Slow Cooked

Bar Veloce

I remember a college professor lecturing about the idea of the "third place" - someplace that is neither home nor workplace - and he used the Third Place idea to explain the success of the series Cheers.  Everybody needs a place where...everybody knows their name.

I have a few contenders for my Third Place, but I don't have a neighborhood bar or regular after-work spot...which is okay, because I'm not interested in procuring my very own bar stool, but there is something to be said for having a familiar, consistent spot to grab a drink after work, and while it may not be exactly Third Place material, I am growing quite fond of Bar Veloce.

My office is in the far west 30's, where there are scant offerings in the way of either food or drink.  If you need to catch the LIRR, it's convenient, but if you want a nice lunch or a happy hour, you are likely left disappointed.  It's not a far walk to Chelsea, however, and on several occasions now I've ended up at Bar Veloce, on 7th Avenue, and had lovely, lovely glasses of wines with good, not-too-filling nibbly things.  The wine list is Italian (almost exclusively) and glasses range from $8-$14, with both white and red getting fair representation (Italian whites are my new project; I recently have become a fan of Falanghina - a grape I don't know much about - and whites from Lugana...the other night I was drinking a Lugana that was sort of apple-y and toasty but still nice and crisp and I honestly don't even know what grapes are grown in Lugana, other than what Google tells me, which is Trebbiano).

There are the familiar cheese and cured meat plates, and what looks like the familiar bruschetta/tremezzini/panini menu, but what I like about the menu at Bar Veloce is that the bready items come on what is really closer to flatbread than Italian or French bread.  On a recent night a friend and I had cured tuna bruschetta topped with pickled red onion and delicious fig, prosciutto and pine nut bruschetta that was the PERFECT blend of salty and sweet, with just a hint of nutty. 

The space is sleek and fills up quickly, however it manages to feel full without ever seeming crowded.  There is just one sommelier/bartender behind the long bar with a small wait-staff serving and taking orders from the bar tables scattered against the far wall of the long, narrow space but the service never seems to slow down.  Bar Veloce originally opened in 2000 in the East Village, and I've yet to visit that location, but the Chelsea spot (there is also a Soho branch) makes me very happy and while bartenders may not yet know my name, it's possible that in the near future, they might.

Bar Veloce has three locations and accepts all major credit cards.

Oh, That's Right; I Have a Food Blog

Eeep.  It's not that I haven't been cooking or that I haven't been restaurant-ing; I've just been very very lazy and not written a word in weeks!  Everyone needs a little hiatus now and then...

Highlights of the past few weeks:

• Chocolate-chip walnut cookies from Levain Bakery
• The B'stilla from Epices on w.70th
• Patsy's pizza just around the corner from me
• Chicken roasted with olives, tomatoes, orange zest and generous amounts of Herbes de Provence
• A yummy Easter frittata with apple, potato, sausage and onion
• Delicios vegan fare (it exists!) at Blossom
• ...especially the chocolate avacado terrine, which sounds odd but is delicious and makes perfect sense when you see it
• My favorite beet, orange, pine nut and ricotta salata salad from Inoteca
• A fantastic French burgandy for $13, with both a screw-cap AND a label bearing the words 'Pinot Noir'!
• Many pieces of Grandaisy's pizza; I am partial to the cauliflower and the tomato
• Le Pain Quotidien's baguette

...and hopefully, much more to come...

A Pet Peeve of Mine

There is a trend in the world of wine retailers to simplify and make wine cute.  Or easy.  Or less intimidating.  I'm not really sure, to be honest, but I don't like it.  In my new neighborhood I've visited three wine shops (Best Cellars, Pour Wines, Bacchus) that all seem to be subscribing to this new way of marketing wine as a Cute!  Not Scary!  Not Snobby! entitity, and I'm sorry but NO, creating categories of JUICY! CRISP! LUCIOUS! FIZZY! etcetera does not help me shop for wine.  Sleek merchandising with just a few carefully selected bottles (I'm talking like, 4-6 options per descriptor) does not help me shop for wine.  I am old-fashioned: I like to shop by region and variety.

I realize that a lot of people are unfamilar with what varities are grown in what regions and what characteristics come with each region/variety.  I realize as much because I am unfamiliar with a lot of varities and regions.  But here's the thing: it's not that hard to learn.  It's no harder than trying to shop for something VELVETY! or GRASSY! and maybe it's the food snob in me, but what's so wrong with learning about the product you are buying?  Five minutes talking to a proprietor will steer you in whatever direction you need to be, and as a bonus, wine is demystified.  I don't think merchandising by zippy names and backlighting really makes wine simple; it means you are at the mercy of your merchant and it fosters the notion that Wine Is Hard.

Cooking doesn't need to be complicated, or scary, or intimidating.  A friend always says, "If you can read, you can cook," and I've certainly found that getting a grasp on the basic science behind any technique frees me from recipes and leaves me much more confident in the kitchen.  A brief tutorial on the most popular grape varieties and regions can do the same.  It's a lot easier for me to shop for a Cabernet if I know that I need something with backbone to stand up to a hearty meal than it is for me to look for OAKY! or RICH! or SEXY! wines.

I was lucky because years ago I stumbled into a fantastic series of wine classes at A Cook's Companion, hosted by Judy Rundel of Heights Chateau.  I learned A LOT.  I even helped lead a few classes, and while I still get overwhelmed with some wine lists (the one that come in hardback binders, usually), I know what I like and where to spot values and what varieties will bring which qualities.  I am not a wine savant.  I don't have a particularly sophisticated palate.  I drink bottles that cost $12 and under.  If I can learn about wine, anyone can.  And I certainly appreciate the effors of Josh Wesson (of Best Cellars) to demystify wine and make it more approachable, I'm not a fan of the method.  (Except: on JetBlue flights.  That is a brilliant example of synergy and booze!)

I looooooove that Best Cellars has so many affordable bottles of wine.  But the mass-marketing, cutesy style is not for me.  There are just so many great bottles under $15, with their own interesting stories, and I am reminded all over again how much I miss Smith & Vine, which managed to curate a fantastic selection of wines, offer dozens of Under $10 Bottles, staff their shop with friendly, knowledgable people, host fun and informative tastings, remember my preferences, avoid talking down to customers (another pet peeve in wine shops; don't assume that just because I am female and under 40 I don't know about wine) and provide overall fantastic service.  There is some good news, however: I visited Nancy's Wines for Food, on Columbus, last weekend, and I have high hopes that I may have found the next best thing.  There were wines under $12.  There was a casual but helpful staff that let me browse.  There were useful descriptions of wines.  Staff picks.  Easy-to-shop shelves.  A broad selection that didn't cross over to Overwhelming.  New and Old World wines with a pretty even representation.  I think I've found my neighborhood wine shop!

Smith's

I don't often spend my Monday nights out and about, but when picking a place to meet a friend last night, I figured a chilly Monday was the perfect opportunity to check out a relatively new, relatively hot restaurant without having to wait hours for a table.  Turns out, if the restaurant is new enough and hot enough, there will still be a 1.5 hour-plus wait on a Monday night.  Still, I was glad to have picked Smith's (the newest venture by Danny Abrams, of Red Cat, Mermaid Inn and Harrison), because it luckily has a clubby little bar in the back with a fun menu and a friendly bartender, and my friend and I managed to sample four or five dishes as well as a few glasses of wine, with absolutely no wait.

Smith's menu offers an exotic twist on greenmarket bistro fare: we had truffle deviled eggs, grilled tellagio and apple sandwiches, crispy brussel sprouts with almonds and an apple cake with ginger ice cream.  All of the dishes were almost dainty in presentation, but big on flavor, and the wines by the glass offered a generous selection with some options under $10/glass.  We each started with the sparkling Brut Rose di Rabosa, from the Veneto region of Italy, which was crisp and dry and acidic and delicious, especially with the cheese and apple dish.  My second glass was a lovely Zinfandel blend whose name escapes me but that I loved for being less jammy than a lot of Zinfandels I find on wine lists. 

The bar itself was a delight: it's dim and mirrored and there is velvet and a big Oriental rug and the entire vibe was very much goth-meets-club car.  The dining room is more understated but the bar felt like a secret compartment, hidden in the back of the restaurant, which made it all the more enjoyable.

I had neither the patience for the long wait nor the foresight to make a reservation, so I can't speak to the service or the full menu, but I can say that Smith's had a bewitching feel to it, and that I plan to return.  The location is somewhat surprising; it's on Macdougal, smack in the middle of NYU-land, amidst comedy clubs, coffee shops and bars, but Danny Abrams has created an elegant, stylish spot that is clearly attracting crowds.

Our bill, which included four drinks, three small plates (or was it four?  I feel like we tried something else that I'm forgetting...) and a dessert, came to $72 before tip.  Smith's ( 212-260-0100) is located at 79 Macdougal St., nr. Bleecker St. and accepts all major credit cards.

I am Officially Obsessed

...with Burrata cheese. On three consecutive Friday nights I've spent $8.99 at Citarella for a creamy Burrata. (Burrata, if you have not been lucky enough to encounter it, is a shell of fresh mozzarella filled with a mozzarella/cream fresh cheese center of gooey goodness.) I've spread it on bread, served it with sliced heirloom tomatoes, and most recently, replicated a favorite dish sampled in Boston last summer.

I whisked together about 1/4 cup olive oil, juice of one lemon, and about a teaspoon of honey and tossed lightly over baby arugula. Then I piled the arugula on plates, cut the burrata in half and put an oozing blob of cheese over the arugula, sprinkled with lemon zest and drizzled the tiniest bit of honey over the cheese. Heaven.

When I start eating burrata with a spoon, it's time to worry.

Noble Food & Wine

I wanted to love Noble Food & Wine but it was a case of the whole being less than the sum of its parts. We went on Saturday night, and I loved the decor, the sunken dining room with sleek wood paneling, loved the idea of reserve wines available by the glass but ultimately, I was underwhelmed.

The restaurant was strangely uncrowded for a Saturday night but even so, I was alarmed to see that there was (from what I could tell) one server attending to the entire room (which is small and beautiful, like sitting inside a jewelry box), and honestly, the pacing of the service was awkward: we ordered drinks by the glass but our first glasses of wine arrived well before our appetizers (I had ordered a sparkling wine from - no lie - New Mexico to pair with the tuna tartare appetizer but there was a long lag between receiving the drinks and the first course) and I was done with my entree before the pinot noir I had requested was brought to the table.

That said, the wine and food were all very good. The first wine I tried - the sparkling, from Gruet - was crisp and had pear and peach flavors, but not so much to overpower or clash with food. My first course was tangy and fresh: diced tuna and hamachi with grapefruit and watercress. Kevin started with a glass of oaky zinfandel and the crab cakes, which were thankfully not too bready (as a crab fanatic, too much filler is a cardinal crab cake sin in my mind). I had the lamb shank special which was served with exceptionally creamy polenta and sweet roasted tomatoes; Kevin had an excellent rib-eye steak with fingerlings and creamed spinach. The pinot noir (Roger, maybe? I can't recall the name but I think it was a Sonoma pinot) I ordered to have with my entree arrived too late to drink with the meal, but was delicious and chocolate-y.

Still, the overall experience didn't quite gel, and maybe it's a service issue more than anything else, but there was an...awkward vibe in the room. Also, and this might be nitpicking, but there was a large aromatic candle burning in the bar area, and while I couldn't smell it in the dining room (and it didn't smell BAD), I strongly dislike scented candles mixing with food; it's just too much. But, as I was waiting for my coat, I overheard the bartender waxing on about oyster varieties which gave me pause and might mean a return trip is warranted, even if just to sit at the bar and have some Blue Points. As long as that candle isn't burning.

Noble Food and Wine is located at 7 Spring Street and accepts all major credit cards. The menu is seasonal/new American, and the most noteworthy thing is their reserve list of wines by the glass (for instance: a glass of Silver Oak cabernet. For $55. A glass.)

Relocation

I am a Brooklyn loyalist but after a harried two weeks, I relocated to what initially felt like a brand new country: the Upper West Side. But along with having Central Park half a block from my door, I am discovering more than a few culinary treats in my new neighborhood. The Upper West Side has oft been maligned for its mediocre restaurants - at least, for quantity over quality - but there are several already on my list to try, including the recently-reviewed Dovetail on 77th. And, within just a few blocks of my apartment, I have Citarella (where I picked up a delicious burrata and heirloom tomatoes), Patsy's Pizza (where I ate my first night in the new digs), Jacques Torres (where I felt reminded, happily, of Brooklyn), Levain Bakery (where Sara swears I will find the best cookies in the city), Fairway (a madhouse, but one I keep going back to), City Grill (a comfy, favorite neighborhood bar and grill spot with a good burger and a bartender who knows his wines) and a branch of Le Pain Quotidien literally downstairs from my apartment. It was hard to leave all my favorite local Brooklyn shops and foodie haunts, but I'm starting to feel at home, here on my nice new block.

So share: what are the best spots on the Upper West Side? Good take-out options? Best brunch? Wine shop?

Chicken with Chanterelles and Roast Potatoes

Cold weather makes me want to cook with butter.

Even though I previously pooh-poohed the chicken cutlet, I found myself again facing a package of cutlets in my fridge.  I was also facing, however, a small bag of chanterelles that I had picked up the night before, completely on a (somewhat expensive) whim, so I busted out the butter and flour, and quartered some red potatoes for roasting, and threw together a delicious and buttery dinner.

I quartered the potatoes and tossed them with salt, pepper and olive oil, then set in a preheated oven (425 degrees) to roast for about 45 minutes.  While the potatoes cooked, I cut the chanterelles (I had about 2 small handfuls - I'm not sure how much it was in weight, but at 24.99/lb, I was stingy) lengthwise, and then seasoned my chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  I dredged the chicken LIGHTLY in flour, and then heated up some butter in a saute pan.  When the pan and butter were hot, I browned the chicken, about 5-6 minutes on either side.  When the chicken was done, I set aside on plates and deglazed the pan with about a cup of chicken stock.  I let the stock simmer and reduce by about half, then added about 3/4 cups Chardonnay, and let it reduce a little more.  I threw in the chanterelles and let the whole thing thicken just a bit - about 10 minutes start to finish on the sauce, I'd say.  I poured the mushrooms and sauce over the chicken, and served with roast potatoes and sauteed haricots vert (which I added because I felt guilty about so much BROWN food on my dinner plate). 

Yum.  I'm sure if you searched online you could find a proper recipe for a similar dish, but winging it is half the fun.  Eating things cooked in butter is the other half.

Broiled Chicken with Citrus & Fennel Salad

I think we can all agree that chicken cutlets are about the dullest food out there, but chicken cutlets were in my fridge and so chicken cutlets I attempted to enliven.  Hoping to drive away the frozen rain that's been falling all evening, I opted for the brightest, sunniest alternative I could  think of: this bright and crunchy fennel, radish and citrus salad heaped over marinated and broiled chicken cutlets.

The original Daniel Boulud recipe, which I found via Food & Wine, paired the salad with broiled red snapper and I very much would have preferred snapper for my dinner, but once I got home I knew there was no chance I'd be heading back out to the fish store.  So the cutlets had to do.  I marinated the chicken for about 40 minutes in a quick marinade I whisked together of olive oil (about 2 tablespoons), lemon juice (juice of one lemon), salt, pepper and a small bunch of chopped mint leaves.   (Note: chicken cutlets are thin and start turning into chicken ceviche when marinated in citrus for much more than 40 minutes.  Gross.)

While the chicken marinated, I made the salad, cursing briefly when I realized that I forgot to get a jalapeño at the grocery store.  I'm such a huge fan of all the flavors in this salad that I have no complaints - crunchy fennel and radish plus yummy grapefruit and naval orange segments are all enough to please me, in any form.  It certainly brightened the night a bit, even though part of me wished it was a giant bowl of rigatoni in meat sauce, or some other equally carb-heavy comfort food.

As for the chicken, it was...fine.  It was chicken.  The salad was delish and did its best to make chicken cutlets more exciting, but I would strongly encourage you to try this with the red snapper instead!

Broiled Chicken with Citrus and Fennel Salad
(adapted from Food & Wine, October 2006)

• 4 small radishes, thinly sliced
• 1/2 small fennel bulb—halved, cored and shaved paper-thin
• 1/2 small red or yellow bell pepper, finely diced
  
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced (I wish I had remembered this!!)
  
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon snipped chives
• 1 tablespoon finely shredded mint leaves
• 1 grapefruit
• 1 navel orange
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more  for brushing
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Four chicken cutlets, marinated for 30+ minutes in olive oil, lemon juice and mint

Preheat the broiler. In a large bowl, toss the radishes, fennel, bell pepper, jalapeño, cilantro, chives and mint. Using a sharp knife, peel the grapefruit and orange, removing all of the bitter white pith. Working over the bowl, cut between the membranes and release the sections into the bowl. Squeeze the membranes over the bowl. Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the lemon juice to the bowl and season the salad with salt and pepper.

Set the chicken on a baking sheet. Broil 6 inches from the heat for 4 minutes on each side. Using a spatula, transfer to plates. Top with the salad and serve.

 

 

Momofuku Ssam Bar

Two words I never thought I'd see on a menu: ham cream.  But we'll get to that later...

Every year when the New York Magazine "Where to Eat" issue hits newsstands, I get a rush of food-frenzy anxiety, suddenly desperate to visit all the hot spots, all the best new restaurants, all the hardest-to-get tables.  Of course, since every other New Yorker is like-minded, there are no available tables at any of those New! Hot! Spots!  Which is when I become thankful for the more democratic (albeit frustrating) no-reservations policy at certain restaurants which allow anyone with the patience and/or free time to dine in their midst.

(photo courtesy of NY Magazine)

My friend Rebecca and I decided to try for an early Saturday night dinner at either Momofuku Noodle or Momofuku Ssam Bar, in the East Village, pending the wait at David Chang's two restaurants.    We arrived at Momofuku Ssam (our first choice, as the menu seems more geared towards dinner than the noodle bar) around 7:30 and were immediately seated at the cramped but sleek bar, right in front of the kitchen window (a spot I always like).   And, as crowded as the bar space is, I appreciated being in close proximity to other diners because I was curious about many of the dishes and liked being able to scan around and even ask our neighbors for ordering tips.  (They might not have liked that as much.)

My first tip: get the pork buns.  I love pork buns in almost all of their manifestations, because it's hard to go wrong with dough and pork, but the pillow-y dough and pork belly were delicious.  My second tip: as enticing as all the pork dishes are, don't overlook the raw bar.  We split an order of scallops that were described by our waiter as 'sexy', and while that may be pure up-selling hooey, the scallops were pretty sexy: thinly sliced and served with pickled cherries and tart watercress.  We also had an order of fried brussel sprouts that come crispy and spicy, courtesy of chili, mint and fish sauce.  I didn't try any of the larger pork dishes (and was especially interested in the clay pot dish) but enjoyed the hangar steak ssam - Bibb lettuce do-it-yourself wraps with marinated beef, kimchi and ginger scallion. 

I had two glasses of rose Cava which went especially well with the scallops and the pork, but on my next visit to Momofuku would like to sample some of the sakes.  And, on my next visit - if I can round up a group to go along with me - I'd like to try the Bo Ssam: the whole Berkshire pork butt, slow roasted in sugar, soy sauce and wine. 

But now for the aforementioned Ham Cream: Rebecca and I looked over the brief dessert menu and were immediately struck by the Amish cheddar shortcake with apples and ham cream.  What's ham cream? we asked our waiter.  Well, he said, it's whipped cream with some ham flavor in it.  Or, so it's exactly what it sounds like, we said.  Yep, he told us.  But he recommended the dessert, telling us how the savory cream and the caramelized apples played off one another.  We took his recommendation, and we were very, very glad to have done so.  The shortbread was actually more of a biscuit - softer than I think of shortbread being - and had just the right amount of sharp cheddar bite to it, the apples were diced and sauteed, and the ham cream was light and rich with a slight savory flavor to it, more smoky tham ham-y, and altogether, it was delicious.

Our total bill, which included 4 drinks, 4 dishes and 2 desserts, came to $112 before tip.  Momofuku Ssam Bar (212 254 3500)is located on the corner of 2nd Avenue and 13th Street, and accepts all major credit cards.  Reservations are not accepted (unless you are ordering the Bo Ssam, which must be pre-ordered).  They are open for both lunch and dinner, and serve until 2am.