Esca

[Wilfrid]

The more I think about it, the lousier a meal it was.  The sunshine and Cabrales' company kept me in a good mood while eating, but in retrospect:  yuck.

First time I have tried the crudos, and they seemed to me just totally misconceived.  I can't imagine they would have been better if the fish had been different, although the seasoning might have been more controlled.  Soak delicate fish in seasoned olive oil, and guess what you taste?  Yes, seasoned olive oil.  I can't imagine why anyone would eat this in preference to sashimi.  Have I completely missed the point?

As for the baccala, choosing it was a calculated risk.  Salt cod should not taste of salt when it is served.  There are two straightforward techniques for removing the salt, and there is no excuse for failing to do so.  Having said that, I have repeatedly found kitchens incapable of doing this.  I couldn't figure out how Esca could remove the salt, and yet serve the baccala essentially raw and marinated.  They couldn't.  Absolutely nasty.  I ate three small pieces, and sold one to Cabrales, the rest I left.

As Cabrales, I believe, said at the time: you'd think someone in the kitchen would taste the food.  

[Jinmyo]

Oh my.

I have been so curious about the crudo. I had imagined a delicate lash of excellent oil and a balanced use of salt on utterly fresh, thinly sliced raw fish.

But soaked in oil? And salty baccala?

Et tu, Mario?

[cabrales]

Not only soaked in oil, but in a heavy-consistency oil that was likely to overwhelm the flavors of many fish varieties. Also, use of the same oil in all three parts of the flight of crudos.  :confused:

[Jinmyo]

Not only soaked in oil, but in a heavy-consistency oil that was likely to overwhelm the flavors of many fish varieties. Also, use of the same oil in all three parts of the flight of crudos.  :confused:

So sorry, cabrales. I feel as if I'd put you up to this with my msg about Esca. /me seppuku

[cabrales]

Jinmyo -- Please don't worry. I chose Esca not only because the crudos interested me, but also because I liked certain Babbo meals I had had a while ago (no recent visits to date). Sampling a dish is part of a process; sometimes the substantive outcome is undesirable (as in this case), but that does not detract from the appropriateness of the process.  

[Jinmyo]

All right, cabrales.

Now who else can I ask to go to Esca for me? I'm in Ottawa and won't be back in NYC (last there over a decade ago) for...Well, probably five years.

[cabrales]

Wilfrid & Jinmyo -- You'll find the below excerpt from Grimes, entitled "Big Fish, Little Fish and Raw Fish: The Year In Review" amusing (one of the introductory pieces to the 2001 NYT Guide to NYC Restaurants; I'll check the 2002 version shortly):

"Raw fish emerged as an unlikely star, in all sorts of settings. [Mention of Douglas Rodriguez's departure from Patria for Chicama] . . . At Esca . . . [Mario Batali] and his partner, Joe Bastianich, set aside a special place on their all-fish menu for a dozen variations on the theme of raw fish, all of them *beguiling* [Mention of Sushi Yasuda and Ping's Seafood] . . . ."

Under the 2001 Esca-specific description, the guide indicates this, among other things:

"At Esca . . . the most important word in the Italian language is crudo. It means raw, and that's the way the fish comes to the table in a *dazzling* array of appetizers that could be thought of as Italian sushi. . . . The crudo apetizers at Esca are the freshest, *most exciting thing to happen to Italian food in recent memory*.  In the hands of chef David Pasternack, the crudo formula shows remarkable flexibility. By changing olive oils, adding a bitter green, or throwing in a scattering of minced chilies, Mr. Pasternack works *thrilling* variations along a very simple theme. . . ."  

[Jinmyo]

cabrales, now that sounds like what I had in mind. Perhaps last year it was like this. Other people have spoken well of the crudo.

Can it have been...[wait for it]...a fluke?

[Wilfrid]

Yes, I remember the tantalizing descriptions of what turned oiut to be raw fish drowned in oil.

As luck would have it, I flicked on the Food network last night and found Mario discoursing on salt cod.  He explained what it is, and then said that it needed to be soaked in fresh water for two days, with the water changed three times, to remove the salt.  Then, he said, it could be eaten without further cooking, just a slick of olive oil.  Hopefully, he'll send a video of that episode to the Esca kitchen staff.  If the baccala I ate had been soaked for two days, I have a ginger pony-tail (which I don't).  And if it had been, they should consider four days!

[mamster]

This is interesting--I just changed the water in which I'm soaking a pound of salt cod.  I'm planning to make brandade, but thanks to this thread I'll try a raw morsel with some good olive oil.  Tomorrow, that is--it's only been soaking since last night.

[Wilfrid]

Did you know that if you have left over brandade, and it will hold it's shape well enough, you can dip it in batter, deep fry it and call it bunuelos de bacalao.  Strongly recommended.  

[Jinmyo]

Did you know that if you have left over brandade, and it will hold it's shape well enough, you can dip it in batter, deep fry it and call it bunuelos de bacalao.  Strongly recommended.  

Oh ho ho! No, I didn't know about that.

But where does one acquire leftover brandade?

[Wilfrid]

Easy.  Make too much.  Yes, there is such a thing as too much brandade!

[cabrales]

. . . the 2001 NYT Guide to NYC Restaurants; I'll check the 2002 version shortly): . . .

Under the 2001 Esca-specific description, the guide indicates this, among other things:

"At Esca . . . the most important word in the Italian language is crudo. It means raw, and that's the way the fish comes to the table in a *dazzling* array of appetizers that could be thought of as Italian sushi. . . . The crudo apetizers at Esca are the freshest, *most exciting thing to happen to Italian food in recent memory*.  In the hands of chef David Pasternack, the crudo formula shows remarkable flexibility. By changing olive oils, adding a bitter green, or throwing in a scattering of minced chilies, Mr. Pasternack works *thrilling* variations along a very simple theme. . . ."  

The 2002 NYT Guide contains the same favorable description of Esca.  :confused: Note I use that guide more than Zagat or other US guides. I like the longer narrative, and the inclusion of certain dishes to consider sampling.

[Wilfrid]

Emperor's new clothes.  I really think so.  I can drown raw fish in oil and salt at home.

[tommy]

Emperor's new clothes.  I really think so.  I can drown raw fish in oil and salt at home.

but how do you look in clogs?

i quite like some of those crudo thingies over there.

[Wilfrid]

You could taste the fish?

[tommy]

You could taste the fish?

i think they are the sum of their parts.

[Jinmyo]

Wilfrid, how often have you had the crudo? Just the once?

[Wilfrid]

You could taste the fish?

i think they are the sum of their parts.

That would be a "no".

Jinmyo, only once.  But how difficult is it to execute?  It's the concept I query.

[tommy]

But how difficult is it to execute?  

slightly harder than sushi?

[Rachel Perlow]

This is interesting--I just changed the water in which I'm soaking a pound of salt cod.  I'm planning to make brandade, but thanks to this thread I'll try a raw morsel with some good olive oil.  Tomorrow, that is--it's only been soaking since last night.

So, how was it?

[cabrales]

I don't think I need to taste the crudos again. I tasted three varieties (albeit somewhat similar in style) with Wilfrid, and then the goeyduck separately. All suffered from the same significant problems of heaviness in the EVOO and masking of the inherent tastes of the seafood.   :confused:

[mamster]

The raw salt cod was quite good.  It's got a wonderful chewy texture, subtly fishy taste, and, as Wilfrid said, it's not too salty.  In fact, when I made the brandade (also delicious, without potatoes and then with potatoes on the second night) I had to add a little salt.  And I have leftover brandade in my freezer;  a pound of salt fish makes a whole lot of the stuff for two people.

[Wilfrid]

But how difficult is it to execute?  

slightly harder than sushi?

Au contraire.  Did you mean sashimi (I know you know the difference, just wondered if you misspoke)?

Sushi involves some work.  All they have to do here is cut the fish up and not drown it in oil and salt.  I can do that.  I'm sure Mario can do that.  Someone in Esca's kitchen can't.