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Just back from curious night for Michelle bday.....
Went to Alder on early shift,,6;00 (made res pretty late last week so...) Certainly heard lots of different things abt it...all pretty good, but some disenters here an there... Anyway, had couple cocktails which never usually get, but these were great...Red Zeppelin was one with crazy combo of sumac and paprika powdering rim with gin and strawberry juice inside...awesome, great texture combo.. Other was called-- Dr. Daves Script Pad-- w rye, amaro and smoked maple as operative forces. This was like amped up dark and stormy frankly, happily bringing back thoughts of RI. Then from small plate type stuff got Pigs in Blanket, cool chinese sausage in great lite crust with spicy stuff all around...coulda ate 40...Sun Gold Tomatoes w crab was only under whelmer..just not enough spark, but good clean flavor, must admit...Then had Clam Chowder...fuckin killed...Really impressive depth while being sort of light bodied..not mention those crazy freeze dried(?) oyster "crackers" They split one order for us, was perfect...Oh, yeah, then in the middle of these a woman (manager turns out) comes over an says.."Here is the Foie Gras terrine on the house, I'm a big fan of your work"...??? I'm like huh,,,? oh great she thinks I'm that fucking actor again....But no, in fact we learn she used to work in galleries,,Boesky for one..(didnt go into that in depth tho)..Pretty nice, must say...Then we went for Fish and Chips which were great... not much of a twist at work powdered malt was cool in this....,And then the truly nuttiest awesome thing...Rye Pasta with Pastrami....This is a complete revelation of a dish...utterly unprecedented I'd say, tho not for everyone evidently,( like who cares?)..Really does taste like Katz's turned into pasta,,,except pastrami better here..Unexpected harmony of mustard and pasta....a new classic. Had bottle of Irouleguy Rouge fr Ilarria...She brought over decanted which I said was nice to see and she said..."Oh thats Dewey's influence, he insists on it." Of course he doesn't exactly work there but,,,,, so we got to quip about him a bit....Finally had Rootbeer Pudding w smoked Cashews...genius...mellower execution of rootbeer/pretzel item I had at Momofuko Ko while ago, but amazing......Like, I'd go back here...and will.
So as we were finishing got text from gallery dude I know asking if we want to go hear a La Monte Young performance at his place in Tribeca...So yeah, sure, headed down there got on line, went up stairs, paid, took off shoes, sat on carpet, breathed ton of incense, staired at psych projections on wall while electro-drone played....waited.......Eventually Mr Young, and two woman emerged from hall and sang over drone for abt two hrs....long but great...
Cool to know these things still going on in NYC...
SDB
LES-ers, have you been? yes, i love donuts...
great cocktail moments in literature
Sous Vide set to get a lot cheaper. The Kickstarter project has surpassed its' goal. Test units have been produced and favorably reviewed. Will supposedly ship in October for $199.
Parmesan crisps / this is an MB specialty, but I just saw Ruth Reichl make them on diary of a foodie, although differently than the recipe provided. No paper, large grate on the cheese, add black pepper and one tablespoon of flour.
Our friend Megan, who runs Marble Valley Farm, told us an interesting story the other day. Her tomato plants are infested with tomato hornworm. This has always been a very difficult infestation for her to deal with (she is totally organic, so can't just drop death spray on them.) But after much research she came across a brief mention on the internet of using a black light in order to find them. She consulted several of her farmer friends and all were skeptical of this technique since none had heard of it before. Still, out of desperation, she made a trip to Spencer Gifts at the local mall, bought a black light, and went out into the fields with it that night. Amazingly, the black light light up the bugs perfectly. She said it was like picking lights off a Christmas tree. In a few hours they picked over a thousand hornworms off the plants (over 10 pounds!) And thus the tomato crop was saved.
One of her hippie workers fried one up and ate it, claiming it was "not too bad". Lucas was unsure of this verdict.
Made a dr pepper/pickle juice ham yesterday. Approximately this recipe
single family home made country ham, a friend brought back from his hometown Wakefield Va. This is my new thing. Next one i do is a Calhoun ham from Culpepper Va.
diy cronuts
brisket town
bkln
record amberjack but the happy to sell fisherman failed to weigh
Organic farming: an international history
the Pass. It's local if you live near here! Good value. Great stuff.
Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything iPhone and iPad app is free right now on the iTunes store in honor of their 5th anniversary.