Foray into Brooklyn: Vinegar Hill House

Clam Pie, bacon, potato, parsley salad

As storied as the Brooklyn dining scene is, I rarely make it out of Manhattan for food. Being as far uptown as I am, the only place I've been to outside of the island regularly is M Wells. In fact, I think I've been to M Wells more times than any other restaurant in New York.

However, now that I have a reason to head out to the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn on a regular basis, I figured I ought to find some local eats. My first attempt was reBar, which would make a great place to get a drink, but wasn't so great for dinner. On the second attempt, I did find a delicious little place in Vinegar Hill House.

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I walked past this place easily before realizing I missed it. It blends into the row of doors in this mostly residential street. The entire decor of the restaurant was rustic home. A small, open kitchen and a scattering of tables were surrounded by kitschy decorations you'd find at your grandmother's house.

I've heard the place can get packed (they don't take small reservations), but even by 7 on a Friday night there were still open tables. I'm guessing the neighbors are the type who roll in late, as do all New Yorkers for dinner seatings.

The menu is divided into small plates ($9-12), entrees ($17-25), with pastas ($15-17) and sides ($8) rounding out the options. They also have daily specials, including the sweetbread cannelloni pictured above. Both the cannelloni and the clam pie were great sizes for a single person. The pie was smaller than I imagined it would be, but rich enough that any more would be decadent. The clams gave it a fun texture to the quiche-like background, while the bacon carried the heavy flavor notes. I'm not usually a fan of parsley, but when dressed right, in what I assumed to be a buttermilk dressing, it properly cut into the pie's richness.


Sweetbread cannelloni, morels, blueberries

I'm always delighted to see sweetbreads outside the typical sauteed presentation. This is the first time I've seen them rolled into a cannelloni, something like an Italian pasta crepe. It's hard to go wrong with slow-cooked morels, and blueberries gave a hint of sweet and sour.


Red Wattle Country Chop, cheddar grits

While the appetizers were smaller than expected, the pork chop was much larger than I expected. Wholesome and simple in appearance, complex and satisfying in flavor. I loved the lightly charred exterior and light pink interior. By the way, USDA says pink pork (>145 degrees) is now okay! Of course every restaurant already knew that, and if you still have an aversion to pink pork, you're missing out.


Guinness chocolate cake, cream cheese frosting

The chocolate cake is the perfect way to round out the meal. The cake itself, as dense as it was, was hardly sweet at all. Instead, the Guinness gave it flavor complexities reminiscent of root beer or sarsaparilla. A healthy (in quantity, maybe not in nutrition) dollop of the frosting gave each bite the sweetness you expect in dessert. I love cream cheese frosting. If you're ever on the Upper East Side, check out Two Little Red Hens' red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.

Vinegar Hill House is New York affordable, which puts it in the upper scale for almost everywhere else. It's a casual spot, but shouldn't be dismissed for its ambiance. Every dish was a hit and I'll gladly go back.

Vinegar Hill House
vinegarhillhouse.com
72 Hudson Avenue,
Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn 11201
(718)522-1018


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La Maison du Chocolat's Summer 2011 Collection

Summers in New York are unbearably hot and humid. It's tough without air conditioning, and much too warm for serving temperature of chocolate. Luckily, La Maison du Chocolat stores are kept at steady, optimal environments for chocolate. This summer, they're rolling out a few unique and limited items, while bringing back a few big hits.


My favorite item for the summer collection is the Chiberta set of five French Basque bonbons. I didn't know Baque country had chocolate, but apparently it's the historical origin for French chocolate. The Txokolate Iluna or "Solemn Ganache" is pure dark chocolate. For a change in texture, the Praline Macaron has pieces of crushed macaron shell within the ganache for a crunchy filling. The Etzia is a milk chocolate ganache with wildflower and chesnut honey highlights. This was my favorite of the five. For the more exotic, Almond Paste with Patxaran has an anise liqueur enhanced almond paste center. The Espeletako Piperra has a spicy pepper kick. These are available for a limited time, and while expensive, they are certainly unique ($24 for 10 pieces, $60 for 30).
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The Salvadore Raspberry Mousse Cake makes its return. The cake was introduced a few months ago at La Nuit du Gateau, or the Night of Cake. Semi-sweet chocolate with raspberry highlights, this cake is available from one to twelve servings ($8-110).


During the summer, the stores serve chocolate, pistachio and caramel ice cream. They also have strawberry and raspberry sorbets ($4.50/scoop). The wild strawberry sorbet I had was fruity and natural. No artificial strawberry flavors.

For a limited time in the summer, the stores will have a Macaron Sylvia ($2.75 ea), milk chocolate ganache with notes of biscuits and honey. They usually sell two types of dark chocolate macarons, but I especially enjoyed this lighter one.

La Maison du Chocolat
lamaisonduchocolate.com
You can purchase online or at any other of these four boutiques:

1018 Madison Ave
Manhattan, NY 10075
(212) 744-7117

30 Rockefeller Center,
Manhattan, NY 10020
(212) 265-9404

63 Wall St
Manhattan, NY 10005
(212) 952-1123

Short Hills Mall
New Jersey, 07078
(973) 379-5043

Photos courtesy of La Maison du Chocolat.

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Unique Flavors at La Maison du Macaron

I have a soft spot for macarons. Ever since I first discovered these delicious morsels at Paulette's (now just 'lette Macarons) in Beverly Hills, I'll always buy a box whenever I see them. In a random stroll past the Flatiron Building, I wandered into La Maison du Macaron.

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Nowadays, most any respectable French pastry shop will have macarons, typically in common flavors like raspberry, chocolate and pistachio. La Maison du Macaron had the most unique flavors I've ever seen; I was delighted and conflicted to narrow down my choices to nine from a selection of a few dozen.

Since their flavors change daily, they don't have any type of menu. If you order online, you will have to trust in their selection. I chose the following, from left to right in the picture above: orange blossom, Tahitian vanilla, caramel fleur de sel, kir royale, blackberry bergamot, apricot champagne, rose, strawberry violet, and passion fruit.


Caramel, kir royale, Tahitian vanilla, and rose

The pastry chef knows what he's doing. It seems that La Maison du Macaron used to be called Madeleine Patisserie. I suppose their madeleines are good too, but the shift to macarons was smart, as that market is blowing up. Each flavor was intense and unique. I picked ones that were unusual, but I bet the classic standbys would be just as satisfying.

The biggest issue with macarons are its cost. I understand they are very difficult to make, delicate enough to require hand-crafting. As of now, they are still somewhat of a novelty item, cost prohibitive for regular consumption. Until people stop confusing macarons with macaroons, the price will still stay pretty hefty. For clarification, a macaroon is a meringue cookie, usually coconut flavored in the U.S. A macaron is essentially an almond powder sandwich cookie with a filling of usually buttercream. The box of nine I got was $25 (though you save $3 getting the clear box instead of a fancy gift box).

La Maison du Macaron
132 W 23rd St
(between Avenue Of The Americas & 7th Ave)
Chelsea, Manhattan
212) 243-2757
nymacaron.com


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Movie Review: A Matter of Taste

What Eric Ripert says about Paul Liebrandt's food, I apply to A Matter of Taste--"Yeah it is good. I would recommend."

Accumulating over 200 hours of footage and shooting for over nine years, Director Sally Rowe captures the Liebrandt's fall from grace and subsequent revival in the New York dining scene. I am not sure what movie she set out originally to make, but the fickle restaurant business created just the right kind of compelling story set in 68 minutes.

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In many ways, A Matter of Taste is similar to Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the other Tribeca Film Festival movie I saw last week. Both are about the key central figure, a man with uncompromising talent and drive. Yet in Jiro's case, the story was nearing its end. The adversity in his establishment at the top had long passed. For Liebrandt on the other hand, the nadir of his career is thrown on the screen. In fact, I could imagine the documentary Liebrandt Dreams of Cooking in fifty years being very similar to Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

Yet the comparisons with Jiro soon fall apart. This isn't a food porn movie. In that sense, as a human story, it has a broader appeal than to just foodies. While Liebrandt's dishes are visually appealing, the real work on display is Director Rowe's story telling. She wonderfully portrays Liebrandt as struggling against the tide, going from gastronomic masterpieces to grilling up burgers and fries. His struggle with the elusive New York Times reviewer Frank Bruni creates suspense. The audience follows along with Liebrandt's roller coaster life, all the while crossing its fingers and hoping for success.

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Movie Review: Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Jiro Dreams of Sushi - Teaser from David Gelb on Vimeo.

Persistence, determination, perfection, pressure. All those aspects came across in this documentary recently screened at the Tribeca Film Festival. While I enjoyed the movie, it lacked any real conflict that could have made it more stimulating. For food porn enthusiasts, it's certainly 81 minutes of close-ups and slow-motion sushi plating.

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Coming from the perspective of someone who has enjoyed one of these types of lavish sushi dinners before (Urasawa), the film made me nostalgic for that experience once again. To me, it didn't seem outrageous to pay for a meal like this, but I can imagine that the audience may not come from the same view. In one scene, a wanderer enters the restaurant and is quickly rebuffed when told that the starting price is $300 per person. A few audience members gasped, although fewer than I would imagine at a regular screening considering this was a New York film festival. To me, I was doing a quick price comparison with my meal at Urasawa in my head. For reference, my dinner at the U started at $350 two years ago, but had twice as many courses. Sukiyabashi Jiro Honten only serves about 20 courses of sushi, while Urasawa also does a kaiseki portion.

Without that sticker shock value, I wonder if I may not be the target for this documentary. If this documentary was for those who dine extravagantly, then the food isn't anything they haven't seen before. If it was for the non-initiated, then it's much more ephemeral, or fantastical. In fact, with the multitude of slow motion shots, I feel like the the target audience was more of the latter than the former. "Look at how much care these people put into their food. Isn't it fascinating?" But for anyone who has been exposed to the laborious presentations of fine dining, this aspect is somewhat lost.

However, this movie isn't only about high-end sushi. The story is simple; as the title suggests, it is a movie about a man and his single ambition to make good sushi. It's a sweet story and the characters certainly are endearing. Centrally, it is a story about the old man behind the counter with much more vigor than his body can provide and the son, groomed for twenty years to take over but with more pressure than Prince Charles.

While documentaries are commonly criticized for artificially creating drama through staged events or creative editing, that is what makes many of them compelling. A documentary avoid its stigma as a snoozefest when you see conflict. In this aspects, Jiro Dreams of Sushi is lacking. I can see the conflict brewing on the horizon--the inevitable day when the son must take over the restaurant, but there is not much in the film that needs to be overcome.

As a movie about a passionate octogenarian and the son in his footsteps, it is touching. If you want to watch the film just to see shots of fancy sushi, you'll be pretty satisfied as well.


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Destination Bahamas for Conch

Before my cruise down to the Bahamas, I did some cursory research on Chowhound for must-eat places in Nassau. I assumed Bahamian cuisine would be similar to Caribbean cuisine in general. But I did find that Nassau was famous for one thing--conch.

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Photo credit: cheesy42 on Flickr

I had always known conch in its shell form. For a long time, it didn't even occur to me that a sea creature lived in the shell or had to form it somehow. I did find this video on how to shell and clean a conch online. It also taught me that konk is the proper pronunciation.



According to Chowhound posters, the Arawak Cay Fish Fry is the place to go for local seafood. The town of Nassau is not huge, and the Fish Fry is within walking distance along the Northern beaches. I had a hard time figuring out what Fish Fry actually was, so I'm going to present it as clearly as I can here. The Fish Fry is a row of restaurants, all serving basically the same foods, emphasizing the conch and other local critters. The particular restaurant I went to was Twin Brothers. Complicating it even more, there are two Twin Brothers restaurants.



Conch fritters are the most popular form of conch dishes. Think Japanese takoyaki, but with firmer pieces of conch meat replacing the chewier squid. The fritters were cheap, about $2.50 for six pieces. Bahamian dollar is pegged at one-to-one with USD and most places take USD. Two Brothers fries a great fritter, fluffy without being dense, and has the most kick-ass spicy remoulade.



I also tried the conch salad. Think ceviche. Very simple and clean. Just conch, tomatoes, onions, jalepeños and lime. It allowed me to get a good idea of what conch tastes like at its most primal. A good conch can be sweet, not unlike abalone.

Additionally, I tried the cracked conch. It was large pieces of deep fried and battered conch somewhat akin to fried fish in a fish and chips platter. While the waitress told me beforehand that the cracked conch was significantly different from the fritters, one dish of deep fried conch is more than enough. Twin Brothers also had delicious frozen mango daquiries.

So now you know, when going to the Bahamas, eat the conch, take the shell as a souvenir.

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Homemade Beef Noodle Soup 牛肉麵 Recipe

Being Taiwanese-American, I am ashamed of not knowing much about Taiwanese cooking. Sure, I can enjoy a night on the town eating through a Taiwanese night market, but I don't know how to prepare much of what I see. Food, je t'aime did a great write-up and photo entry on Taipei's Shilin Night Market (士林夜市). So when my friend Stephen offered to make me some of his famous beef noodle soup, I jumped at the chance and asked if I could watch him prepare it too.

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Since there are so many variations on beef noodle soup, no recipe can be definitive. Stephen told me his family recipe was no secret. In fact, I called my mom and she told me she had her own recipe as well but never taught me. You may notice that this recipe does not have any units of measurement. If you're making beef noodle soup, it's likely that you'll have had it before and can determine your own proportions of ingredients by taste. If you haven't tried it before, does it really matter how accurate the taste is? Just adjust to your preferences.

This recipe is best made a big potful at a time. Good for several servings and several days. It may even freeze well.

Ingredients

Two Onions (we used red, but I don't think it matters)
Tomato
Garlic
Napa Cabbage
Green Onions
Beef Shortrib (although most beef noodle soup involves beef shanks, Stephen insisted that the better cut of meat made a better soup. Also, the long cooking time probably compensated for lack of bone for a proper stock.)
Flour Noodles (we used a Korean brand, but you can substitute however you wish)
Imperial Spice Packet 滷味香 (this is where most non-Chinese cooks may run into a snag. Stephen got his from Taiwan, but I've seen equivalent packets in Chinatown. It's a combination of spices, most importantly star anise, cloves, cinnamon used for braises.)
Soy Sauce
Rice Wine
Brown Sugar


Imperial Spice and Noodles

Stephen's simple recipe involves the use of every dorm-bound, college student's best friend, a slow cooker.

1. Chop the onions and slice the beef into large cubes.



2. Brown the beef with the onions and some garlic.



3. Quarter the tomato. Combine the beef, onions, garlic, tomato in the slow cooker. Cover with a combination of soy sauce, rice wine, water and a dash of oil. Pop in two or three spice packets.



4. Put the slow cooker on low and leave it overnight. Your kitchen will smell delicious.

5. For lunch the next day, fry the napa cabbage or any type of hearty, leafy green. Strain out the onions and garlic from the broth. They were there just for flavor. Cook the noodles separately in clear water. If you cook the noodles in the broth, the starch will thicken the soup and you'll have a hard time making multiple batches.

6. When the noodles are al dente, strain, place in bowl. Add the broth and cabbage. Garnish with green onion.




Food, je'taime also coincidentally wrote up her own family recipe here. That should give you an idea of the variation on this common, but popular dish. I don't write recipes too often, but check out my Sticky Rice Recipe too.
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