Pickles and Persimmons

When any of us returns home, my dad goes all out. A total gourmand, he is happiest when shopping in a specialty cheese shop (which he does with almost alarming regularity). When the three of us all return home, all bets are off. This year after our Thanksgiving feast, we were treated to Foie Gras AND homemade Gravlax. You see where I get it from…

The NoMad Restaurant

Since moving to New York, I’ve enjoyed very few occasions where the food and experience matches up to the price tag. My recent trip to The NoMad was one such meal. This meal was long anticipated, as I’ve yearned to eat at the NoMad since first reading about it in the NY Times. My desire only heightened after reading Pete Wells’ full review (with accompanying photo slideshow) The days leading up to our dinner had been spent strategically analyzing the various menus… The restaurant is part of the hotel of the same name, which exudes an almost austere hipness, but without any pretensiousness or attitude. The restaurant’s ambience is fantastic, with a luxe décor and friendly, approachable service.

I had the great pleasure of dining with my parents who not only provide the best conversation, but also bring very different food standpoints to the (dinner) table. My father, an excellent cook, is a total gourmand, having grown up in India in a food-obsessed family. He has a very discerning and well-rounded palate in addition to a penchant for insanely rich foods like foie gras and all kinds of cheese. He’s willing to try absolutely anything, except for green salads. My mother is a pescatatarian and far more interested in a restaurant’s ambience than the food. She likes simple and clean Mediterranean flavors, but humors the rest of us by coming along. With these two trusty companions, I set sail.

(Apologies for the poor quality of many of the photographs…alas, the iPhone does have some shortcomings)

1. Cocktails—I’d heard the cocktails were excellent, and (like all the other menus) had perused extensively in advance. I ended up ordering a super-boozy cocktail, the name of which unfortunately escapes me…But: rye, grapefruit, other citrus….mmm. My dad got a sherry-based cocktail that had sweet vermouth in it. My mother, as per usual, had a glass of wine. (My dad engaged in a long conversation with two of the very knowledgeable and nice wine specialists about an obscure Lebanese wine. This is a great example of the service…)

2. I’d made the reservation before realizing that a family friend’s son worked at the NoMad. He very kindly sent out the seafood platter to us which included oysters with frozen champagne mignonette, sea urchin panna cotta, Hamachi with horseradish, creamy but flavorful lobster and perfectly flavored clams. The beauty of this dish was that the garnishes perfectly enhanced but didn’t detract from any of the fantastic flavors of the seafood.

3. Since hearing about the NoMad, I’ve been intrigued by the butter dipped radishes. Dipped in salt, they were perfect—crunchy, fresh and indulgent.

4. Sadly, this photograph doesn’t do either of the dishes justice. The bread, which arrived nice and hot (as all bread should be), was served whole for us to slice. Foccaccia-style, it was stuffed with potato, onions and caraway and was perfectly chewy and crispy.  The flavors perfectly complemented the rest of the meal without being too strong. We also had cauliflower with Marcona almonds, grapes and cheddar. My dad pointed out, rightly so, that although the flavors were all really great, but somehow it didn’t feel cohesive.

5. The Chicken. To give you an idea, check this out:

The bird came out to greet us; festooned with fresh herbs and sitting in the perfect sized cast iron, its skin the color of a perfect Tarte Tatin. The aroma of truffle  was intoxicating. After it returned, fully carved, we encountered an unparalleled level of moistness, and a deep rich savoriness. Uncovering the crisp skin we found the layer of stuffing, the melted foie gras and truffle had seeped into the brioche, creating perhaps the most flavorful breadcrumb of all time. It was served simply—the lentils were aromatic and well cooked, and the Brussels sprouts clean and refreshing—providing an ideal textural note to both the creamy lentils and tender chicken. The side dish of shallots, morel mushrooms and dark meat was indulgent and very delicious. I could only really eat a bite due to the immense richness, but my dad heartily dug in. While initially the portion looked smallish, my father and I both had to wave the white flag three-quarters of the way through, neither of us used to giving up. My mum got the Black Bass which was slow-cooked with matsutake mushrooms and spinach. It was moist and buttery, brightened up by the accompaniments. Although not a foodie, she was thrilled.

6. I only have a photograph of one of the two desserts we ordered. This, the Milk & Honey was an ingenious representation of these two flavors. The crunchy honey-flavored shortbread had the consistency of a crumbly buttery graham cracker—a perfect foil to the dehydrated milk puffs. All of this was tied together with quenelles of impossibly creamy milky ice cream and drizzled honey-caramel on top. Unsurprisingly, I’m still thinking about it. We also ordered a terrific chocolate caramel tart with hazelnut and fleur de sel. The accompanying chocolate sorbet possessed a richness you’d be hard pressed to find in most chocolate ice creams.

7. While my photo of the mignardises in no way does it justice, they were all very nice. There were smoky tea flavored truffles, caramel apple macarons and….well, that’s all I remember-it was a long meal lubricated with plenty of wine and that extra-boozy cocktail.

We had the great fortune of receiving a tour of the entire restaurant including the kitchen. It’s a beautifully curated place—each room with a different purpose and an identity to match, but all in perfect harmony.

I plan to return as soon as my arteries forgive me for the amount of butter and foie gras they are currently encountering…

 

A few weeks back I hosted a housewarming brunch in my new(ish) studio apartment. In preparation for brunch I headed to the greenmarket and saw some beautiful fall produce. The menu included:

Spinach, basil and goat cheese frittata

Mozzarella Popovers (What’s a brunch sans popovers?)

Blueberry–Sour Cream Muffins / Banana-Blueberry-Sour Cream Muffins

Sausage, Egg and Cheese Casserole

Fruit Salad

Green Salad

Some of my nearest and dearest brought over food and drink and a good time was had by all.

A few late Fourth of July shots. Sadly just from my iPhone, so quality is debatable, but presentation was masterful.

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What to do with the leftover bagels which are overzealously purchased and then verge on stale? BAGEL CHIPS! Slice them as thinly as you can (or, simply chop them into little crouton-sized squares), drizzle some olive oil (preferably with some herbs or garlic) and roast them until golden in 300-350 degree oven. Delicious! Especially with a variety of flavors. Made them this weekend for the first time, and they were a total hit!

Falling for Fall…Again

Some of you more devoted readers may remember my frequent Autumn-related posts just a short year ago.  Well, while the season is far less pronounced and foliage-filled here in California, it doesn’t mean I haven’t spent a significant amount of time roasting squash and carving pumpkins..(okay, I carved one pumpkin. More than that borders on odd..right?) Anyway, just a little taste of my fall activities!

Roasted Acorn Squash recipe: preheat oven to 425, crack open the old squash, scoop out the seeds, put some olive oil, salt, pepper and a bit of brown sugar on the squash atop a foil-lined baking sheet, bake until tender! use in salads, snacktime etc.

I adapted http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/butternut-squash-soup-recipe/index.html and used only about 3 cups of chicken stock, and added some cayenne pepper. EXCELLENT when served with a goat cheese crouton.

Wine and Cheese Party

A few weeks ago, in order to spice up (and reduce the depression of) a Sunday night, my roommate and I decided to hold a little wine and cheese get together. It was a delight.

I made:

Ina Garten’s Stilton and Walnut crackers (I followed the million reviews and reduced the salt. They tasted scrumptious) and then some cheddar cheese twists. Dee-lish.

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I love making cheese twists/straws. Crunchy, easy, tasty!

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Ham and cheese croissant from Tartine bakery

This photo in no way does justice to the absolutely mind blowingly incredible ramen that I had this evening at Izakaya Sozai restaurant in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco. The menu is really lovely, a mixture of traditional Japanese fare with a gourmet twist. We had a beautiful daikon salad with some bonito flakes, some yamaima (white japanese yam) fries with a delicious dipping sauce and very tasty fried oysters. I was really excited for this japanese eggplant cooked with sweet miso, but to me it tasted more than slightly too much like sake for some reason.

In any case, what we really need to talk about here is the ramen. It was INCREDIBLE. The broth was so unbelievably savory without being salty, it was rich and meaty and filled with noodles that were so perfect in texture, springy and chewy without being undercooked, and the pork was just melt-in-your-mouth wonderful. The egg, nori and scallion complemented everything about the soup also. I loved absolutely everything about this ramen, and I would advise anyone (and everyone) to go to this place. Perfect Sunday night experience.

Sometimes I forget how wonderful it is to work in a place as food obsessed as the San Francisco Ferry Building. Working in a restaurant, I am constantly around food, taking in the amazing aromas, occasionally running food to customers, and watching things be created start to finish. I call farmers, talk to suppliers, and pop out to the Farmers Market on Tuesdays and Thursdays (sometimes for the restaurant and sometimes for my own dinner!).

In any case, I’ve recently been loving this foodie haven even more than usual. Yesterday, I bought some gorgeous japanese eggplant, crispy sweet plums and beautiful avocado. Last night I roasted the japanese eggplant just with some olive oil, salt and pepper and it was silky and perfect. Knowing that my CSA bag would include cauliflower and broccoli (which I planned on roasting), I stopped at Cowgirl Creamery, the wonderful supplier of organic cheeses, and bought some barrel aged greek feta (which is absolutely sublime. seriously. not too salty. soft, fragrant, perfect. wow. ) for a little roasted mediterranean feast. I also bought some fresh burrata to put with heirloom tomatoes (also in my CSA bag) and some gorgeous house made cottage cheese. God I’m lucky.

A plate of roasted vegetables and cheese with a drizzle of olive oil, some salt pepper and a dash of aged balsamic..what more could I want? .I guess I’m almost Californian now. (just kidding)

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Yes, this deserves a post all its own. Lemon ice cream / gingersnap sandwiches anyone? Yep. Thought so. Serve with stone fruit salad on the side.

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Kaya Toast at Susan Feniger’s Street. I’ve posted a photo of this dish on this very blog so many times but it is by far one of my favorite tastes on the planet. Coconut jam (housemade obviously) which is buttery and silky and perfectly coconutty without being too much in between toasty pain de mie and dipped in a soy and white pepper braised egg. Perfection. We went at 1030 because I just can’t go to LA and not get it. Done and done.