Monthly Archive for September, 2009

It's time to go to burger school.

Published on in cooking and Greenmarkets. Closed

Self-taught burger school that is. I consider it to be like my GED. I have no formal training in the art of hamburger making, but I read about them a lot and I enjoy eating them even more.

I was inspired by this post on AHT, which, by the way, is the first post to show up on Google if you google “Minetta Tavern Burger.” Those guys are good. Damned good. I want their SEO agency to work for b4b.

So I decided that I was going to do my own photojournal of me making a burger. Sounds simple enough, but it’s actually kind of a PITA. Making sure the lighting is right, getting the camera all set up, prepping, cooking, focusing, pushing the button, making sure my hair looks good even though my head is nowhere near any of the shots, the list goes on forever.

So, without further adieu, I present the bloggingforburgers photojournal, dated September 27th, 2009. I know, the post is being written on September 29th. Sue me.

The Day prior: Union Squre

Burgergal and I had to hit up the Union Square Farmer’s market to gather the essential supplies. And take some pretty pictures.

Oooh, pretty.

Also pretty

: You guessed it– pretty!

: Pretty and cool. They look like little watermelons but taste nothing like a big watermelon. They are little cucumbers. And magic.

Come to think of it, I didn’t take any pictures of the supplies that I needed for the burgers. This is probably mostly because I didn’t need them from the farmer’s market. I just wanted to show off how sensitive and artsy I am through the camera lens. I know what you’re thinking.

Yes, I am perfect.

Oh, but guess who I finally got to see again!! Yeah, my boys from the Ronnybrook Farm. Whatup!

: RONNYBROOK IN DA HOUSE!

Walked over to Ottomanelli to get some fresh ground chuck. I know that bloggers in the ole blogosphere have mixed thoughts about Ottomanelli, but I am a fan. They always do right by me when I head over there. I got about a pound, so that BG and I could rock a couple of half-pound burgers, just like Minetta does. Yes, I do have a weird obsession and want to do everything just like Minetta Tavern.

BG walked over and picked up a bag of brioche buns for the beefy perfection that I was going to be cooking up on the griddle.

I made two patties, loosely packed, and generously seasoned them with salt and pepper.

Then i threw them on the griddle, which I think is the best place for burgers to be cooked– otherwise, you don’t get an of that crispy exterior and you don’t get any of that sizzlin’ action. Speaking of…

Minetta uses clarified butter- I used just the regular kind. It worked pretty well. I overcooked the burgers a touch, but they were still solid.

Don’t they look fake?

By the way, got wind of a potential trip to Minetta in my future (two weeks, actually). You KNOW what I’m getting.

Tags: burgersforcooking, cooking, Greenmarkets, ronnybrook farm.

Le waiting.

Published on in food events and restaurants. Closed

So this weekend was Le Fooding here in NYC, the sister event to one of the same name that has been going on in Paris for a few years now. BG got us tickets, so we headed out to Long Island City for the amero-french culinary explosion. She and I are heading out to Paris in about a month, so the timing was very a propos. We also were going to see Gonzales that night and Phoenix the next day, so it was le kick-off to a very french weekend.

Arriving in Long Island City, I am not sure what I expected, but I guess I shouldn’t have been shocked that every foodie in the greater NYC area was there. Since the general admission started at 7pm, I guess it was normal for people to get there at ten to six. JBE’s better half got there early and snagged position number 10 in line. My crew got there at about 6:45 and we were number 1000. The line wrapped around the block, it was insane.

All of the people that were working there wore t-shirts that said, “i hate le fooding.” I guess it’s partially a play on the french language, like “i ate le fooding,” but I can’t be sure. At the moment, I really did hate le fooding.

Anyway, flashforward to 7:45, when we finally got in. The event was a madhouse. The french, for all of the things they do well, do a lot of things not well. Organization is one of them. The place was out of control. People were in line everywhere. Lines were wrapped around the PS1 courtyard like an MC Escher drawing. I wanted to punch le fooding in le face.

The first thing I ate was a sampler of cheeses from CHEESES of FRANCE. They don’t really win any awards for creative naming, but the cheese they were serving up was pretty tasty. Since I inhaled the three bites of cheese in about .6 seconds, my judgment was a little bit clouded.

Then we waited in a line for a mystery product. Complaint number 1– I’d like to know what I am eating. We got to the front of the line and were handed plastic cups with a little toasty piece of garlic bread. The soup had the taste of pork with a mirepoix, and some of the pieces definitely had the old “parts is parts” thing goin on. It was pretty tasty, and I later found out that it was from Yves Camdeborde of Le Comptoir du Relais fame in Paris. BG and I are eating dinner there one of our nights (pops came through with the rezzie), so it should be awesome.

Next up was David Chang and the bo ssam. For dedicated readers, you will know my thoughts on it. It was pretty much the same, although I felt like I was betraying myself by not having eaten around 23 things before it. It was solid, per usual.

We then ran into JBE, who was already stuffed. I was still starving, so internally directed all of my rage at him. He didn’t know that, but it was true. In any case, he told us that the place to be was the back room, where some deep fried corn was being served by the guys from Diner. Again, the readers of my blog know that I am a fan of that spot, and I dig their casual attitude.

I got to the back area and immediately realized that I had no idea which line was which. There were just crowds of people all over the place standing in lines that seemed to go to nowhere. We ended up in the WD-50 line, where Wylie was serving up some grilled chicken necks with yuzu. That is like the ultimate ROI dish ever. A chicken neck must cost, what, 25 cents? And he could probably charge a few more cents for that. Bravo!

I enjoyed the neck, although all of the bones made it a little annoying to eat. I did enjoy that the center of the neck had a brothy quality to it that was like a little mouthful of stock. I think uberchef may have commented that it could be used as a meat straw to eat chicken soup. Kinda disturbing, but it intrigues me nonetheless.

After Wylie BG and I got into what we thought was the corn line, but was in fact the line for Ze Kitchen Galerie, another french spot that I’ve heard about in several places. They were serving up a pork rib with a teriyaki and pineapple sauce. Although the LG didn’t really dig it, I was a fan, as was the BG and our dining companions. Since he was there so early, JBE had around a half-slab and decided he thought they were just ok.

After much beating around the bush, I finally got me some of the bushel (I apologize for that one). The deep fried corn with “scallop butter.” The corn smelled awesome coming out of the deep fryer. BG doesn’t eat scallops, so it was time for me to get my coquille st jacques on, deux fois. I really enjoyed the scallops, although the crowd didn’t really seem to be feeling them. They were buttery, which I guess explains the name, but they also really picked up the smoked paprika flavor from the sauce that was smeared all over the deep fried corn. Deep frying corn, by the way, is a great way to make everyone think you are making zeppole, without actually making zeppole. BG was disappointed I think. I could see it on her face. I, meanwhile, had scallop butter all over my face. And parts of my shirt.

Believe or not, that’s all I had. The ice cream line was way too long, and Bigarrade ran out of food before I could get to them. They had a grilled sirloin if you were wondering. However, the bo ssam line was nice and short (maybe all of le fooding crowd felt that the hometown champ was not shi shi enough). So I filled up on that before heading out.

Overall, le fooding was a good experience, but I’m not sure I would go back. I had some tasty morsels of food for sure, but I think that some logistical flaws really killed it for me. But I am excited eat to do some fooding of my own in Paris, that’s for sure.

I didn’t take pictures, mostly because it was really dark and because I was too hungry to think about taking pictures. This guy did, though, so you can re-live each bite here. I’m also mad that I missed a second opportunity to devour Minetta Tavern’s Black label burger, being griddled up to perfection by Lee Hanson on Saturday night. But I griddled up my own burgers on Sunday. More to come there.

While it’s not food related, I suggest all of you go see Gonzales and/or Phoenix live. They are both french love-fests (in fact, a trio from le fooding was also at gonzales), but they both rocked. I expect uberchef to write a full recap.

Tags: food events, restaurants abroad.

Le Fooding update coming soon.

Published on in Random. Closed

A sneak preview… wait for it…

There’s the sneak preview. And what it was like, mostly.

It's beautiful.

Published on in burger spots and lunch spots. Closed

I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

The Schnitzel Truck Burger.

You’re welcome.

Tags: lunch spots.

Sustainability, Inc.

Published on in food marketing and food politics. Closed

So it’s Advertising Week here in NYC, and amidst all of the marketing jargon being thrown around, there was an event entitled “Team Earth: Empowering a Sustainability Movement.” AdAge called it “an event to seek out,” and a last-minute scheduling snafu did not get the even as much publicity as it probably deserved, but it did allow me a seat.

And, it nicely commenced at 5pm, getting me out of the office and on my way to Locanda Verde to meet BG for dinner.

Anyway, the panel was led by some guy at CNBC that I’ve never heard of. The panel consisted of the Chairman of Conservation International, Peter Seligmann, the CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, and the Chairman of Wal-mart, Rob Walton. These heavy hitters in the conservation movement were talking about sustainability and how it has to play a crucial role in business moving forward.

Seligmann threw out a few interesting points. His first point was that the quality of the environment is going down. I guess we all knew that anyway, but he reiterated it. But, he said that engagement, awareness, and understanding is up, and that’s a good thing. The public only really dedicates something like 17% of its interest to the sustainability movement, which is shockingly low, considering that every person on this planet is directly affected by what we’re talking about here. He also stressed the importance of including corporations, hence his sitting on a panel with C-suite execs from two huge global brands.

Schultz, who can’t seem to catch a break these days, despite all of the advertising efforts (did anyone see the Businessweek brand rankings this week– they’re down 16% in brand value), echoed Seligmann’s sentiments, saying that sustainability will simply be part of the rules of engagement moving ahead. There is a balance needed, he said, between making money and having a social conscience. Since everyone refers to coffee as “tall” and “grande” these days, maybe he should have had a social conscience back then when he made us sound like losers when we want a small coffee.

He went on to talk about how people are willing to pay to support it and it has to be a real business change, and not just a marketing ploy. It has to be a truly integrated strategy, part of the company’s DNA, and so on. Now, coming from him, who convinced the country that four bucks is a perfectly acceptable price for a cup of coffee, I’m not sure that he can speak to “willing to pay for it” from the right perspective. If people are willing to pay $4 for a cup of coffee, they will probably still pay $4 for a very slightly smaller cup of free trade coffee. Or $4 for a smaller cup of coffee and a series of about 40 advertising panels in the tunnel between Times Square and the Port Authority. Either way, people do have a social conscience, and by paying a little extra, they think they are helping.

Lastly, Rob Walton talked about Wal-mart’s commitment to sustainability. The thing about Wal-mart is that when they talk, people listen. I personally am not a huge fan of Wal-mart. I’ve been to one once, and I didn’t enjoy the experience. I think their business practices are questionable, and I think they ruin neighborhoods. All of that aside, I do applaud them for what they are doing to drive the food industry around the world to embark upon a path to more environmentally conscious production (remember that whole “when they speak…” bit?).

Now, being the businessman he is, Walton said that what got Wal-mart involved was the opportunity to make a difference… in a profitable way. Wal-mart got you again! But, seriously, that’s the only way to make big business change their tune. At the end of the day, a business is there to make money. For any of this sustainability stuff to stick, it’s going to have to make someone some Benjamins. Even Seligmann admitted that you’ve gotta keep your feet on the ground and not keep your head in the clouds with some pipe dream. For the big guys to get involved, you’ve gotta tell them what it’s going to mean for them business wise. It it don’t make dollars, it don’t make sense.

Anyway, interesting stuff. Check out Team Earth. It’s like a feel-good forum for big companies.

Tags: conservation international, food marketing, food politics, team earth.

Hopefully my heart will go on…

Published on in restaurants. Closed

It’s Monday night, and I have just been on a fatty food bender. I can’t even remember the last time I ate something either green or something that didn’t involve animal fat or deep frying. I guess it has all been worth it. I’ve got a lot to say.

Since b4b isn’t really all about food reviews, let me just briefly touch upon the meals that have added a special layer of padding around my precious mid-section. Fall is coming, and my instincts are kicking in full gear. It’s time to get ready for a long drought.

On Friday night, I headed out to Fort Greene, Brooklyn, to hang out for a bit with Uberchef and his gal. After their most generous hospitality and a bottle of wine, BG and I headed to No. 7 for dinner with a couple of friends, whose nicknames I have yet to come up with. I had known about No. 7 for a long time, since the owner’s wife is a friend of mine from our glorious days in the media business. I guess in the spirit of friendship, I would have to say this meal was great.

The meal was great!

But really, the meal was pretty solid, although there were a couple of misses, in my honest opinion. We started off with the fried broccoli (which I guess was green, so I take back my earlier statement), which was much better than I expected. It wasn’t tempura style, but it was not as heavily battered as a good piece of fried chicken (I must admit, I just got back from Locanda Verde and I still have fried chicken batter on the brain). We also got a scallop ceviche, which was pleasant enough, if not a little bit uninspired. There was also a frisée salad with some fig stuff and a grilled octopus salad. There were ok. That’s about all I have to say about that.

Then we moved on the main courses– two orders of fried quail (see, fried food dominates my life right now), a Wagyu ribeye, and some chicken thing wrapped in cabbage. I don’t really feel like commenting on these items, so I wont. They were good. The wagyu is probably worth going back for, but the quail and chicken are not. I will comment on the buttermilk pudding, which was great.

But really, all of this just ended up being killing time before the main event of the night. Unbeknownst to me, next door to No. 7 and down the block from uberchef’s lair is the Cake Man. The Cake Man, which you may recall, was featured on Bobby Flay’s Throwdown, for his red velvet cake. Needless to say, when you walk into the place, there are a lot of slices of red velvet cake in the display case. A LOT of slices of red velvet cake. In fact, there are so many, it just seems like there is no way that it can be good. But this assumption is totally wrong. This stuff was DA BOMB. I don’t really like Red Velvet cake, and I couldn’t get enough of this stuff. The cake was moist, the frosting was creamy but not overly sweet, it was just perfect. I can still taste it if I close my eyes. Maybe uberchef will find it in the kindness of his heart to give his buddy the BB some…

So that was Friday. Saturday was time to party like it’s 5769 going on 5770. For all of my jewish readers, “l’shanah tova!” BG’s mom had me over for “the Rosh”, so I knew it was time to party and get my brisket on.

I got my brisket on. I got it on good. I got it on again today for lunch with uberchef (man, uberchef has been getting a lot of shout-outs in this post).

What I really got on and what I’m going to be getting on for the rest of the week is some chopped chicken liver. Everyone that knows me (so, basically everyone that reads this blog) knows that I love offal, and BG’s mom made a batch just for me. In fact, I was the only one that got it at dinner. And then I was the only one who took it home. So it really was just for me. And it is awesome. Maybe I’ll post a pic on Wednesday, when I am reunited with this inner-organ deliciousness.

Now for the main event. As heavily touted on my twitterfeed and FB page, I went to Locanda Verde’s fried chicken dinner. For anyone who doesn’t know, it’s a 4-time occasion at Locanda Verde, down in Tribeca. There are two seatings a night, and for $41 bucks per person, you get half of a fried chicken, a fatty slab of bacon, a bunch of sides, biscuits, and a slice of pie. It’s a lot of food. Serious eats has pretty solid pics, so it’s probably not really even looking at mine. But I am going to make you look at them anyway.

I arrived at LV, and BG was already there. Apparently there was a reservation mix-up, and my reservation wasn’t actually there. After a moment of rage at Eva (WTF, Eva, you said we were cool!), BG confirmed that we were ok, they were going to “squeeze us in.” At that moment, I felt like I needed to overcompensate that we actually belonged there and we weren’t just some losers who wandered in off the street and tried to pull the “but I called ahead… I talked to some woman… she said she would seat us right away…” trick. I felt like I had to name-drop, but resisted the urge. Whose name would I use, anyway?

So we sat down in the back dining room. It reminded me of the lodge at which I stayed while fly fishing in Alaska. It was all deep, made-to-be-expensive-looking wood, and there was a fireplace. In the corner, the Woes were warming up, getting ready to play “some music to stuff yer face to” (I am saying that, they did not ever utter the words, but I would have enjoyed them more if they had). Behind me, one of the floor manager-types got a ragin’ fire burning, reminding me that if I wasn’t sweating my ass off from all of the fried products I was about to devour, I was going to sweat my ass off from the fire that was burning about four feet behind me.

Roaring fire.

The Woes

After a few minutes of hanging out and taking in the scene, the night’s plan of attack on my arteries was placed before me. I knew that it was going to be a tough battle, but I was determined to get through it. As I hoped, I only had two choices to make: what was I going to drink and what kind of pie was I going to have for dessert. Fortunately, I was only forced to choose what I wanted to drink.

IMG00034-20090921-1836

The rest of the evening was a blur from this point on. There was bacon slabs with lima beans, disorientating flashes from all of the amateur food bloggers like myself (but I, unlike those oafs, prefer to have blurry dark pictures instead of looking like a tool in a restaurant), buttery corn on the cob, buttery doughy biscuits, buttery fried chicken, buttery butter, buttery water, butter beer, buttery collard greens, and butter on my shirt.

And a small heirloom tomato salad and some cole slaw, neither of which was buttery.

Bacon and Lima Beans

Cornucopia of heart ailments

Then there was pie. I actually felt pretty good going into the pie round. My stomach had not yet reached full capacity, and since I am reading Mindless Eating, I had set aside some chicken in an extraordinary show of self restraint (by the way, BG and I had three pieces of fried chicken left over. I know that we had three because in my head I had already planned out a leftover dinner around these pieces of chicken in which I would make a small salad on the side. I secretly gave myself two pieces of the chicken in this dream while she only got one. Anyway, when we got back to BG’s apartment, there were only TWO pieces of chicken. WTF??? If you’re reading this, Andrew Carmellini, have that extra piece sent to my office.). But the pie really did me in. And, to be honest, I didn’t really love either of them– one was a blueberry crumble and the other was a peach pie. They were both just ok. I know that there was a lot of hype around them, but I wasn’t feeling it.

If you get a chance to go to the fried chicken dinner, do it. Tell them burgerboy sent you. Since that will probably work about as well as my reservation did, give them a ring (you can only make reservations starting the Tuesday prior, and you can only reserve one week in advance, ask for Eva).

Locanda Verde

Corner of Greenwich and N. Moore Streets

Tags: dinner spots, fried chicken.