Aquavit Restaurant Week lunch

Last Thursday, I experienced my very first Restaurant Week lunch at Aquavit. For a newbie like me, the visit was well worth the $24.07 (without tip and tax) pricetag. But for chickiecc and dpawaters, my more experienced RW eating companions, it was perhaps slightly less exciting.

We were seated in a room that seemed to be separated from the rest of the restaurant (perhaps the designated RW lunch room). The restaurant's design is simple and sophisticated (that's what those Scandanavians are good at, after all) as was the presentation of the dishes.

Three choices for bread, served individually by the waiter: a Swedish flatbread that reminded me of Triscuits, a pumpernickel bread and a small baguette all served with dill butter.

The RW menu consisted of four choices for appetizer and main course and two choices for dessert. Here is where the benefit of more dining companions comes in handy - you get to sample as much as possible from the menu, provided you bring other adventerous, willing-to-share diners. I started with the herring sampler, which I thought was the most interesting dish of the meal: four chunks of herring with different flavors each, accompanied by potatos and swiss cheese. I wish the menu had provided more detail on the preparations of herring, but unfortunately they took the bare minimum, obvious route of description: an assortment of herring. There was a classic herring with onion; a curried herring; a slightly sweet flavored herring served with a dollop of sour cream (?); and to be honest, I don't really know what the last preparation was, though it was topped with salmon roe. Each piece was different and packed a punch of flavor in its own unique way. I took my time with each bite to savor the bold tastes and textures.

The other two appetizers at our table: shrimp salad toast with golden white fish roe and frisee salad with mushrooms and goat cheese. Both good, but perhaps not particularly memorable.

Main courses:
Hot smoked salmon in an apple-horseradish broth with celeriac puree. The good-sized serving of fish, prepared medium rare, was beautifully pink and melt-in-your-mouth tender.
Warm roast beef accompanied by a potato gratin tart topped by an anchovy. The medallions, served slightly pink, were also tender, but the gratin was the standout portion of the dish. It was remniscent of potato latkes.
Swedish meatballs with lingonberries and a side of mashed potatos (that just called out to dpawaters). Flavorful and tasty, but fairly standard.

Dessert:
Arctic circle - a goat cheese parfait with blueberry sorbet and passionfruit curd. The parfait was an upright cylinder with the scoop of sorbet delicately balanced on top. A thin wafer for decorative effect. The passionfruit curd was the treasure in the middle. A very interesting dessert. The parfait had a light cheesecake-like consistency.
Chocolate peanut butter cake with coconut sorbet and grapefruit. A small rich chocolate cake with peanut butter in the center, not unlike a Reeses Peanut Butter cup. This was similar to your basic, ubiquitous chocolate lavacake dessert, but with peanut butter instead of ganache - delicious nonetheless. As dpawaters put it, the sorbet tasted like suntan lotion - but in a good way! Smooth, creamy and sweet.

The food was served quickly (though there did seem to be a slight lag before dessert), but with the comfortable rubbery chairs, we probably wouldn't have noticed had we had to wait a little longer!

Meatloaf and Mac & Cheese

Cooking as a group is always more fun than cooking alone. Diluted effort and a more delicious outcome (and shared cleaning responsibilities): infinitely better.

Last Thursday, chickiecc, dpawaters, and I took that to heart as together we prepared a calorie-laden, but delectable meal. Comfort food to fill our stomachs and to fulfill a gluttonous inclination that winter seems to bring on - as though there were a need to prepare ourselves for a period of hibernation. On the menu: a hearty turkey meatloaf with fig gravy, mac & cheese and some steamed broccoli thrown in for good measure. For the meatloaf, we were guided by Barefoot Contessa; the gravy, by the Boston Globe (the paper strangely just happened to run a turkey meatloaf recipe the week we planned on making it); and the mac & cheese, by The New York Times recipe combined with another found online. Recent criticism led us to believe it would be prudent to improvise a bit on the recipe.

We also made minor modifications to the meatloaf recipe (which I think our arteries might thank us for). The recipe called for five pounds - yes, five pounds - of ground turkey (can we say leftovers?). We mixed it up with some ground chicken. We used fat-free chicken broth. We went easy on the ketchup. But nevertheless, the end product was a moist, mouthwateringly flavorful meatloaf.

We all agreed that it didn't even need anything more, but we made the fig gravy out of curiousity. Though we had substituted California figs for the Turkish figs the recipe called for, the reduction, combined with onions and apple juice, was also quite tasty.

While we had originally intended to make the crusty mac & cheese recipe from The Times, the base we used from the other recipe countered that. We had a creamy mixture to hold together the pasta inside our dish and lots of cheese to cover it. The recipe called for grated cheddar and grated American. We took the easy way out with shredded cheddar, but we could not find any American in the supermarket. And in the interest of grocery shopping time, we went with Land O'Lakes cheese product slices - that element was definitely detectable to the tastebuds, but not in a negative way to any of us. So that's just a note for those who might want a more gourmet mac & cheese: use real cheese!

We also spread some grated Parmesan cheese over the top, which added a nice slight crunch. Our impatient stomachs compelled us to pull it out of the oven as soon as it looked melty enough, so perhaps for that reason too we did not achieve ultimate crustiness. But once again, we managed to achieve scrumptious gratification.

Shady Shellfish

Ladies,

I would just like to warn you about ordering shellfish in a restaurant. I'd read in Anthony Bourdain's book that he recommends you only eat mussels from a person you trust. I didn't really believe him at the time; but now I do. I've had two experiences where I've eaten clams or mussels in reputable restaurants and gotten sick. Not just slightly ill, but pukey and overcome with nausea.

I think the reason is that it's very easy to serve bad shellfish. Normally, when you cook at home the cardinal rule is that you discard any clams/mussels that do not open after you cook them because this signals that they were dead before you even placed them in the steamer/saucepan, etc (and for who knows how long.) But in a restaurant setting; obviously, it is to their financial benefit to pry them open and serve them.

Also, in Mr. Bourdain's book he mentions that you should never eat seafood on a Monday. He says that it's impossible for a restaurant to get seafood delivered from their suppliers on a Sunday; so what you're eating are the leftovers from the weekend. Again, this potentially compromises the freshness of seafood.

So just be careful when ordering in a restaurant! If the shellfish looks suspicious or tastes funny don't eat it!

WOW

wow guys.
so last nite i came home...i had had a hard week of grading and writing comments, including one or two all-nighters in there and of course still having to teach about the civil war and the renaissance..in a daze of sleeplessness...when i see a mysterious box, with no return address or actually there was a random address in california...and i open said box, and again it's mysteriously packed with no information...i'm like what is this black box....and then i see it's an ipod...i am thinking okay who sent this to me anonymously...and then i open the tiny white envelop with the little apple on it and see it was from you all. thank you so much for the ipod!!! i am so touched by your thoughtfulness and generosity...i sat there not knowing what to do with it...i feel like a whole new world has been opened to me..hahah...okay a little dramatic there...but yeah. thank you. who cares about food?
hahha..i have been eating out a lot recently...perhaps will update about it in the near future...

How Can You Not Want to Try P.C. After This?

This entry from www.chowhound.com has become permanently embedded in my memory. I just find it so intriguing and funny. The topic of the thread was "Any Weird Food Addictions?"

Subject: Re(1): Any Weird Food Addictions?

Name: Browniebaker

Posted: August 26, 2005 at 17:29:57

In Reply To: Any Weird Food Addictions?

Message:

Anyone who knows me well knows I have a pimiento-cheese addiction. I have a pimiento-cheese sandwich for lunch every single day if I can help it. Have to have it or I'll - I don't know.

If I know that lunch that day will have to be other than pimiento cheese, I'll have pimiento cheese for breakfast that morning. Sometimes, I declare a "sandwich night" so that I can serve the family sandwiches for dinner and serve myself a second pimiento-cheese sandwich for the day.

I even carry a jar of it with me on the airplane if it's going to be a short flight and spoilage will not be a problem. Oh, in case you're wondering, it's homemade, of course. But I will eat just about any PC rather than go without.

The Golden Nugget

For those of you who haven't seen the commercials, McDonald's is currently running a special and RARE promotion on their Chicken McNuggets. You can get 6 nuggets for a mere $1. Yes, ladies you heard me right! I think the promotion ends at the end of Jan. so stock up on those morsels of chickeny goodness. Then again, I don't think this applies to stores in NY. But for everyone else, enjoy and raise a nugget in toast to your sistas in the Big Stinkin' Overpriced Apple.

I R.U.B. it ! <3

So I went to R.U.B. again for an impromtu dinner with Luis before my class last night. This time we got to try a couple of new dishes. I got the long end ribs which were described on the menu as "the first 6 ribs off the slab - meatier." (This is as opposed to the short end which are "the last 7 ribs off the slab - the tender end.") They were so ribbilicious! Very tender, again dry seasoned no sweet sauce slopped all over them. I actually think they may have given me an extra rib too, because I had 7 long end ribs).

We also tried the fried onion strings. It's a huge quantity - big enough for at least 3 and probably 4 people. They come in this wide basket and the onions are sliced very thin and in long shreds, dipped in buttermilk, coated in a batter, fried and sprinkled with an *Essence of Emeril* kind of seasoning. I liked them because there wasn't a lot of breading and you could really taste the chock-umami-full flavor of the onions.

The next thing I'd like to try is their chilli cheese fries. Those look amazing too.

Trader Joe's in NY

So Trader Joe's is opening in Union Square after all. I cannot wait! Although I'm sure it will be crowded all the time. But at least I can stock my freezer with some last-minute frozen food. Some of my favorites: frozen lasagna, jasmine rice, burritos and their tamales (which I've only tried once thanks to chickie). Not to mention their snacks: rice crackers, vanilla almond granola, and chocolate pudding. Yum!

Cookies!!!

I love dessert. I think that's pretty plain to see.
And I've discovered a great little gem of a cookie store here in New York on W. 50th and 10th. It's called Ruby et Violette and it's easy to miss since it's way over on the west side and the storefront is so small. But the cookies are amazing! They're medium sized and cost $1.25 each. But the best part is that they make all different, interesting flavors: rose, strawberry & champagne, french vanilla, tiramisu and my personal favorite: espresso bean. The selection varies from day to day. Most of them are chocolate chunk in addition to whatever flavor cookie it is. Go check it out or take me with you!

Papa John

papa john's is #1 in the field of mega franchise fast food pizza. and i should know since i am a poor student dependent on late night fatty take out food. well i guess that makes it sound like i am forced to eat it...but, in truth, even if i were stinking rich and living in manhattan w/ all the fine dining establishments at my fingertips, i would still remain faithful to the big papa. its good if, like me, you prefer saucy rather than overly cheesy pizzas. and the pepperonis are always nice and crispy. i always get "the works" with its various meat and veggie toppings but i hear the chicken alfredo pizza is good too. PLUS, it comes w/ special dipping sauces. the garlic butter is delish....it allows you to finish off your otherwise dull crust with a garlicy bang. and the spicy chipotle wings are also addictive and im not even a wing person.

and as if the delicious pizza werent enough...if you order online then you can get a free blockbuster trial for a month (the one where they mail the movies to you). so you can get extra fat eating the pizza while slumped in front of the tv watching free movies for 10 hours. good deal good deal. just make sure you cancel the subscription after the free trial is over so you dont wind up paying...and then start another account w/ your subsequent pizza purchases. evil pizza scams! >:P

papa john also has a very inspirational story. he started off working in a pizza parlor in high school and then opened up his own pizza stand in the coat closet of a pre-existing establishment. it took off from there and now he has a pizza empire spanning the entire globe (i hear there are tons of them even in korea). i love rags to riches stories like that *sniff* .

Peppermint Dust

FYI: Yesterday morning while waiting for my apt. elevator to take me down to the lobby I noticed some remnants of peppermint candy embedded in the carpet. Yes, ladies. It's still there. Which makes me wonder, how often do they actually vacuum the common areas?

Also, I saw on the Food Network the "proper" way to crush peppermint candies. You are supposed to double bag the candies, cover the whole thing with a dish towel and bang away at them. That prevents the candies from exploding everywhere and breaking through the plastic bags. Good to know for next time!

The Food Lottery

I feel like I win the food lottery whenever I enter the office kitchen right when they're unloading leftovers from a big meeting. The best is on days when the Board comes in.

Today I had a humongous brunch of scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, a bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers, onions, sliced tomatoes, and fruit salad. These Board members don't eat a thing! It seriously comes to the "commoners" virtually untouched.

That just made my day. It's finding joy in all the little things in life!

The World's Greatest Candy

It's incredible. It's undeniable. It's irresistible.
It's Peppermint Bark.

And we owe it all to Williams Sonoma for concocting this perfect minty chocolate. The sharp mint flavor not only surprises your tastebuds, its aroma flows up into your nose so it lasts even after you've swallowed your last bite! The decadent creaminess of the chocolate hits the spot! The bits of crushed peppermint candy add a delightful crunch. It all melds together and sends me into bliss.

I first discovered this treat one day when I happened to walk into Williams Sonoma just to browse and found myself offered a handful of chocolate. I knew it from the moment I first tasted it. This would become my new love. I soon found myself making more deliberate trips into the store whenever I happened to be nearby - the chocolate a magnet pulling me in with its sweet force. I would search desperately for the salesperson walking around with the plate of Peppermint Bark slabs. Sometimes I would get my fix and suddenly the day was looking up. But other days I left disappointed, a raincloud hanging over my head even if the sun shone bright in the sky.

Post-Christmas, I began to see signs for this box of pricey chocolate on sale. I soon decided it might make for good gifts. But by the time I finally sought it out, the first store I tried was sold out. But I persisted and managed to find a store where it was even more deeply discounted than I had hoped and still well stocked!

If you have not yet tried Peppermint Bark, get thee to a Williams Sonoma fast!

Some of My Favorites

Here are some of my favorite random treats. Feel free to post about yours too! I'd love to read about them.

From Costco:

-Great smoked salmon (I don't remember the name of the brand my family usually buys) but it's affordable and not artifical tasting.
-Fresh and moist rotisserie chicken
-From the costco "cafeteria" area, surprisingly good "Chicken Bakes". This is rolled up pizza dough with chicken, cheese, cesar salad dressing, bacon, green onions inside. I know it doesn't sound like the most delicious thing, but trust me it is. Especially hot out of the oven when the outside is so crispy.

Costco also sells these premaid and frozen at Costco. The one bad thing is that I found the nutritional information online and it's possible the worst single food item I've ever seen in my life! So I'm a little torn. As much as I'd like to recommend this treat, I don't want to wish a coronary on any of you!

Serving Size:1 sandwich

Amount Per Serving

Calories 927.21

Calories from Fat 465

% DV*

Total Fat 51.68g 80%

Saturated Fat 12.55g 63%

Polyunsaturated Fat 6.57g

Cholesterol 117.54mg 39%

Sodium 1960.87mg 82%

Total Carbohydrate 80.09g 27%

Dietary Fiber 2.81g 11%

Sugars 5.25g

Protein 55.15g 85%

Vitamin A 9% • Vitamin C 5% Calcium 44% • Iron 28%

Umm, at least you can get some of your calcium?

Other treats:

Shari's Berries: www.berries.com
I was able to taste these because one of my roommates in college would get deliveries of these from her long-distance beau. They are so so so good. An excellent gift for somebody.

Also found online, salty caramels from Fran's Chocolates: www.franschocolates.com

Actually, I guess you can say I stole this from Hil since she first discovered them. But they're divine! I love the contrasting tastes of salty and sweet.

My Namesake

I've discovered that there is actually a restaurant in the city called Kitchenette! Comfort food.
Who's up for visiting my namesake sometime? It sounds yummy! Check out the menu.

Random Food-Related Thoughts

This puppy is so cute I just want to gobble her up!!! (hence, posting this on our food related blog)

But that got me thinking: where the heck did that phrase come from? I've heard people say similar things about babies. For example, "He's so cute I could eat him!" Why are we so cannibalistic when it comes squishy and cute babies?

Anyway, another random thought...or maybe it's a question.

A while back I had to buy some baby food for my final design project. I walked through the aisles at the local grocery store and where did I find it? In the same aisle as pet food; actually to be more specific, exactly opposite the bags of dried dog food and stacked cans of cat food.

Is that where baby food is normally located in grocery stores?

Also, another odd/funny thing was that at the very top, above the shelves of baby food, they had hanging boxes of cond*ms! Maybe to remind parents, "If you don't want this to happen to you again, use these"?!?!?! I just thought it was so funny.

Cookie Recipes

So since these cookies passed the taste test, I thought I'd post the recipes for future use, courtesy of Martha Stewart Living Magazine. (I'm typing them up because I couldn't find the exact ones online!) :

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT COOKIES (Makes about 3 dozen)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt
4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp pure peppermint extract
3 large eggs
45 round swirled peppermint candies, coarsely crushed

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof mixer bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add sugar, extracts, and eggs; mix on medium-low speed until combined. Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture. Stir in one-third of the candies. Refrigerate dough until firm, about 30 minutes (or wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.)
2) Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, form mounds of dough; dip tops into remaining candies to coat. Place cookies, candy sides up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until just set, about 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

--------------------

MOCHA SLICE COOKIES (Makes about 4 dozen)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for
work surface
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process
cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp instant espresso powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa nibs
Coarse sanding sugar

1) Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, espresso powder, and cinnamon into a large bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle; mix on medium until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in cocoa nibs.

2) Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; roll into a 2-inch-diameter log. Wrap in parchment paper; transfer to a paper towel tube to hold shape. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap log, and let soften slightly at room temperature, about 5 minutes. Brush with water, then roll in sanding sugar. Cut log into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

4) Bake until centers are set, about 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely. Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.

R.U.B. - Righteous Urban BBQ

On Friday evening Luis and I originally planned to eat at Sala One-Nine. To make a long story short though, we ended up leaving because the place was too packed and the service was extremely slow.

This led us to R.U.B. on 23rd between 7th and 8th. I had always passed this place on my way to Pratt and had heard good things about it. The menu had all the standard bbq fare like brisket, pulled pork, ribs, sausage, etc.

Luis got a "two meat" platter of pulled pork and sausage. His two sides were french fries and vinegar-based coleslaw. I got the "one meat" platter of brisket with potato salad and collard greens. The food was surprisingly very good! I'm not an expert on bbq by any means, but I thought the brisket was very nice and tender and the pulled pork was moist and sufficiently "porky". The thing I really loved about this place is that the meat was not drenched in bbq sauce. I don't usually crave bbq because I think it can be a little too sweet, overall. But this place cooks all their meat dry (sans heavy sauce) and you add the sauce to your own liking at your table. The sauce was mightly tasty too.

Compared to the other meats, the sausage was not my favorite. The texture was a little dry and the seasonings reminded me of chorizo but not as good. The best side we had was the potato salad althought the fries (covered in spices) were also good. Collard greens were a little salty and the coleslaw was too heavy on the celery salt.

I saw quite a few tables ordering chili cheese fries which looked delicious and also the fried onion rings (mounds of skinny fried strings). So next time, I will definitely try those.

It was interesting though because on the back of the RUB menu there's a list of frequently asked questions. One of the questions was: "why isn't my food hot?" The answer went on to explain that true bbq is smoked at a low temperature for a long time so the meat is never meant to be "hot." And I have to say, you can definitely tell that everything is lukewarm. I guess I just wasn't used to it. I like my meats piping hot.

So in terms of service, I think R.U.B. does a really good job. All the employees were energetic, pleasant and attentive. I think the place has a very lovely, casual feel to it. And is a great restaurant to drop in on for some good meat and beer. Actually, I'd love to go back soon so let me know if you'd like to join! :)

philly standbys

Chinatown: SangKee, ShaoLongKong (okay totally butchered spelling), Vietnam Restaurant, Penang, Rising Tide (for Bubble Tea!)

West Philly: Lemongrass (Thai), Thai Singha House, New Delhi (Indian buffet), Vietnamese Restaurant on Spruce St., Marathon Grill

Fort Washington: Zake's Cakes

Swarthmore/Suburbs: Nifty Fifty's, Panera's, Countryside Market and Cheng Hing's! Ruby's Diner, Margaret Kuo's Peking

Cheesesteaks: Pat's, South Street

Center City: Reading Terminal, Maggiano's, Buca di Peppo, Continental (where we went Chris), Buddakan, Fork

Korean Food: somewhere in N. Philly...soondobu-jip as i call it...

i think i definitely need to try some other places...

ps. did you know trader joe's sell packaged bool-kogi?

Boston standbys

I am not yet at a point where I can post about standby restaurants in DC but - for the benefit of our law student - and our many other Boston-based readers, here's a list of favorites from my time there (organized by category, to be read in the key of G-Major).

Thai - Dok Bua
Harvard Avenue, Brookline
Cheap and tasty, what could be better? Nothing. I pine for it still. The food is so good that even the humiliating experience of ordering take out and showing up with no means to pay for it (wallet left in a friend's car and spare credit card expired) couldn't keep me away.

Turkish - Family Restaurant
Washington Street (near the public library), Brookline
The baby eggplant appetizer may be my favorite eggplant dish ever. And for an eggplant-lover like me, that says a lot.

Indian - Tanjore
Eliot Street, Cambridge (Harvard Square)
Two words: lunch buffet. Well-priced and consistently yummy.

Sushi - Mr. Sushi
Harvard Avenue, Brookline
Given the number of restaurants in my list located in tiny Brookline one might be tempted to conclude that convenience was my culinary trump card. Not so. There are probably 10 sushi restaurants in the blocks around my old apartment. Mr. Sushi is not the best (that would probably go to Fugakyu, where Judy's sister once was a hostess) but it is inexpensive and good quality. The caterpillar roll will convert anyone who squirms at the thought of eel.

Pancakes - Deluxe Town Diner
Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown
Eggs are fine. The various lunch and dinner options are nothing special. But the pancakes - they're worth a wait in the cold. This decor at this diner is cute with a capital C and I dream about the blue corn pancakes. Next time I'm in Boston, it's you and me at Deluxe Christine. Ok?

DC recommendations HEARTILY welcome.