08/25/08

High/Low: What Happens When High-End Chefs Go Low Budget

Oh, it’s been happening for awhile. In order to fully capitalize on their carefully-built brands, prominent restaurants have been sheering off lower-priced baby restaurants, the kind of places where you can dress more casually, spend less money, and escape within an hour of no-fuss time. High/low restaurant duos have become an international phenomenon, with Tom Colicchio running both Craft and Craftbar, Danny Meyer overseeing both Tabla and Tabla Bread Bar, and even Thomas Keller operating both Per Se and Bouchon Bakery. In London, guts and glory Chef Fergus Henderson fronts St. John and less expensive St John Breadbar, and we even caught those oh so haut French at it. Esteemed Michel Guérard gave the pricy restaurant at Eugenie les Bains his name, but also runs the much...

Posted at 05:01 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1

08/22/08

Olympic Eats: Finding Flavors Truly Made in China

Jennifer 8. Lee, Chinese-American city correspondent for the NY Times, recently published The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food—a great piece of culinary anthropology that researches the diaspora of Chinese food across the world. In the book, the numerically-named Lee samples all the oddball iterations of Chinese food (Africa, Europe—she even goes to the Mid-West), and she unearths evidence proving that much of what we know in the US as Chinese food isn’t really Chinese at all (what a shocker). General Tso’s Chicken? Nope. Beef with Broccoli? Nope. Sesame chicken, roast...

Posted at 07:59 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

08/18/08

Locavorian Treasure Hunt

In case you don’t know it, August is Eat Local Month, and the boomiest of boom times to enjoy the bounty of our local farms.

Why—you may ask yourself—should I bother eating locally raised food, when the corner Stop and Shop is open 24/7, and offers cheap, plum-sized strawberries all year round? Because locally raised food tastes better, is better for you, and – because local food requires less transportation—uses less fossil fuel and creates less pollution. Plus, nobility aside, as Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and this very effective Posted at 06:42 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

08/14/08

Sunset Grille Does a Runner, to Re-Open Soon

Well, we were surprised to hear from Scott Faupel, owner of White Plains Sunset Grille, that his Gedney Way restaurant shut its doors on Sunday August 3. According to Scott, “Sunset Grille will be moving to a new location in the area. I can't disclose the location at the moment, as I have not finalized the contracts yet, but I will let you know where it is – it’ll be a bigger space with a patio.”

 You had us at margaritas and masa on the patio, Scott.

Posted at 04:50 AM | Permalink | Comments: 2

08/11/08

Health Code Tertius: A Cook’s Point of View

Here’s our own polemic on the health code violations that we see all the time, and don’t really mind. In fact, these are violations that we ourselves have committed—willingly, and in full knowledge of the law. In the eyes of the lawmen (i.e., those beady-eyed, clipboard-wielding sanitarians), these are heinous acts, but ones that, when I see others committing them, I understand and eat the food anyway -- if only in solidarity with cooks.

 We suspect that the statue of limitations has expired on our crimes, so, basically—tough darts if you don’t like what we’re about to say. Bring it. Here goes:

 ■ Drinking at work stations

One thing civilians can’t believe when they enter an...

Posted at 01:24 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1

08/05/08

For the Germ-o-Phobes: Some Dirt on that “Home Made” Mozzerella in the Water Tub on the Counter

First of all, they’re not actually making cheese. According to Jonathan White, cheese maker and owner of Bobolink Dairy (whose aged, raw milk cheeses you’ll find at the Pleasantville farmer’s market and www.cowsoutside.com), local gourmet stores and delis are getting a big hand up with industrial mozzarella curds from large companies—primarily Polly-o. Cheesemakers who work with live cultures must hold government-issued licenses before they can legally sell their goods, whereas any professional kitchen can process manufactured curds.

Fresh mozzarella is made with the pasta filata process, where curds are dropped into hot water and then stretched and kneaded to reach the desired...

Posted at 09:11 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

08/04/08

Health Code Violation Redux: When the Law Goes Too Far

Well—in taking a look at some of the responses to our post about frequent Health Code violations, we’re worried that we might have encouraged food phobia. This, as enthusiastic eaters of nearly anything, was never our intention. Look, folks—we love raw oysters; raw beef; unpasteurized cheese; slightly warm, gooey egg yolks; barely stable, room temperature butter and pink pork. Some of our favorite meals have never seen refrigeration, and we even love those slightly spooky, leaf-wrapped dumplings at Kam Sen. In the face of our numerous (and, sadly, multiplying) food phobic friends, we’ve always maintained that while there are some overhyped risks to dining out, you’re much more likely to be killed by driving your car than by eating an oyster. We feel...

Posted at 06:59 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1