Chiu on This

Delicious simplicity

Salad and steak frites. That's it, that's all your options at Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecôte in midtown Manhattan. What wonderful simplicity. I don't know what makes the sauce that tops the slices of steak so good, all I know is that I've been thinking about it for days. Butter clearly plays a prominent role, and mustard must be in there, too; I've read that there's also blanched chicken livers and thyme in the mix.

For $25, it's an understatement to call this a bargain. Note that they serve your meat and frites up in two servings, keeping the second half on reserve 'til you finish your first plate. The total serving size left me feeling perfectly satisfied. I polished it off with a good coffee and the Vacherin du Relais (a tower of layers of ice cream - either hazelnut or vanilla - and meringue, topped with chocolate sauce and whipped), shared with four other folks.

No frills, no fuss, just flavor. What a tasty, tasty relief.

I could go for some of this about now

Why was I eating sauerbraten in late July last year? I think I'd gotten a GroupOn deal to Manor Oktoberfest in Forest Hills, Queens, and probably waited until the last minute before the expiration date to go to the restaurant. I do like sauerbraten, but given the weather, it was a bit of a heavy meal, and I had a long, uncomfortably hot trudge to the subway afterwards.

But that's not the restaurant's fault. I liked the sauerbraten and spaetzle, but I think I overdid it when I ordered a cucumber salad - in addition to the red cabbage side dish, I went to the proverbial 11 on the puckery, vinegary scale. Even the beer couldn't tamp that flavor down.

I wouldn't mind scarfing down schitnzels, sauerbraten, wursts, and biers, oh, every other day, I'd say, and especially now in this colder weather with a bit of snow on the ground, I'd welcome some warm, filling, and fortifying German food. But with my sedentary and slothful habits, I suppose it's a good thing that Manor Oktoberfest is slightly difficult for me to get to.

The path of the locust, 2011-2012 edition

I spent the last two weeks of December hanging out in Honolulu with my parents, grandma, aunt and uncle from Australia, my sister, and Lani, my parent's adopted 11-year old miniature beagle. Folks ask me if I had a good time; maybe they imagine that I'd be hanging out at the beach or what not. Nope. Mostly what I do is eat with my folks, because that's our M.O., and because food in Hawaii is just so much danged fun. Here's an index to some of the places I went to. But my mom's home cooking is what I'll always crave the most!

• Kapiolani Community College Saturday Farmers Market. You definitely need to go to this market if you're in Honolulu. My next post will go into a bit more detail about what I ate, bought, saw, and sampled there on two visits.

• Bubbies Ice Cream. Multiple locations; I went to the one in Koko Marina. Mochi ice cream makes a perfect little snack. Traditional azuki bean tasted very nice, but the chocolate eggnog was odd. I couldn't get my hands on the li hing mango flavored version, unfortunately. Try the chocolate banana flavored ice cream.

• Ramen-Ya. Multiple locations; I went to Hawaii Kai Towne Center spot. Very good chicken katsu and a hearty curry ramen. Tasty and a good value, which means an assortment of family members wound up eating there three days in a row.

• Uncle Clay's House of Pure Aloha in the Aina Haina Shopping Center. Shave ice with a story and a smile. I'll describe the flavors and the philosophy in a subsequent post.

• Kamehameha Bakery. My mom says the malasadas here are excellent and stay yummy for days, but they were all sold out by the time we got there (around 2 or 3pm). The poi doughnuts are also supposed to be really good. We managed to leave with some interesting (in a good way) haupia filled taro rolls. Need to go back to investigate the other goodies.

• Morning Glass Coffee and Cafe in Manoa. I went with my folks and Lani, as the cafe is just a few blocks away from the vet's office. An open-air eatery, Morning Glass prepares each cuppa joe individually and offers a Hawaiian coffee of the day. On our visit, we had Rusty’s Ka’u Red Cattura (which I found out by asking them via Twitter). They have pastries and heartier fare, including burgers, which smelled super ono! Another place I need to go back to for more "research."

• Harbor Village in the Koko Marina Shopping Center. Good Chinese fare including beef with asparagus in black bean sauce, Peking duck, shrimp with walnuts, and pork with pickled mustard greens. We went twice while I was there, and I think the family went a third time after I left. On our first visit, Danny Kaleikini greeted my parents as if they were neighbors; I guess he's not called the Ambassador of Aloha for nothing.

• Koa Pancake House in the Hawaii Kai Towne Center; multiple locations. Big portions, and I mean big. I got a breakfast special - a Portugese sausage omelette with a "side" of pancakes - that could have fed three people. Whew.

• Gyotaku in the Niu Valley Shopping Center; multiple locations. Good bento options, and even though I'm not a huge sweets person, I really liked the Okinawan sweet potato pie with haupia.

• Kua'aina Sandwich Shop near Ward Center. I referenced this in a previous blog. The fries, which I didn't previously mention as shoe-string style, are still addictive, but their teri-burger, while fine, still can't compete with my memory of the teri-burger from Burger Land. Thumbs up, though, for offering a heaping amount of pepperoncini as a side order.

• Royal Gardens on the third floor of the Ala Moana hotel for yum cha. An unusually upscale Chinese restaurant, I wind up going here at least once a year with my family. We arrived this year on New Year's Day right when the doors opened. The place was swarming with diners within minutes.

False memories of 2011?

After I saw the lustrous Edward Hopper exhibit at the Whitney Museum last year, I went down to the museum's eatery, Untitled, which at the time was still being soft-launched. (Hmm, maybe restaurants should use the term "half-baked" or "soft-boiled" instead of "soft-launched.") Either undeterred by the long line or dim-witted from hunger, I waited a short while and lucked out, scoring a seat at the counter.

I ordered a BLT, a soft drink, and a dessert. The BLT and dessert tasted fine, but what really stood out for me were the drink - an apple and ginger soda from Brooklyn Soda Works (BSW) - and the pickle from McClure's Pickles that accompanied the sandwich. The soda was crisp with lots of bubbles, sharp from ginger, and sweet, but not too apply sweet; well balanced and bright, it made me feel, well, kinda perky. The pickle was also crisp and bright, and wonderfully tart and puckery, with a bit of a garlic kick.

That was some time in April, right before the close of the exhibit. Since then, I'd thought a lot about the pickle and the soda (which, unfortunately, is not the title of a forthcoming motion picture by Noah Baumbach). Both fell into Untitled's locally sourced category but weren't local enough for me! I postponed a schlep from Queens to find the two Brooklyn-manufactured goods until mid-December. That's eight months of mulling and salivating over the remembered flavors of those foods. Finally, as I was scouting online for a used manual typewriter to purchase, I noticed that both BSW and McClure's had vendor stalls at the Brooklyn Flea.

An easy 20 minute LIRR ride from Jamaica to downtown Brooklyn, and my lazy self was finally in tasting range of the things that I'd been craving for so long. I grabbed a soda from the BSW stall conveniently located right next to the entrance of the old Williamsburg Savings Bank (aka Skylight One Hanson) and started wandering around in search of the McClure's stall. I stopped to pick up a sandwich from Porchetta; I quickly got full off half of it, which had lots of tasty porky flavor and crispy skin but couldn't quite compare to Oink. Then I sampled some wasabi pickled green beans from Rick's Picks and bought a jar. Finally, I got to McClure's and got a jar of garlic dill spears.

Once I got all the loot home (which included a new-to-me Royal typewriter; thanks or blame to college friend Eliot for stoking my typewriter interest), I got down to business. After an eight month wait, was I correct in thinking that the soda and pickles were that good? Sadly, no; they seemed flatter, less sparkly, sharp, and vibrant than I'd recalled. I've been wondering why that might be. Had I hyped the flavors in my mind, either over time or even right in the moment? Had the flavors changed, these being "artisanally" made and perhaps not as formulaically reliable as, say, Coke or Heinz 57 ketchup? Had my own tastes changed within such a short span of time? Or, maybe, just maybe, did I get at least one of the suppliers wrong, even though I made a point of writing both names down? Just now, as I've been looking up the links to add to this blog, I saw on Untitled's page that they get their pickles from Brooklyn Brine - was that true in April, and must I now hunt for those?

Sigh. Wait until 2013. Maybe your unreliable narrator will get a hold of the Brooklyn Brine pickles by then, before the pickling craze goes kablooey.

2011: My favorite dish

And the winner is...Ma po tofu from Mission Chinese Food in San Francisco. (The picture doesn't do the dish justice.) Folks have said that Mission Chinese has been overly hyped. I can't speak to that since (1) this was the only dish I've had there, (2) I've only gone  there once, and (3) I didn't have to wait at all for a table (I went for lunch, fairly soon after they opened for the day).

The flavors were brilliant and complex - spicy but not one-note. Biting into the Szechuan peppercorns that studded the dish, I felt like I was eating electricity - zap! ping! zzzzzt! And I got the full-on mala effect of numbed lips.

As I tucked into the dish and savored its odd combination of earthy and ethereal qualities, I remember hearing Radiohead playing in the background and thinking, "This works for me." "Wish You Were Here" came on immediately after, and I really wished folks were with me to share my meal.

I've eaten ma po tofu before and have often cooked a very simplified version of it with ground pork and pretty much no spice. But this version made me sit up straight, open my eyes wide, and breathe deeply. In the wake of eating this, I've had ma po dishes about 3 more times in about just as many weeks, but this version still stays in my mind.

Maybe finding a similar - or better - version in NYC will make for a good 2012 quest. Happy new year!

In spirit(s)

I've been dreading writing this blog for some time now, as it is my failing attempt at a tribute to my friend Rick, who died two weeks ago. He'd been ill for some time but always seemed to rally miraculously. So when his friends and family began sharing the news that Rick was not doing well, I started to get a ghastly feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Folks who have read this blog for a while know that Rick was a true FOCOT, occasionally contributing a blog and frequently providing me with recommendations for places to try on my travels. While we'd known each other for a little over a decade, I felt that we'd gotten to be on closer terms when he and his wife met my dad in 2010 when they all happened to be in Shanghai, Rick for work and my dad for the World Expo. Naturally, they got together over a meal!

On the day that I'd heard about Rick's state, I'd had plans arranged to attend a beer and spirits tasting at Beer Table with a former colleague and an acquaintance from college. While we tried out the fascinating pairings (see below), I couldn't help but think about the many times I'd said to Rick that we needed to go to Beer Table the next time he was in town, even though the Brooklyn location might be a little out of the way. I figured he would have liked the thoughtfulness, inquisitiveness, imagination, and craft behind the place, and that its uniqueness and local character would have appealed to him. I also imagined that he would have gotten to know the proprietors, asked lots of questions of then, quaffed a lot of beers, and felt like he'd found a hidden gem, something he could review in Zagat's. Then I felt angry that he'd never get a chance to enjoy such a place, or any others. Thankfully, I had more to drink.

Rick died the next day. I was thankful to have the opportunity to attend his funeral later in the week and to see his family - especially his awesome wife, Denise - and mutual friends, all of whom affirmed and told stories of his love for food, drink, and good company. Even the priest who spoke at his service referred to how they bonded over "a little bite to eat," which turned out to be a four-hour feast.

Here's to you, Rick. Thanks for sharing your feasts with me.    

1. Kiuchi No Shizuku (like a shochu) with Hitachino White Ale (a Belgian style ale with orange juice)
2. Schramel / Schenider Edelster Aventinus (unaged) with Schneider Aventinus (wheat doppelbock)
3. Uerige Stickum Plus (red wine barrel) with Uerige Sticke (altbier from Dusseldorf)
4. Clear Creek Distillery: McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt Whisky (from Porland) with Barrier SaazSquash (from Oceanside, Rockaways)
5. Schlenkerla Rauchbierspirit with Schlenkerla Urbock (100% smoked malt)

Pickles, chorizo, sardines

I happen to love pickles. Being a sour person, I enjoy sour things. So it was a forgone conclusion that the "plate of pickles" on the menu at Magnolia Pub and Brewery was going to wind up at my table.

And quite a plate it was. Daikon (I'm pretty sure that's what the white stuff on the far left was), cauliflower, carrots with a bit of cumin, good ol' cukes, watermelon, green beans, and grapes. Nice and sour! And everything but the watermelon and grapes still had a bit of snap or resistance. I wouldn't mind another round of that right now and tomorrow, etc., etc.

The next item up was a platter of thinly sliced chorizo with bread and sliced onions, which were perhaps slightly pickled or marinated. At 3pm, they were already out of all the other cured meats - coppa, salame cotto, and salame toscano.

That wasn't too much of a loss - I went ahead and ordered the oven-roasted sardines with pickled onions (again! hooray!), romesco sauce, and toast. Very, very tasty, and definitely fishy, in a good way.

Drinks to accompany: cask conditioned Long Break Bitter and Proving Ground IPA. Thumbs up to both.

As we were winding down, a photographer started to test her camera flash, which got real annoying real fast, particularly when it became clear that she wasn't photographing anything. After a while, the flashes abated but then resumed, just when a heavenly smell of fried chicken drifted our way. Like a cartoon character floating along a scent trail, my head bobbled in the direction of the aroma, and it all became clear - the photographer was clicking away at the plate in front of her - Thursday night is fried chicken night - and I'm guessing her handiwork will go up on the "great visuals" section of Magnolia's website. I just hope she got to eat the chicken when she finished her work, and that I get to try some the next time I'm in town.

Beer and burger at the Bear

Good timing allowed me to meet up with my former co-worker Erin and her friend for lunch at the Thirsty Bear Brewing Company on the first day of my vacation in San Francisco. A bit woozy from having gotten up at 4am and sleeping for only 30 minutes on the plane ride from NYC, I didn't realize until halfway thru my 12 oz glass of Meyer ESB that I was a wee bit tipsy. Thankfully, the burger part of my beer and burger combo (a great deal at only $12) helped to provide some balance. Made with Wagyu beef, pork, and lamb (one of which came from Niman ranch, as if I could actually tell), and layered with a coarse mustard and interesting little pickles, the burger reminded me of a good merguez sausage. Not a bad choice, considering all the good looking tapas selections on the menu. Thumbs up also to the fries.

Honorable mention: the cask conditioned ale made with chamomile. The waiter rightly described it as "a little weird." Is it beer, or is it tea? I found the taste intriguing and palatable in the sample size, but wasn't ready to commit to full glass.

Not sure what I'll be having for dinner tonight, but tomorrow will be full on elastic waistband measures as I head to the Magnolia Pub and -- wait for it -- the House of Prime RIb! Medic!

Name that...thing

My note taking system has failed me. How could I forget what this crazy looking thing is called? I believe it's a monkey something - monkey's paw, maybe? It's not from a monkey, though; it's actually a fungus, a totally odd and offputting looking fungus, but very tasty. It appeared in a soup, and the hairy looking parts soaked up the broth like a sponge, and the rest of the fungus was very dense and meaty.

This meal took place in May of this year, when I was in Beijing for work. I managed to wedge in some time after an early work dinner (terrific Szechuan food; I need to look at a map to remember where we went) to see my uncle Kenneth. He and his business partner/girlfriend took me to Heng Shan Hui, a Cantonese restaurant that they go to frequently and that seems to be a hangout for people from Hong Kong and in the film industry.

So, yes, this was my second dinner of the evening. Maybe my overstuffed condition explains why I didn't do a better job with documentation. But this crazy monkey mushroom is certainly hard to forget.

Burger barrage

It's been a while since my last post, so in this installment I'll keep it simple and recap two burger places I've been to earlier this year, both of which I recommend.

First up, Bareburger. In August, I went to the location near NYU as part of a going away party for my former colleague and FOCOT, Professor Mike L. Bareburger's deal is its organic focus and grass-fed meats, but folks who know me know that I don't really care about that stuff. On the other hand, I got excited because I saw elk on the menu. On a recent visit to Seattle, I had hoped to get an elk burger at Uneeda Burger, as it had been favorably reviewed by my college classmate Chris, but I didn't get a chance and was wondering where I'd get my hands on elk back on the east coast. Problem solved.

Elk was the recommended meat (among the other fleshy options: turkey, beef, ostrich, lamb, and bison; veggie options also available) for the Jalapeno Express burger, which I ordered for what sounded like a blast of spiciness: pepperjack, red onion, jalapeno relish, horseradish mayo, and chipotle ketchup. The burger as a whole was very tasty, although the spiciness didn't really materialize. I deeply enjoyed the medium rare elk meat, which was rich, juicy, and tasty without any gaminess. I'm not sure if others would agree, but it tasted somewhat bacony-y, as if someone had ground up and added a couple of strips of bacon into mix. That alone should make you want to get some. I will have to try another elk burger soon, one that's very simple, so that I can get a better fix on the meat's flavor. Oh, the hardships of research.