Note-able #4

First of all, I am not really a "dessert guy."

Second, I find it exceedingly problematic that a bakery could charge $18 for a mixed berry tart, especially in fabulous downtown River City as we approach the long, slow, unprofitable winter season.  Yikes!

Third, to quote Steve's Food Rule #37: The cost of a dessert is usually inversely proportional to its flavor.

And so, the mere fact that I am including a dessert of any kind, especially an $18 dessert says something about how delicious this tart actually was.  I will not offer the usual foodie BS about the balancing of the berries, the sweet glaze and the rich custard base or the nice flaky finish of the chocolate coated crust, blah blah boring.  It was excellent, enough said.

Which leaves open the question of whether Blue Duck Bakery, 309 East Main Street, Riverhead, charging $18 for fruit tart can make it in the long run in fabulous downtown River City.  We shall see, but if they manage to stay open, we'll be buying the fruit tarts, albeit, for special occasions not a weekend snack.

And so I bring you your food porn, Squawk the cat approved, photo:

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O Canada...

Here, in no particular order (hence the lack of a numbering system,) is a quick sixer of favorites from our most recent trip to Hamilton:

- Mr. Sub:  Sure it's a chain, but the assorted sub with lettuce, tomato and oil/vinegar reminds me of the pre-Subway, pre-cookie cutter/same here as it is over there, days of late 1970's which in Schenectady, meant Mike's Submarines just off the Crosstown.  Cheap cold cuts, mountains of shredded iceberg lettuce, marginal tomatoes on a decent roll but, O Brother the inexplicably delicious result!

- Magner's Pear:  It's great to see a pear cider offering from the folks at Magner's.  Good pear flavor, none of the over the top sweetness of Sir Perry (oddly from Blackthorn who produces a very good dry English style apple cider) or Kopparberg (great pear, candy sweet.)  We should have bought a case for the house, n'est-ce pas?  Magner's Pear purchased at LCBO, 75 Centennial Parkway North, Stoney Creek, Ontario.

- Rosé wine:  I must confess to a long held bias against Rosé.  Mostly because when I became interested in wine (the early 90's if you must know) white zinfandel was being pedaled as the long sought solution for people who do not like red wine.  The truth was that it was a god awful, Rosé in color only, overly sugared, marketing inspired wine-esque beverage that produced hangovers nearly the size and with the looming explosiveness of Mt. St. Helens.  So in an effort to get the chip off my shoulder and because Agnes was intrigued by a recent television spot in which Rosé was categorized as "party wine," we decided to conduct a more formal evaluation.  So we hit the LCBO, 75 Centennial Parkway North, Stoney Creek, Ontario for a couple of bottles and conducted a non-scientific tasting. The results?  Consider us converted.  When chilled, Rosé is the perfect beverage for summer and it's drink-ability (and high alcohol content) definitely ensures the veracity of the "party wine" moniker.  The best of the bunch: Bieler Pere et Fils.

 - Naleśniki:  Crepes with vanilla scented cheese filling and fruit sauce made by Agnes's mom at the Makar Residence, Stoney Creek, Ontario.  This version was cream cheese based with strawberry topping.  It amazes me how such thin, delicious crepes can be whipped up on busted up, old non stick pan on a cranky old electric stove.  It's the chef son, not the tools!  Yes, they taste as good as they look, likely better.

- Sarcoa Restaurant and Bar, 57 Discovery Drive, Hamilton, Ontario: Gourmet fare, fair prices.  O and they make their own everything here from the bread down to the condiments.  I should inquire about the salt and pepper maybe?  Steve and Bridget took up Maggie's recommendation of the slow roasted pork belly sandwich, Agnes went the beef burger route.  The look on everyone's face after we finished our lunch tells me they got it right, so very, very right.  One quick word to the powers that be:  please do not listen to the customers who somehow feel justified offering advice on your new venture, Agnes's burger was cooked perfectly (a pox upon to all who would order well done burgers!) and Heinz ketchup holds nay candle to your house version, those who would provide input to the counter MUST be ignored!  Stick to the vision, it's delicious!

- Ribs and coleslaw Makar Residence, Stoney Creek, Ontario:  Far be it from me to toot my own horn, nobody likes a self promoting yoyo yo!  I am including this one only because Agnes insists I hit this one out of the park.  That and it provides occasion to pass along some ideas and techniques which you might find useful the next time you set out to make BBQ'd ribs and slaw: 1. The ribs were dry rubbed up the night before and then smoked with plum wood.  I love the wicked fruit essence the smoking imparted, 2. Coleslaw is about 2 things: texture (it needs to be chopped FINE) and balance in your dressing (more vinegar than mayo, with a fair touch of sugar,) 3. No matter how good a jarred BBQ sauce is, you can make better sauce on your stove top with: ketchup, copious amounts of good local Polish honey, brown sugar, soy sauce and a few dashes of cayenne pepper sauce.  Too bad the Colonel copyrighted that thing about finger licking good.

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Diamond in the strip mall...

Strip mall food.  The bane of existence here on Long Island and likely everywhere I suppose.  You know what I mean: cookie cutter pizza/Italian food that tastes just like what's being offered down the street, two towns west and the next county over, bland similarly undifferentiated Chinese food and delicatessens without clue one on how to make a proper sandwich.

In a way, it's sad.  It means we neglect many places because they're in a strip mall, often right next to the cookie cutter Italian place, the bland Chinese outlet and the forlorn deli.  So we drive...on...past.

So, if you happen to be driving down Route 112, heading North from Sunset Highway or South from the LIE, keep your eyes peeled for the Curry Kebob House, 585 Medford Road, Patchogue.  It's worth stopping at this strip mall.

The menus and their website tout, "The best Indian cuisine in Long Island."  That could be mere boast, it could (possibly) be the truth, what I will say is that it's the most authentic Indian cuisine I've had on Long Island.  I've made a trip to the lunch buffet and one dinner which we ordered from the menu:

 1. The bread, naan and garlic naan in this case, were perfect.  Light, airy with a great char from the Tandoor.  They were a great as a starter and, later as a sauce capturing complement to our entrees,

2. Given our personal bent, we ordered lamb (Karahi and Achari at dinner) and goat curries (Karahi at the buffet,) and voila! they actually served lamb and goat, still on the bone, slow cooked and exceedingly tender with that unmistakable strong, meaty flavor.  Too often when I order these dishes at many Indian restaurants, the "lamb and goat" are uniformly square, large, mildly flavored chunks of something other than lamb and goat.  In other words: beef.  Because here's the deal, given the size of the average goat or lamb there just are not Rubik's cube size pieces of this type of meat.  Yes, you have to tease the meat off the bone which can be a pain in the ass.  But the reward, o sweet reward, is in the flavor!

3. If you ask for spicy, you get SPICY, not some Nancy version of heat.  They turned my lamb Achari into a lid off kettle explosion.  It was sublime.

4. They dedicate as much time to cooking their vegetables and sides as they spend cooking their entrees, both the vegetable biryani (fried rice) and chana masala (chick peas) were excellent.  And in the case of chana masala, transcendentally spicy as requested.

 Agnes and I are counting the days until we can head back for another sampling.  Special thanks to JK, for saying, "Hey man, let's have Indian.  I know a good place."

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Note-able #3 Drinking the summer away...

Here's a quick list of what we've been drinking, where we've been drinking and what we think about what we've been drinking:

1. Cerveza Pacifico Clara:  No need for lime, a spicier, far tastier version of Corona.  Procured at The Riverhead Project, 300 East Main Street, Riverhead.  Agnes, Jarry and Steve are HUGE fans of Pacifico.

2. Angry Orchard Cider:  Well balanced American style (leaning toward sweet) draft cider.  Steve downed about 6 pints (possibly more, certainly not less) with Agnes, Ralph and Nathan and the Bingo Crew at Shagunda's, 73 CJF Boulevard, Johnson City, NY.  We are BIG fans of AngryO, but bigger fans of Upstate NY's pricing schedule for adult beverages.

3. Thornbury Cider:  Crisp English style cider.  Not bad, but fandom TBD.  If the hipster bartender at The Ship, 23 Augusta Street, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada could have been bothered to, um, tend the bar he was behind, I might be able to tell you whether I was a true fan or not.  A lazy hipster?  Well I never!

4. Allagash White:  Belgian white from the "wilds" of Maine.  OK...I'm thinking that being just outside of Portland, Maine, might not qualify as the "wilds."  At any rate, Steve and Agnes are HUGE fans of Allagash White, perfect summer beer with hints of coriander and citrus.  We had a few TOO many with our friends in from The 'Burgh at The Smith, 55 3rd Avenue, New York City.

5. Magner's Cider:  Our go to summer beverage, perfect over ice and any time of day or night, even breakfast.  We had a few at Nevada Smith's with the 'Burgh crew, 125 East 11th Street, New York City while watching the Czechs beat Poland in the EuroCup, 1-0.  The Poles broke my heart baby sending several shots that whistled JUST wide.  Ja ci dam!

6. Sabai Sabai:  Thai welcome cocktail: Mehkong whiskey, simple syrup, lemon juice, Thai basil and splash of club soda (which I forgot!  Idiot!  gosh.)  Consumed in The Kramer Dining Room, Ostrander Abbey, Riverhead, NY with Maggie and Kelly, newly arrived from Hamilton, by way of Philadelphia on their way to NYC.  One pitcher, it ain't enough when you're a HUGE fan.  Know what I'm sayin'?

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Note-able #2: The renaming of a city...

Way back in the day, I used to go to Slick's (127 South Ferry Street, Schenectady, NY) for lunch with the gang from General Electric.  A downsizing, a few life/career detours and 20 years later, they are still making one of the best and biggest sandwiches in these United States.

So...based on the size of these monsters and other offerings the Earl of Sandwich would drool over, I am hereby renaming Schenectady, The City of the Big Sandwich.   

Here are your requisite food porn photos dear followers.

Exhibit A:

Ham and cheese on rye with mustard, chips and pickles.  Molson Canadian Light.

Exhibit B:

Roast beef on rye with mayo, chips and pickles.  Labatt's pint.

Here are some sweet artsy renderings of the business and signage, courtesy of Agnes:

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Note-able #1

I am starting a new type of post.  Quick notes on our various food finds, hence Note-able above.

The first entry will be Peace Tea.  We found this at the Off Main Grocery on Griffing Avenue in fabulous downtown River City.  A great glug for ninety nine cents.  Well within the Great Recession budget and the Caddyshack motif brought back memories of VCR tapes, ice cold Schmidt's long necks and Chevy Chase long before it all went so terribly, terribly wrong.

PS: The verdict is on the sexy turnip: the bacon really did the trick and made for a tasty side at Easter.  That said, making a puree of said sexy turnip with butter and cream and then adding bacon might be more work than the end result is actually worth.  There are boatloads of fresh veg that don't need that much love.

PPS: We still owe you: Easter photos and our NYC montage.  I haven't forgot.  I'm pacing myself.

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Easter morning coming down...

Today's Easter feast:

Highfalutin Appetizer: Knorr veggie spinach dip with supermarket bakery pumpernickel bread
1. BBQ smoked ham. A Stop & Rob ham cooked on the Weber kettle over a charcoal fire with seasoned gently with hickory chips.
2. Local carrots. A Sang Lee Farms specialty.
3. Pea shoots. Another Sang Lee slice of UTTER deliciousness.
4. Leftover sexy turnip, tossed with lardons of Polish bacon. The taste jury remains out on our sexy little rutabaga. They're...OK, but not really something I would seek out, but bacon salves many foodly sins. Will the bacon turn the worm? Stay tuned viewers!
5. Roasted tri-color fingerling potatoes. The remainder of the bag from the pot roast/beef stew episode seen on this channel recently.
6. Dinner rolls. Purchased especially for my sous chef Agnes. Hello, my name is Agnes and I'm addicted to dinner rolls.
7. Mark West pinot noir. Pinot for the People!
7A. A toast to those we've lost: Russian Standard Vodka chilled.
8. Macerated strawberries over dropped biscuits with fresh whipped cream. OK...strawberry shortcake you food snob.
9. Jackson Triggs ice wine.

Which brings me to the last point of this post: food snobs. They're one of the two reasons I do not visit Sang Lee as often as I would like. The other: their prices are simply murderous on our Great Recession budget. We spent $12.00 yesterday on the pea shoots, carrots, a box of cherry tomatoes and a bunch of scallions. WHOA! If it weren't for the holiday...

At any rate, there's no food snob snobbier than organic food snobs and somehow they always manage to ruin my visits to Sang Lee. Arrogant, nasty, my shit don't stink people buying overpriced, pesticide free, herbicide free, produce. Eating local and saving the Earth as they drive off in their gas guzzling Eurotrash muscle cars or family friendly four wheel drive half the size of a city bus sports utility vehicle. May they choke on their triple washed tatsoi!

If it weren't for the fact that they're the only place anywhere that sells peas shoots and Asian greens, I'd nae darken Sang Lee's door evermore.

I'm now stepping down from my soapbox and heading out to start the fire. Happy Easter everyone! Stop back for photos of the Easter feast.

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Ta-Da!

Here are the results from last week's shopping and post:

1. Pot roast, pot roast O my. The picture speaks for itself:


Here's a recipe, in case you're interested:


1A. It ain't Sunday dinner without dessert. Here's a slab of Agnes' banana bread with butter schmear. Perfect not too sweet end to a very rich meal:


2. Horseradish. The scene of the crime after this year's "grinding of the root" celebration:


Not that I have any specific scientific means of quantifying this, but this year's batch is O MY GOD hot. I forced Agnes out of the house and suffered a major coughing fit while putting it up in the jars. It's had a few days to mellow on the vinegar brine, but it still bites HARD. In other words...perfection!

3. The sexy turnip has been boiled, mashed and pureed with butter/cream/salt/pepper to accompany today's Sunday offering: Pot roast 2.0 aka beef stew. The taste jury is out on the sexy one. It didn't really wow me taste wise as I was making it, but I'll reserve judgement until we re-heat and serve with the stew. Some foods need to be in the chorus not lead singers. Sorry, no photo here. Pureed turnips are NOT sexy.

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A year later...

It's been nearly a year between updates. EGAD man! Pretty pathetic, Ty. O well...ever onward!

As luck would have it, Bayview Farms on Route 25 in Aquebogue opened for the summer as of this morning, so there's grist for a blog post AND we needed to stop for some vegetables anyway:

1. A few pounds of local horseradish root, Yes!

2. Some cipollini, definitely not local, but needed for Sunday's Spring dinner, details below,

3. And for the first time ever, a turnip. A turnip roughly the size of my head (which given the size of my melon...holy crap!) for $1.50 I figure even if it turns out I really, really hate turnip, my wager is pretty small.

Tomorrow...Spring will officially arrive in River City, inaugurated by my becoming annual "grinding of the root" ritual, maybe a bit of Russian Standard to ensure good luck for the year and then I'll be crock potting a Yankee pot roast which Agnes has been craving ever since sampling the brisket with gravy at Katz's Delicatessen earlier this month (we'll be dropping an update on that excursion sometime soon. No really, I promise.)

PS: Agnes is responsible for the turnip photo. It takes some mad skills to make a turnip look sexy, no?

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