) a bit of vanilla extract

6) your choice of milk

7) extra strong coffee that has been chilled - I used to make extra strong French Roast and then add a few teaspons of Medaglia d'Oro instant espresso powder to the pot.

You can mix up the liquid ingredients minus the carageenan in advance and keep a jar of it in the fridge - keeps for 4 - 5 days or longer (about as long as milk does). Just shake it up well, add carageenan, ice cubes and blend. Regular blenders are too wimpy and Waring' so-called Professional Bar Blender is just an appearance gimmick.

Look for this blender

Braun Power Max

It has a motor with much higher wattage output than just about anything on the market apart from the $300 - $400 Vita-Mix units. It also has a very heavy duty stainless steel blade that's ideal for chopping ice. There may be a version available with a glass jar - mine is plastic but it does make it much easier to heft the thing for pouring when i'ts full.

[alacarte]

As a midmorning snack, I had a cup of raisin bran with milk.

When I'm eating something boring like this, I feel like I'm doing one of those diet diary entries. I'll have to find something more exciting to eat so y'all have something more interesting to read. But this is the reality of what I eat, I guess this is part of the hazard of blogging.

Afternoon snacks tend to be more fun anyway. Have I mentioned that I am a sucker for buying novelty junk food? If it's new on the shelves, I have to try it. I bought a container of Peppermint Patty Swoops before the ads started running (I thought they were awful, by the way. They must add something to the chocolate to make it keep its shape that just renders it remarkably unlike chocolate. It somehow becomes less rich and more slippery). Another recent impulse buy was guacamole-flavored potato chips and corn chips. I liked them, especially the potato chips, but neither tasted like guacamole -- the flavor is more like a cool ranch with a bit of spice.

I'm also a sucker for anything "old." I like the Coward's violet chips that have been around since (at least) the 20s. I don't think they have changed the packaging or the flavoring much, and I love that. I wish more items like that were available.