Me vs. The Menu

Quickly Checking In

I've been AWOL lately, for that I apologize.  Work is keeping me busy, but I've still managed to eat a thing or two while I've been away.  I'll check back in this weekend with more, but for now enjoy a nice little article on how to buy, use, and maintain your knives.  See you again soon.

Bruschetta Bonanza

Tonight we made a variety of bruschetta for dinner.  Toasted French bread, grilled eggplant, roma tomatoes, homegrown basil, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, diced kalamata olives, chopped garlic, fresh lemon juice - these were our ingredients and we mixed them all several ways.  On top we drizzled a balsamic reduction (bring balsamic vinegar, honey, and sugar to a boil; let cool).  FANTASTIC and super easy!

Finished results:

Belated Birthday

We went and saw Julie and Julia on Friday night after our dinner and coincidentally it was Julia Child's birthday on Saturday.  So, in celebration, here are some funny JC (not that "JC" - his birthday is in December) quotes:

1.  “I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate.” Unsourced.

2.  “Why languish as a giantess when it is so much fun to be a myth?” From Appetite for Life, a biography of Child.

3.  “If you’re afraid of butter, just use cream.” From one of her TV shows, relayed by one of its producers.

4.  “The best way to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the hell out of a chicken. Bon appétit.” Unsourced.

5.  “I am making no future plans.” From Appetite for Life.

6.  What would she have done if she hadn’t gone into cooking? “I would have married a Republican banker and become an alcoholic.” Told by Margrit Mondavi at Taste3 2006.

7.  “The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook.” From the memoir Backstage with Julia: My Years with Julia Child.

8.  When asked if she knew her cholesterol level, she said, “Medium.” Unsourced.

9.  “Being tall is an advantage, especially in business. People will always remember you. And if you’re in a crowd, you’ll always have some clean air to breathe.” From Appetite for Life.

10.  When a sommelier asked her to name her favorite wine, she replied, “Gin.” Told by a friend at a public memorial after her death.

 

Our Little Neighbor

(I've been taking these panoramics with my iPhone and using an
app called Autostitch to put them together.   I know, I'm a big goof.)

We've been walking by this little place near our little place in Astoria for nearly 18 months.  Every time we would pass by one of us would remark that we needed to stop in next time.  Well, next time came last Wednesday night, and then AGAIN Friday night.  I think we've found our newest favorite little hole in the wall.  It's called Xochi and a little Google work results in a loose translation of "beautiful flower" or something of the sort.  What I can tell you is that it's inexpensive - I don't say cheap because it's not at all cheap.  It's filling, and homemade, and made when you order, and real Mexican goodness, and real freakin good.  It will be more than a couple of days before we go back, but we will be going back.  Check out our dinner (me a combo and C had an enchiladas dinner) last time - $24 including tax and tip.

Whirlwind Weekend

Here's a quick summary of my weekend:

Friday Night - homemade mojitos with homegrown mint.  Out by 9:30 (it was a LONG week).

Saturday - rode my bike from Queens to Harlem to the Brooklyn Bridge and then back to Queens.  Before I left I had a filling breakfast of migas made with chives from the window garden.  The same chives made some GREAT cheese fries earlier in the week.

Saturday Night - enjoyed a great birthday party for a friend at Sea Thai in the Meatpacking District.  Followed up the great food at an even better price with a walk up and down the High Line.

Sunday - after enjoying migas leftovers, I went to play soccer for a couple of hours, came home for grocery shopping and decided to bake a cake.  In between baking and icing the cake, I cleared out the cupboards - spices only last so long you know.  Lunch was a insalata caprese with some more home grown goodness - basil.

Sunday Night - the wife had a great idea to make pork chops with new potatoes.  We could have used some of the rosemary we have growing on the fire escape, but instead we just bought some fresh stuff from the store.  Capped off the weekend with a slice of the cake made earlier. Finally, watched a movie.

That's about it...

Movie Review

Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't like to discuss a movie before everyone in the group has seen said movie.  I tend to be a bit extreme about this rule, generally stating that "I don't want to know anything until after I've seen it; not even the temperature of the theater."  Well, I think Bottle Shock is worthy of a little rule breaking and a lot of praise.  We were sitting around after a busy day (grocery shopping, cooking, pantry clean out - the usual Sunday stuff) when we decided to take a chance.  This movie was a pleasant surprise and well worth the 110 minutes you'll spend learning about the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting that brought prominence to California Wineries.  The two California wines that bested several French peers are still around and, in fact, are avaialble near me (and probably you too).  Here's more information on the two winning vineyards - Stag Leap and Chateau Montelena.  Oh, while I'm at here's a documentary with John Cleese we can talk about after we've all seen it.  You can even watch it on Hulu or Netflix.

FYI - Look Left

I thought about creating a blog about "places I want to eat" but instead I just created the two lists to the left.  For now the links in both RECENT VISITS and FUTURE VISITS lead to a webpage for each establishment.  One day, or as I go forward, I will link to my posts about the particular adventures in the RECENT VISITS.  Both columns are set to default to the 15 most recent entries.  If you have any suggestions of places to check out, please forward them along to the Me vs. the Menu review board or post them in the comments section for all.

That's it - tonight is a short entry, I'm tuckered.

Fa la la la la, la la la lafel!

One of the best things about moving to New York is the opportunity to try all types of food I've never had before, much less even heard of.  One of the things I had never experienced before moving was falafels.  Well, now I'm head over forks for them - between my many visits to Crisp, and my vegetarian experiment, I can't get enough of them.  I've even got a famous street vendor near my place in Queens ( King of Falafel ) and a co-worker highly recommends ( Mamoun's Falafel Restaurant ).

  

(tonight's dinner - falafels with feta cheese, pita, and store
bought tzatziki.  Don't fear the store bought stuff - saves
time and money.)

Here's an easy recipe:

Prep Time: 10 minutes  Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
·  one 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained
·  one medium onion, finely chopped
·  one tablespoon minced garlic
·  two tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
·  one teaspoon coriander
·  three-quarters teaspoon cumin
·  one-half teaspoon salt
·  two tablespoons flour
·  oil for frying (canola or vegetable)

Preparation:  Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper (to taste) in medium bowl.  Add flour and combine well.  Mash chickpeas, ensuring to mix ingredients together.  You can also combine ingredients in a food processor. You want the result to be a thick paste.   Form the mixture into small balls, about the size of a ping pong ball.  Fry in 2 inches of oil at 350 degrees until golden brown (2-5 minutes).

A Great End

Summer Restaurant Week wrapped up last Friday so we had one more chance to visit one more place and are we ever glad we did -

 

My wife found Kittichai on the list when it first came out and as we were sitting up each of our reservations we decided to save this modern Thai restaurant for last.  The ambiance of this Soho establishment in the 60 Thompson Hotel is slick and modern with a darker shade of cool.  Did I just write that?  Yeap, but still.  The food was wonderful and the service exceptional.  We'll defineately be going back, if for no other reason than to expeience Thai brunch...hmmmmmmm.  Here's what we had -

appetizers:
    Salmon tartare with limestone tartlets, peanuts,
            ginger and lime zest
    Bangkok style pork "tonnato" with grapes and
            chili-truffle aioli
main course:
    Pineapple braised short ribs in green curry, thai
            eggplant, and sweet basil
    Lemongrass chicken breast, wild mushrooms,
            chili jam
desert:
    Flourless valrhona chocolate cake with
            fresh cream
    Jasmine flan on a sweet and sour fruit salad
            with jasmine rice ice cream

(pictures of all on Flickr)

Kittichai
60 Thompson St
New York, NY 10012-4308
(212) 219-2000
Mon-Wed 12pm-2:45pm, 5:30pm-11pm;
Thu-Fri 12pm-2:45pm, 5:30pm-12am;
Sat 11am-2:45pm, 5:30pm-12am;
Sun 11am-2:45pm, 5:30pm-11pm

Grill Fixins

In a previous post of ten or so links, I gave one for a folding grill.  After uploading the post, I went and ordered one of the grills.  Turns out they were sold out.  So in case you were inspired by the link as I was, and wanted to get yourself one, as I did; here is a couple of links to alternative locations to purchase the grill, and one alternative grill (I think I might actually get instead):

Folding Notebook Style Grill -

A+R Store - $48 + shipping for matte black finish

A+R Store - $68 + shipping for stainless steel finish

Amazon - $48 + free prime shipping for matte black finish

For the British Audience (or the slightly more cultured) - 24 Euros + shipping for matte black finish

Here's the one I think I'm going to get now...Bayou Classic Fold and Go Portable Grill.  I just love the name and it comes with a super-sharp carrying bag (not to mention a larger grilling surface) for $37 + free prime shipping.  Cheaper, bigger surface, and 14 lbs compared to 8 lbs of the notebook style.  I'll let someone else convert the pounds to stones for the more cultured folks, but I will recommend these fantastic folding grill-tensiles.