Your Retaurants Informations

Meat Loaf with Red Wine Glaze

2009-12-30T10:23:00.000-08:00

The Food

Shea Gallante brushes his meat loaf with a red wine glaze, which caramelizes as it bakes. The glaze also makes the meat loaf especially easy to pair with red wine.

The Wine

Meat loaf that isn’t heavily seasoned can pair with almost any full-bodied red. Try a firm Cabernet like the 2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley.

Ingredients:

2 slices of white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped sage
1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium white onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground lamb
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground veal
Vegetable oil, for brushing
1 1/4 cups dry red wine
1/4 cup sugar
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 teaspoon unsulfured molasses
Pinch of ground allspice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine the bread pieces with the milk and mash to a paste. Add the whole egg, egg yolk, chopped parsley, sage, thyme, salt, black pepper, nutmeg and cayenne and stir until smooth. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and dry bread crumbs and stir until thoroughly combined.
In a medium skillet, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, 1 minute longer. Let cool, then transfer to the bowl. Add the lamb, pork and veal and knead until evenly combined.
Brush a medium oval baking dish with oil. Transfer the meat loaf mixture to the dish and pat it into a 4-by-12-inch oval loaf. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until firm but not quite cooked through.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the red wine with the sugar, chopped tomato, molasses and allspice and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil until the glaze is thick and syrupy, about 15 minutes.
Brush half of the glaze over the meat loaf. Continue baking for about 20 minutes longer, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 150°; brush once more with the remaining glaze during baking. Let the meat loaf rest for 15 minutes, then thickly slice and serve.

by Shea Gallante

Quick-Roasted Chicken with Mustard and Garlic

2009-12-30T09:50:00.000-08:00

For this delicious, mustardy chicken, Jacques Pépin splits the chicken and cuts between the leg and shoulder joints to halve the cooking time.

Ingredients:

One 4-pound chicken
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°. Using poultry shears, cut along each side of the chicken backbone and remove it. Turn the chicken breast side up and press on the breast bone to flatten the chicken. Using a sharp knife, cut partway through both sides of the joint between the thighs and the drumsticks. Cut partway through the joint between the wings and the breast.
In a bowl, mix all of the remaining ingredients. Turn the chicken breast down and spread it with half of the mustard mixture. Set the chicken in a large skillet skin side up; spread with the remaining mixture.
Set the skillet over high heat and cook the chicken until it starts to brown, 5 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the chicken for 30 minutes, until the skin is browned and the chicken is cooked through. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, cut it into 8 pieces and serve.

Make Ahead:
The chicken can be prepared through Step 2 and refrigerated overnight.

Serve With:
Mashed potatoes.

by Jacques Pépin

Garlicky Shrimp with Olive Oil

2009-12-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

At La Casa del Abuelo, a tiny taberna in Madrid, gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic) are cooked in individual earthenware cazuelitas and served with plenty of bread to dip into the garlicky oil once the shrimp have been eaten. This dish can also be prepared in a skillet.

Pairing Suggestion:
Dry sherry is great with the sweet shrimp. Try Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla or Emilio Lustau Papirusa Manzanilla.

Ingredients:

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 whole dried red chiles
1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
2 pounds shelled and deveined medium shrimp
Salt
Crusty bread, for serving

Directions:

In a very large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the garlic, chiles and parsley and cook over moderately high heat for 10 seconds, stirring. Add the shrimp and cook over high heat, stirring once, until they are pink and curled, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and transfer to small bowls. Serve with crusty bread.

Notes:

Sprinkle the shrimp after they're cooked with a crunchy sea salt, like flaky Maldon salt from England or chunky Sanlucar salt from Spain.

by Jeff Koehler

Caramelized Broccoli with Garlic

2009-12-30T08:55:00.000-08:00

Irresistible is the best word to describe chef David Gingrass’s richly browned broccoli that is seasoned with garlic, lemon juice and red pepper.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 heads of broccoli (1 1/4 pounds total), stems peeled and heads halved lengthwise
1/2 cup water
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Pinch of crushed red pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the broccoli, cut side down, cover and cook over moderate heat until richly browned on the bottom, about 8 minutes. Add the water, cover and cook until the broccoli is just tender and the water has evaporated, about 7 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil along with the garlic and the crushed red pepper and cook uncovered until the garlic is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Season the broccoli with salt and black pepper, drizzle with the lemon juice and serve.

by David Gingrass

Eggplant Parmesan with Crisp Bread Crumb Topping

2009-12-30T08:11:00.000-08:00

This eggplant Parmesan is all it should be: delicate slices of fried eggplant nestled in a bright, tangy tomato sauce, layered with gooey fresh mozzarella. The best part is the exceptionally crisp topping, made with dry bread crumbs.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus about 2 cups for frying
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
Two 28-ounce cans whole, peeled Italian tomatoes, drained
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
8 small eggplants ( 1/2 pound each), cut lengthwise 1/2 inch thick
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped basil
1 pound lightly salted fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced and torn into small pieces
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Using your hands, crush the whole tomatoes into the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is very thick, about 25 minutes. Transfer the tomato sauce to a food processor and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, in a very large skillet, heat 1/4 inch of olive oil. Season the eggplant slices with salt and pepper. Working in several batches, cook the eggplant over moderately high heat, turning once, until golden on both sides, about 8 minutes per batch; add more olive oil to the skillet between batches. Drain the eggplant slices on paper towels.
Preheat the oven to 400°. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Arrange one-third of the fried eggplant slices in the baking dish and sprinkle all over with 1 tablespoon of the chopped basil. Top with one-third of the torn mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat this layering twice. Sprinkle the bread crumbs all over the top of the eggplant Parmesan. Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 45 minutes, until the top of the eggplant Parmesan is golden and the tomato sauce is bubbling. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Make Ahead:

The assembled eggplant Parmesan can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Bring the eggplant Parmesan to room temperature before baking.

Serve With:

Green salad and crusty Italian or peasant bread.

Notes:

This dish is extremely versatile. The eggplant can be sliced lengthwise or crosswise before it’s fried. In addition, the eggplant Parmesan can be baked in a glass or ceramic baking dish that is round, oval, rectangular or square.

by Ethan Stowell

Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce

2009-12-30T06:05:00.000-08:00

For many Americans, the quintessential French stew is boeuf bourguignon—beef cooked in Burgundy red wine. The stew, featured regularly at Jacques Pépin’s mother’s restaurant, was made from tougher, cheaper cuts of beef, which had to be braised a long time to get tender and to stay moist.

For this beef stew, Jacques uses a special piece of the shoulder called the flatiron steak. This long, narrow piece is extremely lean, tender and moist, and it makes an ideal stew. He does not use stock, demiglace or even water. He makes his stew strictly with a robust red wine. This rich, winey beef stew is always a hit with his chef friends.

Pairing Suggestion

Though Jacques’s hearty stew is inspired by boeuf bourguignon, classically flavored with red Burgundy, he prepares his version with the rich red wines of the southern Rhône, particularly those made from the Carignan grape. Two great wines to seek out—for cooking and drinking—are the gently tannic 2004 Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss Perrières, from the Costières de Nîmes region, or the wild herb-scented 2004 Domaine de Nizas Carignan.

Ingredients:

2 pounds beef from the flatiron part of the shoulder
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon flour
1 bottle of red wine
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
15 cipollini or pearl onions
15 cremini mushrooms
15 baby carrots
5-ounce piece of pancetta
1/4 cup water
Dash of sugar
Chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Buy about 2 pounds of beef from the flatiron part of the shoulder. Remove the skin or sinew from the top. Alternatively, use lean beef chuck in the same manner. Cut the meat into 8 pieces.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a cast-iron pot that is attractive enough for the table. Arrange the meat in one layer in the pot, and season it with salt and pepper. Cook on top of the stove over high heat for about 8 minutes, browning the meat on all sides.
Add 1 cup of finely chopped onion and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped garlic. Cook over moderate heat for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 tablespoon of flour. Mix in well so that the flour doesn’t form lumps. Stir in 1 bottle of red wine. Add 2 bay leaves, a sprig of fresh thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir well and cover.
Place the pot in the oven and continue to cook for about 1 1/2 hours; the meat should be soft and tender and the liquid properly reduced. The recipe can be prepared to this point up to a day ahead.
For the garnishes, peel 15 cipollini or pearl onions, wash 15 cremini mushrooms and peel 15 baby carrots. For the lardons, you will need one 5-ounce piece of pancetta. Bring the pancetta and 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan and simmer for about 30 minutes; drain. Cut the pancetta into 1/2-inch slices and then cut the slices into 1-inch-wide lardons.
Combine the onions, mushrooms, carrots and pancetta in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4 cup of water and a good dash each of sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes; at this point, there should be practically no water left. Uncover and cook over high heat, sautéing the vegetables until nicely browned on all sides, about 4 minutes.
To serve, mix some of the vegetables and lardons into the stew and sprinkle the rest on top as a garnish. Add a little chopped fresh parsley and serve.

by Jacques Pépin

Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Mustard

2009-12-29T09:10:00.000-08:00

In matching spicy sausage with a creamy mustard sauce and fragrant basil, British cookbook author Nigel Slater created a quick pasta supper with warm, mildly spicy flavors, perfect for a cool fall or winter evening.

Ingredients:

1 pound penne or medium shells
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 hot Italian sausages, meat removed from casings and crumbled (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons grainy mustard
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 cup thinly sliced basil

Directions:

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the sausage meat and brown over moderately high heat, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, mustard and crushed red pepper and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the pasta and basil and toss to coat. Serve at once.

by Nigel Slater

Zentan

2009-12-29T07:14:00.000-08:00

Fusion with a flourish

The Donovan House hotel should have come on the scene with a splash. Its sister properties—the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles and 60 Thompson in New York City—are frequented by everyone from Jude Law to Jay-Z. Its rooftop pool and lounge boast stunning views of the city.

Instead the property, just off DC’s Thomas Circle, opened with a scramble. Its much-hyped pan-Asian restaurant was to be overseen by Todd English, the Thermolon-pan-hawking celebrity chef. But when the hotel debuted over Inauguration weekend, there was no restaurant—and no Todd English. Before the debut, as guests were supping on room service delivered from Il Mulino down the street, English announced he was pulling out.

The owners of the hotel didn’t have to look far for a replacement. Susur Lee, a Hong Kong–born chef who’s a culinary star in Toronto, had been wooed by the group to open Shang in its hotel on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. By early summer, he was quietly running the show at Zentan. The dining room is a slick but generic-looking space—communal table, twig-painted wallpaper. A hanging platform of faux cathedral candles, the most dramatic design touch, barely lights the room.

Lee is an unassuming presence here. His signature isn’t splashed across the outdoor sign, and the waiters don’t invoke his name with reverence. His cooking style, though, is anything but reserved. Lee’s roots are in Asia, but his menu reads like a wandering travelogue. Dinners can range from jerk chicken to oyster crudo with ponzu sauce to pork ribs with mango salsa.

One of the best ways to start a meal is with the Singapore Slaw, which is to Lee what salmon pizza is to Wolfgang Puck and what a foie-gras burger is to Daniel Boulud. The $16 salad, which Lee has transported to many of his restaurants, is piled with 19 ingredients—our waiter managed to recite 13 before trailing off—and arrives looking like something Willy Wonka might eat when he wants to lay off the calories. But the foot-high tangle of daikon, jícama, pickled red onion, and carrot, tossed with frizzled shallots, edible flowers, hazelnuts, and salted-plum dressing, addictively balances cool, crunchy, salty, and sweet. I couldn’t help ordering it on every visit.

Excitement over Asian-fusion cooking may have faded long ago, but Lee makes some other strong cases for it. Take the chickpea-and-onion tempura, another longtime hit in his repertoire. A messy mound of crispy chickpea-battered onions drizzled with minted yogurt, mango chutney, and ginger, it tastes like a mash-up of onion rings and the cool Indian chickpea dish called papri chaat. I ordered the dish as a side one night and spent more time with it than with the slightly overdone—in both the cooking and food-trend senses—miso-marinated black cod. French and Cantonese come together beautifully in an entrée of sliced skirt steak marinated for a day in a mix of Korean chili and soy, then grilled and topped with shallot brown butter and toasted hazelnuts. The same goes for the roasted salmon, rare in the middle, accompanied by silky yuzu-scented hollandaise and served, like many entrées here, in a Cheesecake Factory–like portion.

But then come reminders of why Asian fusion went the way of the ThighMaster. The pulled-duck roll, an appetizer, consists of a flabby crepe enrobing shreds of duck confit and onion marmalade. Even if the confit had much flavor, it would be hard to discern under the odd garnishes: a slathering of goat cheese and a few slices of dried pineapple.

There’s also too much going on in a $37 plate of Mongolian-style lamb chops marinated in curry, shallots, ginger, and onion oil. The lamb itself is good—charred on the edges, tender and pink inside. But does it really need carrot-cardamom chutney, peanut sauce, and sticky-sweet glazed bananas? Lettuce wraps holding clunky, almond-crusted lobster fritters are unwieldy and devoid of lobstery sweetness. But most disappointing is the dim sum dessert sampler, with its pasty, gritty coconut rice pudding and lumpen mochi.

Some of the best dishes here stick closely to tradition. Lee’s hot-and-sour soup—spicy with white and Szechuan peppercorns and flecked with cilantro—is the most memorable rendition in the city. A half duck, soy-marinated and braised with aromatics, needs only a lotus crepe, a few herbs and leeks, and a swipe of bean djan paste—now, that’s a duck roll.

A good part of the menu is devoted to raw fish—from traditional sushi to inventive rolls and crudo. Particularly notable are the precisely cut nigiri and sashimi layered with Japanese yellowtail, bluefin otoro, or sea urchin.

No boutique hotel dares to open without a list of $12 cocktails. Some—a cherry-muddled mojito, the citrusy vodka-based Thom—sip beautifully. Others, such as the Robitussin-like pear margarita or the too-fiery, Thai-chili saketini, you might be tempted to pour into one of the orchid vases.

And so it goes. Zentan can make you smile; it can just as quickly let you down. And whether it will ever feel more like a destination than a placeholder remains to be seen.

Whatever happens, I’ll take another helping of Singapore Slaw.

by Ann Limpert

Where's the Beef?

2009-12-29T06:49:00.000-08:00

My friend the meat lover sniffed a bait-and-switch.

Settling into our mauve booth at J&G Steakhouse in the W Hotel one night not long after the restaurant opened, he launched into an earnest rant against the delicately portioned arrangements of local, seasonal cooking that have come to define Washington’s culinary landscape and pronounced his desire to dig into a “real meal”—“real” being in direct proportion to the amount of meat on the plate.

His eager expectation of mammoth slabs of beef and hubcap-size plates of creamed spinach and hash browns was upended by his first glance at the menu, a clean and comprehensive document of soups and salads and oysters and appetizers and fish and meat courses. So where, um, was the porterhouse he’d been promised?

His eye fell on a small, tidy list at the bottom of the page—it was as if the printer had forgotten that steaks were essential and had contrived a quickie solution.

My friend’s confusion intensified when he gazed up at the ceiling, which seemed to stretch upward to infinity, as if this were some secular cathedral. A glowing white cathedral: white walls, great, soaring columns of white. The setting was such a repudiation of the dark, clubby dens common to DC’s beef emporiums, it was as if some makeover show had been given a mandate to make a radical statement.

“This is a steakhouse?” he asked.

Well, no. Properly speaking, this is a Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant, number 25 in an empire that includes outposts in Paris, Bora Bora, and Qatar. The house style is clean and light and bright, full of Asian accents and concentrated, fresh flavors. Famously, it eschews the meat-based sauce reductions that have long defined haute French cooking. Fish, not meat, is the exalted protein. In short, it would be hard to come up with a chef whose vision is more antithetical to the steakhouse ethos than Vongerichten.

So why J&G Steakhouse?

Over $15 cocktails, we trotted out theories. Was this some bizarre manifestation of the famous French disregard for Americans’ culinary habits? After all, to a people for whom a proper repast is a hamburger, is it possible that “steakhouse” is regarded as synonymous with “restaurant”?

It’s possible. But I believe the name speaks more to the lingering perception of a city that, gastronomically speaking, has only recently moved to the left of center.

J&G is the fourth faux steakhouse to arrive here in five years. The common denominator of all of them? A chef/impresario hedging his bets, proffering a singular culinary vision to woo the city’s foodies while extending a hand to the hidebound and cautious.

Charlie Palmer Steak came first. It dared to serve its hulking cuts of meat in a clean-lined, open room with modern accents. Its steaks were appropriately massive, but so was the slab of seared foie gras, as if to prove that a delicacy could be made brawny.

Then came Laurent Tourondel’s BLT Steak, a metrosexual’s idea of a steakhouse—a place that evokes rather than embodies the clubby, manly atmosphere and reserves its conviction not for its cuts of beef but for its Gruyère popovers and chicken-liver pâté.

Bourbon Steak, Michael Mina’s place in Georgetown, arrived last winter, its butter-poached steaks touted as innovations in a genre that really can’t be improved. But the best things about it turned out to be the seafood and fish and the array of treats seemingly contrived to justify the eye-popping prices, particularly the truffle-buttered rolls and the duck-fat French fries.

Even the area’s best steakhouse, the celebrityless Ray’s the Steaks in Arlington, is not a conventional steakhouse, a place where power players come to be fed and stroked. Ray’s is for the little guy, a personal statement—the steakhouse as neighborhood bistro.

So is the conventional steakhouse dead in this once steak-mad city?

J&G doesn’t come to bury the notion; but it doesn’t come to revive it, either. Of all the celebrity-chef-backed steakhouses, it’s the least manly, the least power-centric, the least interested in the burly particulars of size, cut, and weight.

Is it a coincidence that the dish I liked least in my three dinners at J&G was the New York strip? (Was it also a coincidence that it was the meal I took my meat-loving friend to?) It was a good piece of meat—prime, corn-fed, properly seasoned, and correctly cooked—but after a few bites I lost interest; the various sauces, which come in cute containers made to resemble marrow bones, didn’t help, adding new flavors as opposed to enhancing the savor of the meat. It seemed to have been cooked out of duty, not out of love.

On the other hand, I slurped down a bowl of tomato-watermelon gazpacho, its flavors so sweet and clear I wished I’d had another coming. A bowl of delicately fashioned corn ravioli came ringed by a basil purée so pure and defined it could have doubled as a liqueur or extract.

Such clarity is a hallmark of Vongerichten’s operations. Most Asian-fusion restaurants attempt to mix Western proteins with Eastern spices, only to wind up at best with lightly exoticized versions of their Western selves. Vongerichten goes further and deeper in his marriages, with the result that his Western-leaning dishes convey an Eastern lightness and elegance and his Eastern-leaning dishes possess a Western heft.

Not that anyone not already familiar with the master chef’s approach would ever guess it from a cursory glance at the menu. Fried calamari? Crabcake? Where, one might ask, are the chef’s renditions of Buffalo chicken wings and potato skins?

Indeed, not long after the news began circulating that Vongerichten would become the latest celebrity chef to jam his knife into the DC chopping block, churls took to the blogosphere. The master chef wouldn’t be bringing a version of the vibrant, casual Spice Market, his restaurant in Manhattan’s meat-packing district, they moaned, let alone the serious, formal Jean Georges, a foodie destination in Midtown. J&G, many groused, would amount to a cautious, tempered display of the great chef’s genius.

Well, no again.

The calamari turns out to be pretty marvelous—the lightest, crunchiest I’ve ever had. This wasn’t something old; this was something new. The crabcake was even more surprising. It’s hard to innovate with a crabcake without coming across as pretentious or deluded or both; it’s almost always best to let the sweet, delicate, musky-flavored meat stand alone, without too much adornment. J&G’s is the exception. The lump meat isn’t mounded into a dense cake but—like the renowned “crab bomb” at Jerry’s Seafood in Maryland—is fashioned into a loose mound, then thrust under the broiler. The pool of ginger vinaigrette it sits in is a smart counterpoint, functioning in much the same way that a rich, well-strained broth does with a gently cooked filet of fish and adding a subtle tang.

As at Bourbon Steak, fish and seafood are often the better, more interesting choices. Such unusual varieties as tilefish and local blackfish turned up in the first few months. The former got a careful searing to crisp its skin, then was set atop a Chinese-mustard sauce that warmed but didn’t singe the tongue. The salmon tartare would be right at home at Spice Market—a rich, sumptuous dish that manages not to feel like a grand indulgence. Oysters are immaculately shucked and kept cold. The only false note I encountered in three visits was a pungent chili sauce that might have complemented its square of halibut had it been deep-fried rather than seared.

There’s a polish and finesse to many of the dishes that belies the no-tablecloth setting. Downstairs, in the stylized, low-ceilinged bar that Vongerichten calls a “cellar”—where the brief menu includes the excellent hand-ground burger and the tartares—the contrast is even more pronounced. There’s also a polish and finesse to the service. The staff, many of whom come from Vongerichten’s other properties, wear ties and glide through the dining room with model comportment, as if this were a two-star Michelin restaurant. Hostesses, servers, and runners smile naturally—not always a certainty these days, even at the finest establishments.

One of the benefits of empire is that Vongerichten has a deep pool of talent to draw from and doesn’t have to spend time bringing a new staff up to speed. J&G at two weeks was a smoother operation than many restaurants after two months or even two years.

Another benefit: The impresario chef can cut deals with suppliers that less-well-financed restaurateurs can’t. That helps explain the excellent list of wines by the glass, which rivals in length, depth, and variety the standard-setting lists at Vidalia, Cork, and Proof.

Empire has its drawbacks, too, the biggest of which is pervasive anonymity—a sense that the dining room, beautiful as it is, could be in any major city in the world. And as precise as the cooking often is, as thrilling as some of the flavor combinations are, what is there to ground the restaurant in the here and now? Only the crabcake and the blackfish say “local.” Would it be too much trouble for the kitchen to learn more about the culinary traditions of the region and incorporate them into the grand vision for J&G? Is it possible to allude to halfsmokes and skillet-fried chicken, to pho and wats, while retaining the essential character of a Vongerichten kitchen?

But that’s a quibble that could be lobbed at any of the celebrity-chef restaurants that have come to town. J&G isn’t more impersonal than they are, and already it stands apart for its crispness and exactitude. I look forward to sitting again in the soaring, light-filled space and digging into more plates of polished, simple cooking. I won’t return for one of the steaks, though, and I won’t call it a steakhouse. Nor, I imagine, will my friend, who may never trust me to take him out for a porterhouse again.

by Todd Kliman

Rising Sun Hotel

2009-12-28T07:50:00.000-08:00

The Rising Sun Hotel is the harbour side inn of your dreams with a thatched roof, ancient beams and haphazard wooden floors, and dates from the 14th century. It is steeped in history with oak panelling, crooked ceilings, thick beachstone walls and creaking uneven floorboards.

It was in one of its rooms that R.D. Blackmore wrote several chapters of his West Country classic Lorna Doone. It sits overlooking a tiny picturesque harbour and Lynmouth Bay with its stunning backdrop of the highest hogback cliffs in England, and situated on the edge of the Exmoor National Park, where herds of deer, wild ponies and birds of prey roam free.

As it has grown it has absorbed neighbouring cottages including the one (featured here) in which Shelley and his 16-year old bride Harriet are said to have spent their honeymoon. Shelleys Cottage has lost none of its romance and now consists of a double bedroom with half-tester bed, sitting room, private garden with quite spectacular views and is ideal for those wanting something extra special.

Many of the bedrooms have half-tester beds and were refurbished by international designer Suzanne Lansdell of 'Pour La Maison' in London, combining the latest design fabrics with traditional elegance within a 14th century ambience, assuring their guests of an unforgettable romantic experience.

Their approach to food is confident and it is clearly presented, with a lot of the raw ingredients produced in the area, like Lynmouth Bay lobster, local game and salmon fished from River Lyn itself. For starters the choice could consist of: Cornish crab with sweet pepper and mascarpone tortellini; chicken liver and foie gras parfait with homemade piccalilli; Italian tomato bread soup or Parma ham with black figs, rocket leaves, toasted pine nuts and vintage balsamic.

There is a wide range of fish and seafood dishes, such as fresh langoustines with chilli and garlic, but you might care to go for the braised pheasant with pancetta and quince and Braunton greens; slow cooked belly pork with pommery mash potato and spinach, or rib eye steak served with a béarnaise sauce and hand cut chips.

The times given are for the service of food in the restaurant, an excellent choice of bar food is available from 12:00 to 15:00 and 19:00 to 21:00; this generally focuses on fresh local fish and game as available, and, according to season may include Lynmouth Bay Lobster salad, Exmoor game casserole, fresh sea bass and other generally 'upmarket' bar food in the region of £7 - £12 per dish.

They offer an extremely enterprising and well put together wine list, of varied international parentage, with many of the choices below £20, and the vast majority under £30; also three dessert wines and a very decent selection of half bottles, over ten in all.

The Barnt Green Inn

2009-12-28T07:39:00.000-08:00

It is a welcome surprise to find a pub that has firmly grasped the gastro nettle in and around the Midlands, with pretty sensational results that include demonstrably freshly cooked food and a high zing factor, all sited in an imposing Tudor building of great character and true heritage. It also benefits from outside seating both in the front and the rear with delightfully tended gardens, seating up to a hundred and twenty, and dining 'al fresco' for sixty-four people.

Amongst the attractions are a 100-cover area for dining, an inviting drinking area, with staff who are friendly and professional. Equally people are drawn to the Barnt Green Inn by the interior which is stylish, very much open plan, and a return to such homely features as open log fires, stone-fired ovens, open kitchens and for that alfresco evening, some well landscaped decking.

The Inn is truly a place for all seasons, and the menu reflects this as it embraces not only the seasons but also the atmosphere within, ranging from cool chic in summer to the cosy warmth of a winter's day with the hatches well battened down.

To set the right note of fashionable sociability there are sharing plates, Spanish tapas of Serrano ham, manchego, sardines, chorizo and tortilla, a baked Camembert with rustic bread, Greek mezze with taramasalata with humus, tzatziki, feta and flatbread, or a pizzette with garlic, rocket and Parmesan.

Amongst the starters, touchingly referred to as 'little dishes', there is freshly made soup, grilled asparagus with poached egg, parmesan and rocket, crab cakes with mango, chilli and coriander salsa, or caramelised onion tart. Look, too, for Black Pearl scallops when the market is right.

The salads - sorry, that should read 'leaves' - offer a traditional Caesar salad with chicken, marinated anchovies and parmesan, or tandoori chicken with spinach , mango, cucumber, mint and yoghurt or roasted squash with goats cheese and cherry tomato. These days no self-respecting gastropub can afford to be without its pizza range; expect to find a classic Margherita of tomato, mozzarella and basil, or the challenging diavolo spiced chicken with peppadew peppers, chilli and tabasco. For the big event there is always a fish of the day on request.

The steak burger with Swiss cheese, bacon, relish and fries is popular, a sign of the times and improving taste in eating, as is the cod and prawn fishcakes with wilted spinach, hollandaise and poached eggs. A wide range of supporting side-dishes includes buttered new potatoes, Belgian frites and mayo, and greens, leeks and peas. For those who have to be lashed to a plank to induce them to eat root vegetables, trying the honey roasted carrots there may help to change their minds.

For desserts resort to the blackboard, where there is always a good display, often with some of the local cheeses to set the buffs alight. A well-travelled wine list and service that is cheerful and efficient completes the recipe for success.

San Carlo - Bristol

2009-12-28T07:21:00.000-08:00

When one of the country's most respected and leading critics says that a restaurant in this group is 'the best Italian Restaurant outside London' it is time to take them seriously. Britain's love affair with Italian food is a cause célèbre of long standing and shows no signs of waning, so it is always welcome news when somewhere like San Carlo sets out to reach for the skies.

Located in the heart of Bristol, San Carlo is well suited to catch both day and night time business, and the menu reflects this. There are 147 different dishes, plus blackboard specials, offering snacks, meals, celebrations, all in true Italian style, dishes that bring Italy into the very centre of life in the city. San Carlo is one of a chain of similar restaurants, yet each one has its own personality.

The San Carlo at Bristol was the second in the group to be developed, emphasizing clearly that a San Carlo is not a theme restaurant but a highly lavish exclusive Italian venue for people who appreciate fine food, good service, luxurious and comfortable surroundings, as well as value for money.

Favourite dishes include marinated Tuscan beef in extra virgin olive oil with porcini and topped with flakes of Parmesan cheese, and that old favourite of connoisseurs the world over, pan fried breast of chicken with spicy Italian sausage, fine chopped peppers, sun brushed tomatoes with white wine and a touch of tomato sauce. Many of the ingredients to create these dishes are imported from Italy, and it goes without saying that the wine list is unashamedly and spectacularly of the same origin.

A combination of Italian cuisine and fish has always seemed logical - all that coastline - as well as highly attractive to the British taste. The antipasti at San Carlo include fresh oysters, mussels marinière, tuna carpaccio and barbeque spare ribs. Amongst the main courses expect to find on the blackboard Dover sole, either grilled or Colberg, fresh halibut, sea bass, a mixed grill of fish, salmon in lobster sauce, lobster Thermidor or tagliolini and shellfish Mediterraneo.

It is customary to look for Italian wines in such places, nor will you be disappointed, but there are a few French inclusions also, with a rather nice Chablis in evidence. House wines, and few off the list, are available by the glass. Service is a good example of that Italian 'just make yourself at home we'll look after everything' manner, when you generally surprise yourself by taking their advice. In Britain we just say 'no problem', which may be succinct, but lacks style.

Groups are welcome at San Carlo, but to preserve the balance between groups, a limit of up to nine people applies on Friday and Saturday, and twenty to thirty on weekdays. Booking will always make for security but in general the arrangements mean there is room for everybody. It is worth remembering that you will have the best service and advice from their Italian Directors and staff throughout.

Ultimately a restaurant is judged by two main factors, each dependent upon the other. Combine quality food with life's movers and shakers in attractive surroundings and you have a sure fire record for the sweet buzz of success that permeates San Carlo.

Jin Asian Restaurant Shut Down by the Town of Saugus

2009-12-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

An Asian restaurant on Route 1 in Saugus that is one of the largest dining spots in the Boston area has been closed down after town selectmen voted to revoke all of their licenses. According to Wicked Local Manchester, Jin Asian Restaurant was put out of business by the town of Saugus after the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously this week to take away their licenses, citing public safety issues. Also noted is the fact that Jin owes more than $250,000 in taxes in fees to the town.

Jin first opened in 2006, moving into the spot where Weylu's used to be high up on a hill overlooking Route 1 near the Route 99 intersection. The restaurant has featured a mix of Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian fare, offering sushi, dim sum, and much more, including the largest buffet in New England.

For more information on the closing of Jin Asian Restaurant in Saugus, please go to the Wicked Local Manchester link below:

Saugus selectmen revoke Jin Restaurant's licenses permanently

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Chowtime at Chateau Lake Louise: Walliser Stube

2009-12-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

Swiss restaurant honors the Banff area's early Swiss guides

At the end of the 19th century, when the Canadian Pacific Railroad built the Banff Springs Hotel and the Chateau Lake Louise, Swiss mountain guides were imported to lead guests up the surrounding limestone peaks. With serious expressions, the warm wool clothing of the era and the trademark pipes, their portraits are displayed in the public spaces of these two historic hotels that are now part of The Fairmont group. It seems fitting that Swiss restaurants would be among the dining choices. At the Banff Springs, Alpine fare is served at the Waldhaus, and at the Chateau, it's the specialty of the Walliser Stube.

A group of us had reservations for a fondue evening in the Walliser Stube (properly pronounced "Vahl-eesser Shtoo-beh"). In Switzerland, fondue is usually served in a more rustic setting than this elegant room, that was surely once something else. The beautiful high-ceilinged room has been slightly Swiss-ified with cloth lampshades on some of the hanging lamps, but otherwise, it really looks like a fancier hotel restaurant in a classic Alpine establishment. A bit of a culinary mixed metaphor, but the fondue selection on the dinner menu, a combination of English and German, was tasty.

Leading Up to Les Fondues -- and Les Fondue Themselves

A simply set table is the stage on which the fondue feast will star.

Baskets of house-baked rolls and green salads for all start the proceedings.

Guests have a choice of beef or bison tenderloin for the meat fondues. Pearl onions and cornichons are typical accompaniments to that Swiss cheese specialy called raclette, but here, they appear on plate with the meat.

Meat in the foreground and behind that plate is one with a selection of seafood (shrimp, hefty chunks of fatty salmon, halibut and scallops).

Clever iron stands hold small bowls of various dipping sauces: Wasabi Yoghurt, Sweet Soy and Miso Emulsion, Spanish Dipping Sauce, Honey - Dijon, Herb and Garlic, and Brandy Peppercorn.

The Walliser Stube's fondue pots have notched rims tp help keep the forks from dueling as the food cooks.

And for dessert, chocolate fondue with assorted fruits and cubes of cake for dipping.

The Walliser Stube is on the main floor of the Chateau Lake Louise.

D E U X A V E May Be Opening in the Back Bay

2009-12-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

A new restaurant is apparently going to be opening at some point in Boston's Back Bay, moving into the spot where a Beacon Hill bistro and bakery used to have a second location. According to the EveryBlock Boston website, D E U X A V E recently was issued a license for a restaurant to open on Mass. Ave. where Panificio used to be before closing in the spring of 2008 (the original Charles Street location of Panificio remains open). It appears that more news on D E U X A V E is available at the present time; as we receive updates, we will post them here.

The exact address for this proposed restaurant in the Back Bay is 61 Massachusetts Avenue (between Commonwealth Avenue and Marlborough Street), a few blocks east of Kenmore Square and a few blocks south of Storrow Drive and the Charles River.

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Chowtime at Chateau Lake Louise: Glacier Saloon

2009-12-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

Classic Canadian hotel's down-to-earth dining options

North America's most imposing hotels are those built in the 19th and early 20th centuries by Canada's transcontinental railroads -- the Canadian National in the East and the Canadian Pacific in the West. They built grand hotels in the European style from the Nova Scotian in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to the Hotel Vancouver and the Empress in Victoria, both in British Columbia. Owing to the grandiose scenery, the Banff/Lake Louise area got two in close proximity, the Banff Springs Hotel, from which I am writing this post, and the nearby Chateau Lake Louise. Both are now part of The Fairmont Hotel group.

Built in a formal age when ladies were ladies in long skirts, gentlemen were gentlemen in starched shirts and ties, and decorum ruled among the guests who could afford to travel and to stay in these baronial accommodations, they have now adapted remarkably to today's times: spas, Internet access, flat-screen televisions and informal restaurants. I just dined at two of them. First, the Glacier Saloon.

Walk through the swinging doors of the Glacier Saloon and you have a luxury hotel's interpretation of a Wild West Saloon. Lots of natural wood. Lots of noise. Lots of families with small children. Lots of young people giggling around tables or bending elbows at the bar. The menu includes starters to nibble and share, sandwiches, pizzas and full-on entrées. Even in the rough-and-ready saloon ambiance, the ingredients are organic and, when possible, local and sustainable. I took the food photos below at all sorts of odd-ball angles, beseeching my companions not to eat until I snapped a shot and reaching across the table and in front of people. But here are examples of what the Saloon serves:

Crisp fried calamari (below) comes in a cast-iron pan with pimento and caper relish on top, zesty chipotle dip on the side and half a lemon neatly tied in a little mesh bundle. Even in an informal place like the Saloon, the Chateau's penchant for service comes through. They don't want a diner accidentally biting into a lemon seed.

Open Fire Ribs is what the Saloon calls its marinated baby back ribs blanketed in smoke Dijon barbecue sauce. Neatly piled fries add the restaurant's own slaw are classic sides.

The Cowboy Caesar salad features strips of peppered bacon and a large Bannock crouton atop romaine lettuce. Creamy Caesar is the dressing.

The menu lists just four 12-inch pizzas. None are the standards, but they suit pizza lovers from vegetarians to carnivores. This Cattleman's BBQ Chicken Pizza is a thin crust topped with applewood-smoked chicken, dark ale barbecue sauce, red onions, slow-roasted garlic and cilantro.

Glazed AAA ribeye steak with buttermilk mashed potatoes, citrus and ale demi-glace and mixed vegetables.

The Trailrider Chicken Burger is comes open-faced on a sesame Kaiser bun with spicy Jack cheese, red onion rings (the menu says they're fried, but they aren't), pico de gallo, guacamole and chipotle may. A ramekin of ketchup for dipping the fries completes the assemblage.

The Grilled Chicken and Mandarin Salad incorporates some tastes of Asia into a salad served in this determinedly Western eatery. Romaine and butter leaf lettuce with julienned sweet peppers, Mandarin orange slices and fried glass noodles are tossed in a hoisin and sesame oil vinaigrette.

The Glacier Saloon is in The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, located at the end of Lake Louise Drive, near Banff.

Friendly's Express to Open in Brookline

2009-12-08T07:44:00.000-08:00

It appears that Brookline will soon join Mansfield in having a quick-casual dining spot that is part of a local ice cream chain. According to several online job postings (including one on the Craigslist site), Friendly's Express is coming to an undisclosed location in this western neighbor of Boston's. Friendly's Express had opened their first location in Mansfield this past summer, and more seem to be on their way over the coming months, including the one that is going to be in Brookline.

The Friendly's Express chain focuses on fast service and takeout orders, though they also have a dine-in option. Most of what is on the menu at the traditional Friendly's restaurants is offered at Friendly's Express, including salads, sandwiches, and ice cream, with all items being under $10.

As soon as we get information on the exact location of this new Friendly's Express in Brookline (as well as an approximate opening date), we will update the information here. [December 9 update: According to some notes from a Brookline Planning Board meeting on the Town of Brookline website, Friendly's Express will be located at 289 Harvard Street in the former Qdoba spot in Coolidge Corner. Thanks to a poster on Chowhound for initially letting us know about the address.]

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Jazz Cafe and Bar Opens in Roslindale

2009-12-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

Roslindale continues to become more and more of a destination spot for diners, as a new place has opened just north of Roslindale Village in a space formerly occupied by a restaurant and wine bar. According to the Thrillist site, the Jazz Cafe and Bar recently opened its doors on Washington Street in the former NuVo spot, offering an eclectic array of dishes as well as (eventually) live jazz music. The restaurant, which is open for lunch and dinner, appears to feature mostly a mix of American dishes, comfort food, pasta dishes, and Cajun/Creole fare. Thrillist mentions that the Jazz Cafe and Bar has seating for 90 in its five rooms, and it also has a patio.

The Washington Street spot where the Jazz Cafe and Bar now resides has been home to a couple of restaurants over the past few years, including the aforementioned NuVo restaurant and wine bar and the Northern Italian dining spot Gusto.

The address for this new dining spot and watering hole in Roslindale is: Jazz Cafe and Bar, 4174 Washington Street, Roslindale, MA, 02131. The phone number is (617) 363-0202.

For more information on the opening of the Jazz Cafe and Bar, please go to the Thrillist link below:

Jazz Cafe and Bar

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The Bel-Aire Diner May Open Once Again in Peabody

2009-12-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

A diner in Peabody that had been open for more than 50 years until closing a few years ago may open again if things go as planned. According to an article in the Boston Globe, the Bel-Aire Diner on Route 1 (just north of the Route 128 exit) may indeed become part of a truck stop based on a proposal that could bring the restaurant, an all-night convenience store, and a gas station to the space.

The Globe article mentions that it has been difficult to fill many of the vacant spots in the Peabody stretch of Route 1 during recent times, while further south, the Saugus stretch generally seems to be doing better. The article also states that the owner of the site could receive financing for the project very soon, with work on the spot possibly beginning before the winter.

The address for the former (and possibly future) Bel-Aire Diner is 131 Newbury Street (Route 1) in Peabody.

For more information on the possible reopening of the Bel-Aire Diner in Peabody, please go to the Boston Globe link below:

Hoping for a revival

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Plans for a New Restaurant and Bar in Weston Center Voted Down

2009-12-07T09:17:00.000-08:00

A plan to bring a restaurant to an historic building in Weston Center looks like it is not going to happen, at least for now. According to the Boston Globe, the proposal to bring an upscale restaurant, bar, and function space to the Josiah Smith Tavern and Barn on Boston Post Road (near where School Street and Church Street meet) was voted down at a Town Meeting session last Monday. (The vote was centered around getting additional funds to help build the restaurant.) The Globe article states that the Old Library, which is next door to the Josiah Smith Tavern and Barn had also been included as part of the proposed renovation project, with office space being added to the building. The vote was 545-to-435.

There is no word at the present time as to what might happen with the space, which is about a block north of Route 20 and across from Larson Park in the center of town.

For more information on the defeat of a proposed plan to bring a restaurant to Weston, please go to the Boston Globe link below.

Weston restaurant plan appears defeated

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Mill City Gourmet in Lawrence Has Become Wichit

2009-12-07T07:33:00.000-08:00

A cafe in Lawrence that has been serving breakfast and lunch to both locals and nearby workers for several years has changed its name and menu, and renovated its interior. Mill City Gourmet in the Everett Mills complex on Union Street became Wichit earlier this fall (same ownership) and now focuses more on organic foods and sandwiches, though some items from the Mill City Gourmet's menu are still offered. A press release put out by Wichit states that the rebranded cafe is now doing online ordering and also offers catering.

The menu at Wichit includes pulled pork breakfast burritos, frittatas, angus steak chili, a roast turkey Cobb salad, sweet potato fries, and a number of sandwiches (Cubano, chicken katsu, angus burger, ham and egg, and several others).

On a side note, Mill City Gourmet was a restaurant that we had featured on the Boston's Hidden Restaurants site. We will be heading to Wichit soon to check out the spot, but in the meantime, if you would like to read our old Mill City Gourmet review, here it is:

http://www.hiddenboston.com/MillCityGourmet.html

Hours for Wichit are 6:30 AM to 3:00 PM Monday through Friday (it is closed on weekends). The address is: Wichit, 15 Union Street, Lawrence, MA, 01840. The phone number is (978) 794-0199. And the website is at: http://www.wichitsandwich.com/

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Deal Yourself a Dining Deal

2009-12-07T07:11:00.000-08:00

Dining Deck promotion saves dough and supports independent restaurants

The DINR Deck, a nifty deal cooked up by the Denver Network of Independent Restaurants, is a playing card-style deck that costs $50 and contains 52 cards, each good for $10 off a food purchase of $25 or more. The impressive list of participating restaurants includes some real stars in Denver and environs. Purchase one for yourself and others for gifts and enjoy the savings for months to come. Also, $1 from each deck goes to the Food Bank of the Rockies. Buy online (but you do have to add sales tax and a disproportionate shipping charge or $3.64 per deck) or at the Tattered Cover. If you order online, the shipping charge is waived with four or more, so think about stuffing a lot of stockings with an incentive to dine out in some of the Denver area's top dining spots.

Denver Restaurant Weeks in 2010

2009-12-06T06:27:00.000-08:00

Two weeks, two multi-course dinners for $52.80

Denver Restaurant Week 2010 is doubling from one week to two, stretching from February 20 through March 5 to become Denver Retaurant Weeks. Even if you eat out every single night, that's still only enough time to sample a small fraction of the participating restaurants. There were 225 last year, and 100 have already signed up for 2010. Participating restaurants typically offer a multi-course, fixed-priced meal for $52.80 for two, referencing Denver’s 5,280-foot elevation, or $26.40 for one. Last year, with a record 298,200 meals served, about 75 percent of the restaurants extended their Restaurant Week specials beyond the scheduled week of February 21-27, so this year, the second week becomes official.

Chef Ian Kleinman Invents "The Inventing Room"

2009-12-05T16:37:00.000-08:00

Innovative culinary catering by acclaimed Denver chef

Chef Ian Kleinman, until recently performing culinary magic at O's Steak & Seafood in the Westin Westminster, has set up a catering business called The Inventing Room, he reports "named after the place Willy Wonka thought up his sweetest concoctions." Kleinman sure does sweet and says that he can do ice cream parties for up to 1,000 guests with rich ice cream made with liquid nitrogen with a fabulous selection of toppings. He produces what he calls "the miracle fruit" that can alter the taste buds so that sour tastes sweet for the next 45 minutes of so. Kleinman also does savories of all sorts, using sous-vide, molecular and other cutting-edge techniques for small corporate groups or a gee-whiz party in a private home.

The good news is that Chef Ian will still be preparing these magical meals in the Denver area. The bad news is that we can't just make a reservation at the restaurant and enjoy the magic of the week. I hope he'll be able to catch the eye of some last-minute holiday party planners who want to do something really festive.

He promises a website, but right now, he can be reached right now at 303-319-2592 or catering@theinventingroom.com.

Best of luck, Chef Ian.

Calgary's Blink: A Winner

2009-12-04T07:46:00.000-08:00

Fine 21st Century Fare in 1988 Olympic host city

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler are captivating the attention of winter sports fans, but 22 years ago, all eyes were on Calgary. Calgary and Denver are like twins, separated by a friendly border and 800 +/- miles. Both cities are at the edge of the plains and within sight of the Rocky Mountains. Both grew up on ranching and rail transportation. Both boom whenever oil does and are troubled when the oil industry is. Denver was awarded the 1976 Olympics but Colorado voters rejected them, and Calgary hosted the Games in '88. More germane to this blog, both have matured from steak-and-spuds dining cities to offer interesting and sophisticated cuisine. Case in point: Blink Restaurant & Bar. Chef Andrew Richardson (below left), a British-born chef was exec chef at the renowned Araxi in Whistler, and his wife Leslie Echino (right) opened Blink as a restaurant in 2007, closed it for a total renovation and reopened it. The only thing that didn't change was the name.

Locals told me that Blink is one of Calgary's best new (and new-style) eateries. Contemporary abstract paintings hanging on old exposed brick walls, a high ceiling with exposed pipes and, polished wood floors and huge white-leather chairs are stylish and classy -- as is the food that comes out of Richardson's open kitchen (below) and Echino's front-of-the-house hospitality.

A gaggle of us, in town for a speedskating World Cup, went to dinner at Blink. We shared some appetizers while waiting for everyone to gather. I didn't capture images of all the dishes before the hungry horde dipped into them, but examples of the simple presentations and careful preparation of first-rate ingredients are below. The red wine drinkers had Kettle Valley Merlot, while the white wine drinkers sipped Laughing Stock Chardonnay -- both from the Okanagan Valley in neighboring British Columbia.

A special starter du jour was this double-baked cheese souffle (below), which began tilting a tad while we toasted the evening and the new friends gathered around the table.

Asian pear salad with two kinds of endive, shaved Sylvan Star's Gouda and pecans dressed in a light coat of walnut vin and oil. The Alberta artisanal cheesery's Grizzly Extra Aged Gouda was a big winner at the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix of cheeses and also placed high in the 2006 and 2008 World Championships, while their Grizzly Sharp, aged for more than a year, was the 2009 Canadian Grand Prix winner.

Carpaccio of fine Alberta beef plays peek-a-boo under the arugula with house-made potato chips and truffled Boschetto, generally an Italian cheese, but for all I know, some Canadian cheesemaker is also producing it.

Silky foie gras (humanely raised, of course) with late-harvest ice wine jelly; triangles of toasted brioche were separately served on another plate.

Like Denver, Calgary is a long way from anyplace that scallops are raised, but these Alaska sea scallops were as fresh, tender and perfectly cooked as any I've had within sight of saltwater. They were served with Hokkaido squash, crunchy pumpkin seeds and microgreens.

Alberta beef is rightly famous, though the US -- in its total lack of wisdom, considering the numerous e coli incidents has banned it since one mad cow was traced to a provincial ranch some years ago. The beef special of the day was ordered by a majority of our group. This towering AAA beef tenderloin was sided by Parmesan polenta, Swiss chard and wild mushrooms.

The English sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce at the end of the meal struck me as a perfect balance to the cheese souffle in the beginning. Both were served in shallow soup plates with elegant simplicity and excellent preparation.

It's virtually impossible to go wrong with crème brulée, which just about every chef or pastry chef does well and tweaks a bit. Blink's subtle orange custard was enhanced by chocolate in the caramel.

More Restaurant Openings: Robinwood Cafe and Grille, Olde Boston Cafe

2009-12-04T07:03:00.000-08:00

It looks like a couple more dining spots will be coming to Boston, though very little information can be found on either place at the present time.

According to EveryBlock Boston, the Robinwood Cafe and Grille will be moving into the spot in Jamaica Plain that was formerly occupied by Planet Pizza. A regular poster on the Chowhound site mentions that the new restaurant moving into the space at 536 Centre Street has booths and hardwood floors and will be serving breakfast and lunch, with dinner possibly offered as well. The Robinwood Cafe and Grille looks like it may be ready to open fairly soon, so we'll try to post an update here as soon as possible.

EveryBlock Boston also lists another new dining spot possibly on the way, this one apparently coming to downtown Boston. The place will be called the Olde Boston Cafe, and it is looking to open up at 82 Water Street, which is less than a block east of Post Office Square in the Financial District. The 82 Water Street address is where a location of Boloco used to be, so perhaps the Olde Boston Cafe may be moving into this spot. Again, as we receive updates, we will post them here.

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Caffe Graffiti Is Open Once Again in the North End

2009-12-04T06:12:00.000-08:00

An Italian cafe in the North End of Boston that closed about two years ago has reopened in a new spot. Caffe Graffiti, which had been located on Hanover Street until 2007, recently opened its doors on Cross Street where Martignetti Liquors used to be. The new Caffe Graffiti looks to feature more in the way of food, with sit-down service in its dining room and lunch and dinner entrees offered.

Caffe Graffiti had shut its doors around the end of 2007 after being in business since 1991. Their old spot at 307 Hanover Street has been home to Ristorante Damiano since 2008.

Hours for the new Caffe Graffiti are 6:00 AM to 12:00 AM Monday through Saturday and 8:00 AM to 12:00 AM on Sundays.

The address for this reopened spot in the North End is: Caffe Graffiti, 64 Cross Street, Boston, MA, 02113. The phone number is (617) 367-3016. And the website is at: http://www.caffegraffiti.com/

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“T” is for Turkey

2009-12-03T08:16:00.000-08:00

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I am sad it’s over (but of course thankful that I had such a wonderful long weekend with my husband eating good food). This year, I did a few new things, and kept other things the same as previous years. I am happy to report that I finally got the turkey part down - mostly due to the fabulous brine. Also, I think I finally put the thermometer in the right place of the turkey, because it was actually done when it said it would be! Therefore, I was able to let it rest before doing any carving, so the juices stayed exactly where they should have been - in the turkey.

I think the best way to describe the day is to write about it in the order of my timeline. Yes, I made a timeline. Honestly, it’s the only way to make sure you remember everything, and to make sure you eat when you expect to. It’s the only way I can possibly make a multi-course meal with any sort of success. So, without further ado, the meal….

11:30 - 12:30: Because I had done so much to prepare the night before, I didn’t have to wake up early. I even got to squeeze in a run before the marathon cooking (note to self, running was not a good idea, as I was totally exhausted from standing for five hours after running). Anyway, two of the new things that I wanted to do this year were mashed potatoes with crispy shallots on top, and salad with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing. So, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and use buttermilk as part of the batter process of the crispy shallots. I soaked sliced shallots in a 3/4 of a cup of buttermilk for about ten minutes. Then, I removed the shallots and moved them into the flour to coat. Meanwhile, I put the remaining buttermilk aside to use for the dressing - this was perfect as the shallots really helped flavor the dressing.

Once the shallots were coated with flour, I fried them in about a quarter inch of olive oil until they turned just golden. It’s really important not to let them brown, or they will taste burned (as you can see from the picture below, I learned that from experience!). It really only takes a couple of minutes for them to fry up. Then, I removed them from the oil, let them drain on paper towels, and sprinkled a bit of Kosher salt on them. Here are the mini onion rings:

They were very crispy and delicious, but a lot of work. Although I enjoyed them, I am not sure I will do this again for Thanksgiving. Still, it was a good thought, and something I would repeat if I ever have a need for crispy onions. Definitely much better than the canned stuff.

Next, I took the reserved buttermilk and added 1/4 cup of mayo and seasonings to taste: garlic powder, celery seed, paprika, oregano, black pepper, and salt. I stirred that all together, and that was my dressing. This is a great ranch, and even makes a good potato chip dip out of the leftovers.

Finally, I washed and cut the romaine lettuce, and put the prepared leaves into the fridge, along with the dressing, to keep cool while I made the rest of the meal.

12:30 - 1:30: This is when I took the turkey out of the fridge to come up to room temperature. I left it out for an hour, and still the meat thermometer said it was below 40 degrees. Oh well. I also took the store bought mini apple pie out of the fridge. Yeah, sorry, but I just can’t do the whole dinner from scratch and dessert and hold down a full-time job. At least, not yet…maybe next year!

While the turkey was out, I preheated the oven to 450 degrees, and started on the cranberry sauce. I used the exact same recipe that I always use, and have already blogged about it here.

Anyway, the whole process takes around half an hour, and here are the delicious results:

I like to make the cranberry sauce early in the day, because I prefer to eat it at room temperature, not hot. I just covered it and kept it out of the way until it was time to eat.

Because I put the juice of half a lemon and half an orange in the cranberry sauce, I used the rest of the citrus juice directly on top of the turkey. Then, I cut the squeezed lemon and orange into wedges and stuffed them into the turkey cavity, along with some onion, garlic, sage, thyme, parsley, carrot, and celery. You know, whatever there was room for. I threw anything that didn’t fit into the roasting pan, along with about a cup of white wine. Note: the wine was not enough. Next time, I will also put a few cups of stock in there. Otherwise, all of the liquid burns off, and there isn’t much to make gravy out of. Not to worry, I was able to make gravy, but just barely!

Anyway, here she is, stuffed and trussed:

Let me tell you, buttering and seasoning the bird the night before was very helpful. Next year, I will also stuff and truss her the night before, because it’s just so much easier to not have to touch raw turkey the day of Thanksgiving.

1:30 - 2:00: At this point, the turkey had been out of the fridge for an hour, and the oven had preheated. I stuck the meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, and put her into a 450 degree oven for thirty minutes. At that point, I turned the oven down to 350.

2:00 - 4:30: While the turkey roasted, I worked on the stuffing and the potatoes. (Note: at one point, I noticed the breast was getting very dark, so I put a foil triangle on the turkey to protect it.) Anyway, first I made the stuffing, using the cubed Challah that I had made the night before. I used the same recipe as always, which again, can be found here.

For the mashed potatoes, I boiled about a pound of quartered, skin-on, Yukon golds (the absolute best for mashing) in salted water. When they were fork tender, I drained them off and added them back to the pan. I mashed them with a masher along with a quarter cup of the boiling liquid, butter, milk, buttermilk, a bit of cream, parsley, and black pepper. Once they were all mashed together, I put them in an oven proof dish.

At that point, I had my potatoes and my stuffing all ready to throw in the oven, once the turkey was done. And, at 4:30, done it was.

4:30 - 5:00: I took the turkey out and removed it from the roasting pan. I covered it with foil and let it rest while I threw together the rest of the meal. The stuffing went in the oven first (still 350), as that had to be in for thirty minutes. During this time, I put the roasting pan on the stove, deglazed it with white wine, and proceeded to make the gravy as usual, recipe found here.

I also put together the salads:

At around 4:45, I put the potatoes in the oven to keep the stuffing company, and so everything would be hot at the same time. When 5:00 rolled around, I removed both the stuffing and the potatoes from the oven, put the shallots on the taters, and both items on the table.

Here’s the stuffing:

And, here’s the potatoes:

Oh yeah, and the gravy was ready, too:

You can’t really tell by looking at it, but it was thick and lump-free! Yeah, I know. Next year, I will get a gravy boat!

Finally, it was time to carve that beautiful turkey. Here she is before we cut into her:

Look at all of that brown deliciousness!

And here she is on the plate:

The taste really was perfect. I could really taste the brine. In fact, there was really was no need to season the turkey any further after the brine, not that it hurts. You definitely don’t need anymore salt, though. I always get so scared of under salting the meat, but the brine does all of that for you.

Anyway, everything was great. The husband ate thirds, and we have been living off of leftovers all weekend. I am so sad it’s over, but hey, there’s always next year. I don’t think there’s much that I will change from this time, except maybe now I have the confidence to invite people over to enjoy it with us.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

by foodette

T’was the Night Before Thanksgiving

2009-12-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

Yay - one of my most favorite times of the year has finally arrived: Thanksgiving! Okay, well maybe it arrives tomorrow, but it feels like it’s already here. I have been prepping since Tuesday evening, and my apartment has already benefited from the fabulous smells.

Actually, I guess I technically started my prep on Saturday when I went to Sur La Table to get my knives sharpened. Sadly, the place that I normally go, Larry’s Shaver Shop, seems to have gone the way of the recession. When the husband arrived with the knives, the store was closed down. So, it was up to Sur La Table to save the day, which they did, but going there resulted in me buying a few extra necessities. Seriously, that is one dangerous store.

Anyway, with my chef’s knife nice and sharp, I was ready to really get started on Tuesday. I picked up my pre-ordered turkey, along with all of the other ingredients I will need, from Whole Foods. Since I generally make my own chicken stock for Thanksgiving, I was planning to pick up some chicken wings while I was there. But, Whole Foods actually had packaged turkey necks priced pretty damn cheap, so I thought to myself, Self, why not make turkey stock instead. I grabbed four necks (yum) and also got a turkey wing. I had an extra chicken neck in the freezer (double yum), which I used, plus I threw in the neck from my Thanksgiving turkey.

Okay, enought about necks! The point is, I have full-fledged turkey stock to make tomorrow’s dinner all the more gobble-licious.

Moving on….this morning, before work, I got my brine on. I started by dissolving three cups of Diamond Kosher salt and one and a half cups of brown sugar in six cups of water over high heat. To that, I added a handful of sage, thyme, one head of garlic (sliced lengthwise in half), a few bay leaves, and about a tablespoon of whole, black peppercorns. I let those all steep together for a bit, making sure all of the salt and sugar completely dissolved. Then, I moved that mixture to a 12-quart stock pot, and added enough cold water to get to two gallons (AKA, 32 total cups). The cold water brought the brine down to room temperature - the perfect bath for my 9.54 pound turkey. I threw the whole thing in the fridge, and let it sit for one minute per pound (about ten hours). I put the turkey in breast-side down, to make sure the breast meat got the most of the brine. However, with three hours left in the process, I did give the turkey a flip just to make sure the whole thing got some brine-time in.

Here she is right before I pulled her out:

After removing the bird, I rinsed her thoroughly, and put her in her final resting place: the roasting pan (okay, her actual final resting place will be my stomach). Then, I made an herb-butter compound: half a stick of butter, a few tablespoons of olive oil, chopped sage, thyme, and parsley, the juice and zest of one lemon, one minced garlic clove, black pepper, and just a wee bit of salt. I rubbed it under the skin on the breasts, inside the cavity, and all over the skin.

Don’t she look perty? Now, I know most people brine the night before, and take the turkey out right before going in the oven, but I have heard that leads to soggy skin. So, I am trying this method, where the turkey basically air-dries in the fridge overnight. Anyway, marinating in the extra flavor can’t be a bad thing, right? Fingers crossed!

The last thing on my agenda for the night before Thanksgiving was to make Challah for both the stuffing and for sandwiches on Friday. My sister gave me the best Challah recipe, and while it’s time consuming, it’s so worth it. It literally makes the best stuffing ever! I thought I’d share her recipe with you, in case anyone ever is in need of a great Challah recipe. This makes two loaves of bread, or countless “knots”.

Ingredients:

2 pkgs dry yeast
2 cups very warm water (not hot, or you’ll kill the yeast!!)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
approx. 7-8 cups of flour

Method:

Dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar and one cup of flour. Allow to become bubbly - about 30 minutes. This step is a type of proofing before the actual proofing. It proves that your yeast is alive, so you don’t end up getting to the actual proof to only have to throw the whole batch away. Here is what mine looked like:

I thought that was pretty good - those yeast were definitely alive and well!

Next, add three more cups of flour and the salt, mixing as you go. I don’t have a stand mixer, but I have found a hand-held mixer with the dough hooks work well. Once that is all worked in, add the beaten eggs, mix, and then add the oil. Keep mixing until it’s all incorporated.

Then add two to four more cups of flour. Soon, it will become too difficult to mix with the hand-mixer, and you will probably have to move to using your hands. Keep adding flour until the dough forms a ball and isn’t sticky anymore.

Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean towel, and let rise until it doubles in bulk. I like to keep it in an off oven for this portion. The warmth seems to help. After I take it out, I preheat the oven to 350.

Once it’s risen, punch it down and knead out the air bubbles. Add flour if necessary. Then, shape as desired. (I like the six-strand braid). Glaze with egg wash of beaten egg and water. Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds, if desired.

Bake the bread for 35-40 minutes.

When you are done, you should be thusly rewarded:

After they cool, I put the prettiest one away for sandwiches on Friday. I take the one that just didn’t turn out so nice and cut into many small cubes for the stuffing.

I let the cubes sit in an off oven over night to dry out. If they don’t completely dry, I can turn the oven on 200 tomorrow for a little while.

That’s it! Now it’s 11pm, and I am ready for bed! I start the meal tomorrow at 11:30. I have my whole time line written out, so I feel confident that we will be eating between 5 and 6 tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

by foodette

Red Mango Is Opening at Symphony Plaza in Boston

2009-12-03T07:23:00.000-08:00

A rapidly growing chain of nonfat frozen yogurt stores is getting ready to open its first New England location this weekend.

According to a press release from Dennehy Public Relations, Red Mango is opening at Symphony Plaza on Mass. Ave. in Boston on Saturday, December 5. The grand opening will be held from 2:00 to 5:00 PM, with free yogurt being offered. There will also be a DJ and some giveaways. [NOTE: There was apparently a "soft opening" last weekend for Red Mango in Boston, but this weekend will indeed be the grand opening. Thanks to both Citysearch Boston and Laura--one of our readers--for clarifying this.]

The Dallas-based Red Mango started out in 2007 and has since grown to include more than 50 stores in a handful of states across the country. Until now, the closest Red Mango locations to Boston have been in New York and New Jersey.

Hours for Red Mango will be 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM Sunday through Thursday and 11:00 AM to 12:00 AM on Fridays and Saturdays. The address will be: Red Mango, 334 Massachusetts Avenue (Symphony Plaza), Boston, MA, 02115. The phone number is (857) 366-4116. And the Facebook page for the Boston location is: http://www.facebook.com/redmangoboston

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Cutty's to Open in Brookline in Early 2010

2009-12-03T06:32:00.000-08:00

As mentioned in an earlier post, a cafe-style restaurant featuring "handcrafted food" with a focus on sandwiches will be opening in Brookline soon. According to a Boston Globe interview with the owner of the dining spot, Cutty's looks to open on Washington Street in Brookline Village in early January of 2010. The restaurant will be moving into the spot where the burger place Franky 'N the Boys used to be before closing earlier this fall.

Based on a sample menu posted by the Brookline TAB blog, Cutty's will probably offer a variety of homemade soups, salads, and sandwiches, as well as some desserts. The restaurant will also be open for breakfast, with likely items including bagels and muffins. According to the Globe interview, sandwiches should be priced somewhere between $6 and $8.

The address for this soon-to-open cafe in Brookline Village will be: Cutty's, 284 Washington Street, Brookline, MA, 02445.

For more information on the pending opening of Cutty's, please go to the Boston Globe and Brookline TAB/Wicked Local links below:

Charles Kelsey's goal: Building a better sandwich

A sample of Cutty’s fare

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Poppy's Diner and Pizza Opens in Peabody

2009-12-02T11:31:00.000-08:00

The city of Peabody is home to a new restaurant, this one being a diner on one of the Boston area's most well-known roads.

Poppy's Diner and Pizza has just opened in Winona Plaza on the southbound side of Route 1 (a short distance north of the Route 128 exit), bringing to the area a new place for comfort food and classic American fare. Items on the menu at Poppy's include pancakes, French toast, pizza, burgers, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken and dumplings, macaroni and cheese, shepherd's pie, meatloaf, and chicken wings. Most items on the menu appear to be under $10. A brunch will be featured at Poppy's on Saturdays and Sundays.

The address for this new restaurant on the North Shore is: Poppy's Diner and Pizza, 136 Newbury Street (Route 1), Peabody, MA, 01960. The phone number is (617) 755-6402. And their website is at: http://poppysdiner.net/

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Early December News Notes

2009-12-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

Openings and Endings

The restaurant rapidly taking shape in the location vacated by Boulder's Seven on Pearl now has a name, Circle, and an identity.The food will be primarily American and the prices moderate (mostly under $20), plus a full bar. Steve Abo, whose Abo's Pizza has 17 locations on the Front Range, is branching out with this new enterprise...Meanwhile, just down the street, the Heidi's Brooklyn Deli franchise in Boulder closed quietly at the end of November, but all or most of the 20-odd other locations in Colorado are still open....Elsewhere in downtown Boulder, the b.Side Lounge, a bar, restaurant and 150-seat entertainment venue, is closing after its December 31 New Year's party. Farewell...One of Boulder's most delightful restaurant venues, the long-vacant creekside space at 1724 Broadway (between Arapahoe and Canyon), is slated to re-open as a still-unnamed Australian pub. I hope it's operating by summer, because the site's patio is one of the best in town...Score one for local pizza-holics with the recent opening of a new style of Udi's, a pizza/bar/cafe in Olde Town Arvada. It's a partnership between Udi's bread founder Udi Bar-on and partner/head baker Maurizio Negrini, a third-generation artisan baker from Italy. It's open from 7:30 in the morning till late o'clock in the evening. The specialty is a wet pizza Bianca-style dough that requires a 48 hour fermentation window. Udi's artisanal breads has grown into Udi's Foods, including includes a sandwich catering business, an artisan bread bakery, a pastry shop, five casual restaurants, Udi’s Natural Artisan Granola and the new Udi’s Gluten Free line of baked goods...If Circle is opening fast, the very-long-anticipated Denver gourmet pizzeria called Kaos has finally opened. I think the original place was spring of 2008! Kaos also crafts wood-fired artisanal pies in standard and unusual flavors, plus salads, pasta and panini, and like Boulder's forthcoming Australian pub, it has a great patio.1439 South Pearl Street, Denver; 303-733-5267...Also open and serving pizza, -- East Coast-style, hooray! -- is Ernie's. Actually, I should see it's reopening, because the original Ernie's debuted in 1943. The reborn pizza-plus Ernie's Bar and Pizza at 2915 West 44th Avenue (at Federal) has an extensive, informal menu and also serves 30 beers on tap and 32 beers by the bottle. The phone number is 303-955-5580..Meanwhile, Gelazzi has closed its1411 Larimer Square location, but a sign in the door says that are still open down south at University Boulevard and Highlands Ranch Parkway and up north in Old Town Fort Collins. The sign also promises a new location. Let's hope...Elsewhere, ZG Grill at the base of Aspen Highland has closed....For more such eatery news, go to Westword's November list of "Open and Shut Cases."

Boulder Booze News

Evan Faber, formerly head of the wine program at the nearby St. Julien Hotel (incl;uding Jill's Restaurant and the swank T-Zero lounge), has joined SALT as beverage director. Happily, SALT has extended its happy hour until 6:00 p.m. It originally ended at 5:00. I wondered what that was all about! SALT is at 1047 Pearl Street, Boulder; 303-444-7258....Two local bartenders have co-founded the new Colorado Bartenders Guild, the first statewide chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild. Bryan Dayton of Boulder's Frasca Food and Wine and Mike Henderson of TAG in Denver have launched the Colorado branch, including a three-tier master accreditation program...And if you want to learn to mix your own the way the pros do, check out the monthly classes at the Happy Noodle House's Bitter Bar: December 5, Perfect Holiday Party Cocktails; January 16, El Amor Cocktails; February 20, Classic Cocktails; and March 13, Brunch Cocktails. Mixologists James Lee and Mark Stoddard conduct the classes, which are from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. and cost $25 per person for two cocktails, three recipes and a gift from the bartenders. Reservations at 303-442-3050. The address is 835 Walnut Street, Boulder, but for these classes, use the back door.

Denver's First Gastro-Cart

If you cross-breed gastropubs, a current culinrary rage, with food carts, of which Boulder has quite a number on Pearl Street and downtown Denver has relatively fewer, you come up the Gastro Cart, which rolled out early last month to a location just off the 16th Street Mall on the corner of 18th and Curtis streets. Bryan Hume and Mike Winston, both formerly at Table 6, prepare high-toned street food. Click here for a rundown of some of their dishes from Westword's Kate Kennedy.

Salute to Escoffier at The Broadmoor

The eighth Annual “Salute to Escoffier” Weekend, January 29-31, launches with a “Taste of The Broadmoor” welcome reception Friday night. Saturday is filled with cooking demonstrations by The Broadmoor's award-winning restaurant chefs, a wine luncheon with the dishes guests saw demonstrated and an interactive cocktail class from the dynamic beverage team at Summit restaurant and finally the dazzling Grand Buffet. This gourmet spectacle features a progressive dinner of five separate courses with more than a hundred varied offerings. To truly honor Escoffier, fine wines and champagnes to complement the courses. Broadmoor entertainers Ken Miller and Lila Mori perform, and there's a live auction too. This event, the only one of its kind in America, benefits the Education Fund of the Colorado Restaurant Association and The Broadmoor’s Culinary Apprenticeship Program and Scholarship Fund.
Reservations are now available starting at $449 per person for two nights' lodging and all Salute to Escoffier activities.

Aspen Food & Wine Classic Tickets On Sale

Tickets are on sale now for the 28th annual Food & Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen, June 18-20, 2010. The big kahuna of Colorado food events attracts a who's-who of the culinary community. The star-chef line-up includes veterans Mario Batali, David Chang, Giada De Laurentiis, Thomas Keller and Jacques Pépin along with first-timers Art Smith and Tim Love. It is three days filled with demonstrations by celebrity chefs, seminars with renowned wine experts and the TV-style head-to-head chefs competitions. Then there's the Grand Tasting Pavilion, where attendees can taste scores of wines and talk to winemakers and vintners from around the globe. Tickets are $1,085 before March 15, 2010 and $1,185 thereafter. Keep in mind that this past June, for the first time, the organizers sold $250 tickets for only the Grand Tasting, and it is possible that this might be an option again. The magazine is donating 2 percent of the proceeds from every Classic ticket sold to Grow for Good, its initiative for supporting local farms and encouraging sustainable agriculture. Register online or by calling 877-900-WINE. Use your American Express card and get $35 off.

Junk Junked

I can't say that I'm sorry to learn from EatAspen that developer Scott DeGraff's Las Vegas-style razzle-dazzle of Junk (an unfortunate name for something that was conceived of as a gourmet self-service restauant) and Liquid Sky (a club with the wrong name and the wrong concept) have tanked at Snowmass, and that Junk at the Red Onion in the heart of downtown Aspen won't happen. I still mourn the loss of the iconic Red Onion, which was established in 1892 and closed for good after the 2005-06 ski season. DeGraff started gutting it about two years ago. His legacy to Aspen is one big mess, and this isn't the place to discuss the financial and legal problems that Snowmass Base Village developer Pacific WestPac is in. Its parent company boasts about its award-winning projects elsewhere, but for some reason, does not see fit to put its headquarters address on its website. Let's just hope for better times for the old Red Onion and for Snowmass.

Long Trail Brewing Co. Is Buying Otter Creek Brewing

2009-12-02T07:51:00.000-08:00

A brewery based in Bridgewater Corners, Vermont is buying another brewer that is located in the Green Mountain State. According to the Boston Herald, the Long Trail Brewing Company will be purchasing the Middlebury-based Otter Creek Brewery possibly by the end of this month. The Herald goes on to mention that both the Bridgewater Corners brewery and the Middlebury brewery will remain in operation after the sale.

The Long Trail Brewing Company is known for both its seasonal beers (such as Harvest and Hibernator) and its year-around brews (such as Double Bag, Long Trail Ale, and Blackberry Wheat) in addition to its limited edition beers. Otter Creek Brewing also has a variety of year-around, seasonal, and special edition beers, with some popular names being Stovepipe Porter, Copper Ale, and Vermont Lager. In addition to the Otter Creek line, the brewery also features organic beers in its Wolaver's line, including an oatmeal stout, a pale ale, an Indian pale ale, and a brown ale, as well as a few seasonal beers.

For more information on the purchasing of Otter Creek Brewing by the Long Trail Brewing Co., please go to the Boston Herald link below.

Vt.'s Long Trail beer to buy Otter Creek

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Absolutely Fabulous Opens on Main Street in Melrose

2009-12-02T06:40:00.000-08:00

A chef and caterer who had been serving meals out of a Melrose dining spot on weekends has now moved the operation to the center of town, with the new restaurant open six days a week.

According to the Melrose Free Press and Wicked Local, Chef Lori Muse recently opened Absolutely Fabulous on Main Street where the Blues Grille used to be, bringing to Melrose Center a dining spot that features eclectic cuisine and inventive Italian fare. Absolutely Fabulous Weekends had formerly operated out of Cedar Perk, a cafe and coffee shop on West Emerson Street. According to the restaurant's Facebook page, the new Absolutely Fabulous on Main Street accepts credit cards and offers alcoholic beverages (neither of which were available when the restaurant was operating out of Cedar Perk).

Absolutely Fabulous is open from 4:00 PM to 12:00 AM on Monday and Wednesday through Saturday, and 10:30 AM to 4:00 PM on Sundays (the place is closed on Tuesdays). The address is: Absolutely Fabulous, 454 Main Street, Melrose, MA, 02176. The phone number is (781) 665-3008. And their Facebook page is at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melrose-MA/Absolutely-Fabulous/126096524483

Thanks to a poster on the Chowhound site for letting us know about the opening of this restaurant.

For more information on the opening of Absolutely Fabulous in Melrose Center, please go to the Melrose Free Press/Wicked Local link below:

Absolutely Fabulous to open on Main Street in Melrose

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Sal's Pizza to Open in Norwell

2009-12-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

About two weeks after reporting on a new Sal's Pizza opening up in Woburn, we have just learned that yet another location of this rapidly-growing chain of pizza places and Italian restaurants is going to be opening, this one south of Boston. According to a job posting on the Craigslist site, Sal's will be opening on Grove Street in Norwell (at the Route 53 intersection), a short distance south of the Hingham line. Sal's Pizza (and its sister restaurants Mary's Pasta and Sandwiches and Salvatores Italian Restaurant) are mostly located north of Boston, with no locations on the South Shore at the present time, so when it opens, the new Sal's in Norwell will indeed be the first time many South Shore residents get to try the chain's popular 19-inch pizzas and 1-pound calzones.

No specific date has been given as to the opening of Sal's Pizza in Norwell. As we get more information, we will post an update here.

The address for this soon-to-open pizza place in Norwell will be: Sal's Pizza, 9 Grove Street, Norwell, MA, 02061.

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Arugula: Northern Italian in North Boulder

2009-12-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Refined flavors, presentation and service at Arugula Bar e Ristorante

I intended to post this First Bite Boulder report right after my husband and I went there on November 20 for our second FBB night, but I got way far behind in posting. So here it is, a little late -- but the memory of a fine dining experience does linger.

We had advance reservations with friends for Saturday, Nov. 14 (Sugarbeet in Longmont, click here for our experience) and for Saturday, Nov. 21 (Trattoria on Pearl, click here), but with a fairly full calendar in between, we had no other plans for this annual eatathon. When my husband came home from work on Friday, we impulsively decided to see whether we could snag a last-minute table at another restaurant we love. The line was busy when I phoned Arugula Bar e Ristorante, so I left a hopeful message. Paul Shuler, who captains the front of the house for his son, owner/chef Alec Shuler, called back in a couple of minutes and said, "You're in luck. I was on the phone taking a cancellation." Joy!

Arugula's FBB formula is a little different from the rest. The $26/three courses pricing is the same, but rather than one each starter/entree/dessert, they generously offered two dishes from three small plate listings (six Soups & Salads, seven Appetizers and six Primi-Sized Pasta, Gnocchi and Risotto) and then one of six Main Courses. We ordered wines by the glass (Fontannafredda, Briccontanda, Barbera Langhe 2007, and Le Rote, Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2007). Had we wished to sample more or drink even more modestly, we could have selected half-glasses too, for Argula offers house wines by the 1/2 glass, glass and a variety of carafe sizes to one liter.

Starter/Appetizer Courses

For the first course, my husband and I both selected soups. The beautiful winter squash soup surrounds a dense cranberry/apple/bacon nugget.

The tomato/fennel bisque also appears on the current regular menu. A fennel island is encircled by a flavor float of Balsamic reduction.

House-made gnocchi with shrimp comes in a tomato/vodka sauce that is light in texture but robustly spiced. It is a regular menu item, priced at $19, again a reminder of what a value First Bite Boulder is.

Polenta that is soft inside but seared until crisp-crusted is a perfect accompaniment for warm mushrooms and chunks of Gorgonzola. On the regular menu, Gorgonzola mushrooms is one appetizer and seared polenta with lamb is another. The FBB combination was excellent.

Herb-rubbed mahi-mahi is perfectly grilled and topped with a salsa crudo in the classic summer combination of tomatoes, basil and capers that plays well on a cool fall evening too. Haricots verts provide a color and flavor contrast.

My husband ordered the grilled Harris Ranch hanger steak with Marsala/shallot sauce -- but without the

Gorgonzola dulce. He was fine with the toasted red potatoes. On the regular menu, this hanger steak entree is $21.

As I noted earlier, Arugula's First Bite Boulder did not include dessert, but we had to share one to close the meal, making it a 3 1/2-course dinner for each of us. Our choice was the moist Olive Oil Cake served with a wonderful blood orange sorbet, fresh whipped cream, a blackberry and the obligatory mint leaf.

Third Annual Bubbles and Bites to Be Held Wednesday, December 9, 2009

2009-12-01T06:58:00.000-08:00

A culinary event to help prevent skin cancer is coming to Boston early this month. The third annual Bubbles and Bites will be held at the Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common on Wednesday, December 9, at 6:00 PM. The event, which is co-hosted by Curt and Shonda Schilling, will benefit the SHADE Foundation of America, a non-profit organization that aims to prevent skin cancer through education.

Bubbles and Bites will feature a number of well-known Boston chefs, including Chef Todd English of Olives in Charlestown, Chef Dante de Magistris of Dante in Cambridge, Chef Jeffery Fournier of 51 Lincoln in Newton Highlands, Chef Jonathan Olson of The Ritz-Carlton, and several others. There will also be champagne stations as well as a silent auction.

Ticket prices are $150 for a regular ticket and $250 for a VIP Ticket, which includes entrance into pre-event VIP reception. Tickets are available online or at (602) 424‑7190 until Tuesday, December 8, and will not be available at the door.

The address for The Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common is 10 Avery Street (between Tremont Street and Washington Street) in Boston. The phone number for the hotel is (617) 574-7100.

For more information on the Bubbles and Bites culinary event in Boston, please go to the link below:

Bubbles and Bites, Boston >> SHADE Foundation

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Santarpio's Pizza May Open a Second Location in Peabody

2009-12-01T06:14:00.000-08:00

A classic old-school pizza joint in East Boston might soon have a second location.

According to both The Hubster and Grub Street Boston, Santarpio's Pizza is looking at possibly moving into the old Bennigan's spot on Route 1 in Peabody (the Bennigan's in Peabody closed last year after the chain filed for bankruptcy). The Hubster states that if all goes as planned, the new Santarpio's might open by March of 2010, though Grub Street Boston mentions that the new Peabody location won't be a sure thing until the middle of December.

Santarpio's first opened as a bakery in East Boston more than a hundred years ago, with the pizzeria opening in the 1930s. The Chelsea Street restaurant and bar has become a local institution over the years, and is considered by many to have the best pizza in the Greater Boston area. In addition to pizza, Santarpio's also offers sausage and lamb skewers, as well as beer and wine.

For more information on the possible opening of a second Santarpio's in Peabody, please go to The Hubster and Grub Street Boston links below.

Santarpio's North?

Santarpio's Eyes Peabody

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Local Restaurants in Media Spotlight

2009-11-30T15:32:00.000-08:00

5280 Magazine makes a list; the Wall Street Journal pays a visit

It's not yet "best of" issue time, but Denver and Boulder restaurants were spotlighted and praised in print, both local and (inter)national.

5280's Best New Restaurants List

The December 2009 issue of 5280 Magazine features words and photos in a cover story by Amanda Faison called "Denver's Best New Restaurants." Her top ten:

• Colt & Gray, Denver

• Olivéa, Denver

• Salt, Boulder
• Hutch & Spoon, Denver
• Vert Kitchen, Denver
• The Squeaky Bean, Denver
• Arugula Bar e Ristorante, Boulder
• Venue Bistro, Denver
• TAG Restaurant, Denver
• Bones, Denver

Of these, I've only been to three: Arugula, Colt & Gray and Salt. I guess I've got to get out more!

Wall Street Journal Columnist Visits Boulder

A lifetime ago in New York, my path occasionally crossed that of Raymond Sokolov, who was then the New York Times food editor. The Saucier's Apprentice, his exhaustive cookbook about French sauces, is still my go-to source for detailed information and occasional recipes for this culinary category. Ray Sokolov now covers restaurants for the Wall Street Journal, I have lived in Boulder for more than 21 years, and he was here recently, sampling some of the best restaurants in town. Had I but known, we could have traded catch-up gossip over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.

He documented his restaurant experiences in a piece called "Rocky Mountain Haute Cuisine" that ran last week in the Journal. In his introduction, he wrote, "This used to be the hippiest, dippiest town around. The home of a Buddhist university, a public university and Red Zinger tea, over a mile high in the Rockies and also just plain high, Boulder embraced New Age culture like few other places. But a new aroma now fills the downtown Pearl Street pedestrian mall, and it comes from truffles and saffron, not cannabis. A gourmet revolution has edged out the cultural revolution."

I guess he must have missed the dozen or more medical marijuana dispenseries that have sprung up recently around town, but he didn't miss visiting a number of Boulder's best restaurants. He wrote about the iconic Flagstaff House which is as venerable as Salt is new, and also about Black Cat, Frasca Food and Wine and The Kitchen, bastions of excellent contemporary American and international food plus environmental consciousness in the heart of Boulder. He lauded them all.

Basho to Open at 1330 Boylston in Boston's Fenway Neighborhood

2009-11-30T08:59:00.000-08:00

It appears that a new Japanese restaurant will be opening next spring in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston. According to a press release on the Fenway Triangle site, Basho will open at 1330 Boylston, a mixed-use building that includes luxury apartments as well as retail space on the ground floor. The press release mentions that the person behind this modern Japanese dining spot is also the owner of Douzo, an upscale Japanese restaurant and lounge on Dartmouth Street in the Back Bay.

Basho will most likely feature a sushi bar, a grill bar, and a raw bar, as well as a lounge, based on information given in the press release. The space in which Basho will reside looks to be fairly large (a little under 5,500 square feet).

1330 Boylston is also home to a location of the Upper Crust Pizzeria, and may also include a gastropub called The Citizen at some point in the future.

The address for this upcoming Japanese restaurant in the Fenway neighborhood will be: Basho, 1330 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02215.

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Two More Possible Boston Restaurant Openings: Whiskey Priest, The Citizen

2009-11-30T07:09:00.000-08:00

A couple more restaurants may be coming to Boston, though it appears that both places are in the very early stages of planning, with little or no information on either one at this point.

The first restaurant (and bar), tentatively called The Whiskey Priest, looks like it may open at some point at 150 Northern Avenue in the Seaport District of Boston. This happens to be the current address of the Seaport Bar and Grille, but it is not known whether The Whiskey Priest will eventually take over a section of this dining spot or whether it may actually replace it.

The second restaurant may go by the name The Citizen: An American Gastropub, with its tentative location at 1330 Boylston Street in the heart of the Fenway neighborhood of Boston (just south of Fenway Park). 1330 Boylston is a mixed-use complex with luxury apartments as well as retail space on the ground floor (a location of the Upper Crust Pizzeria is in the building).

As we receive more information on The Whiskey Priest and The Citizen, we will post updates here, so keep checking back over the coming weeks.

Thanks to the EveryBlock Boston website for bringing both of these places to our attention.

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The Powow River Grille in Amesbury Is Closing

2009-11-30T06:20:00.000-08:00

A riverside restaurant north of Boston that features an eclectic mix of ethnic dishes and comfort food will soon be closing. According to the Daily News of Newburyport, the Powow River Grille in Amesbury will close its doors at the end of 2009 after being in business for about five years. The owners of the restaurant (who also own the Plum Island Grille on nearby Plum Island) are apparently closing the Powow River Grille because one of the owners is looking at some type of new business venture.

The Powow River Grille has been serving a variety of unique dishes to diners over the past few years, including pan-roasted pineapple duck, lobster lasagna, Thai seafood stew, pan-seared ahi tuna over organic greens. The restaurant also offers such comfort food dishes as burgers and fried haddock.

The address for this soon-to-close restaurant north of Boston is: The Powow River Grille, 33 Main Street, Amesbury, MA, 01913. The phone number is (978) 388-2300.

For more on the pending closing of the Powow River Grille, please go to the Daily News of Newburyport link below:

Powow River Grille to close at year's end

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First Bite Boulder: Trattoria on Pearl

2009-11-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

Last night of First Bite -- and we wished the promotion went on and on

First Bite Boulder 2009 ended a week ago yesterday, but I have a back-up of many intended posts, so I'm finally getting around to writing about it. We patronized FBB restaurants three nights out of seven, and I had commitments in Denver on two of the others. Our third was Trattoria on Pearl, and I want to do it justice, because it is a reliably good restaurant with a warm ambiance and an even warmer welcome from owners Guillermo and Sara Casarrubias.

Three of us settled in at my favorite table, one of the fourtops next to the window looking out at Pearl Street. Coincidentally, the next table over was occupied by John Garlich and Ulla Merz, the husband-and-wife team who own Bookcliff Vineyards and their party. Of course, I had to table-hop, especially after I tried their fantastic Muscat with dessert. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Trattoria on Pearl lines up slices of tasty, toothsome, rustic bread on long plate with a small bowl of herbed olive oil (below). It's easy to demolish every crumb while perusing even the limited FBB menu and trying to decide whether or not to order the paired wine flight with the FBB menu (two of the three of us did).

First Course

Caprese salad (below) alternated slices of organic tomatoes of various colors with generous slices (almost slabs) of house-made mozzarella topped with a Balsamic glaze and a line of basil pesto down the middle. The suggested paired wine was Bookcliff's Riesling, made in Boulder from the winery's own Western Slope vineyard. (I don't know the vintage of this or other wines offered in the flight.)

A smooth and flavorful lobster bisque, described on the menu as "Guillermo's own recipe," was served in the restaurant's distinctive soup plates. The paired wine was listed as French Press Sauvignon Blanc.

Guillermo is also developing a special for a lamb broth. He had some in the kitchen and honored us by bringing out one plate and three spoons for us to sample. Lamb is a spring animal (and it is spring in the Southern Hemisphere, where much lamb does come from), but this deeply flavored broth was winter-hearty and also simple and elegant in its presentation.

Second Course

Chicken breast came atop a rich white wine sauce melding the flavors of rosemary, lemon and capers. Roasted potatoes, braised cherry tomatoes and bright green broccolini completed this entrée.

The Trattoria on Pearl offered a choice of five entrées for the second course, but as soon as I saw that lasagna was on the menu, I knew that would be my husband's choice. And so it was. The beef and the house-made noodles were layered with both béchamel and marinara sauces, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese and basil. La Ripa Chianti from Tuscany was paired with the lasagna, which BTW was so ample that my husband brought nearly half of it home.

Tilapia Aqua Pazza, an substanial order of Chilean tilapia, also came with broccolini, plus basil mashed potatoes and an herbed cream sauce. La Ripa Chianti was also the paired wine.

Third Course

A chocolate panna cotta island rose above a port-apricot glaze. On top was a crown of whipped cream and a fresh strawberry, with cocao powder sprinkled on the periphery of the plate. Ferreria 10-year Tawny Port was the official paired wine, but Guillermo suggested Bookcliff's Orange Muscat, which was the official paired wine for the tiramisu. Grat suggestion!

Crisp-crusted white chocolate crème brûlée was made with Godiva white chocolate.

Thanksgiving 2009: Menu & Memories

2009-11-28T13:18:00.000-08:00

Traditional feast with this year's variations

Some people prepare the same soup, the same turkey stuffing, the same gravy, the same veggies, the same cranberry sauce and the same desserts every year. The only constants on my Thanksgiving repertoire are our friend Laura's divine sweet potatoes, a huge amount of traditionally prepared mashed potatoes and the cranberry sauce from the back of the Ocean Spray package. However, I also make another cranberry something, and all the other recipes change from November to November. Our friend Vivian, who takes on the responsibility for desserts, similarly brings different ones every year. When I was searching for recipes this year, I knew I had to make something from Gourmet magazine as a tribute to its nearly 70 years of leading Americans through the world and the world's kitchens.

We were 13 at the table this year, and if I were superstitious, I would write that the number was the reason I couldn't light off the dishwasher between the soup course and the main course. Between the main course and dessert, with one load ready to go and the kitchen counters stacked high with dirty dishes, my handy-dandy husband managed to reconnect whatever wire underneath had worked its way loose. While he diagnosed the problem and immediately fixed it, the rest of us had a bit of time to let our food settle before digging into the dessert course. After cheeses and crackers, nuts and a fresh fruit platter in the living room, we sat down at the table. I asked guests to bring their wine glasses with them, so don't think we've gone dry because you don't see the appropriate stemware on the set but unoccupied table.

The prime wine, selected by my son Andrew who is really into wines, were Jekel Vineyards Riesling, Monterrey, 2007, and Spann Vineyards Mo Zin, Sonoma, 2006 (a Zinfandel, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah and Syrah blend). Other wines wee brought, opened, drunk as well. We were not deprived, even before dessert, when we enjoyed a Barros 20-year-old Tawny Port brought by our friends, Mike and Ally.

Below was our dinner, including links to recipes. I didn't change any of them very much this year, so I am not posting my amended recipes.

Thanksgiving 2009 - First Course

Sherried Butternut Squash Bisque, originally from Bon Appetit, March 1996. My changes were modest. I used half-and-half rather than skim milk and topped it with chopped chives rather than yogurt and thyme.

Thanksgiving 2009 - Main Course

Cornbread Stuffing with Fresh and Dried Fruit, originally from Bon Appetit, November 2006. I doubled the recipe and used home-made turkey stock, frozen in 2008 and ready to moisten the 2009 stuffing.

That was enough to stuff inside the 17-pound bird and also for two extra loaf pans. The natural, hormone-free, antibiotic-free turkey came from Wisdom Natural Poultry Farm. Sally made the gravy from pan drippings, home-made stock using the neck, gizzard and liver and a Penzey's soup base.

Cranberries two ways, Roasted Cranberry Sauce from Saveur (left) and Ocean Spray's simple fresh sauce (right).

I made but neglected to photograph Green Beans wth Ginger Butter as a tribute to the recently deceased Gourmet. This fine recipe came from the November 2006 issue. I didn't shoot the mashed potatoes either, but below is Laura's brilliant orange mashed sweet potato casserole, rich as Croesus.

Thanksgiving 2009 Desserts

Vivian again brought three, each better than the other, no matter in which order they were eaten. And do I need to point out how gorgeous they are? Top to bottom, pumpkin pie, pecan pie and apple/cranberry tart -- withor without vanilla ice cream.

Thanksgiving 2009 Postlude

Turkey stock being started.

China, silver flatware, napkin rings and serving pieces ready to be put away until the next occasion. The wine glasses and water goblets were already on their shelf.

Beacon Grille to Open in Woburn This Winter

2009-11-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

A new casual high-end restaurant and bar will soon be opening in Woburn. According to the restaurant's website and Facebook page, the Beacon Grille is looking to open at the TradeCenter complex just north of Route 128 possibly as early as January of 2010. The restaurant will have a capacity of about 250, and will feature American bistro-style fare for both lunch and dinner (dinner only on Saturdays, and apparently closed on Sundays). A 60-seat bar and lounge will also be within the dining spot.

The lunch and dinner menus at the Beacon Grille will include such dishes as fish chowder, roast beef au jus, a grilled chicken panini, a 20-ounce rib eye, roasted bourbon-glazed pork chops, chicken pot pie, grilled salmon, and boiled Maine lobster. The dinner menu will also feature small plates and pizzatas. Entree prices range upward to the mid-30s, with most items being in the teens and twenties.

The address for this restaurant coming to the northern suburbs of Boston will be: Beacon Grille, 400 TradeCenter 128 (Suite 1900), 100 Sylvan Road, Woburn, MA, 01801. The website is at: http://www.thebeacongrille.com/

Thanks to a poster on the Chowhound site for bringing this restaurant to our attention.

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Upper Crust Pizzeria Coming to Wellesley

2009-11-26T17:30:00.000-08:00

A local chain of pizza places continues its expansion through the Boston area with news of a shop coming to Wellesley. According to Wellesley MA's Swellesley Report (and confirmed on the restaurant's Twitter page), The Upper Crust Pizzeria will be opening on Central Street (Route 135) near the western edge of the town center in 2010. Currently, there are a number of other Upper Crust locations all over the Boston area, including Brookline, Cambridge, Hingham, Lexington, Newburyport, Plymouth, Salem, Waltham, and Watertown, and West Roxbury.

The address for this upcoming pizza place west of Boston will be: The Upper Crust Pizzeria, 99 Central Street, Wellesley, MA, 02482. The Web site for the chain is at: http://www.theuppercrustpizzeria.com/

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Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T00:25:00.000-08:00

SAME Cafe Contending for Hometown Award

2009-11-25T11:21:00.000-08:00

Cast a vote for Denver eatery serving fresh, wholesome, house-made food to all

Thanks to Westword's Patricia Calhoun for reporting that Brad and Libby Birky, whose three-year-old SAME Café (So All May Eat), a pay-what-you-want or what-you-can restaurant at 2023 East Colfax Avenue, are finalists for NBC Nightly News' hometown heroes contest. The network news featured the cafe in its "Making a Difference" segment last March. Cast an online vote for the Birkeys by clicking here. The winner is awarded $10,000, money the Birkeys can put to good use for the SAME Cafe. I'm campaigning for the Birkys and their wonderful, idealistic restaurant.

Latest Review: Picco Restaurant, Boston

2009-11-25T07:42:00.000-08:00

The latest review on the Boston's Hidden Restaurants Web site is Picco, a restaurant in the South End of Boston that features pizza and homemade ice cream. Located on Tremont Street in the heart of the South End neighborhood, Picco is a fairly small dining spot with a funky retro look that includes a soda fountain and a decent-sized outdoor dining area in the warmer months. While the restaurant is known mostly for its pizza and ice cream, it also offers soups, salads, sandwiches, calzones, and pasta dishes as well. To read more about Picco Restaurant in the South End of Boston, please click on the link above.

A Few Thankskgiving-Related Questions

2009-11-25T07:14:00.000-08:00

The Boston's Hidden Restaurants website has a questions and answers section that deals with all kinds of topics concerning the Boston and New England restaurant scene. With Thanksgiving only one day away, we thought it might be fun to post a few questions from the site that are related to Turkey Day. Below are the questions; feel free to respond to any of them that you would like!

Good Turkey Dinner at a Boston-Area Restaurant?

Restaurant With the Best Cornbread in New England?

What Are Some Good Beaujolais Wines?

Best Turkey Dinner in New England?

Restaurants in New England with Good Popovers?

Great Stews, Fall Comfort Foods?

What Is Your Favorite Port Wine?

Have a good Thanksgiving, everyone!

Beaujolais & Beyond: Débutante Party for a Favorite French Wine

2009-11-24T21:35:00.000-08:00

Chefs competition, wine tasting, silent auction and glorious food

The November release of nouveau Beaujolais is a reason, or an excuse, that the French-American Chamber of Commerce uses to organize Beaujolais & Beyond, a transcontinental celebration of this annually anticipated new wine. Each FACC affiliate selects its own precise date, venue and event details. Denver's FACC's Beaujolais & Beyond fête was Thursday, November 19, and for the second time in consecutive weeks, I was thrilled to be a judge for the chefs competition. My co-panelists were Stacey Brugeman of Denver Magazine; Vanessa Martinez, online editor for 5280 Magazine and Lori Midson of Westword.

The event took place at Mile High Station, which had hosted the Denver International Wine Festival the week before. I half-expected the place to festooned in the French tricoleur, but elegant white was selected instead. Space in the center of the soaring hall was reserved for the entertainment, especially the stunning aerial dance act. But the real attraction was the food and the wine -- or the wine and the food.

Once again, participating chefs prepared fantastic dishes, crafted to pair with the evening's Gerorges Duboeuf nouveau. They could enter one, two or all three categories. Below are the winning dishes:

Judges' Choice Winners

Best Appetizer - Beaujolais Braised Petite Redbird Coq au Vin by Michael Long, Opus Restaurant, Littleton. Beautifully sauced drummettes served with pearl onion and a shave of black truffle. The dish was similar to one that Long prepared the previous week the Denver International Wine Festival, where it was also much praised. Long likes to serve three drummettes on a three-compartment plate, but only two are visible here, shown as he presented it to us judges. Not a flattering photo of the chef, but the judging moved along fast and so did he.

I couldn't get a good photo angle of Chef's hands, shaving the black truffle on each drummette -- but I did get a good taste!

Best Entrée - Duck Cordon Bleu by Cade Nagy, Catering by Design, Denver - Mushroom-spätzle casserole, grilled arugula, dried cherry salad and house-cured prosciutto chips made a multi-textured, multi-color dish with complementary flavora. The chip actually was standing up straight out of the casserole, a distinctive presentation that doesn't really show in this image.

Best Dessert - Cranberry Tart with Brie Fonduta by Brendon Doyle, Jonesy's EatBar. "Tart" is an Americanized name for a French clafoutie in which the fruit combines into the batter. The fruit of choice was, cranberries which make me think of autumn, and this tart was topped by a creamy melted Brie encircled by Pinot Noir reduction and additional Brie. Doyle said that he likes these grandmotherly plates. To my eye, the busy pattern detracted from the presentation, but nothing could detract from the taste.

People's Choice Winners

Best Appetizer - Duck Raviolis in a Duck Jus Reduction by Jean-Luc Voegele, Westin Tabor Center. Truffles and leeks, julienned and crisp-fried, made this a winner. Interestingly, he was also the People's Choice winner at the Denver International Wine Festival. Bottom line: the "people" really like Voegele's dishes -- an so do I.

Best Entrée - New York Strip with Huckleberry Demi-Glaze and Best Dessert - Creme Brulée Cake, David Oliveri, both Farraday's Steak House, Black Hawk. I goofed big time on this, especially since Oliveri won two out of three categories. For the judges, Oliveri plated a small portion of the meat on one end of a large oval platter and the cake on the other. I took pictures of neither, and attendees voted for both. I guess FACC will just have to ask me back to judge in 2010. I'll do better with photos. I promise. Meanwhile, apologies to the organizers, to Chef and to the fans who voted for him.

The best I can offer, photographically, is a bit of the People's Choice ballot station. Each chef prepared and plated his dish(es), which were arrayed on a fall-festive table with the ballot box as the centerpiece.

Other Noteworthy Dishes

Creativity reigned in several other dishes, a couple of which are worthy of a photo and an explanation here. Restaurant 1515's Chuck James prepared sous-vide lobster that he smoked at the table. He inverted a martini glass over the lobster and smoked it via a hose stuck under the rim. When the martini glass was lifted, aromatic smoke rose from the plate and the smoley flavor permeated the rich lobster meat. James served it with a corn/truffle waffle, garlic butter "caviar," arugula and lemon dust -- yes, dust, not zest.

Catering by Design's Cade Nagy upscaled and deconstructed the infamous Egg McMuffin: braised pork belly, fried quail egg, Hollandaise and a biscuit. He described it as his homage to fast food. Unlike its inspiration, I called it delicious.

Happy Hour at Brasserie Ten Ten

2009-11-22T12:30:00.000-08:00

Downtown Boulder brasserie's happy hour with a touch of class

IOU reports on last Thursday's Beaujolais and Beyond festival (but I'm waiting until I find out who won the chefs competition), First Bite Boulder dinners at Arugula Bar e Ristorante and Trattoria on Pearl, an exclusive preview of some of the dishes that will appear on The Fort's new winter menu. But I'm time-presed right now, so this post is about happy hour at one of my favorite spots: Brasserie Ten Ten. I like their happy hour because the food is reliably good. I like their happy hour because the wine is an excellent value. I like their happy hour because it lasts until 6:30, rather than 6:00 or even 5:00, as some downtown Boulder are now doing. And I like their happy hour because Brasserie Ten Ten does it with class and style: white linen tablecloths, linen napkins, and even the $3.75 happy hour red and white wines are poured from carafes.

Several of my media women friends and I went to Brasserie Ten Ten earlier this week, and here's what we had:

Oysters "R" in season right now at very moderate prices. Little Shemogue oysters (below) from southeastern New Brunswick are just $1 each. Kumomoto oysters, which are larger, are $2 each. As the name suggests, they originated in Japan but are now also cultivated in Oregon, Washington and California. Brasserie Ten Ten serves them on a bed of cracked ice with lemon wedges, cocktail sauce and horseradish.

At $6 during happy hour, the fish and chips are a top value. Two sizable pieces of tilapia are beer-battered and crisp-fried. They are served with the restaurant's excellent frites, a bit of cole slaw, lemon wedges and rémoulade sauce -- a nice French alternative to the usual tartar sauce.

One of our group who is Atkins dieting ordered the "baby burger," which is what they call their slider, sans bun. The burger is topped with peppered goat cheese and a speared pickle. Even without the bun, it amply filled the plate with a lettuce leaf, tomato slice, sliced onion and ramekin of ketchup.

Another ordered the same burger with the bun on the side -- and that's how it arrived.

Thon fond is an interesting sandwich. Tuna salad in olive oil, olive tapanade and a French cheese called Comte come between slices of toasted white sandwich bread. It also would be perfect at lunch.

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Three different crêpes are on the winter menu: Crêpes au Jambon (ham and Gruyère), Crêpes Végétariennes (spinach and feta) and Crêpes au Canard (Duck and goat cheese). Each order consits of two crêpes that are folded and topped with Béarnaise sauce.

Price check: At happy hour, hors d'oeuvres, $1.50-$6; crêpes and sliders, $2-$3. Drinks range from $3.25 for a choice of four beers to $6 for a Ten Ten Margarita or a house martini made with Skyy vodka or Boodles gin.

Word Verification Now Enabled

2009-11-22T09:12:00.000-08:00

Hate to do this, folks, because I really want to make it as easy as possible for people genuinely interested in food and restaurants toadd comments to my posts, but the spammers have begun to assault this blog with links to purported pharmaceutical sales sites. So with apologies, you'll have to endure word verification. I still hope you'll leave comments.

More Eating Than Blogging This Week

2009-11-21T21:53:00.000-08:00

This might seem more like a Facebook entry than a blog post, but I want to show a sign of life here. In the last week, I've cooked a few meals, enjoed happy hour at Brasserie Ten Ten with media colleagues, attended the champagne reception celebrating the opening of the gleaming new Sheraton Denver Downtown, attended a preview of part of the winter menu of Beaver Creek's Restaurant 8100 in the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, been a judge at the chefs competition at the Beaujolais and Beyond festival and enjoyed two First Bite Boulder dinners, one at Arugula Bar e Ristorante and one at Trattoria on Pearl. I know you're feeling terribly sorry for me. Not! In any event, images are on the computer and I will try to catch up on posting. But not tonight. Be patient, please.

Most "Favorite" Hawaiian Restaurants Aren't Really Hawaiian

2009-11-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

Hawaii.com's recent online poll reveals nothing but chains

Hawaii.com, which is owned by Gannett (USA Today and others), asked its million-plus members to vote for their favorite restaurants in the Hawaiian Islands. I'm not sure what constitutes a "member" of hawaii.com -- a site visitor perhaps. The poll is obviously skewed to favor Honolulu, specifically Waikiki, which has the most visitors, the most hotels and the most concentrated tourist-oriented dining options. Beyond that, the leader of every single category is part of a chain, usually with more locations off the Hawaiian Islands than on. Also note that not one of these chains is even headquartered in Hawaii. This makes me incredibly sad, because Hawaii has such rich and varied food offerings and unique local restaurants. I have to wonder: Is this an indictment of Hawaii or a function of the "members" of hawaii.com? With that caveat, below is the list:

Favorite Steakhouse in Honolulu - Ruth's Chris Steak House Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu; 808-440-7910. One of 100 locations around the world and one of five in the Hawaiian Islands, two on Oahu. It is headquartered in Florida.
Favorite Hamburger in Honolulu - Cheeseburger in Paradise, 2500 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu; 808-923-3731. One of eight locations in Hawaii. Others are such mainland sites as Reno, Las Vegas, Key West and assorted locations in the Midwest and Northeast. It is headquartered in Illinois.
Favorite Breakfast Spot in Waikiki - Duke's at the Outrigger Waikiki, 2335 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu; 808-922-2268. Named after Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, a renowned surfer who competed in the Olympics for 20 years and also appeared in over 28 Hollywood movies, this is one of half a dozen Duke's. It is part of the TS Restaurant Group that also owns and/or operates Hula Grills, Cliffhouse, Jake's Del Mar, Keoki's Paradise, Kimo's, Lelani's and Sunnyside Lodge. It is headquartered in California.
Favorite Restaurant with a View on Oahu - Duke's at the Outrigger Waikiki, see above.
Favorite Maui Restaurant with a View - Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., 889 Front St., Lahaina; 808-661-3111.California-based chain with 22 restaruarants in the US (including two in Colorado and one in the Mall of America in Minnesota), two in Mexico, two in Japan, two in the Philippines, one on Bali and one in Singapore. The chain is headquarted in California.
Favorite Maui Restaurant - Cheesburger in Paradise, 811 Front Street, Lahaina; 808-661-4855. See above.
Favorite Kauai Restaurant - Duke's Canoe Club at the Kauai Marriott, 3610 Rice St., Lihue; 808-246-9599. See above.
Favorite Big Island Restaurant - Roy's Waikoloa Bar & Grill, 250 Waikoloa Beach Dr., Waikoloa; 808- 886-4321. First introduced in Honolulu by James Beard award winner Chef Roy Yamaguchi, two dozen of Roy's Hawaiian fusion are on the mainland. The chain is headquartered in California.

La Provence Patisserie & Cafe

2009-11-17T01:30:00.000-08:00

Bakery, Breakfast, Brentwood, Brunch, Cafes, Cupcakes, Dessert, French, Los Angeles, Restaurant Openings, Restaurant Reviews, West LA.

Finally, after over two years of waiting, I can report that La Provence Patisserie & Cafe has opened its doors in Brentwood. The husband was actually the first one to notice as he was driving by - the balloons were out and the signs were up. I was very excited - I have been waiting for the promise of Parisian macaroons ever since I saw that La Provence was moving in.

That very day, the husband and I walked down Barrington to San Vicente, filled with the anticipation of trying a new restaurant in our neighborhood. I knew exactly what I wanted - French onion soup and macaroons. Anything else would just be gravy.

When we showed up, we found out that La Provence hadn’t even been opened for a week yet. They were definitely still trying to work out the tweaks, and the liquor license hadn’t come through yet, but the pastries were on display, and that’s really all that mattered. The restaurant is decorated with a French country-casual flair: wrought iron painted white, knotty pine dining tables, and lots of flowers. It was very homey. To up the casual factor, you order at the counter and the food is brought out to you.

The thing that caught my eye, however, was the fact that they actually put green chenille blankets on the patio, you know, in case you get cold. I thought that was genius! Not only did it make me feel like someone was thinking of me, but it made the patio that much more inviting.

When we got up to the counter to order, the staff seemed friendly and knowledgeable - aka, not very French. Right away, I asked if they had French onion soup. It turned out they did, but it was vegetarian! What? No beef stock? I was nervous, but decided to go for it. I figured it might not taste exactly right, but it would still be good in its own way. I decided to order this as part of their pick any salad as a half salad and add any soup for $1 over the regular salad price. The salad I chose was the wild grilled salmon.

Oh, and I also got a cappuccino:

Let me tell you, that was delicious. I didn’t add any sugar, but did they? All I know is, there was no trace of bitterness at all. It was absolutely wonderful - there is no doubt in my mind that this will be a hoppin’ breakfast joint. In fact, that gives me a really good idea of what to do tomorrow morning, but I digress….

Next up was our food. As I mentioned already, I ordered the vegetarian French onion soup along with the wild grilled salmon salad:

Oh man, look at that soup! It was amazing - the cheese was thick and stringy, and perfectly covered the soaked bread beneath. And the broth - you would never know that it didn’t have beef stock. It was rich and complex, and very onion-y. As for the salmon…eh. I thought it was a bit dry and over cooked. The greens were nice and refreshing, and the grilled veggies were tastey. But, next time I will just get the soup. It was huge and delicious. There was really no need to complicate things with salmon.

The husband ordered the beef steak panini with avocado, tomato, Swiss cheese, and aioli:

It, too, was a bit dry. However, he was able to get some au jus on the side, which he said made a big difference. Overall, it wasn’t too impressive. Perhaps our dry meats were due to the fact that the place had just opened - we would definitely be willing to give it another shot. But, the soup was perfection, in case you weren’t sure how I felt about that.

Next up, and the reason I was so excited to go there in the first place: dessert! We actually decided to get this to go. Obviously, I was all about the macaroons. The husband opted for a red velvet cupcake.

We were both happy with our choices. The cupake was moist - not too sweet either. The macaroons were very sweet - perfect for me as I have a big sweet tooth. The cakes on the macaroons were perfect - crisp on the outside and spongy on the inside. The cream filling between the cakes was creamy and delicious. The three flavors above were hazelnut, coffee, and raspberry, the hazelnut being the best of the three.

The dessert was so good that we actually went back the next week just for that (no pictures, sorry!). The husband got a cream puff, which was rich and fluffy. I went for two more macaroons, and those two were the best by far. I chose the vanilla and the caramel fleur de sel. OMG. The vanilla was so creamy, and you could see the vanilla beans in the cream filling. The carmel was the perfect balance of salt and sugar, if you like that kind of thing (read: I like that kind of thing). The filling was actual carmel, not a cream. Seriously, unbelievable. I could have eaten a dozen of each.

In all, I would suggest La Provence Patisserie & Cafe. If nothing else, you have to try the soup, coffee, and pastries. And really, is there much else to life? I’m not sure there is.

леглаLa Provence Patisserie & Cafeis located in the Brentwood Gardens at 11677 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049
Phone: (310) 442-1144
by foodette

Vineyards Inn

2009-11-17T01:20:00.000-08:00

Healthy Eating, Lunch, Restaurant Reviews, Sonoma, Wine.

Tucked away between wineries on Sonoma Highway is a nondescript little restaurant called Vineyards Inn. The husband and I would have never noticed it if we didn’t happen to be starving when we passed it. To be honest, we didn’t expect much. We figured it was a tourist trap, that would charge high prices for only average food. After all, there aren’t too many places to grab a bite to eat between wine tastings. However, we decided to give the place a try.

When we first walked in, our fears were not abated. The restaurant was empty, and the decor was nothing special either. However, we were given the choice to sit in a greenhouse of sorts, complete with hundred-year-old vines as tall as the ceiling and dripping with table grapes. Ah, now we were starting to get excited. It suddenly became clear - this place was a quaint find!

Once seated, we started to peruse the menu. It turns out, Vineyards Inn was more well known than we tourists had realized. It was voted the greenest restaurant in the San Francisco Bay area. The food was not only organic, but it was locally sourced as well. The owners, a husband and wife team, are leaders in composting and recycling as well. The restaurant itself has been around for over 25 years, serving up organic Spanish delicacies. We began to realize that we had stumbled upon a real gem.

Of course, the real test was to taste the food itself.

Being Spanish food, the husband and I decided to share a few of the tapas. Let me first mention, it’s very difficult to decide on any one thing, because the entire menu sounded amazing. Still, we had to narrow it down, and so we chose three items: the world famous artichoke, the fire shrimp, and the chicken and avocado quesadilla.

Check out that artichoke! First of all, I have been to too many restaurants where you only get half a choke. But in this case, we each got our own very large half. The artichoke was fire broiled with a chili mayo dip, sprinkled with herbs, and seasoned to perfection. It was difficult to resist the temptation of sneaking my fingers over to my beloved’s half, but that would have been simply to cruel.

The shrimp were equally generous and delicious. Each skewer featured six shrimp, fire-broiled with a bit of heat. It was hard not gobble these up as soon as they appeared on the table.

Last but not least was the organic chicken and avocado quesadilla. The chicken was moist and flavorful, the cheese was melty, and the tortillas were crispy. And, who can complain about avocado? It was another generously-sized tapa.

The best thing about this meal was that you could feel good eating it. Knowing that the food was not only prepared beautifully, but also with a concious, made every last bite taste even better.

The husband and I felt very lucky to have accidentally stumbled upon this amazing wine country find.

Vineyards Inn is located in amongst the wineries at 8445 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood, CA 95452
Phone: (707) 833-4500
by foodette

Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop and Caffe

2009-11-17T01:14:00.000-08:00

Dessert, Restaurant Reviews, San Francisco.

If you get a chance to go to San Francisco, please make sure to make a quick stop at Ghirardelli Square and get one of these:

The fudge is made from melted Ghirardelli chocolate. Yes, it’s an $8 sundae, but I don’t care. It was amazing.

And, you can pick up some delicious presents for all of your friends at the same time.

Ghirardelli is located in Ghirardelli Square at 900 North Point #142, San Francisco, CA 94109
Phone: (415) 474-1414

by foodette

Boudin Bakery

2009-11-17T01:09:00.000-08:00

Bakery, Lunch, Restaurant Reviews, San Francisco.

I don’t know about you, but I happen to love carbs. And, bread is one of my most favorite carbs. But, it has to be good bread. Yes, I suffer through regular sandwich bread from the grocery store when I have to, but nothing compares to fresh bread from the bakery. So, when I was in San Francisco, I knew that I had to eat as much sourdough bread that I could get my hands on. And, what better place to do that than Boudin Bakery at Fisherman’s Wharf?

Now, the husband is of a different sort. His favorite kind of bread is the stuff packed in pastic lining the grocery shelves, so he was none too excited to go to this historic land of fresh bread with me. But, I convinced him that it was something that I simply could not miss while in San Francisco, and yes it had to be the one in the most touristy, crowded area of the city! I wanted to see the flagship, dammit!

So, off we went, to pay way too much for parking (FYI, the bakery doesn’t validate - you have to eat in the resturant if you want validation), and fight the crowds, in order to taste this delicious bread.

And, let me tell you - I converted my husband that day.

We wanted to go simple, but to order two different things. We decided to get the clam chowder in a bread bowl (an absolute necessity) and a sourdough pizza (not a necessity, but still very delicious).

Here are the pictures:

And a close up of the star:

The bread was devine. Chewy, crusty, and sour. It made the perfect home for the soup, which was creamy, but not too rich. It also was great as pizza crust - the outside got crispy, but the inside stayed soft, and it wasn’t greasy, which I prefer. Now that I know about Boudin, I may have to visit the OC bakery in Costa Mesa.

This simple meal is one that can satisty. We felt it was our best meal in San Francisco, and that’s saying quite a lot. Definitely keep this bakery on your must-do list.

Boudin Bakery is located at the Fisherman’s Wharf at 160 Jefferson Street, San Francisco, CA 91143

Phone: (415) 928-1849

by foodette

Historic John’s Grill

2009-11-17T01:04:00.000-08:00

Every city has one. In New York, it’s Sparks. In LA, it’s Lawry’s. A steakhouse that feels as old as the city itself, and just in case you forget that it’s a landmark, you’re constantly reminded by the black and white photos of famous patrons-past that line the wood-paneled walls.

In San Francisco, that steakhouse is John’s Grill. John’s isn’t only famous by movie-star standards. It’s also famous by literary standards. Yes, this is the John’s Grill that was featured in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon.

This fact is prominently displayed on their water glasses:

Now, I believe that you can judge a restaurant by its freebies. Between the fresh sour dough bread and the gratis sparkling water, I had a good feeling right off the bat. Our friendly, buttoned-up waitress gave me an even better feeling. She was able to direct us as far as what was the best seafood item - the broiled seabass - which I promptly ordered. The husband went with the New York strip. Both dishes came with a small pile of vegetables and a baked potato.

Here is the seabass:

Yes, that is a butter sauce. And, here is the steak:

As you can see, the husband’s beans fared much better than mine. But, you don’t go to John’s Grill for the beans, which weren’t great. You go for the meatiness of it all.

If I were to sum up both dishes with one word, it would be “rich”. Again, did you see that butter sauce? And, look at the sheen on that steak - I would bet it’s more butter. Plus, you can stuff your potato with more butter AND sour cream. It was a good thing we walked there.

The food was decent. The patrons mostly looked like they had just gotten off work, or were attending some sort of business meeting. The service was impeccable. And, the bill was $60 with no drinks, appetizers, or desserts. But the ambiance - the crisp white linens, the oak walls, the black and white photos, the plush chairs - you get a sense of history. It’s a true, American steakhouse. I’m not saying that I would go back, but I’m not saying I regret going. It’s that type of place.

Historic John’s Grill is located in Downtown San Francisco at 63 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: (415) 986-3274

by foodette

House of Nanking

2009-11-17T00:52:00.000-08:00

Chinatown, Chinese, Restaurant Reviews, San Francisco.

If you travel to San Francisco, it’s a must that you eat at least once in Chinatown. On our recent trip to San Fran, the husband and I knew that we wanted some great Chinese, but were at a loss as to where to go. Thankfully, our hotel concierge pointed us to House of Nanking.

When we arrived, it was easy to spot with its multi-colored sign and its long line outside. In fact, it was the only restaurant around that had a wait, and we took this as a good sign for what was to come. Even though there was a line, it didn’t take too long to get in. The service is very speedy inside, and everything is very efficient. You don’t end up with just one waiter. Instead, who ever is closest to you will help you at any given time.

Once inside, the husband and I were seated at a four-top with a mother and daughter traveling together from England. This family-style seating can sometimes annoy me, but we lucked out as the women we sat next to were both friendly and interesting.

To start, the husband and I shared the sizzling rice soup:

While I would say it wasn’t exactly sizzling, it did have a very nice flavor. The veggies in it were fresh and crunchy, which added a nice texture mixed with the rice and hot broth.

We also chose to each order our own entrees. One thing to note: everything is served family-style, and the portions are huge! Two entrees and one soup were more than we needed. It probably could have fed an additional two people. So, order accordingly, or bring a larger group!

Anyway, our two entrees were the Nanking Noodle and the Sesame Chicken.

First to arrive was the Nanking Noodle. I actually added brocolli to this, because it didn’t come with enough vegetables for my taste. You can add any vegetables you want for an additional price per veggie.

Here it is, half devoured!

This noodle dish packed big flavor, especially in the form of garlic. I am a big garlic fan, so I found these noodles to be delicious. The veggies (cabbage, pea pods, and brocolli) were crisp and fresh. I would definitely order this again.

Next up was the sesame chicken:

This was another great, signature dish. The chicken is crispy and drenched in a sticky, sweet sauce. The surprise is that it’s served with sliced sweet potato and sliced Chinese squash. The sweet potato adds to the overall sweetness of the dish. The Chinese squash is a nice way to offset the chicken and sweet potato. It’s crisp, like an apple, and has a fresh, slightly bitter taste which clenses the palate from all of that sweetness. I would definitely recomend one order of this chicken, as well.

In all, House of Nanking was worth the wait and lived up to the hype. I think it’s best suited for a larger group - as I said, we spent about $35, and had enough left over for at least one other person, if not two. It would be great to come here for a small celebration and order a few dishes to share. But, if in a larger group, I would suggest getting there early, so they can get you in a big enough table.

House of Nanking is located in Chinatown at 919 Kearny St, San Francisco CA 94133
Phone: (415) 421-1429
by foodette

Paula’s Pancake House

2009-11-17T00:39:00.000-08:00

Breakfast, Brunch, Danish, Restaurant Reviews, Solvang.

If you end up going to Solvang once in your life (which you should - once) and stay the night (why not?), then you definitely need to have breakfast at Paula’s Pancake House. Exquisitely Danish, this restaurant serves up both locals and tourists alike. The waitresses, donning Heidi-esq uniforms, are warm and friendly. And, while it’s not lavishly decorated, it has a cozy feel.

But really, you are only going for one reason: the Danish pancakes.

Sure, you may love the thatched roof:

Or, even the quaint menu:

But, neither are as delicious as their Danish Pancakes. You can order them on their own, or for about $1.50 more, you can get eggs and sausage or bacon to go with. If you go with sausage, you will have the choice of American or Danish. When the husband and I went, he chose American, so I chose Danish. To be honest, I prefer the American. But really, next time I would just order the pancakes and skip the rest. The eggs are nothing to write home about, and American sausage is American sausage. The pancakes are the real winner.

As you can see from the picture, they are huge! The size of a relatively big plate. But, don’t be nervous. They are also very thin - just a bit thicker than a crepe. They are only cooked on one side. Served up with butter, real maple syrup, and a sifting of powdered sugar, these pancakes are delicious. I would definitely prefer these over the thick, stacked, American version, any morning of the week.

Note: you can also top yours off with fruit (strawberries, apples…) and whipped cream. Although that sounds amazing, it’s a bit too much for me. Still, something to think about if you happen to be in the area.

Paula’s also has Beligum waffles, which I was tempted to try. But, then I decided Solvang is a Danish town, not a Belgium one. So, again, when in Rome….

Paula’s Pancakes is located in the heart of Solvang at 1531 Mission Drive, Solvang, CA 93463
Phone: (805) 688-2867

by foodette

Mortensen’s Danish Bakery

2009-11-17T00:29:00.000-08:00

Bakery, Breakfast, Brunch, Cafes, Danish, Dessert, Restaurant Reviews, Solvang.

The husband and I just got back from a whirlwind trip up California - we stopped in Solvang, San Francisco, and Sonoma. We ate tons of good food, and had a couple of disappointments, food-wise, as well. Mostly, it was all good. One of our favorite bites was also our first: a cream cheese Danish at Mortensen’s Danish Bakery.

If you haven’t been to Solvang, you should definitely try to go at least once. It’s a Danish town, complete with cobblestone paths and bakeries galore. You could definitely eat your weight’s worth of baked goodies. It’s also a very romantic town, with a fairy tale appeal. Due to the influences of Hans Christian Andersen, there are a lot of Disney references. In fact, the whole place feels like Fantasyland in Disneyland.

As my husband and I strolled through town (the whole thing can be done on foot), we passed Mortensen’s Danish Bakery. Before we even saw the building, we smelled the most lucious of all smells. We headed right inside and took a peak. It’s both a bakery and a cafe, serving all kinds of Danish goodies from Danish itself to Kringle to cupcakes. However, since it was the first bakery we came across, we decided to keep walking and see if anything else smelled nearly as good.

After about 30 minutes of wandering, and checking out countless bakeries, we were certain that Mortensen’s would be the best. No other bakery had that great smell pumping out into the street. So, on our way back to the hotel, we made sure to stop in and get a treat.

The glass counter was filled with an endless supply of goodies, but we decided on the Cream Cheese Danish - hey, when in Rome, right? We also got a glass of their whole milk, which was an excellent choice.

We sat down at one of their tables, and dug in to one of the best pastries we have ever had. It was tender and flakey. The cream cheese was sweet and tangy. The milk was cold and refreshing. For something so simple, it really was a spectacular treat.

If you ever get a chance to pass through Solvang, or even stay overnight, definitely make sure to get a pastry of some sort at Mortensen’s. It’s worth every calorie.

Mortensen’s is located at 1588 Mission Dr, Solvang, CA 93463
Phone: (805) 688-8373

by foodette

Bar Food

2009-11-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

American, Bars and Clubs, Dessert, Los Angeles, Lounges, West LA.

It wasn’t too long ago that I was posting about a great new fusion sushi restaurant called Zu Robata. However, as time went by, Zu Robata wasn’t garnering much of a client base. The husband and I often found this overlooked space empty at key hours, and that was before the recession. The restaurant tried changing their menu a few times, but unfortunately, it lost a lot of what made it so good in the first place. And, it wasn’t too long until I found myself saying that I was not going back again.

Three weeks after I made that declaration, the Husband and I happened to be driving past the location on our way home from dinner, to find that there was a new sign out front: Bar Food. Of course, we couldn’t resist, popped a u-turn, and made our way in to check it out.

Strangely, it was exactly the same. Same soujou containers, same silverware and glasses, even the old lighted Zu Robata sign was up. But there was a new owner who had completely changed the menu to upscale, minimalist American food. Also, there were a few tvs tuned to sports channels for good measure, and a couple of diners at the bar. This was defintely a new restaurant.

That night, we had a delicious desert, and made a date to return for dinner.

When we did return, we still found the place to be pretty dead. However, we were excited to see if the entrees would turn out as well as the desserts (which, by the way are made by a pastry chef on site - including the amazing ice cream).

First, I have to mention one thing. It felt as though the owner wanted to put as little money into this place as possible. Not only was the space exactly the same as Zu Robata, as I already mentioned, but the menu is just a piece of paper printed from the computer and put in a protective sleeve:

Despite that, though, there is no skimping in the food and the service departments - both are excellent. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful, and the owner came around to introduce himself to us. This is also a great restaurant for beers on tap - they only serve their beer on tap, and had 12 on tap when we were there, with plans to add more. The husband ordered a black and tan, which he found to be perfect, and I ordered their house merlot, which was very smooth and easy to drink.

As an appetizer, the Husband and I chose to split the arugula salad:

This salad was amazing. The Husband is not into what he likes to call “rabbit food” salads, but this is nothing like that. The arugula’s peppery flavor was balanced perfectly with the slightly sweet and tangy vinegarette, creamy blue cheese, and sweet, crisp pears. The Husband proclaimed: “It tastes like steak!” That’s as good of an endorsement from a man eating a salad that you can get.

Next up, the entrees. The Husband opted for the Thai Bangers & Mash:

Nice presentation, right? Anyway, what makes this dish unique is that the sausages had a thai flavor - perhaps lemon grass and cilantro? And that green blob is cilantro mashed potatoes. The sausages were savroy and perfectly cooked, and the potatoes were flavorful and smooth. Overall, this was a very interesting and delicous entree.

But, by far the clear winner on the menu is the cheese burger:

Ummmmmmm…..just look at all of that cheese burgery goodness. It is the perfect ratio of juicy meat to cheese, bun, sauteed onions, and arugula. I would say this is by far the best burger I have had in LA, and it’s only $9! A similar burger at most restuarants would go for between $16 and $25 (but you already knew that from watching Carl’s Jr commercials). Honestly, though - this burger is amazing. The ouside is crusty, and the inside is juicy. The cheese is melted to perfection, and yet not too gooey as to make a mess. The onions are sweet and tender. Okay, enough. I am drooling as I relive it.

To round out the meal, we shared an order of the sweet frites - sweet potato fries:

These were definitely very good: they came out fresh and hot, and were served with a tangy, spicy mayo for dipping. Since then, we have also had the regular fries, which are also very good. It really just depends on your mood.

Finally, to top off our dinner, we had to have more of that fabulous dessert that had brought us back. There are a few items to choose from on the menu, but everyone who works there (and I happen to agree) says that the apple tart is the best dessert item, so that is what we ordered:

The tart itself is a very thin pastery filled with thinly sliced apples and spiked with cinnamon. It’s drizzled with caramel and a creamy vanilla sauce, and topped with their house made caramel ice cream. This is heaven. We shared, but we fought over every last bite. You might want to get two.

While I was sad to see Zu Robata fade and finally disappear, I can’t complain that Bar Food has taken it’s place. I know the Husband and I will be back to visit this neighboorhood spot again and again, and I hope that it is able to survive in the turbulent restaurant world.

Bar Food is located at 12217 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone: (310) 820-3274
by foodette

Sugarbeet in the Snow

2009-11-16T21:27:00.000-08:00

Opening night of First Bite Boulder at Longmont's Sugarbeet

It has been nearly two years since we first ate at Sugarbeet. The restaurant was still quite new and rather small, but the food was very good, and we have eaten there several times since. Sugarbeet has since expanded into adjacent space. Six of us drove through Saturday's snowstorm to a warm welcome and a cozy-as-ever restaurant. Mixing pared-down contemporary style without sacrificing genuine warmth is a trick that Sugarbeet has accomplished.

Even a small menu with just two or three choices for each of three courses takes some deliberation. Five of us ordered from the $26, three-course First Bite Boulder menu and one, a carnivore married to a vegetarian couldn't resist temptation and othered the venison entree from the regular menu. Each dish on the FBB menu came with a wine recommendation, and the $13 paired wine flight was an reasonable add-on.

Every dish was attractively presented, well balanced nicely flavored -- never overwhelming, but rather subtle and palate-pleasing. The only flaw was that the diced potatoes in both the chowder and the tenderloin curry were undercooked. Perhaps someone has noticed since Saturday remedied that.

First Bite Boulder Menu & More

Below, from the regular menu, White Bean/Roasted Fennel Hummus with triangles of excellent grilled flatbread. The smooth hummus was served in a cup lined with radicchio and topped with cucumber slices and herbs.The fennel was subtle.

The soupe du jour was a substantial bow of golden butternut squash/apple bisque, a fall classic in a soup bowl.

The salad combined fresh field greens, fennel, sliced beets, radishes, microgreens and toasted hazelnuts, here with the tarragon vinaigrette requested on the side. This salad from the FBB menu is on Sugarbeet's regular dinner menu too.

Clam chowder, the dreamy, creamy New England kind, was also on the FBB menu. The chowder was smooth and silky, without cornstarch or potato starch to bulk it up. Generous pieces or clam and applewood-smoked bacon gave the chowder robust and very complementary flavors.

From the regular menu came sliced Broken Arrow Ranch venison with lingonberry sauce, herb-roasted new potatoes and endive that had been halved and grilled.

From the FBB menu, slow-roasted pork shoulder smothered with tangy/sweet mustard fig compote, French green lentils and braised baby spinach.

Mild curry with beef tenderloin, Yukon Gold potatoes, al dente green beans, roasted pepper and tomatoes surrounded a large mound of herb-sprinkled jasmine rice.

This tall tower of layered lightly fried eggplant, arugula, fresh mozzarella and a chunky sauce listed on the menu as "tomato chutney" with squiggles of balsamic reduction was picture pretty to begin. It did slide apart a bit as it was placed on the table, which made it less photogenic but didn't affect the well-balanced contrast of flavors, colors and textures.

The Kenwood Yulupa Cuvée Brut Cocktail was paired on the menu with the pumpkin spice cake, but I requested it with my torte. It was really delicious and would serve as well as an apéritif. It was "cocktailized" with a sugar cube infused with a shot of Angostura bitters on the bottom of the glass

All three of the desserts below came from the FBB menu. The second tall dish of the evening was this triple-layered pumpkin spice cake with whipped mascarpone, pecans and caramel sauce.

A slim slice of one of the richest, chocolatiest tortes I have ever eaten -- so rich, in fact, that the hazelnuts seemed like the light part! Two slim dark chocolate rolls, fresh strawberry, whippe cream and the obligatory bit of fresh mint made for an appealing presentation.

A very generous portion of delicious crisp-crusted blueberry cobbler topped with an equally generous scoop of cinnamon gelato.

Price check: On the regular dinner menu, "Beginnings," $7-$12; "Greens," $6-$9; "Mains," $19-$30. This underscores, again, what an exceptional value the $26 First Bite Boulder menu is for diners wishing to sample a restaurant's style and experience its ambiance.

Bourdain to Denver. Hickenlooper to Introduce. Sparks to Fly?

2009-11-16T14:22:00.000-08:00

Celeb chef/author/television Anthyony Bourdain comes of Denver on Wednseday

I feel as if I know Anthony Bourdain. I've read several of his books (Kitchen Confidential, A Cook's Tour and No Reservations) and I've traveled around the world vicariously with him on his Travel Channel series, "No Reservations." He's opinionated, snarky and yet has become increasingly empathetic about the lives and tribulations of people he has encountered. Along the way, he once visited Denver to promote A Cook's Tour and much to the irritation of local patriots and foodies, dismissed the Mile High City's food scene.

He's coming back for a one-night stand at the Buell Theater on Wednesday, November 18, at 7:30 p.m. As a preliminary welcome, Westword ran a contest subtitled "Make Anthony Bourdain Eat His Words." Readers were invited to suggest three local restaurants that would make him change his snooty New York mind. The entries make for hilarious reading.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, quick-thinking and comfortable on stage, will introduce Bourdain. Hickenlooper is a former restaurateur; Bourdain is a former chef. The repartee should be interesting, but I'm betting that both of these smart, eloquent men will spar for a mo', revert to gracious collegialty. Tickets $35-$65 are still available on line from TicketMaster or by calling 866-461-6556

2009 Taste of Elegance Competition Winners: Corey and Long

2009-11-15T21:59:00.000-08:00

Judging a chefs' competition is a delicious but difficult job

Once again, I was honored to be a judge at the "Taste of Elegance" chefs competition at the 2009 Denver International Wine Festival. As was the case last year, each competitor is given a bottle of red and a bottle of white in advance to taste and then create two dishes to pair with those wines -- wines that had previously place in September's Denver Wine Competition. We judges were charged with evaluating dishes based on presentation, tasted and food/wine compatibility to come up with the best overall chef and the most creative chef.

Chris Davies CEO of Wine Country International, which runs the festival, took the picture, below, of us judges just before we set off on our appointed tasting rounds. We discussed whether to stick together or split apart and decided to move from station to station in a cluster so that the chefs would only have to describe their dishes just once. Below, from left, Hosea Rosenberg of Jax Fish House, Boulder, and winner of last season's "Top Chef" honors, moi, Amanda Faison of 5280 magazine and Teresa Farney of the Colorado Springs Gazette. We did not look quite so perky after we had tasted two dishes from each chef and wines to match -- plus Belgian beers.

Wine glasses ready for the sell-out crowd of 400 at the entrance to the festival, which this year moved to Mile High Station, a new events facility.

Before 6:00 p.m. when the public was allowed in, the competing chefs and their teams worked quickly and quietly to stage their two dishes.

There was only so much I could do at the same time -- tasting, evaluating, snapping quick pictures and scribbing notes in the hopes of matching images with restaurants and chefs. It was beyond my multi-tasting talents to do it all, so below are just some of the dishes we tasted. I can identify some but not all, so I won't label any. Just know that there was a lot of good food, a lot of well-thought-out plating and a lot of care displayed by "Taste of Elegance" chefs.

Attendees milled around, also tasting and sipping, often with considerably less restraint than those of us who had a job to do.

Let me tell you that the decision was difficult. There was a lot of good food preapred by local culinary talents. In the end, we selected Robert Corey of Sandoval's Kitchen, Denver as Most Creative Chef and Michael Long of Opus, Littleton as Best Chef. Jean-Luc Voegele of the Westin Tabor Center, Denver took the People's Choice award. Congratulations to all.

Last year, I managed to write a post immmediately after the festival, and you might want to read it for a backgrounder. Other than the venue and the number of chefs competing, the format was largely the same both years.

2009 Taste of Elegance Chefs

Jeff Bolton, Second Home, JW Marriott, Denver

Chad Clevenger, Mel's Bar and Grill, Greenwood Village

Austin Cueto, Restaurant Kevin Taylor, Denver

Robert Corey, Sandoval's Kitchen (overall Best Chef winner)

Eliza Goodwill, 221 South Oak, Telluride

David Harker, Meritage, Omni Interlocken, Broomfield

Daniel Joly, Mirabelle Restaurant, Avon/Beaver Creek

DeWayne Lieurance, 5280 Chef/Clandestine Chef

Michael Long, Opus Restaurant, Littleton (named Most Creative Chef)

David Olivieri, Farraday's Steakhouse, Isle of Capri Casino & Hotel, Black Hawk

Eric Riviera, LaLa's Wine Bar & Pizza, Denver

Eric Skokan, Black Cat Bistro, Boulder

Jeremy Thomas, Parisi's Italian Market & Deli and Firenze a Tavola, Denver

Jean-Luc Voegele, Westin Tabor Center, Denver (People's Choice winner)

Kelly Yepello, Yepello Chocolates & Confections, Steamboat Springs

Just a Few News Notes

2009-11-13T06:39:00.000-08:00

Denver International Wine Festival Report

Yesterday evening, I was honored to be a judge at the "Taste of Elegance" chef competition at the Denver International Wine Festival. My fellow judges (illustrious Coloradans indeed) were last season's "Top Chef" winner Hosea Rosenberg of Jax Fish House in Boulder, Amanda Faison of 5280 Magazine and Teresa Farney of the Colorado Springs Gazette. We ate and wine-paired two dishes from each of 14 leading chefs (plus a "bonus" third dish from Boulder's Restaurant 4580). Even a bite from each dish and a sip of each paired wine meant a lot of food and a lot of wine.

At the end of the competition, we judges met in a private room with video camera trained on us while we deliberated. We had very few differences of opinion -- a dish here, a dish there, perhaps a pairing. There were many excellent dishes that were carefully thought-out and beautifully presented. In the end, our top two chefs for overall excellence were Michael Long of Opus, Littleton, and for creativity, Robert Corey of Sandoval's Kitchen, Denver. I'll write another post with photos when I've digested, literally and figuratively, the evening's fab foods and wines.

Red Hot News: Kleinman Gone from Westin Westminster

I mentioned that 14 chefs competed in the "Taste of Elegance." Number 15 would have been Ian Kleinman, Colorado's captain of molecular gastronomy, except that is no longer at O's Steak and Seafood's in the Westin Westminster. I confirmed this morning and learned that Kurt Zuger, the executive chef, and Christoph Schöttle, who is the executive sous chef are filling the void. Again according to rumor, Kleinman is planning to open a restaurant on Larimer Square. Stay tuned.

Boulder Eatery News

Steve Abo, owner of Abo's Pizza, and a partner, whose name I can't recall have taken over the shuttered space that was occupied by Seven on Pearl (previously Seven Eurobistro) at 1035 Pearl Street, a bistro/bar just west of the Pearl Street Mall. Workers have been busy remodeling (right), so it ought to be opening soon...An Australian pub is reportedly going into the beguiling but challenging space on Broadway between Canyon and Araphahoe that, between sitting empty, has housed a variety of restaurant. The most recent was the short-lived Alexander & Livorio (or similar). With the recently closing of the Scotch Corner, it might fill a pub void on the street....I haven't previously reported on two restaurant that opened not long ago at The Peloton, the upscale condo development at 3601 Arapahoe. The Gindi Café is an an eco-practicing morning, noon and night eatery (i.e., it services breakfast, lunch, happy hour and small plates).The phone number is 720-206-5157. It joins Pizzeria Basta, a southern Italian restaurant with a wood-burning pizza oven and what it calls an "intelligent wine list." Sounds smart to me. Alas, I can't find Pizzeria Basta's phone number. The website is "under construction" and dexknows.com doesn't know...Agave Mexico Bistro & Tequila House opened on Wednesday at 2845 28th Street, Boulder; 303-444-2922. They're offering an extensive menu with organic and all-natural products and many gluten-free and vegetarian offerings. Until November 22, they're mixing their house margaritas for $4 as a grand opening special...Chef Fabio Flagiello is now is working with Bácaro Venetian Taverna owner/chef Anthony Justice, overhauling the menu and adding cred to the restaurant's middle name. Chef Flagiello trained in Italy and France and on this side of the pond, has run restaurants in California. While in Los Angeles, he was as a film, coaching actors with roles that required culinary technique, including Tony Shalhoub’s character, Primo, in the 1996 movie “Big Night.” He's a Boulder kind of buy, a triathlete and Iron Man competitor and interested in finding the balance between both great tasting and healthful meals. Bácaro is at 921 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-444-4888.

Restaurant Chefs Shortcut Thanksgiving Preparations

2009-11-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

Colorado restaurants help at preparation time

As a young recent college grad with my own apartment, Thanksgiving was the first big holiday meal that I took off my mother's hands. My recipes were basic, and my pride at pulling it off palable. I've made a lot of turkeys since then. The images below show my 2008 turkey, a 24-pound heavyweight from Wisdom's Natural Poultry ready to be trussed and then ready to be carved. Over the years, I have developed these traditions:

Always appetizers in the living room.
Always a sitdown dinner, never a buffet, and always with fine china, sterling flatware and fine glassware.
Always soup.
Always a naturally raised turkey.
Always stuffing -- but always a different stuffing.
Always a green vegetable -- except this year when I might do a root vegetable medley or some sort.
Always two kinds of fresh cranberries -- one from the Ocean Spray package and one other.
Always a sweet potato dish (our friend Laura usually brings that) and mashed potatoes with gravy.
Always desserts (pies and other wonders made by our friend Vivian).
Always people we care about around the table -- the more the merrier (our record was 20, and we don't have a huge dining room; we moved out a lot of furniture, so the room was "all table"). And that the most important "always" of them all.

I love to prepare Thanksgiving dinner, but I know that everyone isn't a from-scratch cook. Some people like to go out for dinner, and numerous restaurants are open that day to accommodate them. Other people prefer to eat at home but don't care to actually make the meal. Here are a few Colorado restaurants offering Thanksgiving dinners that can be finished or just plated at home (order in advance, of course, and get address and directions when you call if you don't know where the restaurant is):

Second Home, Denver - Thanksgiving Take Out, an a la carte selection of rotisserie turkey breast ($35) and also mashed potatoes, pan gravy, traditional stuffing, Parker House rolls, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, candied sweet potatoes, dozen deviled eggs, pumpkin pie and rustic apple pie ($15 each). Each dish is enough for about five people. Order by 12:00 noon, Monday, November 23 and pick up on Thanksgiving morning. Also, if you are cooking at home but find yourself short of something (because of extra guests, perhaps?), you can declare a "turkey emergency" and put in a last-minute order. 303-253-3000.
Tony's Market, Denver and southern suburbs - While not a restaurant, the chefs at Tony's four markets and their affiliated catering company put out classic Thanksgiving dinners with three turkey choices: oven-roasted turkey serving 8+ ($159.99), a Cajun fried turkey also for 8+ for ($179.99) or turkey breast for 4 ($97.99) Included sides are turkey gravy, brandied cranberries, sage stuffing with sautéed celery and onions, Chantilly whipped potatoes, praline sweet potatoes, roasted baby winter vegetables with garlic butter and pull-apart rolls. For dessert, pumpkin or pecan pie with whipped cream. Order in person or online by Monday, November. 23, and pick up Tuesday after 2:00 p.m. or all day Wednesday at the store where you ordered.
Flagstaff House, Boulder - Chef Mark Monette's acclaimed Thanksgiving dinner with all-natural turkey and seven chef-prepared accompanying dishes, sauces, trimmings and desserts plus the Flagstaff House’s after-dinner coffee and tea is $178 for six people. See menu details here, and order (online if you wish) by Friday, November 20. Pick up Monday through Wednesday after 1:00 p.m. 303-442-4640.
Restaurant 4580, Boulder - Entire "Take and Heat" Thanksgiving dinner ($20 per person) or just part of it (call for pricing) They'll prepare; you pick up on Thanksgiving morning. 303-448-1500.
Trattoria on Pearl, Boulder - Complete dinners for 6 people with turkey and all the trimmings for $100. They'll even deliver the meal to your door on November 25. Reserve by Monday, November 23. Call 303-544-0008.
Rick and Kelley's American Bistro, Edwards - Thanksgiving feast to go to serve 8-10 people for $80 including side dishes, just the turkey for $45. 970-926-3423.

Tony's Fresh Seafood a Louisiana Icon Since 1959

2009-11-10T22:27:00.000-08:00

Family-owned seafood purveyor specializes in fresh local and regional specialties

The first stop after landing in Baton Rouge for a group of journalists on a recent farm-to-table media trip was Tony's Market & Deli is a family-owned local institution. On a late Thursday morning, the retail portion of Tony's sprawling complex was fairly quiet, but I was told that on weekends and especially during Lent and holidays, the lines run out the door for loyal customers with a crawfish craving, a catfish fix, a crabcake longing, a po-boy quest, a mufeletta hankering or a lust for fresh boudin and boudin balls.

I left my notebook somewhere en route, so I'm relying on other sources for this post. One of the sources is Tony's own website, from which, in the absence of my own notes, I've taken this history:

"Tony's Seafood traces its roots back to 1959 when Donaldsonville, Louisianam native Tony Pizzolato opened a small retail and wholesale produce business in the city of Baton Rouge. Realizing Baton Rougean's love for fresh seafood, Tony added crawfish, shrimp and crabs to his selection of produce. Soon he found the seafood outselling his produce.

"In 1972, Tony leased an abandoned service station on Plank Road next to Delmont Village Shopping Center. Through much of Tony's hard work and his insistance that the business only sell products of the finest quality, he, his wife Mary Lee, five sons; Bill, Joey, Mike, Cliff, Tad, and daughter Ceily turned what once was a small fruit stand into a thriving seafood business.

"By the early 1980's, long lines of eager seafood buyers were becoming a common sight. Lines grew even longer during the crawfish season, when Tony's Seafood had been known to sell as much as 50,000 pounds of live and boiled crawfish in one day.

"The business has expanded to include Louisiana Fish Fry Products, Ltd. These diverse products were created by Cajun recipes straight from the kitchen of Tony himself. Together, both businesses employ over 200 people.

"Today, Tony's Seafood still sells the absolute best live and boiled seafood in Baton Rouge and is the largest seafood market in the Gulf South. Their deli and delicious plate lunches have become local favorites."

Another source was Facebook, where I found these (unedited) comments on Tony's page posted by people who should know:

"Best Boudin Balls on Earth!!!"

"I love their corn and seasoned potatoes so much. Whenever I go there and get something, I always get one of those things because they are so good."

"Move & we will follow." "Luv da food & da service! Parking is horrible"

"Very much an important Baton Rouge cultural icon! A real find for those who know it! And hey, those crowds on Fridays during lent say it all!!"

"Whenever I fly home to visit, Tony's Seafood is ALWAYS my first stop. I love the food and the wonderful family!!!!"

Fresh fish and shellfish are iced and ready to be purchased for home cooking.

A shelf laden with Tony's coatings, seasonings and mixes stands near the supermarket-style checkout counters.

Popular takeout items are posted on a board, though regulars seem to know what they want without ever reading the menu.

Behind the scenes in a huge (and expanding) processing and warehouse complex, Bill Pizzolato checks out an order of live crabs.

These enormous kettles turn out prodigious quantities of boiled crawfish.

After a factory tour, whose extend I've just hinted at in the images above, we had lunch from Tony's takeout menu. Gumbo, a classic Louisiana cross between a soup and a stew, is loaded with sausage, vegetables and either sausage or chicken.

Fried seafood of all sorts (crabfingers, catfish strips, oysters, shrimp, drumettes and crawfish tails) with a pinquant sauce are stables of the bayou diet.

Boudin balls are addictive -- really addictive.

That's Bill in the green shirt in the middle. He has been in the business since he was a kid, coming in from the parochial school across the street to work. Without my notebook, I can't begin to ID the rest of the gang. If anyone can name the Pizzolatos, please do.

Tony's is located at 5215 Plank Road, Baton Rouge; 225-357-2127.

Historic Nottoway Plantation Houses Contemporary Restaurant

2009-11-08T12:10:00.000-08:00

Ramsay's Mansion Restaurant: Stellar dining in the Louisiana countryside

New Orleans is one of the country's best-known dining Meccas, but on a recent farm-to-table visit to Louisiana, I found lots of other amazing food. A recent addition to the region's fine-dining scene is Ramsay's Mansion Restaurant at Nottoway, a magnificent plantation house that was renovated and refurbished earlier this year in time for its 150th anniversary.

Executive chef David Reyes was a city kid, raised in a rough Chicago neighborhood, but he has his Mexican family's farm-to-table catering business in his blood as well. His family planted corn by hand, raised cattle and made cheese, forging a direct connection from the growing and raising to the preparation and finally the consumption of food . Reyes himself graduated from Kendall College's well-regarded culinary program and interned at Puerto Vallarta resort and a Michelin-starred restaurant in Toulouse, France. Last year, back in the US, he won the grand prize and a $20,000 scholarship in the Kraft Foods 2008 Chefs of Grey Poupon Student Culinary Competition for his Dijon Surf and Turf in a New World Romesco Sauce recipe.

Once he was on board at Nottoway, he set his sights on some of the property's 38 acres for a kitchen garden, from which he has already been harvesting. The phrase "more than 30 herbs" also passed his lips. He is not yet 30 and has a combination of energy, ambition and culinary training that bode well for Ramsay's Mansion Restaraurant, especially if our group's seven-course dinner featuring Chef's selection is any indication. A lovely setting in a glassed in garden room looking out at the landscaped grounds (until it got dark), attentive service and wines that I wrote down somewhere but can't find made this an idyllic meal.

The first course was a single moist blue crab cake with mango sauce, a cap of smoked paprika aioli and a "feather" of dill from the small-plates list on the regular menu.

Butternut squash and ginger soup with a bit of Louisiana blue crab and a froth of coconut milk, garli,c chive and soy sauce was an excellent autumn soup.

If the soup said "fall," the caprese salad said "summer." This version is made with organically grown heirloom tomatoes and house-made mozzarella with cucumbers and basil from the garden.

I had never heard of fish called "triple tail," but it is one of those species long recognized by saltwater sport fishermen that has only recently come into its own on the table. Once considered bycatch of the New Orleans shrimp fishery, it is now recognized for its similarity to sea bass. It was served in a light lobster bisque, Parmesan risotto and crisp salad of house-grown borage, fennel, beet sprouts, basil and arugula on top.

The word gnudi, a close relative of gnocchi, has now made it to southern Louisiana. The Mansion Restaurant's ricotta gnudi were soft pillows of dough made with house-made ricotta, perfecty cooked and loaded into a soup plate with fresh house-made sausage, sage, brown butter, a piquant sauce and a shaving of cheese (Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, other?) on top.

X marked the spot on the plate where two lamb chop bones crossed and Reyes's signature tandoori spiced lamb chops rested. The tender lamb was seasoned with an almost-Cajun spice mixture, roasted and served with a bit of roasted vegetable parfait layered with goard cheese and shallot confit.

Silk buttermilk pannacotta served as the underlayment for a coulis of fresh berries and oh-so-Southern pecans.

Price check: At dinner, small plates, $8-$12; soups, $8-$19; salads, $8-$11; mains (including grilled items), $18-$32.

Nottoway is at 31025 Louisiana Highway 1 (off The Great River Road), White Castle (south of Baton Rouge); 225-545-2730.

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2008-11-25T08:19:00.000-08:00

Privacy Policy for seeking-restaurants.blogspot.com

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