January 2011
15 posts
27 January
James Beard Foundation
April Bloomfield is the chef at The Spotted Pig, The Breslin and The John Dory and you can’t get into any of those places. But she was also cooking a dinner at The James Beard Foundation, and we had plenty of advance notice, so we signed up for the nose-to-tail feast. There was no nose (though there was tongue) and no tail (not even close) but there was plenty...
19 January
Esca
For some reason I’d never been to Esca, despite the rave reviews from all over. Turns out it’s similar to Mario Batali’s other restaurants, but fishier, which is excellent for someone who loves fish as much as I do. We started with the crudo tasting, which was 6 small pieces of fish perfection.
One excellent oyster tasted of the sea and the wind and the...
16 January
The Woods
These are Martha Stewart’s scallops
but simplified, because every time Martha Stewart writes a recipe (or has one of her Little People write a recipe for her) she has at least one complex, fussy step, just to show that she’s better than you are in every way. I always take that step out just to show that I don’t friggin’ care. The scallops were...
15 January
The Woods
See that headless snapper at the top?
That’s what’s gonna make us live to be 105.
13 January
Fedora
So I never went to the Fedora when it was an old New York haunt, even though my dentist’s family owned it and he used to bartender there sometimes, which is why he’s still my dentist. But I’d peered in as they were renovating when I was in the neighborhood for my teeth cleansing. And I’d heard that it was being taken over by the people from Pied de...
11 January
Home
Back to the diet. Delicious lean chicken. Potatoes with corn and not too much butter. Basil and tomatoes for vitamins and minerals.
I dedicate this healthy meal to yesterdays bacon egg biscuit. I hope to see you again some day, evil creature of my heart.
10 January
Frank
It was almost time to leave Austin and I had but one opportunity for additional heart cloggery. I chose Frank as my venue, mostly because they have a sign painted on the wall that advertises “bacon cookies.” I’m not sure if they mean there is bacon in the cookies or if they sell bacon AND cookies, but it was enough to get me in the door. 4 hipster boys were at...
January 2
Costco
So they opened a Costco on 117th Street in Harlem. It’s huge! And it contains everything a consumer could possibly want, and many things they could not possibly want. Rebecca asked me to photograph the most interesting thing I found there. This was it:
And kosher!
Sometime in December
The Woods
And then there was stew.
this one was made with lots of balsamic vinegar and the potatoes and peas and carrots came along for the ride. I thanked the cow and carried on.
Some time in Deember
The Woods
Josh attempted to duplicate patatas bravas and he did a damn fine job.
This was possibly the first time I’d ever seen something deep fried at home. I didn’t know you could do that outside of a restaurant They were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside and very, very fattening, particularly with a hamburger.
January 9
Maria’s Taco Xpress
Oh and it only got greasier. We left downtown in search of The Super Taco. In this case, we found it at Maria’s Taco Xpress which was cluttered and overwrought enough to please even the messiest maximalist (which would be me,) There’s quirky decoration all over the place, and in the center lies a taco.
At least I think it’s a taco. It was...
January 8
Cantina Laredo
By 8:30 I was almost hungry again. After combing the neighborhood for beans, we stopped in at Cantina Laredo which was a little too mainstream, but still really good. We started with the guacamole, which is made fresh at the table.
Very fresh, plenty of cilantro, but a little bland. Still not hungry, I ordered the shrimp enchilladas.
They arrived on a bed of good,...
January 8
Chupacabra Cantina
And then we went to Austin. Diet over. Lard and beans for 3 days straight. It was splendid. Started at a bar, of course, Chupacabra. The beans alone were enough to make me cry.
The surprising element was the pulled pork taco. I was incredulous, of course. Tacos are not supposed to have coleslaw in them. But this was a perfect Tex and Mex combo. And then I ate the...
January 3
Tenzan
The half-assed diet attempt continued. This time the fish wasn’t cooked. We went to a Japanese place in the neighborhood, Tenzan. Before it was a Japanese restaurant, it was another, less popular Japanese restaurant. Before that it was a failed Japanese restaurant. The chirashi was good.
Fresh, abundant, colorful. I didn’t eat much caloric rice. My diet lived for...
January 4
The Brigidarium
In a feeble attempt to shed some of the holiday weight (see previous 574 posts) I decided to eat a fish. Went to the local fish monger. (Is there any other type of “monger”?) He remembered me, sort of, and handed me the fresh fish that was in his hand. I named him Alfred
and placed him near some brussels sprouts that had been soaked in wine and balsamic...