The Meaning of Christmas

November 29, 2005

Book Review: The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World. By Larry Zuckerman. ISBN 0-86547-578-4

The Perfect Urban food?

The Potato?

This 270 page homage to the tuber affectionately known as “potato” walks the reader through the Andes, into the cargo holds of Spanish galleons, across the Atlantic to Ireland, then onto England, France and the rest of Europe.

Zuckerman’seasy-to-read and fun to digest writing style makes the book much less pedantic that it could have been (v. sometimes there is a usage that harkens back to the
days of yore). But this is a minor criticism.

Spud-o-rama:

The biology of the potato, it turns out, makes it a hardy, high yield vegetable that can grow in more climates than virtually any other major food crop. This means that per acre, the potato is capable of feeding more human beings than any other food crop. What is more, the potato itself is a nutritious piece of eating, and when served with a dairy product is almost a perfect food. One acre of potatoes provides over ten human beings 100% of their annual energy and protein needs, plus all nutrients except vitamins A & D. A truly remarkable little tuber.

style="font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-variant: small-caps; color: blue; letter-spacing: 3.0pt; ">Say What?:
The most interesting tidbits in this book are references to beliefs and food habits across the centuries. Food has always been a reminder of the differences between social classes. The potato, once reviled as the food of the poor and feeble minded, is also the foodstuff that allowed the growth of an industrial working class. Nutritious, easy to grow, transport and store, it is the perfect urban food. And yet for centuries, it was seen as the food of the wretched.

Not in the Book:
Zuckerman doesn’t bring the potato into the present day, where it faces a battery of new and not-so-new accusations from the diet gurus. Now, with carbo-phobe diets being all the rage, and sushi and soy being considered the food of the upper classes, the potato is despised for its linkage to fast food fries and poverty diets. Are we are coming full circle in our relationship with the spud? Do we associate it with poverty diets, fast food and government subsidized food programs? Is urban food now either expensive proteins like fish and steaks, or cheap fast food?

Stop frying everything!
We don’t have to fry everything we get our hands on. The same goes for the spud.

Another interesting set of notes in the book are various recipes culled from the pages of diaries, journals and agricultural reports. I intend to try to make a version of “cobbledy”, a thick soup made with mashed potatoes, mashed onions, butter, cream and bacon.Served with a simple salad and a glass of wine, this could be a nice winter dish.

Tags: potato, social class, tubers, urban food

Posted on 11/29/2005 ( Permanent Link )

November 27, 2005

Shopping for gulp Christmas

Shopping for Christmas

The Meaning of Christmas

Recently, I have noticed the following peculiar English usages, which meander away from standard vernacular:

1.
My Christmas is ready.

2.
He wasn’t happy with his Christmas.

3.
Our Christmas is under the tree.

Clearly, commercialism has transformed the word Christmas into a collective noun for “presents given and/or received during the Yuletide”, further blurring the like between secular shopping spree and religious observance of a holy day.

Shopping has become sport, and what with all the news feed about “Black Friday” and blah blah blah, it’s almost as though we’re all in a foot race to see who can get what, how fast, for how much and before the clock strikes midnight on Christmas Eve.

No Easy Solutions

There are no solutions for those who feel pressured to give gifts. Whether you have a gigantic family to please, in-laws, co-workers or friends, sometimes you just feel needled.

I stopped by Union Square this weekend to take advantage of the Holiday Village. For some reason, I love to come here every year. There are vendors I see over and over again and some I miss. The best idea is to walk all the through the stalls to check out who has what. Sometimes, you can find the same item for a little money, or you can find something that you like even better. One of my favorite vendors is InnaSense (http://www.innasense-gems.com/isg/), run by two Russian sisters who collect raw, semi-precious stones and build jewelry around them. Each piece is unique. Another favorite vendor is Nepal, featuring goods made from Nepalese wool, including hats, glove, slippers, hands bags and wallets. Also available is jewelry made in the traditional royal Nepalese style. This year I was looking for a woman who made the best soaps and sachets, but sadly, she wasn’t there. In her place were myriad other soap vendors, alerting me to the fact that “Haute Soap” is now reaching the masses. I picked up several varieties to check out.

A shopping alternative for the hard to please and the distant is the Gift Certificate. The problem is which certificate. The jury is still out on this one, but I find for teenagers the American Express Gift Certificate always well received. It’s like cash, but not as tacky.

Re-Gifting?

Much has been said about re-gifting, most of it on sit-coms, but I am against it. Just have a yard sale, or sell the unwanted item on eBay. But for Athena’s sake please do not re-gift.

Retired Man

My father, also known as Retired Man, has told all of us in no uncertain terms that he does not need a coat, hat, gloves, scarves, ties, or socks. Apparently, he has accumulated a warehouse worth already. So, I opted to get his a gift certificate for one of his favorite restaurant chains, where he can lunch with his grandchildren. In retirement, lunching with the grandchildren is a real treat.

How to Survive Christmas

For those who find Christmas the most stressful time of the year, tell all your friends that what you really want is a trip to the day spa, and if they don’t buy you one, buy one for yourself!

Tags: None

Posted on 11/27/2005 ( Permanent Link )

November 21, 2005

Thanksgiving: Notes for the Non-Traditional

In a few short days, we will be sitting down to feast on turkey, green bean casserole, candied yams, and canned cranberry sauce.

Or will we?

In our house, we have opted for guinea hen (much smaller), haricot verts with mushrooms, spicy yams and homemade cranberry sauce. For us, cooking a whole turkey is a waste of natural resources – we need a smaller bird, and the diminutive guinea hen has many wonderful characteristics that make it a perfect turkey substitute. The history of this African bird in western cuisine reaches back to ancient Greece and Rome where it was a highly prized trade item. Supplanted centuries later by the turkey (which was named not for its North American home but rather for the Turkish traders who introduced it to northern Europe) the guinea hen was all but forgotten, especially in North America. Yet this tasty fowl has long played a role in
Mediterranean cookery, and is often prepared with lemon and orange, or with mushrooms and cream. Guinea hens normally weigh between three and five pounds, making them the right size for a small gathering in a Brooklyn apartment.

Green Bean Casserole?

While I do remember fondly the green bean casserole of my youth (I can see my mother now, with her “secret” recipe: Campbell’s Cream o’ Mushroom Soup, 1 can French style green beans and one can of Durkeefried onions), I have developed my own version of this dish, using fresh haricot verts (slender green beans), Crimini mushrooms, Vidalia onions and mascarpone. It’s the same idea, but the ingredients are fresh and the mushrooms much tastier. The only ting to watch is the mascarpone, which can break down if the heat is too high, so add it just before serving, and then top it off with the onions. Crème fraiche is also good, but harder to find.

Candied Yams? With marshmallows?

No. I refuse to eat candied yams with marshmallows. But I am a yam fan. I prefer to cook them with something picante, like a dash of cayenne pepper or some ground pumpkin seeds with a small sampling of habaneros (be careful here!). For some people, the texture of the yam is problematic. The best way to get around the yam-o-phobes is to dice them into big chunks and roast them, but don’t over-roast them.

Canned cranberry sauce?

Not in my house. I refuse to eat that tubular hunk of gelatinous ooze. I go right to the cranberries themselves and cook them the day before, with sugar and orange zest. If you must have the gelatinous ooze, you can strain the cranberries after cooking and make your own. It’s very easy and tastes so good. It sounds like a lot of work, but it isn't.

What if I don’t want any of that?

For the Fire Lovers:
My brother prefers to grill sausage and to serve ham, usually a smoked variety, and follows up with grilled vegetables. This approach appeals to the crypto-pyromaniac who grills year round.

For the Lively:
My Cuban friends make a spicy turkey, and serve it with some tostones, a great dish for those who find the traditional American way of doing things "analati", or too bland. The spicy turkey, which is rubbed down with a generous portion of adobo and other spices, has an aroma that will get your feet tapping.

For the Fish Lovers:
My husband prefers bouillabaisse, and a sampling
of shellfish – hard to pull off if you’re not near a first-class seafood market. Monkfish prepared in the traditional Brittany style is also very good, and an elegant dish to serve for a later, lighter meal.

For the Procrastinators:
Roast beef or roast rack of lamb are also good alternatives if you can't stand poultry, or if you get to the store too late to get a bird that isn't frozen rock-solid.

The whole idea is to prepare a meal share and to think about what you have to be thankful for. This has been a rough year for lots of Americans, especially along the Gulf Coast. In honor of all those who lost so much, I suggest a donation to one of the charities working to rebuild lives and livlihoods.

Tags: alternatives, thanksgiving, turkey

Posted on 11/21/2005 ( Permanent Link )

November 17, 2005

Reviewing the Michelin Guide to New York City

Objectively, or at least that was my intention, I perused my copy of the Michelin Guide, hoping to see what all the fuss is about. I confess that it is still a bit of mystery to me, but here are some notes:

Michelin Pros:

If one has already formed a Michelin habit elsewhere, one will immediately bond to the format and layout.
The symbols/icons are useful,especially the little bunch of grapes that indicates a notable wine list.
The neighborhood divisions make total sense if you are visiting from out of town and do not know have to navigate the subway system.
The blurbs on each “resto” are a little longer than those provided by Zagat.
For the most part, the blurbs are fair assessments.

Michelin Cons:

If one is a Zagat user, the Michelin format will be annoying.
The “cash only” is the only payment icon, which can be a problem if all you have in your pocket is Amex and the “resto” only takes Visa or Mastercard.
If you travel by subway and know where you are going, the lack of cross-listings can be annoying – too much of a burden on the resto-goer (the alpha-listing doesn’t give the street/neighborhood, but does give a referring page -doh!).
The blurbs might be a little longer than those in Zagat, but some seem to be culled from Zagat, the New York Times, CitySearch, Fodor’s and the endless PR materials that high-priced ad agencies send out on behalf of owners.
For the most part, the blurbs are fair assessments – and we do not always like that. It’s hard for us to admit, but it’s true. That’s why we have the “bell-curve” for grading, even in math. We can score 50% and still get a B. Awesome!

The Boo Hoo Factor

We are steamed that the only “3-starred” restos are French (ok, Per Se isn't really French... and most of the one and two starred restaurants lean towards French). We have been whining like the US Swim Team in the last Olympics whenever they didn’t a gold medal, the big fat babies. Stop whining! It’s the Michelin Guide for Bacchus’s sake! The more we piss and moan that this and that didn’t get in the guide, or didn’t get a good review or blah blah blah, the more we sound like the complaining provincials that we already think that they think we are – I think.

The fact that most of the blurbs are decent enough assessments – especially if the user of the guide is probably only going to visit the place once– doesn’t seem good enough for us.

No! (stomping my little feet) I want MY favorite restaurants in the guide! WAH! I want MY opinion to be heard! WAH! Read all about ME and MY opinions! (stomping fit over, pout now on full). I am so much more interesting than YOU!

Michelin is not a Neighborhood Guide, nor is it a venue where critics get as much credit as the Chef for making a resto popular. No. It’s a visitor’s guide.

Readers of the
Guide

Now that I can claim that I am a reader of the guide, I have a few more things to say. First, it is a very nicely presented guide (I have found a few typos – which is like throwing a brick in a glass house, since there are plenty of typos in my blogs. Shame on me! However, I can go back and fix them, but in print…). I seriously doubt that the Michelin will have a real impact on how I chose or review a restaurant. But if I were a traveler to New York City , especially a first time traveler, I would probably choose the Michelin over Fodor’s or over Zagat. However, I would probably choose the Lonely Planet Guide above all others, since for me it has always been the closest to on target of any guide I have ever used. There is a Lonely Planet Guide for New York City, which is grittier than Michelin, and in my opinion more interesting for it. Which brings me back around to another and important point: the Upscale Traveler will pick up a copy of the Michelin Guide, slip it into that Louis Vuitton handbag,dawn the Gucci sunglasses and grab a cab.

Tags: boo hoo, fodor guide, lonely planet guide, michelin guide, travelers, us swim team, zagat guide

Posted on 11/17/2005 ( Permanent Link )

November 16, 2005

The Giant Blue Fin Tuna - On your plate, and on the brink of extinction

How often do you eat tuna fish? How much do you know about this fish?

The tuna is a truly glorious creature, worthy of an ode. Here’s one!

“
"O tuna of the oceans deep

Mighty hunter, none can match your speed

Save fast boats and nets.

Take heed, O fast darting one who never sleeps

No boat is faster than the one called Greed."”

Notes on the Giant Blue Fin

In biological terms, the tuna is simply an amazing animal, and of all the tuna species, the northern Giant Blue Fin (Thunnus Thynnus) is perhaps the most amazing of all. It is a warm blooded fish (i.e., it uses a unique heat exchange circulatory system that keeps it warmer than the surrounding water)and can survive in the warm surface waters of the Mediterranean and in the frigid and deep waters of the North Atlantic,at depths as great as 3000 feet. Because of this incredible variation in depth and sea temperature, the Giant Blue Fin has this amazing regulatory system, as well as a lot of insulating fat.
Growing over ten feet in length and reaching weights of over 1400 pounds, this is a massive fish with a life span of over twenty years. Like most tuna species, the Blue Fin is highly migratory, ranging from the far eastern Mediterranean to the Gulf of Mexico and north to Canada.
It can reach speeds of fifty-miles per hour, and is an excellent predator known to hunt with other predators,notably the bottle-nosed dolphin. The muscular tail with moon-shaped fin allows it to dart away at high speeds, and the iridescent indigo blue of its top side lends a certain majesty to its presence in shallow waters.

Tuna Lore

The ancient Greeks used to watch for the annual spawning migrations of various Mediterranean tuna species, such as the albacore and the Blue Fin. The etymology of the word “tuna” actually stems from an ancient Greek verb “thuneo”, which means “to dart, to rush forward”. Climbing up on a high cliff, “tuneoskopes” or “tuna look outs” would scan for the waters for the V shape of a school of tuna headed toward an estuary or other prey-rich waters. These fast-moving tuna schools were not only great indicators of where rich fishing waters could be found;
they were also prized items themselves, if hard to catch by traditional means.

The ancient Phoenicians of Lebanon built their colonial towns in North Africa and
Southern Spain along the migratory routes and feeding grounds of these giant fish.
The fish was commercially important to the western Phoenician economy, so much so
that in Abdera(present day Adra in Andalucia, Spain), a temple to the Phoenician
god Melkart(equated with Hercules) had a façade decorated with columns shaped like
the Blue Fin. The fish appears on coins associated with most western Phoenician cities,
as well as in mosaics and paintings. The association of this fish with Hercules is no
strange artistic glitch – it is a monument to the stature of the fish itself,
and its famous qualities.

TUNA Facts

The Giant Blue Fin is a species currently on the brink of endangerment. The reasons
are related to its very own biology. Consider these factoids:

The Blue Fin is not sexually mature until it is about seven years old.
Most Blue Fin are caught before they reach age three. They are still
juveniles, weighing less than 20 pounds, a mere shadow of the 1400 pounds they
could attain at maturity.
Blue Fin school according to age – an entire school of mature fish can be wiped
out by a single boat, leaving no breeding fish at all.
The high fat content of the Blue Fin makes it a target for Japanese and other fish
markets – a mature, full sized fish can sell for over $50,000. In other words, the demands
placed on this fish are extreme.
Many prey species have been depleted along the Blue Fin’s migratory route.
“Hot Food Trends” have driven up consumption of this fish in markets where traditionally it
did not play a major role.

What Tuna to Eat

Like many species of fish, all tuna species have felt the pressure of over-fishing. Yellow
Fin and Albacore are also heavily exploited, but since they reach sexual maturity earlier
than the Blue Fin, managing these fish stocks is a little (but only a little) easier.

When you do choose to eat tuna, whether in the can or on the grill, always remember
what a magnificent creature the tuna is and how it travels oceans of miles to get to your plate.

“Herculean you are, o Blue wonder of the sea,

Yet we beg you please

Stay in deep waters with the other shades

Lest you become just a distant memory”

Tags: ancient greek, blue fin, bluefin, endangered, extinction, phoenicians, tuna, worthy of an ode

Posted on 11/16/2005 ( Permanent Link )

November 14, 2005

The Death of A Chinese Delivery Man – The Hazards of Take Out, from the Delivery Man’s Point of View

The recent and very emotional funeral services for 44 year old Fuhua Chen, the latest victim of fatal violence against a delivery man, has put delivery people across the city on the news radar. Part of the interest in this now international story was the very moving arrival of Mr. Chen's daughter, and the ache and sorrow that she suffered as she awaited a visa to enter the United State. She came alone to claim her father’s body and mourn him according to her customs.

Like many others murdered while on the job, Mr. Chen was an immigrant working to support his family back home. He was just doing his job and trying to make a delivery on time. Now, he is dead.

WNYC ran a piece the day of the funeral, focused not on the funeral but rather on the perils of delivering food. Several delivery people and even some owners were interviewed for the piece. No customers were interviewed, but they should have been.

One of the things that many New Yorkers love about New York, is delivery of any kind. And yet we don’t consider at all the demands that are placed on those who cart things to us. We find it all very funny and worthy of ridicule.

On Seinfeld, there was an episode about a Chinese delivery man, who was (following the typical script) abused and left to suffer. Those responsible for his suffering were the very people we - in adoration - used to tune in to every Thursday. There are many other examples of the way we collectively view delivery people, many jokes and many oh so funny turns of phrase. Yes, it is all so hilarious sometimes.

But in real life, delivery people face more crime than they do must-see-tv sitcom moments. Robbery is a common issue for those who dare to get on a bicycle or moped and deliver food to people whom they have never seen before. And in the winter time, when delivery orders are up, so is the number of crimes committed against delivery workers. Most of us who sit happily waiting for that delivery order to arrive don’t think too much about the people making the delivery, or what might be happening to them on the way to our apartments. And how much do we tip the guy who just peddled for ten or fifteen minutes to make a fifteen dollar delivery? Do we smile at them, or thank them? Or do we just complain because they are late or forgot the chopsticks?

The fact that these are delivery “people” – Human Beings – bringing the requested food often slips our minds; we easily dehumanize or laugh at the guy who dares to peddle into the dark and unknown, hoping for a decent tip (and you can bet that his tips are all he gets in the way of income). He becomes nothing more than a cartoon figure that we can make fun of on late night television. Shame on us.

In honor of those who have died delivering Chinese food here is a brief list:

February 12th 2004 Huang Chen, beaten to death
October 15th, 2002 Jian Lin Chun, stabbed to death in the lobby of a building.
September 1st, 2000, Jin-Sheng Liu, killed making a delivery.
June 23rd, 1999, Ng Cheung Cheung, was beaten to death with a baseball bat.
December 10th, 1998, Li-Rong Lin, was stabbed to death.

Tags: chinese delivery, delivery, murder, shame on us

Posted on 11/14/2005 ( Permanent Link )

November 13, 2005

The Chocolate Show - A Buzz to End all Buzzes

I made my way to the 7th Annual Chocolate show this weekend, a decadent celebration of one of the world’s most intriguing and beguiling food items. The line stretched around the block as eager chocolate lovers waited patiently to get inside and sniff the chocolate-laden air. There was a particular excitement in the air. But what is it about chocolate that makes it so, well, narcotic?

TRIVIA: Chocolate is made from the cream-colored beans of the “theobroma cacao” plant. The narcotic contained in chocolate is theobromine, which causes blood vessels to dilate. Different types of chocolate contain different amounts of theobromine. In general, theobromine levels are higher in dark chocolates than in milk chocolates, and the higher quality chocolates contain more theobromine than lower quality chocolate. Chemically, the better the chocolate, the more narcotic it is. We feel happy having eaten it.

The Chocolate show boasts 40,000 square feet of chocolate, including a collection of manikins dressed in haute-chocolate haute fashion and a chocolate pagoda. But more interesting were the many artisanal chocolate makers who had set up shop, handing out samples of their latest creations.

I stopped first at Jacques Torres’ booth and got a shot of spicy hot chocolate. We here in North America think of spicy chocolate as a new-fangled thing. But we are wrong.

MORE TRIVIA: Jose de Acosta, in his De natura novi orbis (On the Nature of the New World) wrote in 1589 about the use of chocolate in the new world, noting that it was a served hot and frothy and spiced with peppers, and that it was a known stimulant. Years later Jose Pinhiero de Freitas Soares in his treatise on medical policy (1818), discusses how tea, coffee and chocolate, like alcohol, tobacco and sugar, are narcotic and are deserving of government control.

The spicy hot chocolate was delicious, and from there I ventured into the heart of chocolate at its finest. Among my favorites were the selections from Lille Belle Farms, especially the black pepper granache, the chipotle art bite and the lavender caramel. Another interesting selection came from Garrison Confections, which included pumpkin and orchard fruits varieties. An interesting twist on the whole notion of chocolate came from Vere, boasting a pure, Ecuadorian chocolate not sweetened with processed sugar. Made in Manhattan, Vere offered chocolate covered coconut flakes that were awesome. A real surprise came with the orangettes, the chocolate covered orange peels by Galler, a perfect chocolate-orange confection that must be tasted to be appreciated.

I spent a lot of time at the Michel Cluizel Table, were plantation grown, haute-chocolate got its start. Available were a few special treats, like the dark chocolate disk with a trio of nuts. I scored big here.

HOW TO STOP: There really is only so much chocolate that one can stuff into the face before feeling queasy. When the floor begins to feel liquid, it’s time to stop. But don’t let the situation get that far. When you can no longer distinguish one chocolate from another, it’s time to take a break and just enjoy the buzz.

Tags: None

Posted on 11/13/2005 ( Permanent Link )

November 09, 2005

Breaking Cheese News!!! Feta Cheese now origin-controlled!

Official cheese new - The EU has sided with the Greek government regarding the use of the name "Feta" for this tasty and salty cheese (see my earlier blog). Now,Greece owns the rights to the word "feta", disallowing other regional cheeses to be marketed under this name. Feta, like champagne and chianti, is now origin-controlled.

The Danish reacted strongly to the court ruling, as did other countries who make the same type of cheese and who export huge quantities of the stuff to people like us. Greek Feta tends to stay in Greece, so most of what we see here comes from Bulgaria, Denmark and France.

What will this mean to cheese lovers? Probably a lot of new names to learn!

Stay tuned for more breaking Cheese News...

(And try the new Vermont cheddars on sale at Murray's. Yum!)

Tags: cheese, denmark, eu, feta, greece, origin controlled

Posted on 11/9/2005 ( Permanent Link )

November 07, 2005

The Demise of Chinese Takeaway, Part I

Once, there was moo gai pan…

At one time, even the most remote, partly urbanized landscape had a Chinese restaurant specializing
in takeaway – and it was always the most exotic place in town. (Who can forget that scene in A Christmas Story, when the family ends up at a Chinese restaurant for Thanksgiving Dinner?) Popular menu items were usually the fried rice, moo goo gai pan and lo mein. Now, it’s the kung pao and General Tsao’s chicken that rule, while lo mein and moo goo gai pan are hard to find.

In New York, no neighborhood main drag is without its
peppering of Chinese takeaway joints – the kind with the yellow awning, the illustrated menu board, the brightly-lit seating area, and a heavily duck-taped moped out front. But on many main drags, these bastions of
cheap carry-out are being replaced by the next generation of exotic take out – Thai and Japanese.

Nostalgia:
In the years before I had to wear a bra, we lived in the southwest. For a short time, we lived in Clovis, New Mexico, a dusty spot on the desert map where my brothers and I caught horned toads and picked bull-head stickers out of our bare feet.

On Sundays, after church, my father would load us into the purple station wagon and drive to some location for a long, Sunday lunch. His favorite place was a remote restaurant called The China Inn. The owners, a Mexican-American woman and her Panamanian-Chinese husband, had created a menu unlike any we had seen before: Crispy Tacos, Lo Mein, Fried Rice, Tamales, Egg Foo Young, Enchiladas, and for the truly American, hamburgers, hotdogs and steak. My mother always ordered the crispy tacos and some pork fried rice. My father opted for the steak, egg foo young and lo mein. After we moved, Sundays were never the same, and to this day we talk about The China Inn whenever the topic of Chinese food comes up.

Flash Forward:

New York has a truly unique take on the China Inn theme. Most people who get delivery, especially at work, are familiar with the concept Fresco Tortilla Taco, a Chinese-owned and operated chain of Mexican Restaurants. The local urban legend surrounding these eateries is that the owner, who in his Chinese takeaway business employed Mexicans, picked up on their cuisine while he watched the success of Mexican-inspired restaurants pop-up around him. For him, it was a clear, easy and successful business decision to switch from Chinese to Mexican.

I have ordered office delivery from these places many times, but one day, I decided to venture out and have a peek at one on Seventh Avenue. What I found was a dual menu, with Chinese and Mexican menu boards and a Chinese and Mexican staff. I thought of the China Inn, and ordered crispy tacos and moo shoo pork.

Now,with Thai and Japanese taking over as the favored neighborhood cuisine, the Chinese are taking over, too. Many Thai and Japanese rand even Vietnamese restaurants are owned and operated by Chinese chefs. This is commerce at its finest.

The Future:
How many Chinese takeaway places will retain their yellow- awninged storefronts and illustrated menu boards, and how many will morph into Thai or Japanese Thai, or like the China Inn, just put everything on the menu?

Already, in some upscale haunts one can find Thai and Japanese side by side. But the same is happening in the neighborhood eateries know for delivery and takeaway. These enterprising owners are trying to give us what we want.

Will the yellow awnings disappear, to be replaced by more sophisticated signage? Will the egg roll be totally supplanted by the spring roll? Will Pad Thai push aside the King Pao Chicken? Will peanut sauce replace sweet and sour? Or, will we see a future where Chinese food comes into its own, leaving behind the Sticky and rather bland version that was developed generations ago for the American pallet, and see a blossoming of more refined Chinese dishes, capable of competing with the new influx of flavors and style?

Nostalgia Redux
If I imagine the China Inn today, I see a place where chipotle and mole exist on the same menu as pork and shrimp dumplings, where the crispy taco comes with a papaya salad, and where happy families sit together, enjoying the combinations that they create on their plates.

Tags: chinese takeway, delivery, japanese, nostalgia, thai

Posted on 11/7/2005 ( Permanent Link )

November 07, 2005

The Effect of Large Bodies of Lesser Orbits: Emeril as a Mega Rock Star Gravity, Mass, Emeril and the Food Network meet Chelsea Market

Gravity, Mass, Emeril and the Food Network meet Chelsea Market

Anyone who switches on the Food Network in the evenings knows that during prime time it is the All Emeril Channel. With an enthusiastic, infomercial-sounding audience cheering him on, Emeril conjures up a variety of dishes, lavishly praising this and that ingredient and urging the audience to cook and to eat more and more. And they do.

I wanna be a rock star
Emeril takes the concept of a cooking show to the next level. For those of us who grew up watching the Galloping Gourmet and then Jacques Pepin, Emeril is something like Elvis. He is the Rock Star of American food.

A man who at one time was headed for a musical career, Emeril was, like Elvis, a lover of food. Now he has managed to put all of his urges together to create the ultimate Celebrity Chef, a figure that many Americans can relate to, aspire to, adore and imitate.

For those who dream of culinary rock-stardom, Emeril is both an icon and an impossible act to follow. When he is on stage in his television kitchen, accompanied by his band, his personality is so huge that there is no room for anyone else. The glam life of a rock star chef seems like non-stop entertainment. But cooking in a professional kitchen is never a one man show, and aspiring chefs need to understand that in order to play Elvis, they will have to sing a lot of blues before they rock and roll.

Once the staid fare of TV for housewives, cooking shows are now an event. And with celebrity chefs all over the country and more and more emerging personalities filling the airwaves, cooking is becoming another vocation altogether.

style="font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: "Century Gothic"; color: navy; ">Rock Stars as Role Models
The upside to all of this is multifold. First, there is a renewed interest in cooking at home, an interest that for the last generation or so had waned dramatically. Second, the focus that Emeril and others have put on fresh ingredients has spawned many cottage industries and has awakened interest in green markets. Third, the culinary arts and the vocation of cooking have been raised in status, to judge by the increased number of culinary schools dotting the academic map. These are all positive trends.

So, you’re a
rock star….
And then there are the effects of Rock-stardom. Like any TV personality who films live in New York, Emeril has a devoted fan base. His personality is big – so big that it has its own gravitational pull, and quite possibly its own zip code. This is not a criticism – it is what happens when a big personality is on TV all the time, when a show is filmed live, and when the show’s star invites loyal fans to come live on location to share the joy.

Who would turn down a chance to be there LIVE when everything comes together in the kitchen, at the precise moment when Emeril goes into his frenetic yet hypnotic zen state of food appreciation?

Far from the Maddening Fans
It’s not important where Emerils fans come from. What’s important is that they come, and more so that they come to Chelsea Market to gawk and awe at what they see. Like the Seinfeld Soup Nazi and the famed no-name diner, people come to see what they saw on television.(There are tours around town aimed specifically at connecting TV viewers to the hallowed locations they have seen on their favorite shows.) Trying to catch a glimpse of make believe is a natural process and no one should criticize anyone for it. It is one of the side effects of being a city known for food & commerce, gluttony & egocentrism. So, here they come, the Emeril faithful, eager to sneak a peek at the locations from where Emeril dishes out his particular brands of food intensity and culinary lore. The fans have been Emerilized, like onions in a hot pan. They are well seasoned and are ready to take on the main ingredients.

Gravity Takes Hold
The effect that this Emerilization has had on the Food Network, viewers and Chelsea Market is measured by the gravity of Emerils’s mass appeal. He clearly has had a major impact on the way that cooking shows are presented on television. He has his own band. Let me repeat – he had his own band. In the TV Land of my memory, only Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, David Letterman and Arsenio Hall have had their own, smokin’ bands. I have probably missed a few personalities here, but the whole idea of having a band in the kitchen is an amazing one. It also sets the entertainment bar high. How do other chefs compete? They have to be huge personalities. They have to create their own gravitational pull in order not to be sucked into his. There just aren’t enough back up bands to go around.

Chelsea Market, with its food-anchors, is being sucked into the whole Food Network universe, at the center of which is the Mega Rock Star, Emeril. Many of the stores in the market are more like gift shops than real food shops. It is becoming a mall. And it is clear from some of the service staff working there that they deal to a large extent with tourists. The market is turning into a sideshow on the way to the elevators that ascend to cable heaven. And the prices reflect this.

Tags: chelsea market, elvia, emeril, food network

Posted on 11/7/2005 ( Permanent Link )

November 02, 2005

The Michelin Guide Arrives in New York - Nail Biting Declared Over

The stars are out of
the bag – New York
sous les étoiles de Michelin (The Michelin guide has arrived)!

This morning, on WNYC, there was a not-so-brief but certainly mysterious radio note on the arrival of the Michelin guide, no doubt designed to grab the immediate attention die-hard foodies. The radio take on the guide was that it would be interpreted “as a slight” by some of New York’s top chefs, although no list of potential slightees was provided.

Already, word on the street (or at least on gawker.com) is that the usual suspects have once again been centrifuged to the culinary surface, while many hopefuls remain un-starred and left among the detritus of ho-humdum.

One star, two star,
three star, new star…

Let’s return to the idea of a perceived slight. Why is this so? What is the problem here? Why is this so much fun to talk about? *Sigh* all of this has impinged upon our self-perception as a restaurant town.

How?

There are three factors at work here, above all reputation. Far beyond the whole Michelin Guide arrival scare is the current state of the hallowed New York Times rating system, which in recent years has been viewed as somewhat skewed, or less reliable than it used to be. While one can speculate all day as to why this trend might be, it reflects a shift away from traditional expectations, perhaps out of boredom, perhaps out of (gasp!) a less refined pallet. Nevertheless, the
MG rating is less a challenge to the Zagat, which is the People’s Guide, than it is to the New York Times’ sacred right to place stars in the sky and to mythify the worthy while raining down hard like an angry Zeus on any pretender.Does this mean that the Times’ stars will shine less brightly in the Gotham sky, or that
the bling of Michelin will draw all suppliant eyes away from the Old Gray Temple? Maybe.

For a chef of the highest order, reputation is everything, and as far as rankings go, Michelin is of the highest order, accepted world-wide, published in book form – with a red cover.

So, aside from reputation, what is there? Let’s talk about gastronomy and the gastronomic. What levels of and in what concentration can the New York market support restaurants that are “gastronomique”? Oh, I forgot, let’s talk about gastronomy for a minute. What does that mean? Gastronomy is about perfection (all that balance, marriage of flavors, textures, surprises, aftertaste, foretaste and so that one reads about). It’s about getting dressed up to go out to eat and paying attention to what you are putting in your face, it’s about understanding the very sublime dishes that a truly talented chef can put on the plate, it’s about the art of eating. We return to the notion of talent. But here is a caveat. Beware of Volume.

Voluminous Needs.New York
demands that everything be done in volume. The greater the volume of plates put out, the harder it is to meet the requirements of perfection. Can the same chef achieve the same level of perfection at 500 covers as he/she does at 50?

Volume reflects something that we don’t like to talk about. RENT. Yes, the rent around town is too damn high, and sometimes the only way for an owner to make money is to do volume. It is truly a feat to be able to put out 500 covers of really decent food, never mind something approaching the gastronomic. Kudos to all those chefs out there who night after night plate 500 entrees while maintaining a high standard.

A restaurant with a dining room that seats 200, and expects
to turn them at least once but probably more, is hoping for 500 covers for dinner. That’s a lot of food. Meanwhile back in the kitchen, everyone is trying to stay in time while giving the utmost attention to that quantity of food.
When you are staring down the barrel of 500 covers and you’ve got one person at each station (fish, grill, sautee of whatever), he/she becomes a machine, flipping the fish or portioning the sauce. It’s hard to see the whole thing as art at this point. This is not to say that the chefs and cooks are not artistes or that they don’t care. They are working within their parameters. We are demanding a lot of them.

Next, there is Business. The business of the restaurant often dictates the kind of gastronomy that it will support. One always has to be thinking of the bottom line. Rent, water, gas, electricity, risk insurance, workers compensation insurance, licenses, liability concerns, fixtures and furnishings, payroll, taxes, inspectors, contractors, and more. In order to create a gastronomic experience, there is a tremendous outlay of money, running into the double digit millions. How long are investors willing to wait in order to see a return? If it cost 20 million to open a place, how much in gross sales should one expect annually? How much should food costs be? Labor? All of these concerns must be factored into the equation, and when you sit down at the table to admire and then consume your Scottish Pheasant terrine with chestnuts and medjool dates with poached quince, you are probably not concerned about the food costs. But the chef is. He/she has to be.

One star, two star, three star, four… wish I could afford a few stars more.

Tags: 3 stars, gastronomy, michelin guide, new york times, zagat

Posted on 11/2/2005 ( Permanent Link )