New York on 20,000 calories a day:
Sunday: We were close enough to walk up to David Chang’s empire. Like Tom, Chang’s joints are clustered close together- in Chang’s case, 4 restaurants in 4-block radius in the East Village.
Fortunately, there was room at the counter at Momofuku Ssam Bar, the shrine to pork (photo right). I had the best fried brussels sprouts of my life- greasy and finished with mint. Spicy rice cakes with sausage came next, and of course those killer pinch buns with pork belly. So delicious when washed down with a glass of rosé. We were glad to see a chilled red wine section on the menu- some reds do taste even better that way. Connected at the back is the Momofuku Milk Bar, which has wild sweet treats like the compost cookie and crack pie.
Good thing we had to walk back to the Bowery for dinner with friends at Daniel Boulud’s new sausage joint, DBGB. Looks like he spent a lot of money on the fine cabinetry stuffed with copper pots. The cool thing is that the cabinets all open up to see through to the kitchen (photo left). We had great apps, truly wonderful sausages that came with inventive sides, and finished up with tuna crudo, mussels, and a great cauliflower-broccoli steam.
To walk off dinner, we headed down to see a classic bakery on the lower East Side- Kossar’s Bialys. What a classic joint! All flour dust and crochety characters. I bought a doughy onion disk that was chewy and crusty, just right. On the journey our friends showed us a dive bar we want to try next time- Sammy’s Roumanian Steak House. In the basement, very messy and chaotic with karaoke- every table set up with an icy block holding a bottle of vodka. Big piles of Alka Seltzer to grab on your way out.
December 17th, 2009 | No Comments »
New York on 20,000 calories a day:
Saturday night’s dinner reservations were at Commerce, a tastefully restored Greenwich Village hot spot, but there was sheer chaos and no chance of being seated anywhere close to our reservation time. So we googled our way to nearby Blue Hill where Barack took Michelle on their romantic date away from the White House. We got a bit lost, but they graciously kept the kitchen open for us. Calm and elegant space and superior, gracious, but friendly service. Beet sliders as amuse, butternut squash soup and mackerel with a sprightly green dressing followed by bass and veal dishes. A deconstructed quince sponge cake stole the show, along with our server. You probably know Dan Barber for his great food writing, but he is also a passionate farm to table guy who is also involved in a great property upstate.
Sunday- We would have gone to some steamy jazz club Saturday night, but we had to meet Marjorie Fuller from Spring Hill for brunch Sunday morning. She suggested Robert DeNiro’s new joint in Tribeca, Locanda Verde, inside the Greenwich Hotel. I am going to save up to stay there next time! A beautiful interior courtyard and sumptuous swimming pool. Everything the four of us ate was yummy, and the Illy coffee was strong- which was a great relief. The coffee scene in Manhattan is pretty dismal. One insider said it is because roasting is not permitted in Manhattan, and the coffee shop culture is not as rich as it is here in Seattle, but Stumptown is starting to make some inroads in distribution.
We were in town on a mission to understand the allure of smoked fish, so we trundled over to the mecca, Russ and Daughters. What a glorious scene, cases filled with volumes of salmon, white fish, herring, chopped liver, and hundreds of pickled delights. I was hankering for their homemade potato latkes with creme fraiche and homemade applesauce or the Swedish style beet, herring and apple salad, but could not push my way through the experienced shoppers. The mob scene prevented us from being able to chat with anyone, but to get a feel for the place, read an article in a great new book Tom lent me, Gastropolis. The article is by one of the grandsons of the founder of Russ and Daughters, and the title is “The Soul of a Store.” It is a great tale of legacy and customer appreciation.
December 16th, 2009 | No Comments »
Spending your Saturday doing last minute Christmas shopping?? If so, tune your dial to 97.3 KIRO to listen to Tom and Thierry discussing the merriment of the holidays!
Our lovely Ms. Amy Pennington of GoGoGreenGarden will call in to talk with the guys about persimmons. Specifically they’ll touch base on the classic dish of persimmon pudding, traditional during the holidays.
T&T will then discuss the all important, paring knife during their Amazon Tool Technique segment!
Mike Teer from Pike and Western Wine Shop celebrates this magical time of year with Champagne! What is he bringing to the table? Larmandier Bernier!
And after a little trivia of guessing “What is Tom Making?”, we’ll check in with producer Katie O as she reports from the backstage of the Paramount Theater at the Rockettes’ Radio City Christmas Spectacular. She’ll be sneaking around to spy on what the girls eat to keep those gams in tip top form!
Listen to the show here!:
First hour
Second hour
Third hour
December 16th, 2009 | No Comments »
Take a look at this stunning Dahlia Lounge and Dahlia Bakery Gingerbread House!! For now, the gingerbread house is living in the back of the pastry bakery while the final touches are installed (which is why you can see the “do not touch please” sign in the top photo) but it will soon be on display in the Dahlia Lounge restaurant. The details are amazing! You can see little croissants on the Dahlia Bakery pastry shelves and fig bars are being rolled out in the pastry bakery. Inside the Dahlia Lounge, gummy fish on toothpicks stand in for Dahlia’s fish lamps. There’s a Real Change guy at the Dahlia entrance, hawking his wares, and a Metro bus puttering up the street. Pastry Chef Garrett’s Mini-Cooper is parked right in front of the Dahlia Bakery entrance. To keep things realistic, there’s a parking ticket on the windshield. This masterpiece is a real labor of love and it was labored on by the whole Dahlia Pastry team, but especially by Pastry-Artiste-Extraordinaire, Stacy Fortner!
December 16th, 2009 | No Comments »
…of WINE!
Tom, Thierry and Mike each picked one of their favorite wines to create a gift case for under $120! It’s great as a gift for someone during this holiday season (or a great gift to give yourself). The case includes:
2008 Quattro Mani Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (Tom’s pick- a red wine from Italy, that’s zesty just like him)
2007 Domaine de la Guicharde Cotes du Rhone (Thierry’s pick- a red from the Rhone Valley. French, warm and well balanced, just like our sweet Rautureau)
2008 Simoneau Sauvignon Touraine (Mike’s pick- a white wine that’s sophisticated just like him)
If you’re interested in getting one of these cases, contact Pike and Western Wine Shop.
**you’ll also receive a “In the Kitchen with Tom and Thierry” one of a kind apron with your purchase!
Happy Holidays
December 16th, 2009 | No Comments »
New York on 20,000 calories a day:
December is a thrilling time to visit New York- crisp air, beautiful decorations, gorgeous families bundled up in scarves and mittens, and the sound of many languages. Air Italia must be running a super deal because there was so much Italian being spoken, we thought we had landed in Milan.
Friday night: our pilgrimage to a Danny Meyer joint, the Bar at the Modern at MOMA. Swanky interior, signature gorgeous flower arrangements. The food: an upside down tuna tartare with a sweet crisp matched perfectly with a delicate Alsatian Chasselas; ribbons of pumpkin on goat cheese and greens; saffron tagliatelle with red micro salad sprouts; creamy eggs and lobster in a canning jar. We finished with simple lamb and squab accompanied by an earthy southern Italian red, Terre Nere Etna Rosso, of the grape variety Nerello Mascalese.
Saturday- the local F train to Brooklyn to find all the cool things ET raves about. Started at the Ham Bar (see photo) at Stinky Bkln where all these beautifully displayed ham varieties are hand chipped. But it’s really the cheese that occupies center stage. We ordered a barley fed Midwestern cut that had beautiful deep color, perfect fat ration, and mild saltiness: $80 per pound, thank goodness we didn’t need a full pound! I was glad to find a chocolate bar from Mast Brothers, a neighborhood artisan roaster I had been reading about, and chose their 74% Madagascar with sea salt. Grainy, but intriguing. We asked where to get good coffee, and they sent us to D’Amico’s. It looked like a place out of a Seinfeld episode, but the coffee was not so hot. Stopped by a new wine shop and asked if there were any food spots in the hood we shouldn’t miss. They sent us to Sahadi’s, and it was so cool. Very old school- packed to the rafters with inventory and very busy. Nothing groovy in the modern sense, but really cool in the sense that they weren’t even trying to be cool.
Worked out way to hipster haven, General Green for brunch. Mike ordered a yummy skillet egg concoction that came with a perfect biscuit, and I enjoyed a chorizo scramble with tons of scallions. The beautiful people were there, cool music. The highlight was our next stop in Williamsburg, Marlow & Sons. This kooky little bodega is a bit disorienting when you walk in, but make your way to the back for oysters and a quirky small menu. We had swordfish salad and ravioli with a charming southern French gamay. The room was super cool as only an old space can be, and felt like a favorite old sweater. We easily could have stayed, but grabbed a car service back to Midtown so we could freshen up for dinner.
December 14th, 2009 | No Comments »
I had a marvelous meal a short time ago at Delfina on a solo trip to one of my favorite cities, San Francisco. It is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. Some of the things that I most love about it: the kind, relaxed, efficent service, and also the great, fresh, local ingredients.
I had the grilled fresh calamari with warm white bean salad (photo right). The beans were beautiful and small, the squid had a great char to them, and the arugula salad was quickly sauteed with lots of olive oil and lemon zest. The Delfina Black Cherry Bellini came from heaven. So marvelous!
Next was the Louisiana dayboat shrimp in porchetta. It came on a warm skillet and the beautiful jumbo shrimp still had their heads on, topped with a translucent slice of pork lardo, with the sauce poured on top. Tons of seafood flavor from the great sauce made from the body and shell! The grilled lemon had a fabulous, concentrated flavor. Just when I thought life couldn’t get any better– it did- due to the wine pairing! I paired the seafood with a Spencer Roloson 2005 Napa Valley Viognier which was medium bodied, light acid, with warm fruit.
I finished with pappardelle and Liberty duck sugo (photo left): fabulous silky wide pasta with a rich sauce and some red pepper flakes, topped with freshly grated parmesan. I had to pair it with a Barbera d’Alba “Serra di Gatti” from Piemonte which was medium bodied with dense tannins, dense red cherry fruit, and bright acid to cut through the fatty richness. Now I am in heaven!!!
December 12th, 2009 | No Comments »
‘Tis the season for dining at the Dahlia Lounge!! Dahlia always looks her best in December. This afternoon Robyn and I walked over for lunch. The room, with glowing red walls and our new cream and burgundy striped hanging lanterns which cast just the right amount of light, was handsomely decked out with Christmas decorations and buzzing with diners!
Doesn’t the winter white salad (photo right: this is just a half salad, since Robyn and I split one) look like it’s been caught in a snow drift? All that yummy grated parmesan on olive oil and lemon dressed fennel, cuke, and frisee. Who wouldn’t want this grilled cheese sandwich for lunch (photo left)? Dahlia lounge potato bread, Beecher’s Flagship cheddar- creamy, melty, toasty, deliciousness. For a change of pace, we subbed the soup of the day- a yummy and healthy-tasting carrot ginger- for the usual tasty tomato.
You owe it to yourself to have at least one meal at the Dahlia in December!
December 10th, 2009 | No Comments »
Where’s Thierry going to be?? Not at the radio studio! He’s away this weekend catering to over 300 people leaving Tom all by his lonesome to man the radio waves… But no frets dear listeners, because we have some on air friends to keep him company!
After Tom settles into his seat Amy Pennington of GoGoGreenGarden is going to come into the studio and cause some trouble (no doubt). She’ll be discussing the wonderful world of beans! beans! beans! Specifically Amy is talking about the heirloom variety, Jacob’s Cattle Bean. She’ll stick around a little longer after so that she and Tom can deem various store bought chicken stocks as “Delicious” or “Not Delicious”. What will their palates have to say about organic v. conventional? Box v. canned? Tune in to find out!
One of our favorite local celebrity chef’s, Ms. Kathy Casey, is going to call in at 5:00 from her food studio in Ballard where she’ll be doing her Holiday Open House. She’ll be giving the rundown on all the great things you can get at the party for you and yours during this holiday season. She’ll also be chit chatting to us about holiday entertaining and her new book “Sips and Apps”
Mike Teer of Pike and Western Wine Shop will be on air to discuss his wine pick of the week. Red? White? Sparkling? Boxed? Whatever the man recommends, we trust!
AND THEN… If all that wasn’t enough food fun, we have chocolate expert, Pamela Hinckley, on air to drop some chocolatey knowledge on all of you listeners!
Listen to the show here!:
First hour
Second hour
Third hour
December 10th, 2009 | No Comments »
With the dipping temperature and several days off at home, I found it necessary to make my favorite comfort food: roasted chicken & mashed potatoes. I have finally, after several years, practically perfected the elusive roasted chicken. Mine is a variation on Thomas Keller’s, whereas I pat the chicken dry and heavily coat it with kosher salt and fresh thyme, and shove several branches of leftover thyme in its cavity. The main key is to roast it at a high temperature with a dry environment to get a crispy, parchment-like skin which seals in the moisture. To finally master a fine roasted chicken has been the delight of my friends and Jeff!
I also made a homemade chicken gravy from the drippings and crunchies with a little canned chicken stock, flour and water, and pepper. It went marvelously with my creamy garlic and butter whipped yukon gold mashed potatoes! I know that Julia Child did not like her mashed potatoes with the skins on, but I think that yukon golds are the exception. And with 3/4 stick of butter, how can you go wrong?
One of my favorite fall/winter side dishes is my brussels sprouts! I crisp up thick cut smoked pepper bacon, saute shallots, throw in butter, Dijon and coarse ground mustard and then put in steamed brussels sprouts. I love to chop them up with a wooden spatula and toss it all together as a “hash.” With gravy all over everything and the smell of roasted chicken and thyme in the air- it is near heaven!!!
December 9th, 2009 | No Comments »
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