...more recent posts
FWIW, Alias did more covers than Fresh Foods last night.
I can't believe I never knew this one simple, yet reality shifting fact: Lupa is open for lunch. Every day. And it's not crowded. This is a significant upgrade to my already well fed lifestyle.
I went last Sunday around 12:45. We were one of about five tables. Went today at 12:00 and the place was half full. By 2:00 it starts to fill up, and when we left at 2:30 today there were people waiting, but go just a little bit earlier and you'll be fine.
The menu is 80% the same as at night. All the veggies are there (don't miss the cici and leeks.) The frutti di mare. All the pastas. The daily specials. But not the full entree list. Still, you don't really need all that for lunch. Grab a bottle of white from Elena Walch and you're good to go. Home by 4:00 for a nap. That's living.
one of our favorite local places is organic grill on 2nd avenue. are we alone in this? right past dok suni. killer veg, i think vegan, food. roasted garlic tempeh triangles with kale, ooo yeah.
ate at Alain Ducasse last week...here's the thing: _scallops topped with beluga in a chive nage_. yes yes yes. like dessert for dinner. the rest? very very very good...NOT the single best meal in town...but very very very good. Never go there if you're paying, is the only thing...which luckily I ended up not doing. I will say this, though: after seating us at literally the worst table I've SEEN let alone sat at in about 5 years..and then watching our horrified expression as the only other table in the broomcloset started SINGING (badly)...the maitre d' Did The Right Thing and brought us back through the kitchen, to "Mr. Ducasse's table", which is in Mr. Ducasse's cookbook library, which adjoins Mr. Ducasse's kitchen, and has a big glass door, so you can watch, which is a beautiful view (the rest of the room ain't bad either)...and wow, that's a hell of an army Mr. Ducasse has there. OUI CHEF!!
one great dish at Bond St. (the risotto) but over all underwelming, The Basil people opened #3 called The Basil we went to taste last night and it looks good, and taste's great for a soft opening night, fab wine list!!!...
How to cook a lot of broccoli.
simple is usually better, lunch today at Marichu another place i never heard of was clean, flavorful, comfortable and well priced,
wine list ok....looking forward to going back....
we watched Lidia of Felidia cooking on TV sunday so when monday rolled around we went right in for lunch. great wine list with lots of super estates but its an expensive place to drink, we settled in on a bargin 1994 Knoll Gruner Smaragd for $66 bucks, awesome!!
I just finished reading Kitchen Confidential. It was a fun read, but I'm wondering how it was received in the biz.
the hardest part about a review is when you drank a wine for 5 years from $45 to $65 and tonight its $160, (even if its worth it), but the smart person over looks and dives smack into the 78 Sfursat for $45...another night at Manducatis, and a great night at that!!
another part of ratings is personal bias, i love Italy and Italian wine, last night we ate at Lupa for the first time in about a year!! (party of 4 completely blown away, they sent out these lightly batter fried squid covered in a hot pepper sause that was "to live" for, the Bavette, a new dish of Farro Spagetinni(sp?) with tuscan chick peas (cecci's) and Bottarga (tuna roe), sardines with citrus peel, a pasta special with duck and blood orange etc ragu, the date dessert!!!--WOW!!!!--brilliant food, fab flavors, very nice wine list, awesome prices......
The 2002 edition of the SF Chronicle's annual survery of the top 100 local restaurants is now on the web. Only seven are south of SF. The other 93 are in SF, Berkeley, Oakland, and points northward. Yet another disadvantage of living in the "South Bay".
how would i rate a restaurant??
innovative brilliant food, and unique texture and flavor are top, presentation is somewhat an issue but surrondings are not, wine either BYOB'd or off the list is important part unless beer goes better with the food, price value ratio is a final point....
thats why below Willi's beats out Veritas, the food is way better at Veritas but the 3 bottles of wine I drank at Willi's costing $190 inc tax and tip would cost $800 at Veritas, hence Willi's is better IMHO, and thats why GSIMidtown could be so high up, the food is brilliant and I can bring whatever level of wine I want, no charge....
I've been having a series of lunches for slackers. Whoever cooks typically does a multi-course meal from scratch. Dishes range from souffle to fried turkey.
My Mardi Gras week lunch featured pane'ed shrimp, tilapia and okra (with light coating of Cajun spiced breading) over roasted corn/lime salsa and brown rice with a splash of fish stock, and a dab of remoulade on the side. But the star was the dessert.
Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding
serves 15
- one loaf sweet french bread, stale, crust removed, cut into 3/4" cubes
- eight eggs
- one pint skim milk, one pint heavy cream
- 1 lb Scharffen Berger semi-sweet, chopped into chips
- 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/2 cup Gran Marnier
- 1/2 cup Irish whiskey
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp cocoa
- unsalted butter
- melt 1/3 of chocolate chips
- let milk, cream and eggs reach room temperature, let chocolate cool
- whisk melted chocolate into eggs until smooth
- whisk liquor, sugar, nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon into mixture until smooth
- whisk milk and cream into egg mixture until smooth
- fold bread cubes into mixture, let stand for 30 minutes
- pour mixture into large deep pan, or several smaller deep tins (large pan yields custardy center with more cake-like exterior, smaller pans yield more consistent texture)
- while pouring mixture, add layers of the remaining chocolate chips
- sprinkle cocoa on top
- bake at 350 until set in the center, 50-60 minutes
- finish under broiler for 5 minutes, about 4" from hot broiler
- let cool for 5 minutes
- serve with vanilla ice cream, raspberry sorbet, whiskey, or whipped cream
- make note to self about increasing aerobics for a couple of days
back from the Loire and Paris and and one of the most fun and yum meals ever in France was at L'Astrance , some other places get high points some the wine lists are so good the ok food could be overlooked and a fab time was had....
but over all it was
#1 L'Astrance (Paris)
#2 Les Tonnelles (Behuard-Loire)
#3 Willi's Wine Bar (Paris)
*"WINE PROTECTS AGAINST DEMENTIA!" - NY TIMES
"Raising a Toast to the Brain's Health", Tuesday, Jan 5th. - By John O'Neil
According to a 6 year Dutch study,
"People who had consumed one to three drinks a day were half as likely to have developed dementia"
"The gap was even bigger when the researchers focused on vascular dementia, the deterioration of brain function linked to damage of the arteries that supply the brain with oxygen. Whatever it is about alcohol that reduces risk of stroke and heart disease is also helping the brain by improving the functioning of the circulatory system, the researchers speculated."